42. Do you hear what the Apostle said today? He said, 'He has died once for sin.' Once Christ died for you, a sinner: do not sin again after baptism. He has died once for all, and he dies once for each individual, not frequently. You are a sinner, O man; therefore, Christ, his omnipotent Father, made himself sin. He made a man who would bear our sins. Therefore, the Lord Jesus died for my sin; so that we might be righteousness in Him (II Cor. V, 21). He died for me, so that he would rise for me. He died once, he rose once. And you, having died with him, buried with him, and raised with him in baptism, beware that once you have died, you do not die again. Now you will die not to sin, but to forgiveness: so that when you rise, you will not die again. For Christ, rising from the dead, does not die anymore, death no longer has dominion over him (Rom. VI, 9). So, did death have dominion over him? In that very thing which He [Christ] said, 'I shall not rule any longer,' He showed that He had ruled. O man, do not lose such a benefit. Christ subjected Himself to the rule of death for your sake, so that He might free you from the yoke of rule. He undertook the servitude of death, so that He might grant you the freedom of eternal life.
43. Therefore, whoever seeks Christ, also seeks his tribulation, and does not shy away from suffering. In fact, even David, who was worthy of being sought through tribulation, sought tribulation himself. For if he had not sought it, he would not have found it. But what he found, he himself testifies, saying: 'I found tribulation and sorrow, and I invoked the name of the Lord' (Psalm 114:3-4). And elsewhere: 'In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he answered me and set me free' (Psalm 118:5). Good, therefore, is the tribulation that makes us worthy, who are heard by the Lord in abundance. But it is grace to be heard by our Lord God.
44. Therefore, he who seeks tribulation does not avoid it; he who does not avoid it, is found. For he does not avoid it, who contemplates the commandments of God with his understanding and his actions. Indeed, those contests find that athlete who has been trained in the exercise. However, the one who has abandoned the exercise will without a doubt not be able to be found; he is unworthy to be sought after. Therefore, David, like a good athlete, says: Distress and need have found me; for they have always found me prepared, not avoiding the battles of needs and tribulations, but seeking them.
45. (Vers. 144.) It follows: Your testimonies are everlasting; give me understanding of them, and I shall live. Who is so great that he can understand the testimonies of the Lord? And therefore understanding must be sought from the Lord, whose power is so great; so that the beginning of understanding may be the fullness of virtue. Finally, it is written: But piety is the beginning of understanding in God (Prov. 1:7), which is the foundation of all virtues according to the discipline of human and heavenly things. Piety is a friend to God, pleasing to parents, appeases the Lord, fosters relationships, cultivates devotion to God, rewards parents, and is the support of children. Piety, I say, is the tribunal of the just, the refuge of the needy, the refuge of the wretched, and the forgiveness of sins.
46. The one who has understanding is truly pious; for he understands the slippery fragility of human nature, and quickly forgives the one who errs. He understands the common bond given to us by nature and the partnership of use; and therefore he pays to the poor as if it were a debt, not considering it as something undeserved. He understands the vicissitudes of calamities; and therefore, like a port of salvation in this world, he extends his humanity to those shipwrecked. This is the perfect virtue in humans, this is the complete praise in God.
Deservedly, Solomon also sought understanding for himself, following his father's example, and asked the Lord, saying: I am a humble child, and I do not know my entrance or my exit, and your servant is among your chosen people, a people as numerous as the sands of the sea, which cannot be counted because of their multitude. And you will give your servant a wise heart, to listen and judge your people with justice, and to discern between good and evil (III Kings 3:7-9). Whereas it pleased the Lord, because he did not desire a long life for himself, or the abundance of royal wealth, but rather wisdom to understand the Lord's judgments and justices; and thus he governed the people with a peaceful reign, because he did not presume to know, like Adam, the difference between good and evil; but he prayed to Christ to understand his grace. For what is it divine to know, that must be obtained from the Lord your God, so that you may understand. If Adam had asked, as David asked, he would by no means have fallen into the inescapable snares of error, by which his entire inheritance is being strangled. Therefore, he died, and what is more serious, the death of sin; because he first seized upon the knowledge, before receiving the understanding by which he could be made alive.
Therefore, the intellect is enlivened like the Spirit; for it is the very grace of the spiritual intellect, and therefore the Holy Spirit operates through its gift. Moreover, the good intellect is for all those who make use of it (Psal. CX, 10); by this we are taught that we must not only comprehend with our senses, but also carry out in action what we understand.
Sermon 19. Koph.
The 19th letter is Koph, whose interpretation is Conclusion; and as we have found elsewhere, Look. The letter differs, but the meaning is congruent. For the one who concludes should look around and not ignore the cause of danger, especially when it is a deadly dilemma. Each person concludes with swelling viscera and internal throat, when the passage of breath is blocked, the functions of breathing and respiration are forced. A woman is concluded when she has a retrograde flow of the uterus, by which the main part of her chest is pressed; hence serious narrowness arises, and unless that chamber for receiving the seeds is restored to its proper place, it is accustomed to exclude life. In the same way, one who is distressed in mind, and is tormented by certain impending dangers, is said to be concluded in no lesser narrowness of the mind than of the body. For the passions and heat of souls are greater than those of bodies.
Therefore, enclosed by a swelling of the intestines, he seeks a doctor; so that he may be able to ward off danger and relieve the tightness. The approaching doctor tries everything, explores the inner parts. And so, you enclosed in the fervor of the soul, look at yourself with an inner eye. The force of illness presses, a harmful conscience burns, the weight of sins oppresses, the narrowness of the mind intercepts sensation: know yourself, and seek the medicine of prayer: ask for that doctor to come who descends from heaven, who seeks the most the sick, as he himself says: It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick (Matthew 9:12). Do you have wounds? Do not delay: there is no finding of healing with him. Do you have sores? Do not be afraid: he is accustomed to cure with a word, not with a sword. Therefore, look with those eyes, with which David sought and deserved help. I lifted up my eyes to the mountains, he says: I sought from where help would come to me (Psal. CXX, 1 and 2). I found nothing except from the Lord; for he who created the world takes care of the inhabitants of the world. Therefore, look and always look; because the eyes of the righteous are always towards the Lord.
This also reminds you of Jeremiah in Lamentations itself, saying to Jerusalem: Arise and wake up in the night, at the beginning of your watch, pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up your hands to the Lord for the souls of your little ones, who faint from hunger in the streets of all the roads (Lam. II, 19). Does it not also openly indicate the narrowness of the conclusion, and advise that with the intention of the heart, in which the eye of better insight is, you provide a healing remedy for yourself? Finally, even below, again under this letter it says: For our time has come, our days are filled, our end has arrived. Those who persecuted us have become light, above the eagles of the sky. They were set on fire in the mountains; in the desert they laid traps for us (Lamentations IV, 18 and 19).
4. He demonstrated the utmost conclusion, and no remedy except in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, who alone can bring medicine to the desperate. And as if showing Him, he says: The Spirit before our face, Christ the Lord was captured in our destruction.... In His shadow we will live among the nations (Ibid., 20) . And further: You will drink, He says, and you will become drunk (Ibid., 21) . Still: He will visit your iniquities, He will reveal your sins (Ibid., 22) . He expressed His coming and passion briefly, and the forgiveness of all sins: He declared openly the future gathering of the Gentiles! Hence that Apostolic saying: Because blindness in part has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles enter in, and so all Israel shall be saved (Rom. XI, 25 and 26).
5. Come, Lord Jesus: but now not in shadow, but in the sun of righteousness. If shadow helped, if the shadow of your passion protected, if the shadow of your body saved; how much will the open brightness of virtue contribute? Through shadow leprosy was cured (Matthew VIII, 3); through the shadow also of that woman who touched the fringe of the Lord's garment, the flow of blood stopped (Luke VIII, 44): through the shadow we saw you, when you had neither form nor beauty. Your shadow was flesh, which cooled the heat of our desires, which restrained the fires of lust, which tempered the flames of greed and various passions. And what shall I say about the shadow of the Lord, when even the shadow of the apostles healed (Acts 5:15)? For when Peter came, each person brought their sick, whom the passing shadow of the apostles restored to health.
6. Hear, for the flesh of the Lord was a shadow: Behold, the Lord sits upon a light cloud, and will come to Egypt (Isaiah 19:1). And David says: Protect me under the shadow of your wings (Psalm 17:8). Therefore, he became a shadow emptied for us, whom the sun of iniquity had burned. We saw him in the shadow when faith first advanced. But now he illuminates the whole world: and yet we still see him through the shadow of his body, which is the Church, not yet face to face; for the eyes of the body are unable to receive the brightness of divinity. This shadow also protects the entire world every day. Therefore, the conclusion is beneficial; For God has concluded all in unbelief, that he may have mercy upon all (Rom. XI, 32). But now let us consider what should be said in the conclusion, and where to begin.
7. (Verse 145.) I cried out with my whole heart, hear me, O Lord: I will seek your justifications. When we suffer bodily afflictions, we are accustomed to cry out, so that we may be able to call others to our aid. The holy Prophet was oppressed, with persecutors approaching him. Saul first, being hostile, pursued him with an armed army: afterwards, his son, a parricide, threatened him, not content with the exile of the fleeing man, he sought to take away his father's life. But he could endure less from those whom he saw in the present, than from those whom he did not see; for it is a struggle for the saints not only against flesh and blood, but also against the principalities and powers of this world, and the rulers of darkness, who lie in ambush in the night of this age like robbers, plotting against human desires. Therefore, when the holy David saw that heavy attacks were being made against him, he cried out with all his heart. For indeed, against the devil, one must not rely on the magnitude of the voice, but on the magnanimity of the heart.
8. However, there is also the voice of the heart; for there is also the voice of the blood, which reaches God. In fact, God says: 'The voice of your brother's blood cries out to me from the earth' (Gen. IV, 10). Therefore, our heart cries out not with the sound of the body, but with the sublimity of thoughts and the harmony of virtues. It is a great cry of faith. Furthermore, we cry out in the spirit of adoption, 'Abba, Father,' and the Spirit of God himself cries out within us. It is a great voice of justice, a great voice of purity, through which even the dead speak; and not only do they speak, but they also cry out like Abel. But truly, the unjust soul does not cry out while alive; for it is dead to God. There is nothing sublime, nothing magnificent in it: like those whose sound went forth into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. Moses spoke with a weak voice, yet he was heard more than all others. It is heard every day in the Church: it is not heard by those alone, that is, the Jews, who have ears to hear but do not hear. It is said to the prophet: Lift up your voice with strength (Isaiah 58:1).
9. However, Anna did not cry out in her heart (1 Samuel 1:13), like Moses, but spoke: perhaps because she was asking for children, that is, good things indeed, but personal, not public, she did not cry out. But because she was asking from the Lord, since she offered to the Lord whoever she would receive, she spoke to God: but Moses cried out; because he prayed not for himself, but for the whole people. Hence it was said to him by the Lord: Why do you cry out (Exodus 14:15)? He cried out with devout affection and deep feeling, and, calling out in heaven, he sought worthy miracles from the celestial beings: that he might change the elements of the world.
10. Finally, let us recount the series of events at that place: Pharaoh was pressing hard, surrounded by countless chariots, and pressing on the Hebrews; on one side the enemy, surrounding them, and on the other side the sea, closing in on the people of God. There was no trust in weapons, no hope in strength. Only a pitiful lamentation resounded, expressing that it would be more advantageous for them to endure the heavy burdens of slavery in Egypt than to be consumed by a bitter death in the desert. This lamentation offered no defense, but caused great offense. So Moses stood there, sad, worried, anxious for the people and the dangers and complaints, waiting for the faith of the heavenly promises; and silently he pondered within himself by what means the Lord, forgetful of the wrongs, mindful of the grace, would come to his aid. The Lord said to him: Why do you cry out to me? I do not hear his sound, I recognize his voice: I read his silence, I perceive his outcry in his actions. The people cried out, and were not heard: Moses kept silent, and was heard. It was not said to the people: Why do you cry out to me? For the people were not crying out to God, who cried out against injustice and indignation. But it was said to Moses: Why do you cry out to me? That is: You alone cry out to me, who hope in me; you alone cry out to me, who stir up my power; you alone cry out to me, who await the proclamation of my name throughout the whole earth.
11. Therefore Moses cried out in his heart, and every wise person cries out in his heart. Finally, wisdom with the highest proclamation calls to the chalice, saying: Leave behind foolishness...and seek wisdom (Prov. 9:6). This proclamation is of great sublimity, of a great voice, which promises wisdom to the foolish. And the Lord Jesus cried out: If anyone thirsts, let him come to me, and let him drink (John 7:37). And truly, He cried out greatly, who called people to the kingdom of heaven, to that venerable drink by which the waves of eternal life are poured forth. And when you pray, pray with great prayers, that is, prayers that are eternal, not temporary. Pray with prayers that are divine and heavenly, so that you may be like angels in heaven. Do not pray for money, because it is rust; do not pray for gold, because it is metal; do not pray for possessions, because they are earthly; this prayer does not reach the Lord. God does not listen unless it deems worthy of His blessings; but He listens to a pious voice, full of devotion and gratitude.
12. Therefore, not only must one cry out in the heart, but one must also cry out with the whole heart. Just as it is properly cried out with the body when it is cried out with the whole mouth, so it must be cried out spiritually with the whole heart if we want to achieve great things and obtain from the Lord what we ask for. The Lord demanded this voice from the people, which the people did not know. Therefore, the Lord said: This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me (Isaiah 29:13). Therefore, whoever approaches with a sincere heart, he is heard by the Lord. Therefore, let the heart first cry out, so that the word can be heard.
13. But it is not enough to cry out to the Lord, but also to seek His justice. And he seeks justice who ascribes to divine providence that which is just in all creatures, especially in rational, and even irrational, beings. Hence, the turtle dove's zeal for chastity, which, having lost its partner, does not know how to engage in intercourse: which humans cannot preserve? Hence, for many animals, such a sober care for the preservation of offspring; so that once they recognize the gift of conception, they do not think that copulation should be repeated; lest there be an adulterous mixing of received seeds. The phoenix is unaware of carnal intercourse, it does not know the allure of desire, but it rises from its own ashes: a bird surviving itself, both the heir of its body and the offspring of its ashes. The eagle, lest it nourish degenerate offspring, carefully weighs them in its examination: and it delicately suspends the tender offspring with its pious talon, and offers them to the sun's rays alone; so that if by chance the brightness of the sun's rays should bend their eyes towards it, it may drop them, as though degenerate, with an opened talon into the abyss: but if they are able to withstand the constant gaze of the sun's rays and assert the vigor of true nature, it may bring back the worthy offspring with a grateful burden.
14. The birds of the sky do not sow, nor do they reap, and God feeds them; for they keep the justice of the Lord, not claiming anything for themselves by avenging, but are content to alleviate hunger with the fruit-bearing wood, which is given as common food by the judgment of the Lord. Therefore, from these things we understand how the assistance of divine providence would not be lacking to humans, if we were willing to keep the justice of God. He who feeds the birds would not also feed humans, whom he made in his image and likeness? Are we not worth more than them? We are of greater value by the prerogative of nature, but inferior in the grace of devotion and the injustice of transgression.
15. (Verse 146.) The second verse follows: I have called upon you, save me: and I will keep your commandments. He repeats what he cried out to the Lord, and promises himself as the guardian of the heavenly statutes which the Lord God has sanctioned by the testaments of heaven and earth, so that the transgressors may be convicted by the testimonies of the elements. How can they behold heaven as the conscious witness of their transgression? How can they expect fruits from the earth which knows the ungrateful? Therefore, consider how great promises the Prophet makes. In clamando fidelis et promptus affectus exprimitur: in custodiendo testimonia, continentiae virtus, obsequii sedulitas declaratur.
16. (Verse 147) Here follows the third verse: I anticipated in maturity and cried out: I hoped in your words. The Greek ἐν ἀωρίᾳ said, which means, before the hour, pre-temporal. Therefore, whoever prays to the Lord, should not wait for specific prescribed times, not knowing that time exists in the prayers of the Lord, but should always be in them. Whether we eat or drink, let us proclaim Christ, let us ask Christ, let us think of Christ, let us speak of Christ: let Christ always be in our heart, always on our lips.
17. But perhaps you may say: How is it written, Time is for all, and a time for every matter under heaven? (Ecclesiastes III, 1) But the Lord Jesus is above heaven, not bound by any time. Let him shut his mouth, the Arian heretic. Time, he says, is for every matter under heaven: how much more is time under God, not above God? The generation from the Father has no time; for there is no work before the author, but the author is above the beginning of the work. Perhaps they may object because he said: My time has not yet come (John VII, 6). And again he said: Father, the hour is come (John XVII, 1). But this hour is the hour of passion. It is also the time of the virginal conception: Behold, a virgin shall conceive in her womb (Isaiah VII, 14): because the virgin conceived in due time, and therefore in the prescribed age.