Chapter IX.
Jacob, being very close to death and blind, is still shown to be happy: his commendation is manifold, but it is especially highlighted due to the blessings of the Patriarchs; and finally, it is concluded that he, nor any other saint, should be considered less happy because of their sufferings.
Let some now say that Jacob was not blessed, when in the days of his death he had almost more conversations with God than with men: not blessed when his eyes were burdened with old age, and he could not see. For to some, blindness seems to be a heavy affliction. But even then Jacob was blessed, because he discerned with his spirit what he could not discern with his eyes and sight. He saw the future, though he was thought not to see the present. Finally, Joseph himself also erred, when he applied his right hand to his older son and his left hand to Jacob, his younger son, in order to maintain the order of the blessing according to the order of age: he extended his right hand over the younger grandson and his left hand over the older grandson, and when his son wanted to switch his right hand to the older Manasseh, he responded: I know, my son, I know, and he will also become a great nation, and he will also be exalted, but his younger brother will be greater than him. And he added the reason for the preference, saying: 'His seed will be a multitude of nations' (Gen. 48:18ff). Even though his physical sight was impaired, he saw better in order to teach those who could see. For who sees better than one who sees Christ? Or who can say that his eyes were impaired when he saw the shining Church in Christ? Is it not clear, then, that weakness cannot hinder blessedness? He, hindered in the gift of sight, and weary in strength of body, leaving his body on his bed as in a tomb, rose up within himself, far from others, gathering himself within himself, and withdrew from present things, mingling himself with future ages of the last days. For it is written: 'I will announce to you what will happen to you in the last days' (Gen. XLIX, 1).
What, then, was lacking to him to whom God was present, who had said to him going to set out: I will go down with thee into Egypt: and I will bring thee back again at last (Gen. XLVI, 3 et 4)? Nor was He wanting, when the Holy Ghost spoke in him. Who is so mighty in his own home as that man in a foreign land? Who so abundant in plenty as he in famine? Who so strong in his youth as he in his old age? Who so active in business as he in leisure? Who is as swift on the race course as he is in bed? Who is as joyful in the bloom of youth as he is on the verge of death? Who is as wealthy in his kingdom as he is in a foreign place? In short, he blessed the kings. And rightfully so, for he was not poor who desired nothing. He was not poor who did not consider himself poor. And who would call him poor, whose conduct was worthy of the whole world? And therefore, his conduct was in heaven. But truly rich in the riches of simplicity and sincerity, adorned more with the beauty of the soul than of the body, which does not know decay, vigorous in age, to whom it was permitted, when he wished, to depart from this earthly prison and penetrate with the vigor of his heavenly mind, exulting in spirit, when he entrusted the final resting place of the tomb. For he presumed not to be closed in an earthly tomb, but to be received in a heavenly dwelling; and therefore, he entrusted the tomb as if it were for another: yet he considered that death secure as immortality for himself. He seemed to be bound by a physical impediment and, while awake, he anticipated future events with emotion, speaking of the persecutors of the Lord, who were the authors of wickedness from the tribe of Simeon and Levi: 'Let not my soul enter into their council; let not my heart join their assembly' (Gen. 49:6). But who is as strong in virtue as this one is in weakness, who said: 'Cursed be their anger, for it is proud and reckless; and their fury, for it is unyielding'? I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel (Ibid. 7).
39. But who is as melodious in songs as he is in words, who is heard throughout the whole world, who is listened to by all ages? Who has spoken such sweet harmony of the seven different voices as he has by the grace of the sevenfold Holy Spirit? Though he may be weak in his physical body, he raises himself up in spirit, and uplifting his spirit, he does not seek the harmony of his body, which is like the broken strings of a lyre, but allows it to lie idle on the ground. But he was delighted by an internal song, and he delighted in singing prophetically, saying: Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hands will be on the backs of your enemies; the sons of your father will bow down to you. Judah, you are a lion's cub; you climbed up from the prey, my son; you lay down to rest as a lion, and as a lion's cub. Who will rouse him (Gen. XLIX, 8 et seq.)? And below: He will wash his robe in wine, and his tunic in the blood of grapes. His joyful eyes from wine, and teeth whiter than milk. What sweeter melody, what more delightful sound, than the remission of sins and the resurrection of the dead? This song holy David, that divine instrument of voice, and interpreter of the Lord's words, sang with a spiritual harp. With these melodies, he soothed his exalted soul and mind. With this song, he softened the harshness of this worldly life, with this sound, he mollified the hardness of the age, with this psaltery, he broke the terror of death, with the sweetness of these strings, he trampled on hell.
40. But let us also hear other things which the holy patriarch Jacob, with that wonderful organ of his mind, exclaimed: Naphthali is a spreading vine, producing beauty in its shoots. Joseph, my son, has been enlarged; my son has been enlarged with desire; my son has been enlarged with zealous appetite; my son has become younger; return to me. (Ibid. 21 et seq.). And further: He prevailed over the blessings of the everlasting hills, and the desires of the eternal hills. (Ibid., 26). What is sweeter than a blessing? What is more precious than eternity? And the words themselves are a song, and in the words are great rewards of prayers, the heights of merits.
What is sweeter than Saint Joseph, who freed us from the disgrace of the sacrament of the Lord's cross? For just as Christ became a curse in order to remove the curse of the Law; and became sin in order to remove the sin of the world: so he became a disgrace in order to remove the disgrace of the Gentiles; but that disgrace of Christ was valued more precious than the treasures of Egypt. And therefore Moses left the court of Pharaoh the King, and chose the disgrace of faith, to which the seas divided themselves in disgrace. Therefore, Jesus, the vine of the Nephilim, sent his spirit throughout the world, in order to infuse the abundance of the spiritual cup into all peoples. He himself was exalted, having a name above every name, because he offered himself for all to death, therefore he heard from the Father: Return to me. Jacob spoke, and God was heard. He blessed, and God spoke, saying to the Son: Return to me, that is, return after the passion. Return to your throne, return with triumph, return to me, so that the dead may follow you as you rise, and with your power and example, may also rise, so that you become the firstborn from the dead, and sit at the right hand of the Father. And the Son said: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power of God (Matthew 26:64).
Would anyone deny that Jacob was blessed at the very moment of his death, when he was pouring forth divine prophecies? Would anyone deny that Joseph was blessed in prison, where he interpreted dreams by the spirit of wisdom, revealing the truth and the sequence of future events? Would anyone deny that Isaiah was blessed when he was sawn in half? Jeremiah, when he was thrown into a pit? Daniel, when he stood unharmed among the lions, with the prophet's meal brought to him by an angel? Certainly, they were blessed not because they ate a meal that did not belong to them, but because they closed the mouths of the lions with their merits. But who would not declare the mother of the Maccabees blessed, who added an eighth martyrdom to the funeral of her seven sons for the glory of heavenly triumph?