De inventione remedii pro salvatione generis hutnani, et nativitate virginis Marice
The Fall and the Promise of Redemption
The chapter opens with the fall of man and the long history of divine mercy leading up to the Incarnation.
When Lucifer was first created, he rose up against God his Creator, and in the blink of an eye, he was cast down from the heights of heaven into hell. And for this reason, God decided to create the human race, so that through it He might restore the fall of Lucifer and his companions; for this reason, the devil, envying man, laid traps for him and strove to lead him into the transgression of the commandment. He chose for himself the form of a serpent, which at that time walked upright and had a face like a virgin. The deceitful tempter entered into this creature and, speaking through its mouth, told deceptive words to the woman, and by deceiving her, he brought death upon the entire human race. It became necessary for us all to enter the prison of hell, from which no mere human could rescue us. But at last, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation looked mercifully upon the state of our damnation and decided to set us free through Himself; regarding this, He gave us a sign through the olive branch, which the dove brought to those shut up in the ark, which foreshadowed the mercy of God that would come to those shut up in limbo. For mercy was promised not only to those who were in the ark, but a sign of salvation was also given to the whole world in the olive; and God showed this same thing to us in many other figures. From the beginning of our condition—when Adam was formed from the earth in the field of Damascus near Hebron and moved by the Lord into the paradise of pleasure, and Eve was made in paradise from the rib of the sleeping Adam and given to him as a pious companion, and the first parents themselves were placed in paradise to work and guard it, and then, because of eating from the forbidden tree, were expelled through the severity of divine judgment—supernal mercy did not cease to incite men to good through hidden instincts, nor did it delay in calling back the wandering man to repentance, giving the hope of pardon through the promised coming of the Savior. And so that this great dignity of God might not, through ignorance or ingratitude, prove ineffective for our salvation, He did not cease to promise, announce, and prefigure the coming of His Son throughout the five ages of this world—through patriarchs, judges, priests, kings, and prophets, from Abel the just down to John the Baptist—so that through many thousands of times and years, by great and varied, multiplied oracles, He might both lift our minds to faith and inflame our affections through intense and living desires. Pope Leo says: "Let the complaints of those who grumble about the delay of the Lord's birth cease, as if what was accomplished in the final age of the world hadn't been provided for in past times." The Incarnation of the Word contributed to what was to be done just as it did to what was done, and the Sacrament of human salvation never ceased in any antiquity. What the Apostles preached, the Prophets announced; and what has always been believed wasn't fulfilled late. The wisdom and kindness of God, through this delay of the saving work, made us more capable of His calling. This way, what had been announced for so many centuries through many signs, many voices, and many mysteries wouldn't be ambiguous in these days of the Gospel, and the birth of the Savior would generate a more constant faith in us, the more ancient and frequent His preaching had been. God didn't provide for human affairs with a new plan, nor with a late mercy; but from the foundation of the world, He established one and the same cause of salvation for all. For the grace of God, by which the whole body of the Saints has always been justified, was increased by Christ’s birth, not begun. This great Sacrament of piety was so powerful even in its foreshadowings that those who believed it as a promise attained no less than those who received it as a gift: thus Pope Leo. According to Augustine, Christ didn't come sooner because humanity first needed to be convinced by both natural and written law; if Christ had come immediately, people would have claimed they could be saved by natural law alone and would have thought Christ's coming was unnecessary—they could have said the same thing about the written law. But once it was clear they couldn't be saved that way, since everyone was descending into the underworld, He came Himself, because that was the time for mercy. It wasn't necessary for Him to come earlier, because spiritual medicine is useless without the desire of the one receiving it; nor did He come later, so that faith and hope in the promised Incarnation wouldn't perish—for if He had delayed His coming, they would have dwindled and grown cold day by day. According to that same Augustine, the ancients had a great longing to see Christ. They knew He was coming; and not only the patriarchs and prophets, but everyone who lived piously, longing for Him, would say: 'Oh, if only that birth finds me!' 'Oh, if only I will see it with my own eyes, as I believe!' If those faithful ones longed for Him so much, and were so devoted to Christ while He was still to come, what should we do now that He has already been received? But woe to us, miserable people of this modern time, who are not as moved by the grace that has been shown to us as the ancients were by the grace that was promised! Bernard says, "When I think often of the longing of those who sighed for Christ's presence, I feel compunction and am confounded within myself; and now I can barely hold back my tears, so ashamed am I of the lukewarmness and sluggishness of these miserable times." After all, to which of us does the manifestation of this grace bring as much joy as the mere promise of it once kindled in the ancients? That is what Bernard says.
The Debate of the Virtues
A metaphorical dialogue between Mercy and Truth illustrates the divine plan for human salvation.
Since the human race had been mired in misery for a very long time—about five thousand two hundred years—and no one could reach eternal happiness because of the first man's sin, the blessed spirits, finally moved by compassion for this ruin and concerned for its restoration, pleaded with the Lord more urgently and devoutly as the fullness of time arrived, even though they had done so many times before. Mercy stirred the Father's heart to come to our aid, bringing peace with it; but Truth opposed this, bringing justice with it, and a great debate arose between them, as Bernard recounts in his long sermon on the Annunciation—but the core of their argument is this. Mercy said to God: 'The rational creature needs divine mercy, for it has become miserable—truly wretched; the time has come to have mercy on it.' Truth replied: 'I ask, Lord, that the word you spoke be fulfilled.' 'Let Adam die completely, along with all who were in him when he tasted the forbidden fruit by his transgression.' Mercy answered: 'Why, Lord, did you make me?' 'Truth herself knows that I am lost if you never show mercy.' Truth replied: 'If the transgressor escapes your stated judgment, your truth is lost and does not remain forever.' The Father then put this question to the Son. Truth and Mercy, however, both spoke the same thing before Him. It didn't seem possible for Mercy and Truth to both be preserved regarding man. The King wrote down a judgment that said: one side claims, 'I am undone if Adam does not die,' and the other says, 'I am undone if he does not obtain mercy.' Let a good death come to pass, and each side gets what it demands: that Adam may die, yet still obtain mercy. Everyone was stunned by the word of Wisdom, and they agreed that Adam should die while still obtaining mercy. But they asked how death could become 'good,' when it's horrible even to hear of it. The King replied: 'The death of sinners is the worst, but the death of the Saints is precious and the gateway to life.' Let there be found, then, one who dies out of love, though not subject to death; in this way, death won't be able to hold the innocent one, but will create a breach in itself through which the liberated may pass. The proposal was well-received. But they asked, "Where could such a person be found?" Truth searched the whole world and found that "no one is clean from filth, not even an infant of one day." Mercy also scoured the heavens and found no one who possessed enough charity for this task. To Him, therefore, this victory was owed, for no one else had greater charity than to lay down his life for useless servants. They returned on the appointed day, deeply anxious, having not found what they were looking for. At last, Peace, comforting them, said: "Don't you know that there is no one who does good, not even one?" Let the one who gave the counsel provide the help. The King understood this and said, "I regret having made man. The penalty," He said, "holds me; it falls to me to endure the penalty for the man I created." And having called the Angel Gabriel, He said: "Go, tell the daughter of Zion: Behold, your King is coming." He hurried and said, "Adorn your chamber and welcome the King." That is what Bernard says. You see, then, how great the danger was, how serious the sin, and how difficult it was to find a remedy. The aforementioned virtues agreed on this, and then that prophetic word was fulfilled: "Mercy and truth have met together; justice and peace have kissed."
The Predestination of the Virgin
The text shifts to the role of the Virgin Mary as the chosen vessel for the Incarnation.
Pope Leo addresses these matters this way: "Because the devil didn't act so violently against the first man as to force him into his own camp without the consent of his free will, the voluntary pact and hostile counsel had to be destroyed in such a way that the standard of justice wouldn't be harmed by the gift of grace." In the common ruin of the entire human race, therefore, there was only one remedy, hidden within the divine reason, that could come to the aid of the fallen: if one of the children of Adam were born free from original sin and innocent, who could benefit the rest by his example and merit. But because this natural generation did not allow for it, the Lord David became the son of David, and from the fruit of the promised lineage, a child was born without sin. Hence Anselm also says: "Our nature was created in the beginning in the likeness of God, so that it might unceasingly enjoy God himself and eventually possess his glory without any corruption or change." This great good was lost immediately in our first parents, and the unhappy race rushed headlong into the miseries of this world, and, once the span of this fleeting life had passed, was destined to rush into eternal miseries, far more unhappily. Many centuries passed, and the enormity of that damnation was strengthened for the worse over all the children of men. For the wisdom of the most high God found no way within the mass of human creation by which he could come into the world and aid such a sorrowful ruin, as he had planned, until the time came for that Virgin of whom we speak. But when this Virgin came into the world through the line of human generation, she shone so perfectly with such virtue and constancy of every good that the very wisdom of God judged her truly worthy—through whom, in coming into man, he would blot out not only the guilt of the first humans but also the sins of the whole world, and would crush the devil, the enemy of his work, along with his own, and would restore the loss of the heavenly homeland by leading man back to it. Who, then, can think about these things and truly grasp how worthy of praise she is, who alone, above all others, was found worthy to become the mediatrix of such great blessings? — so says Anselm. This Virgin wasn't found by chance or accident, but was predestined from eternity. As Damascene says: The Mother of God herself was predestined by God's counsel from eternity, even before time was foreseen, and was prefigured and foretold by the Prophets through the Holy Spirit in various visions and sanctifications. Let us rise, then, to give thanks, and for such great dignity shown by God toward us, let us offer praise with Anselm, saying: We adore you, Christ, King of Israel, Light of the Gentiles, Prince of the kings of the earth, Lord Sabaoth, most omnipotent Power of God. We adore you, the precious price of our redemption, the peace-offering that, by the inestimable sweetness of your fragrance, inclined the Father who dwells on high to look upon the lowly; and you made him approachable to the children of wrath. We proclaim your mercies, Christ, and we pour out the memory of your sweetness with abundance; we offer to you, Christ, a sacrifice of praise for the multitude of your goodness, which you showed to us, a wicked seed, to children who were guilty and lost. For when we were still your enemies, Lord, and ancient death exercised its unjust dominion over all flesh, to which every seed of Adam was subject by the law of original sin, you remembered your most abundant mercy and looked down from your sublime dwelling into this valley of tears and misery. You saw, Lord, the affliction of your people, and touched inwardly by the pain of charity, you set out to think thoughts of peace and redemption over us: so says Anselm, in 'His lineage and parents'. Passing over those things which were prophesied about this blessed Virgin from the beginning of all creation until the coming of his holy Son, both by those who were before the Law and by those who were righteous under the Law; and passing over her birth, which we know descended from the line of human generation, and for which we believe great and wonderful signs preceded it, let us now look at some things in order.
The Birth and Early Life of Mary
The narrative recounts the birth of Mary to Joachim and Anna and her sanctification.
The glorious Virgin, through whom the Incarnation of the Son of God occurred, was born of the tribe of Judah and the line of David. For, as Augustine says, it was fitting and appropriate to the heavenly mystery that the same Mary, who deserved to be the mother of God in the flesh, should be born from both a royal lineage and a priestly origin, since the Son of God—who is King and Priest forever—took on the body of human flesh from her. The glorious Virgin Mary was born around the twenty-seventh year of the reign of Augustus to her father, Joachim of Nazareth, and her mother, Anna of Sephor, a town two leagues from Nazareth; both were righteous before God. Having been childless for twenty years, they prayed for offspring, vowing that they would offer the child to the Lord. But when the priest Issachar saw Joachim among his fellow citizens with an offering, he rejected him, mocking his childlessness. Stung by the shame of this insult, he withdrew to his shepherds, and there the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, comforting him and saying that his prayers had been heard and his alms had risen up in the sight of God. He used to give a third of his wealth to the poor, a third to the temple and its ministers, and he lived on the remaining third with his own household. And the Angel said to him, 'Behold, your wife will bear you a daughter, and you shall call her name Mary.' She will be consecrated to the Lord, just as you vowed, and she will be filled with the Holy Spirit from her mother's womb, and her life will be spent in the temple of the Lord. The angel announced this to Anna as well; at the angel's prompting, they both went up to Jerusalem and, after offering due thanks to the Lord in the temple, returned home. Anna conceived and gave birth to a daughter, whom she named Mary. By a unique privilege, she was cleansed from original sin while still in her mother's womb. Hence Bernard says: "The Virgin Mary is therefore heaped with the titles of good things, for she was undoubtedly holy before she was born." I believe a more abundant blessing of sanctification descended upon her than upon others who were sanctified from the womb; this blessing not only sanctified her birth but also kept her life thereafter immune from all sin. It was surely fitting that she should lead a life without sin by a singular privilege, since she was to give birth to the destroyer of sin and death, and was to obtain the gift of life and justice more than all others—so says Bernard. Hence Augustine says that the blessed Virgin was sanctified before the conception of the Son of God, such that she could sin venially; but after the conception of the Son of God, she could sin neither mortally nor venially.
The Virtues and Example of the Virgin
A detailed description of Mary's life in the temple and her perfect practice of virtue.
When the glorious Virgin Mary was three years old, she was brought to the temple and offered by her parents; she was placed within the temple precincts among other virgins to learn her letters and serve the Lord, and she remained there until her fourteenth year. But as soon as she reached the age of reason, when her parents left her at the temple, she decided from that moment on to have God as her Father, and she had herself taught the Law of God; she would think devoutly and often about what she could do that would be pleasing to God, so that He might deign to give her His grace. She would also ask God with deep affection for the grace to observe the commandments and precepts of the Law, and that He would make her love everything He loves and hate everything He hates. She also sought all the virtues through which she might become pleasing in His sight, and she progressed better and better in the work of God. She gave herself at all times to contemplation, prayer, reading, or work. She prayed without ceasing for the salvation of the human race, frequently read the Scriptures concerning the coming of Christ, and whatever she found in the Scriptures about the Incarnation of God, she would reread with sweet affection, kissing and embracing the words. It came to pass that she was found to be first in vigils, more learned in the wisdom of God, more humble in humility, more elegant in the Davidic psalms, more gracious in charity, purer in purity, and more perfect in every virtue; for she was constant and immovable, and every day she moved toward what is better. No one ever saw or heard her angry. Every word of hers was so full of grace that God was recognized in her speech. She was also careful with her companions, making sure none of them would offend in speech, raise their voices in laughter, act insultingly or proudly toward their peers, or fall into any sin. She blessed the Lord without ceasing, and so that she wouldn't be distracted from praising Him if someone greeted her, she would respond by thanking God; and so it first began with her that when holy people are greeted, they say, 'Thanks be to God.' She was the first of all to make a vow to preserve her virginity, unless God should ordain otherwise—a vow that no one since the beginning of the world, from the time it was created, had ever offered to God. She conducted herself with such prudence, such humility, and such devotion that her life became an example of how to live for everyone. Regarding her life, Ambrose writes: 'Let the life of Mary be described for us as in an image, from which the beauty of charity and the form of virtue shine forth as if from a mirror.' She was a virgin in body and mind; humble in heart, serious in speech, and prudent in spirit. She was more skilled at listening and more eager in reading; she placed her hope not in the uncertainty of riches, but in the prayer of the poor. She was intent on her work and modest in her speech. She sought God, not man, as the judge of her mind; she harmed no one, wished well to all, rose to honor her elders, did not envy her equals, fled from boasting, followed reason, and loved virtue. When did she ever show even a hint of disrespect toward her parents? When did she ever look down on the humble? When did she ever mock the weak? When did she ever avoid the needy? There was nothing harsh in her eyes, nothing bold in her words, and nothing immodest in her actions. Her gestures were not restless, her walk was not careless, and her voice was not flippant, so that the very appearance of her body was a reflection of her soul and a model of integrity. For Mary was such that her unique life serves as a discipline for everyone. If, then, the actor does not displease us, let us approve the work: so that whoever desires the reward for himself may imitate the example—these are the words of Ambrose. Hence Anselm also says: “Note, then, how she lived from her earliest years—how chastely, how holily, and how worthily of God she established her life, and how she lived it once established, so that no one can even imagine it.” Finally, there is no doubt that her most chaste body and most holy soul were thoroughly protected from every stain of sin by the constant guardianship of angels, as befits the hall that God, the Creator of all, was to inhabit bodily, and from which He was to take the human nature united to His own person through an ineffable operation. And what is the least of it? It's a custom among people—if there can be any comparison between heavenly and earthly things—that when some powerful or wealthy individual goes to stay somewhere, their attendants prepare, fortify, clean, decorate, and guard the place so that it becomes suitable and fitting for their master when he arrives. If such preparation is made for the arrival of an earthly person of fleeting power, what kind of preparation, we might wonder, was made for the arrival of the heavenly and eternal King in the heart of the most holy Virgin—who was not only to host Him within herself, but was also to bring forth from her own substance the man He became? That is what Anselm says. Consider here, with close attention, the virtues and character of the Virgin Mary, and strive to imitate them as best you can.
Typology and Devotional Prayer
The chapter concludes with various Old Testament types of Mary and a final prayer.
Regarding Mary's conception and sanctification, it should be understood that when God decided to take on human nature, it was fitting that He first provide the mother from whom He would be born. This was prefigured by the daughter of King Astyages, who, as the Scholastic History relates, saw in a vision that a beautiful vine grew from his daughter's womb, which spread its leaves and flowers, and by bearing fruit, cast its shadow over his entire kingdom. He was told that a great king would be born from his daughter, who later gave birth to King Cyrus, the one who freed the children of Israel from the Babylonian captivity. In the same way, it was said to Joachim that he would beget a daughter who would carry Christ the King, who freed us from the captivity of the devil and became the true vine, casting His shadow over the whole world. She was also prefigured by the sealed fountain placed in the enclosed garden; for the Holy Spirit sanctified her while she was still enclosed in her mother's womb, and with the seal of the Holy Trinity, He so closed and marked her that nothing defiled ever entered into her. She was also prefigured by the star of Balaam, who promised that a star would rise from Jacob. By this, Mary was represented as the guide and the unique, preeminent helper of those tossed by the waves; without this star, we could not cross this turbulent sea, nor reach the harbor of our heavenly homeland. The blessed Virgin herself, regarding her own birth, was prefigured by the rod that grew from the root and stock of Jesse, the father of David, from which the most pleasant flower—Christ the Lord—ascended, upon whom the sevenfold grace of the Holy Spirit rested. However, how she produces the flower was prefigured in the closed gate that the Lord showed to Ezekiel, which was never to be opened, but through which the Lord alone wished to pass while it remained closed. She was also prefigured by the temple that Solomon built for the Lord. This temple was built of the purest white marble and adorned on the inside with the finest gold; just so, Mary was made most white by the brilliance of her purest chastity, and adorned on the inside with the gold of the most perfect charity. Mary’s offering in the temple was foreshadowed by the Table of the Sun in the sand, about which the Scholastic History says: Certain fishermen, casting their net into the sea, miraculously pulled out a golden table, which was offered in the temple to that material sun which the people worshipped as God—a temple built there on the seashore in the sand. That table, offered in the temple of the material sun, is a fitting image of Mary, for she was truly offered to the Sun—that is, to the most high God—in the temple of the eternal Sun. Mary is also beautifully represented by the table because, through her, the heavenly food was given to us; she bore the Son of God, Jesus Christ, for us, who has refreshed us with his own Body and Blood. Likewise, she was foreshadowed by the daughter of Jephthah. But that daughter, having been offered to God rashly and without discretion, could not serve Him afterward; Mary, however, having been offered rightly and with discretion, served the Lord always after her offering. The former served after a victory over temporal things as an act of thanksgiving; Mary served before the victory, for the sake of the victory over temporal enemies. As to how she served God and what kind of life she led, this was demonstrated in that hanging garden which the King of Persia planted for his wife in a high structure, from which she desired to contemplate her homeland from afar; by this, the contemplative life is signified, which Mary, insisting on contemplation in the temple of the Lord, always contemplated as her heavenly homeland. PRAYER: O Virgin of virgins, Mary, who were seen to have no equal before you, nor will you have a successor; who were the first among women to vow the vow of virginity to be kept, and offered a glorious gift to God, when you had learned this from no human being, nor by word, nor had been invited to imitation by example, and having been adorned with this virtue and others, you pleased God and left an example of living to all: I beseech your immense goodness that you, my highest comfort, may direct my life, and make me able to imitate your virtues and examples as much as I can, and grant that your grace may always be with me. Amen.
Read the original Latin
In principio, cum Lucifer creatus esset, erexit se contra Deum Creatorem suum, et in ictu oculi de excelso coelorum projectus est in infernum. Et ob hanc causam decrevit Deus genus humanum creare, ut per ipsum posset casimi Luciferi et sociorum ejus restaurare ; quapropter diabolus homini invidens ipsi insidiabatur, et ad praecepti transgressionem ipsum inducere nitebatur, et quoddam . genus serpentis sibi eligebat, qui tunc erectus gradiebatur, et caput virgineum habebat. In hunc fraudulentus deceptor intravit et per os ejus loquens verba deceptoria mulieri narravit, ac eam decipiens super omne genus humanum mortem induxit. Et oportebat nos omnes carcerem inferni ingredi, de quo non poteramus alicujus puri hominis adjutorio eripi. Sed tandem Pater misericordiarum et Deus totius consolationis clementer respexit statum nostrae damnationis, et nos per semetipsum liberare decrevit ; super quo signum nobis per olivam dedit, quam columba inclusis in arca afferebat, quae misericordiam Dei futuram inclusis in limbo prsetendebat. Non solum enim his qui in arca erant misericordia promittebatur, sed et toti mundo signum salutis in oliva dabatur; et hoc idem Deus praemonstravit nobis in multis aliis figuris. A principio autem conditlonis npstrae Adam in agro Damasceno juxta Hebron de terra formato, et a Domino in paradisum voluptatis translato, ac Eva in paradiso de costa Adae dormientis facta, et pio consorte ei data, ipsisque primis parentibus in paradiso ad operandum et custodiendum coUocatis, et dehinc propter ligni vetiti esum per divini secreti severitatem expulsis, siiperna miseratio non destitit homines incitare ad bonum per occultos instinctus, nec distulit hominem errabundum ad pcenitentiam revocare, spem veniae dando per repromissum Salvatoris adventum.
Et ne forte per ignorantiam et ingratitudinem tanta Dei dignatio nostrae saluti foret inefficax, in quinque hujus seculi aetatibus per Patriarchas, judices, sacerdotes, reges, et Prophetas, ab Abel justo usque ad Joannem Baptistam, Filii sui adventum repromittere , praenuntiare, et praefigurare non destitit, ut per multa millia temporum et annorum, magnis et variis multiplicatis oraculis : et intelligentias nostras ad fidem erigeret, et afFectus per nimia et viva desideria inflammaret. Unde Leo Papa : a Cessent illorum querelae quae de Dominicae nativitatis tarditate causantur, tanquam praeteritis temporibus non sit impensum, quod in ultima mundi aetate sit gestum. Verbi Incarnatio hoc contulit facienda quod facta, et sacramentum salutis humanae in nulla unquam antiquitate cessavit. Quod praedicaverunt Apostoli, hoc annuntiaverunt Prophetae; nec sero est impletum, quod semper est creditum. Sapientia vero et benignitas Dei, hac salutiferi operis mora, capaciores nos suae vocationis effecit, ut quod multis signis, ac multis vocibus, multisque mysteriis per tot fuerat secula nuntiatum, in his Evangelii diebus non esset ambiguum ; et nativitas Salvatoris tanto constantiorem in nobis gigneret fidem , quanto praedicatio ejus et antiquior praecessisset et crebrior. Non itaque novo consilio Deus humanis rebus, nec sera miseratione consiiluit; sed a constitutione mundi unara eamdemque omnibus causam salutis instituit. Gratia enim Dei, qua semper est universitas justificata Sanctorum, aucta est, Christo nascente, non coepta ; et hoc magnum pietatis sacramentum, tam potens etiam in suis significationibus fuit, ut non minus adepti sint qui illud credidere promissum, quam qui suscepere donatum : » haec Leo Papa.
Et uota SBCUndum Augustinum, quod Christus non prius venit nisi homo de lege naturali et scripta prius convinceretur; quia si Christus statim venisset, diceret homo quod per legem naturalem salvari poterat, et superfluum crederet adventum Christi; similiter dicere poterat de lege scripta. Sed comperto quod non sic salvari poterat, cum omnes ad inferos descenderunt, nunc venit ipse, quia tunc erat tempus miserendi. Et prius venire non fuit necesse, quia non prodest medicina spiritualis sine affectu recipientis; nec posterius venit, ne fides et spes ex promissa Incarnatione perirent : si enim tardasset venire, quotidie decrevissent, et tepuissent. Secundum eumdem Augustinum, magnum desiderium habebant antiqui videre Christum. Sciebant enim illum esse venturum ; et non solum Patriarchae et Prophetae, sed etiam omnes qui pievivcbant desiderantes dicebant : O si hic me inveniet illa nativitas ! O si, quod credo, videbo oculis meis ! Si ergo fideles isti tantum desiderabant, tamque devoti erant Christo adhuc venturo, quid faciendum est jam suscepto? Sed vae nobis miseris hujus modemi temporis, qui nec tantum afficimur ad gratiam exhibitam, quantum antiqui afficiebantur ad promissam !
UndiQBernardus : a Desiderium suspirantium Christi praesentiam frequentissime recogitans compungpr et confundor in memetipso, et nunc vix contineo lacrymas, ita pudet teporis torporisque miserabilium temporum horum. Cui namque nostrum tantum ingerat gaudium hujus gratiae exhibitio, quantum accenderat veteres desiderata sola promissio ? » haec Bernardus.
Cum igitur per longissima tempora circa spatium quinque millium et fere ducentorum annorum miserabiliter jaceret genus humanum, et nullus propter peccatum primi hominis ad aeternam beatitudinem ascendere posset; ad primum beatissimi spiritus compatientes tandem ruinae, ac de sua solliciti restauratione, licet pluries antea, tamen adveniente plenitudine temporis, instantius et devotius Domino supplicavere. Unde misericordia pulsabat viscera Patris ut subveniret, secum habens pacem; sed contradicebat veritas, secum habens justitiam, et inter eas magna controversia facta est, prout narrat Bemardus, longo sermone de AnDuntiatione; sed dicti sui summa haec est. « Dicebat misericordia Deo : Eget miseratione divina creatura rationalis, quoniam misera facta est, et valde miserabilis ; venit ergo tempus miserendi ejus. E contra veritas dicebat : Quaeso, Domine , impleri sermonem quem locutus es. Totus moriatur Adam cum omnibus qui erant in eo, quando praevaricando pomum vetitum gustavit. Respondit autem misericordia : Utquid me, Domine, fecisti ? Scit enim ipsa veritas, quod ego perii, si nunquam misereris. E contra veritas : Si praedictam tuam sententiam praevaricator evaserit, periit veritas tua et non permanet in aeternum.
Fuit autem haec quaestio per Patrem missa ad Filium. Veritas autem et misericordia coram eo eadem dicebant. Non videbatur quomodo circa hominem posset misericordia et veritas simul conservari. Scripsit autem Rex sententiam sic continentem : Haec dicit : Perii, si Adam non moriatur ; et haec dicit : Perii, si misericordiam non consequatur. Fiat mors bona, et habet utraque ut postulat : et quod Adam moriatur, et misericordiam consequatur. Obstupuerunt omnes in verbo Sapientiae, et consenserunt quod moriatur Adam, misericordiam consequendo. Sed quaerunt quomodo mors possit fieri bona, cum horribilis sit ipso auditu 'i Respondit Rex : Moi'S peccaiorum pessima; sed Sanctorum est pretiosa, et vitae janua. Inveniatur ergo qui ex charitate moriatur non obnoxius morti, et sic mors non poterit tenere innoxium; sed faciet in ea foramen per quod transeant liberati.
Placuit sermo. Sed ubi, aiunt, talis poterit invenirii: Circuit ergo orbem terrarum veritas, et : Nemo mundus a sorde, nec infans unius diei, Sed et misericordia perlustrat coelum, et neminem invenit qui sufficientem ad hoc habeat charitatem. Ei ergo htfic victoria debebatur, quo nemo majorem charitatem haberet, ut animam suam pro servis inutilibus poneret. Redeunt itaque ad constitutum diem anxiae plurimum, non invento quod desiderabant. Tandem seorsim pax eos consolans dixit : Nescitis quia non est qui faciat bonum, non est usque ad unum? Qui dedit consilium, ferat auxilium. Intellexit hoc Rex, et ait : Posnitet me fecisse hominem, Poena, inquit, tenet me; poenam sustinere incumbit mihi pro homine quem creavi. Et vocato Angelo Gabriel dixit : Vade, dic filiae Sion : Ecce Rex tuus venit.
Festinavit ille et ait : Adorna thalamum tuum, et suscipe Regem : » haec Bernardus, Vides ergo quam magni periculi, et quantum fuit peccatum; et quam magna difficultas sit invenire remedium. In hoc itaque consenserunt praedictae virtutes, et tunc impletum et illud propheticum : Misericordia et veritas obviaverunt sibi, justitia et pax osculatce sunt.
Circft vttro praemissa sic loquitur Leo Papa : « Quia non ita in primum hominem diabolus violentus extiterat , ut eum in partes suas sine arbitrii consensione transferret; sic destruendum fuit pactum voluntarium et hostile consilium, ut dono gratiae non obesset norma justitiae. In totius igitur humani generis strage communi, unum solum fuit remedium, sub divinae rationis occulto, quod posset subvenire prostratis : si aliquis filiorum Adam originalis praevaricationis alienus atque innocens nasceretur, qui ceteris exemplo prodesset et merito. Sed quia haec naturalis generatio non sinebat, Dominus David, foctus est filius David, et de promissi generis fructu proles est orta, sine vhio. » Unde etiam Anselmus : « Natura nostra ad similitudinem Dei in principio creata fiiit, quatenus indesinenter ipso Deo frueretur, et ejns gloria sine omni corruptionc et mutabilitate aliquando potiretur. Hoc tam grande bonum statim in primis parentibus perdidit, atque in hujus mundi miserias infelix et praeceps ruit in aeternas miserias, decurso vitae labentis articulo, multo infelicius ruitura. Transiertmt multa secula, et damnationis ipsius immanitas super omnes filios hommum est in deterius roborata. Nec enim summi sapientia Dei ullam in massa creationis humanae viam invenit, per quam ut disposuerat in mundum veniens tam luctuosae perditioni subveniret, donec ad istam de qua loquimur Virginem ventum esset. Sed haec niox ut in mundum venit, per humana& generationis lineam, tanta omnis boni virtute atque constantia perfecte resplenduit, ut eam ipsa sarpientia Dei vere dignam judicaret» per quam in hominem veniens, non tantummodo reatum primorum hominum, sed et totius mundi peccata deleret, atque diabolum sui operis inimicum cum suis elideret, nec non damma patrLae coelestis, hominem iUuc reduceado, reintegraret.
Quis igitur ista perpendens aestimare queat, qua laude digna sit, quae tantorum bonorum sola prae cunctis mediatrix effici meruit l » haec AnsehTnus^ 6 Pjt£DESTINATIO B.
Nec fiiit ista Virgo subito et casu inventa, sed ab aeterno prasdestinata. Unde Damascenus : a Ipsa Dei Genitrix ab aetemo etiam praeviso tempore Dei consilio praedeterminata, et diversis imagina» tionibus et sanctificationibus Prophetarum per Spiritum Sanctnm praeimaginata et praedicata fiiit. » Exsurgamus ergo in gratiarum actiones, et pro tanta Dei circa nos dignatione laudes referamus cum Anselmo, dicentes : a Adoramus te, Christe Rex Israel, lux Gentium, Princeps regum terrae, Domine Sft~ baoth, Virtus Dei onanipotentissima. Adoramus te, pretiosum nostrae redemptionis pretium, hostiam pacificam, quae sota odoris tui inaestimabili suavitate Patrem, qui in altis habitat, ad respicien* dum humilia inclinasti; et filiis irae placabilem reddidisti. Tuas» Christe, miserationes praedicamus, tuae suavitatis memoriam cum abundantia eructamus; tibi, Christe, sacrificium laudis immokmus, pro multitudine bonitatis tuae, quam ostendisti nobis semini nequam, filiis sceleratis, et perditis. Cum enim adhuc essemus inimici tuit Domine, et antiqua mors in omnem carnem iniquum exerceret dominium, cui omne semen Adam lege primordialis culpae obnoxium erat, recordatus es uberrimae misericordiae tuae, et prospexisti de sublimi habitatione tua, in hanc vallem plorationis et miseriae. Vidisti, Domine, afflictionem populi tui, et tactus dolore charitatis intrinsecus, apposuisti cogitare super nos cogitationes pacis et redemptionis : » haec Anselmus, 7 Ejus stirps et parentes. — Tacitis autem illis quae ab initio omnis creaturae usque ad sanctl Filii sui adventum, de hac beata Virgine prophetata sunt, tam per eos qui ante Legem, quam per eos qui sub Lege justi fuerunt; de nativitate ipsius quam quidem ex linea genelationis humanae descendisse scimus, et magna quaedam atque miranda signonim indicia praecurrisse credimus, ,'consequenter aliqua videamus.
Virgo itaque gloriosa ex qua Incarnatio Filii Dei est facta, de tribu Juda, et stirpe David est orta. Nam, ut ait Augustinus, dignum atque conveniens erat coelesti mysterio, ut eadem Maria, quae mater Dei secundum carnem esse meruit, et ex regali genere, et ex sacerdotali origine nasceretur, de qua Filius Dei, qui Rex est et Sacerdos in ceternum, corpus humanae carnis assumpsit. Anno autem imperii Augusti circiter xxvii, nata est gloriosa Virgo Maria, ex patre Joachim de Nazareth, et ex matre Anna de Sephor oppido distante ad duas leucas de Nazareth, ambobus justis ante Deum. Qui per anno6 viginti prole carentes, pro habenda sobole oraverunt, voventes se illam Domino oblaturos. Cum autem videret Issachar sacerdos, Joachim inter concives suos cum oblatione assistere, sprevit illum improperans sterilitatem. Qui improperii pudore ad pastores pecorum suorum se contulit, ibique apparuit ei Angelus Domini confortans eum, et dicens orationes ejus exauditas, et eleemosynas ascendisse in conspectu Dei. Tertiam enim partem substantiae suae dabat pauperibus, et tertiam templo et templi ministris ; de alia tertia vivebat cum domo sua. Et ait ei Angelus : Ecce uxor tua pariet tibi filiam, vocabisque nomen ejus Mariam.
Consecrata erit Domino, ut vovisti, et Spiritu Sancto replebitur ex utero matris suae, et ia templo Domini erit conversatio ejus. Eiidemque Angelus nuntiavit Annse; monituque angelico ambo ascenderunt in Jerusalem, et debitas gratias Domino persolventes in templo, regressi sunt ad propria. Concepitque Anna et peperit filiam, quam vocavit Mariam.
Ab originali autem culpa, quodam privilegio singulari in matris utero purgata fuit. Unde Bernardus : « Est itaque Virgo Maria bonorum titulis cumulata, quae procul dubio ante fuit sancta quam nata. Ego puto quod copiosior sanctificationis benedictio, quam in aliis sanctificatis ab utero, in eam descenderit ; quae non solum ipsiuj ortum sanctincaret, sed vitam ejus deinceps ab omni peccato conservaret immunem. Decuit nimirum, ut singulari privilegio vitam absque peccato duceret, quae dum peccati mortisque peremptorem parerct, vitae justitiaeque munus plus omnibus obtineret : » hsec Bemardus. Unde dicit Augustinus, quod beata Virgo ante conceptionem Filii Del sanctificata fuit, quod peccare venialiter potuit ; sed post conceptionem Filii Dei nec mortaliter net^ veniaiiter pcccare potuit.
Ipsa autem gloriosa Virgo Maria, cum trium esset annorum portabatur ad templum, et a parentibus in templo oblata, intra septa templi cum aliis virginibus collocata ut litteras disceret, et Domino serviret, ibidemque usque ad annum XIV permansit. Sed accelerato in ea divinae rationis usu, quando parentes eam in templo dimiserunt, ex tunc statuit in corde suo Deum habere in Patrem, et fecit se doceri Dei Legem; ac devote et frequenter cogitabat quid posset facere Deo gratum, ut sibi gratiam suam dare dignaretur. Petebat vero afFectuose a Deo gratiam observandi mandata et praecepta Legis, et ut faceret eam amare omnia quae ipse amat, et odire omnia quae ipse odit. Petebat quoque omnes virtutes, per quas efficeretur gratiosa ahte conspectum suum; et melius ac melius in Dei opere proficiebat. Omni tempore contemplationi aut orationi, aut lectioni, aut operationi se dabat ; pro salute generis humani sine intermissione orabat, Scripturas de adventu Christi frequenter legebat, et quidquid in Scripturis de Incarnatione Dei inveniebat, hoc osculando et amplexando dulciter relegebat. Fiebat ut in vigiliis inveniretur prior, in sapientia Dei eruditior, in humilitate humilior, in carminibus Davidicis elegantior, in charitate gratiosior, in puritate purior, in omni virtute perfectior; erat enim constans et immobilis, et quotidie in melius transibat. Hanc irascentem nullus vidit vel audivit. Omnis sermo ejus ita erat gratia plenus, ut in lingua ejus agnosceretur Deus.
Et erat soUicita circa socias suas, ne aliqua ex eis in ullo sermone ofFenderet; ne aliqua in risu vocem suam exaltaret; ne aliqua injuriosa vel superba circa parem suam existeret, ne in aliquo peccarent. Sine intermissione benedicebat Dominum, et ne forte in salvatione sua a laudibus Domini toUeretur, si quis eam salutabat, ipsa pro resalutatione Deo gratias, respondebat ; sicque primum ab ipsa exivit, ut dum homines sancti saiutantur, Deo gratias dicant.
Ipsa etiam prima omnium de servanda virginitate, nisi Deus aliter ordinaret, votum vovit, quod nulla ab initio seculi, ex quo hic factus est mundus, Deo obtulit. Tam prudenter, tam humiiiter, tam devote se habebat, quod vita ipsius exemplum vivendi cunctis praebebat. Unde de vita ejus sic scribit Ambrosius : a Sit nobis tanquam in imagine descripta vita Mariae, ex qua velut e speculo refulget species charitatis, et forma virtutis. Virgo erat corpore et mente, corde humilis, verbis gravis, animo prudens, loquendi peritior, legendi studiosior, non in incerto divitiarum, sed in prece pauperis spem reponens, intenta operi , verecunda sermone ; arbitrum mentis non hominem sed Deum quaerere , nullum laedere , omnibus bene velle , majoribus assurgere, aequalibus non invidere, jactantiam fugere, rationem sequi, amare virtutem. Quando illa vel nutu Isesit parentes? Quando fastidivit humilem? Quando irrisit debilem? Quando vitavit inopem?
Nihil torvum in oculis , nihil procax in verbis, nihil inverecundum in actu. Non gestus fractior, non incessus solutior, non vox petulantior, ut ipsa species corporis simulacrum fuerit mentis, et forma probitatis. Talis enim fuit Maria, ut ejus unica vita omnium disciplina sit. Si igitur actor non displicet, opus probemus : ut quicumque sibi exoptat praemium, imitetur exemplum : » haec Ambrosius. Unde et Anselmus ; « Nota igitur infontiles annos exuta, quam caste, quam sancte, quam Deo digne vitam instituerit, ac institutam egerit, ut vel cogitatu nequeat quis conjectare. Nulli denique dubium, castissimum corpus, et sanctissimam animam ejus funditus fuisse ab omni macula peccati, jugi Angelorum custodia protectam; utpote aulam quam suus et omnium Creator Deus corporaliter inhabitaturus, et ex qua hominem suae personae unitum, ineffabili fiiit operatione sUmpturus. Et quid minim? Nam et inter homines usus obtinuit, si tamen coelestibus ad terrena potest esse comparatio ulla, ut cum praepdtens aliquis vel persona dives , aliquo vadit hospitaturus , clientes procurent locum, muniant, mundent, ornent, atque custodiant, quo venienti domino suo, aptus ad habitandum, et congruus fiat.
Quod si taiis apparatus fit pro adventu terreni hominis, et momentaneae potestatis, qualis putamus apparatus omnis boni fiebat pro adventu coelestis et aeterni Regis in corde sacratissimae Virginis, quae illum nOnsolum erat in semetipsam transitive hospitatura, fsed etiam ex substantia sua hominem factum paritura? » haec Anselmus. Considera hic attente virtutes et mores Virginis Mariae, et pro posse tuo etiam imitari stude.
De Mariae conceptione et sanctificatione est sciendum, quod cum Deus humanam naturam assumere decrevisset, congruum fuit ut matrem de qua nasceretur praemitteret. Et haec per filiam regis Astiagis praefigurata fuit, qui ut in Scholastica Historia dicitur, in visione vidit qiiod de utero filiae suae vitis pulchra crescebat, quae frondibus et floribus se dilatabat, et fructum proferens totum regnum suum obumbrabat ; dictumque est ei , quod de filia sua rex magnus nasciturus erat : quae post haec Cyrum regem generavit, qui filios Israel de captivitate Babylonica liberavit. Ita Joachim dictum est, quod filiam gigneret, quae Christum Regem portaret, qui nos de captivitate diabolica liberavit, qui et vera vitis fiiit, et totum mundum obumbravit. Ipsa etiam praefigurata fiiit per fontem signatum in horto conciuso positum ; quia eam conclusam in utero matrisSpiritus Sanctus sanctificavit, etsigillo sanctae Trinitatis sic conclusit et signavit, quod in eam nunquam aiiquid coinquinatum introivit. Haec etiam praefigurata fuit per steilam Balaam, qui promisit quod de Jacob oriretur stella; per quam figurabatur Maria fluctuantium ductrix et adjutrix singularis et praecipua; sine qua stella non poteramus hoc fervidum mare pertransire, nec ad portum coelestis patriae pervenire. Ipsa etiam beata Virgo, quoad suam nativitatem, praefigurata fuit per virgam de radice et stirpe Jesse patris David egressam , de qua flos amoenissimus, scilicet Christus Dominus ascendit; super quam septiformis gratia Spiritus Sancti requievit. Quomodo autem florem producit, praefiguratum fuit in porta clausa quam Dominus Elzechieli monstravit, quae nunquam aperiri debebat, sed Dominus solus per eam clausam transire volebat. Ipsa etiam praefigurata fuit per templum, quod Salomon Domino aedificavit.
Hoc templum erat constructum marmore candidissimo, et ornatum intrinsecus aiiro mundissimo; sic Maria erat albissima candore purissimae castitatis, et ornata intrinsecus auro perfectissimae charitatis. Oblatio vero Mariae in templo fuit praemonstrata per mensam Solis in sabulo, de qua mensa dicitur in Scholastica Historia : Piscatores enim quidam rete in mare mittentes, casu mirabili mensam auream extraxerunt, quae ipsi soli materiali, quem gens illa tanquam Deum coluit oblata fuit in templo, quod ibidem in littore maris, in sabulo constructum erat. Per illam mensam, quae in templo solis materialis est oblata, bene est Maria figurata, quae vero Soli, id est summo Deo, et in templo Solis aeternalis est oblata. £t pulchre per mensam Maria est figurata, quia per eam coelestis esca nobis est coilata ; nam ipsa Filium Dei Jesum Christum nobis generavit, qui nos suo corpore et sanguine refocillavit. Item, praemonstrata fuit per Jephte filiam. Sed illa ex abnipto et indiscrete oblata, Deo postea servire nequivit, Maria vero rite et discrete oblata, post oblationem suam semper Domino servivit; illa post victoriam ho— stirnn temporalium, pro gratiarum actione, Maria ante victoriam, pro victorifle hostium temporalium coliocatione. Qualiter autem Deo seFvivit, et quam vitam habuit, hoc in horto illo suspenso demonstratum fuit quem rex Persarum uxori in alta structura plantavit, de quo patriam suam de longe contemplari affectavit ; per quam contemplativa vita Mariaedesignatur, quas in tempio Domini contemplatiooi insistens, patriam ccelestem seniper contemplabatur. ORATIO O Virgo virginum, Maria, quae nec primam similem visa es, nec ha-" bere sequentem, quae prima inter feminas servandae virginitatis votuni vovisti, et gloriosum munus Deo obtuiisti, cum hoc a nullo homine nec verbo didicisses, nec exemplo ad imitationem invitata fuisses, hacque virtute et ceteris ornata Deo placuisti, et vivendi exemplum omnibus reliquisti : deprecor bonitatem tuam immensam, ut tu, summum meum solatium, dirigas vitam meam, meque tuas virtutes et exempla pro posse imitari facias, et gratiam tuam semper adesse mihi concedas.
Amen.
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