Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
He passes from the faithful to the pastors of the Church, and commends to them that they feed the flock of Christ, not for the sake of base gain, nor as lording it over the clergy, but being made from the heart a pattern to the flock. Secondly, in verse 5, he commends to the young men subjection, to all humility, and that they may resign all care upon the providence of God. Likewise sobriety and vigilance, that they may resist the devil, who goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Thirdly, in verse 10, encouraging them that God Himself will perfect those who have suffered a little, he closes the epistle with greeting and the wishing of grace.
Vulgate Text: 1 Peter 5:1-14
1. The elders therefore that are among you, I beseech, who am myself also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ: as also a partaker of that glory which is to be revealed in time to come: 2. feed the flock of God which is among you, taking care of it, not by constraint, but willingly, according to God: not for filthy lucre's sake, but voluntarily. 3. Neither as lording it over the clergy, but being made a pattern of the flock from the heart. 4. And when the prince of pastors shall appear, you shall receive a never-fading crown of glory. 5. In like manner, ye young men, be subject to the elders. And do you all insinuate humility one to another, for God resisteth the proud, but to the humble He giveth grace. 6. Be ye humbled therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in the time of visitation: 7. casting all your care upon Him, for He hath care of you. 8. Be sober and watch: because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about, seeking whom he may devour: 9. whom resist ye, strong in faith: knowing that the same affliction befalls your brethren who are in the world. 10. But the God of all grace, who hath called us into His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little, will Himself perfect you, and confirm you, and establish you. 11. To Him be glory and empire for ever and ever. Amen. 12. By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I think, I have written briefly: beseeching and testifying that this is the true grace of God, wherein you stand. 13. The Church that is in Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you: and so doth my son Mark. 14. Salute one another with a holy kiss. Grace be to all you who are in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Verse 1: The Elders Therefore That Are Among You, I Beseech, Who Am Myself Also an Elder, and a Witness of the Sufferings of Christ
1. The elders therefore, — both in age and in dignity and in priesthood, whether it be of the lesser and ordinary kind, or of the greater, namely the episcopate. Hence St. Jerome, epistle 85, renders it presbyters. For he addresses priests and Bishops as pastors of the Church, and commands them to feed strenuously the flock of the faithful entrusted to them by God; to whom accordingly he prescribes the model of the pastoral life in few words, but vigorously. Hence among the Syrians this part of the epistle is customarily read at the election and ordination of Bishops, as the Syriac translator notes here. Hence also, just below, for PROVIDENTES, the Greek has ἐπισκοποῦντες ("overseeing"): so St. Jerome, Oecumenius, and others throughout.
THEREFORE. — Syriac: "now" or "but." Refer the "therefore" both to all that precedes — which, although it pertains to all the faithful, yet pertains especially to the pastors who must inculcate it upon the faithful — and properly to verse 11 and what precedes: "If any man speaketh, let it be as the words of God; if any man ministereth, let it be as of the power which God administereth." For these things look chiefly to the presbyters who feed the flock both by preaching and by ministering the holy Sacraments. Likewise to that of chapter IV, verse 17: "Because it is the time that judgment should begin at the house of God," as if to say: Since God begins judgment from His own house and family, He will surely begin it from its overseers, and from them He will exact account both of their own soul and office, and of the flock committed to them. Therefore let them feed it duly and strenuously, that they may be able to render an account to God the judge when He demands it.
I BESEECH. — Παρακαλῶ signifies three things, namely "I exhort," "I console," "I beseech": here however it signifies more "I beseech"; for Peter, though Supreme Pontiff, out of modesty does not so much command as entreat and beseech.
FELLOW ELDER. — συμπρεσβύτερος, that is, as St. Jerome (epist. 85) renders it, "compresbyter"; the Syriac, "I, a presbyter, your fellow." Again, out of modesty he calls himself not Pontiff but compresbyter — and following him, the Supreme Pontiffs in their Epistles and Bulls call the Bishops "brothers and coepiscopi"; for these are equal to them in episcopate, namely in the power of Order, although unequal in jurisdiction. Wherefore St. Gregory the Roman Pontiff refused to be called "universal Bishop," lest he seem to derogate or diminish the right of episcopate from the other Bishops, as though he alone were truly a Bishop, the others merely so in name and only His Vicars or Suffragans. He did this to repress the insolence of John, Archbishop of Constantinople, who arrogated to himself the name of "universal Patriarch," against whom St. Gregory, book VII, epistle 69 to Eusebius: "If there is one universal," he says, "it remains that you are not Bishops." And book IV, epistle 36 to Eulogius: "If one Patriarch is called universal, the name of Patriarch is taken away from the others." Otherwise this name belongs by right to the Roman Pontiff. For so the Council of Chalcedon calls St. Leo "universal Archbishop," that is, Bishop of Bishops, Bishop of the whole Church, to whom the other Bishops are subject and subordinate. Wherefore Oecumenius notes that St. Peter here teaches the Bishops modesty, as if to say: "If I, who was a spectator of such miracles, and equal to the father of Christ, who is the king and Pastor of the Pastors of the Church and of the whole world, according to that of Matthew 2:6: 'Out of thee shall come forth a leader who shall rule' (Greek ποιμανεῖ, that is, shall feed) 'my people Israel,' after the manner of David likewise of Bethlehem."
WHO AM ALSO A PARTAKER OF THE GLORY THAT IS TO BE REVEALED IN TIME TO COME. — Greek κοινωνός, that is, as St. Jerome (epist. 85) renders, "sharer"; the Syriac, "consort and participator," namely I was, both on Mount Tabor, where I beheld Christ transfigured in glory with John and James (so Lyranus and Cajetan); and in Christ's resurrection, ascension, and the sending of the Holy Spirit: for I beheld these things with my own eyes, and from them I drew a wondrous sweetness and grace of spirit. So the Gloss, Hugh, Dionysius, and others.
Secondly, I shall be a partaker and sharer of the same glory soon after this life and my martyrdom: for this St. Peter knew and awaited with firm hope, and, as Cajetan judges, with certain revelation. For Christ had said to him: "Follow Me," namely to the cross and martyrdom; whence St. John adds (21:19): "Signifying by what death he should glorify God." Therefore, says Cajetan, St. Peter had a revelation, not only of his predestination, but also of the laurel of martyrdom, and even of the time thereof, according to what he says (epist. II, ch. 1, v. 14): "I am certain that the laying down of my tabernacle is at hand, according as the Lord hath revealed to me." In like manner St. Pius, St. Polycarp, St. Cyprian, and other Pontiffs had a revelation of their own death and martyrdom.
Thirdly, Lyranus and the Carthusian expound "communicator" actively, as if to say: I, by preaching the faith and hope of the glory to be revealed in heaven, hand on and communicate it to the faithful. But κοινωνός is called "communicator" by the Greeks in a passive, not active sense.
Peter mentions heavenly glory, both because his mind was conversant in the heavens and panted after heavenly glory, and that he might lift up the souls of the Pastors and the faithful to heavenly things, and animate them by hope to undergo bravely all labors and contests for Christ; that "when the Prince of pastors shall appear, they may receive a never-fading crown of glory," verse 4. For this reason he says it is to be revealed in time to come, as if to say: In the present life one must labor up to the last breath; so in the future life heavenly glory and crown will be revealed and given to us. For the present life is one of labor and merit, the future will be one of rest and reward, according to that of Christ: "Your reward is great in the heavens," Matthew 5; and: "Your sorrow shall be turned into joy," John 16; and that of Paul: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; as for the rest, there is laid up for me the crown of justice, which the Lord, the just judge, shall render to me in that day," 2 Timothy 4.
Note first: St. Peter, as Pastor of the whole Church, here feeds the Pastors, that is the Bishops, instructing and directing them rightly to discharge their Pastoral office. For, as St. Leo says in his sermon 3 On His Anniversary: "From the whole world one Peter is chosen, who is set both over the calling of all the nations and over all the Apostles and all the Fathers; so that, although in the people of God there are many priests and many Pastors, yet Peter properly rules them all, whom Christ also principally rules." Hence what Christ said to Peter: "Feed My sheep," the same St. Gregory Nazianzen, Bishop of Constantinople, judged was said to himself through Peter, in his Apology for his flight. The same St. Chrysostom asserts was said to Basil the Bishop, book II On the Priesthood. Moreover, as Nazianzen says (Apol. 1): "It is the art of arts and the science of sciences to rule man, the most varied and manifold of all animals." And from that, St. Gregory at the beginning of the Pastoral: "The art of arts," he says, "and the science of sciences is the rule of souls." But we discharge it rightly if, as he himself says (book II, epistle 39), "by living and by speaking we win the souls of our neighbors; if we strengthen the weak in heavenly love; if we bend the obstinate and proud by sounding terribly the punishments of hell; if we spare no one against truth; if, devoted to heavenly friendships, we do not fear human enmities." Memorable is the sentence of St. Peter by which, as Onuphrius writes in the Lives of the Pontiffs, he resigned the pontificate to St. Clement: "In the year of Christ 68, the holy Pontiff Peter, a little before his death, when he knew by the Lord's revelation that the time of martyrdom was approaching, designated blessed Clement, an old Presbyter of the Holy Roman Church, as Roman Bishop and his successor by the imposition of hands, he consecrated him, and entrusting to him the Episcopal chair and the Roman Church to be ruled by him after his death, said: 'I,'" he said, "'hand on to thee the same power of binding and loosing which my Lord Jesus Christ left to me; in which, despising and contemning all things, both of body and of fortune, by prayer and by preaching take counsel for the salvation of men, as becomes a good Pastor.'"
St. Basil in Morals, Rule 80, ch. 15, asks what kind of men the preachers of the Gospel ought to be, and answers: first, as shepherds; secondly, as physicians; thirdly, as parents and nurses; fourthly, as God's helpers; fifthly, as planters of the branches of God; sixthly, as builders of the temple of God: all of which he proves from the words of Christ and Paul. "As Shepherds," he says, "of the sheep of Christ, who, whenever the time may demand it, hesitate not even to lay down their soul for them, that they may impart to them the Gospel. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep. Take heed to yourselves and to the whole flock, in which the Holy Spirit has placed you Bishops to rule the Church of God. As physicians: who, with great gentleness of mind, may skillfully, according to the doctrine of the Lord, heal the diseases of souls unto the gaining of that health and perseverance which is in Christ. They that are well need not a physician, but they that are ill. But we who are stronger ought to bear the infirmities of the weak. As parents and nurses of children, who out of the magnitude of that charity which is in Christ, are ready of a willing mind to share with them not only the Gospel of God, but their own life as well. 'My little children, I am yet a little while with you. For in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel. As if a nurse should cherish her own children, so being desirous of you affectionately, we were willing to deliver to you not only the Gospel of God but also our own souls, because you became most dear to us.' As God's helpers, who consecrate themselves wholly to works worthy of God alone, on behalf of the Church of God. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's tillage, you are God's building. As planters of the branches of God, who in the vine which is Christ leave nothing alien or unfruitful; and the things that are fitting and fertile they strive to make better, with all diligence applied. 'I am the true vine, and My Father is the husbandman. Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit, He will take it away; and every one that beareth fruit, He will purge it, that it may bring forth more fruit.' I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. As builders of the temple of God, who so handle the soul of each one that it may aptly fit the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets. According to the grace of God which is given to me, as a wise architect I have laid the foundation, but another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereon. For other foundation no man can lay another than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus. Therefore now you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom all the building, framed together, groweth into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are built together into a habitation of God in the Spirit."
Note secondly that St. Bernard, in sermon 2 On the Resurrection of Christ, observes that "Feed My sheep" was thrice repeated and said by Christ to St. Peter, to signify that they are to be fed in three ways, namely by mind, tongue, and hand. "Feed," he says, "by mind, feed by mouth, feed by deed: feed by the prayer of the soul, by the exhortation of the word, by the showing of example." The same, epistle 201: "Feed," he says, "by word, feed by example, feed by the fruit of holy prayers." The same, epistle 42 to Henry, Bishop of Sens: "Do not be hasty in judgment, nor vehement in vengeance: not too lax in correcting, not too severe in sparing, not faint-hearted in waiting; not excessive in food, nor remarkable in dress; not quick to promise, nor slow to repay, nor a prodigal giver." The same, sermon 66 on Canticles: "Let the successors of the Apostles be ashamed," he says, "to be not the light of the world, but of the bushel — and the darkness of the world. Let us say to them: 'You are the darkness of the world.'"
Note thirdly: Christ said to Peter, and through him to the other Bishops and Pastors: "Feed My sheep and lambs," not "yours," that He might more strongly commend His own faithful to them. For the word "sheep" signifies that Christ is their Pastor; the word "lambs" signifies that Christ is their father — nay rather, mother — inasmuch as He regenerated them in baptism and adopted them as sons to Himself. Wherefore truly and aptly says St. Bernard in his Sentences, near the beginning: "As great," he says, "as is the distance between Pastor and flock, so great ought to be the distance between Bishop and people. The one stands sublime and erect; the other bends his head pressed down to the ground." Whence the Poet: "And while the other animals look prone toward the earth, He gave to man a lofty face, and bade him gaze upon the heavens." "The one rules, the other is ruled; the one feeds, the other is fed; so that by the very form and habit each is distinguished: the one has in his hand a rod, with which he may strike, or rather lead and bring back the sheep. But what is it to have a rod in the hand, but discipline in action, that he may instruct his subjects by example more than by word? For the proud are ashamed to be disciples, if their teachers have gone before them in humility. Whence also it is written of the Lord: 'Jesus began to do and to teach.' He has also a staff, with which he may strike the wolf; with the rod, the sheep; with the staff, the wolf — that is, the mild and obedient he should correct gently, but the hard of heart and the wicked he should rebuke more sharply. He holds the dog on a leash, namely zeal in discretion; he has also bread in a wallet, that is, the word of God in memory." And after much else, more plainly: "It belongs to Pastors," he says, "to keep watch over the flock, on account of three things necessary, namely for discipline, for guard, and for prayers. For discipline, on account of the correction of morals, lest the entrusted flock fail by its own malice. For guard, on account of the devil's suggestion, lest it be seduced by hostile cunning. For prayers, on account of the urgency of temptations, lest it be conquered by faintheartedness. In discipline, the rigor of justice; in guard, the spirit of counsel; in prayer, the affection of compassion." See the same St. Bernard, in the five books On Consideration to Pope Eugenius, which are truly golden, and instruct the Pontiff in all things how he ought to rule the faithful. See also what is said in Ezekiel 3:4, and finally St. Gregory in the Pastoral.
Verse 2: Feed the Flock of God Which Is Among You, Taking Care of It, Not by Constraint, but Willingly, According to God
2. FEED THE FLOCK OF GOD WHICH IS AMONG YOU. — Peter had heard from Christ: "Peter, lovest thou Me?" and answering: "Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee," had received: "Feed My sheep"; and that was repeated three times by Christ. He now inculcates and hands over the same to others, as if to say: I, established by Christ as supreme pastor of the Church, have fed and feed His flock with all care, love, and solicitude: do you therefore, intermediate pastors subordinate and subject to me, perform the same. For this is the law and will of Christ, which He indicated to me, that I should insinuate it likewise to you. Moreover Christ alludes to David His ancestor: for David was a shepherd of sheep, and thence was made by God a king, that is, a shepherd of peoples, according to that of Psalm 77:70: "And He chose David His servant, and took him away from the flocks of sheep: from following the ewes great with young He took him. To feed Jacob His servant, and Israel His inheritance. And he fed them in the innocence of his heart, and led them in the understanding of his hands." For David was a type of Christ, equal to the father of Christ, who is the king and Pastor of the Pastors of the Church and of the whole world, according to that of Matthew 2:6: "Out of thee shall come forth a leader who shall rule" (Greek ποιμανεῖ, that is, shall feed) "my people Israel," after the manner of David likewise of Bethlehem. So Moses was called by God from feeding his flocks to feeding and ruling the Hebrews: for by feeding the sheep of Jethro, as in a gymnasium and prelude, he learned how he ought to feed men and the flock of the Lord, as I said on Exodus III. Therefore "feed" is the same as "rule," as St. Jerome reads (epist. 85); for the king, endowed with such prudence, charity, care, diligence, patience, ought to rule the people as a shepherd rules sheep so that he may feed and fatten them. For so God rules men as His own sheep, according to that of Psalm 22:1: "The Lord ruleth me;" Hebrew and Septuagint: "The Lord feedeth me"; St. Jerome: "The Lord is my Shepherd." Whence he adds: "And nothing shall be wanting to me, because in the place of pasture He hath set me there;" Hebrew, "in a green place"; Aquila and Symmachus, ἐν ὡραιότητι πόας, that is, in the beauty of the grass — namely, in the Church of Christ, which has the best pastures of Holy Scripture and the word of God, and of grace and of future glory.
WHICH IS AMONG YOU. — Greek ἐν ὑμῖν, which Fevardentius translates as: "That which is in you," that is, as much as you can, as much as you are able. But Our (Vulgate) translator rendered better, "which is among you," that is, which is subject and committed to you. Whence the Syriac translates, "which has been handed over to you." For just as juridically a kingdom is in the king, so the Church, that is the faithful people, is in its Pastor and Bishop, as in its ruler, head, and governor. Again, the phrase "which is among you" signifies that Dioceses and Parishes have been distributed, and to each is given its own Pastor and Bishop, who is to rule the one committed to him only, and may not invade another; whereas St. Peter and his successor the Roman Pontiff is Bishop and Pastor of absolutely all the faithful scattered through the whole world. Whence St. Cyprian, in his book On the Unity of the Church, says: "There is one Episcopate, of which a part is held by each one in solidum (in its entirety)." I except the Apostles: for they received power from Christ over the whole world; and so they were Bishops and Pastors of the whole world, yet so as to be subject to St. Peter. This St. Clement seems to have meant in his first epistle, where he calls St. James "Bishop of Bishops" and ruler of all the Churches. Wherefore Calvin (book IV Institutes, ch. VII) ineptly, from the fact that St. Peter exhorts others to feed his flock, infers that it did not pertain to Peter to feed it: for in the same way one would infer: "The king commands his viceroy, e.g. of Sicily, to rule justly the Sicilians whom he committed to him to be ruled: therefore the Sicilians are not ruled by the king, nor do they belong to him as subjects" — when on the contrary the inference must be made thus: "The king rules the Sicilians through the viceroy: therefore the Sicilians are subject to the king."
THE FLOCK OF GOD, — not your own. Hence St. Bernard, epistle 237, by these words of Peter admonishes Pope Eugenius, that as the heir of Peter he should listen to Peter, and not call the Church Sarai, that is, "my lady," but "Sara," that is, lady absolutely, because she is the lady and wife of Christ, who is the true Patriarch and Abraham of the Church. Wherefore St. Augustine, tractate 230 on John: "Those," he says, "who feed the sheep of Christ with this intention — that they should wish them to be their own and not Christ's — are convicted of loving themselves, not Christ; out of desire of boasting, of dominating, or of acquiring; not out of charity for obeying, helping, and pleasing God."
TAKING CARE, — ἐπισκοποῦντες, that is, looking out from above, superintending, watching over; the Syriac, Pagninus, and the Zurich version, "having care of it." Hence the name and office of Bishop, that is "superinspector," as St. Ambrose interprets in book I On the Dignity of the Priesthood, ch. 6, and "superintendent," as St. Jerome translates in epistle 85 to Evagrius. For it belongs to the Bishop to oversee the flock, as St. Augustine testifies in book XIX On the City of God, ch. 19. Hence in the Church he sits on a higher throne, that he may be able to look around upon all, rule and correct them, and in turn be seen and heard by all.
He explains the word "feed," and gives its various offices and modes. The first is, that they accurately inspect and survey their flock, and provide for it in everything: wherefore they ought to reside with it, and frequently visit and go among it. Hence residence is enjoined upon Bishops and Pastors by human and divine right, as the Council of Trent gravely teaches and decrees, sess. XXIII, ch. 1 On Reform. For when the Pastor is absent or asleep, the sheep sleep; when He is awake and whistling, they awake. Hence the Egyptians painted God the ruler of the universe as an eye standing on a staff, the eye representing providence, the staff power and rule. Thus Jacob — whom (as St. Gregory says) Holy Scripture sets forth as a model for Pastors and Bishops — kept watch and attended to his flock, Genesis 31:39: "Neither did I show thee that which the beast had taken; I made good all the damage; whatsoever was stolen by theft thou didst exact of me: day and night I was parched with heat and with frost, and sleep fled from mine eyes." So too, while the shepherds were keeping watch over their flock, an angel appeared, announcing the nativity of Christ, the Pastor of Pastors; concerning which St. Ambrose, book II on Luke, ch. 2: "It is well," he says, "that the shepherds keep watch, whom the Good Shepherd instructs." Thus recently our Father Canisius, as our Sacchinus relates in book III of his Life, wrote to Otto, Cardinal and Bishop of Augsburg, who was at Rome on business, and urged him to return immediately to his sheep. "I would prefer," he said, "that you live without this Episcopate, than that you delight in the title of Episcopate alone, and feed so negligently the sheep on whose wool you live. Let others look to emoluments and honors: I consider the speedy coming judgment, and the account to be rendered for the stewardship received, and the punishments prepared for the bad steward, and I am greatly afraid."
NOT BY CONSTRAINT, BUT WILLINGLY. — First, passively as regards the Pastors themselves, as if to say: You, O Pastors, undertake and discharge the office of Pastor, not constrained by the lack of temporal things, so that you may live off the revenues of the pastorate; but willingly, of your own accord, that you may help souls and direct them to God, hoping from Him an eternal reward in heaven. So Bede. Again and rather, as if to say: Not unwillingly and reluctantly, but willingly, generously, eagerly, and strenuously feed them, after the manner of Paul saying: "For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, a dispensation is committed to me."
Hence St. Gregory, in Pastoral Care, Part I, ch. VII, and St. Gregory Nazianzen in his Apology prefer Isaiah offering himself to God — "Behold I am, send me" — to Moses who declined the mission from God in Exodus 4:10. And St. Ambrose, on Psalm 118, octonary 14, adds that Isaiah, "as a voluntary instrument, was filled with a more abundant grace of the Spirit." This was especially the case at the rise of the Church, when the episcopate was a burden rather than an honor, and when bishops everywhere were dragged off to racks and tortures. Hence St. Gregory, Bk. IV, epist. 35, says he did not wish to compel anyone to undertake the episcopate. See what is said on 1 Timothy 3:1. This sense seems genuine, especially because for "by constraint" the Greek has ἀναγκαστῶς, that is, by necessity — as if to say: Feed not as compelled by the necessity of pasturing, by the office of Pastor laid upon you by the Apostles, but willingly out of love of God and zeal for souls; and this is what "according to God" signifies.
Secondly, however, it can be taken actively in regard to the sheep — as if to say: Feed the flock not so much by compelling them by force, as by enticing them by persuasion; not so much driving them with the rod, as inviting them by example, so that the flock may follow you not by constraint but willingly and be pastured in the pastures of Christ. So St. Gregory Nazianzen explains it in Apology 1, who also adds the reason: "For what is extorted by necessity, besides being tyrannical, is not even firm and stable. For whatever is forced violently, like a plant bent and twisted by hand, as soon as it is released, is wont to spring back; but what proceeds from free will is always at once most equitable and most certain, being bound and confirmed by the bonds of goodwill." And St. Ambrose, on Psalm 118, octonary 14: "The Lord," he says, "approves the spontaneous works of His servants rather than those that are forced; therefore He makes free men out of slaves, that we may offer Him more the gifts of our wills than the services of necessity." He proves this with many examples — of Paul, Jeremiah, Moses, Jonah, and Isaiah — which see in him. Let the Pastor therefore put on the bowels of charity, as Paul advises. For charity, as St. Bernard says in epist. 2, "is a good mother in a Pastor: when it reproves, it is mild; when it caresses, it is sincere; it is wont to rage piously, to soothe without guile, to be angry patiently, to be indignant humbly."
This is the second law and condition of pasturing and of the Pastor: namely, that he should pasture not by compulsion but willingly, and that he should not drive by force, but lead to duty by love. Understand this of when the sheep are such as are led by love; for some are of such a disposition that they would rather be driven by fear than led by love — such are the slothful and the refractory, as heretics, to whom that saying of Christ in Luke 14:23 applies: "Compel them to come in," as if to say: "Let necessity be found without, and the will shall arise within," says St. Augustine, sermon 33 On the Words of the Lord.
ACCORDING TO GOD. — These words are now lacking in the Greek, but were there of old; for they are cited by St. Ephrem (vol. II, parænesis 47), by St. Jerome (epist. 2), and by others. This is the third condition of pasturing and of the Pastor: that he should willingly pasture the flock according to God — namely, that he should eagerly undertake the pastoral office according to the will of God who laid it upon him; and therefore in pasturing he should look not to men but to God, intending to please and satisfy Him alone, looking to His glory alone, directing all the sheep to Him, and striving to rule them according to His mind, will, and precept — so that he may take care that they likewise serve God not by constraint but willingly. For in the primitive Church, when there were no riches or honors of the Church but only labors, perils, and martyrdom, many fled from episcopates and pastorates, and undertook those laid upon them by the Apostles as if compelled by their command, and therefore performed them grudgingly and slowly, not willingly, gladly, and readily. These St. Peter corrects here, and admonishes them to undertake it willingly, considering that this burden is laid upon them by God; that God therefore will be with them, and consequently let them embrace and undertake it spontaneously and eagerly out of love of God and reverence for Him. Thus τὸ "according to God" is the same as that "in the Lord" which Paul frequently uses, and can be expounded in four ways. First, as if to say: Let Pastors know that in feeding the flock of the Lord they serve the Lord, that they conduct the Lord's business, not man's. Second, that they pasture the flock not for a price, not for fear, not from greed, not to please men, but "in the Lord," that is, out of love of the one God and reverence for Him. Third, that just as servants do their work under the eye of their master, so they themselves should seriously pasture His flock before the Lord, according to that saying: "The master's eye fattens and feeds the horse." For servants, seeing the master's eye intent on his horse, diligently care for and feed it. Fourth, that they should look to the end — not their own glory but the glory of the one Lord. See Canon 25, which I prefixed to my Commentary on the Epistles of St. Paul. Some add that τῷ "according to God" signifies that it belongs to the Pastor to give the flock spiritual and divine pastures, and bodily ones only insofar as they relate to the spiritual, so that by feeding the body of the sheep he may more easily and better feed their souls. Thus St. Gregory, in Pastoral Care, Part II, ch. VII, gathers from this passage that the Pastor in caring for bodily things must be moderate, not excessive, lest he be diffused into external things and slay himself with the sword of ambition. Again from here gather that the Pastor's zeal should be "according to God," that is, true and discreet, not feigned and indiscreet. Truly the Poet:
Often crime has covered heaven with the veil of zeal.
For him to whom zeal is heaven, he does no crime.
Neither for the sake of filthy lucre. — This is the fourth condition of pasturing and of Pastors: that they should not gape after gain, which in them, as persons consecrated to God and to heaven, is base, foul, and sordid. St. Jerome complains in his Epistle to Nepotian and says: "Some are richer monks than they were when secular, and Clerics who possess riches under the poor Christ, which under the wealthy and deceitful devil they did not have — so that the Church groans for them as rich whom the world held before as beggars." He speaks of the avaricious who gathered wealth for themselves and their families; otherwise the holy Bishops, such as St. Paulinus, St. Hilary, and others — says St. Prosper, in De Vita Contemplativa, Bk. I, ch. IX and X — who had distributed their goods to the poor, received the offerings of the faithful for the Church, "knowing that the goods of the Church are nothing other than the vows of the faithful, the prices of sins, and the patrimonies of the poor. And therefore they were said, in possessing them, to despise them, because they possessed them not for themselves but for others; nor did they receive them out of desire of having, but out of piety to give relief." Wisely Simon of Cassia, in Bk. IX, ch. XVIII: "I would dare to say," he says, "that not even in their miracles did the Apostles appear so marvelous to the age as in their contempt of things; nor did they so move men by the efficacy of their word to newness of life by preaching, as by despising external goods."
Excellently St. Bernard, in epist. 42 to Henry, Archbishop of Sens: "By the example of the Apostle," he says, "you will honor your ministry — your ministry, I say, not your dominion. You will honor it then, not yourselves; for he who seeks his own, desires himself to be honored, not the ministry. You will honor it not by adornment of garments, not by the pomp of horses, not by spacious buildings, but by adorned conduct, by spiritual studies, by good works. How many do otherwise! In some priests is seen great adornment of garments, but of virtues none, or scant." And below: "Does it become a Pastor in the manner of cattle to lie down in bodily senses, to cling to the lowest, to gape after earthly things, and not rather to stand upright as a man, to gaze with the mind upon heaven, to seek and savor the things that are above, not those upon the earth, etc.? Tell me, Pontiffs, not indeed on holy things but on a bridle, what does gold do? Does gold drive away cold or hunger from the bridle? While we labor under cold and hunger, what does it profit us, all those changes of clothing either spread on poles or folded in trunks? What you pour out is ours; what you spend in vain is cruelly taken from us. We too are the workmanship of God, we too are redeemed by the blood of Christ; we therefore are your brothers. See what kind of thing it is to feast your eyes upon a brother's portion. Our life yields to you in superfluous abundance. Whatever is added to your vanities is taken from our necessities, etc., as if you had said: Let us possess the sanctuary of God by inheritance." And below: "In all his acts or words, let the Bishop seek nothing of his own, but only either the honor of God or the salvation of his neighbors, or both. For doing this, he will fulfill not only the office of Pontiff but also the etymology of the name, making himself indeed a bridge between God and his neighbor. This bridge reaches up to God by the confidence with which he seeks not his own glory but His. It reaches to his neighbor by that piety with which he desires not even himself to profit himself. The good mediator offers to God the prayers and vows of the people, bringing back to them from God blessing and grace." The same, epist. 23 to Atto, Bishop of Troyes: "Better," he says, "is righteousness incomparably than money, in that the one enriches and fills the chest, the other the soul. Finally, the priests of God are clothed with righteousness — much more becomingly and worthily than with gold or silk." The same, in epist. 24 to Gilbert, Bishop of London: "That is true and undoubted wisdom, which despises filthy gains and judges it unworthy of itself to enjoy fellowship with the slavery of idols. It was no great thing for Master Gilbert to become a Bishop, but for the Bishop of London to live poor — that plainly is magnificent. For the loftiness of dignity could add nothing of glory to so great a name, but the humility of poverty added much; to bear poverty with an even mind is the virtue of patience, but to seek it willingly is the praise of wisdom." To this point belongs the saying of Alcamenes, who when asked "how one might best preserve a kingdom," replied: "If he does not make much account of gain." So Plutarch in his Laconica.
BUT VOLUNTARILY. — προθύμως, that is, as Pagninus has it, promptly; the Zurich version, with a ready mind; the Syriac, with all the heart — namely, that being free from avarice and filthy lucre, he should expend himself entirely not for his own advantages but for those of the sheep. For the word "but" signifies that the "voluntarily" is opposed to the "not for the sake of filthy lucre," as if to say: Feed not greedily, in hope of gain, but liberally, with a liberal mind, expending yourselves entirely in the service of God and in the salvation of souls. Wisely Cicero, in De Officiis, Bk. I: "Altogether," he says, "those who shall preside over the Republic should hold two precepts of Plato: one, that they so guard the welfare of the citizens that whatever they do they refer to it, forgetful of their own advantages; the other, that they care for the whole body of the Republic, lest while they protect some part, they desert the rest." See the maxims of Isocrates, where he confirms the same with many examples.
Verse 3: Neither as Lording It Over the Clergy, but Being Made a Pattern of the Flock From the Heart
3. Neither as lording it over the clergy. — Greek κατακυριεύοντες τῶν κλήρων, that is, lording it over the clergy, or against the clergy, as the arrogant and tyrants do, who strive impotently to rule and dominate others. This is the fifth condition of the Bishop and Pastor: namely, that he should not be imperious, nor imperiously vex the Church, which is the clergy, that is, the lot and inheritance of the Lord. So of old Israel was called נחלה nachalah, that is, the lot and inheritance of the Lord, according to that of Deuteronomy 32:9: "But the Lord's portion is His people, Jacob the cord of His inheritance."
By "clergy" then, first, can be understood the faithful people, who are distributed into various "clergies," that is, lots, portions, Churches, and congregations: for of this he subjoins, "But being made a pattern to the flock," that is, of the faithful people. So St. Cyril, on Isaiah, Bk. I, oration 3: "Let them not lord it," he says, "over the clergy, that is, the people, who is the Lord's lot;" so also the Syriac, Œcumenius, and others. Thus Paul of Samosata was once blamed because in his episcopate he affected the grades of secular honors, and strove to dominate in them, to such a degree that he despoiled the people, and walking with great pomp and pride wished to be called an angel, and ordered psalms to be sung about himself, not about Christ, as Eusebius testifies, Bk. VII, ch. XXVI.
Excellently St. Augustine in his Rule: "Let him," he says, "who presides over you esteem himself happy not by dominating cupidity, but by serving charity;" and the Author of the Imperfect Work, expounding that of Matthew 20:23 — "The princes of the Gentiles lord it over them, etc.; it shall not be so among you, but whosoever will be greatest among you, let him be your minister" — speaks thus: "The princes of the Church are such, that they may serve their inferiors, that they may minister to them as they have received from Christ, and neglect their own advantages and procure those of others, so that, if need be, they refuse not even to die for the salvation of their inferiors, as the Apostle: 'I,' he says, 'will most gladly spend and be spent myself for your souls,' 2 Cor. 12:15."
Second, by "clergies" can be understood Clerics, who are properly the clergy, that is, the lot of the Lord, and are distributed into various particular clergies, that is, lots, orders, and grades. For some are Lectors, others Exorcists, others Ostiaries, others Deacons, others Subdeacons, etc. Again, one clergy was at Antioch, another at Tyre, another in Pontus, another in Bithynia; for as many as were the Churches, so many were the clergies. "Let the Cleric," says St. Jerome to Nepotian, "interpret his name, and once the definition of the name is set forth, let him strive to be what he is called. For if κλῆρος in Greek is in Latin called 'lot,' therefore they are called Clerics either because they are of the Lord's lot, or because the Lord Himself is the lot, that is, the portion, of the Clerics." The same, in epistle 2: "This I say, that Bishops should know they are priests, not lords; let them honor Clerics as Clerics, that honor may be paid them by the Clerics as to Bishops. Well known is that saying of the orator Domitius: 'Why,' he said, 'should I hold you as a prince, when you do not hold me as a senator?'" And in epistle 3: "A King rules over the unwilling, a Bishop over the willing; the former subjects by terror, the latter is given over to servitude; the former guards bodies for death, the latter preserves souls for life." St. Peter therefore commands Bishops and Pastors not to wish to lord it imperiously over inferior Clerics, lest contentions, discords, and quarrels arise among them, which would wound fraternal charity and scandalize the people, but to preside over them modestly, that they may be loved, honored, and helped by them. Wherefore St. Basil, in Rule 43 among those more amply discussed: "Meekness of manners," he says, "and humility of heart — let these be the chief marks of a prelate. For such was Christ, who said: Learn of Me, for I am meek and humble of heart."
This second sense, that by "clergies" we understand Clerics and their various grades and orders, is very fitting. First, because it is natural for some Bishops of a more elevated mind to wish to lord it over the clergy; for these are more subject to them than the laity, and that is what the word "clergy" signifies. Indeed some hold that the word "clergy" was attributed to Clerics from the election of St. Matthias, who was chosen to the apostleship by lot (κλῆρος), as I said in Acts 1:26. Hence you see how ancient is the name of clergy and Cleric, and its distinction from layman, which heretics wrongly deny. Second, because in the clergy properly are clergies, that is, various lots and grades of Clerics, as I have already said. Third, because Bishops and Pontiffs have prescribed many laws, canons, rites, and ceremonies for Deacons, Subdeacons, and other Clerics, as is plain from Canon Law. Privately also some exact more from them, commanding now this, now that, and command them as masters, according to that of Christ concerning the old Pontiffs: "They bind heavy and unbearable burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but with their own finger they will not move them," Matthew 23:4. Fourth, because many for "in clergies" read "in the clergy," and expound it of the Clerics. So the VII General Synod, canon 4, where from these words of Peter it concludes that the Bishop ought to exact nothing from the Clerics subject to him; St. Jerome, epist. 2; St. Ephrem, in the work De Pœnitentia injungenda; St. Bernard, epist. 237, and others. Fifth, because St. Peter alludes to the Levites, who in the Old Testament were the Lord's clergy, that is, lot and inheritance, because they received the firstfruits, tithes, and offerings made to God as God's domestics and ministers, Numbers 18:20; Deuteronomy 18:2. St. Peter therefore admonishes Bishops here to modesty, that they may rule their Clerics modestly, namely more by example than by precept, that they may become the pattern of the flock — that is, both of Clerics and consequently of laymen, for the people is wont to follow the clergy. St. Dionysius, following St. Peter, in epist. 8: "This," he says, "the divine and supreme Pontiff Christ takes as the argument of His exceeding love for Himself: if we pasture His sheep with the most modest governance." So Moses, Pontiff and prince of the Synagogue, was the meekest of all men of his time, Numbers 12:3. So too of David it is said in Psalm 131:1: "Remember, Lord, David, and all his meekness." So Probus, sending St. Ambrose to Milan to quell a tumult of the people: "Go," he said, "act not as a judge, but as a Bishop." This was an omen and as it were an oracle. For he acted as a Bishop, and therefore by the voice of the people was acclaimed and created Bishop, who accordingly in Bk. III, epist. 9, mindful of this omen of himself: "We rather," he says, "wish and desire to conquer the contumelies of individuals by clement patience than to vindicate them with sacerdotal license;" and St. Leo, epist. 84, ch. 1: "Although sometimes," he says, "things to be reproved happen in priestly persons, yet in correcting them benevolence should do more than severity, exhortation than commotion, charity than power. But by those who seek the things that are their own, not the things of Jesus Christ, this law is easily departed from; and while they seek to dominate rather than to take counsel for their subjects, honor pleases, pride puffs up, and what was provided for concord tends to harm." Hence Bishops and Pastors are called Fathers, that they may know that they are to preside over them as fathers over sons, not as kings or tyrants over slaves. Hence the Pope is Father of fathers, indeed Servant of the servants of God. Hence St. Isidore: "Let the Bishop," he says, "acknowledge himself to be a servant, not a lord; let him show himself such to his subjects, that he may shine forth not only by authority, but also by humility."
Wisely St. Bernard, in De Consideratione, Bk. IV, to Eugenius, teaches him and Prelates how they ought to mix gravity with mildness, lest either on account of the former, if excessive, they become objects of distaste and hatred, or on account of the latter, of contempt. "Be," he says, "grave, but not austere, not dissolute, nor severe, but hold a middle course between them, that you may neither be a burden by severity, nor be despised by familiarity. Austerity drives away the weaker, gravity restrains the lighter; in the Palace show yourself a Pope, at home a paterfamilias; let your domestics love you. If not, see to it that they fear you. The custody of the mouth is always useful, which yet should not exclude the grace of familiarity; that bearing is more becoming, if you are severe in act, serene in countenance, serious in speech." Indeed St. Augustine, following St. Paul in Galatians 4:19 (where he says: "My little children, of whom I am in labor again, until Christ be formed in you"), makes himself a mother of his subjects: "Consider me," he says, "to be a mother of your souls, and as wishing so to compose you, that in you neither spot nor wrinkle may be able to appear before the tribunal of the eternal Judge. For desiring to provide for your souls not only ornaments but also medicines, I labor to sew together what is unstitched, to mend what is torn, to heal what is wounded, to wash what is sordid, to repair what is lost, and to adorn with spiritual pearls those things which are whole."
The Gentiles saw the same by the light of nature, as Christ insinuates, saying: "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and they that have power over them are called beneficent," Luke 22:25. "Beneficent," in Greek εὐεργέται, as Ptolemy Euergetes was called, on account of benefits conferred on his subjects; on the contrary, he is a tyrant who in ruling consults his own good and honor, not that of his subjects. True princes therefore are more ministers of the commonwealth than masters. Thus Antigonus, king of the Macedonians, seeing his son ruling his subjects too insolently: "Do you not know, my son," he said, "that our kingdom is a splendid servitude?" So Aelian, in Var. Historia, Bk. II.
The first king of the Lacedæmonians was called Agis (and from him many afterwards were called Agis), that is, leader, from ἄγω, that is, I lead, because he ruled clemently, leading rather than dominating, as the ram goes before and leads the flock. Hence Plistarchus, son of Leonidas, when asked why the kings of the Lacedæmonians did not derive their cognomen from the ancient kings, replied: "Because they preferred to lead rather than to reign — their successors not at all." He alluded to the name Agis, that is, leader; but Plistarchus is the same as ruling over many. So Plutarch in his Laconica.
Let the Pastor therefore consider that he is not the master of his subjects, but their tutor, that he may instruct them, as it were sons of a great king, in good morals, and may direct and lead them to eternal life — as one of the Saints said — and accordingly so deal with them that they may dare and rejoice to trust themselves to him, to open to him their consciences, temptations, and necessities, and to have recourse to him in all things as to a father, indeed a mother.
BUT BEING MADE A PATTERN OF THE FLOCK FROM THE HEART. — This is the sixth law, dowry, and condition of the Pastor, namely that he should be a form, that is, an exemplar of life to his flock; this form he opposes to domination — as if to say: Let them not dominate by command, but by example, that they may prescribe to the faithful the form of a holy life by living holily. To St. Peter St. Paul accords this, dictating the rule for Timothy, Bishop of Ephesus, in 1 Epistle, ch. IV, v. 12: "Be," he says, "an example to the faithful in word, in conversation, in charity, in faith and chastity;" and to Titus, Bishop of Crete, ch. II, v. 7: "In all things show yourself an example of good works, in doctrine, in integrity, in gravity:" where in the Greek for "example" is the same word τύπος, which the translator here renders "form," because, as St. Jerome explains on Titus II, Paul desires "that Timothy or any Prelate be like an archetype or primary form, from which living likenesses of virtues are expressed by the lineaments of an honest life transferred into themselves." And St. Chrysostom there: "Let," he says, "the doctrine and exemplar of your virtue be to all a mirror of life, set forth to all for imitation, as a kind of primary image, having in itself all things that are good and honest." And Primasius there: "Lest," he says, "you destroy by example what you say." Give therefore, O Prelate, to your subjects a form, that is, an exemplar of right living. Let it not be enough for you to go before the people in face and place, but study likewise to go before in virtue and works of piety, that so the people may even spontaneously, without your thinking of it, emulate you. "Let life command, let the tongue persuade," says St. Athanasius to the Monks. So in the Cherubic chariot, Ezekiel 1:19, which is a type of the Church, the wheels follow the motion of the Cherubim — that is, the faithful follow the motion and action of the Prelates (for these are mystically the Cherubim of God).
Cicero, in Philippic I, condemns that saying of insolent Rectors concerning their subjects: "Let them hate, provided they fear," because, he says, "it is better to be loved than feared."
Agesilaus, king of Sparta, when asked "what qualities a king should have," said: "Against enemies, boldness; toward his subjects, benevolence; and in opportune moments, reason and counsel." So Stobaeus, sermon 52.
Cyrus, king of the Persians, most warlike, used to say that no one should undertake principality unless he were better than those over whom he would assume command. So Plutarch, in Apophthegmata of kings.
Antoninus Pius the Emperor, when at the beginning of his reign he was rebuked for absolving certain accused men, replied that "a principate should be inaugurated not by punishments but by clemency." So Xiphilinus in his Life.
Marcus Antoninus Verus held that an Emperor was protected not by ranks of bodyguards, but by the beneficence and benevolence of the citizens. So Herodian, Bk. I.
For just as boys, while they learn to write and paint, look at the exemplar shaped for them by their master and try to express it, so the people, says Isidore of Pelusium in Bk. III, epist. 359, look at and imitate the morals of Prelates; for the people are before the Prelates, and act and are acted upon like a boy. Thus Paul presented himself to the faithful as a form and norm of living. "Be imitators of me, brethren," he says, "and observe those who walk so as you have our form," in Greek τύπον, that is, type and exemplar, Philippians 3:17; and he praises the Thessalonians for their virtue, 1 Thess. ch. I: "So that you became," he says, "a pattern to all who believe in Macedonia."
Excellently St. Jerome to Nepotian, epist. 2: "Let not your works," he says, "contradict your speech, lest when you speak in the church, anyone silently answer: Why do you not yourself do these things you say? A delicate teacher is he who, with a full belly, disputes about fasts. Even a robber can accuse avarice. Let the mouth, mind, and hands of Christ's priest agree." And to the same effect St. Gregory, on Job ch. XXVIII, near the end: "It is a law," he says, "laid upon preachers, that they fulfill what they hasten to persuade by speaking. For the authority of speech is lost when the voice is not aided by work; that voice penetrates the heart of the hearer which confirms by work what it has uttered." To the same purpose are the things Cassiodorus writes in Theodoric's name, in Var. Epist. Bk. V, 22: "For the speech is a kind of mirror of the agent's morals, nor can there be a greater testimony of the mind than the quality of the words inspected." And in Epist. 21: "Act, lest your own speech be cast in your teeth, because it is the weight of the gravest shame to be convicted by one's own voice." Again Bk. XI, Epist. 8: "For speech cannot have authority that is not aided by example, since it is unjust to enjoin good things and not to have done such things." David therefore, in Psalm 131:9, admonishes priests, who ought to be teachers of the Church, "that they may put on righteousness." In which place St. Gregory thus writes: "What else ought we to understand by the priest's garments than right works, the Prophet attesting, who says: Let Thy priests be clothed with righteousness." Then alluding to the vestment of the Aaronic Pontiff, from which were hung suspended golden bells, he adds: "Bells therefore cling to his garments, that with the sound of the tongue, the priest's good works also may proclaim the way of life."
Let Princes and Prelates therefore remember that they are placed on a lofty summit, where they are seen by all, and that the eyes of all are turned upon them, and that all their deeds and words are observed and noted by the eyes of many subjects: for a city set upon a mountain cannot be hid, as Christ says. Truly Seneca, in De Clementia, ch. VIII, addressing a prince: "To you," he says, "no more than to the sun does it happen to lie hid; there is much light against you: the eyes of all are turned upon it." And in Cassiodorus, Bk. III to Argolicus, Theodoric: "That brightness (he speaks of the Prefect of the City) does not allow him to commit anything which the fickle crowd could fail to know; placed in the midst, he draws the gaze of all upon himself, and the report of the people promulgates the judgment of his whole life." And Bk. XI, Epist. 6: "What you have done within the chancels cannot lie hid: for you hold lighted doors and open enclosures; and however carefully you close them, you must necessarily lay yourself open to all: for if you stand outside, you will be examined by my eyes; if you enter within, you cannot escape the gaze of those who are watching. See where antiquity has wished to place you — you are seen on every side, you who move in that brightness."
Nor are those things to be passed over which Plutarch writes in his Politica: "Each one," he says, "ought to cultivate his life and morals, that he may altogether be free from every mark of reproach — especially since of those who preside over the Commonwealth, not only single words and only those things publicly done, but also virtue, both jests and serious matters, every household, the family itself, the wife, and the bedchamber are more curiously examined." And elegantly Claudian:
This besides I shall often warn you in speech,
That you may know yourself to live in the middle of the whole earth's globe,
That your deeds are open to all peoples, nor can secret
Ever be granted to royal vices; for the highest light of fate
Suffers nothing to be hidden, and enters through all hiding-places, etc.
Wherefore "nothing is more shameful than to be excellent in summit and despicable in vileness," says Salvian, in Bk. II Ad Ecclesiam. For a prince is an animate rule and a living law of the people. Briefly, but acutely and forcefully, St. Bernard, in De Consideratione, Bk. II to Eugenius, ch. VII: "A monstrous thing," he says, "the highest grade and the lowest mind; the first seat and the lowest life; a magniloquent tongue and an idle hand; much speech and no fruit; a grave countenance and a light act; immense authority and tottering stability." Wherefore St. Ambrose, epist. 6 to Irenæus: "Let our way," he says, "be narrower, our virtue more abundant, our path more straitened, our faith more sublime, our track narrower, the vigor of mind overflowing, our paths straight, our exit to higher things." St. Chrysostom, in De Sacerdotio, Bk. II: "Let those come forward," he says (to the pastoral function, to the episcopate), "who far excel all, and who excel the rest in virtue of mind as much as Saul excelled the Hebrew nation in greatness of body — or rather much more." The Author of the Imperfect Work, hom. 43: "Let men," he says, "hear you commanding small things, and see you doing great ones." St. Gregory, in Pastoral Care, Part I, ch. III: "Let the Pastor," he says, "be outstanding in action, that by living he may proclaim the way of life to his subjects; and let the flock which follows the Pastor's voice and morals walk better by examples than by words. That voice penetrates more readily the hearts of the hearers, which the life of the speaker commends; and the best pastures of the sheep are the Pastor's examples." Such was St. Malachy, Archbishop of Ireland, who, as St. Bernard testifies, was wont to say to his own: "I refuse not to die, that you may keep the example of my life. For he himself, says St. Bernard, was the rule of the Brethren: they read in his life how they should live. Poor to himself, but rich to the poor, he was father of orphans, husband of widows, devout in compassion, free in correcting."
The same Bernard, in De Consideratione, Bk. IV, ch. I and II, admonishes Pope Eugenius, that before all others he should reform his court and the Roman Church, and set it before the whole Church as a form and example. "Around you," he says, "are your clergy and your people, of whom you are specially the bishop, and through this you are bound by a special care as debtor. These also who daily attend you are the elders of the people, judges of the world, etc. And first indeed it is fitting that that clergy be most well-ordered, from which especially the form of the clergy has gone forth into the whole Church. Then, every wrong done in your presence is more shameful to you. It concerns the glory of your sanctity that those whom you have before your eyes be so ordered, so formed, that they be themselves the mirror, themselves the form of all honesty and order. They ought above others to be found prompt to their offices, fit for the Sacraments, solicitous to instruct the people, circumspect in keeping themselves in all chastity." And ch. IV: "Let them be composed in morals, approved in sanctity, prepared for obedience, gentle for patience, subject to discipline, rigid for censure, Catholic in faith, faithful in dispensation, concordant for peace, conformed to unity. Who be upright in judgment, provident in counsel, discreet in commanding, industrious in arranging, strenuous in acting, modest in speaking, secure in adversity, devout in prosperity, sober in zeal, not slack in mercy, not idle in leisure, not dissolute in lodging, not lavish at table, not anxious in care of family affairs, not covetous of others' goods, not prodigal of their own, circumspect everywhere and in all things, etc., who being sent forth do not go after gold but follow Christ; who present to kings a John, to Egyptians a Moses, to fornicators a Phineas, an Elias to idolaters, an Elisha to the avaricious, a Peter to liars, a Paul to blasphemers, a Christ to the trafficking, etc. Who do not, from the dowry of the widow and the patrimony of the Crucified, hasten to enrich themselves or theirs, giving freely what they have freely received."
FROM THE HEART. — as if to say: Not in pretense, not for outward show, not affectedly, not feignedly and hypocritically, but truly, really, sincerely, from the soul and the whole heart strive to be a form and norm of holy and Christian life to the faithful. For many put on a devout and religious countenance, but have an irreligious mind, or certainly a vain and wandering one. Such were the Scribes and Pharisees, whom accordingly Christ blames and calls whitewashed sepulchers, Matthew 23:27. These St. Gregory compares to the ostrich, because "they retain the life of sanctity in appearance like a feather of flight, but do not exercise the works," he himself says, in Moralia Bk. XXXV, ch. V, otherwise VI; for the ostrich has feathers but does not fly.
Verse 4: And When the Prince of Pastors Shall Appear, You Shall Receive a Never-Fading Crown of Glory
4. AND WHEN THE PRINCE OF PASTORS SHALL APPEAR, — Christ the Lord, who says: "I am the good Shepherd: the good Shepherd gives His life for His sheep," etc. John 10:11.
You shall receive an unfading (concerning this epithet see what was said on ch. I, v. 4), CROWN OF GLORY. — The Scholastics, besides the essential crown and glory common to all the blessed, give to Doctors (such as Bishops and Pastors) also an accidental crown, which they call the aureola; for they constitute three aureolas: first, of Martyrs; second, of Virgins; third, of Doctors, which were represented by the three crowns of the tabernacle: namely, the crown of the altar of incense represented the aureola of Martyrs (Exodus 30:3); the crown of the ark represented the aureola of Virgins (Exodus 25:21); the crown of the table of showbread represented the aureola of Doctors (Exodus 25:25). For the Doctor gives doctrine to the soul as his bread. See St. Thomas and the Scholastics, in Book IV, dist. 49.
Furthermore, both crowns — that of Doctors and that of Pastors — will be immense and exceptional. First, because it will correspond to their immense charity, by which they strove to save and perfect not only their own souls but also those of very many others.
Second, because it will correspond to the zeal with which they propagated the kingdom and glory of God: whoever, therefore, has had greater zeal and labor, his glory and laurel will likewise be greater.
Third, because the glory of subjects will be the glory of Pastors: as many crowns therefore as holy Pastors will have, so many will be the crowns of the subjects whom they led to salvation, according to that of St. Paul, 1 Thess. 2:19: "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of glory? Are not you before our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? For you are our glory and joy." Thus on the day of judgment St. Thomas will draw after him India, Andrew Achaia, John Asia, Paul the whole world, says St. Gregory, hom. 17 in Evang.: which truly will be an immense glory and crown. Thus in the Life of St. Aldegunda we read that St. Amandus appeared to her surrounded by a great multitude of Saints converted by him, among whom he himself stood out like a giant in stature and glory; while all looked to him as to a master and parent, and ascribed their received crowns to him.
Wherefore this crown is called the crown of glory: "crown," because it is given as a prize to him who pastures, a reward to him who contends, a wage to him who labors; "of glory," first, that is, glorious. Second, "of glory," because it is woven not of roses or gems, but of various endowments of heavenly glory. Third, "of glory," that is, of magnificence, majesty, and divine splendor — as if to say: This crown will be magnificent, full of divine majesty and splendor, because it will make them crowned sons and heirs of the heavenly kingdom, and therefore kings and priests of God, according to that of Apocalypse 5:10: "You have made us a kingdom and priests to our God, and we shall reign on the earth;" and Wisdom 6:17: "They shall receive a kingdom of beauty and a diadem of grace from the hand of the Lord." Hence by hypallage "crown of glory" can be taken to mean the glory of the crown, that is, the glory of the kingdom, or from the glory of the crown — that is, encircling on every side, encompassing, adorning and blessing the holy Pastor. Fourthly, "of glory," because there is also a crown "of grace" in this life, to which in the life to come the crown of glory will correspond on equal terms, according to that of Psalm XX, 4: "Thou hast prevented him with blessings of sweetness; Thou hast set on his head a crown of precious stone," on which words St. Bernard, in Sermon 39 among the lesser ones, says: "A threefold blessing, he says, is necessary for us: prevenient, helping, and consummating: the first of mercy, the second of grace, the third of glory. Mercy goes before conversion, grace assists conversation, glory perfects consummation." And St. Dionysius, Eccles. Hierarch., chap. II: "The Lord, he says, sets forth rewards to those who contend, as God; He laid down the laws of the contest as a wise One, and appointed beautiful and most splendid prizes for the victors; and, what is truly more divine, He Himself, since He is supremely merciful and good, conquers in His own warriors, while dwelling in them He fights for their salvation and victory against the empire of death and corruption."
Verse 5: In Like Manner, Ye Young Men, Be Subject to the Elders
5. LIKEWISE, YE YOUNGER ONES, BE SUBJECT TO THE ELDERS.
By "younger ones," in Greek νεώτεροι, that is, juniors, understand by catachresis any inferiors and subordinates. For because the elders, on account of their wisdom, are wont to preside and rule, while the younger are wont to be subjected and ruled, hence the elders are called superiors, and the younger subordinates. Whence from the elders (senes) the senate took its name. But chiefly by "younger ones" understand the Clerics of the lower Orders, such as Deacons, Lectors, and Exorcists: for it is fitting that these above all should be subject to their seniors — in Greek πρεσβυτέροις, that is, to the priests. For just as a little before he commanded the Presbyters not to lord it over the clergy, that is, the lesser and younger Clerics: so in turn he warns these latter not to behave insolently against the Presbyters, but to submit themselves to them. So Cajetan, Salmeron, Arias and others. For this is required by due subordination and hierarchical order. The same lesson, shortly after St. Peter, was given by St. Ignatius, epist. 7 to the Tarsians: "Presbyters, he says, be subject to the Bishop, Deacons to Presbyters, the people to Presbyters and Deacons. Those who have observed this decorum of order — for their souls I will gladly exchange my own." And to the Smyrnaeans, epist. 10: "Let all your affairs therefore be carried out in fitting order: let laymen be subject to Deacons, Deacons to Presbyters, Presbyters to the Bishop, the Bishop to Christ, as He Himself to the Father."
Lastly, it is fitting that all young men should reverence their elders, and allow themselves to be directed by them. For grey hair is venerable, both because of experience and wisdom, and because of the moderation of the passions which in young men, on account of the abundance of blood and heat, boil up and rage strongly, according to that of Sirach VI, 35: "Stand in the multitude of prudent Presbyters, and join thyself with thy heart to their wisdom, that thou mayest hear all the narrative of God." Whence St. Ambrose, in his book On Widows: "Adolescence, he says, is near to falling; in young men the surge of various lusts inflames the fervor of their heated age." For which reason the same, in book I of the Offices, chap. XVII: "It belongs, he says, to good young men to have the fear of God, to render honor to parents, to show reverence to elders, to guard chastity, not to despise humility, to love clemency and modesty, which are the ornaments of lesser age. For just as in the elderly gravity, in young men cheerfulness, so in adolescents modesty is commended, as it were by a certain gift of nature."
The Philosophers also saw and sanctioned the same. Diogenes said to a young man who was blushing and therefore disturbed: "Be of good cheer, my son; such is the tincture of virtue." So Laertius in his Life. Demetrius of Phalerum admonished young men, "that at home they should reverence their parents, in the street those they meet, and in solitude themselves." So Laertius, book V, chap. v. Socrates exhorted the young to have these three things: "in the mind, prudence; on the tongue, silence; on the face, modesty," as Maximus says in sermon 41.
AND ALL OF YOU TO ONE ANOTHER (the Greek adds ὑποτασσόμενοι, that is, being subordinated, namely in that order which he has just stated: "Younger ones, be subject to elders") INSINUATE HUMILITY.
The translator seems to have read ἐγκολπώσασθε, that is, "insinuate"; for κόλπος means "bosom." Thus "insinuate" means, "have in your bosom," that is, prompt and ready in mind and heart, so that you may immediately offer and display it to others. So the Gloss and Hugo. Secondly, and rather more aptly: "insinuate" humility one toward another, that is, instil it mutually into the bosom of another, so that it may enter and penetrate the bosom of another's soul, and reconcile him to you and to Christ, and provoke him to repay humility and charity. For so orators in their exordium employ insinuation, by which they insinuate themselves into the minds of their hearers and conciliate them to themselves, so that they may eagerly and avidly hear and receive what they are about to say. "Insinuation," says Cicero in book I of the Invention, "is a kind of speech which by a certain dissimulation and circumlocution obscurely steals into the hearer's mind;" and, as Servius says on the XI Aeneid, "it is a cunning and subtle approach to persuasion." Such an insinuation to Christians is humility, which conciliates and binds all to itself. So Lucretius, book VI, says: "The sun insinuates its heat through the partitions of houses." So Propertius, book III, elegy 9, says that Caesar insinuates his wealth, that is, sends it into the bosom. So the sea insinuates itself through the bay of the land. So the flatterer insinuates himself into the mind of a prince.
But the Greek everywhere has ἐγκομβώσασθε (for which the Royal codices read ἐγκοπώσασθε, with the same sense), which firstly can be translated "knot it on tightly, hold it as if bound by knots." For Hesychius in his Lexicon translates it ἐνδέθητε, that is, knotted, bound: so Vatablus, Hesselius and others; whence the Zurich version translates, "have humility of soul fixed in you"; Pagninus, "have it bound on you." "For humility consists not in dress, nor in lowering of the neck, nor in submission of voice, but in constancy of soul," says Nazianzen, oration 13. Secondly, it can be rendered "embrace, put on, enwrap, adorn yourselves." For Hesychius also translates it κολλήσατε. So Œcumenius: "Embrace humility, he says, on every side, so that you may seem to be clothed and enveloped on every side by it." This our Latin translator acutely and aptly rendered "insinuate," from a bosom — not of the breast, but of garments. For so a sinuous robe is called, one which has many folds and sinuses, concerning which Ovid in Metamorphoses II:
..... The trembling garments are bellied out by the breeze,
that is, they are shaped, gathered into folds, or collected into bosoms. And Statius, in book X of the Thebaid, speaks of "filling the insinuated cloak with something." Hence also the sail of a ship is called a "sinus," because when the winds blow it curves and forms a hollow. Whence Ovid:
And to spread out full sails with a curved bosom.
And Virgil, in the V Aeneid: "And he turns the sail aslant into the wind." St. Peter therefore says: "Humility one toward another" ἐγκομβώσασθε, that is, enwrap and insinuate, so that as in a garment one fold and one sinus insinuates itself into another, and this into another continuously, and so makes a beautifully sinuous garment, gracefully drawn out and arranged in folds: so likewise let Christians do — let one insinuate himself, by humility, as it were a fold, into the bosom of another, and this into another continuously; and so all together will form one Ecclesiastical garment as it were, sinuous, joined together, ordered, composed, and elegant, which will both refresh the minds of the faithful and entice the minds of unbelievers, so that they will desire to insert themselves into the same and become Christians. Whence the Syriac translates: Be ye clothed about with meekness of mind, one toward another. For St. Peter had said that Presbyters ought not to lord it over the clergy, that is, over Clerics as well as laymen, and that these latter, as juniors and lesser, ought to submit themselves to the Presbyters. Now he prescribes the manner in which each is to render this, namely humility, if both Presbyters, by lowering themselves to the juniors, and juniors, by submitting themselves to the Presbyters, exhibit and insinuate this same humility. For so both will together fashion one garment, as it were, of the Church, and one robe elegantly composed of various folds and sinuses.
For just as the projecting or outer fold fits itself appropriately and insinuates itself to the lower or inner fold, and conversely the inner to the outer: so likewise humility brings it about that the superior accommodates and insinuates himself to the inferior, and in turn the inferior to the superior; and so all together form one elegant cyclas-robe of concord, peace, and charity. With St. Peter agrees St. Paul, Philippians II, 2: "Fulfil ye my joy, that you be of one mind, having the same charity, being of one accord, agreeing in sentiment, doing nothing through contention, neither through vainglory, but in humility, each esteeming others better than themselves." For humility coordinates superiors with inferiors, and subordinates these to superiors.
Humility therefore is the parent of order, concord, peace, charity, and so on. "Humility," says Cassian in Collations XV, chap. vii, "is the mistress of all the virtues; it is the firmest foundation of the heavenly building; it is the proper and magnificent gift of the Saviour;" and St. Basil in his monastic Constitutions, chap. XVII: "Humility, he says, is the safest treasury of all the virtues." The same, in his sermon On the Renunciation of Things: "Humility, he says, is a net which encompasses all the virtues." St. Hilary on Psalm CXVIII, the letter Res, teaches that the head and sum of all the commandments consists in humility. "In humility, he says, He (Christ) taught that all the names and rewards of faith are contained." The same on Psalm CXXX: "The measure of humility and of loftiness is to be kept, that we may be humble in heart but exalted in mind and soul." St. Leo, Sermon 7 On the Epiphany, vigorously: "The whole, he says, discipline of Christian wisdom consists not in abundance of words, not in subtlety of disputation, nor in the appetite for praise and glory, but in true and voluntary humility, which the Lord Jesus Christ, from His mother's womb up to the punishment of the cross, both chose and taught as the strength of all strengths." And a little before: "The whole victory of the Saviour, which conquered both the devil and the world, was conceived in humility, accomplished in humility."
St. Gregory, in book XXXIV of the Morals, chap. xviii, or according to another edition, chap. xxiii: "The most evident sign of the reprobate, he says, is pride, but of the elect, humility." And St. Athanasius, On Virginity: "Humility, he says, in Christ, is pride in the devil." For this reason St. Gregory, Bernard, Cassian and others teach that humility is the foundation of the virtues, especially of peace and charity: of which thing John Moschus narrates a striking example in the Spiritual Meadow, chap. 210. Two Bishops, he says, were at variance; one of them came with his clergy, and fell down at the feet of the other, saying: "Forgive me, lord; we are thy servants." He, overcome by this humility, said: "Thou art my lord and father." Whence he infers: "And you, when you have an enemy, do likewise, and you will overcome. The humble man therefore has greater glory than the king, because he is praised by all." He recounts similar things in chaps. 218 and 219.
Because God resisteth the proud.
"Because the Lord is high, and looketh on the low; and the high He knoweth afar off," Psalm CXXXVII, 6. See the comments on James IV, 6, where he has the same maxim. St. Chrysostom, Homily 3 On the Words of Isaiah, notes: he does not say, God dismisses the proud, withdrawing His help and grace from them, but ἀντιτάσσεται — that is, He sets Himself against them and positively resists, not because God needs an army drawn up or a battle (since nothing is weaker than the proud), but because by a single nod He resists him, breathes upon him, destroys, annihilates him, if He wills. Whence St. Ambrose on Psalm CXVIII, eightfold 7: "What, then, he says, can be worse than this sin, which began with an injury to God? Therefore Scripture says: The Lord resisteth the proud — as it were the avenger of His own affront, He has, as it were, undertaken a special combat against pride."
Verse 6: Be Ye Humbled Therefore Under the Mighty Hand of God, That He May Exalt You in the Time of Visitation
6. BE YE HUMBLED THEREFORE UNDER THE MIGHTY HAND OF GOD.
St. James has, "in the sight of God;" it is an effective argument persuading humility. For what man — nay, what wretched little man — would not humble himself under the majesty and power of God, who wills that we be subjected and humbled not only to Himself, but also to our superiors and neighbors, so that if you humble yourself before them, you humble yourself before God; if on the contrary you exalt yourself against them or above them and behave insolently, do you not exalt yourself against and above God? "For humility," as St. Bernard says in On the Degrees of Humility, "is a virtue by which a man, from a most true self-knowledge, becomes vile to himself," so that, looking before God upon his own abyss of nothingness, of sins and miseries, he may say with St. Francis: "Who art Thou, Lord, and who am I? Thou art the abyss of all good, I am the abyss of all evil." The same, in sermon 16 on the Canticle: "The truly humble man, he says, wishes to be reckoned vile, not to be proclaimed humble; he rejoices in being despised — proud, indeed, in this one thing only, that he despises praise."
Who would not humble himself, even down to hell, beneath the mighty hand of God, when he considers that God weighs the mass of the earth in three fingers; considering that he himself in the hand of God is like a flea or a gnat, which He may kill in like manner; considering that he is encompassed and held by the hand of God, so that he cannot escape it — that hand, I say, which casts down the lofty, strikes down the high, hurls down the proud and lays them low in Tartarus, as it cast down Lucifer with so many thousands, nay millions, of angels: which, on the contrary, raises up the depressed, lifts up the humble to the stars, even above the stars; whence he adds: "That He may exalt you," etc.
For which reason our Sebastianus Barradius, an apostolic man and preacher, whose excellent Commentaries on the Gospels are extant, when he was about to die and had been anointed with the sacred oil, when the Father Rector asked him — since, as St. Augustine bears witness, sermon 6, book XVII of the homilies, "the last words of a parent about to go to the tomb are wont to be held in great esteem" — to give his final exhortation in farewell to his own, said: "Be humbled under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in the time of tribulation. No other counsel remains. Let us all be intensely humble, imitating Christ our Lord and God, who through His whole life willed that this one thing — humility — should be learned from Him;" and dying, with bowed head, he gave up the spirit, so that as in life, so in death he might imitate Christ. So our Conimbricenses (the Coimbra fathers) report in his Life, which they prefixed to his last work, namely the Itinerary of the Children of Israel.
Furthermore Cassian, in book IV of the Institutes, chap. xxxix, gives ten signs of true and genuine humility: "Humility, he says, is proved by these indications: first, if a man has all his wills mortified within himself; second, if he hides from his elder nothing of his own — not only of his actions, but even of his thoughts; third, if he commits nothing to his own discretion but everything to the elder's judgment, and thirstily and willingly hearkens to his admonitions; fourth, if in all things he preserves obedience, gentleness, and constancy of patience; fifth, if not only does he inflict injury on no one, but does not even grieve and become sad over an injury inflicted on himself by another; sixth, if he does nothing, presumes nothing, which is not encouraged either by the common rule or by the examples of the elders; seventh, if he is content with every form of meanness, and judges himself unworthy, like a bad workman, of all that is offered to him; eighth, if he believes himself to be lower than all, not by superficial pronouncement of the lips but in the inmost affection of the heart; ninth, if he restrains his tongue and is not clamorous in voice; tenth, if he is not easily and promptly given to laughter."
THAT HE MAY EXALT YOU,
according to that of Proverbs XXIX, 23: "Humility followeth the proud man, and glory shall uphold the humble of spirit;" and that of Psalm XVII, 28: "For Thou wilt save the humble people, and wilt humble the eyes of the proud;" and Job chap. v, ver. 11: "Who setteth up the humble on high;" and that of Christ: "Every one that humbleth himself, shall be exalted," Luke chap. xiv, ver. 11. Whence Nazianzen, oration 48: "Christ, he says, by His own example taught that the road from the lowest to the highest is humility." The same was taught by the blessed Virgin, who, calling herself a handmaid, was made mother of God, Luke chap. I, 38. Hence Saul heard from Samuel: "When thou wast little in thy own eyes, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel?" On which words St. Gregory, in book XVIII of the Morals, chap. xx, otherwise xxii: "Thou wast great to Me, because thou wast despised in thine own eyes; but now, because thou art great in thine own eyes, thou hast become despised in Mine." Humility, therefore, is the ladder of Jacob, which exalts men from earth to heaven.
IN THE TIME OF VISITATION,
namely, that He may exalt you when God shall visit you, that He may reward your humility, whether in this life or in the life to come. The word "of visitation" is not in the Greek, but is understood: for καιρός signifies an occasion, opportunity, suitable time — which is the time of visitation. Whence the Syriac translates "in a fitting time"; the Zurich version, "when it shall be opportune"; Pagninus, "in opportune time," according to that of Psalm IX, 10: "(God) a helper in opportunities, in tribulation;" and Psalm XXX, 16: "In Thy hands are my lots;" in Hebrew, "my times"; in Chaldee, "the times of my redemption." See what was said about this visitation at chap. II, ver. 12.
Verse 7: Casting All Your Care Upon Him, for He Hath Care of You
7. CASTING ALL YOUR CARE UPON HIM,
that is, cast; for the Hebrews use participles in place of the indicative, because they lack it. Or rather, refer "casting" to "be humbled," as if to say: Be ye humbled under the mighty hand of God by humbly casting upon Him every care. For so you will show that you think humbly of yourselves and loftily of God, if, distrusting yourselves and trusting in God, you yield up to Him all your cares, anxieties, and worries. For thus by the very fact you will testify that you are so weak that you cannot provide for them, but that God is so powerful, provident, and benign that He, as it were a father, will at once provide for them all. So Christ forbids Christians to be solicitous about food, clothing, and so on, in Matthew vi; where St. Jerome: "We are not, he says, entirely freed from care (which is wont to be called σπουδή, that is, honest endeavour), but we are commanded not to be over-anxious." Therefore He does not forbid σπουδή, that is, moderate care, as the Anabaptists wish — who, idle, suppose that all things are to be put into their mouths by God alone — but μέριμνα, that is, anxious and excessive worry; for μέριμνα is said to come from μερίζειν τὸν νοῦν, because it divides, tortures, and as it were dissects the mind.
So the Psalmist, Psalm XXXIX, 18: "The Lord, he says, is solicitous for me," where St. Augustine reads, The Lord will have care for me: "He who, he says, had care for thee before thou wast, how shall He not have care for thee, since now thou art that which He willed thee to be? For now thou art a believer, now thou walkest in the way of justice, etc.; He nowhere fails thee — do not thou fail Him, do not thou fail thyself," and Paul to the Philippians chap. IV, ver. 6: "Be nothing solicitous, but in everything by prayer, etc., let your petitions be made known to God." And Abraham, when Isaac asked where the victim was, answered: "God will provide Himself a victim for the holocaust, my son," Genesis xxii, 9. Whence the mountain on which Isaac was to be sacrificed was called Moriah, that is, of the vision, providence, and provision of God; as therefore infants are not anxious, but cast every anxiety into the bosom of their mother, in which they lie back and rest: so let the faithful man do with God, who is to us both Father and Mother. For what was said by God to Joshua chap. I, ver. 5: "I will not leave thee, nor forsake thee," was said to every faithful and righteous person. Let the faithful man therefore say in every tribulation, want, and anguish to God: "From my mother's womb Thou art my God; I was cast upon Thee from the womb," Psalm XXII, ver. 10. And that of Psalm CXXII, 2: "As the eyes of the handmaid are on the hands of her mistress, so are our eyes unto the Lord our God, until He have mercy on us." For, as St. Ephrem says in his sermon On Faith, tome 1: "God who cures the diseases of the soul will also cure those of the body."
St. Peter alludes to, indeed cites, Psalm LIV, 23: "Cast thy thought upon the Lord;" where the Septuagint translates, Ἐπίρριψον ἐπὶ τὸν Κύριον τὴν μέριμνάν σου, which words St. Peter here uses in Greek: for μέριμνα is care, solicitude, anxiety. The Hebrew is יהבך iehab-cha, which the Chaldee renders, "cast thy hope upon the Lord"; St. Jerome, "thy charity," as though יהב iahab were put for אהב ahab, that is, "he loved, held dear"; Pagninus, "thy gift," or, "what He has given thee"; Vatablus, from the Syriac or Arabic signification, "thy burden," or "thy weight," that is, everything which presses and weighs thee down, or wrings and torments thee. Others, "thy load," namely thy affairs, anxieties, miseries, events, dangers: for of these the Psalmist properly treats. The root יהב iahab signifies the disposition of one who entreats. Whence Pagninus in his Lexicon translates it "eia," as if to say, Cast upon God all thy "eia," that is, whatever stirs and elicits in thee anxiety, eagerness, and anxious entreaty. For which reason the Septuagint and St. Peter translate it μέριμναν, that is, "care" and solicitude.
FOR HE HATH CARE OF YOU.
The Psalmist in Psalm LIV, 23 has, "and He shall sustain thee;" in Hebrew יכלכלך iekalkelecha, that is, He shall uphold, perfect, and care for thee. St. Bernard notes in sermon 68 on the Canticle: St. Peter does not say, "That He may have care of you;" but, "Because He hath care of you," — clearly showing that the Church of the Saints is loved not only because it is loved, but because it was loved first, as if to say, "Attend to Him, because He attends to you." Whence the same says on Psalm XC, sermon 9: "Why, if we have these wise sentiments, why do we delay to cast away utterly miserable, vain, useless, deceitful hopes, and to cling with the whole devotion of the soul, with the whole fervor of the spirit, to this one so solid, so perfect, so blessed hope?"
The first reason is that God, just as He is Creator, so also is the Preserver, Provider, and Caretaker of His creatures, especially of the faithful and the righteous. It belongs therefore to Him to govern, care for, regulate, and provide for their affairs, burdens, troubles, and cares. For this is required by His sweet and efficacious providence. Whence St. Augustine in the III of Confessions, chap. XI: "O Thou good Almighty One, He says, who so carest for each one of us as if Thou didst care for him alone, and so for all as for individuals."
The second reason is that it is merited by the faith, hope, and confidence by which the faithful man places all his concerns in God, and reclines and rests in His bosom, like chicks under the wings of a hen. For this confidence greatly honors God: for it has a great opinion of His power, faithfulness, and aid, which God does not allow to be frustrated, both that He may safeguard His own honor, and that He may not fail one who hopes in Him but be present, and make him master of his hope and prayer, according to Psalm XXXIII, 16: "The eyes of the Lord are upon the just, and His ears unto their prayers;" and ver. 18: "The just cried, and the Lord heard them, and delivered them out of all their troubles;" and ver. 20: "Many are the afflictions of the just; but out of them all will the Lord deliver them. The Lord keepeth all their bones; not one of them shall be broken." So St. Chrysostom, in Homily 56 to the people and 69 on Matthew: "Do not, he says, care for thy own affairs, but commit them to God; for if thou art busied with them, thou wilt be busied as a man: but if thou let them go, God will provide, etc. Therefore that He may exercise great providence over them, commit all things to Him alone. But if thou thyself, omitting spiritual things, takest them in hand, He Himself will not exercise much care over them. Therefore that these too may be well disposed for thee, and that thou mayest be freed from all anxiety, despise worldly things: for so thou wilt have both earth together with heaven, and obtain future goods." Hence on the contrary it is said of the anxious in Proverbs XI, 7: "The expectation of the solicitous shall perish."
The third reason is that the faithful man faithfully serves God; whence God, who does not allow Himself to be outdone in faithfulness and liberality, faithfully cares for and directs all his affairs. God therefore demands of us only the solicitude of His service, and as a reward takes upon Himself all our other anxieties, according to that of Micah chap. vi, ver. 8: "I will show thee, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requireth of thee: verily, to do judgment and to love mercy, and to walk solicitously with thy God;" and that of Deuteronomy XXXIII, 3: "He hath loved the peoples: all the Saints are in His hand;" and Sirach XXXIV, 17, 18, 19, 20: "Blessed is the soul of him that feareth the Lord. To whom doth he look, and who is his strength? The eyes of the Lord are upon them that fear Him, He is a powerful protector, the firmament of virtue, the covering against heat, and the shade against the noonday sun, the deprecation of offense, and the help in falling, exalting the soul and enlightening the eyes, giving health and life and blessing;" and David, Psalm XXVI, 1: "The Lord is my light and my salvation: whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" And Psalm XC, 1: "He that dwelleth in the aid of the Most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of heaven." On which see St. Bernard.
Furthermore, this holds true not only in temporal matters, but much more in spiritual ones, namely in the victory over temptations, in advancement in the virtues, and in perseverance. Hence the Apostle: "I can do all things," he says, "in Him who strengtheneth me," Philippians ch. IV, v. 13; and: "He who hath begun a good work in you will perfect it unto the day of Christ Jesus," Philippians I, 6. For if God takes care of each individual hair, He will take much greater care of morals, says St. Augustine, sermon 6 On the Words of the Lord, who also adds: "Why dost thou fear man, O man placed in the bosom of God? Do not fall from His bosom: whatever thou shalt suffer there will avail unto salvation, not unto destruction." And Origen, hom. 8 on Leviticus: "Even the very hairs of the head of the disciples of the Lord are said to be numbered, that is, all their acts, all their words, all their thoughts are kept with the Lord, because they are just, because they are holy." See St. Bernard, sermon 68 on the Canticle.
Thus St. Clement at the beginning of the Recognitions writes that this was the doctrine of St. Peter: "We Christians are not anxious about any thing or event, but rest entirely in the providence of God; knowing that we are a care to Him, and that we are directed by Him in all things, so that all things turn out for our good."
St. Athanasius, in his treatise On the Passion and the Cross, teaches that Christ, fearful and anxious in His agony, sweated water and blood, and wore a crown of thorns, in order that He might heal and take away all our anxieties, cares, and distresses; therefore the Christian has no reason to be anxious, since Christ has relieved him of all anxiety and has taken it upon Himself. "Christ," he says, "wore a crown of thorns, that He might abolish the cares of our life (taking them upon Himself, as it were, like thorns)."
St. John the Silent, when Alamundarus was invading the monastery, refused to go out and flee, and resigning himself to God with great hope said: "If God does not take care of me, why do I live?" Neither hope nor God failed him: for God sent a fearsome lion, who guarded and protected John. So Cyril relates in his Life. For especially in their straits God is present and succors as if from a machine, and, as the poet says: "Then is the special place for vows, when there is no hope." So St. Sabas, having entered a cave, and looking around finding a lion with cubs, confidently said to him: "If thou wilt, stay with me; for there is room for both: but if not, go out. For it befits thee to yield the place to me, not me to thee." Wherefore St. Catherine of Siena received this doctrine from Christ: "Daughter, think of Me, and I will think of thee," and observing this exactly she carried out everything without care, since Christ her caretaker took care of all things.
Ludovicus Blosius reports similar things about St. Mechtild and St. Gertrude in his Spiritual Necklace, ch. XI, where he reports that Christ the Lord said to St. Gertrude: "This secure confidence, by which the faithful soul places herself and what is hers in Me, believing that I can, that I know and that I am willing faithfully to help her in any matter, transfixes My heart, and exerts so great a force upon My loving-kindness, that I cannot but favor such a soul, and expend Myself, and that for this purpose, that I may satisfy what I am, and the love with which I follow her."
Verse 8: Be Sober and Watch: Because Your Adversary the Devil, as a Roaring Lion, Goeth About, Seeking Whom He May Devour
8. Be sober and watch. — He joins these two, because sobriety is the mother of vigil and vigilance, just as gluttony and intoxication are mothers of sleep and slumber. Again, just as sobriety is the mother of health, wisdom, and sanctity, especially of chastity, and makes the mind alert and sharp for praying and contemplating, and is therefore a friend of God and the Angels: so on the contrary intoxication is the mother of weakness, foolishness, lust, and all the other vices, and lulls the mind to sleep and makes it unfit for meditation, and is therefore a friend of the devil. So St. Chrysostom, homily 88 on Matthew: "No one," he says, "is a greater friend to the devil than the man who is stained with delicacies and drunkenness: for this is the fountain, this is the mother and origin of all vices. It makes swine of men: he who is given to delicacies is in no way distinguished from one possessed by a demon; for he is shameless and furious alike: and we all pity the demoniac, but we all turn away from this man, because he willingly draws fury upon himself; and he turns his mouth, eyes, nostrils, and the other instruments of the senses into the most bitter sewers of pleasure."
Wherefore the devil is wont in the evening to excite men to gluttony, and from there to slumber, so that at night, half-asleep, sluggish, and almost stupefied, he may tempt them through lust and other depraved motions, and these in many and varied forms like a swarm of bees, says St. Basil, hom. 14. For this reason the Church begins Compline with these very words of St. Peter, and by them admonishes the faithful to be sober and watchful for prayer and resistance to the devil, so that the eyes may take their sleep in such a way that the heart may always keep watch toward God, and accordingly when about to go to bed they should commend themselves earnestly to the Guardian Angel and the patron Saints, and fall asleep with holy thoughts. See what I have said about sobriety, Daniel ch. I.
Hence that old man in the Lives of the Fathers, book V, little book XI, no. 46, used to say that there are three forerunners of the devil, forgetfulness, negligence, and concupiscence: "For," he said, "if forgetfulness comes, it begets negligence; from negligence indeed concupiscence is born; and from concupiscence man falls. For if the mind is so sober that it spurns forgetfulness, it does not come to negligence; and if it has not been negligent, it does not admit concupiscence; and if it does not admit concupiscence, it will never fall, with the help of Christ's grace." Thus Paul writes to Timothy, epistle II, ch. IV, v. 5: "But thou, watch;" and Christ to the Bishop of Sardis: "Be watchful, and strengthen the rest," Apoc. III, 2. Hence the Church of old employed nocturnal vigils, for prayer in the vigils of the Saints, and the Cenobites still employ the same in nocturnal psalmody, who, as St. Jerome says on Daniel ch. IV, 10, imitate the offices of the Angels who are always watching and praising God. There existed of old in the East a monastery of the Acoemetae, that is, of those who do not sleep, because they kept watch nearly all night long in prayer and psalmody.
Truly St. Cyril, Catechesis 4: "There is need," he says, "with divine grace, of a sober mind and watchful eyes, that we may avoid the tares for the wheat, the wolf for the sheep, the devil for the good Angel." For the devil always watches, and everywhere is intent on harming and supplanting. Therefore we vigilant ones must wrestle with the vigilant one, and like Argus with a thousand eyes observe him and beware. Hence St. Jerome to Heliodorus, epistle 1: "Here lurks the lion," he says, "in his cave, lurking to seize the poor man, and dost thou, covered by the shade of a leafy tree, snatch soft slumbers, soon to be his prey? Hence luxury pursues me, hence avarice tries to break in, hence my belly wants to be God to me in place of Christ; lust drives me to make the Holy Spirit dwelling within me flee, that I may violate His temple; the enemy pursues me, I say, who has a thousand names and a thousand arts of harm, and shall I, unhappy, think myself a victor while I am being captured?" And after many things: "Do not believe, do not be secure; though the level surface smile like a poured-out lake, though the surface of the fluid element be scarcely rippled by a breath, this great plain has its mountains; danger is enclosed within, the enemy is within. Hoist the cables, raise the sails, let the cross of the antenna be set on the prows, this calm is a tempest."
And St. Bernard, sermon 11 on Psalm XC: "Just as," he says, "He Himself (God) is anxious for us, and we are a care to Him; so he (the devil) is anxious to slay and destroy us, and his one care is lest he who has been turned away should return." Aptly therefore St. Peter, by antithesis, subjoins the devil's hatred and envy to destroy us, to the care of God for us. For these things one must keep watch, because, as Christ says in Matthew ch. XXIV, 42, "you know not at what hour your Lord will come." On which St. Gregory, homily 13 on the Gospels: "The last hour, our Lord wished, for this reason, to be unknown to us, so that it might always be expected, so that, while we cannot foresee it, we may prepare for it without intermission;" and St. Hilary, can. 24 on St. Matthew: "It is fitting that we be prepared, because the ignorance of the day urges on the constant solicitude of suspended expectation." Furthermore: "He watches," says St. Gregory, in the place cited, "who keeps the eyes of his mind open to the sight of the true light; he watches, who drives from himself the darkness of torpor and negligence." Mystically the lovers of this age are sleeping. "For dreams are magistracies, riches, power, pride, the impostures of pleasures, the desire of glory, a delicate life, ambition," etc., says Nyssen, hom. 11 on the Canticle.
To these dreams must be opposed the vigil of the virtues. Hence St. Augustine, On the Words of the Lord, sermon 23, ch. X: "Watch with the heart," he says, "watch with faith, watch with hope, watch with charity, watch with works."
Because the Adversary. — In Hebrew he is called Satan, in Greek ἀντίδικος, that is, an adversary in case and at law, a litigator, plaintiff, accuser, who, namely, seeks all reasons and modes by which to bring suit against us, that he may accuse us before God's tribunal, and execute us as guilty of damnation. Great therefore is this adversary, great is his suit and case; for he acts against our soul, against our salvation, against eternity; he acts that he may have us as companions in damnation and the fire of hell: and this firstly, out of the hatred of God with which he burns, that God may not be honored by us; secondly, out of envy, that we may not occupy his seats in heaven; thirdly, out of pride, by which he aims to make all like himself, and to dominate over all. This is what Paul says, Ephesians VI, 12: "Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers: against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places;" and thereafter against these he gives to the faithful, as to a soldier, the panoply.
Devil, — that is, calumniator, from διαβάλλω, that is, I calumniate; whence ridiculously Thomas the English: Diabolus, he says, is so called as if devouring man with two grindstones (duobus colis), namely the soul and the body. This must be pardoned in that age rude in languages and ignorant of Greek. Truly St. Gregory, II Moralia, ch. V, alias IX: "The ancient adversary," he says, "when he does not find evils to accuse, seeks to bend the very good things to evil; and when he is vanquished in regard to deeds, he scrutinizes our words for accusation; when he finds no accusation in words, he strives to darken the intention of the heart, as if good deeds were not done with a good mind, and therefore ought not to be weighed by a good judge." St. Ambrose, book VII on Luke, ch. XII, gives the cause of his envy: "He sows," he says, "the allurements of sins, that he may have as sharers in punishment those whom he has had as partners in error; and therefore he seeks companions for guilt, that he may destroy as guilty for punishment."
Furthermore, "devil" is by antonomasia called Lucifer, the prince of demons, Matt. IV, 1. Lucifer therefore not so much through himself (for he has been relegated to hell, Apoc. XX, 2), as through his followers, goes about: for each of these is called, and is, "devil." Whence the Holy Fathers teach that this air is full of demons, who, carrying their fire and their punishment with them, tempt men, and will tempt them until the day of judgment: for then all will be relegated to hell. "The devil," says St. Augustine to Julian, "the doctor of lying, is himself the established adversary of our race, the inventor of death, the institutor of pride, the root of malice, the head of crimes, the prince of all vices, the persuader to base pleasures. Hence therefore when first he beheld the man made by God, Adam, the father of all of us, clothed with chastity, temperance, charity, immortality, a rival and envious that an earthly man had received such great blessedness as he, while he was an angel, is known to have lost through pride; the insatiable manslayer immediately envied, despoiled Adam, and destroyed us."
This is the second cause of the wrath of the devil against men, namely envy (for the first, as I have said, is hatred of God who damns and punishes him in Gehenna), concerning which St. Basil says: "The leopard," he says, "is an animal most hostile to man, so much so that at times in the arenas he springs at the eyes of a man out of anger; but those who seek to baffle the fury of the beast show him the image of a man on a paper: she at once, frenzied, tears it up and lacerates it, by this argument sufficiently showing how great is her hostility against man. So likewise the devil persecutes man as he appears in the image, when he cannot reach God Himself; hence his war against us is so fierce." So St. Basil, hom. on certain places of Scripture.
The third cause, namely pride, is manifest: for the devil swells with pride and ambition. Origen adds, hom. 33 on Luke; Nyssen, On the Life of Moses, before the middle; the author of the sermon To the Brothers in the Desert, sermon 68; the Master of the Sentences, in book II, distinction 11, that each man has an antagonistic demon, deputed for his temptation by Lucifer, just as he has a good angel deputed for his guardianship by God. Cassian indeed, Collations book VII, ch. XVII, teaches that certain demons are deputed who tempt to anger, others to lust, others to other vices; for each vice has its own presiding demons. Whence in Scripture there is mention of the spirit of anger, lust, blasphemy, etc.: these things are to be discussed elsewhere.
AS A ROARING LION. — In Scripture now the devil, now Christ is called "the lion of the tribe of Judah;" Apoc. ch. V, v. 5, on account of the contrary properties of the lion. For, as St. Augustine says, sermon 46 De Diversis, ch. II: "Christ is called a lion on account of His fortitude, the devil on account of his ferocity: the former a lion to conquer, the latter a lion to harm."
The devil therefore is called "lion," first, because he is watchful: for the lion sleeps with open eyes, indeed, as Aelian and others teach, while sleeping he keeps watch, and moves his tail. Whence some think the lion never sleeps, and say that he alone among living creatures is born with open eyes: for he has huge eyes but slender eyelids, so that they cannot cover the whole eyes, and therefore he is called λέων (leo) from λάω, that is, I see, because he is ὀξυδερκὴς ἄγαν, that is, of very keen sight. Hence the lion is a symbol of vigilance, and is therefore wont to be affixed to the doors of basilicas, as we see done at Rome. Similarly the devil keeps a watchful vigil to harm man. Wherefore St. Basil on the text Take heed to thyself: "As a strenuous boxer," he says, "keep the eye of the soul never wandering, but attentive and ever-watchful; protect, and guard with outstretched hands, the parts where a wound would be lethal: fix your unmoving eye more firmly upon the adversary."
Again the lion, says Epiphanius, heresy 78, "is a most voracious animal, tawny in appearance, very solid in strength, and, as I might say, most regal above other animals." So also the devil has a canine hunger, indeed a rage for devouring souls; tawny in appearance, that is, bloody; very solid in strength, and king over all the sons of pride, Job XLI, 25.
Secondly, because the devil is fierce as a lion, who is never tamed, and made domestic; nay, the devil, having fed on very many souls, is not satisfied, but rages more, "while satiated lions are harmless," as Pliny says, book VIII, ch. XVI. The lion has a huge mouth, robust teeth, hooked and strong claws: so the devil is most rapacious and most voracious.
Thirdly, because the devil roars like a lion, that is, smites with voice, sound, and terror, according to that of Amos III, 9: "The lion roars, who shall not fear?" Hence Eusebius, book IV Preparation, ch. III: Daemon, he says, is so called from δαίω, that is, to fear, because he strikes fear: although more truly he is called δαίμων, as it were δαήμων, that is, knowing. For antiquity attributed the invention of the human arts to demons. Whence Plato calls the ruler of the universe μέγιστον δαίμονα. Therefore the demon cannot harm thee, unless thou fearest him, unless by fearing thou willingly yieldest to him and consentest, as one who is laid low before the conflict not by a weapon but by a trumpet, says St. Bernard, sermon 43 on Psalm XC, where he teaches that the lion frightens more by his roar than wounds by his bite, and so the animals which resist his bite, indeed sometimes overcome the lion, do not bear his roar; "so that they are caught by the sound of his roar as if struck and stunned by some force," says St. Ambrose, Hexaemeron VI, ch. III. So the devil harms more by his threats and terrors, than by force and beating.
Hear St. Bernard: "Your adversary as a roaring lion, says Peter. Thanks to that great Lion of the tribe of Judah: this one can roar, but cannot strike. Let him roar as much as he wishes, only let not the sheep of Christ flee. How much does he threaten, how much does he exaggerate, how much does he attempt? Let us not be beasts so that empty roar may lay us low. For so they relate, those who have investigated such things more curiously, that no beast can stand before the roar of a lion, not even one which with all its spirit resists his stroke; and often it overcomes the striker, but cannot bear the roarer. Truly a beast, truly devoid of reason, is he who is so faint-hearted as to yield by fear alone; who, vanquished only by the exaggeration of future labor, is laid low before the conflict not by a weapon but by a trumpet. You have not yet resisted unto blood, says that valiant captain, who knew that this lion's roar was vain." And another: "Resist (he says) the devil, and he will flee from you."
Hence the demon is a myrmicoleon, that is, an ant-lion, because he dominates the timid as a lion, but fears the bold as an ant, as St. Gregory teaches, in Olympiad, and others on Job IV, 11: "The tiger (for which the Septuagint translates myrmicoleon) has perished."
Fourthly, the lion devours his prey out of anger and the rage of hunger, and therefore before he devours his captured prey, he roars, says St. Cyril on Amos III. So also out of anger the devil devours souls. Again, the lion disdains the leftovers of his prey, says Nazianzen in his poem on the vileness of the outer man, when he sings thus:
And the lion, when with prey he has glutted his belly, as they say,
Dreads to approach the leftovers of his own flesh.
So the devil disdains and despises those whom he has perverted and slain, and treats them like slaves, indeed like corpses, as is clear in witches and sorcerers, whom he flogs, beats, and tortures like beasts, like a butcher and executioner. Again, "the bones of lions are so hard that when struck fire is produced from them as from a flint," says Aristotle, book II On the Parts of animals, ch. IX. These bones represent the obstinacy and pertinacity of the devil, both in sin, and in his zeal for harming men: hence also the lion's neck, equally with the devil's, is shaggy, rigid, and inflexible, as Aristotle testifies, book IV, ch. X.
Fifthly, Epiphanius in the Physiologus, ch. I; Aelian, book XI, ch. XXX; Plutarch, On the Comparison of Animals; Isidore, book I; Origen and others, hand down that the lion wipes out, obscures, and deletes his own tracks with his tail, by sweeping with it, namely so that hunters following his tracks may not find his lair, and capture him with his cubs. Aelian and Plutarch add that the lion walks with his feet curled, so as to hide his claws in them as in a sheath, especially in time of snow, lest his tracks appear in it. So likewise the devil covers evil with the appearance of honesty, and by concealing his end and aim, hides his deceits, lest they be revealed, and he thereby be known and repelled. Besides, the lion, says Aristotle in the Physiognomy, ch. VIII, has a vast mouth, a square forehead, a huge brow, strong shoulders, robust ribs and back, sinewy legs, and a youthful gait: so also the demon.
Sixthly, the lion, because he is of fiery nature, burns with lust and anger: so also the devil. Hear Pliny, book VIII, ch. XVI; Aristotle, book IX of the History of Animals, ch. XLIV, hands down that "the lioness in her first whelping bears five cubs, and one less in each successive year, becoming sterile after one: and the cubs are at first formless and very small lumps of flesh, the size of weasels: at six months they can scarcely walk, and they do not move until two months old." Hence Aristotle, book VI of the History of Animals, ch. XXIII, says that lions of Syria bear five times in their life.
Seventhly, the lion stinks because of his voracity and gluttony: so also the devil; whence he is called in Hebrew שעיר sair, that is, a he-goat, because he appears in the form of a he-goat and is adored by witches, and stinks like a he-goat; or sur, that is, hairy, shaggy, horrible, bristling, because appearing in horrible form he strikes terror, and causes the hair to stand on end with horror. So Pliny, in the place cited, says that lions have a heavy odor, and no less so a heavy breath: they are rare in drinking, feeding on alternate days: in the meantime, after satiety, they abstain from food for three days. They devour solid food whole if they can in chewing; and when their belly cannot hold it, they pull it out with their claws thrust into their throats, so that if they need to flee, they may not be loaded with satiety. Polybius reports that in old age the lion attacks man, because his strength is not equal to pursuing wild beasts. Then they besieged the cities of Africa, and for that reason he had seen them crucified together with Scipio, that the others might be deterred by fear of similar punishment from the same crime. Thus the demon seeks and thirsts for men and souls. "The devil devours, and as it were incorporates sinners into himself through mortal sin," says Lyranus. On the contrary, the faithful and the holy are food of Christ: whence St. Ignatius, hearing the lions roaring, said: "I am the wheat of Christ, may I be ground by the teeth of beasts, that I may be found pure bread."
Eighthly: "The tail," says Pliny, "is the indicator of a lion's mood, just as also the ears of horses. When motionless, therefore, he is calm, mild, like one fawning, which is rare: for his anger is more frequent. At the beginning the ground is beaten: as it grows, the flanks are flogged as if by some incitement. Greatest force is in the breast. From every wound, whether inflicted by claw or tooth, black blood flows." So the devil reveals his malice and anger only in the tail, that is, at the end of temptation; then he displays the black blood, that he, namely, thirsts for nothing but the deaths and slaughters of men. Again, he creeps into and insinuates himself into the breast and heart of man; for once that is occupied, he occupies the whole soul and the whole man. Whence St. Cyprian, treatise On Jealousy and Envy: "The Lord," he says, "commanded us to be prudent, and bade us watch with cautious solicitude, lest the adversary, ever watching and ever lying in wait, when he has crept into the breast, kindle conflagrations from sparks, magnify the greatest things from the smallest: and while he flatters those who are slack and incautious with a gentler breeze and a softer breath, by raising tempests and whirlwinds he plot ruins of faith and salvation, and shipwrecks of life. We must therefore keep watch, dearest brothers, and labor with all our strength, that we may resist with anxious and full vigilance the savage enemy who is directing his darts at every part of our body by which we can be struck and wounded, according to what Peter the Apostle in his epistle forewarns and teaches, saying: Be sober and watch, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, and seeking to devour somewhat, goeth about."
Ninthly, Pliny continues: "When the lioness fights for her cubs, the sharpness of her eyes is said to be fixed on the ground, lest she be terrified by the hunting-spears: nor does she look askance with her eyes, nor will they tolerate being looked at in similar manner. It is believed that as she dies she bites the ground, and yields a tear to death." So the devil looks not at heaven, but at the earth, and makes his own likewise look down, lest they be terrified by the hunting-spears of sins and of Gehenna.
Again, the demon in ferocity is a lion, in cunning a fox, because those whom he cannot overcome by force, he strives to overcome by guile. He does therefore that of Lysander: "When the lion's skin is not enough, the fox's must be added." And that of Pindar in the Isthmians, Ode 4 On Melissus: "He is, in spirit, like the daring of heavily-roaring lions for hunting with labor, but in cleverness he is a fox, which on its back checks the eagle's onset: indeed by doing whatever one must, one must overthrow the adversary."
Tenthly: "This animal, so fierce," says Pliny, "the wheels of chariots whirled around, and empty chariots, and the crests and crowing of cocks, frighten still more, but most of all fires." So the devil is frightened and put to flight by things appearing slight, namely the crest of the cross, joy, psalmody and the singing of hymns, the company and gathering of monks and clerics, but most of all by the fire and zeal of the love of Christ. Whence St. Anthony in St. Athanasius: "Believe me from experience," he says, "Satan greatly fears the vigils, prayers, fasts, meekness, voluntary poverty, contempt of vainglory, humility, mercy, the mastery of anger, and especially a pure heart toward the love of Christ, of those who live rightly. The most evil serpent knows, by the Lord's precept, that he must lie under the heels of the just, who said: Behold, I have given you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy." Whence St. Chrysostom, homily 22 on the epistle to the Ephesians: "We shall trample on the power of the devil," he says, "if we trample on sins, all temporal things I mean, pride, concupiscence, haughtiness, all the passions of the soul. For riches, money, and the racecourse of vain glory give the devil his handle."
Eleventhly: "The lion," says Aristotle in the Physiognomy, ch. VIII, "has a youthful gait and his whole body is articulated and sinewy: walking slowly however, and stepping magnificently, and shaking himself round his shoulders as he walks, a lover of victory." The same, book IX of the History of Animals, ch. XLIV: "In hunting, while he is seen, he never flees, or fears; but even if he is forced by the multitude of hunters to give way, he withdraws gradually and step by step, often pausing and looking back; but having reached cover, he withdraws himself by flight as swift as he can, until he comes into the open: then once more he advances slowly." So the demon simulates fortitude, conceals fear, that he may display his strength and pride, and seem to conquer, even while he is being conquered.
Twelfthly, the lion attacks great and strong animals, but disdains small and worthless ones. Again, he does not eat unless he has taken the prey alive. So Aelian, book II, ch. III. So also the devil's food is choice, Habakkuk I, 16; he attacks the better, the holier, and the stronger; he despises the timid and carnal as already his own. Again, the lion when wounded rises more fiercely against the wounder: so the demon rages more when he is wounded, namely when men devote themselves to piety, as in the time of Lent, as Cassian teaches, Collations ch. XXI, v. 28.
GOETH ABOUT, — namely steadily and continuously. Whence St. Fulgentius to Thrasimund, book I, ch. V, calls his going-about untiring. In Greek περιπατεῖν, that is, as the Zürich Bible, he walks about; Pagninus, he walks everywhere; others, he walks around; St. Jerome on Isaiah, going about he seeks. So the devil himself says: "I have gone round the earth, and walked through it," Job I, 7. And Christ concerning him: "When an unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places," etc., Luke XI, 24. Hence also after the example of their father, "the impious walk in a circle," Psalm XI, 9, that is, they wander on every side, vagrant and unstable, that they may harm the pious. So there Theodoret, Athanasius, Chrysostom. Hence the Chaldaean translates: the impious walk round about like a leech, which sucks the blood of the sons of men. So the Jews, and likewise the heretics, Psalm LVIII, v. 15, are said to go round the city, that is, the Church, because they wander seeking on all sides means of attacking it, yet do not wish to enter it: whence from one error and heresy they slip into another.
Again Eusebius: A circle, he says, is the contrary of a straight line; hence the impious go round, that is, obliquely toward extremes, but the pious proceed straight, according to reason, toward the middle of virtue. Tropologically St. Augustine: The impious walk in a circuit, that is, he says, in the desire of temporal things, which by the repeated cycle of seven days revolves like a wheel, and therefore they do not arrive at the eighth day, that is, the eternal day, for which this psalm is entitled: hence also they are multiplied, because they depart from the unity of God.
This going-about therefore and perambulation of the devil signifies, first, that he is vagrant and unstable, because by deserting God through sin, he lost stability of mind (for this is in God alone), concerning which I have said more on that of Lamentations I, 8: "Jerusalem hath sinned a great sin, therefore is she become unstable."
Secondly, his anger and desire to harm; for the devil goes about just like a duelist, who in a duel observes and circles his antagonist all around, that he may throw him down, and that constantly and continually. For only circular motion can be perpetual, because the circle lacks an end and a beginning, but the others do not, as Aristotle teaches, book VIII of the Physics, text 75 and 76, where he proves that circular motion is first, and the measure of the others, and is continuous; because it is always borne around the middle, not toward an extreme, as straight motion is borne, and therefore the heavens are moved by circular motion. The devil therefore learned this circulation in heaven, when he was there as an angel; but he turned it from good to evil when he fell and was made the devil.
Thirdly, his cunning, frauds, and tricks, with which like a serpent he twists and twists again, that he may entangle, surround, complicate, ensnare, deceive, and capture men by his arts, scruples, perplexities, etc., according to that of Job ch. XL, v. 12, of Behemoth, that is the elephant, who is a type of the devil: "The sinews of his testicles are wrapped together." On which see St. Gregory and St. Leo, sermon 7 On the Nativity: "He knows (the demon)," he says, "to whom he should apply the heat of concupiscence, to whom he should put forward the allurements of gluttony, on whom he should pour the venom of envy; he knows whom to disturb by error, whom to deceive by joy, whom to oppress by fear, whom to seduce by admiration."
Fourthly, he walks about as the prince of the world; for to walk about in Scripture signifies dominion and rule: for thus the master walks about in his field, the king in his kingdom, the general in regions subdued by war, as I have shown more fully on Zechariah I, 11; whence Job XII, 24 says: "There is no power upon earth that can be compared with him who was made to fear no one."
Fifthly, he goes round, as a hunter goes round stags, a fisherman fish, an army a city, that he may shut all in, capture or kill them, according to that of Job XL, 18: "Behold, he will drink up a river, and not wonder: and he has confidence that the Jordan may flow into his mouth." Whence Thomas the English: The perversity of the devil, he says, is signified by the name "adversary," his strength by the name "lion," his cruelty when he is called "roaring," his solicitude when he is said "to go about seeking." Hence it is required of us against the first, that we resist; against the second, that we be strong; against the third, that we have the meekness of faith; against the fourth, that we watch.
Sixthly, this circuit signifies the devil's sagacity, by which he explores the desires, vices, infirmities, occasions, and habits of each one, that he may attack and tempt each in that part where he is weaker: just like the general who besieges a city, goes round to see in what part it is less fortified, that he may break in through that. He therefore who wishes to resist the devil should look round all his own, fortify all his senses with sharp watchfulness, mortify all vices, especially those to which he is more inclined; where he is weaker, there let him strengthen himself more, and keep watch wholly, and arm himself by prayers, an effective resolution, penances, the counsels of elders, etc. Hear St. Cyprian, treatise On Jealousy: "He goes round each one of us, and like an enemy besieging the besieged, he explores the walls, and tests whether there is any part of the members less stable and less reliable, by whose entry he may penetrate to the interior. He offers to the eyes alluring shapes and easy pleasures, that by sight he may destroy chastity. He tempts the ears through tuneful music, that by the hearing of sweeter sound he may relax and soften Christian vigor. He provokes the tongue with insult, he incites the hand by harassing injuries to the wantonness of slaughter, that he may make a daring man; he sets out unjust gains, that he may capture the soul with money; he forces upon men pernicious shortcuts, he promises earthly honors, that he may take away heavenly ones; he displays false things, that he may snatch away true ones; and when he cannot deceive secretly, he openly and overtly threatens, intending the terror of stormy persecution, to vanquish the servants of God; restless ever and ever hostile; in peace deceitful, in persecution violent. Wherefore, dearest brothers, against all the deceitful snares or open threats of the devil the mind must stand instructed and armed, as ever ready to fight back as the enemy is ever ready to attack. And since his darts that creep in secretly are more frequent, and the more covert and clandestine the throw, the less it is perceived, the more grievously and more frequently it advances against our wounds; let us be vigilant also to understand and repel these, among which is the evil of zeal and envy."
And St. Anthony in St. Athanasius warns Christians, lest through inertia they give strength to the demons: "For such as," he says, "they find us and our thoughts, such are they accustomed to show themselves to us; and if they find any seed of evil mind and fear in our breasts, like robbers who hold deserted places, they heap up the begun fears, and cruelly threatening punish the wretched soul;" and St. Leo, sermon 7 On the Nativity: "He scrutinizes," he says, "(the demon) the customs of all, he winnows their cares, he searches their affections, and there he seeks causes for harming, wherever he sees one more zealously occupied."
Seventhly, he goes round in order to drive men in a circle (as a whirlwind drives chaff), namely into a vertigo of mind, so that, as if demented, and bereft of brain and reason, they may be carried into the orbit of his machinations, namely of concupiscences, and may rush from one sin into another and yet another, until they accomplish and fill out the whole circle of all sins.
WHOM HE MAY DEVOUR. — The lion devours not by swallowing, but by crushing his prey with strong teeth, according to that of Isaiah XXXVIII, 13: "As a lion so hath He broken all my bones;" and that of St. Ignatius: "May I be ground by the teeth of beasts;" so also the demon, by the hatred and fury with which he rages against God and men, busies himself with utterly crushing them. Whence St. Chrysostom, hom. 22 to the People: "He goes round," he says, "seeking not whom he may bite or break, but whom he may devour." It is a catachresis: for properly the demon does not devour men or souls; but he tears, destroys, and tortures them, and by this matter he wondrously feeds himself and is delighted as by the most sweet food; and this is what "devour" signifies.
Verse 9: Whom Resist Ye, Strong in Faith: Knowing That the Same Affliction Befalls Your Brethren Who Are in the World
9. WHOM RESIST (St. Jerome in ch. LV of Isaiah reads, against whom resist; the Syriac, rise up against) STRONG IN FAITH. — Here St. Peter gives the faithful three weapons for conquering the devil: the first is to resist him; for resistance is victory, because the devil does not extort by violent compulsion, but demands our consent by persuading and flattering; if we deny it, we conquer; the second, fortitude; the third, faith; for resistance overcomes him, fortitude subdues, faith unnerves. For faith, vividly representing future rewards and penalties to the mind, rouses man to contend nobly for them, and to implore God's help to fight bravely. Hence through faith Christ dwells in our hearts. Ephesians III, 17: "For faith is the substance of things to be hoped for, the evidence of things that appear not," Hebrews XI, 1 ff., where Paul teaches that all the Saints conquered by faith. The same author, Ephesians VI, 16, arming the Christian soldier from head to heel against the devil, gives him faith for a shield, hope for a helmet, with the right eye gone, they would have been utterly blind in battle. So Josephus, Antiquities VI, v. Tropologically, St. Gregory in the same place: The right eye, he says, is the contemplation of eternal brightness, which is achieved through faith; the left is carnal concupiscence and the contemplation of earthly things. Therefore Naas, which is Hebrew for serpent, namely the devil, plucks out the right eyes of his subjects, when he removes the contemplation of eternal things, and causes men to think and desire only carnal things, and not to attend to the heavenly things they used to love. So also Angelomus in the same place. Here is true that saying of Seneca in Hercules Furens: Whomever you see strong, you would not call wretched. Illustrious virtue is never carried to the Stygian waves: live strong. And that of Pliny: "As the palm tree strives upward when a load is placed on it, so the spirit of a strong man, the more it is pressed by affairs, and the more fortune rages, the more erect it is." Such was Agamemnon, who with steadfast fortitude, pressing unconquered Troy with a ten-year siege, defeated and occupied it, and from this was called Agamemnon, as it were ἀγαστὸς τὴν μονήν, that is, admirable in perseverance and delay, says Plato in the Cratylus. Agamemnon therefore is the same as Parmeno. Indeed "the siege of a city you wish to capture must be steadfastly pressed and pursued," says Vegetius. In like manner, he who wishes to resist the devil, who desires to conquer some vice, let him be Agamemnon, let him be Parmeno, let him besiege and storm it with a ten-year siege and battle. The demon flees from such a one and says to his own: "Let us leave this man alone; for he is Agamemnon: he will not withdraw from his Troy until he occupies it."
KNOWING THAT THE SAME AFFLICTION (τὰ αὐτὰ τῶν παθημάτων, that is, the same sufferings) BEFALLS YOUR BROTHERHOOD WHICH IS IN THE WORLD. — He consoles and strengthens the afflicted faithful of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, etc., to whom he writes, by the example of their brethren, that is, Christians scattered throughout the whole world, who were suffering similar things, as if to say: Stand firm, O faithful of Pontus, etc., in every temptation and suffering which the devil stirs up against you, considering that this suffering is not peculiar to you, but common to all the faithful; you therefore have all of them as brothers and companions in suffering, just as in faith. Console yourselves therefore and strengthen yourselves with this fellowship and society, both because it is pleasant to have a companion in punishment, indeed a companion is a relief of punishment; and because the fury of the devil divided and scattered among all the faithful is less for individuals and single persons: for it would be far greater if it bore down wholly on individuals; and because this is the strength of society, that in it one is strengthened and reinforced by the union of the others, according to that of Ecclesiastes IV, 12: "A threefold cord is not easily broken;" and because all the rest of the faithful suffer with your suffering, as your brothers: and the compassion of a brother lightens the burden and weight of suffering. So Oecumenius, Vatablus and others.
STRONG IN FAITH. — In Greek στερεοί, which St. Jerome in chapter LV of Isaiah translates as strengthened by faith; the Syriac, made firm; Pagninus and the Zürich Bible, solid; others, rigid, hard, firm. For τὸ στερεοί signifies all these. Note: Not just any kind of faith, namely thin and feeble, but living, firm, strong, and noble faith conquers the devil, because his darts are fiery, Ephesians VI, 16. For he stirs up burning temptations and concupiscences, according to that of Job chapter XL, 12: "His breath kindles coals." These however cannot be extinguished except by vehement faith. Therefore under faith as under a root understand hope, prayer, charity; for faith strengthened by hope, armed by prayer, kindled by charity, conquers the devil. Inflamed by these, in any temptation we say with St. Paul: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation? or distress? or famine? or nakedness? or peril? or persecution? or sword? etc. But in all these things we overcome because of Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor might, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord," Romans VIII, 35.
Wherefore the devil tries to snatch away from us this firmness and strength of faith, so that destitute of faith we may wander as if blind, and stumble into his snares; for faith is the eye of the soul. As a symbol of this Naas, king of Ammon, wished to put out the right eye of the inhabitants of Jabesh, 1 Samuel XI, 2, both as an insult and so that they could not rebel, by making them useless for war and blind; for soldiers cover the left eye with the shield; with the right one removed, they would have been entirely blind in battle. So in place of greaves the readiness of the Gospel, in place of a belt the truth. Hence Isidore, book III On the Highest Good, chapter V: "By unbelievers, he says, the devil is feared as a lion, by those strong in faith he is despised as a worm." And St. John, epistle I, chapter V, verse 4: "This is, he says, the victory that overcomes the world, our faith;" and St. Anthony in St. Athanasius: "The sign, he says, of the cross and faith in the Lord is to us an impregnable wall;" and again: "If we are zealous in the Lord, and the desire of future goods inflames us, if we always commit all things to the hands of God, no demon will be able to approach to attack us: for the more they see hearts fortified in Christ, the more confused they will return. So also from Job strengthened in the Lord the devil fled, and bound the most unhappy Judas stripped of faith with the chains of captivity. There is therefore one way of conquering the enemy, spiritual joy, and the constant remembrance of the soul thinking always of the Lord, which expelling the games of demons as smoke, will pursue rather than fear adversaries." The same St. James warned, chapter IV, verse 7: "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." See what is said there.
Note first, that the phrase "which is in the world" some refer to the suffering that preceded, as if to say: Act, endure, because this suffering which "befalls your brotherhood," that is, you, O brothers, is only of this world: it will therefore last but a short time, because the future age that awaits you will not be of suffering, but of the crown and of glory. So Arias. Or, as if to say: Do not wonder, O faithful, that you suffer so much; for even unbelievers and worldly men, indeed all who are in the world, suffer similar things; for this world is the marketplace of sufferings and the racecourse of hardships.
Secondly and more genuinely, the phrase "which is in the world" refers to "brotherhood," which follows, as if to say: Your brotherhood which is in the world, that is, your brothers who are scattered throughout the whole world, suffer similar temptations, sufferings, and persecutions from the enemies of the faith, the devil stirring them up, just as you suffer. And this is required by the "ei," and the Greek which has τὸ ἐν τῇ ἀδελφότητι, that is, to the brotherhood which is in the world. Hence the Syriac translates: know also that the same sufferings come upon your brothers who are in the world.
Note second: The abstract is put for the concrete: for he calls "brotherhood" the brothers, that is the faithful, not those to whom he writes, but their companions in faith who were in the rest of the world, as is clear from the Greek already cited. Why the faithful are called brothers, I have explained at chapter I, 22, and at James II, 13. Rightly Clement of Alexandria, in book V of the Stromata, refuted the gentiles who reproached the faithful for calling themselves brothers, thus: "That we are brothers, as of one God and one master, even Plato seems to say somewhere in this manner: You who are in a city are altogether brothers;" and Minucius Felix in the Octavius: "We are called brothers, as men of one God the Father, as partners of faith, as joint heirs of hope." The origin of this appellation came from the Jews, who called one another brothers, not only by faith and religion, but also by blood. For all are descended from the twelve Patriarchs, as it were the heads of the twelve tribes, who were all brothers, namely sons of Jacob, grandsons of Abraham; for from the Jews Christ was descended, and the Synagogue of the Jews was the womb of the Church of Christians, which therefore as a daughter and heir succeeded its dying and departing mother, when the Synagogue passed into the Church. Hence likewise the appellation of brothers passed from that into this.
Note third: For "to be done" in Greek is ἐπιτελεῖσθαι, which Our [translator] first renders "to be done;" the Syriac, "to befall;" secondly, Pagninus and Cajetan, "to be perfected;" the Zürich Bible, "to be consummated;" Gagneius, "to be prepared and exhibited;" others, "to be supplied," according to that of Paul: "I fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ in my flesh, for His body, which is the Church," Colossians I, 24. For the cycle of sufferings and patience of the Church is perfected by the sufferings and patience of individual faithful, His sons and members; and accordingly every faithful one ought to animate himself to suffering, considering that he is filling up and perfecting not only his own crown, but also that of the whole Church. Hence Cajetan explains the term "to be perfected" thus, as if to say: Sufferings are not to be fled, but sought after; because through them we are perfected in patience, and so they solidify us in virtue, and make us perfect, according to what Paul says of Christ: "It became, etc., the author of their salvation to consummate by passion," Hebrews II, 10. And chapter V, 8: "And whereas indeed He was the Son of God, He learned obedience by the things which He suffered; and being consummated, He became, to all that obey Him, the cause of eternal salvation." The Greek ἐπιτελεῖν means all these and more, namely to perfect, to perform, to supply, to absolve, to consummate, to discharge, to undergo, to fulfill, to execute.
Verse 10: But the God of All Grace, Who Hath Called Us Into His Eternal Glory in Christ Jesus, After You Have Suffered a Little, Will Himself Perfect You
10. BUT THE GOD OF ALL GRACE (namely the author, preserver, promoter, perfecter, rewarder and crowner: hence he adds), WHO HAS CALLED US INTO HIS ETERNAL GLORY IN CHRIST JESUS (that is, through Christ Jesus), AFTER YOU HAVE SUFFERED A LITTLE, WILL HIMSELF PERFECT YOU, CONFIRM AND ESTABLISH YOU. — St. Dionysius gives the reason, in Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, chapter II: "For the Lord, he says, as He is supremely clement and good, conquers in His warriors, while dwelling in them, He fights for their salvation and victory against the assault of death and corruption." This is the last incentive to contend and to suffer, that God helps, perfects, and crowns those who contend. For He Himself is God "of all grace:" therefore also of patience, perseverance, and eternal glory. For this last and greatest of graces. Truly St. Augustine, sermon 67 On the Times: "For if, he says, we constantly think of the benefits of our God, which were bestowed on us without any preceding merits of our own, our sins do not dominate us; or if they should creep in, they are quickly corrected by penance. For who could even conceive in mind, much less express in words, how great are the benefits of our God toward us? For He made us when we were not, He restored us afterwards when we had perished. He underwent death, He freed us by His precious blood, He descended to the lower regions, He snatched us from the jaws of eternal death, He even promised the kingdoms of heaven," etc. Behold how God is the God of all grace.
Note first: The phrase "of all grace," although it signifies any virtue and grace, yet especially patience and fortitude for sustaining the sufferings and temptations which the devil stirs up against us by himself or through his agents, as if to say: "Of all grace;" that is, of all patience: "for patience has a perfect work," James I, 4. Now perfection includes all virtues; therefore also patience. Wherefore what the Apostle said of charity, 1 Corinthians chapter XIII, verse 4, the same you may say of patience: "Patience is kind, does not envy, does not act wrongly, is not puffed up, is not ambitious, seeks not what is its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; rejoices not over iniquity, but rejoices with truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." Hence Hugo, Catharinus and Salmeron interpret "all grace" as the whole entire and perfect grace, so that there is an enallage of quantity, by which the universal whole is put for the integral whole, namely "all" for "whole."
Note second: The phrase "who has called us into His eternal glory" gives the end and cause both of what precedes and what follows, as if to say: Because God has called us into His eternal glory, therefore He is the same author of "all grace:" for this corresponds to glory as seed to fruit, merit to reward, labor to prize; hence again the same one "after we have suffered a little, will Himself perfect, confirm and establish." Truly the Abbot Hyperichius in the Lives of the Fathers, book V, treatise 11, number 35: "Let your thought, he says, be in the kingdom of heaven, and quickly you will receive it as an inheritance." Hence St. Peter adds: "In Christ Jesus," that is through Christ Jesus, namely first, through the merits of Christ; secondly, through the preaching of Christ; thirdly, through the vocation and grace of Christ: for through these we are called to eternal glory. Secondly, "in Christ," so that we may suffer in Christ who suffered, as members, and with Him form one body of the Church now militant through grace, afterwards triumphant through glory. So Thomas the Englishman and the Gloss. Thirdly, Lyranus and Dionysius, "in Christ," that is, on account of Christ, or for Christ, having suffered a little. Fourthly, "in Christ," that is, after the manner of Christ, who is to us both a mirror and a reward of patience. So St. Bernard, sermon 74 on the Canticle, teaches that Christ is both the form of one fighting and the glory of one triumphing. "You are both for me, Lord Jesus, both the mirror of suffering, and the reward of one suffering: each strongly provokes, and vehemently inflames. You teach my hands to battle by the example of Your virtue, You crown my head after victory with the presence of Your majesty, whether because I behold You fighting, or because I await You not only as the one crowning, but also as the crown."
Moreover, just as St. Peter began the epistle with the benefit of vocation to faith and Christianity, so he ends with the same, to show how great this is and how greatly to be esteemed, and therefore that the faithful ought to have it always before their eyes, to give thanks for it, to ask for perseverance, and finally to lead a life worthy of it.
Note third: The phrase "after you have suffered a little" (the Zürich Bible: "briefly afflicted") "He Himself will perfect" brings great consolation to those suffering and a spur to suffer eagerly and steadfastly, namely by considering that the suffering is small, and that God will perfect those tempted and suffering for a little while. Hence Tertullian, To the Martyrs, chapter III: "Your master, he says, is Christ Jesus, who has anointed you with the Spirit, and led you forth to this arena, etc., so that your strength might be reinforced in you, because virtue is built up by hardship, and is destroyed by softness." So St. Anthony struggling with the demon: "When he raised his eyes, says St. Athanasius, he saw the roof above opened, and the darkness dispersed, a ray of light flowing into him. After the coming of this splendor neither did any of the demons appear, and the pain of the body was instantly removed. The building also that had been dissolved a little before was restored. Anthony immediately understood the presence of the Lord, and drawing long sighs from his inmost breast, he spoke to the vision which had appeared to him, saying: Where were You, good Jesus? Where were You? Why were You not present from the beginning, to heal my wounds? And a voice was made to him, saying: Anthony, I was here; but I was waiting to see your contest. Now however because by manfully struggling you did not yield, I will always help you, and will make you renowned in the whole world. Hearing these things, rising up so strengthened he prayed, that he understood he had then received more strength than he had lost before." So Theodosius the Abbot in John Moschus in the Spiritual Meadow chapter LXVI, when he had seen the devil in the form of an Ethiopian and an enormous giant, who stretched from earth up to heaven, and hid his head among the clouds, and heard: "Theodosius, you must wrestle with this one;" and fearfully said: "Who am I, that as a little man I should wrestle with so great a giant?" he heard: "Enter with all eagerness and confidence; for as soon as you have attacked him, I will be present as a helper, and will place upon you the crown of victory." So it was done.
We often experience the same in ourselves, when we undertake something arduous, that before the attempt we shudder, and think the matter impossible to accomplish. But when we undertake it, and begin the work, immediately the difficulties diminish and yield, and we accomplish the matter itself with little labor, so that what that one said is true: "Things in themselves are not difficult, but are apprehended as difficult; and therefore not things, but opinions of things disturb and shake us;" and that of Nazianzen in Sentences: "As the rustling of leaves frightens hares, so the shadows of things frighten the timid and cowardly." Things therefore that seem hard must be undertaken with great minds, and as it were with eyes closed (as the lion does) to the difficulty, and so the horror of difficulty is immediately overcome, and the matter itself appears easy to do. We read that some Martyrs, and namely Saints Mark and Marcellian at the beginning of martyrdom were anxious, and had great pains and struggles; but when with steadfast mind they gave themselves up to the torturers as prey for the glory of God, and ardently begged for God's help, they conquered all fear and horror, and joyfully and eagerly endured all torments, both because this generous spirit overcame the pains, so that it considered them small or nothing; and because God is present to great minds and aids them, either by lessening the sense of pain, or by His consolation and grace so strengthening the mind, that it considers all torments light. For just as a light weight is lifted up by a greater counterweight, and as it were lightened: so great love and spirit mitigates all pain. "For my weight is my love," says St. Augustine.
Note fourth: The phrase "He Himself will perfect" in Greek is καταρτίσαι, which the Zürich Bible translates "may He restore," so that if anything through afflictions in our faculty and mind, by the vice of impatience and pusillanimity, has been dislocated, injured, divided, broken, gaping, distorted, weakened, He may restore, confirm, unite, and equalize. Others translate "may He join together," or "make whole," so that in all the parts of patience and virtues compacted as if in joints, you may be whole, finished, complete and perfect.
WILL CONFIRM AND ESTABLISH. — Pagninus: "may He prop up and strengthen." All these are the same, or nearly the same, and signify only by amplification that this perfection is firm and solid, and consists in the firmness and solidity of patience and virtue. Hence the Greek adds θεμελιώσει, that is, "He will establish;" the Zürich Bible and Pagninus: "He will make stable." Hence the Syriac translates: That, when we have endured these slight oppressions, we may be strengthened, and confirmed, and persevere in Him (Jesus Christ) for eternity. Hence again some read these by nouns and ablatives: καταρτίσει στηρίξει, σθενώσει, θεμελιώσει, that is, He will perfect by confirmation, consolidation, foundation. But better Our [translator] and others take the last three not as nouns, but as verbs of future tense, and so likewise for the first καταρτίσαι, that is "may He perfect," in the optative, they read in the future καταρτίσει, that is "He will perfect." Now the Greeks read all in the optative καταρτίσαι, στηρίξαι, σθενώσαι, θεμελιώσαι, that is, may He perfect, confirm, strengthen, establish.
Others however distinguish these, but variously. First, Salmeron: "He will perfect, he says, through charity, He will confirm through living hope, He will establish through efficacious faith." Again the same adds that Christ perfects the faithful whom He bought and redeemed, the Father confirms the same whom He created, the Holy Spirit establishes by the spirit of His grace and fortitude. Secondly, Titelmann: "He will perfect, he says, through patience, He will confirm and establish through perseverance." Hence also Prosper, book I On the Vocation of the Gentiles, XXIV, from this passage teaches that perseverance is a gift of God. Thirdly, the Carthusian adapts these to the three powers of the soul: "He will perfect, he says, the intellect by the understanding of the purified mind, He will confirm the will by the fervor of charity, He will establish the memory so that it may be fixed in God and stand firm." Or, as Thomas the Englishman: "He will perfect the reason by knowledge of the truth, He will confirm the concupiscible appetite in the love of goodness, He will establish the irascible so that it yields to no terrors or difficulties." Fourthly, Hugo applies and opposes these to the three enemies of man: "He will perfect, he says, against the world, He will confirm against the flesh, He will establish against the demon." Fifthly, others as if to say: "He will perfect us by bestowing the will to will perfectly and steadfastly, He will confirm by giving the will to execute the thing willed, He will establish by giving the strength to execute the very act."
Moreover, all these things God does inchoately in this life through grace and patience, but He will do the same perfectly in the future through glory. For this will perfect the intellect with the light of glory, that it may see and contemplate God as the supreme good; will confirm the will, that it may love Him with all its strength; will establish the same, that it may not be torn from so great a good, but cleave wholly to Him, nor by any thing or reason be able to be separated from Him. So nearly Hugo, Primaticius and others, and the Syriac favors this when it translates: Let us be strengthened, and confirmed, and persevere in Him for eternity. This is what Paul says: "Our momentary and light tribulation works for us beyond measure in sublimity an eternal weight of glory," II Cor. IV, 17. "This is the goal, this the end," this is the boundary, this the crown, this the epinicion of the Christian, with which St. Peter as he began the Epistle, so also in the same he ends.
Excellently Lactantius, book VII, chapter VI, depicts Christians and the whole rationale of Christianity by this description: "Therefore, he says, the world was made, that we might be born: therefore we are born, that we might recognize the maker of the world and our God: therefore we recognize, that we might worship: therefore we worship, that we might receive immortality as the reward of our labors, since the worship of God consists of the greatest labors: therefore we are endowed with the reward of immortality, that, made like the angels, we may serve the supreme Father and Lord forever and be eternally a kingdom for God. This is the sum of things, this the secret of God, this the mystery of the world." Hence St. Gregory Nazianzen, On Christ suffering, says that He was born and suffered not for Himself, but for us:
I am made, He says, of the body of Christ, He of mine.
He bore me as He died, me as He rose with death conquered.
And with Himself He bore me to the Father above the stars.
And Prudentius, On the Resurrection of the Flesh:
Drive fear from the heart, my members, and believe yourselves
Going to return with Christ to God: for He bears you,
And with Himself recalls; laugh at threatening diseases,
Despise the inflicted accidents, despise the foul tombs,
And whither rising Christ calls, go.
And Tertullian, in the book On the Resurrection, gives as a symbol of the resurrection the phoenix, a bird of Arabia coming to life again, and compares to it Christians suffering, dying, and rising. For thus Lactantius sings of the phoenix:
She is her own offspring, her own father, and her own heir,
Her own nurse, always her own foster-child.
The same indeed, but not the same: because she is both herself, and not herself,
Having attained eternal life by the gift of death.
At Ravenna there is an emblem on a picture of the phoenix:
Secure he dies who knows that by death he is reborn;
That cannot be called death, but new life.
The most illustrious Bona, mother of John Galeazzo Duke of Milan, when her husband had died, had a phoenix struck on a medal with this motto: Made alone, I follow God alone.
Finally St. Cecilia had a phoenix carved on the tomb of St. Maximus the Martyr; and at Rome in the crypts of many Martyrs a phoenix is seen engraved on the sarcophagi.
Thinking, hoping for, and seeking these things, the Saints sought sufferings, sought out crosses, thirsted for martyrdoms. Among them St. Vincent stood out, who was as greedy and eager for tortures as Dacian the tyrant was lavish of the same upon him; he had the rack as his delight, the iron claws as his banquets, the catasta as a soft mattress, and, what is wonderful, as these grew, the vigor of his mind and body grew, so that, torn to pieces and almost killed, by them he seemed to revive, to be restored and strengthened; and so on a bed and on roses he breathed forth his soul, to whom torments had given life: indeed roses and delights to him were torments, but torments and punishments for Christ were to him delights. So God perfected, confirmed, and established him who had suffered a little, so that loftier than a man, like a bodiless angel he played in the pains of the body, and mocked the tyrant, so that with his own wounds he wounded and tortured the tyrant more than he himself was wounded by them. Similar was St. Agatha insulting Quintianus. Having suffered a little she was so strengthened, that to the procuress Aphrodisia tempting her she said: "You waste your effort: for I am so firmly established in faith, chastity, and the love of God, that by His grace the sun will sooner lose its light, the fire its heat, the snow its whiteness, than I will change my purpose. Let Quintianus prepare lions, sharpen swords, kindle fires, open the gates of hell, and rouse all the demons against me, by God's help I will live and die a Christian and equally a virgin; for most intently I love and desire Christ, to whom I have wholly devoted and betrothed myself."
Verse 11: To Him Be Glory and Empire For Ever and Ever. Amen
11. TO HIM BE GLORY AND DOMINION. — The Syriac: "to Him glory, power and honor." St. Prosper, book I On the Vocation of the Gentiles, chapter XXIV, "to whom be virtue and honor." The Greek κράτος signifies power, strength, force, dominion, principality, victory, all of which fit this passage, as if to say: God will perfect those who have suffered a little, and will give them victory through perfect patience: to Him therefore let all praise of victory be ascribed, not to us, according to that of Paul, 1 Cor. XV, 57: "Thanks be to God, who has given us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ;" and 2 Cor. II, 14: "Thanks be to God, who always triumphs," that is, makes us triumph "in Christ Jesus." St. Peter as he began with a doxology to God, saying: "Blessed be God," so he ends with the same, saying: "To Him be glory," etc., to teach that God and the praise of God ought to be the beginning, middle, and end of our actions, and therefore to be frequently used in heart and mouth, as St. Paul uses it Rom. XI, 36, and chapter XVI, 27; Ephesians III, 21; Philip. IV, 20; Hebrews XIII, 21; Galatians I, 5, and elsewhere: about which more in Apocalypse IV, 11, and V, 12, and VII, 12.
Verse 12: By Silvanus, a Faithful Brother Unto You, as I Think, I Have Written Briefly
12. BY SILVANUS. — This is Silas, who carrying these letters of St. Peter from Rome to the East, there fell in with St. Paul, and clung to him as a companion of his preaching, 2 Thessalonians I, 1. So St. Jerome, epistle 143; the Syriac, Oecumenius and most others. Wrongly therefore Dorotheus in the Synopsis, and the Greek Menology on August 1, distinguish Silvanus from Silas. Some think that Silvanus, or Silas, not only carried but also wrote this epistle dictated by St. Peter. For he says: "Through Silvanus, etc., I have written briefly." He names the bearer, so that the faithful may be certain that the epistle delivered by him is genuinely Peter's, not feigned, not supposed.
AS I THINK. — Refer to "faithful in words," as if to say: I have written through Silvanus, because he is faithful to you, as I think.
Others refer it to "I have written briefly," as if to say: I think I have been brief in writing. For sometimes one writing or speaking seems to himself brief, who to those hearing or reading seems prolix: so the Syriac and Cajetan.
BESEECHING, — that you may steadfastly retain and fulfill in deed the faith of Christ and the precepts of virtues, which I have written in this epistle: "for I testify" that in these is placed "the true grace of God, in which you stand," that is, you steadfastly persevere. In the Greek it is ἑστήκατε, that is, you have stood; but it should be read ἑστάναι, that is, you stand, or certainly the past is taken for the present, in the Hebrew manner: for everyone everywhere explains it through the present. Some however read στῆτε, that is, may you stand, and this aptly corresponds to the Greek παρακαλῶν, that is, "beseeching" or "exhorting" you, that you may stand and persevere in the faith of Christ and the grace of Christianity. For wrongly the Syriac translates παρακαλῶν as "having been persuaded." Thus Paul says Philippians chapter IV, 1: "So stand in the Lord, dearly beloved;" and Galatians V, 1: "Stand and be not held again under the yoke of servitude."
Note that faith and the new law are called grace, because it is the supreme gift of God, freely given to the unmerited and unworthy, so that He may make them pleasing to Himself and worthy of heaven, according to that of John I: "The law was given by Moses, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." For the old law was of strictness and justice, the new is of grace and clemency.
Verse 13: The Church That Is in Babylon, Elected Together With You, Saluteth You: and So Doth My Son Mark
13. THE CHURCH WHICH IS AT BABYLON, ELECTED TOGETHER WITH YOU, SALUTES YOU (the word "Church" is not in the Greek, but is understood: hence the Interpreter rightly expressed it, just as the Syriac does). — Heretics, as Beza, Viret, Sadulius, Velenus and others, in order to defend their false dogma, namely that St. Peter was not at Rome, and consequently that the Roman Pontiff is not the successor of St. Peter and the head of the Church, take "Babylon" properly, namely as a city either of Assyria or of Egypt. For there were two Babylons, one in Chaldea, the other in Egypt, which is now called Cairo. But they err, first, because the Jews, as St. Peter was, had been expelled by Gaius Caesar from Babylon and Assyria, as Josephus teaches, Antiquities XVIII, last chapter. Now the Egyptian Babylon was at that time an obscure place and a fortress, says Strabo, book XVII. Secondly, because St. John, Apocalypse XVII, 9, says that Babylon sits on seven mountains or hills; but no other city is seven-hilled but Rome. Hence the heretics are forced to confess that in the Apocalypse "Babylon" is understood as Rome (hence Luther wrote a book On the Babylonian Captivity, that is, on the Roman one, namely of the Pope and the Papacy, as he himself explains). If in the Apocalypse, why not here? For St. John was contemporary with St. Peter; hence Rome and Babylon were the same to both. Thirdly, because the orthodox Fathers and Doctors unanimously assert this, namely Papias, disciple of St. John, in Eusebius, book II of the History, chapter XIV, alternatively XV. St. Jerome on Isaiah chapters XXIV and XLVII, and book II Against Jovinian, near the end: "To you, he says, I speak, who erased the blasphemy written on your forehead by confession of Christ." Tertullian, book III Against Marcion, chapter XIII; Bede, Oecumenius and others here; Andreas of Caesarea, Aretas, Ribera, Alcazar, Viegas, Pererius and others, on Apocalypse XVII and XVIII.
You will ask, on what reason is Rome called "Babylon"? I answer: First, because Rome succeeded Babylon in empire as a daughter to a mother, or rather a granddaughter to a grandmother, and therefore the Babylonian empire passed and ended in the Roman, just as the Synagogue passed into the Church, the Judaic Jerusalem into the Christian: hence on this account the Church itself is called Synagogue of Zion and Jerusalem. So St. Augustine, City of God VIII, II, calls Rome the first "Babylon," and Rome a second Babylon: "Two kingdoms, he says, we discern as having been far more illustrious than the rest, that of the Assyrians (under which he includes the Babylonians) first, then the Romans, ordered and distinguished from each other as in times, so in places. For just as the former is earlier, the latter later: in that manner the former arose in the East, the latter in the West. Finally, at the end of the former, the beginning of the latter immediately followed." And chapter XXII: "Then was founded the loftiest city of Rome as it were a second Babylon, and as it were a daughter of the prior Babylon, through which it pleased God to subdue the world of lands, and having brought it into one society of commonwealth and of laws, to pacify it far and wide."
Secondly, because Rome was similar to Babylon in the size and magnificence of empire. So Oecumenius. Hence Babylon was the type and prelude of Rome, and that by many parallels and analogies which Orosius reviews, book II, chapter II and III. For first, he says: "The kingdom of Ninus and Babylon was transferred to the Medes in that year, in which year among the Latins Procas, father of Amulius and Numitor, and grandfather of Rhea Silvia, who was the mother of Romulus, began to reign. Secondly, just as from the first year of the empire of Ninus until Babylon began to be restored by Semiramis, sixty-four years intervene, so from the first year of Procas, when he began to reign, to the founding of the City made by Romulus, sixty-four years intervene. Thirdly, Babylon was dishonored in that year under Arbatus, in which Rome was sown under King Procas. Fourthly, Babylon was finally overthrown by King Cyrus at the same time when Rome was first liberated from the rule of the Tarquinian kings. For under one and the same convergence of times, the former fell, the latter rose: the former then for the first time suffering the rule of foreigners, the latter then first scorning the disdain of her own people; the former then as if dying relinquished her inheritance, the latter however coming of age then recognized herself as heir; then the empire of the East fell, that of the West arose. Fifthly, Babylon stood for 1164 years, until Arbatus, who despoiled her of empire, and Rome after the same number of years, that is 1164, was despoiled of her wealth by the Goths and their king Alaric, not of her kingdom, but remains still and reigns unharmed. Sixthly, similar was the rise of Babylonia and of Rome, similar the power: similar the size, similar the times, similar the goods, similar the evils, although not similar the end nor similar the failure. For the former lost her kingdom, this one retains it; the former bereft by the killing of her king, this one is safe with her emperor unharmed. And why is this? Because there in the king the disgrace of lusts was punished, here the most continent equity of Christian religion was preserved in the king; there without reverence for religion the license of fury satisfied the greed of pleasure, here there were Christians who spared; and Christians on account of whose memory, and in whose memory it was spared." Thus far Orosius.
Finally in the time of St. Peter Rome was Babylon, that is, the confusion of idols, vices, and spoils of the whole world. Hence Tertullian, book III Against Marcion, chapter XIII: "So also Babylon, he says, even in our John, is a figure of the city of Rome, of similar greatness, and proud in kingdom, and a destroyer of the Saints of God." Note here: Babel or Babylon in Hebrew is the same as in Greek σύγχυσις, as the Septuagint translates Genesis XI, 9, in Latin "confusion," or commingling: "For there was confused the language of all the earth," that is, because there the languages of men were commingled and divided, when before all spoke one and the same, namely Hebrew. The root therefore of Babel is בלל balal, and by crasis bal, that is to confound, to mix together: thence by adding the letter B, Babel is made. Moreover with the added letter B, it is also said Babel for bal or bel, either because "bet" in Hebrew means "in," so that Babel is the same as "in confusion," as Pagninus holds in his Interpretation of Hebrew names; or B is put for בא "ba," that is "he came," so that Babel is the same as "confusion came," as Aben Ezra holds; or rather by onomatopoeia bal or bel is doubled, so that babel is the same as balbel. For thus the Hebrews repeatedly double their roots, and from triliterals make quadriliterals, as from kalal by doubling they make kilkel; from galal, that is to roll, they make gilgel: hence galgala, and gulgolet, or gulgolta, that is skull, or calvaria, from rolling and roundness. Now just as for gulgolta, for the sake of euphony, by eliding the middle L, they say golgotha; so for balbel they say babel, eliding the middle L. Therefore on account of a similar confusion of vices, St. Peter called Rome Babylon. He did not want to name Rome, lest he should bring the Roman Christians into danger. For if these letters had fallen into the hands of the Gentiles, they would have reported to the Emperor that there was at Rome a great multitude, namely the Church of Christians, which he would immediately have moved persecution against. Baronius adds that St. Peter, having escaped by flight from prison at Jerusalem, wanted to be hidden, lest Herod, learning that he was at Rome, should write to Caesar, and have him arrested again.
Tropologically: The impious and worldly are citizens of Babylon, because they are constantly engaged and tossed about in the confusion of affairs, desires, tumults, disturbances, and accidents of this world; the Saints however are truly citizens of Jerusalem, that is, of the vision of peace, because in peace of conscience they serve and cling to the one God, and they say: "In peace will I sleep and rest in the selfsame." St. Augustine in Sentences, Sentence 221: "Two loves, he says, make two cities in the whole world: love of God makes Jerusalem, love of the world makes Babylon. Let each one therefore question himself, and he will find of which he is a citizen." And St. Gregory, XVIII Morals, XXV: The citizens of Jerusalem, he says, are those who love only the heavenly fatherland; the citizens of Babylon are those who lie subject to the cares of the earthly fatherland. "Since therefore it is established that even good men are often involved in earthly cares without earthly desire (as Daniel, he says, was set over Babylon by the king), we plainly recognize that thus citizens of Jerusalem sometimes pay the dues of Babylon, as often citizens of Babylon expend dues for Jerusalem." Concerning this Babylon I shall say more at Apocalypse XVII and XVIII.
For the first, and it was a singular and surpassing one, was the election of the Roman faithful and of the primitive Roman Church, inasmuch as she, drawing the firstfruits of the Spirit from Christ through Saints Peter and Paul, flourished in heroic faith, sublime hope, and ardent charity, and therefore brought forth so many hundreds of thousands of Martyrs continuously throughout three hundred years of persecution. Therefore many princes, kings, and queens out of devotion set out for Rome with great journeys and expense, in order that they might religiously visit the holy places; indeed not a few chose to live and die there, and to be buried among the Saints, whose examples I have recounted at Isaiah chapter LXVI, 23. Indeed the Lord Christ, appearing to St. Bridget (as her Life by Surius has it, July 23), commanded her to journey to Rome, saying: "Set out for Rome; for there the streets are paved with gold, and reddened with the blood of the Saints: there, through the pardons or indulgences which the Saints have merited, one comes by a shortcut to heaven." She obeyed, and having journeyed to Rome, attained there such sanctity that, dying there in the year of the Lord 1373, she deserved to be enrolled by solemn rite in the catalogue of the Blessed, and her house, converted into a temple, is religiously visited by residents and pilgrims.
Tertullian therefore rightly says, in the book On Prescription: "Happy, he says, is the (Roman) Church to which the Apostles poured forth their whole doctrine with their blood." St. Augustine, epistle 162, says that in the Roman Church the primacy of the Apostolic see has always flourished. St. Jerome, in book II Against Jovinian: "Know, he says, that the Roman faith, praised by the Apostolic voice, does not receive prodigies of this sort, even if an angel announce otherwise than what was once preached. Fortified by equal authority, it cannot be changed." St. Irenaeus, in book III, chapter III, teaches that the entire faith is preserved in the Roman Church, and that all must take refuge in it. The same is taught by Optatus, book II against Parmenian; St. Cyprian, book I, epistle 3; St. Ambrose, oration On the Death of His Brother Satyrus, and others.
Co-elect. — Some interpreters wrongly read "collected." For in Greek it is συνεκλεκτή, that is, co-elect, that is, elected together with you, sharer in your election to faith, grace, and salvation. The Jewish people were originally elected by God, as also by Christ, of whom St. Peter was specially pastor and overseer, Galatians II, 8, to whom he primarily writes this Epistle, chapter I, verse 1. The Gentile people were co-elected by Christ, who joined the Gentiles with the Jews into one Church; and St. Peter here insinuates this to the Jews by this word (for Rome was the head of the Gentiles), so that the Jews, after their accustomed manner, should not turn away from the Gentiles, but love them as brothers in Christ, and associate themselves with them. Again, by this word he confirms the faithful of the East in the faith through the faith of the city and Church which is foremost, namely the Roman, in that she agrees with them both in faith, and in hope of vocation, and in charity. Again, the elect Church is the Church of those elected to faith and grace, and, if they persevere in it, to glory.
St. Peter alludes, first, to Abraham, the parent of the Synagogue, of the faith, and of the faithful; for just as God chose Abraham in Babylonia, and led him out of Ur of the Chaldees into the promised land: so St. Peter at Rome converted St. Clement, St. Pudens, St. Linus, St. Cletus, and other most illustrious men, who were the first and the leaders of the Church. Secondly, he alludes to the Babylonian captivity: for then God's people and the Synagogue of the Jews dwelt captive in Babylon, and converted many Babylonians to the faith of the true God; whence there was then at Babylon the elect Church of God. In a similar way at Rome St. Peter converted very many out of paganism, and there established the citadel and head of the Christian Church. There was therefore at Rome a Church co-elected by God, that is, chosen as once was the Synagogue of the Jews.
AND MARK MY SON. — This "Mark" was not John surnamed Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, of whom Acts XII, 12, but St. Mark the Evangelist: him St. Peter calls his son, not according to the flesh, but according to faith and spirit; because he had imbued him with his own faith, doctrine, and spirit, so that he wrote the Gospel: whence he had him as helper and interpreter, and therefore most dear: and for that reason he soon sent him to Alexandria, where he raised up a Church flourishing with such great continence and sanctity that its disciples were called Essenes, that is, holy and pious, of whom I have spoken at Acts V, 1. Hence it is clear that St. Mark was not from among the 72 disciples of Christ, as Epiphanius will have it, in heresy 51, but was converted after Christ by St. Peter; for it is on this account that he calls him son, because he begot him in Christ. So Papias in Eusebius, book III, last chapter; St. Jerome, On Ecclesiastical Writers, on Mark; Bede, Preface to St. Matthew, and others. Some add that he is called "son" because he was the interpreter of this epistle, which is probable. Hence Bede and others gather that this epistle of St. Peter is the most ancient, and the first of all the epistles, and was written in the year of Christ 45. For in the same year (which was the third of the emperor Claudius) St. Mark, having written the Gospel at Rome and departing from St. Peter, set out for Alexandria, where he sat as Bishop for 19 years, that is, until the year of Christ 64, the 8th of Nero, in which he was crowned with martyrdom, as Eusebius testifies, book I of History, chapter XIV, and book III, last chapter, and others.
Verse 14: Salute One Another With a Holy Kiss. Grace Be to All You Who Are in Christ Jesus. Amen
14. SALUTE ONE ANOTHER WITH A HOLY KISS. — namely a Christian, chaste, candid one; not an unfaithful, unchaste, feigned one, which is a part of adultery, the door of crime, the beginning of death, says St. Basil On Virginity. Whence with a holy kiss in protestation of charity Christians used to kiss one another before the Holy Synaxis, the Deacon crying out: "Embrace and kiss one another," as Cyril testifies, catechesis 5. For the kiss is a sign first, of reconciliation; second, of peace; third, of charity; fourth, of joy; fifth, of Catholic communion, as the author of the book On Friendship, in St. Augustine, vol. I, teaches. Whence the Greeks and Oecumenius, instead of "holy kiss," read "kiss of charity," not of carnality. For the kiss signifies that mind is joined to mind, as much as mouth to mouth, in pure love. Tertullian indeed, in the book On Prayer, calls the kiss the seal of prayer. For, as St. Augustine says, sermon 83 On Various Topics: "After the Lord's Prayer, Peace be with you is said, and Christians kiss one another with a holy kiss, which is the seal of peace; that what the lips show may take place in the conscience, that is, just as your lips and the lips of your brother come together, so let your heart not depart from his heart." See what is said about the holy kiss, II Corinthians chapter XIII, verse 12.
GRACE BE TO YOU ALL. — In Greek εἰρήνη, that is, peace: so the Syriac. Peace among the Hebrews signifies grace, and every good thing; perhaps also Our author read χάρις, that is, grace, instead of εἰρήνη. For St. Paul, the companion and follower of St. Peter, everywhere in his epistles wishes grace upon the faithful, and so the wishing of grace and peace is the true seal of an Apostolic epistle. Whence Saints Ignatius, Polycarp, and other Apostolic men of that age employ it in their epistles.
Who are in Christ Jesus. — You who are incorporated into Christ through faith, hope, charity, soon to be incorporated through eternal happiness and glory, as he said in verse 10. Most excellently Eusebius of Emesa, or rather St. Eucherius of Lyons, in the homily On St. Maximus: "O, he says, human frailty! small is whatever you do for the hope of things eternal." For, as Cicero says, Tusculan IV: "What can seem great to him in human affairs, to whom all eternity and the magnitude of the whole world is known?" More sublimely and divinely St. Augustine, book XII of Confessions, chapter XI: "O blessed (creature), He says, by clinging to Thy blessedness, blessed by Thee Thyself, its everlasting inhabitant and its illuminator. Nor do I find what I should more gladly think to be called the heaven of heaven of the Lord, than Thy house contemplating Thy delight without any failing of going forth into another, a pure mind, most harmoniously one by the stability of peace of holy spirits, citizens of Thy city in the heavens, above these heavenly things. Whence let the soul understand, whose pilgrimage has become long, if now she thirsts for Thee, if now her tears have been made her bread, while it is said to her every day: Where is Thy God? if now she asks one thing of Thee, and seeks this, that she may dwell in Thy house all the days of her life. And what is her life unless Thee? And what are Thy days unless Thy eternity, as Thy years which do not fail, because Thou Thyself art the Same? Hence then let my soul understand, what she can, how far above all times Thou art eternal, when Thy house, which has not gone on pilgrimage, although it is not co-eternal with Thee, yet by clinging unceasingly to Thee, suffers no vicissitude of times."