Wretch that I am! I have not remembered that God observes the mind, and hears the voice of the soul. I turned consciously to sin, saying to myself, God is merciful, and will bear with me; and when I was not instantly smitten, I ceased not, but rather despised His forbearance, and exhausted the long-suffering of God.
VIII.-On St. Matthew.
And in the Gospel according to Matthew, the Lord said to him who betrayed Him: "Betrayest thou the Son of Man with a kiss? "which Peter the Martyr and Archbishop of Alexandria expounding, says, this and other things like, "All the signs which He showed, and the miracles that He did, testify of Him that He is God incarnate; both things therefore are together proved, that He was God by nature, and was made man by nature."
IX.-From a Sermon.
In the meanwhile the evangelist says with firmness, "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." From this we learn that the angel, when he saluted the Virgin with the words, "Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee," intended to signify God the Word is with thee, and also to show that He would arise from her bosom, and would be made flesh, even as it is written, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."