About secrets

In the treatise of St. Ambrose of Milan “On the Mysteries” (about 391, 9 chapters) explains the order of the church sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist, practically without touching on their material component. The basis of the work was the bishop’s instructions to the newly baptized in order to initiate them into the most important sacraments of the Church. According to the saint, Baptism is a sacrament of rebirth, in which the grace of the Holy Spirit delivers a person from guilt and error, frees him from hereditary and personal sins (chap. 6.32). In the waters of Baptism, a person dies for the world and for sin and is resurrected for eternal life and for God (chap. 4.21), renounces Satan and turns to Christ (ch. 2.7). His lost grace is returned to him. In Baptism, three principles are inseparably present - water, the Blood of Christ and the Holy Spirit. Baptism is performed in the name of the Most Holy Trinity (chap. 4.20-22). The Sacrament of Confirmation means anointing with spiritual grace for the Kingdom of God and the priesthood (chap. 6.29-31). This is a spiritual seal, meaning the gift of the Holy Spirit (chap. 7.42). The sacrament of the Eucharist is a heavenly meal, the sacrament of the flesh of Christ, the bread of life, spiritual food that gives eternal life (chap. 8.43,48; 9.53,58). In it, bread and wine, which are consecrated by the words of the Lord pronounced by the priest, change their nature and become the Body and Blood of Christ (chap. 9.52,58). After consecration, they retain their previous appearance only for the bodily eyes, but with the mind they are recognized as the true Body and Blood (chap. 9.54). The performance of the sacraments depends not on the personality of the clergyman, but on the grace of the ministry (chapter 2.6). *The title of the work in Latin is De mysteriis. 1. 1. Every day, when either the acts of the patriarchs or the instructions from the book of Proverbs 1 were read, we talked on moral topics 2 so that you, being taught and instructed by this, would learn to walk in the ways of your ancestors 3, to follow their path and obey the Divine prophecies; so that through this, renewed by baptism, you adhere to such a way of life as befits those who have been washed. 2. Now the time encourages us to talk about mysteries and explain the very meaning of the sacraments 4. If we decided that the meaning of the sacraments should be revealed before baptism, not yet initiated, then this would be regarded more as our betrayal than as teaching 5 . Finally, the light of secrets penetrates better to those who do not expect it than if it were preceded by some kind of [explanatory] conversation 6 . 3. So open your ears and breathe in the fragrance of eternal life poured out upon you through the gift of the sacraments! We pointed out this to you, performing the mystery of opening, when we said: Ephphatha, which means: Open (Mark 7:34), so that everyone who comes to grace would realize what he is being asked about and be sure to remember his answers. 4. As we read, the Lord performed this mystery in the Gospel when he healed a deaf-mute man. However, Christ touched his lips because he healed a mute and [moreover] a man. He touched his lips to open his lips with the sound of an invested voice, and this touch was decent towards a man, but would be indecent towards a woman 7 . 2. 5. After this the Holy of Holies was opened for you, and you entered the sanctuary of rebirth. Remember what you were asked, remember what you answered! You have renounced the devil and his works, the world, his luxury and pleasures 8 . Your word is not kept in the grave of the dead, but in the book of the living. 6. There you saw a Levite, you saw a priest, you saw a high priest. Look not at physical images, but at the grace of ministries! You spoke in the presence of angels, as it is written: The lips of the priest keep knowledge, and the law is sought out of his mouth, for he is the angel of the Lord Almighty (Mal. 2:7) 9. There is no place for untruth, there is no room for objection: an angel is the one who proclaims the Kingdom of Christ and eternal life. You should judge him not by his appearance, but by his service. Look at what he passed on [to you], appreciate his service and recognize his dignity. 7. So, having entered to meet your enemy, whom you intend to renounce face to face, you turn to the east, for he who renounces the devil turns to Christ and looks straight at Him. 3. 8. What did you see 10? Water, of course, but not only it: the Levites 11 who served there, the high priest who asked questions and performed the consecration 12. First of all, the apostle taught you that we should look not at what is visible, but at what is unseen, because what is visible is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (2 Cor. 4:18). After all, from another place you will learn that the invisible things of God, from the creation of the world, are comprehended through created things, and His eternal power and Divinity are also known through works (Rom. 1:20). That is why the Lord Himself says: If you do not believe Me, at least believe [My] works (John 10:38). So, believe that there is Divine presence in this. Do you believe in action, but don't believe in presence? Where would action come from if it were not preceded by presence? 9. Think about how ancient this secret is, that it was foreshadowed in the very origin of the world! At the very beginning, when God created heaven and earth, the Spirit, it is said, hovered over the waters (Gen. 1:2). [Really] the One who hovered over the waters did not perform actions over them? But why am I talking about action? As for His presence, [it is said that] He moved about. [Is it really] that the One who hovered [over the waters] did not act? Know that He acted during this creation of the world, since the prophet also tells you: By the Word of the Lord the heavens are established, and by the Spirit of His mouth is all their power (Ps. 32:6). Both the fact that He moved and the fact that He acted rests on prophetic testimony. Moses says that He rushed about, and David testifies that He acted. 10. Listen to another testimony. All flesh was corrupted because of its iniquities. “My Spirit,” says [the Lord], “will not abide in men, for they are flesh (Gen. 6:3). By this, God shows that carnal impurity and excessively severe sinful fall remove spiritual grace. Therefore, God, wanting to restore what He had previously given, brought a flood and commanded the righteous Noah to enter the ark 13. When Noah, after the waters of the flood had departed, first sent out a raven, it did not return. Then he sent out a dove, which returned, as we read, with an olive branch 14. Do you see water, see a tree, look at a dove and doubt the mystery? 11. There is water into which the flesh is immersed to wash away all carnal sin. Every crime is buried in it. There is a tree on which the Lord Jesus was nailed when He suffered for us. There is a dove, under the guise of which, as you learned from the New Testament, the Holy Spirit descended, Who breathed into you peace of mind and tranquility of mind. The raven is the image of sin, which goes away and does not return if only you take care to maintain righteousness. 12. There is a third evidence. The Apostle teaches you that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all crossed the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea (1 Cor. 10:1-2). Finally, Moses himself says in song: You sent Your Spirit, and the sea covered them (Ex. 15:10). Please note that even then, in that transition of the Jews, during which the Egyptian died and the Jew was saved, holy baptism was foreshadowed. What else do we learn every day in this sacrament, if not that guilt is drowned, sin is destroyed, and piety and integrity are passed on without loss? 15 13. You hear that our fathers were under a cloud, and a good cloud at that, which extinguished the flame of carnal passions; a good cloud overshadows those visited by the Holy Spirit. Finally, the Holy Spirit came upon the Virgin Mary, and the power of the Most High overshadowed Her 16 when She gave birth to redemption for the human race 17 . And this miracle was performed educationally through Moses. If the Spirit was present where the image was, then is He not present where the truth is, when Scripture tells you that the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17)? 14. Marah was a bitter fountain 18. Moses threw a tree into the spring, and it became sweet 19. Water, without the proclamation of the Cross of the Lord, is useless for the upcoming salvation. When the water is sanctified by the mystery of the saving Cross, then it is ready to become a spiritual bath and a cup of salvation. Just as the prophet Moses threw a tree into that spring, so into this spring the priest [seems] to send the proclamation of the Cross of the Lord, and the water becomes sweet by grace. 15. Don’t just trust your physical eyes. It is better to see what is invisible, for the latter is eternal, and the former is temporary. They penetrate deeper into that which cannot be grasped with the eye, because it is comprehended by the mind and soul. 16. Finally, let what you read from the Book of Kings 20 teach you. Naaman was a Syrian. He suffered from leprosy, and no one could cleanse him. Then the captive girl said that there was a prophet in Israel who could cleanse him of leprosy. Taking, as it is said, gold and silver, Naaman went to the king of Israel. When he learned about the reason for Naaman’s arrival, he tore his clothes, saying that he was being subjected to too severe a test, because they were demanding of him something that did not depend on the royal power. Elisha told the king to send the Syrian to him, so that he would know that there is a God in Israel. And when Naaman arrived, Elisha commanded him to plunge into the Jordan River seven times. 17. Then Naaman began to reflect within himself that the waters of the rivers of his homeland, in which he often plunged, were better, but this never cleansed him from leprosy. Held by such thoughts, he did not fulfill the command of the prophet. However, having heeded the advice and persuasion of the slaves, he agreed to dive. And as soon as he was cleansed, he realized that the cleansing of every person comes not from water, but from grace. 18. Now find out who the “prisoner girl” is! Of course, she is a young congregation from the nations, that is, the Church of the Lord, previously humiliated by slavery to sin, when she did not yet have the freedom of grace. On her advice, this vain pagan people heard the prophetic word, which they had long treated with distrust, but as soon as they believed in the need to fulfill it, they were washed from all filthiness of vices. And Naaman doubted before he was healed, but you are already healed and therefore should not doubt. 4. 19. That is why you were told not to believe only what you saw, so that you wouldn’t accidentally say: “This is that great mystery, which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and has not entered into the heart of man (1 Cor. 2:9)? I see the water I saw every day. And this water, in which I have often immersed myself and have never been purified, can cleanse me?” Know that without the Spirit, water does not cleanse. 20. That is why you read that the three witnesses in baptism are one: water, blood and Spirit (1 John 5:8). If you eliminate one of them, there will be no sacrament of baptism. What else is water without the Cross of Christ, if not an ordinary substance, useless for the sacrament? In the same way, there is no secret of rebirth without water. Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God (John 3:5). The catechumen also believes in the Cross of the Lord Jesus, by which he himself is marked, but if he is not baptized in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, then he will not be able to receive forgiveness of sins and receive the spiritual gift of grace. 21. So that Syrian was immersed in the Law seven times, and you were baptized in the Name of the Trinity. Remember what you did: you confessed the Father, you confessed the Son, you confessed the Spirit 21. Remember this sequence! In this faith you died to the world and rose again to God. And, as if buried in this element 22 of the world, dead to sin, you were resurrected to eternal life 23 . Therefore, believe that it is not ordinary water that does this. 22. Therefore it was told to you that the angel of the Lord from time to time went into the pool, and the water was troubled; and the first one who entered the pool after the movement of the water was healed of the disease, no matter how possessed (John 5:4) 24. This pool, in which one person was healed once a year, was in Jerusalem. But no one was healed before the angel descended. So the angel descended, and the disturbance of the water indicated that the angel had descended. The water was troubled for the unbelievers. For them it is a sign, for you it is faith. An angel descended for them, but the Holy Spirit descends for you; for them the creation was indignant, but for you the Lord of creation Himself, Christ, acts. 23. Then only one person recovered, but now everyone, or rather only one people, is healed - Christians. After all, some have false water 25. The washing of the unbelievers neither heals nor cleanses, but defiles. The Jew washes jars and bowls 26 as if insensible objects could have guilt or receive grace. Wash 27 this living cup of yours, 28 so that your good deeds will shine in it and the splendor of your grace will shine. So, that pool was also an image so that you would believe that Divine power descends into this pool. 24. Then the paralytic waited for the man 29. Who, if not the Lord Jesus, born of the Virgin, with whose coming it is no longer the shadow that heals, but the Truth, and not just one, but all? So, He is the One whose descent was expected, about whom God the Father said to John the Baptist: On whom you see the Spirit descending from heaven and remaining on Him, He is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. John testified about Him, saying: I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and remaining on Him (John 1:33, 32). And why did the Spirit descend here like a dove, if not so that you would understand that the dove that righteous Noah released from the ark was an image of this dove 30 so that you would recognize the prototype of the sacrament? 25. Perhaps you will say: “Since that dove sent by [Noah] was real, and here came down “like a dove,” how can we say that there was an image, and here the truth, when, according to the Greeks, it is written that the Spirit descended in the form of a dove? 31". But what could be more real than the Divine Who abides forever? A creation that is easily destroyed and changed may be an image, but not the truth. In addition, those baptized must have true simplicity, and not “outwardly.” After all, the Lord also said: Be cunning as snakes and simple as doves 32 . The Spirit descended like a dove not by chance, but to remind us that we must have dove-like simplicity. And we read about the fact that the image should be taken as truth, both about Christ: And in appearance He became like a man (Phil. 2:7), and about God the Father: And you did not see His face (John 5:37). 5. 26. Should you still doubt when in the Gospel the Father clearly proclaims to you, saying: This is My Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17); proclaims the Son, over whom the Holy Spirit appeared like a dove; David proclaims and the Holy Spirit descended like a dove: The voice of the Lord is over the waters, the God of glory thundered, the Lord is over many waters (Ps. 28:3); when does Scripture testify to you that through the prayers of Jerubbaal fire came down from heaven and that again during the prayer of Elijah fire was sent, sanctifying the sacrifice 33? 27. Look not at personal merit, but at the service of the priests. If you still take into account the merits when you look at Elijah, then also take into account the merits of Peter and Paul, who, having received this secret from the Lord Jesus, passed it on to us. For those, visible fire was sent so that they would believe, but for us believers, the invisible works. For them - for the sake of the image, for us - for the reminder. Therefore believe that the Lord Jesus is present [here], called by the prayers of the priests, who said: Wherever there are two or three, there am I 34 . Moreover, He honors with His presence the place where the Church is and where the mysteries are! 28. So you went down [to the font]. Remember what you answered: that you believe in the Father, you believe in the Son, you believe in the Holy Spirit! You do not say at the same time: “I believe in the greater, and in the lesser, and in the last.” It is the words of your assurance that oblige you to believe in the Son exactly as you believe in the Father, to believe in the Spirit exactly as you believe in the Son, with the only exception that you recognize it necessary for yourself to believe in the Cross of the Lord Jesus alone 35 . 6. 29. After this you went up to the priest. Think about what happened next. Isn’t that what David is talking about: Like ointment on the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron (Ps. 133:2)? 36 This is the ointment that Solomon also speaks of: Your name is like ointment poured out, therefore the maidens loved You and attracted You (Song.1:3-4). How many renewed souls today have loved You, Lord Jesus, saying: Draw us after You, so that we may run to the fragrance of Your garments (Song 1:4), so that they may breathe in the fragrance of resurrection! 30. Find out why this happens: for the eyes of the wise are in his head (Eccl. 2:14). Therefore, [the ointment] flows onto the beard, that is, onto the beauty of youth, and therefore it flows onto Aaron’s beard - so that you become a chosen race (1 Pet. 2:9), priestly, precious 37. For we are all anointed for the Kingdom of God and for the priesthood by spiritual grace. 31. You came out of the font. Remember the Gospel reading. After all, our Lord Jesus in the Gospel washed the feet of His disciples 38 . When He approached Simon Peter, Peter said: You will never wash my feet! (John 13:8). He did not recognize the secret and therefore rejected the service, because he considered it burdensome for the low position of a slave to humbly accept the service of the Master. The Lord answered him: If I do not wash your feet, you have no part with Me. Hearing this, Peter said: Lord, not only the legs, but also the arms and the head! The Lord answered: He who is washed only needs to wash his feet, because he is all clean (John 13:9–10). 32. Peter was clean, but had to wash his foot. After all, he inherited the sin of the first man, when the serpent stumbled him and persuaded him to sin. Therefore, the foot is washed to destroy inherited sins. And our own sins are forgiven through baptism. 33. At the same time, learn that the very secret of humility lies in service. After all, He said: If I, the Lord and Teacher, washed your feet, how much more should you wash one another’s feet (John 13:14). If the Captain of salvation 39 redeemed us by obedience, how much more should we, His servants, perform the service with humility and obedience. 7. 34. After this, you received white clothes as a sign that you had cast off the veil of sins and put on the pure veil of innocence, about which the prophet said: Sprinkle me with hyssop and I will be clean, wash me and I will be whiter than snow (Ps. 50:9). After all, it is obvious that the one who is baptized becomes clean both according to the Law and according to the Gospel: according to the Law - for Moses sprinkled the blood of a lamb with a bunch of hyssop 40 , according to the Gospel - for Christ’s clothes were like snow when He showed the glory of His resurrection in the Gospel 41 . The one to whom guilt is forgiven becomes whiter than snow. Therefore, through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord said: Though your sins are like crimson, they will be white as snow (Is. 1:18). 35. Having such garments received through the font of regeneration 42, the Church says in Songs: Black and beautiful am I, daughter of Jerusalem (Song. 1:5). Black - because of the weakness of human nature, beautiful - through grace; black - because I am made up of sinners, beautiful - thanks to the sacrament of faith 43. Noticing such clothes, the amazed daughters of Jerusalem say: Who is she who rises white? ( Song 8:5 ). She was black, where does it come from now that she suddenly became white? 36. After all, even the angels were perplexed when Christ was resurrected, the heavenly authorities were perplexed, seeing that the Flesh ascended to heaven. They only said: Who is this King of glory? And when some said: Lift up your gates, O princes, and be lifted up, O everlasting gates, and the King of glory will come in, others were perplexed, saying: Who is this King of glory? ( Ps. 24:7-8 ). You also know that in Isaiah the astonished powers of heaven said: Who is this coming from Edom, in scarlet robes from Bosor, so beautiful is He in a white robe? (Isa.63:1). 37. Christ, seeing His Church in white robes - for the sake of which He, as you know from the book of the prophet Zechariah, first took on dirty clothes 44 - or a soul purified and washed through the font of rebirth 45, says: How beautiful you are, my neighbor, how beautiful you are! Your eyes are like those of a dove (Song. 4:1), in the form of which the Holy Spirit descended from heaven. The eyes are beautiful, as we said above, for He descended like a dove. 38. And below: Your teeth are like a flock of shorn [sheep] that have come out of the pool, each of them having a pair of lambs, and there is not a barren one among them. Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon ( Song 4:2–3 ). This is significant praise. First of all, because of the cute comparison with a shorn [herd]. We know that goats graze safely in the mountains and carefree browse grass in steep places. Then, when they are cut, they get rid of the excess. The Church is compared with this flock, which contains many virtues of those souls who, through the font, “cut off the excess” of sins and bring to Christ faith in the mystery and good morals, and glorify the Cross of the Lord Jesus. 39. In them the Church is beautiful. Therefore, God the Word says to her: You are all beautiful, my neighbor, and there is no blemish in you (Song. 4:7), for the guilt has been washed away. Come here from Lebanon, bride, come here from Lebanon: come and pass from the beginning of faith (Song. 4:7-8), for, renouncing the world, she passed through [this] century and passed over to Christ. And again God the Word turns to her: Why have you, love, become beautiful and sweet in your pleasures? Your stature has become like a palm tree, and your breasts have become like bunches of grapes (Song.7:7-8). 40. The Church answers Him: Who will give You, my brother, who sucks my mother’s breasts? Having found You outside [the house], I will kiss You and they will not reproach me. I will take You and bring You into the house of my mother, and into the upper room of the one who conceived me. You will teach me (Song.8:1-2). Do you see how she desires, overjoyed by the gifts of grace, to reach the innermost mysteries and devote all her feelings to Christ? She is still searching, she is still awakening love and asking the daughters of Jerusalem to awaken the love for herself, among believing souls, with whose beauty she wants to awaken the Bridegroom’s even greater love for herself. 41. Therefore, the Lord Jesus, Himself attracted by the desire for such love, the beauty of decoration and grace, for in those who have been washed there are no longer any disgusting sins, turns to the Church: Put Me as a seal on your heart, like a ring on your hand (Song. 8:6), which means: “You are beautiful, my neighbor, you are all beautiful, and you have nothing lacking” 46. Place Me as a seal on your heart, so that your faith may shine forth through the fullness of the sacrament. Let your deeds also shine and reveal the image of God, in whose image you were created. Let no persecution diminish your love, which neither great water can overcome, nor rivers can fill 47. 42. Remember therefore that you have received a spiritual seal, 48 the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might. The spirit of knowledge and piety, ... the Spirit of holy fear ( Is. 11:2-3 ) - and take care of what you receive! God the Father sealed you, Christ the Lord confirmed you and gave you a guarantee - the Spirit in your heart, as the apostolic reading taught you 49. 8. 43. Rich in decoration, the washed people rush to the altar of Christ, saying: And I will go to the altar of God, to God, who makes my youth glad (Ps. 42:4). Throwing away the clothes of an old sin, renewed, like an eagle's youth 50, he hurries to enter that heavenly feast. Having arrived, he sees the sacred altar prepared, and, exclaiming, says: You have prepared a meal for me! David speaks the words of the people: The Lord feeds me, and I will lack nothing; there, in a place of pasture, He settled me, by the water of rest He raised me. And below: Even if I walk in the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and your staff - they comforted me. You have prepared a table for me in the face of those who oppress me. You have anointed my head with oil, and Your cup makes me drink, how beautiful it is! (Ps.23:5, 1–2, 4–5) 51. 44. Let us now consider the following, so that someone, looking at the visible - for the invisible cannot be seen or perceived with human eyes - accidentally says: “For the Jews God rained down manna, He rained down quails 52, but for His beloved Church He prepared this, about which it is said: neither eye has seen, nor ear has heard, and it has not entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for those who love Him ( 1 Cor. 2:9)". So, lest anyone say so, we want to prove with all detail that the sacraments of the Church are older than the [rites] of the synagogue and superior to manna. 45. The fact that they are ancient is taught by the previous reading from [the book of] Genesis. After all, the synagogue originates from the Law of Moses. Abraham was much earlier. When he won the victory, defeating his enemies and freeing his nephew, then Melchizedek came out to meet him and brought out what Abraham accepted with respect 53 . It was not Abraham who endured, but Melchizedek, about whom it is proclaimed: without father, without mother... having neither beginning of days nor end, like the Son of God, about whom Paul says in the Epistle to the Hebrews, that he remains a priest forever, whose name is translated King of righteousness, King of peace (Heb. 7: 2-3). 46. ​​Don't you recognize who it is? Can a man be the “King of Truth” when he himself is hardly righteous? Can he be the “King of Peace” when he himself can hardly be a peacemaker? “Without a mother” according to Divinity, for, having been born of God the Father, He has one essence with the Father. “Fatherless” - according to the incarnation, for He was born of a Virgin. “Having neither beginning nor end,” for He Himself is the Beginning and the End of everything, the First and the Last (Rev. 1:17; 22:13). Therefore, the sacrament you received is a Divine, not a human gift. It was carried out by the One who blessed the “father of faith” Abraham, whose grace and deeds you admire. 47. [So], it has been proven that the sacraments of the Church are ancient. Now find out that they are better. It is truly amazing that God rained down manna for the fathers and that they ate heavenly food daily. Therefore it is said: Man ate the bread of angels (Ps. 77:25). However, those who ate that bread all died in the desert. And this Food that you take is the living Bread that comes down from heaven (John 6:51). He gives eternal life itself, and everyone who eats Him will never die, 54 for this is the Body of Christ. 48. Now consider whether the “bread of angels” is superior to the Flesh of Christ, which is truly the Body of Life? That manna is from heaven, and this [Body] is above heaven; she is heavenly, and it is the Body of the Lord of heaven; it was subject to corruption if it was preserved until the next day, and it is alien to all corruption, for everyone who reverently eats it will not experience corruption 55. For them, water flowed from a stone, but for you, Blood flowed from Christ. The water quenched their thirst for a short time, but the Blood washed you forever. A Jew drinks and thirsts, but when you drink, you will not thirst 56 . This is a shadow, and this is the truth 57. 49. If what you admire is a shadow, how much greater is that of which you admire the shadow? Listen to the fact that everything that happened under the [forefathers] is a shadow: They drank, it is said, from the next stone, and the stone was Christ. But God was not pleased with many of them, for they were slain in the wilderness. And these were images for us (1 Cor. 10:4-6). You have learned what excellence is. After all, light is better than shadow, truth is better than an image, and the Body of the Creator is better than manna from heaven. 9. 50. Perhaps you will say: “I see something different. How do you claim that I receive the Body of Christ?” And this is what we still have to prove. Let us therefore use many examples to prove that it is not formed by nature, but sanctified by blessing, and that the power of blessing is greater than the power of nature, for blessing changes even nature itself. 51. Moses held the rod. [Then] he threw it, and it became a serpent. He grabbed the serpent by the tail, and it returned to the nature of the rod 58 again. So you see that prophetic grace changed the nature twice - the nature of the serpent and the nature of the rod. The waters of the Egyptian rivers flowed in a clear stream. Suddenly, blood began to burst out from underground sources. There was no longer drinking water in the rivers. Through the prayer of the prophet, the blood in the rivers suddenly stopped, and the nature of water returned 59. The Jewish people were surrounded on all sides: here the Egyptians surrounded them, and there the sea did not let them in. Moses raised his rod, the water parted and turned to stone like a wall, and a path for passage 60 appeared among the waves. The Jordan, turned back, contrary to nature, returned to its origins 61. Is it not obvious that the nature of both the sea waves and the river flow has been changed? The people of the [ancestral] fathers were thirsty. Moses struck the rock and water flowed out of it 62. Did not grace act contrary to nature, so that the rock spewed out water, which by nature it did not have? Marah was the bitterest river, so the thirsty people could not drink. Moses threw the tree into the water, and the nature of the water lost its bitterness, which was immediately removed by the grace that appeared 63. During the time of the prophet Elisha, one of the sons of the prophets had an iron ax fall off its handle and immediately drown. The one who missed the ax asked Elisha. Elisha also threw a tree into the water, and the iron floated up 64. We know for sure that this also happened contrary to nature. After all, iron is a heavier substance than water, which is a liquid. 52. So, we notice that grace has a stronger effect than nature. However, we are still considering the grace of prophetic blessing. If human blessing had such great power that it changed nature, then what can we say about Divine sanctification itself, where the words of the Savior Lord Himself are effective? 65 For the sacrament which you receive is accomplished by the word of Christ. If the word of Elijah had such great power that it brought down fire from heaven 66, then will the word of Christ not have the power to change the nature of the elements? About the creation of the universe you read: For He spoke and they appeared, He commanded and they were created (Ps. 33:9; 149:5). The Word of Christ, Who was able to create out of nothing what was not before, cannot change what exists into what it was not before? After all, creating a new nature of things is no less than changing it. 53. But why do we need to use evidence? Let us use His own examples and confirm the truth of [this] mystery with the mysteries of the Incarnation 67 . Did natural custom precede the birth of the Lord Jesus from Mary? If we want to know the natural order, then a woman usually gives birth after union with her husband. In this case, it is obvious that the Virgin gave birth contrary to the natural order. And the Body that we eat is from the Virgin. Why are you now looking for the natural order in the Body of Christ, when the Lord Jesus Himself was born of a Virgin contrary to nature? This is indeed the true Flesh of Christ, crucified and buried. This means that this is truly a mystery of this Flesh. 54. The Lord Jesus Himself declares: This is My Body (Matthew 26:26). Before the words of heavenly blessing are pronounced, this is called a different type, and after consecration it means the Body. He also speaks about His Blood. Before consecration it is called differently, but after consecration it is called Blood. And you say “Amen”, which means “Truly” 68. Let the mind internally agree with what the lips say! Let the heart feel what sounds in the words! 55. The Lord feeds His Church with those sacraments that support the life of the soul. Seeing her constant progress in grace, He rightfully says to her: How beautiful your breasts have become, My sister, bride! They became beautiful from wine, and the fragrance of your vestments is stronger than all aromas! Your lips pour out honeycomb, O bride, honey and milk are under your tongue, and the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon. A closed hill, my sister, my bride, a closed hill, a sealed fountain (Song. 4:10–12). By this He expresses that your secret should remain sealed, so that it is not offended either by the actions of a vicious life or by the loss of purity, so that it is not disclosed to those who should not be, so that it is not spread among the infidels by empty chatter. So your faith must be well guarded so that life and silence remain blameless. 56. Therefore, the Church, preserving the depth of heavenly mysteries, drives away fierce windy storms and calls on the tenderness of the grace that brings spring. Knowing that her garden cannot but please Christ, she calls on Him as the Bridegroom, saying: Arise, north wind, and blow, south wind, and blow through my garden, and let my fragrances flow! Let my brother come to his garden, and let him eat the fruit of his trees (Song. 4:16). After all, He has wonderful fruit-bearing trees, which feed their roots with moisture from the sacred source, and from the shoots grow with unheard-of abundance in order to bear good fruit, so that from now on they will not be cut down by the ax of the prophet, but so that they will bear fruit with the abundance of the Gospel. 57. Finally, the Lord, rejoicing at their fertility, answers: I entered My helicopter city, My sister, bride! I gathered My myrrh with spices, I ate My bread with My honey, I drank My wine with My milk (Song. 5:1). Understand, believer, why I said about bread and drink! There is no doubt that in us He eats and drinks, just as you read that in us He calls Himself in prison 69. 58. Therefore, the Church, seeing such great grace, calls on her sons, calls on her neighbors to resort to the sacraments, saying: Eat, my neighbors, and drink, and become drunk with wine, my brothers! ( Song 5:1 ). In another place, the Holy Spirit announced to you through the prophet exactly what we will eat and what we will drink, saying: Taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! (Ps.33:9). Christ dwells in this sacrament, for it is the Body of Christ. Therefore, this Food is not bodily, but spiritual. That is why the apostle says about its type: For our fathers ate spiritual food and drank spiritual drink 70 . After all, God’s Body is a spiritual Body. The Body of Christ is the Body of the Divine Spirit, for Christ is the Spirit, as we read: The Spirit before our face is Christ the Lord (Lam. 4:20). From the Epistle of Peter we also know: “And Christ died for you” 71 . Finally, this Food strengthens our heart, and this Drink gladdens the human heart, as the prophet reminds (Ps. 103:15). 59. Therefore, having received everything, let us know that we are regenerated, so that we do not say: “How are we regenerated? Have we really entered our mother's womb and been born again? 72 I don’t see a natural habit in this!” But there is no natural order where grace excels! Finally, birth does not always occur according to natural custom. By recognizing the birth of the Lord Christ from the Virgin, we deny the natural order. After all, Mary did not conceive from her husband, but was conceived by the Holy Spirit, as Matthew says: it turned out that She was pregnant by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18). If the Holy Spirit, having come upon the Virgin, accomplished conception and fulfilled the ministry related to birth, then, of course, there should be no doubt that the Spirit, descending into the font or on those receiving baptism, accomplishes true rebirth. The Byzantine rite still preserves the ancient tradition of Lenten readings (proverbs) from the book of Genesis and the book of Proverbs of Solomon. An example of such a conversation is the writing of St. Ambrose “On Abraham,” in which he addresses men “who strive for the grace of the Lord” (qui ad gratiam Domini tenditis), “for the grace of Baptism” (ad gratiam baptismatis) (Abr. 1.25, 59). Characteristic of the literary style of St. Ambrose pun: prodidisse – edidisse (betray – report). Wed: expl. symb. 9. Wed: Cyr. Hieros. catech. 1. 1. Wed: sacr. 1.5; exam. 1. 14: Derelinquit enim et deserit, qui abluitur, intelligibilem illum Pharao princirem istius mundi, dicens: Abrenuntio tibi, diabole, et angelis tuis, et operibus tuis, et imperiis tuis. Levites St. Ambrose names the deacons. Wed: myst. 20; sacr. I. 15, 18. Wed: sacr. 1. 23; 2. 1, 9. The expression “gave birth to the redemption of the human race” (redemptionem genti generauit humanae) should not be understood literally, in the sense of the Western medieval teaching about the participation of the Holy Virgin Mary in the redemption of the human race accomplished by Christ. Here it means: “gave birth to the Redeemer for the human race.” – Approx. ed. See: 2 Kings 5:1–14. Wed: sacr. I. 13–14; 2.8. That is, in water, which was considered one of the four world elements. – Approx. ed. St. Ambrose uses the verb baptizo here. That is the body. – Approx. ed. Wed: Luke 3:22; sacr. 1.17. Compare: Judges 6:21; 1 Kings 18:38; sacr. 2.11. The “shadow” (umbra) here refers to the Old Testament prototypes, and the “truth” (ueritas) refers to their fulfillment in the Gospel and in the Church. – Editor's note See: Isa. Joshua 3:16; Ps.113:35. Cp.: sacr. 4. 14, 19, 21–22. That is, the Sacraments of the Eucharist. – Approx. ed. You might be interested in: