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Chapter 52SermC.1.52

Sermo 52

The Bride's Sacred Rest

The bridegroom tenderly guards the sleeping bride, forbidding the daughters of Jerusalem from disturbing her rest, revealing the sweetness of divine condescension.

I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the roe deer and the stags of the fields, that you do not arouse or awaken the beloved until she herself wishes it.✦ These young women are forbidden — for he means these as daughters of Jerusalem — because, even if they are delicate and soft, and as yet weak with what might be called womanly affections and ways, yet they cling to the bride in the hope of advancing and journeying toward Jerusalem; they are therefore forbidden to disturb the sleeping bride, lest they should presume to arouse her in any way beyond her own will. For this reason, then, the sweetest bridegroom placed his left hand under her head, according to the things written earlier, so that he might let her rest and sleep in his embrace.✦ And now, as Scripture continually goes on to say, that guardian himself watches over her most graciously and most benevolently, so that she is not compelled to awaken, disturbed by the frequent and petty necessities of the young women. This is the literal coherence of the passage. But that adjuration made through the roe deer and stags of the fields seems to carry no reasonable consequence at all according to the letter; so completely does spiritual understanding claim the whole passage for itself. However that adjuration stands, meanwhile it's good for us to be here and to gaze a little while on the goodness, sweetness, and condescending love of the divine nature. For what, O man, have you ever experienced in human affections sweeter than what is now being poured out to you from the heart of the Most High?

The Spirit Bears Witness to the Mystery

The Spirit of God, who searches the deep things, testifies to the intimate mystery of the bridegroom's jealous care for the beloved's peace.

And it is expressed by the one who searches the deep things of God, and who cannot be ignorant of what is in him, because he is his Spirit; nor can he clearly say anything other than what he has seen with him, because he is the Spirit of truth.

Embraced in the Bosom of God

The preacher rejoices that the heavenly bridegroom stoops to embrace the soul in exile, guarding her so closely in sleep that no one may disturb her until she awakens of her own accord.

And so there's no one among us who hasn't deserved to be gladdened by this gift, and to have had such intimate experience of this most sweet mystery in himself — unless, that is, we refuse to believe the Scripture passage that's right here in our hands, where the heavenly bridegroom is clearly portrayed, burning with the deepest jealousy for the peace of a certain beloved of his, anxious to guard her as she sleeps in his own arms, so that she might not be disturbed by any trouble or restlessness in his most sweet sleep.12 I am overcome with joy: that majesty does not disdain to stoop to our weakness with such familiar and sweet fellowship, and the heavenly Deity does not look down on entering into marriage union with the soul as she goes into exile, and offering her affection to the bridegroom, captured as he is by the most burning love.345 Yes, I don't doubt that she will be in heaven, as I read on earth, and the soul that the page contains will know for certain — except that these words aren't enough to express fully how much she'll then be able to receive, nor even how much she can receive now.67 What, do you think, will she receive there, who is granted such great familiarity here, that she may feel herself embraced by the arms of God, cherished in the bosom of God, guarded by the care and zeal of God — so that, sleeping, she might not be disturbed by anyone, until she awakens of her own accord and is roused?89

What Kind of Sleep Is This?

The bride's sleep is neither bodily slumber nor the sleep of sin and death, but a watchful, living ecstasy that illuminates the inner sense and grants everlasting life.

Come now, then — let us say, if we can, what sort of sleep this is, that the bridegroom would have his beloved fall asleep, and yet not allow her to be disturbed at all, unless it is by his own choosing that she be roused, so that perhaps when someone reads in the Apostle, 'It is now the hour for us to rise from sleep,' or in the Prophet, entreated by God himself, 'Let my eyes be opened, lest I ever fall asleep in death' — he should not be confused by the shared use of words, nor find at all what to think worthily about the bride's sleeping, which is spoken of in this passage.✦✦ For not even what the Lord says about Lazarus in the Gospel — 'Lazarus our friend sleeps; let us go and rouse him from sleep' — is comparable to this.✦ For he said that about the death of his body, when the disciples thought he was speaking about the sleep of slumber.✦ But this sleep of the bride is not the sleep of the body — either gentle, which sweetly lulls the senses of the flesh for a time, or dreadful, which is accustomed to snatch life away entirely. It is far more alien even than that by which one falls asleep in death — namely, when one persists irrevocably in sin, which leads to death. But this kind of sleep — watchful and alive — illuminates the inner sense, and with death driven back, grants everlasting life. Truly, it is a sleep that does not lull the sense, but draws it away. There is also a death — I would say without hesitation — since the Apostle, speaking with commendation of some still living in the flesh, says: 'You are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.'✦

A Good Death That Frees the Soul

The soul longs for a death like the sparrow snatched from the snare—a death to worldly passions that does not end life but transfers it to something better.

And so I, for my part, would not absurdly call the bride's ecstasy a death — though not a death that snatches life away, but one that snatches life out of its snares, so that she can say: Our soul is like a sparrow, snatched from the snare of the hunters. For we walk among the very snares of this life — snares that, to be sure, are feared not as often as they should be, whenever the soul is carried away from itself by some holy and powerful thought, if only it withdraws and rises in mind far enough to transcend this common way of living and customary pattern of thinking. For a net is cast in vain before the eyes of winged creatures. For what is there to fear from luxury when life itself is not even felt? When the soul goes out — even if not out of life, at least out of the felt sense of life — it is necessarily the case that the temptation of life is not felt either. Who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly, and I will rest? Would that by this death I might often fall, so that I may escape the snares of death, so that I may not feel the death-bringing allurements of a life of luxury, so that I may be stunned at the pull of lust, at the fever of greed, at the goads of anger and impatience, at the anxieties of cares, and at the annoyances of worries! Let my soul die the death of the just, so that no deceit may ensnare it, no iniquity may delight it.✦ A good death — one that does not take life away but transfers it to something better; a good death, by which the body does not fall but the soul is raised up.

The Death of Angels and the Gift of Contemplation

Beyond human virtue lies angelic purity—a soul so stripped of bodily images that it rests in solitude, transcending even the memory of present things.

But this is characteristic of human beings. Let my soul die even the death of angels, if such a thing can be said, so that, going beyond the memory of present things, it may strip itself not only of desires but also of the images of lower, bodily realities, and its communion with them may be pure, since it shares in their purity. This kind of ecstasy, I think, is what is called a going out, or at least, and especially, contemplation. For not being held by the desires of things through living is a mark of human virtue, but not being entangled by gazing on the images of bodily things is a mark of angelic purity. Yet both are gifts of God's generosity — to go beyond both, to transcend yourself — but one far more so than the other. Blessed is the one who can say: See, I have gone far away in flight, and I have stayed in solitude.✦ , 8). He was not content just to go out, unless he also put himself far away, so that he could rest.

True Rest Is Found Only in God

The soul must not rest in partial progress but press on to the true solitude where God himself becomes a tabernacle of shade and shelter from every evil.

You've leaped past the delights of the flesh, so that you'd no longer obey its desires at all, and not be held by its allurements — you've made progress, you've separated yourself, but you haven't yet truly withdrawn, unless you also prevail over the phantasms of bodily likenesses that rush in from every side, by the purity of your mind. Don't promise yourself rest up to this point. You're mistaken if you think you've found a place of rest this side of — a retreat of solitude, a serene light, a dwelling of peace. But grant me someone who has arrived there, and without hesitation I confess they rest — someone who can rightly say: Return, my soul, to your rest, for the Lord has dealt well with you. And here truly, in solitude there is a place, and in light a dwelling — exactly as the prophet says: a tabernacle for shade by day from the heat, for safety and shelter from whirlwind and rain — about which holy David also says: He hid me, he says, in his tabernacle in the day of evils; he protected me in the hidden place of his tabernacle.

The Bride Sleeps Among the Angels

The bride has withdrawn into heavenly solitude and fallen asleep in the bridegroom's embrace; the roebucks and stags—holy angels and disembodied souls—are invoked to guard her from disturbance.

Imagine, then, that the bride has withdrawn into this solitude, and that there, before the beauty of the place, she has fallen sweetly asleep in the bridegroom's embrace — that is, she has passed into the spirit — since the young women are not allowed to wake her until she herself wishes it. But what does that mean, exactly? For they are not forbidden simply, or with the light admonition that is usual, but with an entirely new and unfamiliar attestation — through the roe-deer, that is, and the stags of the fields. By this kind of wild beast, it seems to me, holy souls stripped of their bodies — and at the same time the angels who are with God — are fittingly portrayed, surely because of the sharpness of their sight and the swiftness of their leaping. We know, then, that both of these things are fitting for both kinds of spirits: for they easily seek the highest things and penetrate the inmost. Their designated dwelling in the fields clearly signifies free and unencumbered movement in their contemplation. So what does the adjuration made through these creatures mean? Surely, the restless young women must not dare to call the beloved out of so reverend a company on a slight pretext — a company to which, without doubt, she is joined as often as she goes beyond herself in contemplation.

The Discretion Given to the Bride

The bridegroom entrusts the care of the young women to the bride's own discretion, for he knows her burning love for them and will not let her rest be broken by their importunity.

And so it is fitting that they are restrained by the authority of those from whose fellowship it is established that she be not torn away by their importunity. Let the young women take heed whom they offend, since at the same time they disturb the mother; and let them not so confidently presume upon maternal love as not to fear rushing into that heavenly assembly without great necessity. Let them consider what they are doing whenever they are more troublesome than is just to the one resting in contemplation. It's placed indeed within her will, both to have freedom for herself and to attend to their care as she judges proper, since she's forbidden to be roused by them until she herself wishes it. The bridegroom knows how greatly the bride burns with love even toward neighbors, and that the mother is sufficiently troubled by her own love over the daughters' progress, and that she will in no way withdraw from them or deny them as much and as often as there is need; and therefore he has decided that this dispensation is to be entrusted safely to her discretion. For he's not like many we see branded by the prophetic brand, who take up what's dense and strong and cast aside what's weak. Does a doctor seek out the strong, and not rather the sick? If it happens, he acts perhaps as a friend, but not as a doctor.

The Good Teacher and the Weak

A good teacher does not reject the undisciplined or flee the restless, for patience is proven only in bearing with the weak.

Whom will you teach, good Teacher, if you've rejected everyone who lacks learning? On whom, I ask, will you focus the effort of discipline, if you either avoid all who lack discipline or run away from them? In which people, I beg you, will you prove your patience, if you accept only the gentle and shut out the restless?

A Pastor's Loving Burden

The preacher gently chides those who needlessly disturb their superiors' rest, yet restrains his own complaint lest timid souls be scandalized, choosing to bear all things for their salvation.

There are some among those seated here — would that they might attend more carefully to this present chapter! Let them consider, surely, how great a reverence is owed to their superiors, whom by troubling them needlessly they make themselves hostile even to the citizens of heaven: and perhaps at last they would begin to spare us a little more than usual, and not push themselves forward so irreverently and lightly when we are at leisure. A rare enough hour is granted me to rest from those who come upon me — as they well know — even when they themselves bear with me in all patience. But I raise this complaint with greater care, lest perhaps some timid soul should pretend, out of its own needs, that it is beyond the strength of its own patience, while it is really afraid to trouble me. I refrain, therefore, so as not to appear to set an example of impatience for the weak. The little ones of the Lord are those who believe in him; I will not have them suffer scandal on my account. I do not exercise this authority; rather, let them use me as they wish: only let them be saved. They spare me if they have not spared me; and I rest in this very thing, if they have not been afraid to trouble me for their needs.

Serving in Unfeigned Love

The preacher resolves to serve others in genuine love, seeking not his own good but the good of many, and prays that his ministry may bear fruit and find mercy before the bridegroom of the Church.

I'll behave toward them however I can, and through my service to them I'll serve my God, as long as I live, in love that isn't fake. I won't seek my own interests, nor what benefits me, but what benefits many — that's what I'll consider beneficial for myself.✦ This much I ask: that my ministry may be welcomed and fruitful for them, so that perhaps even from this I may find, in the evil day, mercy in the eyes of their Father and, together with Him, of the bridegroom of the Church, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is God blessed above all, with Him, forever.✦ Amen.

Read the original Latin

Adiuro vos, filiae Ierusalem, per capreos cervosque camporum, ut non excitetis neque evigilare faciatis dilectam, quoadusque ipsa velit. Prohibentur adolescentulae: has enim filias Ierusalem dicit, quia, etsi delicatae et molles, et quasi femineis adhuc affectibus et actibus infirmae, sponsae tamen inhaerent spe proficiendi et proficiscendi Ierusalem: prohibentur ergo ab infestatione sponsae dormientis, ne scilicet praeter voluntatem ipsius ullatenus eam excitare praesumant. Propterea enim dulcissimus sponsus laevam suam capiti eius supposuit, secundum ea quae praemissa sunt, quatenus in sinu suo eam quiescere faceret et dormire. Et nunc sicut subinde Scriptura prosequitur, ipse custos illius dignantissime et benevolentissime vigilat super eam, ne adolescentularum crebris minutisque necessitatibus inquietata evigilare cogatur. Ista est litteralis cohaerentia textus. Sed enim contestatio illa facta per capreas cervosque camporum, nihil omnino secundum litteram consequentiae rationabilis habere videtur; adeo totam sibi eam vindicat intelligentia spiritualis. At quoquo modo illa se habeat, interim bonum est nos hic esse, et intueri paulisper naturae divinae bonitatem, suavitatem, dignationem. Quid namque tu, homo, in humanis unquam affectibus expertus es dulcius, quam modo tibi exprimitur de corde Altissimi?

Et exprimitur ab illo qui scrutatur alta Dei, et non potest nescire quae in eo sunt, quia Spiritus ipsius est; nec aliud plane loqui, quam quod apud ipsum vidit, quoniam veritatis Spiritus est.

Denique nec deest in nostro genere, qui hoc munere felix laetificari meruerit, et sic in semetipso suavissimi arcani huius habuerit experimentum; nisi tamen Scripturae loco, qui prae manibus est, omnino decredimus, ubi manifeste inducitur coelestis sponsus vehementissime zelans pro quiete cuiusdam dilectae suae, sollicitus servare inter brachia propria dormientem, ne qua forte molestia vel inquietudine a somno suavissimo deturbetur. Non me capio prae laetitia, quod illa maiestas tam familiari dulcique consortio nostrae se inclinare infirmitati minime dedignatur, et superna Deitas animae exsulantis inire connubia, eique sponsi ardentissimo amore capti exhibere affectum non despicit. Sic, sic in coelo esse non ambigo, ut lego in terra, sentietque pro certo anima quod continet pagina, nisi quod non sufficit ista omnino exprimere, quantum capere illa tunc poterit, sed nec quantum iam potest. Quid, putas, illic accipiet, quae hic tanta familiaritate donatur, ut Dei brachiis amplecti se sentiat, Dei sinu foveri, Dei cura et studio custodiri, ne dormiens forte a quopiam, donec ultro evigilet, excitetur?

Age iam itaque, dicamus si possumus, quisnam ille sit somnus, quo dilectam suam sponsus obdormire velit, nec patiatur omnino, nisi ad ipsius arbitrium, excitari, ne forte cum legerit quis apud Apostolum: Hora est iam nos de somno surgere, sive apud Prophetam exorari ab ipso Deum, illuminari oculos suos ne unquam obdormiat in morte, nominum aequivocatione turbetur, nec inveniat omnino, quid digne de dormitione sponsae quae hoc loco memoratur, sentire possit. Nam ne illud quidem simile est huic, quod de Lazaro ait in Evangelio Dominus: Lazarus amicus noster dormit, eamus et a somno excitemus eum. Hoc enim dicebat de morte corporis eius, cum discipuli de dormitione somni dictum putarent. Non autem is sponsae somnus dormitio corporis, vel placida, quae sensus carnis suaviter sopit ad tempus, vel horrida, quae funditus vitam tollere consuevit. Multo magis vero et ab illa alienus existit qua obdormitur morte, cum videlicet in peccato quod est ad mortem, irrevocabiliter perseveratur. Magis autem istiusmodi vitalis vigilque sopor sensum interiorem illuminat, et morte propulsata vitam tribuit sempiternam. Revera enim dormitio est, quae tamen sensum non sopiat, sed abducat. Est et mors, quod non dubius dixerim, quoniam Apostolus quosdam in carne adhuc viventes commendando si loquitur: Mortui estis, et vita vestra abscondita est cum Christo in Deo.

Proinde et ego non absurde sponsae exstasim vocaverim mortem, quae tamen non vita, sed vitae eripiat laqueis, ut possit dicere: Anima nostra sicut passer erepta est de laqueo venantium. Inter medios namque laqueos in hac vita inceditur, qui utique toties non timentur, quoties sancta aliqua et vehementi cogitatione anima a semetipsa abripitur; si tamen eousque mente secedat et avolet, ut et hunc communem transcendat usum et consuetudinem cogitandi: etenim frustra iacitur rete ante oculos pennatorum. Quid enim formidetur luxuria, ubi nec vita sentitur? Excedente quippe anima, etsi non vita, certe vitae sensu, necesse est etiam ut nec vitae tentatio sentiatur. Quis dabit mihi pennas sicut columbae, et volabo, et requiescam? Utinam hac morte ego frequenter cadam, ut evadam laqueos mortis, ut non sentiam vitae luxuriantis mortifera blandimenta, ut obstupescam ad sensum libidinis, ad aestum avaritiae, ad iracundiae et impatientiae stimulos, ad angores sollicitudinum, et molestias curarum! Moriatur anima mea morte iustorum, ut nulla illam illaqueet fraus, nulla oblectet iniquitas. Bona mors, quae vitam non aufert, sed transfert in melius, bona, qua non corpus cadit, sed anima sublevatur.

Verum haec hominum est. Sed moriatur anima mea morte etiam, si dici potest, angelorum, ut praesentium memoria excedens, rerum se inferiorum corporearumque non modo cupiditatibus, sed et similitudinibus exuat, sitque ei pura cum illis conversatio, cum quibus est puritatis similitudo. Talis, ut opinor, excessus aut tantum, aut maxime contemplatio dicitur. Rerum etenim cupiditatibus vivendo non teneri, humanae virtutis est, corporum vero similitudinibus speculando non involvi, angelicae puritatis est. Utrumque tamen divini muneris est, utrumque excedere, utrumque te ipsum transcendere est, sed longe unum, alterum non longe. Beatus qui dicere potest: Ecce elongavi fugiens, et mansi in solitudine (ibid. , 8). Non fuit contentus exire, nisi et longe se faceret, ut posset quiescere.

Transilisti carnis oblectamenta, ut minime iam obedias concupiscentiis eius, nec tenearis illecebris: profecisti, separasti te, sed nondum elongasti, nisi et irruentia undique phantasmata corporearum similitudinum transvolare mentis puritate praevaleas. Hucusque noli tibi promittere requiem. Erras, si citra invenire te existimas locum quietis, secretum solitudinis, luminis serenum, habitaculum pacis. Sed da mihi qui illuc pervenerit, et incunctanter fateor quiescentem, qui merito dicat: Convertere, anima mea, in requiem tuam; quia Dominus benefecit tibi. Atque hic vere in solitudine locus et in lumine habitatio, prorsus iuxta prophetam, tabernaculum in umbraculum diei ab aestu, in securitatem et absconsionem a turbine et a pluvia; de quo et sanctus David: Abscondit me, inquit, in tabernaculo suo in die malorum, protexit me in abscondito tabernaculi sui.

Puta ergo in solitudinem hanc secessisse sponsam, ibique prae amoenitate loci inter amplexus sponsi suaviter obdormisse, id est in spiritu excessisse, quando prohibitae sunt adolescentulae expergefacere illam, quoadusque ipsa voluerit. At istud qualiter? Non enim simpliciter, neque levi, ut assolet, commonitione prohibitae sunt; sed omnino nova et insueta contestatione, per capreas scilicet cervosque camporum. Quo quidem genere ferarum videntur mihi satis congruenter expressae sanctae animae exutae corporibus, simul et qui cum Deo sunt angeli, nimirum propter acumen visus, et saltus celeritatem. Utrumque hoc siquidem utrisque spiritibus convenire cognoscimus: nam facile et petunt summa, et intima penetrant. Quorum quoque in campis designata conversatio evidenter liberos atque expeditos signat in contemplatione discursus. Quid sibi vult ergo adiuratio facta per istos? Profecto ne inquietae adolescentulae audeant levi ex causa evocare dilectam a tam reverendo collegio, cui absque dubio toties admiscetur, quoties contemplando excedit.

Pulchre itaque horum auctoritate terrentur, a quorum societate constat avelli illam ipsorum importunitate. Attendant adolescentulae quos offendant, pariter cum matrem inquietant; et minime ita materna de charitate confidant, ut non in illum coelestem conventum sine magna necessitate irruere vereantur. Id quippe se agere cogitent, quoties in contemplatione quiescenti plus iusto molestae sunt. Ponitur sane in voluntate ipsius, et vacare sibi, et curae illarum intendere prout oportere iudicaverit, cum vetatur excitari ab illis, quousque ipsa velit. Novit sponsus quanta flagret dilectione etiam erga proximos sponsa, et satis propria charitate sollicitari matrem de profectibus filiarum, nec se ullo pacto illis subtracturam seu denegaturam quantum et quoties opus fuerit: proptereaque secure discretioni eius credendam censuit hanc dispensationem. Non enim est talis, quales multos videmus prophetica inustione notatos, qui quod crassum est et forte assumentes, quod debile est proiiciunt. Nunquid medicus valentes requirit, et non potius aegrotantes? Si contingat, facit forsitan ut amicus, sed non ut medicus.

Quos docebis, Magister bone, si omnes indoctos repuleris? Quibus, quaeso, adhibebis diligentiam disciplinae, si indisciplinatos vel effugaveris omnes, vel fugeris? In quibus, obsecro, tuam probabis patientiam, si solos admiseris mansuetos, inquietos excluseris?

Sunt tamen de hic sedentibus, qui utinam praesens capitulum attentius observarent. Cogitarent certe, quanta praepositis reverentia debeatur, quos temere inquietando, coeli quoque civibus se reddunt infestos: et nobis forte plusculum solito parcere demum inciperent, nec tam irreverenter leviterque se iam ingererent cum vacamus. Rara satis mihi ad feriandum a supervenientibus, ut bene norunt, conceditur hora, etiam cum ipsi me in omni patientia sustinebunt. Verum ego scrupulosius moveo istiusmodi querelam, ne quis forte pusillanimis supra vires propriae patientiae dissimulet a necessitatibus suis, dum me inquietare veretur. Supersedeo igitur, et ne magis impatientiae exemplum videar dare infirmis. Pusilli Domini sunt credentes in eum; non patior ut ex me scandalum patiantur. Non utor hac potestate; magis autem ipsi me utantur ut libet: tantum ut salvi fiant. Parcent mihi si non pepercerint, et in eo potius requiescam, si non me inquietare timuerint pro necessitatibus suis.

Geram eis morem quoad potuero, et in ipsis serviam Deo meo, quandiu fuero, in charitate non ficta. Non quaeram quae mea sunt; nec quod mihi est utile, sed quod multis, id mihi utile iudicabo. Hoc solum deprecor, ut fiat acceptum eis fructuosumque ministerium meum, si forte vel ex hoc inveniam in die mala misericordiam in oculis Patris eorum simul et sponsi Ecclesiae Iesu Christi Domini nostri, qui cum eo est super omnia Deus benedictus in saecula. Amen.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Song.2.7 — I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or by the does of the field: do not stir up or awaken love until it pleases.
  2. ↩Song.2.6 — His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me.
  3. ↩Rom.13.11 — And this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to wake from sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.
  4. ↩Ps.12.4-Ps.12.5 — May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that speaks great things. Ps.12.5 — Because they say, 'With our tongue we will prevail; our lips are with us—who is lord over us?'
  5. ↩John.11.11 — He said these things, and after this he said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going to wake him up."
  6. ↩John.11.12-John.11.13 — His disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be saved." John.11.13 — Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought he was speaking about the sleep of rest.
  7. ↩Col.3.3 — For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
  8. ↩Num.23.10 — Who can count the dust of Jacob, or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright, and let my end be like his!
  9. ↩Ps.54.9 — For he has delivered me from all my trouble, and my eye has seen it upon my enemies.
  10. ↩Phil.2.4 — Let each of you look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
  11. ↩Eph.5.16 — making the most of the time, because the days are evil.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩decredimus: the form is uncertain (possibly a corruption for credimus); translated as 'we refuse to believe' following the candidate gloss, though the sense could also be 'we entrust ourselves.' The negative force of nisi tamen supports a contrastive reading.
  2. 2 ↩suavissimi arcani huius: rendered 'this most sweet mystery' to capture the nuptial-mystery sense of arcanum in this Song of Songs context.
  3. 3 ↩capio: active form used with a passive sense ('I am overcome'); rendered accordingly.
  4. 4 ↩connubia: 'marriage union' preserves the nuptial-mystical sense of the Latin in this Song of Songs context.
  5. 5 ↩animae exsulantis: 'the soul as she goes into exile' — the soul's earthly sojourn as exile is a traditional mystical theme.
  6. 6 ↩pagina: 'page' or 'writing' — the Scripture text as a container of divine truth. Rendered as 'the page' to preserve the concrete image.
  7. 7 ↩ut lego: complementizer 'as I read' — the sense is comparative/temporal, grounding heavenly reality in the act of reading Scripture on earth.
  8. 8 ↩The result clause (ut...sentiat) depends on the magnitude of the familiarity granted; the repeated 'Dei' (of God) is preserved for rhetorical and theological emphasis.
  9. 9 ↩donec ultro evigilet: 'until she awakens of her own accord' — ultro carries the sense of voluntary, unforced awakening.

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  • Get 7 curated excerpts from the actual sermons, in readable modern English
  • Finish with a repeatable 10-minute daily meditation routine you can run in the free app
Chosen Portion — Daily Prayer (free iOS app) →