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← Sermones super Cantica Canticorum (Sermons on the Song of Songs)/Book 1 · Sermones super Cantica Canticorum
Chapter 76SermC.1.76

Sermo 76

The Bride Seeks in the Streets

The Bride searches for Christ in public places, misunderstanding the mystery of his finished work and return to the Father.

Through the streets and squares I will search for the one my soul loves.✦ Still, she has the taste of a child. I believe she decided he would soon have sought a public emergence from the tomb, so that he might teach the crowds as he was accustomed and heal the sick, and so that he might reveal his glory in Israel, if perhaps they would welcome the one rising from death—the one they had promised to welcome as he came down from the cross.✦ But he had already finished the work the Father had given him to do—something she surely ought to have understood from the voice of the one hanging there, the voice with which, just as he was about to breathe his last, he said: It is finished.✦ There was no reason now for him to entrust himself again to the crowds, who even so were perhaps not going to believe in him. And he was hurrying back to the Father, who would say to him: Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.✦ More powerfully, indeed, and more divinely: once he has been lifted up from the earth, he will draw all things to himself.✦ Eager to enjoy these things, she thought they were to be sought through the streets and squares—but she was ignorant of the mystery.

Christ's Departure Fulfills His Word

The Bride's frustrated search repeats the very words Christ spoke, fulfilling his promise that he goes to the Father and will no longer be seen.

So again, frustrated, she repeats, saying: I searched for him and did not find him — so that the word he spoke might be fulfilled: I am going to the Father, and now you will not see me.✦

The Merit of Faith Beyond Sight

Faith comes not from seeing but from hearing, and believing what is unseen carries greater merit and prepares faith for its proper resting place.

Let her say, perhaps, these things: How, then, are they going to believe in someone they won't see?✦ As if faith comes from seeing, and not rather from hearing.✦ What great thing is it to believe what you see? And not deny your own eyes faith — what praise does that deserve?1 But if we hope for what we do not see, we await it through patience; and patience is merit.✦ Blessed, then, are those who did not see, and yet believed.✦2 So then, so that the merit of faith may not be emptied, let it withdraw from sight, giving way to virtue.3 And it is also time for it now to be restored to its own place.4

Christ's Exalted Place at the Father's Right Hand

Christ sits at the Father's right hand in equal majesty, yet the Bride, drunk with love, seeks him with her eyes while faith alone can reach him.

You ask, into what is his own? At the right hand of the Father. For he will not consider it robbery to be equal with God, since he is in the form of God. Therefore he is the place of the Only-begotten, in which every injury against him may be seen as repelled. Let him sit indeed beside, not below, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. In this the equality of majesty will appear, if you look up to one neither lower than the Father nor lesser. But for now she notices none of these things: instead, as if drunk with love, running here and there, she seeks with her eyes the one her eye can no longer reach — but faith can. For he does not think Christ should enter into his glory in any other way: unless, with the glory of the resurrection first becoming openly known to the world, impiety is refuted, the faithful exult, disciples glory, peoples are converted, and at last he himself is glorified by all, when from the presence of the one who rises the truth of the one who preaches has shone clear to all.

The Bride Rebuked and Instructed

The Bride is gently corrected: these things must happen, but in their proper time.

You are mistaken, O bride. These things must indeed happen, but in their proper time.

Divine Glory Hidden Until the Proper Time

God's glory and the Son's petition for glorification will not be delayed, for the Father freely gives what the Son, in his authority, asks.

But now, in the meantime, see to it — lest perhaps this be more fitting and in accord with heavenly justice: if the holy thing is not given to dogs, and pearls to swine; if rather, according to Scripture, the wicked one be taken away, lest he see the glory of God; if faith be not wrongfully cheated, which then is truly recognized as more deserving of approval, when what is not seen is believed; if with faith herself what is hidden from the unworthy be kept for the worthy, so that those who are in filth become still more filthy, and the just are justified still more, if they do not grow weary and fall asleep.✦✦✦ Let the heavens and the heavens of the heavens melt away and be confounded from their expectation, if the Father almighty himself is no longer frustrated any further from the desire of his heart; if at last the Only-begotten is not delayed any longer even from the entrance of his glory — which alone is most unworthy — to some extent. How greatly do you think the glory of however many mortals is to be valued, that he should hold himself back even for a moment from that glory which was prepared for him from eternity by his Father? Add this too: that no reason demands the petition of the Son himself to be drawn out any further. Which petition are you asking about? Clearly the one in which he says: 'Father, glorify your Son.'✦ Yet that he asked for this, I have perceived — not as one begging, but as one who foreknew. Freely is asked what it is in the power of the one asking to receive.

The Son's Petition as One Who Dispenses

The Son's asking carries the character of one who distributes gifts, not one in need, since with the Father receiving and giving are one.

So the Son's petition has the character of one dispensing, not of one in need — for with the Father, whatever he will have received from the Father belongs to the one giving.

Father and Son Glorify Each Other Equally

The Father and Son glorify each other on equal terms, sharing one eternal glory and one divine essence, as Christ's prayer to glorify the Father's name reveals.

And this too must be said: it is not only the Father who glorifies the Son, but the Son also glorifies the Father — lest anyone should say the Son is less than the Father, as though he is glorified by the Father, since he himself also glorifies the Father, with the Son saying: Father, glorify your Son, so that your Son may glorify you.✦ But perhaps you still think the Son must be placed lower, because he seems, as it were, without glory to receive glory from the Father, which he then restores to the Father. Hear that this is not so: 'Glorify me, Father,' he says, 'with the glory that I had, before the world was made, with you.'✦ If therefore the glory of the Son is not later — seeing that it is from eternity — the Father and Son glorify each other on equal terms. And if this is so, where is the Father's primacy? There is indeed equality where there is co-eternity. And the equality runs so deep that the glory of both is one, just as they themselves are one.✦ Whence it seems to me that in saying again, 'Father, glorify your name,' he was not really seeking anything other than to be glorified in and through whom the Father's name would, beyond all doubt, be glorified — and he received this answer from the Father: 'I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.'✦

Christ Glorified at the Jordan and Tabor

The Son was glorified at the Jordan through the Father's voice and the dove, and again on the mountain through transfiguration and the witness of Moses and Elijah.

That very response of the Father was itself no small glorification of the Son. But at the streams of the Jordan he was revealed more abundantly and glorified more augustly — both by John's testimony and by the designation of the dove, and by the voice of the Father saying: This is my beloved Son.✦ But also on the mountain before three disciples he was glorified no less magnificently — at one moment by that same voice descending again from heaven toward him, at another by that wondrous and extraordinary transfiguration of his own body, and at still another by the attestation of two prophets who appeared in that same place, speaking with him.

The Fullness of Glory in Heavenly Jerusalem

Christ's unique glory surpasses all angelic beings, for to no angel was it ever said to sit at God's right hand.

So it remains for him to be glorified still once more, as the Father promised, and that will be a fullness of glory to which nothing further can be added. But where will that blessing be given? For it is not, as might be supposed, in streets or lanes — unless perhaps in those of which it is said: Your streets, Jerusalem, will be paved with pure gold, and through all your lanes alleluia will be sung.✦ In these, then, the Son received from the Father that glory to which no other can be found comparable, not even among heavenly beings. For to which of the angels was it ever said: Sit at my right hand?✦ But not only has no one been found from the ranks of angels, but not even from the higher orders of the blessed has anyone at all been found fit to take up this surpassing glory. To none of them was that singular voice of glory given; to no one was it granted to experience the power of that voice in itself. Whether thrones, dominions, principalities, or powers — they surely long to look upon him, but they do not presume to compare themselves to him.✦

Seek and You Will Find His Glory

At the Father's right hand the seeker finds Christ and beholds the glory of the only-begotten, a glory beyond all comparison.

And so it has been said and granted to my Lord alone, by the Lord himself, to sit at the right hand of his glory — that is, in glory of equal rank, in essence of the same substance, by an origin alike in kind, in majesty not unequal, in eternity not lesser. There, there, the one who seeks him will find him, and will see his glory — not the glory of just another among the rest, but clearly the glory of the only-begotten from the Father.✦✦

The Bride Cannot Yet Follow

The Bride cannot yet come where Christ is, but she must not despair, for faith makes all things possible and the word of faith is near.

What will you do, O bride? Do you think you can follow him there? Do you dare, or are you able, to enter into this most holy mystery, this most sacred sanctuary, to behold the Son in the Father and the Father in the Son? Certainly not. Where he is, you cannot come now, but you will come later. Even so, go on, follow, seek; and don't let that inaccessible brightness or loftiness deter you from seeking or make you despair of finding. If you can believe, all things are possible to the one who believes.✦ The word is near you, it says, in your mouth and in your heart.✦

Faith Seeks with Confidence

To believe is already to have found, and the faithful soul lets Christ dwell within through faith, seeking him with devotion and finding him beyond all grasp.

Believe, and you have found. For to believe is to have found. The faithful know how to let Christ dwell through faith in their hearts.✦ What is closer than that? So seek with confidence, seek with devotion. The Lord is good to the soul that seeks him.✦ Seek him with your vows, follow him with your deeds, find him through faith. What couldn't faith find?

Faith Embraces What Reason Cannot

Faith reaches the unapproachable, seizes the boundless, and enfolds eternity itself, so the believer holds by faith what the mind cannot grasp.

It reaches what cannot be approached, grasps what is unknown, takes hold of what is boundless, seizes what lies farthest off — and in some way enfolds even eternity itself in that immeasurably vast embrace of its. I'll say it confidently: I believe the eternal, blessed Trinity, which I don't understand; and I hold by faith what my mind can't grasp.

Watchmen Find the Bride

Faith comes through hearing and preaching, and the watchmen who find the Bride are those who stay awake in prayer, guarding the flock through spiritual vigilance.

But someone says: How will anyone believe without someone to preach, since faith comes through hearing, and hearing through the word of preaching?✦ God will provide for this. And look, those who should instruct and form the new bride, betrothed to the heavenly Bridegroom, are already at hand—to teach her the faith and hand on the form of devotion and religious life. Hear what further point he adds: The watchmen who guard the city have found me.✦ Who then are these watchmen? Clearly those whom the Savior in the Gospel pronounces blessed if, when he comes, he finds them watching. How good are those watchmen who stay wide awake while we sleep, as if they're going to give an account for our souls! How good are those guards who are watchful in spirit and spend the night in prayer, who shrewdly scout out the enemy's snares, anticipate the schemes of the wicked, detect traps, evade ambushes, scatter nets, and frustrate plots!

Watchmen Who Pray for the Flock

The watchmen are lovers of the brethren who pray for the whole holy city, keeping watch at dawn and knowing that without the Lord's guarding their vigilance is vain.

These are the ones who love their brothers and sisters and the whole Christian people, praying earnestly for them and for the entire holy city. Deeply concerned for the Lord's sheep entrusted to them, they give their hearts to keeping watch at dawn toward the Lord who made them, praying in the sight of the Most High.5 They keep watch and pray, knowing they aren't sufficient to guard the city on their own, and that unless the Lord guards it, the one keeping watch does so in vain.6

City, Bride, and Sheep Are One

The city, the bride, and the sheep are one Church, and the shepherd's responsibility for the sheep was signified in Peter's threefold commission from the risen Lord.

Furthermore, since the Lord himself gives this charge — 'Watch and pray, so that you don't enter into temptation' — it's clear that without this twofold practice of the faithful, and the vigilance of those who keep watch, the city can't be safe, nor the bride, nor the sheep. You ask what the difference is between these? They are one. The city stands for their gathering; the bride, for their love; the sheep, for their gentleness. Do you want to know that this bride is also the city? 'I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.'✦ In the same way, this will also become clear to you regarding the sheep, if you recall how that first shepherd — I'm speaking of Peter — was admonished with such earnest love when the sheep were first entrusted to him.✦ Surely no wise steward would have taken on such an overwhelming responsibility unless he felt that the bridegroom himself confirmed it, his conscience bearing witness from deep within.

Friends of the Bridegroom

Those granted deep intimacy with Christ must be friends in the fullest sense, loving him more than all possessions and even their own lives, as Peter's threefold commission demands.

Listen to this, friends of the bridegroom — if, that is, you really are friends. But I said 'friends' too lightly: those who are granted the privilege of such deep intimacy must be friends in the fullest sense. It's no empty repetition — 'Peter, do you love me?' — spoken so many times. . within the commission of the sheep. And I for my part think this was signified just as though Jesus had said to him: 'Unless your conscience bears witness that you love me — and love me deeply and completely, that is, more than your own possessions, more than your own people, more than even yourself — so that the number of my repeated charge may be fulfilled, you must by no means take on this responsibility or presume to meddle with my sheep, for whom my own blood was poured out.' A fearsome message — one that could shake the fearless hearts of any tyrant you care to name.

Guarding, Adorning, and Feeding

Pastors must guard the city from tyranny, heresy, and demons; adorn the bride through good works; and feed the sheep from the pastures of Scripture according to their capacity.

So then, pay attention to yourselves, all who have received the work of this ministry—pay attention, I say, to yourselves and to the precious trust placed in your care. It's a city: be vigilant for its guard and harmony. It's a bride: strive for its adornment. They're sheep: attend to their feeding. And these three matters will perhaps not unfittingly be said to pertain to that threefold questioning by the Lord. Furthermore, for the guard of the city to be sufficient, it must be threefold: from the violence of tyrants, from the deceit of heretics, and from the temptations of demons. The bride's adornment, however, lies in good works, good conduct, and good order. But the feeding of the sheep is generally in the pastures of the Scriptures, as in the Lord's inheritance; yet there's a distinction among them.

Milk for the Weak, Solid Food for the Strong

Good shepherds feed the little ones with milk, give solid food to the mature, lead by personal example, and season their teaching with grace.

For there are commandments imposed on hard and carnal minds by the law of life and discipline; there are the vegetables of dispensations, applied to the weak and small in heart with regard to mercy; and there are the solid and strong things of counsel, offered from the inmost parts of wisdom to the healthy and to those who have trained senses for discerning good and evil.✦ For to the little ones, as to young lambs, the milk of exhortation is given to drink, not solid food.✦ In addition, good and diligent shepherds do not cease to nourish the flock with good and joyful examples, and with their own rather than borrowed ones. For if by using others' examples and not their own, it is a disgrace to them, and the flock is not helped by it. For if, for example, I who seem to bear a shepherd's care among you set before you the meekness of Moses, the patience of Job, the mercy of Samuel, the holiness of David, and any examples of good men there may be of this kind — while I myself am harsh and impatient, unmerciful, and far from holy — the sermon, I fear, will turn out with little savor, and you will receive it with little eagerness.✦✦ But this I leave to heavenly piety: that what is lacking in us to you, she herself may supply, and what is amiss, she herself may correct. Now indeed a good shepherd will also take care that, according to the Gospel, he may be found to have salt in himself, knowing that a discourse seasoned with salt — to the degree that it has pleased for grace — will to that degree profit for salvation.✦✦ Let these things be said for now concerning the guarding of the city, the adornment of the bride, and also the feeding of the sheep.

The Dangers of Ambition

Those who greedily pursue office without fitness endanger themselves and the flock, since guarding the city requires strength, spiritual wisdom, and faithfulness.

But I still want to spell out the same points a little more clearly for those who, while they greedily gape after honors, subject themselves to heavy burdens without enough foresight and expose themselves to dangers—so they may understand what they came for, as it is written: Friend, what have you come for?78 Unless I'm mistaken, for the sole guardianship of the city to be adequately secured, what is needed is a man who is strong, spiritual, and faithful: strong to repel injuries, spiritual to detect snares, and faithful in not seeking his own interests.9 Furthermore, when it comes to honoring or correcting manners—which surely pertains to the bride's adornment—who wouldn't readily recognize that disciplinary correction is absolutely necessary, since it involves so much diligence?1011 Therefore everyone on whom this task rests must burn with that zeal with which the chief rival of the bride of the Lord, once kindled, would say: I am jealous for you with God's jealousy, for I have betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.✦1213 Now, how will an unlearned shepherd lead the Lord's flocks into the pastures of divine utterances? But even if he is learned, if he isn't good, there's a real danger that he may harm more by his barren life than he nourishes by his rich teaching.14 Therefore, to hold this office in this area is undertaken without knowledge, and likewise without a praiseworthy life.15 But look—what we don't praise is proclaimed as the goal, where there was no goal before.

A Lament and a Prayer to Begin Again

The preacher laments the burden of divided duties and, longing to return to contemplation, commends the Church to Christ in a closing doxology.

They're called to another matter, and one to which it would be shameful for this one to yield. I'm tormented on every side, and I don't know which I'll bear more grievously still: to be torn away from this, or to be stretched thin over that — except that, whichever way I turn, both are equally troublesome at once.16 What slavery! What necessity! Not what I want, this I do — but what I hate, that I practice.✦ Take note, then, of where we leave off, so that it'll be possible to return to it as quickly as possible — let's begin again from there, in the name of the Bridegroom. For the church of Jesus Christ our Lord, who is God blessed above all things forever. Amen.

Read the original Latin

Per vicos et plateas quaeram quem diligit anima mea. Adhuc ut parvula sapit. Puto, arbitrata est egressum de tumulo publicum mox petiisse, ut solito doceret populos, ac sanaret infirmos, et ut manifestaret gloriam suam in Israel, si forte reciperent resurgentem de morte, qui se recepturos promittebant descendentem de cruce. Verum ille perfecerat opus, quod sibi dederat Pater ut faceret: quod sane ista intellexisse debuerat vel ex voce pendentis, illa scilicet, qua illico exspiraturus ait: Consummatum est. Non erat iam quod se denuo crederet turbis, quae nec sic forsitan erant in eum crediturae. Et festinabat ad Patrem, qui sibi diceret: Sede a dextris meis, donec ponam inimicos tuos scabellum pedum tuorum. Fortius nempe atque divinius, cum exaltatus fuerit a terra, omnia trahet ad se ipsum. Haec autem per vicos et plateas quaerendum putavit, fruendi avida, sed ignara mysterii.

Iterum ergo frustrata repetit dicens: Quaesivi illum, et non inveni; ut sermo impleretur quem dixit: Quia vado ad Patrem, et iam non videbitis me.

Dicat forsitan ista: Quomodo ergo credent in eum, quem non videbunt? Quasi fides ex visu sit, et non potius ex auditu. Quid magni est credere quod videris? et tuis non negare oculis fidem quid laudis meretur? Sed si quod non videmus speramus, per patientiam exspectamus; et patientia meritum est. Beati denique qui non viderunt, et crediderunt. Proinde ut non evacuetur meritum fidei, subducat se visui, dans virtuti locum. Etiam et tempus est ut iam in suum sese recipiat .

Quaeris, in quem suum? In dexteram Patris. Neque enim rapinam arbitrabitur esse se aequalem Deo, cum sit in forma Dei. Ergo is sit Unigeniti locus; in quo omnis eius iniuria propulsata videatur. Sedeat sane iuxta, non infra, ut omnes honorificent Filium, sicut honorificant Patrem. In hoc apparebit maiestatis aequalitas, si nec inferiorem Patre, nec posteriorem suspexeris. At ista interim nihil horum advertit: sed quasi ebria prae amore hac illacque discurrens, quaerit oculis, quem iam oculus non contingit, sed fides. Non enim existimat Christum aliter oportere intrare in gloriam suam, nisi prius resurrectionis gloria palam mundo innotescente confutetur impietas, exsultent fideles, glorientur discipuli, populi convertantur, demumque ab universis glorificetur ipse, cum ex praesentia resurgentis cunctis claruerit veritas praedicentis.

Falleris, o sponsa. Oportet quidem haec fieri, sed in tempore.

Nunc vero interim vide, ne forte id dignum magis et supernae consentaneum iustitiae sit; si non detur sanctum canibus, et margaritae porcis: si potius, secundum Scripturam, tollatur impius, ne videat gloriam Dei; si non fraudetur fides merito, quae tunc sane probatior esse dignoscitur, cum creditur quod non videtur; si penes ipsam servetur dignis, quod occultatur indignis, ut qui in sordibus sunt sordescant adhuc, et iusti iustificentur magis, si non dormitent prae taedio. Coeli et coeli coelorum tabescant et confundantur ab exspectatione sua, si non ipse Pater omnipotens diutius iam frustretur a desiderio cordis sui; si non demum Unigenitus ultra ab introitu gloriae suae, quod vel solum indignissimum est, aliquatenus retardetur. Quanti putas aestimanda sit gloria quantacunque mortalium, ut ab ea, quae a Patre suo ab aeterno parata est, debeat eum vel ad modicum retinere? Adde quod nulla ratione in longius protrahi decet ipsius Filii petitionem. Quam dicam petitionem quaeris? Nempe illam, qua dicit: Pater, clarifica Filium tuum. Quod tamen eum petiisse senserim, non ut supplicem, sed ut praescium. Libere petitur, quod in potestate petentis accipere est.

Ergo dispensatoria est Filii petitio, non necessaria, quippe donantis cum Patre, quidquid a Patre acceperit.

Ubi et hoc dicendum, quia non solum Pater clarificat Filium, sed et Filius clarificat Patrem: ne quis dicat Filium minorem Patre, quasi qui a Patre clarificetur, cum et ipse clarificet Patrem, dicente Filio: Pater, clarifica Filium tuum, ut Filius tuus clarificet te. Sed forte adhuc submittendum putes Filium, quod quasi inglorius videatur a Patre recipere claritatem, quam demum Patri refundat. Audi quia non est ita: Clarifica me, inquit, Pater, claritate quam habui, priusquam mundus fieret, apud te. Si ergo claritas Filii posterior non est, utpote quae ab aeterno est, ex aequo se clarificant Pater et Filius. Et si ita est, ubi Patris primatus? Aequalitas profecto est, ubi coaeternitas est. Et usque adeo aequalitas, ut una sit claritas amborum, sicut ipsi unum sunt. Unde mihi videtur dicendo rursum: Pater, clarifica nomen tuum, non sane aliud petere, quam se clarificari, in quo, et per quem nomen Patris procul dubio clarificaretur: et responsum accepit a Patre: Et clarificavi, et iterum clarificabo.

Quae quidem ipsa Patris responsio non parva Filii glorificatio fuit. Caeterum abundantius ad fluenta Iordanis, augustiusque clarificatus dignoscitur, et Ioannis testimonio, et columbae designatione, et voce Patris dicentis: Hic est Filius meus dilectus. Sed et in monte coram tribus discipulis nihilominus magnificentissime clarificatus est, tum voce eadem denuo ad se caelitus delapsa, tum mira illa eximiaque transfiguratione corporis sui, tum etiam prophetarum attestatione duorum, qui ibidem apparuerunt cum eo loquentes.

Superest ergo ut iuxta promissum Patris semel adhuc clarificetur, eaque erit plenitudo gloriae, cui non queat amplius addi. Sed ubi illa dabitur benedictio? Non enim, ut ista suspicata est, in plateis, vel vicis, nisi forte in illis, de quibus dicitur: Plateae tuae, Ierusalem, sternentur auro mundo, et per omnes vicos tuos alleluia cantabitur. In his revera illam recepit a Patre Filius claritatem, cui non poterit similis inveniri, ne in coelestibus quidem. Cui enim aliquando angelorum dictum est: Sede a dextris meis? Non modo antem de numero angelorum, sed nec de superioribus quidem reliquis beatorum ordinibus omnino quis repertus idoneus est ad capessendam superexcellentem hanc gloriam. Ad neminem prorsus illorum facta est vox illa gloriae singularis, nemini vocis in se efficientiam experiri datum. Sive throni, sive dominationes, sive principatus, sive potestates, profecto desiderant in eum prospicere, non se illi comparare praesumunt.

Igitur Domino meo singulariter a Domino et dictum, et datum est, sedere a dextris gloriae ipsius, utpote in gloria coaequali, in essentia consubstantiali, pro generatione consimili, maiestate non dispari, aeternitate non posteriori. Ibi, ibi illum qui quaeret inveniet, et videbit gloriam eius: non gloriam quasi unius caeterorum, sed plane gloriam quasi Unigeniti a Patre.

Quid facies, o sponsa? Putas, potes sequi eum illuc? aut te ingerere audes vel vales huic tam sancto arcano, tamque arcano sanctuario, ut Filium in Patre, et Patrem intuearis in Filio? Non utique. Ubi est ille, tu non potes venire modo, venies autem postea. Age tamen, sequere, quaere; nec te inaccessibilis illa claritas vel sublimitas a quaerendo deterreat, ab inveniendo desperare faciat. Si potes credere, omnia possibilia sunt credenti. Prope est, inquit, verbum in ore tuo, et in corde tuo.

Crede, et invenisti. Nam credere invenisse est. Norunt fideles inhabitare Christum per fidem in cordibus suis. Quid propius est? Quaere ergo secura, quaere devota. Bonus est Dominus animae quaerenti se. Quaere votis, sequere actibus, fide inveni. Quid non inveniat fides?

Attingit inaccessa, deprehendit ignota, comprehendit immensa, apprehendit novissima; ipsam denique aeternitatem suo illo vastissimo sinu quodam modo circumcludit. Fidenter dixerim, aeternam beatamque Trinitatem, quam non intelligo, credo; et fide teneo, quam non capio mente.

Sed dicit aliquis: Quomodo credet sine praedicante, cum fides ex auditu sit, auditus per verbum praedicationis? Deus hoc providebit. Et ecce iam praesto sunt qui novam sponsam, coelesti nupturam sponso, de quibus oportet, instruant et informent, fidem doceant, formam pietatis ac religionis tradant. Audi namque quid adiiciat: Invenerunt me vigiles, qui custodiunt civitatem. Qui enim vigiles hi? Nempe illi quos Salvator in Evangelio beatos pronuntiat, si, cum venerit, invenerit vigilantes. Quam boni vigiles, qui nobis dormientibus ipsi pervigilant, quasi rationem reddituri pro animabus nostris! Quam boni custodes, qui vigilantes animo, atque in orationibus pernoctantes, hostium insidias sagaciter explorant, anticipant consilia malignantium, deprehendunt laqueos, eludunt tendiculas, retiacula dissipant, machinamenta frustrantur?

Hi sunt fratrum amatores et populi Christiani, qui multum orant pro populo et universa sancta civitate. Hi sunt, qui multum solliciti pro sibi commissis Dominicis ovibus, cor suum tradunt ad vigilandum diluculo ad Dominum qui fecit illos, et in conspectu Altissimi deprecantur. Et vigilant, et deprecantur, scientes suam insufficientiam in custodienda civitate, et quia nisi Dominus custodierit civitatem, frustra vigilat qui custodit eam.

Porro cum Dominus ita praecipiat: Vigilate, et orate, ne intretis in tentationem; liquet quod absque duplici hoc exercitio fidelium, studioque custodum, non potest esse secura civitas, non sponsa, non oves. Horum differentiam quaeris? Unum sunt. Civitas propter collectionem, sponsa propter dilectionem, oves propter mansuetudinem. Vis scire hoc sponsam, quod civitatem esse? Vidi, inquit, civitatem sanctam Ierusalem novam descendentem de coelo a Deo, paratam tanquam sponsam ornatam viro suo. Identidem tibi hoc et de ovibus liquido apparebit, si recorderis, primus ille custos (Petrum loquor), cum sibi primo oves committerentur, quam attente simul de amore commonitus sit. Quod utique tanta cura sapiens creditor non fecisset, nisi se sentiret sponsum, id sibi utique ex intimo respondente conscientia.

Audite haec, amici sponsi, si tamen amici. At parum dixi, amici: amicissimi sint oportet, qui privilegio tantae familiaritatis donantur. Non otiose toties repetitum est: Petre, amas me? . in commissione ovium. Et ego quidem id significatum perinde puto, ac si illi dixisset Iesus: Nisi testimonium tibi perhibente conscientia quod me ames, et valde perfecteque ames, hoc est, plus quam tua, plus quam tuos, plus quam etiam te, ut huius repetitionis meae numerus impleatur, nequaquam suscipias curam hanc, nec te intromittas de ovibus meis, pro quibus sanguis utique meus effusus est. Terribilis sermo, et qui possit etiam impavida quorumvis tyrannorum corda concutere.

Propterea attendite vobis quicunque opus ministerii huius sortiti estis; attendite, inquam, vobis, et pretioso deposito quod vobis creditum est. Civitas est: vigilate ad custodiam, concordiamque. Sponsa est: studete ornatui. Oves sunt: intendite pastui. Et haec tria ad illam Domini trinam sciscitationem forte non incongrue pertinere dicentur. Porro custodia civitatis ut sit sufficiens, trifaria erit; a vi tyrannorum, a fraude haereticorum, a tentationibus daemonum. Sponsae vero ornatus in bonis operibus, et moribus, et ordinibus. At pastus ovium communiter quidem in pascuis Scripturarum, tanquam in haereditate Domini; sed est distinctio in illis.

Nam sunt mandata, quae duris atque carnalibus animis imponuntur ex lege vitae et disciplinae: et sunt olera dispensationum, quae infirmis et pusillis corde de respectu misericordiae apponuntur: et sunt consiliorum solida fortiaque, quae ex intimis sapientiae proponuntur sanis, et qui exercitatos habent sensus ad discretionem boni et mali. Parvulis namque, tanquam agniculis, adhortationis lac potus datur, non esca. Ad haec boni sollicitique pastores impinguare pecus non cessant bonis laetisque exemplis, et suis magis quam alienis. Nam si alienis et non suis; ignominia est illis, et pecus ita non proficit. Si enim, verbi causa, ego qui videor inter vos pastoris gerere curam, vobis apposuero Moysi mansuetudinem, patientiam Iob, misericordiam Samuelis, David sanctitatem, et si qua sunt eiusmodi exempla bonorum, immitis ipse et impatiens, atque immisericors et minime sanctus: sermo, ut vereor, minus sapide eveniet, et vos minus avide capietis. Verum hoc supernae pietati relinquo, ut quod minus vobis ex nobis est, ipsa suppleat; et quod perperam, ipsa corrigat. Nunc vero bonus pastor hoc quoque curabit, ut secundum Evangelium inveniatur habere sal in semetipso; sciens quia sermo sale conditus quantum placuerit ad gratiam, tantum proderit ad salutem. Haec interim de custodia civitatis, atque ornatu sponsae, nec non et pastu ovium dicta sint.

Volo tamen adhuc eadem paulo expressius designare propter eos, qui dum avide nimis honoribus inhiant, minus provide gravibus se supponunt oneribus, exponunt periculis: ut sciant ad quid venerint, sicut scriptum est: Amice, ad fuit venisti? Ni fallor, ad solam civitatis custodiam, ut quantum satis est procuretur, opus est viro forti, spirituali, fideli: forti ad propulsandas iniurias, spirituali ad deprebendendas insidias, fideli qui non quae sua sunt quaerat. Porro autem ad mores honestandos vel corrigendos, quod utique ad decorem pertinet sponsae, quis non liquido agnoscat pernecessariam fore cum multa quidem diligentia disciplinae censuram? Ea propter omnis, cui hoc opus incumbit, oportet ferveat zelo illo, quo accensus praecipuus ille aemulator sponsae Domini aiebat: Aemulor vos Dei aemulatione; despondi enim vos uni viro virginem castam exhibere Christo. Iam quomodo in pascua divinorum educet eloquiorom greges Dominicos pastor idiota? Sed et si doctus quidem fuerit, non sit autem bonus, verendum ne non tam nutriat doctrina uberi, quam sterili vita noceat. Tenere itaque et in hac parte hoc onus subitur absque scientia pariter, vitaque laudabili. Sed ecce, quod non laudamus, finis indicitur, ubi non erat finis.

Evocantur in materiam alteram, et cui hanc cedere indignum. Angor undique, et quod aegrius feram ignore, avelli ab ista, an distendi in illa: nisi quod utrolibet simul utrumque molestius. O servitutem! o necessitatem! non quod volo hoc ago, sed quod odi illud facio. Notate tamen ubi desinimus, ut quam cito in id redire liberum erit, inde mox ordiamur, in nomine sponsi. Ecclesiae Iesu Christi Domini nostri, qui super omnia Deus benedictus in saecula, Amen.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Song.3.2 — I will rise now and go about the city, through the streets and through the squares; I will seek the one my soul loves. I sought him, but I did not find him.
  2. ↩John.12.32 — And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.
  3. ↩John.19.30 — When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, 'It is finished,' and bowing his head he gave up his spirit.
  4. ↩Ps.110.1 — The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool."
  5. ↩John.12.32 — And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.
  6. ↩John.14.28;John.16.10 — You heard that I said to you, 'I am going away, and I am coming to you.' If you loved me, you would have rejoiced that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. John.16.10 — about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you no longer see me;
  7. ↩John.14.17 — the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he abides with you and will be in you.
  8. ↩Rom.10.17 — So then, faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
  9. ↩Rom.8.24-Rom.8.25 — For in hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what he already sees? Rom.8.25 — But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with endurance.
  10. ↩John.20.29 — Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
  11. ↩Matt.7.6 — Do not give what is holy to the dogs, and do not throw your pearls before the swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces.
  12. ↩John.11.40 — Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?"
  13. ↩Heb.11.1 — Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
  14. ↩John.17.1 — Jesus spoke these things, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son, so that the Son may glorify you."
  15. ↩John.17.1 — Jesus spoke these things, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son, so that the Son may glorify you."
  16. ↩John.17.5 — And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory I had with you before the world existed.
  17. ↩John.17.22 — And the glory that you have given me I have given to them, so that they may be one, just as we are one.
  18. ↩John.12.28 — Father, glorify your name. Then a voice came from heaven: I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.
  19. ↩Matt.3.17 — And behold, a voice from the heavens said, 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'
  20. ↩Rev.21.21 — And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made from a single pearl; and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
  21. ↩Ps.110.1 — The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool."
  22. ↩Col.1.16;Eph.1.21 — For in him all things were created, in the heavens and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through him and for him. Eph.1.21 — far above every rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come
  23. ↩Matt.7.7;Luke.11.9 — Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Luke.11.9 — And I tell you: ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.
  24. ↩John.1.14;John.3.16 — And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John.3.16 — For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.
  25. ↩Mark.9.23 — And Jesus said to him, 'If you can? All things are possible for the one who believes.'" This better captures Jesus' echo of the father's words.
  26. ↩Deut.30.14 — But the word is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may do it.
  27. ↩Eph.3.17 — that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith
  28. ↩Lam.3.25 — The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him.
  29. ↩Rom.10.17 — So then, faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
  30. ↩Song.3.3 — The watchmen who go about the city found me. "Have you seen the one my soul loves?"
  31. ↩Rev.21.2 — And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
  32. ↩John.21.15-John.21.17 — When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs." John.21.16 — He said to him again a second time, 'Simon, son of John, do you love me?' He said to him, 'Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.' He said to him, 'Tend my sheep.' John.21.17 — He said to him the third time, 'Simon son of John, do you love me?' Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, 'Do you love me?' and he said to him, 'Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.' Jesus said to him, 'Feed my sheep.'
  33. ↩Heb.5.13-Heb.5.14 — For everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. Heb.5.14 — But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
  34. ↩Heb.5.13;1Cor.3.2 — For everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. 1Cor.3.2 — I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, for you were not yet able. But indeed, even now you are not able,
  35. ↩Num.12.3 — Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any person who was on the face of the earth.
  36. ↩Jas.5.11 — Look, we call those who endured blessed. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the outcome from the Lord, that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
  37. ↩Mark.9.50 — Salt is good; but if the salt has become unsalty, with what will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.
  38. ↩Col.4.6 — Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each one.
  39. ↩2Cor.11.2 — For I am jealous for you with a jealousy of God, for I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
  40. ↩Rom.7.15 — For I do not understand what I do. For I do not do what I want, but what I hate, that I do.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩The Latin 'et tuis non negare oculis fidem quid laudis meretur?' is compressed. The sense is: not refusing to believe your own eyes — what praise does that merit? The double negative and ellipsis make the syntax tight.
  2. 2 ↩This is a direct echo of John 20:29 (Thomas saying). 'Beati qui non viderunt et crediderunt' matches the Vulgate form of Christ's words to Thomas.
  3. 3 ↩'Subducat se visui, dans virtuti locum' is a compressed exhortation: faith should step back from reliance on sight and yield its place to the higher power (virtus) of trust. The reflexive 'se' and dative 'virtuti' convey a deliberate act of self-relinquishment.
  4. 4 ↩'In suum sese recipiat' is ambiguous: 'suum' could refer to its own proper state, dignity, or condition. The sense is that faith should now be brought back to its proper standing — restored to its full honor — after having been subjected to sight.
  5. 5 ↩cor suum tradunt ad vigilandum: literally 'they hand over their heart to watching,' rendered 'give their heart to keeping watch' to capture the devotional intensity of the Latin idiom.
  6. 6 ↩The final clause echoes Psalm 127:1 (Vulgate): 'Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keeps watch in vain.' Candidate allusion held for tx-08 Moses resolution.
  7. 7 ↩The Latin 'Amice, ad fuit venisti?' echoes language close to Mt 26:50 ('Amice, ad quid venisti?'), but the form 'fuit' is unusual and the source is not a direct quotation; treated as candidate allusion.
  8. 8 ↩tamen rendered as sentence-initial 'But' marking a concessive turn after the previous section.
  9. 9 ↩Ni fallor rendered 'Unless I'm mistaken' as a natural modern hedging phrase.
  10. 10 ↩Porro autem rendered 'Furthermore' as a continuative advance.
  11. 11 ↩disciplinae censuram rendered 'disciplinary correction' to capture both the censorial and formative senses of monastic discipline.
  12. 12 ↩The quoted passage closely echoes 2 Cor 11:2 ('aemulor vos Dei aemulatione... despondi vos uni viro virginem castam exhibere Christo'); treated as candidate allusion pending tx-08 resolution.
  13. 13 ↩aemulator rendered 'rival' in the sense of divine jealousy (cf. the Song of Songs tradition); the term carries the force of zealous protectiveness, not petty envy.
  14. 14 ↩Sed et si... non sit autem rendered 'But even if... if he is not' to preserve the adversative force.
  15. 15 ↩itaque rendered 'Therefore' as inferential advance.
  16. 16 ↩The word 'ignore' is uncertain in form and sense; it is rendered here as 'I do not know' following the most plausible intended meaning, but the source reading is doubtful.

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