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Chapter 78SermC.1.78

Sermo 78

The Bride Found by Her Preachers

The preacher resumes the Song of Songs meditation, noting that the Bride's being found by her preachers reflects a great sacrament in which God, angels, and humans cooperate for salvation, with God seeking not His own benefit but the creature's progress.

On the word 'invention,' if I remember rightly, we paused and hesitated, listening more carefully — namely to what the Bride said about herself, that she had been found by her own preachers. Furthermore, the reasons for our hesitation and doubt that we expressed are, and it seemed that something still needed to be sought — but not at the end of the discourse, by which we were now constrained, could what was sought be explained.1 What remains but that we now pay the debt? In the explanation of a great Sacrament — I speak of that which the Teacher of the nations interpreted as in Christ and in the Church, a holy and chaste marriage — this itself is the work of our salvation: in it, I say, three cooperate with one another: God, the angel, and the human being.✦2 And God — why should He not work, and show care for the wedding of His beloved Son? He Himself indeed, and with His whole will. And surely He would suffice through Himself, and without the support of these others; but without Him they can do nothing.✦ Therefore, what He took from them into the work of this ministry, He sought not for His own comfort but for their progress.

Workers in the Harvest of Souls

Human ministers and angelic spirits alike labor in God's service, each receiving a wage, and the ministry of angels fosters mutual charity between heaven and earth, revealing that the heavenly city will be restored through the salvation of humanity.

For he has indeed assigned merits to people in the work, according to that saying: The worker is worthy of his wages. And because each person will receive according to his own labor, whether he plants in faith, or waters what has been planted.✦✦3 But when he employs the ministry of angels for the salvation of the human race, doesn't he bring it about that angels are loved by people?✦ For because people are loved by angels, from this it can especially be observed that the angels do not ignore that the ancient losses of their city are going to be made good by people.4 Nor indeed was it fitting for the kingdom of charity to be ruled by any other laws than by the devout affections of its citizens who are going to reign equally, with mutual loves and pure affections toward one another and toward God.5

How God, Angels, and Humans Work

God works with effortless sovereignty, the angel with ordered movement, and the human being with toil and fear, each according to their nature, yet all under the command to work out salvation in fear and trembling.

But there's a big difference in the way of working, depending on the dignity of each worker. God, of course, does what he wills, with the sheer ease of willing, without agitation, without disturbance, without any bias of place or time, or cause, or person. For he is the Lord of hosts, who judges all things with calm. And there is Wisdom, disposing all things sweetly. An angel, though, works with movement — both local movement and movement in time — yet without agitation. But a human being is free in working neither from the agitation of the mind nor from the movement of the body and soul. In the end, with fear and trembling he is commanded to work out his own salvation, and in the sweat of his face to eat his own bread.✦✦

Predestination, Creation, and Inspiration

God reserves to Himself three works in the economy of salvation: predestination before all times, creation with time, and inspiration in time, so that the Church of the elect has never been absent from God's presence and love.

With these things now laid out, look with me at this magnificent work of our salvation — that there are three things which God, the author, claims for himself and anticipates in all his helpers and co-workers: predestination, creation, and inspiration. Of these, predestination — I don't mean from the rise of the Church, but not even from the beginning of the world — did not have a beginning, and not from this time or that time either: it is before all times. Furthermore, creation is with time; inspiration is now done in time, wherever and whenever God wills. Indeed, according to predestination the Church of the elect has never not been with God. If the unbeliever is astonished at this, let him hear something more astonishing: it has never not been pleasing, never not beloved. Why shouldn't I boldly speak of a mystery that the revealer of heavenly counsels, prompted from the heart of God, has opened to me? I mean Paul, who — just as he has done with many other things — was not afraid to make known this secret too about the riches of his goodness: 'He has blessed us,' he says, 'in every spiritual blessing, in the heavenly places in Christ, just as he chose us in himself before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love'; and he adds: 'Who predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ in himself, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he has graced us in his beloved Son.'✦ Nor is there any doubt that these things are said by the voice of all the elect: they themselves are the Church.

The Hidden Church Revealed in Time

Only God in His eternity could have discovered the Church hidden before creation, for no creature could find her until He chose to reveal her.

In that bosom of eternity, so deep, before the work of creation came forth into the light, who could ever find her, or the blessed spirits, in any way — unless God himself, eternity itself, chose to reveal her to someone?67

Concealed in Sin, Revealed in Christ

When creation emerged, the Church remained hidden under the veil of sin and death; only Emmanuel entered without stain, and thus all share one entry through sin, leaving the Church concealed both in eternal predestination and in the mass of damnation.

But when at last, at the Creator's command, it seemed to break forth into these fashioned, visible forms, it was not, even then, immediately discovered by any human being or angel — because, overshadowed by the image of an earthly human being and shrouded in the darkness of death, it could not be recognized. Without this veil, no child of humankind has ever entered this life — at least, not without the stain of sin — with only one exception, who entered without any stain. This is Emmanuel, who, though he came from among us and for us, took upon himself the curse that was ours and the likeness of our sin — not its reality. So you have it: he appeared in the likeness of sinful flesh, in order that he might condemn sin in the flesh on sin's own terms. From then on, there is one entry for all — for the elect, I mean, and for the rejected alike. For there is no distinction. All have sinned, and all carry the weight of their own shame. For this reason, even though the Church already existed as something created within the created order, it still could not be found or recognized by any creature — marvelously hidden in both directions at once: concealed within the blessed fold of predestination, and concealed within the wretched mass of damnation.

Grace Runs Ahead of the Preacher

In time, divine Wisdom and Power revealed the Church through the inspiration of grace, preparing hearts for the gospel, so that preaching would not be in vain and the nations now rejoice to have found the bride foreknown from eternity.

Yet the Wisdom that had hidden herself from eternity, predestining, and likewise the Power that creates had not yet come forth from the beginning; but in time, visiting with grace, she revealed herself according to the working that I have above named an inspiration — that something of the bridegroom's spirit was poured into human spirits in preparation for the gospel of peace, that is, to prepare the way of the Lord and his gospel of glory for the hearts of all who were predestined to life. Those who labored in preaching would have toiled in vain if this grace had not gone before them. But now, seeing the word run swiftly and the peoples of the nations turn to the Lord with every ease, tribes and tongues rushing together into the unity of faith and gathered into the one catholic mother that fills the ends of the earth — they have come to know the riches of grace that had been hidden away in the secret place of eternal predestination, and they rejoiced to have found her, the one the Lord had chosen before the ages as his bride.

Found, Not Converted

The Bride rightly says she was found by the watchmen, not converted by them, because conversion belongs to God alone, who always anticipated and foreknew her, so that no one can claim to have found the Lord first.

From this, as I see it, it becomes clear that it's not pointless for the Bride to have testified that she was found by them; but precisely because she acknowledged that she was gathered by them, not chosen; discovered, not converted. To him, surely, each person's conversion must be credited, to whom all together must needs say what the psalm says: 'Convert us, God, our salvation.'✦ But I would perhaps not equally adapt the word 'finding' to that one as I would 'converting.' Indeed, that's exactly how it is. It's not about finding the Lord, but about anticipating him — and anticipation excludes the very idea of finding. In the end, what could someone find who has never been ignorant of anything? The Lord knows those who are his, someone says.✦ And he himself, what?

Prepared to Be Found

The Lord, who foreknew and chose the Church from eternity, prepared her to be found, as the Apocalypse testifies: the new Jerusalem adorned as a bride and the fields white for harvest invite the workers to glory in being God's fellow laborers.

I know, he says, whom I have chosen from the beginning. Clearly, it wouldn't have been reasonable for the one whom he foreknew from eternity, whom he chose, whom he loved, whom he established, to be regarded as found by him. Yet I would confidently say that she was prepared by him to be found. For the one who saw it has borne witness, and we know that his testimony is true. I saw, he says, the holy city, new Jerusalem, descending from heaven, prepared by God like a bride adorned for her husband; and one of the watchmen who guard the city spoke. But listen to her very preparer, as it were pointing her out to the watchmen with his finger, yet under another figure. Lift up your eyes, he says, and look at the regions, for they are now white, that is, prepared for harvest. Because of this the householder now invites workers to the work, when he perceives that all things are so prepared that they can glory and say, without much effort of their own, 'We are God's fellow workers.'

The Bridegroom's Friends at Work

The preachers seek not their own glory but the Bridegroom's, laboring little because the Bride is already wholly devoted to seeking him, her will prepared by the Lord.

What are they going to do? Surely those about to seek out the bride, and once they've found her, report about the Bridegroom. For they won't seek their own glory, but the Bridegroom's, because they are the Bridegroom's friends. And they won't labor much over this with her: she is present, and now seeks him with complete devotion; to such a degree is her will prepared by the Lord.

The Bride Anticipates Her Watchers

The Bride inquires of the watchmen, 'Have you seen the one my soul loves?', because she was foreknown and anticipated by the Lord, as shown in the conversions of Cornelius, Paul, Nathanael, and Andrew, all of whom were prepared before they were found.

And so, while they're still not yet saying anything, he asks about the beloved, and he gets ahead of his own preachers — things foreknown, she herself inquiring and saying: Have you seen the one my soul loves?✦ Rightly, then, she declared herself to have been found by those who guard the city — she who had already been foreknown and anticipated by the Lord of the city, so that they might find such a person and not fail.✦ So Cornelius was found by Peter, and Paul by Ananias — for both had been anticipated by the Lord and prepared. What readier than Saul, who had already cried out to the Lord with suppliant heart and voice: Lord, what do you want me to do?✦ No less did Cornelius, who by his almsgiving and prayers — with the Lord himself inspiring them toward him — deserved to come to faith.✦ Philip too found Nathanael — but the Lord had already seen him earlier, when he was under the fig tree. Was not that vision of the Lord a preparation?✦ And Andrew is said to have found his brother Simon — but he had been equally foreseen and foreknown by the Lord, so that he would be called Cephas, as if strong in faith.✦

Found with Child by the Holy Spirit

Like Mary, the Bride is found with child by the Holy Spirit, which is why she so ardently asks the watchmen about the Lord, longing to see what kings and prophets desired, and placing her faith in those who ate and drank with the risen Christ.

We read about Mary that she was found with child by the Holy Spirit.✦ But I think the bride of the Lord has something similar in this respect to his mother. For unless she too had been found with child by the Holy Spirit, she would never have asked so intimately of those who found her about the one whose Spirit he is. She couldn't wait for them to explain why they had come; she spoke up herself, and indeed out of the abundance of her heart: "Have you seen him whom my soul loves?"✦✦ She knew that blessed are the eyes that had seen, and admiring those who had seen, she said: "Are you the ones who have been granted to see him whom so many kings and prophets wanted to see, and did not see?"✦ "Are you the ones who have merited to behold Wisdom in the flesh, Truth in a body, and God in a man?" Many say, 'Look, here he is,' and 'Look, there he is.' But I think it's safer for me to put my faith in you, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.✦✦ And let this be said about the fact that the bride inquired of the watchmen.✦

Doxology of the Church's Preparation

The Bride was anticipated by the Holy Spirit, foreknown and predestined before the ages, prepared as holy and immaculate for the bridegroom Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

If anything is lacking, it will be made up in another sermon. But now from this it is especially clear that she was anticipated by the Holy Spirit; and by those who guard the city she was found and confirmed to be the very one God foreknew and predestined before the ages, and he prepared everlasting delights for his beloved Son in eternal ages, so that she might be holy and immaculate in his sight, sprouting like a lily, and flourishing forever before the Lord, the Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, the bridegroom of the Church, who is God over all, blessed forever.✦✦✦✦ Amen.

Read the original Latin

Ad verbum inventionis, si bene memini, illic stetimus et haesimus, scrupulosius videlicet audientes quod sponsa a praedicatoribus suis se inventam dixerit. Porro causae nostrae cunctationis et dubitationis a nobis expressae sunt, et visum est aliquid esse quaerendum; sed non in calce sermonis, quo iam arctabamur, quod quaesitum est, potuit explicari. Quid restat, nisi ut debitum iam solvamus? In explicatione sacramenti magni: illud loquor, quod Doctor gentium interpretatus est, in Christo et in Ecclesia, sanctum castumque connubium; ipsum est opus nostrae salutis: in eo, inquam, tres sibi invicem cooperantur; Deus, angelus, homo. Et Deus quidem quidni operetur, et curam gerat nuptiarum dilecti Filii sui? Ipse vero, ac tota voluntate. Et utique per se ipse sufficeret, et absque adminiculo horum; hi autem sine ipso possunt facere nihil. Ergo quod ex illis ascivit in opus ministerii huius, non sibi solatium, sed profectum quaesivit illis.

Nam hominibus quidem merita locavit in opere, secundum illud: Dignus est operarius mercede sua : et quia unusquisque secundum proprium laborem accipiet, sive qui in fide plantat, sive qui rigat quod plantatum fuerit. Angelorum autem cum ad salutem humani generis ministerio utitur, nonne facit ut ab hominibus angeli diligantur? Nam quia ab angelis homines diligantur, inde vel maxime adverti potest, quod antiqua suae civitatis damna ex hominibus resarcitum iri angeli non ignorant. Nec aliis profecto legibus regnum charitatis regi decebat, quam piis ipsorum qui pariter regnaturi sunt, mutuisque amoribus, et puris affectionibus in invicem, et in Deum.

Est autem in modo operandi differentia multa, pro cuiusque nimirum operarii dignitate. Deus nempe facit quod vult sola ipsa facilitate volendi, sine aestu, sine motu, sine praeiudicio loci vel temporis, vel causae, vel personae. Est enim Dominus sabaoth, qui cum tranquillitate iudicat omnia. Est et Sapientia disponens omnia suaviter. Porro angelus non absque motu operatur, tam locali, quam temporali, sine aestu tamen. Homo autem nec ab aestu animi, nec a motu corporis animique liber est in operando. Denique cum timore et tremore suam ipsius iubetur operari salutem, atque in sudore vultus sui comedere panem suum.

His ita explicitis, intuere nunc mecum in hoc tam magnifico opere nostrae salutis tria esse quaedam, quae sibi vindicat auctor Deus, praevenitque in illis omnes auxiliatores et cooperatores suos; praedestinationem, creationem, inspirationem. Quarum praedestinatio, non dico ab exortu Ecclesiae, sed ne a mundi principio quidem principium habuit, non denique a tempore illo vel illo: ante tempora est. Porro creatio cum tempore; inspiratio iam in tempore fit, ubi et quando vult Deus. Sane secundum praedestinationem nunquam Ecclesia electorum penes Deum non fuit. Si miratur hoc infidelis, audiat quod magis miretur; nunquam non grata exstitit, nunquam non dilecta. Quidni audacter loquar arcanum, quod mihi de corde Dei promptus ille supernorum delator consiliorum aperuit? Paulum dico, qui, ut multa alia, ita hoc quoque de divitiis bonitatis eius non est veritus divulgare secretum: Benedixit nos, inquiens, in omni benedictione spirituali, in coelestibus in Christo, sicut elegit nos in ipso ante mundi constitutionem, ut essemus sancti et immaculati in conspectu eius in charitate; et addit: Qui praedestinavit nos in adoptionem filiorum per Iesum Christum in ipso, secundum propositum voluntatis suae, in laudem gloriae gratiae suae, in qua gratificavit nos in dilecto Filio suo. Nec dubium quin voce omnium electorum ista dicantur: et ipsi Ecclesia sunt.

In illo igitur tam profundo aeternitatis sinu, antequam in lucem opusque prodiret huius creationis, quis illam vel beatorum spirituum invenire aliquo modo valuerit, nisi si cui ipsa aeternitas Deus voluerit revelare?

Sed et cum iam ad nutum creantis visa est emersisse in species formasque has factitias atque visibiles, non continuo tamen inventa est a quoquam hominum vel angelorum, eo quod non agnosceretur, imagine terrestris bominis adumbrata, et operta mortis caligine. Sine quo profecto generalis velamine confusionis nemo filiorum hominum intravit hanc vitam, uno sane excepto, qui ingreditur sine macula. Emmanuel is est, qui tamen et ipse ex nobis, pro nobis nostri se induit maledicti, nostrique peccati similitudinem, non veritatem. Sic enim habes, quia apparuit in similitudine carnis peccati, ut de peccato damnaret peccatum in carne. De caetero unus omnibus per omnia introitus est, electis dico et reprobis. Non enim est distinctio. Omnes peccaverunt, et omnes caputium suae verecundiae portant. Propter hoc itaque, etsi in rebus conditis iam creata existens Ecclesia, nec sic tamen a creatura ulla inveniri poterat vel agnosci, miro utroque modo interim latens et intra gremium beatae praedestinationis, et intra massam miserae damnationis.

Caeterum quam celaverat ab aeterno praedestinans Sapientia, et item creans Potentia minime prodierat ab initio; visitans profecto gratia suo in tempore revelavit, secundum operationem, quam ideo inspirationem supra nominavi, quod de sponsi spiritu humanis infusum spiritibus quidpiam fuerit in praeparationem Evangelii pacis, id est parare viam Domino, atque Evangelio gloriae eius ad corda omnium, quotquot erant praedestinati ad vitam. Frustra vigiles laborassent in praedicando, si non haec gratia praecessisset. Nunc vero videntes velociter currere verbum, et populos nationum ad Dominum in omni facilitate converti, concurrere in unitatem fidei tribus et linguas, atque in unam colligi matrem catholicam terminos terrae; cognoverunt de divitiis gratiae, quae a saeculis absconditae tenebantur in abdito praedestinationis aeternae, et gavisi sunt eam se invenisse, quam ante saecula Dominus elegerat in sponsam sibi.

Ex quo, ut opinor, clarum fit non otiosum esse, quod se inventam ab his sponsa testata est; sed propterea quod se ab ipsis collectam agnosceret, non electam; compertam, non conversam. Ei nempe ascribenda cuiusque conversio est, cui dicere necesse habent universi illud de psalmo: Converte nos, Deus, salutaris noster. Sed non aeque illi fortassis inventionis vocem competenter aptarim, sicut conversionis. Imo vero sic est. Non est invenire Domino, sed praevenire, et inventionem praeventio excludit. Denique quid inveniat, qui nihil unquam non novit? Novit Dominus qui sunt eius, ait quidam. Ipse vero quid?

Ego scio, ait, quos elegerim a principio. Plane quam ab aeterno praescivit, quam elegit, quam dilexit, quam condidit, rationis non erat ab eodem perhiberi inventam. Praeparatam tamen ab ipso ut inveniretur, fidenter dixerim. Nam, qui vidit, testimonium perhibuit: et scimus quia verum est testimonium eius. Vidi, inquit, civitatem sanctam Ierusalem novam descendentem de coelo, a Deo paratam tanquam sponsam ornatam viro suo : isque e vigilibus unus, qui custodiunt civitatem. Sed audi ipsum eius praeparatorem, veluti digito eam demonstrantem vigilibus, sed sub tropo altero. Levate oculos vestros, ait, et videte regiones, quia albae sunt iam, id est praeparatae, ad messem. Ex hoc paterfamilias operarios invitat ad opus, quando iam senserit sic omnia praeparata, ut absque multo suo ipsorum labore gloriari et dicere queant, quoniam coadiutores Dei sumus.

Quid enim facturi sunt? Nempe sponsam quaesituri, inventaeque indicaturi de dilecto. Non enim suam quaerent, sed sponsi gloriam, quoniam sponsi amici sunt. Et pro hac non multum apud illam laborabunt: adest, iamque illum tota devotione requirit; in tantum praeparata est voluntas eius a Domino.

Denique necdum illis quidquam loquentibus interrogat de dilecto, et praevenit praedicatores suos praeventa ipsa, percunctans et dicens: Num quem diligit anima mea vidistis? Bene proinde se inventam perhibuit ab his qui custodiunt civitatem, quae a Domino civitatis praecognitam iam se noverat et praeventam, quatenus illi talem eam invenirent, non facerent. Sic a Petro Cornelius, et Paulus ab Anania inventi sunt, nam ambo praeventi a Domino erant et praeparati. Quid Saulo paratius, qui supplici iam et mente et voce clamaverat: Domine, quid me vis facere? Nec minus Cornelius, qui eleemosynis et orationibus suis, Domino quidem eas sibi inspirante, promeruit pervenire ad fidem. Invenit quoque Philippus Nathanaelem; sed prius Dominus illum, cum esset sub ficu, iam viderat: quae Domini visio, nunquid non praeparatio fuit? Et Andreas Simonem fratrem suum nihilominus invenisse refertur, sed praevisum aeque a Domino atque praescitum, ut vocaretur Cephas, quasi fortis in fide.

Legimus de Maria quod inventa fuerit in utero habens de Spiritu sancto. Existimo autem simile quid habere in hac parte sponsam Domini matri ipsius. Nisi enim et ipsa inventa esset habens de Spiritu sancto, nequaquam ab inventoribus suis tam familiariter requisisset de eo, cuius Spiritus est ille. Non sustinuit ut illi effarentur ad quid venissent; ipsa locuta est, et quidem ex abundantia cordis: Num quem diligit anima mea vidistis? Sciebat quia beati oculi qui vidissent, et admirans eos qui viderant, aiebat: Num vos estis, quibus videre donatum est, quem tot reges et prophetae voluerunt videre, et non viderunt? Num vos estis qui meruistis in carne aspicere Sapientiam, in corpore Veritatem, in homine Deum? Multi dicunt, Ecce hic est, et ecce illic: sed ego tutius mihi arbitror fidem accommodare vobis, qui manducastis et bibistis cum eo, postquam resurrexit a mortuis. Et hoc dictum sit de eo, quod sponsa sciscitata est a vigilibus.

Si quo minus, supplebitur sermone alio. Nunc autem ex hoc vel maxime liquet praeventam fuisse a Spiritu sancto; ab his vero qui custodiunt civitatem inventam compertamque, quod vere ipsa sit quam praescivit et praedestinavit ante saecula Deus, praeparavitque dilecto Filio suo delicias sempiternas in saeculis aeternis, ut sit sancta et immaculata in conspectu eius, germinans sicut lilium, et florens in aeternum ante Dominum Patrem Domini mei Iesu Christi, sponsi Ecclesiae, qui est super omnia Deus benedictus in saecula. Amen.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Eph.5.25-Eph.5.32 — Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her. Eph.5.26 — in order that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, Eph.5.27 — so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, so that she might be holy and blameless. Eph.5.28 — In the same way, husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his own wife loves himself. Eph.5.29 — For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church. Eph.5.30 — because we are members of his body. Eph.5.31 — For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. Eph.5.32 — This mystery is profound—and I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
  2. ↩John.15.5 — I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who abides in me, and I in him, this one bears much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing.
  3. ↩Luke.10.7;1Tim.5.18 — Stay in that same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not move from house to house. 1Tim.5.18 — For the Scripture says, 'You shall not muzzle an ox while it is threshing,' and 'The worker is worthy of his wages.'
  4. ↩1Cor.3.6-1Cor.3.8 — I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 1Cor.3.7 — So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God, who makes it grow. 1Cor.3.8 — Now the one who plants and the one who waters are one, and each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
  5. ↩Heb.1.14 — Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to serve for the sake of those who are about to inherit salvation?
  6. ↩Gen.3.19 — By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread, until you return to the ground, for from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
  7. ↩Phil.2.12 — Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
  8. ↩Eph.1.3-Eph.1.6 — Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, Eph.1.4 — just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love Eph.1.5 — He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, Eph.1.6 — to the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
  9. ↩Ps.84.5 — Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Selah.
  10. ↩2Tim.2.19 — But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this inscription: 'The Lord knows those who are his,' and 'Let everyone who names the name of the Lord turn away from wickedness.'
  11. ↩Song.3.3 — The watchmen who go about the city found me. "Have you seen the one my soul loves?"
  12. ↩Song.3.3 — The watchmen who go about the city found me. "Have you seen the one my soul loves?"
  13. ↩Acts.9.6 — But rise and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do.
  14. ↩Acts.10.4 — He looked intently at him, and becoming terrified, he said, 'What is it, Lord?' And he said to him, 'Your prayers and your acts of mercy have ascended as a memorial before God.'
  15. ↩John.1.48;John.1.47-John.1.48;John.1.48 — Nathanael said to him, 'How do you know me?' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Before Philip called you, while you were under the fig tree, I saw you.' John.1.47 — Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, "Look, a true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit." John.1.48 — Nathanael said to him, 'How do you know me?' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Before Philip called you, while you were under the fig tree, I saw you.' John.1.48 — Nathanael said to him, 'How do you know me?' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Before Philip called you, while you were under the fig tree, I saw you.'
  16. ↩John.1.42 — He brought him to Jesus. Looking at him, Jesus said, "You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter).
  17. ↩Matt.1.18 — Now the birth of Jesus Christ happened in this way: after his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.
  18. ↩Song.3.3 — The watchmen who go about the city found me. "Have you seen the one my soul loves?"
  19. ↩Luke.6.45 — The good person brings out good from the good treasure of the heart, and the evil person brings out evil from the evil treasure. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
  20. ↩Luke.10.23-Luke.10.24 — Then he turned to his disciples privately and said, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. Luke.10.24 — For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, and they did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and they did not hear it.
  21. ↩Luke.17.21;Mark.13.21 — nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst. Mark.13.21 — And then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'Look, there he is!' do not believe it.
  22. ↩Acts.10.41 — not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God—to us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead
  23. ↩Song.3.3 — The watchmen who go about the city found me. "Have you seen the one my soul loves?"
  24. ↩1Cor.2.7;Eph.1.4-Eph.1.5 — But we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom that God foreordained before the ages for our glory. Eph.1.4 — just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love Eph.1.5 — He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
  25. ↩Eph.5.27;Eph.1.4 — so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, so that she might be holy and blameless. Eph.1.4 — just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love
  26. ↩Hos.14.5 — I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them.
  27. ↩Rom.9.5 — whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩The clause 'quo iam arctabamur' is rendered loosely to capture the sense of being pressed or constrained by the discourse already underway; the exact nuance is uncertain.
  2. 2 ↩'Doctor gentium' is a traditional epithet for the Apostle Paul; the reference to 'in Christo et in Ecclesia' and 'sanctum castumque connubium' echoes Ephesians 5:25–32 (Christ and the Church as bridegroom and bride).
  3. 3 ↩Scripture allusion: Luke 10:7 / 1 Timothy 5:18 ("Dignus est operarius mercede sua") and 1 Corinthians 3:6-8 (planting and watering).
  4. 4 ↩The 'ancient losses of their city' refers to the fallen angels' vacancies in the heavenly Jerusalem, which humans are destined to fill.
  5. 5 ↩Rendered 'piis ipsorum' as 'devout affections of its citizens' to capture the parallel with 'mutuisque amoribus' and the civic context of 'regnum' and 'regnaturi'.
  6. 6 ↩The feminine illam most naturally refers back to Ecclesiam (the Church) from the surrounding context, though the nearest grammatical antecedent is creationis (feminine genitive). The sense is that no one — not even the blessed spirits — can find or fully know the Church as she exists in God's eternal predestination unless God reveals her.
  7. 7 ↩ipsa aeternitas Deus: literally 'eternity itself, God' — a bold identification of God with eternity, rendered to preserve the theological force of the Latin rather than smoothed away.

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