In Epistolas Sancti Pauli

For in this way he is glorified, when he is called the God of good and excellent men, and of those who cultivate virtue; and on the contrary, he is confounded and put to shame by the follies of the wicked, if he is invoked by them. Therefore he says through the prophet: Through you my name is blasphemed among the nations. But they were so renowned for virtues, so full of confidence, that he was not confounded, but rather glorified, when their God was invoked. He says generally, God of earth and God of heaven, since he is also God of the nations, and not only of the nations, but even of the whole world, because he himself created all things. But of those saints he is not said to be God only through creation, but as a friend. He is also now called the Lord, the God of the Christians. He has prepared, he says, a city for them: namely, the heavenly Jerusalem, and therefore he did not give them an inheritance in the present Church. Or also for this reason he does not blush to be called their God, because he predestined them to reign with him in the heavenly city. By faith Abraham offered Isaac, when he was tested; and he was offering his only-begotten son, in whom he had received the promise. To whom it was said: Because in Isaac shall your seed be called: reckoning that God is able even to raise from the dead. What is it that the blessed James, in his Epistle, making mention of Abraham, praises him exceedingly for his works, while the blessed Apostle commends not his works, but (the same thing most attentively?

Therefore blessed James rightly praises him for his works, whom he knew to be perfect also in faith, because he was writing to those who indeed seemed to have faith, but did not adorn that same faith with good works. But blessed Paul, who was writing to those who seemed to have the good works of the law, but did not have perfect faith, rightly makes more careful mention of Abraham's faith, so that they might strive to imitate him; and hence certainly, in order to show that those who wish to be sons of Abraham must have both faith and works, he deservedly praised the one for faith, and the other nonetheless for works. By faith, he says, Abraham offered Isaac when he was tempted, although he had no free son except him, and in him had received the promises that he would be the father of many nations; yet he was not for that reason disobedient to God; and although he again heard things contrary, when the Lord said to him, Offer your son Isaac to me, from whom he had already heard, In Isaac shall your seed be called, he did not waver concerning the promises, believing that God could raise him even from the dead, and from him multiply a multitude of peoples. Wherefore he wished to offer his son at once for this reason, because he believed that he would be immediately raised by God. But lest anyone could say that he had another son, from whom he hoped the promise would be fulfilled, and that for this reason he confidently offered this one, the Apostle says: Abraham himself, who had received the promises concerning him, offered even his only-begotten son. Why then did he tempt him?

God? Did he not know that that man was strong in faith and proven? He certainly knew, but he tested him not so that he himself might know, but so that he might demonstrate it to others and make his strength manifest, as he himself shows, saying: "Now I know that you fear the Lord"—that is, I have made others know that you fear God. Hence he also received him in a parable. "Parable," a Greek word, is rendered in Latin as "similitude" or "figure." He received him in a parable concerning death from God, who said to him: "Do not stretch out your hand over the boy," because when the ram had been slain, this one was saved. Isaac was slain as far as pertains to the will of the father. Then God gave him back to the patriarch in a parable, that is, in a figure and similitude of the passion of Christ. In a similitude were all the things that were done in Abraham, which for us the true Abraham—namely God the Father, creator of all nations—had arranged to do at the end of the age. Abraham indeed bore the figure of God the Father, but Isaac the figure of Christ. Abraham carried, as the Scripture says, fire and a sword, because God the Father in a certain manner carried the sword of Christ's passion, when he permitted him to be killed; whence the Son says to him in the psalm: "Because those whom you struck"—that is, permitted to be struck—"they persecuted." And God the Father through Zechariah: "I will strike the shepherd"—that is, I will permit him to be struck.

The fire also that he carried, the warmth of it, is the fervor of that supreme love with which he loves us, of which it is said: "God so loved the world that he gave his Only-begotten for us." For just as Abraham offered to God his only and beloved son as a victim, so God the Father handed over his Only-begotten Son for us all. But Isaac himself carried the wood by which he was to be laid upon the altar, because Christ also carried the wood of the cross on which he was to be crucified. The ram signified the flesh of Christ. Isaac was offered and was not killed, but only the ram: because Christ was offered in his passion, but his divinity remained impassible. By faith Isaac blessed also concerning things to come, Jacob and Esau. By faith he blessed them concerning things to come, because just as he invoked blessings upon them, so afterward he believed all things would come to pass for them, and the things that were to be for them he desired by blessing them. It can be understood otherwise: he blessed them concerning future mysteries, because Jacob bore the figure of Christ or of the Christian people, but Esau of the Jewish people. By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and adored the top of his staff. We read in Genesis that Joseph, hearing that his father was ill, came to him and offered him his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh to be blessed; he, having faith that all things would come to them just as he prayed for them, blessed them.

Therefore it is said that he blessed each of them individually, because he poured his own blessing upon both, and he placed the younger before the greater, since he foresaw that things would turn out so. And what follows: "And he adored the top of his rod," that is, of Joseph's rod, can be understood in two ways. For Jacob, inspired by the prophetic spirit, knew that the kingdom of Christ was signified by that rod of Joseph; and by the top, that is, the summit of the rod, the power and honor of Christ's kingdom, of which the Psalmist says: "A straight rod is your rod, the rod of your kingdom." So he did not adore the rod as God, according to the custom of the Gentiles, who worshiped idols, but he adored Christ in the rod, whose kingdom and power he foresaw was figured in it. But as far as the literal sense is concerned, perhaps according to the custom of that time he adored the rod of Joseph, whom he saw to be lord of the whole kingdom of the land of Egypt; for by that same reasoning Esther is read to have adored the rod of Ahasuerus. By faith, Joseph, when dying, remembered the departure of the children of Israel and gave command concerning his bones. He spoke of the departure of the children of Israel, believing that all things were true which their fathers had been promised: especially what had been said to Abraham: "Know beforehand that your seed will be a stranger in a land not its own, and they will treat them badly; but nevertheless I will judge the nation to which they will have been servants, says the Lord, and after these things they will return to the land of their fathers.

Joseph would by no means have given orders concerning his own bones unless he hoped with full faith for their return to the land of promise. For he says to them: Visiting, the Lord will visit you after many days: carry my bones from here with you. And not only did the tribe of Joseph carry its father's bones with it through the desert into the land of promise, but the other tribes also brought all the bones of the patriarchs and buried them in Shechem, which fell to the possession of the tribe of Joseph. For Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were buried in the double cave of Arbee, which Abraham had bought from the sons of Eth, together with Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah; where also Adam rested buried with Eve. But perhaps someone asks what reason there was that all those holy fathers preferred to be buried in the land of promise rather than in another place. To him it must be answered: they did this not out of care for their tombs, but rather because by the Holy Spirit they foresaw that the Lord would redeem the human race in that land through death and would rise again there, and they desired with the greatest longing to be buried together there, so that when he rose they might rise together with him. But we ought not to be faint-hearted wherever we are buried, since we do not know where the glorious bodies of many martyrs lie buried. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they did not fear the king's edict.

Moses was not hidden by his own faith, which as yet could scarcely be his, but by the faith of his parents, namely his father and mother, who, having faith that almighty God could deliver and protect him, kept him for three months; then, when they could no longer hide him because of his crying, they placed him in a basket of reeds and set it among the reeds of the river. For such an edict of the king had been issued, that all the male children should be thrown into the river. But what is it that he says, that they did not fear the king's edict? If they did not fear, why did they hide him? In this, then, they feared, because they did not dare to keep him; but in this they were as if they did not fear, because they did not throw him into the open river, but placed him in a basket and so set it among the reeds of the river, having hope and confidence that almighty God would protect him; wherefore it is reckoned to them as though they had not feared. From what source, then, did they hope the child would be saved, except from faith? She saw, he says, that the infant was beautiful: indeed, from the very beginning of his birth a great grace of beauty was poured into him—not by nature bringing this about, that the little child was born comely, but by the gift of divine grace, which also stirred up that Egyptian woman, a foreigner, namely the daughter of Pharaoh, to love him, to take him, and to nourish him.

By faith Moses, when he had grown great, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be afflicted with the people of God than to have the enjoyment of temporal sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasure of the Egyptians; for he looked to the reward. It is as if he were saying to those to whom he was writing these things: None of us has left a great and splendid royal court, nor such treasures, nor, when he could have been the son of a king, despised them, as Moses did, who not only despised but even refused; indeed, with heaven set before him, he would not admire the beauty of the Egyptian kingdom, choosing rather to be afflicted with the people of God than to have the enjoyment of sin. For he counted it a sin if he remained in the king's court, enjoying temporal gladness, and left his brothers in tribulation. Not to be afflicted, I say, with others, he considered to be a sin. If, therefore, he judged it a sin not to be afflicted willingly with others, how great a heap of sin will they have who are forsaken by the congregation of the faithful? You, he says, suffer for yourselves. But he, looking not only for himself to the reward, but also for others, chose this, that he might receive a greater reward, and of his own accord rushed into such great dangers, when it was permitted him both to live piously and to enjoy worldly goods. Greater, he says, riches than the treasure of the Egyptians, esteeming the reproach of Christ.

He calls it the reproach of Christ, because Moses endured reproach for Christ, who according to his divinity is of one essence with the Father. Or he calls it the reproach of Christ in this sense: such as Christ endured from his own relatives. For just as Christ endured reproach from his own people, whom he had come to redeem, when they said to him, "You have a demon," and heaped other evils upon him even to the passion, so too Moses endured reproach among his brothers, whom he wished to set free; for they said to him, "Who appointed you prince or judge over us? Do you want to kill me, as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?" Similarly, whenever anyone endures reproach from members of his household, or from those to whom he has shown kindness, he suffers the reproach of Christ. He looked, it says, to his recompense, and that of the people. And so whenever anyone suffers some adversity, he ought to call to mind what recompense he will receive from the Lord on that account. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the fierceness of the king: for he endured as though seeing the invisible one. We read in Exodus that, when it was said to Moses by a certain Hebrew who was doing injury to his brother, whom Moses wished to rebuke, "Do you want to kill me, as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?" Moses fled at this word, because Pharaoh, having heard this, sought to kill him. But since it is manifest that he fled into Midian, what is it that the blessed Apostle says: "He did not fear the fierceness of the king"?

For if he did not fear, why did he flee? Therefore, in that he fled, his mind was believing that he would be delivered by God; and he pretended fear outwardly, when inwardly he had no fear at all: and therefore it is reckoned to him as though he had not feared. For this reason he was unwilling to remain there, lest he should seem, for the sake of vainglory, to rush into open danger and to tempt the Lord his God, which is altogether not permitted to be done. For the saints, as long as they have something they can do, ought not to tempt God, but ought to imitate their Lord, who frequently gave place to the Jews, when they heard what he himself commanded, saying: When they have persecuted you in one city, flee to another. Therefore the whole of Moses' flight was outward, since he had the greatest faith in God's help. Hence the Apostle says: He endured, saying, the invisible Lord as though present. That is to say: He was so trusting in God's assistance, and was always so secure in his protection, as though he always beheld the omnipotent God, who is invisible by nature, as present. By faith he celebrated the Passover and the shedding of blood, so that he who was destroying the firstborn might not touch them. By the faith by which Moses believed that the people would be saved through that blood, he celebrated the Passover.

By the shedding of blood he celebrated the Passover, with which he smeared the doorposts, so that the angel who was destroying the firstborn of the Egyptians might not afflict the Israelites: as if he were saying to them: If the blood of the typical lamb in the midst of the Egyptians, and amid such great devastation, preserved unharmed the Jews, who afterwards were sprinkled with that blood, how much more will the blood of the true Lamb, that is, of Christ, save us: whose offerings, that is, their foreheads, were fortified with the sign of Christ's passion. For the angel feared that blood, understanding the Lord's death to be there: and therefore he did not touch the doorposts, although what was done was nothing, but what was signified through it was great. With the blood of the lamb the doorposts of the Israelites are smeared, so that the destroying angel may not dare to bring death: the faithful peoples are signed on their foreheads with the sign of the Lord's death for the protection of salvation, so that they may be freed from destruction. By faith they crossed the Red Sea, as through dry land: which when the Egyptians experienced, they were swallowed up. As if he were saying to those to whom he was writing these things: We ought to hold the faith so firmly that when our mind wavers into some despair, we too may then be of faith, so that we may be delivered, even if we come to the point of death, even if all despair of us. For what hope could there be for them? On one side was the sea, on the other they were surrounded by the highest mountains, on a third were the enemies: if they wished to flee, they would either perish in the sea or fall into the hands of the Egyptians: but having faith, they conquered all things.

For by the faith with which Moses believed God, at His word he struck the sea and divided it into twelve divisions, according to what is said in the psalm: and all those tribes, believing that they could cross with dry footstep, entered the sea, but the tribe of Judah first. According to what is read in Hosea: Rejoice, he says, O prince, with God in the sea; because on account of that sea there was for the Hebrews on the right and on the left a wall, providing them a dry path, and it submerged the Egyptians. Whence the Apostle says: Because the Egyptians, having tested it, were devoured. For they knew that it was the sea; for from this it appeared that it was water, because they, coming on, were swallowed up; and from this it appeared that it was not a phantom but the truth of things, because the Egyptians, having tested it, were devoured. Allegorically, however, the Red Sea is baptism, consecrated by the redness of the blood of Christ. The Hebrews who went out from Egypt and passed through the Red Sea are the faithful, who, leaving behind the darkness of unbelief, passed through the font of baptism. Pharaoh and the Egyptians died in the sea, because in the font of baptism the devil died, by losing the power that he had; original and actual sins also died, if any existed beforehand. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down through a circuit of seven days. For it was not by the sound of trumpets that he cast down the stones of the walls, even if for ten thousand years someone should sound the trumpets; but by the faith with which they believed God, they cast them down.

We read that the Lord had commanded Joshua that the ark be carried around Jericho for seven days, and so to sound the trumpets. But on the seventh day, when they had blown the trumpets, the walls of Jericho fell, which is not without a great mystery. Jericho, which is interpreted as "moon," represents the figure of this world, because just as the moon wanes in its monthly completions, so this world falls through daily declines. But in the ark the Church is figured. In the bronze trumpets, moreover, the strong preachers are understood. Joshua, who leads the ark around, is Christ, who governs His Church through this world. But this city of Jericho the Israelites, carrying the ark, go around for seven days with bronze trumpets blaring, and its walls fall through the presence of the ark and the sound of the bronze trumpets: because in this time, which rolls on through the alternation of seven days, while the ark is carried—that is, while the Church, going around the world, is renewed at the voices of the preachers, as if at the sound of trumpets—the walls of Jericho, that is, the pride of this world, and the princes, and the barriers of the unbelief of pride fall, until at the end of times death, the last enemy, is destroyed. By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with the unbelievers, receiving the spies with open...

The blessed Apostle offers great consolation and exhortation in this passage: if a prostitute and idolater was saved by faith alone, much more will those be saved who have not fallen into graver sins—as if he were plainly saying: It is shameful if you are more faithless than a prostitute. She heard only men bringing the report, and immediately believed; but you hear not only men, but also the voices of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath; and beyond that, you do not recognize the very Son of God sent to you. For in Rahab too the effect of faith was attained: when all were perishing, she alone was saved. Now Rahab, which is interpreted as "enlarged," holds the figure of the Church, which has been enlarged from the East to the West, from the North to the South; and she has the breadth of charity, to such an extent that she pours out prayer even for her very enemies. And rightly was that Rahab a prostitute, belonging to foreign and alien nations, serving young men in the desires of the flesh and in fornication: because the Church was alien to God before the Lord's coming, living according to the desires of the flesh, serving fornication and idolatry. But after the true Jesus sent to her two spies—that is, Peter and Paul, or the two Testaments—she was made faithful, abandoned the fornication of idolatry, and so was saved, and is saved daily, lest she perish with the unbelievers.

Up to this point he has spoken of the lawgiver and of the ancient fathers; now he is about to speak of the judges who came after Joshua, merely recalling their names, for the sake of brevity: who by faith fought and conquered very many nations. And what more shall I say? For time will fail me in recounting. That is, the time allotted for writing the letter will fail me, if I wish to pursue all the deeds of those whom I have thus far mentioned, or of those things which I can relate concerning those who were their successors. Of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms. What he mentions in common for all is this: that the works of each individual were done by the same faith, because all of them together by faith conquered kingdoms. For Gideon, receiving a sign from the Lord, among the men who lapped the water, and of whom the Lord said to him: In these you will overcome Midian. Also in the fleece wet and dry, thus filled, he laid low Zebah and Zalmunna, and received victory over his enemies. Allegorically, however, Gideon, which is interpreted as "going about in the womb," signifies the Lord Jesus Christ, who through the mystery of the incarnation was placed in the womb of the Virgin, and by the fullness of divinity, with which he fills all things, encircles the whole world: because by filling all things, he encircles all things.

But the men who drew water with their hands, and having taken fire in jars set out against Midian, and when the jars were broken the fire shone forth, and they sounded the trumpets, and at once the enemies were put to flight—this bears the figure of the holy preachers, who, holding the faith of the holy Trinity, are marked with the sign of the Lord's passion; which is designated by the letter Tau, which is expressed by its number, and which among the ancient Jews had the likeness of the cross. But the jars, which are earthen vessels, signify the weak bodies of these same preachers, of whom the same distinguished preacher says: We have this treasure in earthen vessels. The sound of the trumpets expresses the voice of the preachers. When the jars, then, were broken, the fire shone forth, and the Midianites were put to flight, who bear the figure of the rulers: because after the holy martyrs depart from this world, miracles increase; and thus, shaken by the power of miracles, they are turned to flight—namely, either by submitting themselves to the faith, or even by ceasing from torments, conquered by fear of the signs. Nor is that without mystery, that when Gideon prayed, the fleece was first wet and the ground dry; but second, the fleece dry and the whole ground wet. For the fleece bears the figure of the Jewish people, but the ground, of all the nations.

By right, therefore, the fleece was first wet and the ground remained dry, because when the Jewish people had been moistened with the dew of heavenly wisdom before the Lord's coming, all the nations were dried up with the drought of faith and wisdom. Again, when after the Lord's coming all the nations had been made wet with the dew of wisdom, Judea perished in dryness. Barach: he is Lapidoth, the husband of Deborah, who by the faith with which he believed the prophetess overcame Sisera and all his chariots. Samson, by the faith with which he believed that he would obtain from God what he prayed for, killed more in dying than in living; for he said: Lord God, remember me, and restore now to me my former strength, my God, that I may avenge myself on my enemies: and for the loss of two eyes I shall receive one vengeance. Jephthah had faith, in fighting against the sons of Ammon and in offering up his daughter, although in this he had acted foolishly, in that he thought to appease the almighty God by shedding human blood; for he vowed that if the Lord gave him victory over the sons of Ammon, he would sacrifice to him whoever first came out to meet him from his house, which he also did, for his daughter came out to meet him, whom he killed after lamenting her virginity. But it may be asked for what reason the custom grew up that every year the virgins of the Hebrews mourn the daughter of Jephthah: the reason is understood to be this, that when they see her lamented by her daughters, no one may dare rush into such great folly and such great sin as to shed human blood for God.

David, full of faith, went out against the Philistine and slew him; and because he believed God, he obtained many promises concerning Christ. Samuel the prophet and priest had perfect faith, because he anointed David as king at the word of the Lord, and by putting to death the king of Amalek. They wrought righteousness. Because what they believed they fulfilled in deed, adorning that same faith. They obtained the promises. Concerning Christ, or concerning the heavenly homeland. For Abraham received the promise concerning Christ, when the Lord said to him: In thy seed, that is in Christ, shall all nations be blessed. David also received very many, to whom the Lord said: When thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will raise up thy seed, which shall proceed from thy loins, and I will establish his throne above thy throne. And elsewhere: Of the fruit of thy womb I will set upon my seat. And with an oath: Once, he says, I have sworn in my holy one, if I lie to David, his seed shall remain for ever. They stopped the mouths of lions. As Samson, David, Daniel sent twice into the den. They quenched the violence of fire. As the three youths, Daniel's companions, by the command of Nebuchadnezzar, when Chaldean madness pressed on, were sent into the furnace of burning fire, to whom it brought no harm. They escaped the edge of the sword. That is, they repelled the strength of enemies from themselves by fighting valiantly, as Joshua, Gideon, David, and other leaders and kings of the Jews. They grew strong from weakness.

Like Job and Hezekiah, who, when they had been sick even to death, were restored to their former health by a span of years, with the Lord favorable to them; we can also understand by the name of infirmity the evil of captivity, from which they were freed by the Lord's will, Cyrus commanding, Ezra and Nehemiah managing it. They became strong in war. Like Joshua son of Nun, successor of Moses; Samson, who with the jawbone of an ass killed many of the Philistines; David the king also; Judas Maccabeus and his brothers, in whose times also six thousand Jews killed a hundred thousand of the enemy; and three thousand sent to Antioch to aid Demetrius destroyed thousands. They turned the camps of foreigners. That is, they frequently forced them into flight. Camps (castra) are so called from castrating (castrando), because there lust is castrated; for it is not military custom that those going into battle should bring with them their wives or other women. Once two princes of the earth went to war with a retinue of wives: namely Darius, and Antony; but each of them fell there. Darius indeed was overcome by Alexander, but Antony by Octavian Augustus. Women received their dead by resurrection. He means those women whose sons were raised by Elijah and Elisha, whom they received after their raising, not that they might have them as husbands, but those whom they had lost in death they received alive. But others were stretched out, not accepting redemption, so that they might find a better resurrection.

Very many of the saints were stretched out, that is, extended on a cross and bound with cords, like the blessed Andrew; or stretched out, that is, bound to the tops of two trees and torn apart; or even fastened to the arms of unbroken horses and torn apart by them; or certainly stretched out, that is, beheaded: all these things are seen to have been fulfilled in the holy martyrs. They did not receive redemption, that is, deliverance in the present, for the purpose of being saved from torments, so that they might find a better and more glorious resurrection in the future, since the greater the torments anyone endures for God in the present, the more glorious he will appear in the resurrection. But others experienced mockings and scourgings, and moreover chains and prisons. Mockings are so called from sport, that is, from derision: for first the holy martyrs were made sport of with mockings and derisions, then they were struck with scourgings; and thus, bound with chains, they were put into prison; but at last they were killed with various and exquisite torments. They were stoned. As Naboth, Jeremiah in Egypt, by the remnant of the transmigrated; Ezekiel in Babylon, and very many others in the New Testament. They were sawn. Here the plural number is put for the singular: for we read of no saint in the Old Testament sawn, except the prophet Isaiah, whom King Manasseh, who had his daughter as a wife, had sawn with a wooden saw. They were tempted.

As Abraham and many others did—not for deception but rather for testing, that is, by that temptation of which it is said, "The Lord your God tests you," that is, proves you; for God is not a tempter of evils. They died by the slaughter of the sword, as Uriah, and Josiah, and many others. They wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, destitute, distressed, afflicted. In this place we ought to understand Elijah, and others who acted in such a way; and who, afflicted on every side by want and tribulations, distressed, endured all things by faith, so that they might be able to attain to the desire of the things above. But all want and destitution is called distress, because a person is straitened, that is, afflicted, whether by hunger or by some other lack. Some say that a melote is a kind of garment made of goatskins, hanging down from one side, of which kind of garment the monks in Egypt are said to make use because of its roughness. Elijah also is read to have used it; and in Greek it means a sheep, or any quadruped; whence a sheepskin. But some say that a kind of garment is made from the skins of the taxus; for there is an animal called the taxus, which lives only in caves of the earth, whose skin is said to be shaggy, from which name the word for this garment is derived, that is, melota from melo. Of whom the world was not worthy.

By the name "world" here, in one sense we can understand the lovers of the world, who, desiring only earthly things and being far removed from the love of their Creator, were for that reason not worthy to have such companions as were those whose mighty deeds the Apostle described above. Or by the name "world" can be understood all things that are contained between heaven and earth—namely gold, silver, gems, and all precious things; and beyond these, even the reprobate themselves, deceived by the love of worldly things. So the world was not worthy of these saints—that is, if the whole world were reduced to a price, it could not rightly be compared to one of them; nor, even if all those things could be given as a price, could they buy such a man. Therefore, to make mention of a few out of many, how could such and so great a man as Moses be compared? He, when he willed, divided the sea; when he willed, brought its waters back; when he willed, caused manna to descend from heaven, brought water from the rock, and did countless other things. Or how could so great a man as Joshua his successor be compared, who, when he willed, made the sun and moon—those two greatest lights—stand still in one place, saying: "Sun, do not move against Gibeon; and moon, against the valley of Aijalon." Perhaps, however, someone will say that they could not be bought because they could not be found.

Certainly it is true that throughout the whole world no one like them could be found; and if they could be compared, how was it that what the whole world could not accomplish, one of them did by his word? For when the whole world in the days of Elijah had labored through three years and six months of drought and could not obtain rain, at Elijah's word the floodgates of heaven were opened, and rain came upon the face of the earth. Wandering in deserts, and in mountains and caves, and in the caverns of the earth. Here he wishes Elijah, the foremost of the prophets, to be understood, and the sons of the prophets, who in the times of Ahab and Jezebel were put to flight, because Jezebel wished to kill them also; at that time Obadiah fed them, fifty at a time, in caves and in the caverns of the earth; whence he also merited the gift of prophecy, according to what the Lord says in the Gospel: He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward. And all, approved by the testimony of faith. They were found. They did not receive the promise, God providing something better for us, so that they should not be made perfect without us. Who all are approved by the testimony of faith, if not all those mentioned above?

Whose faith, so distinguished and praiseworthy, has been commemorated—namely, of stars and of the earthly firmament, men and heavenly angels: living stones and shining pearls, whose works, which they performed, confirm their faith, since without faith it is impossible to please God; and so by the testimony of faith they were approved, that is, by holy action, which was working through faith, they were found worthy of praise. For their faith was declared by their pure works; but since they were not yet perfect, they did not receive the promise. Therefore someone says: What did it profit them to have served God, if they remain until now without reward? Far be this from the hearts of the faithful, that we should believe they remain without reward; for while still surrounded by mortal flesh, they received a great reward—namely, of living, of knowing God, and of performing many wonderful things; but now they rest in soul, in the blessedness of the heavenly kingdom, enjoying ineffable joy. But let us see what John says of them in his Apocalypse, and thus it will be made clear to us what promise they did not receive: I saw, says John, under the altar of God the souls of those slain for the Word of God, which they had, and they cried out with a loud voice, saying: How long, Lord, holy and true, do you not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? And there were given to them individual white robes; and it was said to them that they should rest yet a little time, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers is fulfilled.

The souls of the saints now have single robes, rejoicing in their immortality and exulting in the felicity which they enjoy. But they will have double robes when in the general resurrection they receive immortality and incorruption in the body, which they now have only in the soul. This promise, therefore, they have not yet received, of which Isaiah says: In their land they shall possess double after the general resurrection. And truly it is fitting that those who served God in body and soul should receive their reward equally in body and soul; and what follows: God providing something better for us, that they should not be made perfect without us, that is, that they should attain perfection. It is done in a human manner, for example: as certain sons returning from the field say to their father: Father, we have labored today, we have endured the heat of the sun; it is time for you to give us refreshment; and he answers them: Wait a little, sons, until your brothers come, who are laboring likewise, and then you shall feast most fully with them; so almighty God in a certain manner acted, when he did not give the elect immortality in the body, so that there may be greater glory and greater desire, when all generally on the day of judgment have received double robes, and this is what he says: Lest without us, who are still here as pilgrims, they should attain perfection in the resurrection of bodies.

CHAPTER XII. And therefore we also, having so great a cloud of witnesses set before us, laying aside every weight and the sin that surrounds us, let us run with patience the race set before us. He calls the multitude of the patriarchs and prophets, and of the rest of the faithful who were witnesses of the perfect faith, a cloud of witnesses; witnesses also of the Son of God, whom they foretold would come into the world; who are rightly called clouds, because of the height and multitude of their merits: for just as a cloud is illuminated by the sun and suffused with its heat, and thus afterward warms the earth and often waters it with rain, and often also sends forth flashes of lightning; so those holy fathers, warmed and illuminated by the true Sun, warm and illuminate the hearts of men by their example, and in their time sent down rain by their words and flashed lightning by their miracles. Therefore so great a cloud of witnesses has been set before us as an example, that we may strive to imitate their faith and works: wherefore let us be laying aside every weight of vices through penitence, and also the sleep of sloth and weak thoughts. But by what he added: And the sin that surrounds us, let us be laying aside, he shows that the Jews are tempted by the devil on every side, and serve carnal desires, and abound in many sins. Let us run with patience this race set before us, so that just as they patiently endured the adversities of this world, so we also may endure them.

He did not say, "Let us add something to our race," but remaining in the same course, let us run the contest appointed for us, just as the Psalmist says: I have run the way of your commandments. For in the present world we are placed in a contest against the vices of the flesh, against demons, against false brothers; and it is necessary that we run patiently, and that we complete this contest, so that we may be able to arrive at the promised prize of the contest. Looking to the author of faith and the finisher, Jesus, who, for the joy set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame. Thus sons attend to their parents, and disciples to their master, in zeal for the work and in contests, forming their mind in part from their teachers, taking certain rules from them by sight. So too we, if we wish to run and to learn how to run well, let us attend to Christ, the author and finisher, who said to us: Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart; and elsewhere: If they have persecuted me, he says, they will also persecute you; and, If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more those of his household? Let us attend, therefore, to Christ, and let us receive in him the example of patience, who said: He who perseveres to the end will be saved. For he himself is the author of faith and the finisher. He is the author of faith for us, because he himself pours faith into us; for we cannot believe unless we are first preceded by him; whence he himself says to the faithful: You did not choose me, but I chose you.

He himself is the finisher or perfecter of faith, because he provides for us the completion or perfection, in this: that we persevere in faith. Or in this he is the perfecter of faith, because he gives the will and the ability to accomplish good, by which faith itself is adorned; for faith without works is not perfect, but dead. For in him we all have perfection, who, for the joy set before him, endured the cross. The Son of God himself, setting before himself—that is, in the present establishing—the joy of resurrection and ascension into heaven, and of all the glory that he received after the resurrection, endured the cross because of what he saw would benefit him in the end. Having despised the shame—that is, counting the disgrace as nothing—because he endured that reproach without blushing and shame. For it was the greatest joy to him that he suffered for us, so as to fulfill the will of God the Father, by which afterward he received power over every creature; whence he himself says: With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you. If, therefore, he who had no necessity to be crucified was crucified for us, how much more is it just for us to endure all things bravely? For to this end the Lord appeared in the flesh, that by admonishing he might stir up human life, by giving examples he might inflame it, by dying he might redeem it, by rising again he might restore it; for he was dying for this reason, to teach us to count as nothing the glory that is conferred by men. And he sits at the right hand of the throne of God.

This is in the prosperity of eternal life and in the fullness of the Father's majesty: if there were no other promise and exhortation, this example alone, which the Apostle sets forth concerning Christ in this place, ought to have sufficed to persuade us to endure all adversities patiently, so that we may merit to sit with Christ. For consider him who endured such contradiction from sinners against himself, so that you may not grow weary, fainting in your souls. All the adversities that Christ endured from the Jews—namely, blows, mockeries, spittings, buffets, slaps, blasphemies, and death itself—the Apostle wished to set forth by the single word "contradiction": Remember, he says, Christ who endured such and so great opposition for sinners, he who had committed no sin, so that you, who recognize yourselves to be transgressors and sinners, may not grow weary, fainting in your souls, but by imitating him may endure similar things patiently. Christ endured contradiction against himself, that is, he allowed them to do against him as they wished, contradicting them in nothing. But he exhorts them not to faint in tribulations, since they had not yet come as far as martyrdom and the shedding of blood; whence he also adds: For you have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. As if he were saying: Even if you have lost your earthly possessions, despoiled by your fellow citizens, yet you have not endured death; for you still remain alive.

He resists unto blood, fighting against sin, who fights for the truth of the faith against unbelievers unto death, as the apostles and their successors did; for unbelief is the greatest sin. But when one wishes, he deceives either by flattery or by terrors; fighting for the faith against the unbeliever, he surely struggles against sin. It can also be understood of every sin, namely of evil suggestion and depraved will and impure desire: these he resists by not consenting to them, and against them he fights. And you have forgotten the consolation which speaks to us as to sons, saying: My son, do not neglect the discipline of the Lord, nor be wearied while you are rebuked by him. The Wisdom of God the Father, which spoke through Solomon, among other things also brought forth this through his mouth, which the blessed Apostle has now taken up as an example, exhorting the Jews not to fail in tribulation, who are rebuked by the Lord for the sake of testing. He says therefore: My son, do not neglect, or treat negligently, the discipline of the Lord. Discipline is so called from learning; it can be called by another name, the correction of morals. For while one is afflicted with straits and tribulations, he ought not to be wearied nor to fail, but rather to bear patiently, reflecting that he is chastened by the Lord. For whom the Lord loves, he chastises; and he scourges every son whom he receives.

For this reason the Apostle sets forth these testimonies, so that just as sons are scourged by their fathers so that they may be worthy to come to the paternal inheritance—whence they are often ordered to stand all night in the cold and are exercised in various ways—so these too should endure corrections from God with a eager spirit, so that they may be fit to attain the true inheritance of the eternal fatherland. For there are many who serve the Lord in prosperity, but nevertheless fall away in adversity; such people are not yet perfectly proven for grasping the inheritance. Hence the Apostle, whom he taught to live well in prosperity, urges him not to fail in correction: since the Lord chastises the son whom he loves, to this end, that he may establish him as heir of the kingdom of heaven, in various and diverse ways; and he scourges him either with sickness, or poverty, or persecution, or torments—every son whom he receives with himself into glory. But it must be noted that not everyone who is scourged is a son; rather, everyone who is a son is scourged. For which of the saints do we read has come from this world to the heavenly inheritance without divine scourging? Therefore the less we ought to murmur at the scourge by which we are chastised, the more closely we perceive in it the affection of paternal love; whence he himself says: Those whom I love, I reprove and chastise. But many are scourged, like Antiochus and Herod, not so that they may be taken up to the inheritance, but so that it may be shown here in part what evils they will suffer after death.

Persevere in discipline, as for dearest sons. God offers himself to you. Understand thereby the inheritance of the heavenly fatherland; as if he were saying: It is better for you to pass through discipline and correction, which is carried out with a father's affection, to the heavenly inheritance, than to be outside discipline and so descend to punishments. For you think that God hates you and has abandoned you because of these things you have suffered. For if you were not suffering these things, then it would rather be fitting for you to think this; for if he scourges every son whom he receives, he who is not scourged is without doubt not among the number of sons. By these words he shows them that from the very source from which they thought they had been abandoned, from that source they could more readily believe they were loved by him. For what son is there whom a father does not correct? Sometimes a head of a household is accustomed to neglect the sons of others, but to chastise and correct his own, lest negligence oppress them. There is no wise father who does not correct his erring sons; and sometimes he rebukes them even when they are doing good, so that they may be kindled to better things. Whence also Eli, because he did not correct his sons, did not deserve to leave them as heirs of the priesthood after him. But if you are outside that discipline of which all have been made partakers—the good sons, or the holy fathers mentioned above—then you are adulterers and not sons.

Whoever remains outside that discipline of the Lord, of which all good sons who belong to the heavenly inheritance have been made partakers, is an adulterous son, and does not belong to the paternal inheritance, because he is not a free son. Take care that you not be adulterous sons; for all the faithless and negligent, and those who despise the discipline of the Lord, are reckoned as adulterous and not as sons. Then, indeed, we had the fathers of our flesh as instructors, and we revered them; shall we not much more obey the Father of spirits, and live? Then, understand, we ought to consider that we had fathers as instructors, and we feared them; shall we not much more obey God the Father of spirits, and live in eternal glory? The Father of spirits, that is, the creator of souls, is God almighty, who first created good things out of nothing, and then indeed from the elements the bodies of men and of other animals. But the soul of man he created out of nothing, and still creates it; for it must not be thought that the soul is a part of the Godhead, since the Godhead is uncreated, but the soul is a creature. Therefore he calls God almighty the creator of souls, not of bodies, although he is the creator of all things, because our body is formed from the seed of father and mother, but the soul is always created by God out of nothing. If, he says, we feared carnal fathers, by whom we were instructed for a time, so that we might deserve to become their heirs, how much more..

we ought to obey and submit to the creator of souls, so that we may live with him in the glory of eternal blessedness? Nor is there only a difference between them on account of the distinction of persons, because these are earthly, that one is heavenly; but also in the very cause of discipline and instruction. For they do not aim at the same cause or at spiritual things themselves, but at what seems good to them, as the Apostle makes clear, saying: And they indeed, fathers, from whose seed we received our bodies, for a short time instructed us according to their own will; but this one, namely the Father of spirits, instructs us for what is useful, that is, for the salvation and benefit of our soul, in receiving his sanctification. Those carnal fathers indeed instruct us for this end, that we may be useful to them according to their will, which is not useful in all things; but God almighty instructs us in all things that are useful, so that we may obtain the salvation of our soul and receive his sanctification: namely, that we may be holy, as he himself also is, in a certain manner, according to what he himself says: Be holy, for I also am holy. For this end, I say, he instructs and chastises us, that he may make us worthy of his gifts. For each nation instructs its sons according to its own will: as it was the custom of the Romans to instruct their sons in military matters, and of the Greeks to train theirs in letters. But all discipline in the present certainly does not seem to be of joy, but of grief.

But afterward it will render the most peaceful fruit of righteousness to those exercised by it. Every discipline, he says, whether human or divine, when it is being learned, does not seem to be a discipline of joy but of sorrow. Therefore he called all this discipline both divine and human, because whatever is learned is called discipline. For this reason, then, in the present it does not seem to be a discipline of joy but of sorrow: because one who is scourged is very often constrained, he of whom it is treated endures hunger, suffers cold and every labor; but when he has arrived at perfection, he rejoices and is glad, and receives a most welcome reward, as the Apostle says: Afterward (he says), when it has arrived at the summit of perfection, the same discipline will render the most peaceful fruit of righteousness to those exercised through it: that is, through the same discipline proved and perfected. But he calls the most peaceful fruit the most welcome and most acceptable recompense, which those receive who are exercised and proved through the same discipline; for example, Roman recruits who are trained in the discipline of military service, first enduring many hardships, afterward rejoiced, possessing the monarchy of the whole world. Similarly it is to be understood of those who are afflicted in discipline, who are to receive eternal rewards: as the holy apostles, martyrs, and teachers of the Church.

Therefore lift up the hands that hang down and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not go astray but rather be healed. Therefore, because for discipline the reward of recompense is given, and joy follows; or for this reason, that you may be able to receive the supreme inheritance with good sons. The hands that hang down from good work, and the knees sluggish with the oil of sloth. And lift up the loosened knees, to doing good works. But by the feet and knees we ought to understand works, just as also by the hands; by the steps, however, the understanding and the intention of the mind; and the sense is: Do such works as have perfect understanding, which are done with good intention; Walk, he says, rightly; nor let praise increase more, but rather let it raise one to a state of uprightness. He commands the hands that hang down and the loosened knees to be lifted up, as Isaiah enjoins, saying: Strengthen the dissolved hands and strengthen the weak knees, so that one may not go astray limping: that is, so that one may not, hesitating in faith and good works, go astray from the path of uprightness: but rather let us be healed from sins by believing rightly in God; as if he were saying: He who does not believe rightly, it is better that he believe more firmly and tenaciously, so that in all ways he may find the medicine of his soul. But by these words he touches their hesitations, so that without any doubt they might believe in him. Follow peace with all. Understand, with the good. And holiness, without which no one will see God.

There are indeed very many things that show the form and discernment of Christianity, but more than all and better is the affection of mutual love and the peace that unites the hearts of men. Wherefore the Truth itself says: Peace I leave with you; and again: In this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. For this reason also the Apostle says: Pursue peace with all good people. But by the name of peace, love and concord are to be understood. Holiness, however, is called the chastity of mind and body: as if he were saying: So love all good people as yourselves; and let there be in you chastity, that is, purity of mind and body: since without peace and holiness no one will see God. For blessed are the peacemakers, since they will be called children of God. Blessed are the pure in heart, since they themselves will see God. Contemplating, lest anyone be lacking the grace of God. What he says, Contemplating, that is, diligently attending and considering, lest any one of you be lacking the grace of God. Thus he speaks with them, as with travelers who pass through a long journey in number and company: to whom he who is in charge is accustomed to say: See that no one remains behind who does not go with you, as if he were saying: I do not require this only, that you alone obtain grace and enter the heavenly homeland: but also that you look to the others. He calls grace faith, hope, and love, through which a man merits to find the grace of God: because with these he has also the rest.

Whether he means the grace of God, the remission of sins, which is given to us freely, in baptism or from perfect faith and the other virtues. Lest any root of bitterness springing up hinder, and through it many be defiled. He calls the root of bitterness an evil will and a depraved intention, from which the sin of bitterness proceeds; for just as a bitter root cannot produce sweet fruits, but only fruits like itself, that is, bitter ones, and a sulphurous spring cannot produce waters fit for drinking, so an evil will and a depraved intention emit from themselves evil action and the sin of bitterness, by which the way of ascending to the heavenly fatherland is hindered; and through that evil will, from which the seeds of wickedness proceed, many are defiled, because a little leaven corrupts the whole mass, and by one sin of unbelief all the works that could have been good are depraved, and by one sinner many are defiled. For he wished the root of bitterness to be understood specifically as the sin of unbelief, although, as we have said, it is also referred to an evil will and intention. And fittingly he said that sin is bitter, since nothing is more bitter than it after it has been committed; those who, after a sin has been committed, are worn away by the grief of conscience and consumed by a sufficiently dreadful bitterness know this by experience, to such an extent that the bitterness of the sin itself sometimes subverts the understanding itself and reason itself, as we read of Cain, who rushed into despair.

Lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for a single meal sold his birthright. Esau is called a fornicator because against the will of his father and mother he took foreign wives. But "profane" properly means the irreligious, as it were "far off," that is, far from the shrine and temple of God. Here, however, it is used for the glutton, or for one who sells what is useful for what is useless; which fits Esau well, since he was a glutton and a greedy man, selling his birthright for cheap food, namely for the red lentil dish. But "birthright" in this place means the honor and dignity of the priesthood: for before the priesthood of Aaron, which was established by God in the law, all firstborn sons were priests—as was Shem, who is also Melchizedek, the firstborn of Noah. For it was a great dignity to hold the birthright, since he received the greater portion of his father's substance and inheritance, and adorned with clothing he shone forth more richly. Whence it is read in Genesis that Rebecca, taking Esau's very fine garments, which she had at home with her, put them on Jacob, and so brought him to his father, who, when he perceived the odor and fragrance of his garments, said: Behold, the odor of my son, like the odor of a field.

Therefore, because among the Jews there were certain followers of Esau in fornication and gluttony, the Apostle recalls to their memory the deed of Esau, exhorting them to beware of all those things, lest anyone be like him who, out of love for temporal things, went so far as to sell his birthright. By his own negligence and greed he sold the honor he had received from God, and for a small thing he lost great glory. For he became last because he was first; and because he was second, he remained first. For know that even afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected—understand, by God. The history of Genesis tells that Esau, returning from the field, when he learned that he had been forestalled by his brother in receiving his father's blessing, said with tears and a great cry: "Have you only one blessing, father? Bless me also." To whom Isaac said: "I have made him your lord; and for you, my son, what more shall I do?" At last Isaac, overcome by his cries, gave him a blessing in the riches of this world and in abundance of the things the earth produces, saying: "In the fatness of the earth and in the dew of heaven above shall your blessing be.

It is evident, therefore, that when he wished to inherit and to receive his father's blessing—namely, the dignity of the priesthood—which he had already lost, and also the holiness of his father together with the spirit of prophecy, because his sins stood in the way he was brought to this point, that he was rejected by God and deprived by his brother of his father's blessing. Hence it also follows: For he found no place of repentance, though he had sought it with tears. Why did he not find a place of repentance, that is, pardon through repentance, which he sought with tears? Because he did not seek it as he ought. For those tears were rather of indignation at the honor he had lost and of rancor against his brother, than of humility and true repentance. Hence he also said: The days of mourning for my father will come, and I will kill Jacob my brother. Wherefore, although he had sought it with tears, he could not arrive at that place of blessing as his brother did. For he ought to have repented as we read of Peter, that when he had denied the Lord, he went out and wept bitterly. Therefore so great a sin was forgiven him, because he repented as he ought. For you have not come to a fire that can be touched and approached, and to a whirlwind, and to darkness, and to a storm, and to the sound of a trumpet, and to the voice of words.

It is the custom of those who make comparisons to depreciate and diminish one side so that the other side's case may stand out; so too the Apostle, by comparing those things that were in the Old Testament, showed that ours are greater, clearer, gentler as well, and better, and worthy of admiration. For he now makes a distinction between Christ and Moses, between the law and the Gospel, between heaven and Mount Sinai, between the sprinkling of legal blood and the cleansing of Christ's blood; for these are much better than those were: there the shadow rested, here the truth is held and revealed. For you have not come to a fire that can be touched and approached, that is, you have not come to a visible and palpable light of fire, which could be handled by bodily sight, as we read concerning the old Jewish people; but to the invisible and incomprehensible God. These things are reported as having happened on Mount Sinai, when the law was given: fire, a whirlwind namely and darkness, a storm, the sound of trumpets and the voice of words. The Lord, it says, was seen on Mount Sinai. A whirlwind is a strong wind, carrying off stalks of grain and wrapping up whatever is lighter than the dust of the earth. Often it also takes away what is heavier. Darkness is the gloom of smoke and fire. A storm is tempest and rain. These things were done when the law was being given, so that the hearts of the Jews, prone to sin, might be shaken, lest they dare to transgress the law itself.

Hence there was also an earthquake there, so that they, struck with utter terror, might make a covenant with the God of heaven; but the darkness, or gloom, designates the obscurity of the law itself. The whirlwind, or commotion of winds, signifies the threatening of the law itself, which says: If anyone does this or that, let him be put to death. But the storm signifies the vengeance itself. The sound of the trumpet signifies the presence and coming of God Almighty. Hence the same apostle says elsewhere: At the command, and at the voice of the archangel, and at the trumpet of God, he will descend from heaven. But by the trumpet is understood the very voice of the angels; for it must not be supposed that the angels of God blew a bronze or horn trumpet. The voice of words also is understood as not that of God Almighty himself, but of the angels; for through a subordinate creature, that is, through an angel, God spoke to Moses. For that it was not the voice of God, the Lord shows in the Gospel, speaking to the Jews: Neither have you heard his voice, nor have you seen his form. And that Moses spoke with an angel, not with the Lord, the blessed Stephen shows in his address, which he delivered to the Jews: This is, he says, that Moses who was with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai. But the Gospel was not given in trembling, nor with threatening, but the Lord spoke to the faithful as to sons with fatherly affection; for when he went up into the mountain, when among the other precepts of life he set before them the eight beatitudes, they did not obey, nor were signs seen by which they might be terrified, as when the law was given.

It continues: "Which." Understand the word of the trumpets and of the angels. Those who heard excused themselves, that the word might not be spoken to them. That is, that he might not speak to them. For they could not bear what was said. To them, that is, they could not endure the voice of the angel for fear, whence they also said to Moses: "Speak thou to us, and let not the Lord speak to us, lest perhaps we die"; for they had been struck by excessive fear, seeing the whole mountain of Sinai smoking, and also storms and thunders and the voices of trumpets. "And if a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned." There is understood, with hailstones sent from heaven; for thus the Lord had commanded: "Let the children of Israel keep far from the mountain, because if a man or any beast approach the mountain, it shall be killed with hailstones." "And so terrible was that which was seen." It is understood, that they dared neither to hear nor to approach the mountain. For Moses said, "I am terrified and trembling." If Moses was terrified, what is to be said of others? "But you have come to Mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem." These things depend on the foregoing, where it was said: "You have not come to the tangible and accessible fire of Mount Sinai, but you have come to Mount Sion." The rest have already been spoken of in parts. By Sion, moreover, which is interpreted as contemplation, and by Jerusalem, which is called the vision of peace, he wishes the heavenly fatherland to be understood, namely the supernal Church, which consists of angels and just men, to which one comes by faith and desire.

You have come, he says, to Mount Zion, that is, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, by faith and desire. And you have come to the assembly, or multitude, of many thousands of angels, joined to them in faith, to be joined again in glory, according to what the Lord says: "They will be elect like the angels of God in heaven." And you have come to the church of the firstborn, who are enrolled in the heavens. We ought to understand the church of the firstborn in the apostles, who believed first, by whose faith those others were joined to them through believing, and whose names are written in the memory of the almighty God, according to what the Truth himself said to them: "Rejoice, because your names are written in the heavens." And you have come to the Lord, God the judge of all, that is, to the Lord Jesus, who says: "The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son." For through him God the Father will judge not only the Jews but all men. And you have come to the spirit of the perfected righteous. He calls the Holy Spirit the spirit of the perfected, through whom all the righteous are called in baptism, receiving from him the remission of all sins. And they are rightly justified, because they are then called righteous when they are cleansed from all defilements. Or he calls the spirit of the perfected righteous the souls of the saints who have proved acceptable before God, to whom those others were joined in faith and desire. And you have also come to Jesus, the mediator of the New Testament.

The Lord Jesus, in that he is both man and God, is our mediator, since just as Moses was mediator between God and the people, carrying the words of God to the people and again the people's words to God, according to what he himself says: I am your intermediary and mediator between God and you, so too the Lord Jesus carried the words of God the Father to us, and now carries ours to him, interceding continually for us, and at the same time by his passion confirmed the New Testament for us. To the sprinkling also of blood. You have come. To one speaking better than Abel. After the manner of the law, by the name of sprinkling he indicated the cleansing of Christ's blood, since the cleansing that was done through blood was called sprinkling. They therefore have come to the blood of Christ, or to his cleansing, that is, to his passion, since by faith in his passion they have been cleansed. But the blood of Christ speaks better than the blood of Abel, because the blood of Abel demanded vengeance from God for his brother, whereas the blood of Christ implores life and pardon for his persecutors, as he says to the Father: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Or indeed it speaks better, in that it makes us speak, because the Lord himself is the Son of the living God, by whose passion we have been redeemed, and washed in baptism, and because through his blood we have been made sons of God. See that you do not refuse the one who speaks.

That is to say: Take care lest you despise Jesus speaking through his Gospel, since he sits at the right hand of God, observing what each one of us does. For if they did not escape, refusing him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape, who turn away from him who speaks to us from heaven. Understood is "we shall not escape," as if he were saying: If your fathers did not escape the vengeance of almighty God, who transgressed his commandments by fashioning an idol—the commandments that were given to them through Moses or through an angel, both of whom spoke on earth—much more shall we be unable to evade his vengeance if we despise the commandments that were given through the Son. They, he says, heard him speaking on earth; we, from heaven. But because of the unity of person that the Son of God has in two natures, he is said to speak to us from heaven. On earth, however, he seemed to speak through his humanity, but he was on earth and in heaven through his divinity; whence he himself says: No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven. Likewise, while the Gospel is preached on earth, he himself also speaks to us from heaven. Therefore he is to be heard much more than Moses. It follows. Whose voice then shook the earth. Understood: when the law was given. But now he promises, saying: Yet once more, and I will shake not only the earth but also heaven.

The very one who then by his command moved Mount Sinai and the land around it, where the people stood, when he gave the law to Moses, now promises that not a part of the earth will be moved by him, nor only the whole earth itself, but even heaven. And therefore, the greater the things he promises will be done, the more he is to be feared. For although there has been an earthquake in various places and in various parts of the world, it was not so great throughout the whole world. And if the earth was moved, heaven was not. Hence he rightly says that this will happen once, on the day of judgment, showing that they will never again be moved. Hence it follows: But that he still says, once, shows the removal of things that are shaken, as of things made, so that those things which are not shaken may remain. This shaking of heaven and earth pertains to their renewal and improvement; the earth indeed will endure shaking as the day of judgment draws near, but heaven and earth will be renewed together, and will be moved from this form into improvement, according to what the same Apostle says elsewhere: The form of this world passes away. When the form has changed, the substance will remain, and afterward there will be a new heaven and a new earth. But understand heaven here not as the starry or ethereal heaven, but as this airy one, from which even the birds of heaven are named. Therefore, receiving the kingdom of God that cannot be shaken—it is understood, now in hope, what we are to receive in you—let us have grace, through which we may serve God in a pleasing way with fear and reverence.

The immovable kingdom is the heavenly Church, which consists of holy angels and righteous men; and this Church is the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of the Church is almighty God. This kingdom we now receive in hope, but then we shall perceive it in reality, when Christ has handed the kingdom over to God the Father. It is called immovable for this reason, that if heaven and earth shall remain immovably after their change, much more shall the elect, after the resurrection, receive immovably immortality in the body and unchangeableness in the soul, to reign eternally with God; and they themselves shall be the immovable kingdom of almighty God, and their kingdom shall be the contemplation of the holy Trinity. And because we now receive this immovable kingdom in hope, the Apostle exhorts us to have grace, through which we may serve God in a manner pleasing to him. And by grace he means right faith, certain hope, perfect charity, together with holy action, through which we ought to serve God with fear, fearing him as God and judge of all, and with reverence loving him as a father. For we ought to fear, both lest we be scourged here, and lest afterwards we be separated from rest. For our God is a consuming fire. God almighty is called fire, not that he may consume the matter which he made, but that which man draws upon himself from without, namely the rust of sins; for he does not consume what he himself made, but what the malice of men has brought in.

This fire also does something else, namely, it kindles the hearts of men to the love of God, of which fire the Truth says: I came to send fire upon the earth, and what do I desire but that it burn? For the earth is the name given to earthly hearts, which, while they are always occupied with the lowest thoughts and earthly desires, are trodden down by malignant spirits as if they were earth. But the Lord sends fire upon the earth when, by the breath of the Holy Spirit, he kindles the hearts of carnal men to the love of God and of neighbor. Behold why almighty God is called fire, namely because he consumes the rust of sins and kindles the hearts of men to charity. But it can still be asked why he is likened to fire. To this it must be answered: Because just as fire lies hidden in flints and stones, so almighty God lies hidden in his creature, but nevertheless he is not seen.

CHAP. XIII. Let the charity of brotherhood remain in you. That is to say: So love all as yourselves, reflecting that you have one Father, almighty God, and one mother, the Church, or that you are born of one father, Adam, and one mother. And do not forget hospitality. He did not say, Be hospitable, but, Do not forget hospitality. They had been sufficiently devoted to hospitality before they were utterly despoiled of their possessions.

...possessions, but after they had been stripped of the greater part of their own substance, they were still excessively grasping; therefore the Apostle urges them to fulfill the duty of hospitality according to the measure of their ability, saying to them: Do not forget the hospitality you formerly showed. But hospitality is to be practiced with a cheerful mind and a glad heart, according to what blessed Peter says: Be hospitable to one another without murmuring. And elsewhere: For God loves a cheerful giver. It follows: For by this certain ones pleased God, having received angels as guests. As Abraham, who merited to receive the promise, and Lot, who was delivered from the destruction of Sodom. Hence even the Judge of all will say on the day of examination: As long as you did it to one of the least of mine, you did it to me. Remember those in chains, as being chained together with them. That is, just as you would wish help to be given to you, and would wish to be remembered, if you were bound in prison: so remember those who are held bound for the faith of Christ. And of those who labor, as being yourselves also in the body.

That is to say: Because you are still dwelling in the body, and because you know by experience what is needful for those who labor, remember those who labor in doctrine and in holy work, by supplying food and clothing, just as you would wish your own to be remembered, if you were laboring in that way. For by this, because you remain in a mortal body, just as they do, you prove by experience that the life of man upon earth is a warfare, and that man is born to labor, and the bird to flight. Let marriage be honorable in all things. Let it be so among you, or rather, let it be pleasing to God. And the bed undefiled. Marriage is so called from "dwelling together." There were certain people at that time who condemned marriages, saying that the conjugal union is unclean, and that one who rises from the bed of a spouse cannot be clean; therefore the blessed Apostle says that marriage is lawful, which comes about for the sake of love of children, not for the sake of satisfying lust, and he not only permits it but even says that it is pleasing to God. For marriage is honorable when a man takes a wife lawfully for the love of children, and abstains from her at certain times, and does not have more than one wife; because in the beginning, as Scripture says, God created male and female, and said to them: Be fruitful and multiply. In what follows it is also said that the two would be one flesh. A bed of this kind is undefiled, that is, a lawful lying-together without cause for fornication, and an undefiled bed, and those rising from it are undefiled, that is, not contracting the stain of sin from it.

Hence blessed Matthew says in a certain place: Because lawful marriage and a lawful bed have, as it were, a certain uncleanness in the mingling of seed, but they do not have the stain of sin; for it is better to take a lawful wife than to fornicate with prostitutes or even to violate the wives of others. But if the union has not been lawful, not for the love of children but for the sake of satisfying lust, and there have been several wives, then it is not an honorable union, nor is the bed undefiled. For God will judge fornicators and adulterers. To fornicate is to be polluted in any way whatever and to satisfy lust; but to commit adultery is to violate another's bed: hence an adulterer is so called, as it were violating another's bed. But does almighty God judge, that is, condemn, only fornicators and adulterers, passing over murderers, sacrilegious persons, thieves, and those entangled in various other crimes? By no means. Why, then, did the Apostle say specifically that fornicators and adulterers will be judged? Doubtless because concerning murderers, sacrilegious persons, robbers, parricides, and others weighed down by the burden of sins, there is no hesitation that they are to be damned. But concerning fornicators and adulterers, there were at that time some who doubted, saying that males and females were made for this purpose, that they might come together, and therefore that it is not a sin to lie with any woman whatever; which is altogether far from the truth.

Whence the Apostle, having first said, Let marriage be honorable and the bed undefiled, that they please God, presently added: Because God will judge fornicators and adulterers, showing that fornicators and adulterers are justly judged. For if marriage is permitted, fornicators are justly visited with punishments, adulterers are justly punished. Let your manners be without covetousness, content with what is present. Manner is the honesty of life and of living well. He did not say, Possess, but, Let your manners be, that is, your life and conduct, without covetousness. The covetous man is called greedy of gold, namely he who is grasping in giving and eager in receiving, and who has his hand drawn in for giving and stretched out for receiving. Concerning whom a certain wise man altogether admonishes, saying: Let not your hand be stretched out to receive, and drawn in to give. Perhaps after they had been despoiled of their own property by unbelievers, they desired under the pretext of alms again to gather riches; and therefore the Apostle admonished that their manners be without covetousness, content only with present necessities, not forethinking of the future. According to what he had exhorted elsewhere, saying: Having food and clothing, let us be content with these. And lest perhaps they should say: What shall we do, if necessities happen to fail us? he straightway added consolation, bringing in after the testimony from the book of Joshua. For he, God almighty, said: I will not desert you nor forsake you.

After the death of Moses, the Lord said to Joshua: As I was with Moses, so will I be with you: be strengthened, and be strong: I will not forsake you, nor leave you. This example applies to Joshua, and likewise to every elect one who has placed his hope in God. For in no way does he lie, if we place our hope in him. Ita. Understand, he is with us. So that we may say confidently: The Lord is my helper, I will not fear what man may do to me. By the name of man is understood here not only any carnal adversary, but also the ancient enemy, who is called man, taking his name from his office, in that he deceives man: just as Christ is also called a lion, on account of strength. Whence the prophet says: Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man, that is, from the devil. We ought therefore, in all tribulations or temptations, to cry out this verse of the Psalmist or Apostle, saying: The Lord is my helper, I will not fear what any enemy or adversary may do to me. Remember your prelates, who spoke the word of God to you, whose end of conversation observing, imitate their faith.

All leaders and teachers, indeed, insofar as they preach good things and do good things, are to be heard and imitated; but insofar as they either preach incorrectly or live badly, they are neither to be heard nor imitated. For example: one who lives well while preaching rightly is both to be heard and imitated; but if he does neither, he is not to be imitated nor heard. Yet if he preaches rightly, even though he lives badly, he is not to be despised so as not to be heard; hence the Lord says: What they say, do; but what they do, do not do. Therefore, since these people had good overseers—namely, the holy apostles and their successors—he urges them to be mindful of them, and, considering the outcome of their way of life, to imitate their perseverance in the right faith and in good works even to the end. Faith, that is, the firmness of all good things—since their way of life had a good end, therefore imitate their faith. But he calls their faith firmness or perseverance. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever. These words pertain to what was said above, where he testified that the Lord had said: I will not desert you, nor abandon you. They could have replied: This does not pertain to our help, because it was not promised to us, but rather God promised this to Joshua.

To this the Apostle says: Do not forsake, since just as that promise pertains to Joshua, so it pertains to you: for Christ Jesus, who being of one essence with the Father, was himself at that time, is himself, and will be himself even forever. Do not think that he who was then is not now: for the same one who was yesterday will be the same also forever. Yesterday signifies past time, today the present, and the ages the future without end: as if he were saying: Before the ages, in the ages, and after the ages, he will always remain: as the prophet says of him: But you are the same, and your years shall not fail. Do not be led away by various and strange doctrines. Various and strange doctrines are the new dogmas of heretics, by which the simple are led away and separated from the truth of faith: and also the superstitions of the Jews, who teach that one must abstain from certain foods, which the law forbids, while permitting certain others: since therefore among them there were some who thought carnally, who by the observance and distinction of foods seduced certain people, drawing them away from the teaching of the Gospel, which says: All things are clean to the clean: the Apostle addresses them, lest they be led away by their strange doctrine, which he makes more openly manifest, adding: For it is best that the heart be established by grace, not by foods, which did not profit those who walked in them.

He says: It is best and perfect to establish the heart and strengthen the mind in the grace of the new testament, so that you may have perfect faith, believing that all things are clean to the clean, not establishing yourselves in distinctions and observances of foods, saying that some foods are clean and some unclean, which profited nothing to those who walked in those observances. After the Lord's advent all those things that happened in figure ceased, and especially after the Lord said: Not what enters the mouth defiles a man, but all things are clean to the clean. For he saw all the things he had made, and they were very good. For it is better to retain faith together with perfect works than to dispute about the difference of foods, rejecting those things that God created clean; for there is one perfect observance: to abstain from sin. For it profits nothing to abstain from foods if one does not abstain from sins. For although they applied themselves to observances of this kind, it profited them nothing if they did not have faith. For in that they kept the law, it profited them; in that they did not eat certain foods, they received no benefit. We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. He refers to the legal custom and mystery, and the spiritual meaning.

The precept of the Law was that on the tenth day of the seventh month, from the Passover festival—that is, the festival of atonement—they should take a calf and a goat and sacrifice them in the camp; but the high priest alone should carry the blood of those animals into the Holy of Holies to pray for the people, while their flesh should be carried outside the camp and burned there, and it was not permitted for anyone serving the tabernacle to eat of them. Spiritually, however, those two animals, namely the calf and the goat, hold the figure of the Lord Savior: he is the calf that the loving father sacrificed at the return of the prodigal son; he is also the goat, since he was offered for sinners. And that high priest who entered with the blood of those animals into the Holy of Holies to pray for the people bore the type of this true high priest who with the blood of his passion penetrated the inner places of the heavenly fatherland to pray for his faithful.

Those animals were sacrificed inside the camp, but their flesh was burned outside the camp, because our Redeemer too was sacrificed in Jerusalem, as it were inside the camp, by the voices and judgment of the children of Israel, but his flesh was burned outside Jerusalem on the cross with the fire of his passion. For when he was condemned to death, with the Jews crying out, "He is guilty of death, crucify, crucify him," he was in a sense sacrificed, as far as they were concerned. Wishing to show us that this is so, the Evangelist Mark says: "It was the third hour when they crucified him"—that is, with their tongues. For at the sixth hour he was lifted up on the cross outside Jerusalem, and there his body was burned with the fire of his passion. But that altar of the Jews which was made outside the camp, where the flesh was consumed, is the altar of the Church, where the body of Christ is consecrated daily. We have, then, the altar of the Church, where the Lord's body is consecrated, of which those who serve the tabernacle of their own body have no power to eat—namely fornicators, adulterers, drunkards, the unclean, and those who sow discord among brothers, and all who serve the pleasures and desires of their own flesh. For whoever eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks judgment upon himself. For the blood of those animals is brought for sin into the sanctuary by the high priest, and their bodies are burned outside the camp. How these things pertain to the Lord has, I think, been sufficiently said.

But because He is the head of all the elect, by the flesh of those animals all the elect can be understood—those who outside the camp, that is, outside the way of life of worldly and carnal men, mortify their members with vices and lusts, or else while they undergo the palm of martyrdom after the example of the Lord's passion. This accords with what blessed Peter exhorts, saying: Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should follow His steps. Their blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest, when their praiseworthy life is presented to God the Father through the true priest Jesus, who is our advocate, interceding for us. And fittingly life is understood by blood, because the life of man is in the blood. Or their blood is brought into the holy place when their souls are carried up to heaven with the triumph of their passion. Well also are they consumed on the altar, because the holy martyrs fulfill all these things in faith, by which they believe themselves to be rewarded by God. Those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat of the things that are consecrated on this altar, since those who live carnally and are held bound by the love of this world do not dare to approach what the holy martyrs fulfill by enduring in perfect faith. For this reason—understand: to fulfill the mystery. And Jesus, that He might sanctify through His blood the people who believe in Him, suffered outside the gate.

As the book of the Gospels testifies, the Lord suffered outside the gate of Jerusalem in the place of the beheaded, which was called Calvary. So then, that the Lord might turn the shadow and figure into truth—those things which were prefigured concerning Himself and His members—and might redeem and cleanse by His blood the people believing in Him, He suffered outside Jerusalem. Let us therefore go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. Since therefore the Lord suffered for us, the Apostle exhorts us to imitate Him, saying: Therefore, because He Himself suffered outside the camp, that He might sanctify us, let us go out to Him outside the way of life of carnal men, mortifying our members with vices and desires. Let us imitate also His passion, enduring martyrdom for Him. For this is to bear His reproach: to suffer the same things that He suffered. For His cross seems to be His reproach to the pagans, but to us it is sanctification and redemption. Let us therefore go out to Him outside the camp, despising things present, loving things to come, contemning things visible, desiring to follow things eternal. For we do not have here a city that remains, but we seek one to come. It is certain that in this world we cannot have an eternal dwelling, nor a city that always remains, since the world will pass away and its desire. Wherefore we ought to strive with our utmost strength toward the heavenly city Jerusalem, which has God as its inhabitant, to remain eternally.

Through him, therefore, let us always offer to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips confessing his name. Through him, that is, through Christ, we ought to offer to God the Father a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving for all good things. He calls it the fruit of lips because these same praises and thanksgivings merit the fruit of rewards; whence the Apostle says: For with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. So then, as they used to offer sheep, we however offer none of these things, but we ought to offer to God only thanksgiving. Concerning this sacrifice the Psalmist says: A sacrifice of praise shall be offered to God without ceasing. But do not forget beneficence and communication: for with such sacrifices God is propitiated. A beneficent man is called one who is generous and devoted to almsgiving; hence beneficence is called the generosity of almsgiving. Beneficence, he says, and communication do not forget, that is, the generosity of almsgiving and communication, which you ought to share and impart to others from your resources, do not forget. If others have seized your substance, nevertheless out of what you have, do not forget to give alms, as the prophet says: Blessed is he who understands concerning the needy and the poor. For with such sacrifices and gifts of almsgiving God is propitiated, whence he says through the prophet: I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.

The poor man who appears to receive is not to be considered, but rather the one who commanded the giving; for the alms that is bestowed upon the poor on earth is received by God in heaven. And do not pay attention to the fact that what he is going to repay is what he received; for you have given earthly things, and you will purchase eternal things. Obey your prelates and be subject to them. Prelates and preachers are to be obeyed in every way, insofar as their doctrine and their conduct are holy and pious. But if they have strayed from the way of uprightness, like the scribes and Pharisees, let us not do the things they do, but the things they say—unless perhaps they have shown themselves contrary in the faith. For if they have shown themselves contrary in the faith, they are not only to be avoided, but even to be fled from. But if they have taught well yet are inconsistent in their conduct, hear Christ speaking of such people in the person of the scribes and Pharisees: The scribes and Pharisees have sat upon the chair of Moses; therefore all things whatsoever they say to you, observe and do, but do not do according to their works, for they say and do not. For they keep watch, as those who will give an account for your souls, so that they may do this with joy and not with groaning.

Indeed, all prelates and those set over others are to be obeyed, unless perhaps they have strayed from the truth of the faith; but especially those who keep watch, that is, who watch without ceasing in good example, in preaching, and in care for outward things, being solicitous as to how they may give an account for them. Therefore we ought to be subject to our prelates, who are solicitous for us, as those who will give an account for us, so that they may do this with joy and not groaning—that is, that they may carry out their care for you with gladness and a cheerful mind, and not with murmuring and disturbance of soul—since very often the bad conduct and disobedience of subjects provokes the minds of prelates to bitterness, so much so that they become more sluggish and sorrowful regarding their progress. Or we ought to obey them so that on the day of judgment they may give an account for us with joy, secure concerning their reward, and not groaning, anxious about our condemnation. For this is not expedient for you. There is understood: that they may carry out their care for you with groaning, or give an account for you with sadness. Pray for us. Here he destroys the pride and elation of mind of certain bishops, who, inflated by the type of pride, disdain to entreat their subjects, that they may pour out prayers for them.

If, then, he who was called by God for this purpose, to become the teacher and master of all nations, did not disdain to ask that his subjects, whom he had won for the Lord, pray for him, how much more do those who are full of envy, stained with rapine and other vices, need to be helped by the prayers of their subjects? It follows: For we trust that we have a good conscience, willing to conduct ourselves well in all things. The Apostle is blamed by the Jews because he did not love his own people as he did the Gentiles, and therefore he addresses them gently and entreatingly, showing that he has good will toward all, that is, both toward the Jews and toward the Gentiles. We trust, he says—both I and my companions—that we have good will toward all men, willing to conduct ourselves well, both toward the Jews and toward the Gentiles. Do not bring forward any accusations or detractions, since our conscience does not reproach or condemn us in anything, that we do not have good will toward you. Moreover, I entreat you to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner. It is indeed my will to come, and therefore I earnestly entreat you to pray for me, that my desire to come to you may quickly be fulfilled.

And it must be noted that he first asks them for the support of prayer, and then not simply, but with full intent and with all zeal he pours out a devout prayer to the Lord on their behalf, saying: But the God of peace, who brought forth from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep in the blood of the eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus Christ. “The God of peace” in this place is understood as God the Father, from whom true peace proceeds, who is the lover of peace and who made us peaceful through the blood of his Son; he brought forth the great shepherd of the sheep from the dead, that is, from the tomb, which is properly the place of the dead; he raised him on the third day, according to what the Son himself, drawing near to his passion, prayed, saying: Father, glorify your Son, that is, raise up your Son. And what does the same God the Father say to him in the psalm? Arise, my glory; arise, psaltery, that is, the chorus of all the virtues. To whom the Son says: I will arise at dawn. The Father, therefore, brought forth his Son from the dead, that is, from hell or from the tomb, just as the psalmist had foretold: You will not let your holy one see corruption. And so to speak, the Son himself raised himself up by the power of the Word; for just as the whole Trinity brought him forth from the dead, since those three persons work inseparably. But the great shepherd is the Lord Jesus, because he leads his sheep to the pastures of the way and the pleasant meadows of the verdant paradise. He is the shepherd who says in the Gospel: I am the good shepherd.

His chosen ones are his sheep, of whom he himself says: My sheep hear my voice and follow me, and I give them eternal life. May he make you fit. That is, may he prepare you and make you perfect in every good thing, so that you may do his will; working in you what is pleasing before him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. The God, he says, of peace make you fit in every good thing, that is, make you fit in right faith, in sound doctrine, in perfect action, so that you may be able to fulfill his will, himself working in you what is pleasing before him through Jesus Christ. For from yourselves you can have nothing good, unless he goes before and follows after: according to what the Psalmist entreats, saying: His mercy shall go before me, and his mercy shall follow me. The Apostle also says elsewhere, It is God who works in you both to will and to accomplish, since through him we were made and redeemed, and through him whatever good we have is supplied to us. To whom be glory, that is, to God the Father and Jesus Christ, for all ages to come. Amen. But Amen is a confirmation, in place of what is, let it be done; or, thus it is true, as I have said: But I beseech you, brothers, that you bear with the word of consolation: for I have written to you in few words. Note that he called the whole epistle one word, and he did not say: I beseech you to bear patiently the word of admonition, because they were fainthearted, but the word of consolation, that is, the word of comforting, the word of exhortation.

For I have not written you many things, but few, in comparison with those things which I would say to you if I were present, fearing to be a burden to you. Know our brother Timothy, who has been sent. Timothy was a fellow bishop of the blessed Apostle and a helper in preaching, whom he says has been sent by him and directed to preaching, either from Athens, where perhaps the Apostle had left him. It can also be understood that he had been tried in prison, and so was then sent. With whom. That is, with Timothy. If he comes to you more quickly, I will see you. He wishes to make them gentler, saying that he will come to them together with him. Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Just as he had written this letter generally to all the Hebrews, so generally he greets them all and wishes them to flourish, not only the prelates but also all the subjects, whom he calls saints, who had been made saints in baptism, and at the same time he flatters them, while he now greets them honorably, so that they might notice that they are loved by him not outwardly but with the whole affection of the mind. The brothers from Italy greet you. By these words he most openly indicates to us that he wrote this letter at Rome, which is situated in the region of Italy, and, as it seems to the teachers, he was at that time in prison. Grace be with you all. Amen.

Grace is so called because it is given freely; but by the name of grace we ought here to understand perfect faith, together with the performance of good works, and also the remission of sins, which the faithful receive at the time of baptism, and further the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is given in baptism through the imposition of the hands of bishops—all of which are given freely by God. The Apostle therefore prays that all these things may be possessed by those to whom he was writing. Let us also pray to the Lord with devout supplication, that through the intercession of the excellent Apostle we may be possessors of these gifts in the present, and, keeping most faithfully the faith which he taught and adorned with good works, may deserve to attain, with Christ as our guide, to the contemplation of the heavenly vision. Amen.