О девстве (de virginitate)

1. They say that in ancient times Solomon carried out such a glorious judgment (1 Kings 3:16 et seq.). Two women litigants approached him; one of them, in an awkward turn during sleep, strangled her child and laid claim to someone else’s child; the other, revealing real love and not knowing her guilt, recognized her son as rightfully hers. Since both stubbornly stood their ground, the judge hesitated in his decision; Solomon, of course, could not be a judge of a hidden secret, when the thoughts of both litigants were not yet known to him. And now, perplexed, he ordered a sword to be prepared, and, ordering the servants to pretend to show a sad look while performing their duties, he ordered the child to be cut in half, so that each mother could receive half. When the woman, who demanded someone else’s child, heard this decision, she not only remained calm, but even asked to dissect the child, because she did not care about maternal feelings. On the contrary, that woman, who knew her child and was not at all afraid that she would lose the case, but that she would lose her son, expressed concern not for her consolation, but for the child: she began to beg that the child would be better handed over unharmed to someone else’s mother, rather than the one cut into pieces be returned to her. After this, Solomon - not possessing, of course, divine greatness, but as a simple person who learned about the inner disposition (of the mother) with the help of obvious evidence - decided that it would be fairer to return the child to the one who, through her own grief, showed herself to be a true mother, and the one who was not touched by compassion for the boy, even in view of his impending death, Solomon declared alien to him by nature, because, as he saw, there was no love for him. 2. So the truth is not hidden; she remained only unclear due to pretense (of another mother); and the good mother was long in an ambiguous position, while she remained in uncertainty as to the decision. Although this event took place in the past, it is described for our understanding, so that we can understand that everything imaginary can be revealed and everything imaginary can be revealed. 3. So, these two, I say: just two (after all, we decided not to talk about women in this place), these two, I say, mean faith and temptation. Temptation, I say, is from the beginning the culprit of universal (communis) sin: after it has lost its own offspring through vice in bodily relations and spiritual sleep, it tries to steal the fruits of offspring alien to it. So, when (a person) is bound by temptation, (his) faith wavers (and this happens until) until the sword of Christ makes the secret movements of the soul apparent. What kind of sword of Christ is this? This is the sword about which it is written: I came to bring a sword to earth (Matthew 10:34). This is the sword about which it is written: “And a weapon will pierce your own soul” (Luke 2:35). Find out what kind of sword this is and what kind of weapon this is: “The Word...,” says (the apostle), “is living and active and sharper than any sharp sword; it penetrates to the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow” (Heb. 4:12). A good sword is the word of God: good in the sense that, as a researcher of the heart and liver, it can separate lies from truth, and, piercing the soul of people, does not destroy them, but saves them. 4. So, this is what can be said on the basis of the book of Kings, and also added (to this) on the basis of the circumstances of the case, borrowed from history, taken from the testimony of consciousness and extracted from faith. We will now look at a number of passages from the book of Judges that we have covered. Of course, the murder was not committed for idle conversation. But let's repeat the story itself. 5. The Jews had a judge named Jephthah. Worried by the uncertainty of the state of hostilities and fearful of the unknown outcome of the battles, he made a vow of this kind (Judg. 11, 30, 31): if he drives out his enemies, he will sacrifice to God, the high priest of his triumph, the first person who comes out to meet him from the gates of his house. And so, having won the battle and driven away the enemy, he returns home; and then, at the very gates of the house, his daughter comes out to meet him, full of love and (nothing) knowing about the vow. The father immediately remembered his promise and, at the thought of it, began to regret that he had sworn to fulfill the duty of his vow. Woe is me, he said, you, “daughter,... have struck me down; ... I opened my mouth for you before the Lord.” And she said: Oh, “father..., you have opened your mouth for me before the Lord, do to me what your mouth has spoken” (Judges 11:35 et seq.). And she demanded a delay, but only for two months, until, having entered the mountain, she mourned her virginity. When two months then passed, she returned to her father. He fulfilled his vow: these are the words that need to be expressed, since Divine Scripture did not tell us about the actual fulfillment of the vow and avoided mentioning the murder of a loved one. 6. So, what? Will we approve of this? No way. But at the same time, although I do not approve of murder, I nevertheless notice fear and apprehension in myself at the thought of breaking my vow. Moreover, it was also said to Abraham: Now I know that you love the Lord your God, for you did not spare your only son (Gen. 22:12). So you have a testimony that teaches you that you should not show fear of a promise that is bound to be broken anyway. Indeed, in the same place (of Scripture) it is clearly stated that murder is not pleasing to God; and instead of a son, a ram is offered (Gen. 22:13), so that he would be sacrificed rather than the son. 7. Consequently, Jephthah had an example that he could follow in the conviction that human blood does not appease the Lord. And in fact, in one (and the same) saying addressed to Abraham, the Lord teaches that in the foreground we should place religious obedience, and not the life (salutem) of children: parents should offer (offerri) children to God, but at the same time should not slaughter them. And precisely in that case, when the daughter was so deeply concerned about her father’s vow, why would the father not hesitate to kill his daughter? Since she prevented her father’s lies, why shouldn’t a father prevent the death of such a daughter? 8. Someone will say: for what purpose does God not allow murder to take place in one case, but allows it to be carried out in another? Is God really partial? No. On the contrary, He pays attention to merits and virtues. Of course, while the advice remained vague, Revelation should have indicated how it was necessary to act in this case and what should serve as an example in other cases. But since an example preceded it, Revelation no longer considered it necessary (to give explanations): the example of a previous event had already shown how one should have acted. 9. Or, perhaps, because (this happened) that the nature of the merits was not the same, and hence the events themselves. The father grieved, the daughter cried; both doubted divine mercy. Abraham did not grieve and did not consider his parental feelings. Hearing the Divine utterance, he did not postpone the sacrifice, but hastened to fulfill it. Isaac did not hesitate (Genesis 22:3 et seq.) when he followed his father, barely hurrying after him; he did not cry when he was bound, and did not demand a delay when he was laid (on the altar). Where faith is more alive, mercy is therefore more abundant. And it’s good that Isaac did not mourn his father’s act, for it was his mother’s laughter (Gen. 21:6). In view of such a fiery determination to go to the slaughter, it was ordered to sacrifice a ram instead of Isaac, since he himself did not postpone his sacrifice; he did not doubt divine mercy and did not worry about his doom as a sacrifice. So, no one was found who would prevent such a cruel feeling from the father, because everyone considered it their duty to fulfill the announced command. 10. So, a blood sacrifice is made, and no one interferes with it; Chastity is sacrificed, and there are people who put an obstacle to this. The father makes a promise to kill a loved one, and fulfills it. The father condemns his daughter to virginity, and the impulse for such a holy offering is met with hostility. There the daughter sheds her blood with sorrow in fulfillment of her father’s oath, but with us such a pious promise (as virginity is), even in view of a natural gift and in view of one’s own will, is not given permission. 11. Even we are accused of this matter. For what exactly? Is it because we prohibit illicit marriages? But in this case, let John the Baptist be accused of the same thing. And just at a time when we may not contain anything worthy of praise in ourselves, they consider it possible to condemn in us only that which has earned approval in the prophet. Have we really mentioned (this) author (of glorification) in order to shame him? Do you remember why he accepted martyrdom? The reason for his suffering was this. “You should not,” he said, “have her” as a wife (Matthew 14:4). If this (is said) about a man’s wife, then how should it be said about a consecrated virgin! If this is what was said to the king, then how should it be said to private individuals! Thank God there is no Herod here; Oh, if only there were no Herodias. 12. So, was it impossible to even talk about virginity? But why then is it written: “Judge the fatherless and justify the widow” (Is. 1:17)? Why is it also written: “Father of the orphans and judge of widows” (Ps. 67:6)? Is this why we will abandon and even condemn those who have given themselves over to chastity and innocence? 13. But even among the pagans themselves, at their sacrificial altars, the virgin life is usually respected; they have no true merit, no chaste thoughts; however, bodily virginity is glorified among them. So, no one will keep virgins from pagan ceremonies, but virginity will be eliminated from the Church of God? There they are forced (to virginity) because they were not instructed in it; and here (on virginity) there is a ban, because it was impossible to remain ignorant of it? There they are rejected from marriage through rewards, but here they will be forced into marriage through lawlessness? There they use violence to capture virgins, but here they will use violence to prevent them from taking a vow? And priestesses can have abstinence, which even by death, if necessary, is not violated, but dooming oneself to chastity (with us) will be punished? 14. Note that virgins were honored to see the resurrection of the Lord before the apostles. At least that’s what today’s reading teaches. When the body of our Lord Jesus Christ (John 19, 41, 42), as John says, was laid in a new tomb - the body of the Lord, according to the book of the Evangelist Matthew, was laid by Joseph in his tomb (Matthew 27, 25 et seq.) - then the virgins themselves were witnesses (of this burial). And Matthew spoke well about the new tomb, so that no one would think that Christ was resurrected in the old tomb. It is also good that, by the inspiration of the Spirit, He was laid in the tomb of a righteous man; for Christ rises from the dead in a renewed state (in novo affectu). It’s even good that the coffin, as Scripture says, was someone else’s; for the Lord did not seek his own grave. Let those have graves that are under the law of death; The conqueror of death did not have His own grave; He who received the victory trophy through (His) death did not need a mortal grave. So, Mary saw the resurrection of the Lord; She was the first to see him and believe him. Mary Magdalene also saw, although she showed hesitation. 15. Here you will pay attention to the following important question: you, virgins, should not doubt the resurrection of the Lord. Look: merit is produced not only by bodily virginity, but also by purity of thoughts. In fact, Mary Magdalene was not allowed to touch the Lord because she wavered in her faith regarding the resurrection. So, Christ is touched by the one who touches Him by faith. 16. Magdalene “stood at the tomb (outside) and wept” (John 20:11). He who is outside cries; the one inside does not know how to cry. She cries because she does not see the body of Christ and thinks that it is missing, on the grounds that she herself does not notice it. So, Mary is outside (the tomb), but Peter and John were not outside (the tomb). They hurried and came (to the tomb), and therefore did not cry, but left with joy. The one who did not enter (the coffin) cried, did not believe and thought that the body had been taken away by deception, and even when she saw the angels, she did not think that she needed to believe. That is why the angels say to her: “Wife, why are you crying? Whom are you looking for" (John 20, 13, 15)? This is what the angels say, and the Lord later repeated this (question) in the same words; this is so that you may know that the words of the angels are the commandments of the Lord. 17. Then the Lord repeated the same words as I said, saying: “Woman, why are you crying, who are you looking for?” The one who did not believe is the wife; for he who believes grows into a perfect man, to the measure of the full stature of Christ (Eph. 4:13). “Wife,” he says, but here it is not gender that is condemned, but doubt. And it’s good that the woman doubted, while the maiden already believed. “Why are you crying? “- this means: you, being distrustful of Christ, are the cause of crying for yourself, you yourself are the culprit of sobs. You cry because you do not see Christ: believe and see Him. Christ is near (you); He never withdraws from those who seek Him. “Why are you crying?” - this means - it is not tears that are needed, but a living faith worthy of God. Do not think about mortals, and you will not cry; Do not think about perishable things, and you will have no reason to cry. Why do you cry when others are happy? 18. “Who are you looking for?” i.e.: don’t you see that Christ is near you? Do you not see that Christ is the power of God, that Christ is the wisdom of God, that Christ is holiness, that Christ is purity, that Christ is purity, that Christ is born of the Virgin, that Christ is always of the Father, with the Father and in the Father, that He is begotten and not made (non factus), that He is not nec degener, but always beloved, true God from true God? 19. “They took away,” he says, “the Lord from the tomb, and I do not know where they laid Him” (John 20:13). You are mistaken, woman, when you think that Christ was taken from the tomb by others, and was not resurrected by his own power. No, no one took away the power of God, no one took away the wisdom of God, no one took away the glorious purity. No, Christ is not carried away from the tomb of the righteous, and from the solitude of his virgin, and from the hiding places of pious thought: and if anyone wanted to carry Him away, they were not able to do it. 20. Then the Lord says to her: “Mary, look at Me 30” (cf. John 20:16). While she did not believe, she was a woman; when she begins to change her mood, she is called Mary, that is, she receives the name of the one who gave birth to Christ; She is, after all, the soul that spiritually gives birth to Christ. “Look,” he said, “at Me.” He who looks at Christ is corrected; and whoever does not see Christ is mistaken. 21. And so she turned and saw (Him) and said: Rabbi, what does teacher mean? He who looks (at the Lord) is converted; whoever turns, looks (at Him) with even greater attention; whoever sees (Him) prospers. That’s why she calls the teacher the one she thought was dead and talks to the one she thought she had lost. 22. “Do not touch,” he says, “me” (John 20:17), i.e., although the beginning of correction has been made, the feeling of the hesitant does not touch Christ. “Do not touch,” he says, “to Me,” that is, do not touch the power of God, the wisdom of God, the glorious purity and honorable purity. 23. But “go to my brothers.” Doesn't this mean to say: don't cry (anymore) when you enter? Go to the chosen and most reverent servants of God “and say to them: I ascend to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” Doesn't this mean saying: wife, don't ask here? Ask those who are more perfect, let them tell you what is the difference between My Father and your Father. For He who is My Father by divine birth is also your Father by adoption. With the words: “to My Father,” the Son of God separated himself from creatures. With the words: “to your Father,” He pointed to the grace of spiritual adoption. In the same way, with the words “to My God,” He points to the mystery of His incarnation, so that He whom He has as a Father by nature may be called God because of the mystery of the incarnation; when He also says: “and to your God,” he indicates the success of his work in us. 24. And truly, Christ became our God for us and for this he suffered (for us), since the virgins, in order to preserve their integrity - not to mention other things - are ready to sacrifice their lives. I say nothing about the cause, I say nothing about the personality; for where the grace of the Lord is, there must also be the peace of the Lord. I do not accuse anyone publicly, but come out to defend myself. We are accused, and, if I am not mistaken, most of you are our accusers. I wish to expose the mood of these (accusers) more than to point out their names. The reason for the accusation (me) is that I incline towards virgin purity. Whoever accepts this reluctantly betrays himself. 25. You, they say, teach virginity and persuade (to it) very many. Oh, that I would be convicted of this crime, oh, that the impact of such a great offense would be confirmed! I would not be afraid of contempt if I knew that my beliefs had an effect. And, oh, if only you would denounce me better with examples, and not amaze me with words! And I am only afraid that it might turn out that I have surrounded myself with traitors who extol me with praises alien to me. 26. You, they say, prevent girls from marrying who have been sanctified by the holy sacraments and who have condemned themselves to chastity. Oh, that I could prevent them from marrying! Oh, that I could exchange the bridal torch for the sacred veil of chastity! Does it really seem an unworthy act that consecrated virgins should not be diverted from the sacred altars for marriage? And is it not permissible for those who are allowed to choose their groom to give preference to God? So, the state of affairs in relation to me is changing: what has always been considered to be the honor of the priests, namely, planting the seeds of chastity, inciting the desire for virginity - all this is imputed to me as dishonor. 27. I ask why (the call to virginity) is condemned: is it because it is dishonest, or because it is new, or because it is useless? If it is dishonest, then it means that the vows of all are dishonest, then the life of the angels, to which the grace of resurrection is similar, is dishonest; for those who do not marry and do not marry will be like angels in heaven (Matthew 22:30). And in any case, the one who condemns (my call for virginity) also condemns the desire for resurrection. But what is established for people as a reward cannot seem shameful; one cannot help but like the beauty of that thing, the truth of which is obvious both by its fruits and by its promise. 28. So, a call to virginity cannot be dishonorable; but isn't it something new? We, of course, rightly condemn all those innovations that were not the teachings of Christ, and Christ is the way for the faithful. So, if Christ did not teach what constitutes our teaching, then we will consider it shameful. Let us consider whether Christ taught chastity, or perhaps He considered it necessary to reject it. “And there are,” He says, “eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:12). There is, therefore, a glorious army that fights for the kingdom of heaven. So, even then the Lord taught that there must be an immaculate desire for chastity. 29. Then the apostles, noting that (chastity) stands above other (virtues), says: “If this is a man’s duty to his wife, then it is better not to marry” (Matthew 19:10). With these words they expressed the judgment that the burden of conjugal bondage was heavy, and therefore they preferred the gift (gratiam) of true chastity. But the Lord, knowing that chastity, proclaimed to all, should be an object of imitation for a few, said: “Not everyone can receive this word, but to whom it is given” (Matthew 19:11), i.e.: chastity is not the lot of the multitude (people) and is not an ordinary phenomenon; and it is not given for the sake of weakness, but is given because of virtue. Finally, when He said: “And there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:12), he said this in order to show that this (manifestation of chastity) is not a property of ordinary virtue: “whoever can contain it,” he says, “let him accommodate it.” 30. And so, after these words, children are brought in for blessing, who, as not involved in vice, through the very innocence of their age, have retained the gift of chastity. Indeed, the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who, through ignorance of vice, approach childish purity and, as it were, a childish nature. So, virginity is approved even by a heavenly voice, and according to the commandments of the Lord one must strive for it. 31. Based on this passage, let us follow the call of the Divine voice. True, above (Christ) mentioned that marriage should not be dissolved, except through the fault of adultery, but, however, in subsequent words He added (the thought) about the beauty and gift of chastity (Matthew 19:9) in order to teach that marriage should not be condemned, but revered, but that the desire for chastity should still be given preference over marriage. And in fact, who would turn away from the truth so much as to condemn marriage? And who is so beyond the bounds of reason that he will not notice the hardships of marriage? After all, “the unmarried and virgin cares for the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy in both body and spirit; but a married woman worries about worldly things, how to please her husband” (1 Cor. 7:34). 32. And although (a woman), when getting married, does not commit a sin, however, in addition to the indicated sorrows, she will also have the following bodily sufferings: severe pangs of childbearing and difficult worries about raising and educating children. Such were prescribed in advance that they should not evade punishments (injuriis) of this kind; Meanwhile, many, having experienced the pangs of birth, say that they shy away from marriage; (even) and many (husbands) cannot bear the burden of marriage and turn away from their spouse due to hostile feelings. But this is why the apostle said above: “Are you united to your wife? Do not seek divorce” (1 Cor. 7:27). And he says well: “united,” because the husband and wife are connected to each other, as it were, by some kind of love obligation and are fastened together, as it were, by some shackles of love. 33. So, the bonds of marriage are good, but nevertheless they are bonds; marriage is good, but nevertheless it received (its name) from the word: the yoke 31 is the yoke of the world, because (in it) there is more desire to please the husband than to God. But still, wounds that come from the heart are good and should be preferred to kisses. In fact, reproaches from a friend are more useful than the free kisses of an enemy (Proverbs 27:6). So Peter inflicts a wound (Matthew 26:51), and Judas gives a kiss (Matthew 26:49); but the kiss of the latter serves him as a condemnation, and the wound of the former leads him to correction; in the kiss of the latter the poison of betrayal is poured out, and the tears of the former wash away the crime. Therefore, in order to point out in prophetic speech the good consequences of the wounds of love, the Church says in the Song of Songs: “for I am faint from love” (Song 2:5). 34. So, let him who has chosen marriage for himself not condemn chastity; Let no one who follows chastity condemn marriage either. After all, the Church has long condemned the opposing interpreters 32 of this (last) opinion, that is, those who dare to vilify marriage. Listen to what the Holy Church says: “Come, my beloved, let’s go into the field, let’s stay in the villages, in the morning we’ll go into the vineyards, let’s see if the vine has blossomed” (Song. 7, 12, 13). There is a lot of fruit in the field, but that (field) is better which abounds in both fruits and flowers. This is precisely the field of the Church, abundant in various gifts (copiis). Here you see offspring blooming with the flower of virginity, and there, as if in the forest clearings, widowhood is powerfully thriving; in another place you will see, as it were, a church field, filling the granaries of the world with the abundant fruits of marriage, (you will see) and those vine vices of the Lord Jesus, which are overflowing with fruit (fetibus), as if a vine was given in marriage - those vices in which the gift of faithful (fidelis) marriage grows in abundance. 35 So, the desire for chastity is neither shameful nor new. Let's see if it will be necessary to recognize it as harmful; after all, some, I heard, said that (thanks to the desire for virginity) the world could perish, the human race could end and marriage ties could weaken. I ask: was anyone really looking for a wife and did not find her? Have there ever been wars over a girl? And has anyone died because of it? Meanwhile, because of marriages, this is what happens: both the wife’s lover has to be captured, and the kidnapper has to be called to battle. And all this always caused harm to the state. No one was condemned because of the consecrated virgin; after all, chastity is not restrained by punishment, on the contrary, it is increased by piety (religio) and protected by faith (fides). 36. If anyone thinks that the human race is decreasing as a result of the dedication of maidens, then let him pay attention to the following circumstance: where there are few virgins, there are fewer people; and where the desire for chastity is stronger, there are comparatively more people. Look how many (virgins) the Church of Alexandria, the Church of the whole East and the Church of Africa usually dedicate annually. Fewer people are born among us compared to how many virgins are dedicated there. According to the experience of the universe itself, a virgin lifestyle is not considered harmful, especially after salvation came through the virgin, fertilizing the Roman land. 37. And if anyone opposes (chastity), then in this case he should also oppose wives to lead a chaste life, because incontinent (women) can give birth more often. Let no one remain faithful to her husband during his absence, so as not to harm future offspring and not miss the age of most frequent childbearing. 38. But then, (they will say), the path to marriage becomes more difficult for young men. Well, maybe this is even better? With this very question I allow myself to address those who are convinced of the need to hinder virgin life. We must determine who exactly these (people) are: those who have wives, or those who do not have (them)? If these are those who have wives, then they have nothing to fear; after all, their wives can no longer become virgins. If such people are those who do not have wives, then they cannot be offended either, because they are only still counting on marriage with someone who does not intend to get married. Or perhaps fathers, preoccupied with the marriage of (their) daughters, find it difficult to bear the dedication of virgins? But they actually have nothing to fear, if only they follow (my) advice. Among the few (maiden daughters), they are more likely to be taken (in marriage). 39. Many also say that girls need to be covered 33 at a more mature age. I also do not deny that caution must be exercised in the matter of initiation, and the girl should not cover herself recklessly. The priest must act with caution and pay attention to age, but to the age of faith and modesty. Let him turn his gaze to the maturity of modesty, find gray-haired firmness, senile stability of morals, years of modesty, the spirit of innocence - and only then (devotes it) if (at the same time) the protection of his mother is reliable and the care of those around him is prudent. If all this is (is evident), then it means that the virgin has no shortage of gray hairs; if this is not the case, then let the girl be considered still young, but for her moral qualities, and not for her years. 40. So, a relatively young age is not an obstacle (to initiation), but the soul (of the girl) is taken into account. Without a doubt, it was not old age, but virtue that glorified Thekla. And why should I expand further, since at any age you can be pleasing to God and prove perfect for Christ? In a word, we believe that it is not virtue that serves as an appendage to age, but, on the contrary, age to virtue. And do not be surprised at the confession (of faith) on the part of young girls, since you can read about the suffering of young women; after all, it is written: “Out of the mouth of a child and of those who piss, you have made praise” (Ps. 8:3). Will it really seem incredible to us if youth follows the abstinence of the One Whom infants confess through their martyrdom? We consider it as incredible if maidens capable of marriage follow Christ into (His) kingdom, while even children followed Him into the wilderness; after all, as we read, four thousand people were fed with five loaves, “except wives and children,” as (the Evangelist) says (Matthew 14:21). 41. So, do not forbid children to come to Christ, because they too accepted martyrdom for the name of Christ: “for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14). The Lord calls them, and you hinder them? After all, the Lord said about them: “Do not hinder them from coming to Me.” Do not hold back the young maidens, about whom it is written: “Therefore the maidens loved you” (Song. 1, 2) and brought you into their mother’s house (Song. 8, 2). Finally, do not even remove children from the love of Christ: even those who were imprisoned in their mother’s womb testified about Him in prophetic jubilation (Luke I, 41). 42. Even at the very beginning (of the existence) of the Church, crowds (of people) were looking for Him. For what reason? Because “He, laying on... his hands, as it is said, healed them” (Luke 4:40). And neither a (special) place nor a (special) time is chosen for healing. For healing should not be neglected at any time and in any place. The angel welcomes Mary into the house (Luke 1:28); in the house, David is anointed as a prophet (1 Sam. 16:3). And Christ heals everywhere, heals everywhere: on the way, in the house, in the desert. On the way, she who touched the hem of His garment is healed (Matthew 9:20); the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue is resurrected in the house (Matthew 9:25); A (whole) crowd is healed in the desert. Finally, we read the following: “When the sun went down, all those who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on each of them and healed them” (Luke 4:40). So, He healed both in the desert and when the sun had already set, and He healed by laying on His hands, in order to reveal Himself as both God and man. It was not in vain, therefore, when the day had already come, crowds of people were looking for Him. 43. I pay attention to order. When the sun sets, the sick are brought to Christ; when the day came, crowds of people began to look for Him. And in fact, when, if not during the day, is Christ found? And he who walks in the light does not depart from Christ. So, the night was still resounding with the groans of the sick, and the day brought faith for the people and joy for the healed, so that what was written would be fulfilled: “Sadness may remain in the evening, but joy in the morning” (Ps. 29:6). And in fact, what joy could be greater for the people than that by virtue of which they followed Christ even into the desert? 44. In this case (Christ) teaches that a perfect (man) should be free from vanity; in fact, He did not turn away from the multitude of those seeking healing, but from vanity (by His) deeds. Therefore, if we want to be healthy or to be worthy of healing, we must avoid luxury and frivolity; as if with some bodily thirst for the dry and barren, so to speak, field of this life, we must follow Christ, who was moving away from the delights (of the world). 45 Let us follow Him during the day. There is a day in the Church that Abraham saw and rejoiced (John 8:56). Let us therefore follow Christ in the time of day; for He cannot be found at night. “On my bed,” it is said, “at night I sought the one whom my soul loved: I sought Him, and did not find Him”; I called Him and did not hear me (Song 3:1). 46. ​​Christ is not found in the squares and streets. At least, she who said: “I will get up and walk through the city, through the squares and streets, and will look for the one whom my soul has loved, could not find Him either in the squares or on the streets. I looked for him, and did not find him,” I called him, but he did not hear me (Song. 3, 2). So, in no case will we look for Christ where He cannot be found. Christ is not in the square. Christ is peace (pax), but in the square there are quarrels; Christ is truth (justitia), and in the square there is injustice; Christ is a worker (operator), and in the square there is vain idleness; Christ is love (charitas), and in the square there is ill will; Christ is faithfulness (fides), and in the square there is deception and treachery; Christ is in the Church, and there are idols in the square. And so that the widow whom we mentioned in another book 34 knew that I said this not with the aim of reproaching (her), but to admonish her, and that I am not cruel, but caring; Let her, for (her) peace of mind, remember that in the Church a widow is treated fairly, but in the square she is deceived. So, we will avoid the square and streets. 47. “Call reason as your own, so that it will protect you from a stranger’s and wicked wife... After all, she looks through the window from her house onto the square (Proverbs 7:4-6). Let's avoid the streets. In fact, not only is it an insult not to find the One you are looking for, but in most cases it is harmful to look for (Him) where you should not - to look in the houses of men who falsely take upon themselves the name of teachers, to look, moreover, with shamelessness and without observing modesty. 48. So, following the example of the Church, let us be careful so that we do not meet those guards who are going around the city. “I was met,” he says, “by guards going around the city; they beat and wounded me, the guarding walls took off the covering from me” (Song. 5, 7). Not herself, daughters, not herself, I say, the Church receives a wound, but in our person. So, let us be careful that our fall does not become a wound for the Church, and that someone does not remove from us the veil (pallium), that is, the garment of prudence and the symbol of patience - (that veil) by which addiction to softer clothing is rejected. For “those who wear soft garments are in the palaces of kings” (Matthew 11:8). And Christ gave us the veil with which He clothed His apostles and His body. He commanded that the same veil be given to you, so that if someone asks you for a lower garment, you could give him (Matthew 5:40), that is, convey the symbol of your wisdom (philosophiae) and, as it were, clothe the one who was previously naked with the garment of your prudence. 49. So, daughters, let us seek Christ where the Church seeks Him: on those fragrant mountains which, for the sake of the greatness of their merits, spread from the heights of their glorious deeds the pleasant aroma of life. After all, he avoids the streets, avoids the crowd and noise, according to what is written: “Run, my beloved; be like a deer or a young deer on the balsam mountains" (Song. 8, 14) Hating crawling reptiles, avoiding dogs and being hostile to snakes that creep on the earth, He wants to dwell only at the height of virtues, wants to dwell only in such daughters of the Church who can say: after all, “we are the aroma of Christ to God” (2 Cor. 2, 15); and for some He is the smell of death upon death, - this is in relation to those who perish; and only for some He is the smell of life for life - this is for those, of course, who breathe in the fragrance of the Lord’s resurrection through living faith. 50. The fragrant mountains are those who took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in swaddling clothes with incense (John 19:40); for all those who believed that Christ died, and was buried, and rose again, entered through virtues to the very pinnacle of true faith. So where is Christ found? Of course, in the heart of a prudent priestess. 51. And since we are talking about the desert here, where (exactly) should we look for (Christ) in it? Christ Himself points to this place when He says: “I am a full color and a full-length one. Like a thorn among thorns” (Song 2, 1–2). This is another place where the Lord usually dwells; and there is not even one such place, but many. “Az,” he says, “the color is full”; for He often visits the frank purity of immaculate thought. “And the krin is long”; and, indeed, Christ is the color of humility: not luxury, not pleasure, not licentiousness, but the color of simplicity, the color of humility. “Like a tree among thorns.” And in fact, isn’t it possible that a fragrant flower grows among painful labors and spiritual sorrows, since only a contrite heart appeases God? 52. Behold, daughters, the desert that leads to the kingdom; this desert even blooms like a lily, according to Scripture: “Rejoice, desert, and rejoice, uninhabited country, and let it bloom like a lily” (Is. 25: 1). In this desert, daughter, there is that beautiful, fruitful tree that bears good fruit (Matthew 7:17), and which begins to expand the branches of its deeds and raise (its) divine peak. Next to him, the trees of our forest seem like bushes; for like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my brother among his sons (Song 2:3). At the sight of this, let the Church rejoice and rejoice, saying: “Under His shadow I have longed and sat down, and His fruit is sweet in my throat.” 53. Seeing, I say, this and at the same time rejoicing at the success of our faith, let the Church say: “Bring me into the house of wine, make me love you” (Song. 2:4). Love cannot exist without faith; in fact, there are, as it were, three guarantors of the Church: hope, faith, love. If hope precedes, then (along with this) the basis for faith will appear, the beginning of love will be laid, and the Church will be strengthened (copulatur). 54. So, you have learned where to find Christ, now find out how you can be worthy of Him seeking you. Call upon (excita) the Holy Spirit, saying: “Arise, O north, and come, O south, and blow through my hillside, and let my fragrances flow” (Song. 4:16). “Let my brother go down to his garden and eat the fruit of his vegetables” (Song 5:1). The Vertograd of the Word is the state of a renewed (vernantis) soul, and the fruit lies in the fruits of virtue. 55. Here He has come; and whether you eat or drink, as soon as you call on Christ, He is present, saying this: “Come, eat my bread and drink my wine” (Prov. 9:5); even if you are sleeping, He is knocking on the door. He comes, I say, often and through the (door) hole He stretches out His hand, but not always and not to everyone, but only to that soul that can say: at night “I threw off my tunic” (Song. 5, 3). And in fact, on this night of this age, you first of all need to take off the robe of bodily life, for the Lord put off his flesh, so that for your sake he would gain victory over the rulers and mighty of this world. 56. “How can I put it on (again)?” Look: what a soul devoted to God says. She has become so freed from carnal affairs and earthly customs that she does not even know how she could return to them again, even if she wanted to. “How can I put it on (again)? “that is, with what fear, with what shame, with what, finally, memory? In fact, the habit of good destroyed the previous habit of evil. 57 “I have washed my feet, how can I dirty them” (ibid.)? From the Gospel you know that washing your feet serves as a sacrament of faith, a sign of humility, as it is written: “If I, the Lord and Teacher, washed your feet; then you also should wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14). It talks about humility. As for the mysterious meaning, those who wish to have a part with Christ must wash their feet: “For if I do not wash your feet,” said Christ, “you will not have a part with Me” (ibid., v. 8). If this is said about Peter, then what should be said about us? 58. So, he who has washed his feet has no need to wash them a second time; therefore, let him be careful not to stain them. The Holy Church says well: “I washed my feet.” She does not say: how will I wash them again? And as if forgetting about her previous vices, forgetting about (her) sinfulness (contagii), she says: how can I (again) stain them? Thus, she exhorts us exactly how in our earthly life (in minesterio corporali) we should wash the spiritual path of our deeds. So, since you have washed (your) feet with the stream of an eternal spring and cleansed them with the holiness of the sacrament, then beware that they do not again become dirty with the dirt of bodily passions and the earthly impurities of criminal deeds. 59. These are the feet that David spiritually washed, teaching you exactly how you can avoid soiling them, saying: “Our feet stand in your courts, Jerusalem” (Ps. 121:2). Of course, it’s not the physical legs that we’re talking about here, but the mental legs. Indeed, how can an earthly person have bodily legs in heaven? After all, Jerusalem, as Paul teaches you (Heb. 12:22), is in heaven. And the same (Paul) indicated how you can become in heaven; he said: “Our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20), an immaculate, real and true residence. 60. Anyone who leads such a life can say: “My beloved stretched out his hand through the hole, and my insides were agitated before him; I stood up to unlock the door for my beloved” (Song 5:4). It is good that in view of the coming of the Lord the insides are agitated. If Mary was embarrassed by the coming of the Angel (Luke 1:29), then how much more should we be embarrassed by the coming of Christ! This is because with the coming of the divine the carnal sense is removed and the skills of the outer man disappear. And you will be in awe, and you will hasten. The Jews are commanded to eat the lamb with haste (Ex. 12:11). Get up, open it: Christ (stands) at the door, He knocks on the door of your house; if you open (it), He will enter and go in with the Father. 61. And He gives the reward not only when He has already entered, but He sends it even before He enters. Even beforehand, the soul is worried, even beforehand it feels the walls of its house and looks for the door at which Christ stands, even beforehand it dissolves the bodily bonds and constipations of the flesh, even beforehand Christ knocks on the door; “From my hands,” he says, “myrrh was dripping,” and my fingers were full (of myrrh) on the hands of the castle (Song 5:5). What kind of myrrh was dripping from spiritual hands, if not the one brought by that righteous Nicodemus, a teacher in Israel (John 3:1), who, before others, was worthy to hear about the sacrament of baptism (lavacri). who brought about a hundred pounds of a mixture of myrrh and aloes and poured (it) on the body of Christ (John 19:39): brought, in any case, the perfect aroma of faith? 62. This fragrance is fragrant with the soul that has begun to open up to Christ in order to first perceive the aroma of the Lord’s burial and to believe that His flesh did not see decay and did not decompose, emitting the stench of death, but was resurrected with the fragrant aroma of an eternal and never-fading flower. Indeed, how could the flesh of Him whose name is spilled ointment (Song. 1, 2) decay? He was poured out to become a fragrance for You. 63. This ointment always existed, but it was with the Father, it was in the Father. It was fragrant only for angels and archangels, only as if inside a heavenly vessel. Opening his lips, the Father said: “Behold, I have given you for a covenant of generations, for a light of the tongue, so that you may be saved even to the last of the earth” (Isa. 49:6). (And now) the Son descends, and everything is filled with a new fragrance of the Word. The Heart of the Father spewed out the good Word (Psalm 44:2), the Son was fragrant, the Holy Spirit breathed and filled the hearts of all: for “the love of God has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 5:5) 64. The Son of God Himself at first, as if in a vessel, held the fragrance in (His) body, biding His time and as if saying: “The Lord gives me a language of teaching, so that I can understand when it is proper to speak a word” (Is. 50:4). And then the hour came, and He opened His mouth, poured out the ointment, and power came out of it. 65. This ointment was poured out on the Jews, and collected by the pagans; it was poured out in Judea, and became fragrant throughout all the earth. Mary was anointed with this world; She conceived as a virgin, and as a virgin she gave birth to the fragrant aroma - the Son of God. This aroma was poured over the waters and sanctified them. Three youths were anointed with this world, and the flame watered them with moisture (Dan. 3:23). Daniel was anointed with it, and he tamed the mouths of the lions and pacified their cruelty (Dan. 6:22). 66. This myrrh is poured out daily and there is never a shortage of it. Take, virgin, your vessel and begin, so that you can be filled with this world. Accept the ointment, valued at three hundred denarii, but not bought, but given to the tuna, so that everyone receives it for free. Anoint yourself (with it), girl; Do not be sad, like Judas (John 12:5) that this ointment is being poured out, but bury yourself in Christ. Close your vessel wisely so that the ointment does not spill out. Lock (him) with the key of chastity, modesty of speech, abstinence from vanity. 67. She who has this ointment gains Christ; That’s why she who had him said: “I opened it,” she said, “I have passed away to my brother, my brother has passed away” (Song. 5:6). How then did He pass? This means that He penetrated into the depths of thought, just as it was said to Mary: “And a weapon will pierce your own soul” (Luke 2:35). For the living Word of God, penetrating like a sharp sword, tests both the obstacles of the carnal thoughts and the inner (movements) of the heart (Heb. 4:12). 68. And therefore, you, soul, having withdrawn yourself from the people, having removed yourself from the crowd - after all, Christ does not look at any differences in worldly honors and does not attach importance to either gilded clothes, or precious wrists, or expensive necklaces of shining precious stones, due to the lack of which disputes often arise in the Church and peace is disturbed - and of course, having withdrawn from (other) virgins, you, who adorn your body with the radiance of thought (for you are very much like the Church), you, I say, on your bed and at night always meditate on Christ and expect His coming at all times. 69. If it seems to you that He is delaying, then get up. It seems to you that He is slow because you sleep for a long time; it seems to you that He hesitates because you do not pray; it seems to you that He is delaying because you do not sing psalms. Consecrate the firstfruits of your vigils to Christ; dedicate the firstfruits of your deeds to Him. You heard above how He called you, saying: “Come from Lebanon, bride, come from Lebanon: come and pass from the beginning of faith” (Song. 4:8); you will enter the world to fight, but you will come over to Christ to gain victory over the world. You heard that He protected you from lions and leopards, that is, from the attacks of spiritual infirmities; you have heard that the beauty of your virtue pleases Him; You heard that He preferred the aroma of your clothes, that is, the wonderful aroma of chastity, to all incense; You heard that you are a locked garden, full of fruits from sweet apple trees. So, pray that the Holy Spirit will overshadow you, waft over your bed and increase the fragrances of holy thought and spiritual grace. And He will answer you: “I sleep, but my heart watches” (Song. 5, 2). 70. You hear the voice of one knocking on the door and saying: “Open to me, my sister, stand up, my beloved, my dove, my pure” (Song 5:2), - beloved for her heartfelt affection, dove because of meekness, pure because of virtue - because “my head is all covered with dew.” Indeed, just as the heavenly dew destroys the dryness of the night, so exactly the dew of our Lord Jesus Christ exuded the moisture of eternal life in the midst of night and mortal darkness. This is the head that could not dry out from the heat of this world; That’s why it says: “For if they do this to a green tree, what will happen to a dry one” (Luke 23:31). So, this head waters others, and itself (with such moisture) abounds. And it is good that the head of Christ has (such moisture) in abundance, for Christ is your head; He is always full, and His mercies are inexhaustible; He has no shortage of generous gifts every day. This chapter does not concern iron, because it is an accessory of war, a sign of discord. 71. Now look and you will see what this dew is like; Of course, this is not ordinary moisture and curls from His night dew. Do not wear, my beloved, curls from bodily hair (Song. 5:2); they are not decoration, but a crime. This is an external embellishment, not a commandment of virtue. The Nazarene has different curls, which no iron touches, which no one cuts; they are not curled with curling irons or combed with art, but shine due to the fact that they are humbled by the beauty of many shining virtues. Find out from history what kind of curls the Nazarite had: until Sampson had them cut off, no one could defeat him (Judges 16, 17). But as soon as he lost them, he lost his reward for virtue at the same time. 72. So, having heard the voice of the Word, do not ask how to put on the tunic that you took off at night; after all, it is harmful and is worn due to spiritual weakness. Forget it and don’t know, I say, how to put it on for you; With trembling, leaving your bodily shackles, stand up as if Christ were standing before you; and while you get up, prepare a secret thought for prayer, so that from the earthly you can rush to the heavenly and be ready to open the doors of your heart; as long as you raise your hands to Christ, your deeds will exude true fragrance. 73. So, bring your hands close to your nostrils and constantly, with vigilant spiritual zeal, explore the aroma of your deeds. The aroma of your right hand will delight you, your limbs will be fragrant with the splendor of the resurrection, your fingers will exude myrrh, that is, spiritual deeds will ignite (in you) the grace of true faith. In this way, virgin, you will remove passion from the recesses of your body, and you yourself will become pleasant and pleasing to yourself and will not feel dissatisfaction with yourself, which often happens with sinners; for you will be more pleased with undisguised simplicity, free from the veils of bodily sin. 74. This is how Christ desired you, this is how He chose you. So He comes through the open door; for He who promised to come cannot deceive. Embrace Him Whom you have been looking for; approach Him and He will enlighten You; hold Him, ask Him not to leave; beg him not to leave; for the Word of God runs away, pride will not hold It, negligence will not catch It. May your soul abide in His Word, and may you follow the path of (this) heavenly Word; for soon It is moving away. 75 Next, what does She say? “I sought Him and did not find Him; I called Him and He did not answer me” (Song. 5, 6). Because He left so soon, do not think that He is not pleased with you, who called Him, begged Him and accepted Him: He often exposes us to temptation. This is what He says in the Gospel in response to the people’s request not to leave him? “And to other cities I must preach the Word of God; for this is why I was sent” (Luke 4:43). But even if it seems to you that He has left, then go out and look for Him again (Song. 5, 7). 76. You, already dedicated to God, do not be afraid of these terrible spiritual guards standing in the square, do not be afraid of those who go around the city, do not be afraid of wounds that cannot harm the followers of Christ. Even if they took away (from you) your body, that is, the life of your body, then Christ is near you: when you find Him and are with Him, then know Him, so that He does not depart from you; for He quickly leaves those who neglect (Him). 77. But who else but the Holy Church should teach you how to retain Christ? and she even taught you this, if only you understand what you are reading: “But as soon as I,” she says, “left them, I found the One Whom my soul loved, grabbed hold of Him and did not let Him go” (Song. 3, 4). So, what is Christ held back by? It is not with the bonds of untruth or a noose of rope, but with the bonds of love, the chains of thought and the feeling of the heart that He is bound and held. And you, if you want to keep Christ, then seek Him tirelessly and do not be afraid of offense; for often in the midst of bodily torment and even in the very hands of persecutors, Christ is found more quickly. “I barely left them,” he says: and, indeed, after a short period (of time), a few moments after you free yourself from the hands of the persecutors and do not submit to the mighty of the world, Christ will come out to meet you and will not allow you to be tempted for a long time. 78. She who sought Christ in this way and found Him can say: “I grabbed hold of Him and did not let Him go, until I brought Him into my mother’s house and into the inner room” of the one who conceived me (Song. 3, 4). What is this house and room of your mother, if not your inner and hidden nature? Guard this house, keep its interior clean, so that, being found to be weak and not defiled by any impurity of adulterous thought, it may be a spiritual house, built on the cornerstone for the holy priesthood, and so that the Holy Spirit may dwell in it. She who sought Christ in this way and begged Him will not be abandoned by Him; on the contrary, He will visit her often; for He will remain with us until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). 79. So we have found Christ and have Him; we have found the One who stretched out his hand through your window. What kind of window do we have (Song 5:4)? This is, of course, through which we see the works of Christ, that is: (our) spiritual eye and our mind's eye. And therefore, let Christ enter through your window, let the virgin, let Christ stretch out His hand through it, let the love of the Word, and not the flesh, come to you. So, if the Divine Word reaches out through your window, then look: how you should prepare your windows, look: how you should cleanse (them) from all sinful dust. Let the virgin's window have nothing vile, nothing adulterous. Let it be alien to whitewash and other trinkets of counterfeit beauty, alien to the lures of adulterous love. Ears should be closed in the same way: there is no need to hang weights on them, there is no need to make wounds on them with injections, there is only one decoration for them - to listen to what is useful. 80. Also learn to lock your door at night so that no one can open it freely. The Bridegroom Himself wants it to be locked even when He knocks on it. Our door is our mouth, which should be opened almost only for Christ alone: ​​let it not open first until the Divine Word knocks (on them). That’s why it is written: “A closed garden, my sister bride, a closed garden, a sealed source” (Song 4:12) - (this is then written) so that she does not open her lips frivolously and does not enter into empty conversation. After all, you should not even talk about divine things, unless the Divine Word asks you. What do you have in common with others? Speak only to Christ alone, talk with Him alone. In fact, if it is written (1 Cor. 14:34) that women should remain silent in the Church, then all the more it is indecent for a virgin to open her door, much less it is indecent for a widow to open her gates! The tempter of chastity will immediately creep up, he will immediately steal the Word that you wished to pronounce. 81. If Eve's door had been locked, Adam would not have been deceived, and she would not have answered the serpent's question (Gen. 3:2). Death entered through the window (Jeremiah 9:21), that is, through Eve's door. Death will also come through your door if you speak a lie, or something vile, or shameless, or, finally, you speak where you should not. Therefore, let the doors of your mouth be locked, let your throat be closed, 35 only if you should open them when you hear the voice of God, when you hear the Word of God. 82. Then the myrrh will run out from you (Song. 5:5), then the grace of baptism will blow upon you, and you will die with Christ to the elements of the world, and with Christ you will rise again. “Why,” it is said, “you, as those living in this world, adhere to the regulations: do not touch, do not handle, do not eat that which decays from the very use (Colossians 2:20 et seq.); in fact, the pure should not have anything harmful; Therefore, stop worrying about the flesh and the world. “If you have been raised with Christ, then seek the things above, where Christ” dwells (Colossians 3:1). As soon as you seek Christ, you will see God the Father, for Christ sits at the right hand of God. 83. But one who seeks Christ should not be an ordinary person, should not be in the square, on the streets, utter plaintive cries, have an impetuous gait, try to eavesdrop and be accessible to (prying) eyes. The Apostle forbids you earthly society and teaches you to soar on spiritual wings to heaven, beyond even the world (naturae). “Set your mind on things above,” he says, “and not on earthly things” (Colossians 3:2). But since this is impossible for those imprisoned, as it were, in this bodily shell, and since the soul, bound during life by some law of our nature, after the death of the body strives to soar into the heavenly one, the apostle therefore adds: “for you are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). If it is hidden with Christ in God, then let it not exist for the world; for Christ died for the world, and lives for God. 84. Now see how Christ loves when people strive for Him, and does not like idle talk. So the virgin opened her doors to the Word of God, but It taught, says (Scripture), “and my soul went out into His word” (Song. 5, 6). “Coming out”: from the world, “coming out”: from eternity, but abides in Christ. “I searched,” they say, “for Him and did not find Him” (Song. 5, 6); and Christ loves when they continually (diu) seek Him. 85. The guarding walls found her. Perhaps there are other guardians about whom we should know more? Indeed, there is a city whose gates in the walls are not locked; it is said about it: “Its gates will not be locked during the day” (Apoc. 21:25), for there will be no more night there, the peoples will bring glory and honor into it. This is the heavenly city of Jerusalem (Heb. 12:22); in it you will be kept as (already) perfect and blameless, for nothing unclean will enter into it 36 ​​. There is no uncleanness 37 and abomination 38 in it: they are not written in the book of life (Apoc. 21, 27). 86. So, when we find (this) city and enter it, we will see its lights, and its walls, and its divisions (tribus), and the foundations of the walls, and even those guarding the walls. But how can we enter it? In this city lies life and one (only) path that leads to this life: this path is Christ; therefore, let us follow Christ. But the city itself is in the sky. How will we enter heaven? This is taught to us by the Evangelist, who says: “And the Spirit 39 took me up to a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city of Jerusalem, which came down from heaven” (Apoc. 21:10). Let us therefore ascend in spirit, since the flesh cannot enter into it. We will now enter (interim) into heaven, so that later that (city) in which the light was like a most precious stone, like a crystalline jasper stone (Apoc. 21:11), and which has a large and high wall, will descend to us from heaven. 87. You learned about the luminary, you learned about the wall; now learn about the gates, learn about the guards. “He has,” it is said, “twelve gates and twelve angels on them; on the gates are written the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel” (Apoc. 21:12). The names of the patriarchs are written on the gate, and on the wall (the names) of the apostles; for the foundation of the city is the apostles (Apoc. 21:14), and the cornerstone is Christ, on whom the whole building is erected. God is outside, God is inside, God is everywhere; for, it is said, the city has the glory of God (Apoc. 21:11). Thus, you, holy virgins, and all the righteous, who keep (your) soul in immaculate purity, are fellow citizens of the saints and cohabitants with God. But you will only reach this glorious fatherland if you begin to seek Christ within the fence of this city and enter (into it) through faith and valiant (pretiosos) deeds, enlightened by the light of the patriarchs, having the apostles as your foundation and being in communion with the angels. 88. But how are angels the guards who remove the veil from a pure soul (Song 5:7)? There is one veil for virgins, and another for a maiden wandering in the square. She who was looking for Christ in the square, and lost precisely the veil that she had; after all, wisdom is acquired not in the square or on the streets, but in the Church. And this veil is probably our bodily clothing. Consequently, towards these same (people) 40 we must nourish love (veniamus in gratiam) and point out that Divine mercy extends to everyone; after all, even those (worldly people) sometimes find Christ, if only they tirelessly seek Him. 89. So, he who seeks Christ on his bed (if only he seeks Him like the one who said: thus I remembered “you on my bed” (Ps. 62:7); if he seeks Him at night according to the words of Scripture: “at night lift up your hands to the sanctuary” (Ps. 133:1-2); if he seeks (Him) in the city, in the square and in the streets - in the city precisely Our God, probably in the square where He sits as a judge of heavenly truth, on (those) streets where those who came to the Lord’s table have gathered) - under such conditions he can meet during his search the angels guarding the city of God. 90. Moreover, on the basis of the nature of the heavenly guards, we can form a concept of the heavenly city, of the heavenly place of eternal justice and of the streets - not of the corruptible (viles), of course, streets, but of those that are usually watered in abundance by that source about which it is written: Let the waters of your fountain flow from you, and let your waters spill out on your streets (Proverbs 5:16). So, whoever strives in this way towards Christ draws closer to the angels. 91. But if one approaches the angels as a result of good deeds, then why, one may ask, does the one who reaches (the angels) receive wounds? (This is because) the sword can be good, and the wounds of such a sword can be good. The Word of God also causes a wound, but It does no harm. There are wounds from good disposition, there are wounds from love; which is why it is said (in Scripture): “I am exhausted from the wounds of love” (Song 2:5). The one who has achieved perfection is exhausted precisely from the wounds of love. So, the wounds of the Word (of God) are good, the wounds of one who loves are good: the wounds of a friend are more beneficial than the free kisses of an enemy (Proverbs 27:6). Rebekah was also exhausted from the wounds of love, who, leaving her parents, went to the groom (Gen. 24, 58 et seq.); Rachel, who felt jealous of her sister and loved her husband, was exhausted from the wounds of love (Gen. 30:1). In fact, being barren, she envied her sister for having many sons; she was precisely the image of the Church, about which it is said: “Rejoice, the barren, the non-bearing; shout and shout, you who did not suffer from childbirth” (Is. 54:1). 92 So, the guards found and wounded her and removed the veil from her, that is, they stripped off the shell of carnal deeds from her, so that she could thus find Christ with an open, immaculate heart; Of course, no one can see Christ in the clothes of a philosopher, that is, in the robe of vain wisdom. And it’s good that the philosopher’s clothes are taken away from her, and through the fault of philosophy she can no longer become the subject of anyone’s prey (Col. 2:8). It is good that as she approaches Christ, the veil is taken away, and when she enters she can see God with a pure heart: for “blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8). And so, having cleansed her heart, she found the Word and saw God. 93. So, seek (Christ), virgin; no: it is better that we all seek Him; after all, the soul has no gender and it received a female name, perhaps only because it is aroused by stronger carnal lust, while it itself pacifies carnal impulses (impetus carnis) with its tender love and pacifying reflection. 94. So, we must pray and ask God that He, like the good south wind, will desire to overshadow (us). Let Him send us a breath of the heavenly Word: it does not break fruit-bearing trees with a strong wind, but usually sways them with its light breeze and soft breath. That is why it is written: “Put me on the chariot of Aminadavli” (Song. 6, 11); after all, our soul, while it is connected to the body, like some kind of chariot with angry horses, requires a steward for itself; and Aminadab was the father of Naason, who, as we read in the book of Numbers (Num. 1:7), was the leader of the Jewish people. He serves as a prototype of Christ, who, as the true leader of the people, like a driver entering a chariot, controls the soul of the righteous with the help of the reins of the Word, so that the heated horses do not drag it into the abyss. 95. Indeed, there are four passions inherent in (the soul), these are, as it were, four horses: anger, lust, lust and fear. When they, enraged, begin to carry her away, she is completely unaware of herself: the mortal body burdens the soul and, like a chariot with angry horses, carries it away against its will, violently throwing it towards the rushing sorrows until the mentioned carnal passions are silenced by the influence (virtute) of the Word. This foresight (providentia) of the Word, this kind of good motivator, consists in the fact that the mortal body, united with the soul, which in itself (in se) is not subject to death, does not hinder its development. 96. So, first of all, let (the soul) tame these strong movements of the flesh and curb them with the bridle of the mind; then, let her be careful that her uneven movement does not entangle her like horses, so that (like a) good (horse) she is not disfigured by a dishonest one, delayed by a slow one, or disturbed by a violent (horse); in fact, the bad horse gets angry, burdens the other harnessed to it, and, rushing from side to side, breaks the chariot. A good driver of such a horse pacifies, introduces him into the field of truth, and diverts him from dangerous turns. After all, striving upward is safe, while descending downward is associated with danger. And then those who patiently endured the yoke of the Word, as if for their own merits, are finally brought to the manger of the Lord, in which the food is not hay, but bread that comes down from heaven. 97. This chariot has wheels, about which the prophet said: “And the spirit of life was in the wheels” (Ezek. 1:20); this means that the spiritual chariot rolls smoothly and easily, without any obstacles. 98. So that we do not weaken completely, the Word of God is called into the walnut orchard (Song 6:10), where the fruits of prophetic preaching and the grace of the priesthood are found, bitter during temptations, firm in labors and fruitful in spiritual exploits. It was here that Aaron’s nut rod blossomed, not by the power of its natural properties, but by the hidden action (of the Divine). So, let It descend into His garden to gather the fruits of faith, to enjoy the aromas, to find heavenly food and to taste the sweetness of our honey, saying this: “I gathered my myrrh with the spices, and ate” my bread with my honey (Song 5:1). All this, grown on the flowers of various virtues - these bees proclaiming wisdom (Proverbs 6:8), everything that is collected by the united labor of these bees, the Holy Church puts into honeycombs - this is the food of Christ. 99. So we have everything in Christ. Let every soul come to Him: the one that suffers from bodily ailments, and the one that is pierced, as it were, by the edge of vain passion, and the one that, although has not yet achieved perfection, but at the same time intensely strives for it with its thoughts, and the one that, to some extent, has already achieved perfection in many virtues: (in a word) every soul is in the power of the Lord, and Christ is everything for us. Do you want to heal a wound - He is a doctor; whether you are subject to attacks of fever - He is the source; if you suffer from injustice, He is justice; if you need help, He is help; If you are afraid of death, He is life; you strive for heaven - He is the way; you avoid darkness - He is light; If you want bread, He is food. So, “taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him” (Ps. 33:9). 100. She who was suffering from bleeding trusted in (the Lord) and instantly became healthy; but this is because she approached (Him) with faith (Luke 8:43 et seq.). And you, daughter, with faith, touch at least the hem of His garment. The stream of vain passions, already flowing like a large stream, will dry up from the warmth (coming from) the saving Word; but this is only if you approach with faith, if you, with constant reverence for the divine speech, grab even the very hem of your garment, if you fall with trepidation at the feet of the Lord. Where are the feet of the Word, if not where the body of Christ is? O faith that surpasses the splendor of all treasures! Oh, faith, distinguished by greater strength than all bodily forces; O faith, more saving than all doctors! As soon as the woman approached, she felt the power and received healing - (and this happened) just as an eye turned to the light is illuminated before you feel (the power of light), just as the action of light anticipates its perception. An old and incurable suffering, against which any application of art and monetary expenditures were powerless, is cured only by touching the hem of the garment. So, virgin, you too, approaching (Christ), must observe the reverence of that woman and imitate her piety in (your) faith. 101. And how great is the talent in her who was ashamed to show herself (to people) and was not ashamed, however, to openly admit (her) shortcomings! Do not hide your sins either, openly admit what (the Lord) already knows; do not avoid being ashamed of what the prophets were not ashamed of. Listen to what Jeremiah says: “Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed” (Jeremiah 17:14). This is what this woman also said, touching the hem of the garment: 41, for only the one that You heal will be healed. 102. If someone says to you (this is how the faithful are mostly tempted): “Where is the Word of the Lord? then let It come” (Jeremiah 17:15); even to the Lord - and that was said: “Let him now come down from the cross, and let us believe in Him; He trusted in the Lord; let him now deliver Him, if He pleases Him” (Matthew 27:42,43). So, if someone says this to you mockingly and wants to challenge you to an empty conversation, then do not answer him; and Christ did not want to answer such (people). Talk with Christ alone; in fact, if you talk to those (people), they will not believe; and if you ask, they will not answer you. Say only to one Word: “I have not labored in following You, neither have I desired the day of man” (Jeremiah 17:16). 103. That’s what that woman said, and the bleeding stopped. Despite her exhaustion, despite her illness, she, who had been searching for Christ for a long time, nevertheless said: “I did not bother following You.” And, indeed, a follower of Christ does not tire, for He calls those who labor to Himself in order to give them rest (Matthew 11:28). So, let's follow Him! And as long as we follow Him, we will not experience sorrow, because there is no sorrow in Jacob (Numbers 23:21). Also in Isaiah: “those who trust in the Lord..... will run and not grow weary” (Is. 40:31). 104. Then, when Christ asked about who touched Him (Luke 8:45), don’t you see that she said: “Why do you ask me, Lord? You know: what comes out of my mouth is before your face; That is why I am not embarrassed to confess my sins. “Let my persecutors be ashamed,” but I will not be ashamed (Jeremiah 17, 18). 105. Peter was not ashamed to say: “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man” (Luke 5:8); here he is, a wise and firm man, who became the affirmation (firmamentum) 42 of the Church and the teacher of the faith - the only thing he found useful for himself was not to boast about the outcome of a good deed. And therefore he said: “Depart from me, Lord” (2 Cor. 12:7). He asks not that the Lord leave him, but that he not become proud. 106. And Paul also boasts of the thorn of (his) flesh, which was given to him, so that he would not become arrogant. Boasting is attractive: even Paul is afraid of it; it is dangerous: and even Paul is wary of it. But the one who was afraid to be exalted by the revelations (that were given to him) was not willing to fall; That’s why, like a brave warrior, he rejoices that through a bodily wound he learned to acquire mental health. 106. And you, when you realize that divine gifts have been poured out on you and dwell in you in abundance, weigh your strength, give thanks to God and look at your body as a ship’s ballast, so that the breath of any pride does not spin you around in such great waves of this world. When a wise bee anticipates air currents, it rises to the transparent clouds, often taking small pebbles with it so that a gust of wind does not disturb the easy movement of its wings. Paul and Barnabas found themselves in a difficult situation when they noticed that they were being idolized (Acts 14, 12, 13). And you, maiden, beware, following the example of this bee, so that the breath of this world does not direct the flight of your wings too high. 107. And the soul has its flights. That’s why it is said, “Who are these who fly like clouds and like doves” with their chicks? (Isa. 60:8) So, the soul has spiritual flights; in a short moment it runs across the entire earth; in fact, the thoughts of rational beings are free; the higher and closer to the divine they rise, the more unhindered they are carried by any earthly weights. So, clinging to God and again regaining the outline of the heavenly image, the soul, having ascended with the flight of spiritual wings to that ethereal and pure place where it can protect its life from the indignation of horses, looks with contempt at everything in this world; rushing towards the eternal forces, she soars above the world. Indeed, truth is above the world, love is above the world, integrity is above the world, goodness is above the world, wisdom is above the world; even if it manifests itself in this world, it is still above the world. 108 Truth was greater than the world when the devil offered (to the Lord) all the kingdoms of the world and all its glory (Matthew 4:8). Above the world was He who touched nothing worldly. That’s why it is said: “The Prince of this world comes and in Me,” he says, “has nothing” (John 14:30). So, learn, while in this world, to be above it: and if you are in the flesh, then let a bird soar within you (towards the heavenly world). Above the world is he who carries God in his body. 109. But we cannot imitate God. Let us imitate the apostles, whom the world received with hatred, because they were not of this world (John 16:19). Imitate them and follow them. But do you find it difficult to rise above the world with the help of human strength? You are reasoning correctly; after all, the apostles, following Christ, were honored to become above the world not as comrades, but as disciples (of Him). Be you too a disciple of Christ, His zealous follower: and He who prayed for the apostles prays for you. “I do not ask only for the apostles,” said (Christ), but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; so that all may be one." So, the Lord wants us to be one, so that we are all above the world, so that there is one purity (castitas), one will, one goodness, one mercy. This is precisely what feeds and accelerates the flight of the soul. 110. So, let us not be lazy, and let us rise above earthly things; After all, the nature of (our) wings is such that by making movement, they thereby acquire strength for themselves. The flight becomes easier the more the soul enjoys it; if she always follows God, if she loves to dwell in the house of the Lord, if she rejoices in His joy and is nourished by the miracles of the heavenly powers, then she throws away envy, which has no place among the angelic faces, she also throws away bodily passions, which should not defile the church of God. Since it is we who make up the church of God, we will therefore reject worldly concerns from ourselves. 111. Perhaps it will seem to someone that when speaking about chariots, horses and wings of the soul, we borrowed (these legends) from philosophers and poets. No: rather, philosophers borrowed them from our (writers); a number of prophetic sayings show that in this case we used original auxiliary means, precisely what was written on this occasion by Saint Ezekiel: “and the hand of the Lord was upon me, and I saw, and behold a spirit rise up and come from the north, and a great cloud was in it... and fire shined, and light surrounded it, like the vision of an electr in the midst of fire, and the light in it: and in the middle like the likeness of four living creatures” (Ezek. 1:3-5). 112. Thus, you see, four animals have already been indicated. (Now) we must pay attention to what kind of animals these are: “The likeness,” he says, “of their faces is the face of a man, and the face of a lion on the right hand of four, and the face of a calf on the right hand of four, and the face of an eagle of four. And they stretched out their wings” (Ezek. 1, 10, 11). 113 Here - we know - the soul is also depicted, which has four animals, that is, four spiritual qualities; but (it is depicted) not in the form in which those souls that we indicated above are presented: they are only still developing and improving, but here (a soul) is depicted that has already achieved perfection. Moreover, those souls are (yet) called to heaven, but this one (already) is in heaven along with the Word of God. (This soul) and has four senses, precisely those that can be equated to the appearance of a man, a lion, a calf and an eagle. Under the same images, we know, the properties of the Gospel books are also presented. And here, therefore, in the same way, under the images of animals, the peculiarity of the spiritual disposition is imprinted. The image of a man indicates thinking, the image of a lion indicates strength, the image of a calf indicates lust, and the image of an eagle indicates insight. In fact, the Greek sages said that in every reasonable man there is the ability of thinking (λογιστικ ό ν), the ability of strength (θυμηθικ ό ν), the ability of desire (ἐ πιθυμητικ ό ν), the ability of understanding (διορατικ ό ν); the Latin (sages recognized) prudence (prudentiam), courage (fortitudinem), moderation (temperantiam) and justice (justitiam). And indeed, prudence belongs to human reason (rationis), courage contains in itself a certain strength of fortitude and contempt for death; moderation, thanks to the bonds of sacred love and the contemplation of heavenly mysteries, despises sensual pleasures; justice, as if standing on some elevated place, sees everything and examines everything; she was born more for others than for herself; she means not so much her own benefits as social success. And the soul, practicing justice, is quite deservedly depicted in the form of an eagle, because it, avoiding everything earthly and completely elevating itself and striving for the heavenly mystery, at the cost of righteousness achieves a glorious resurrection. That is why it was said to her: “Your youth will be renewed like an eagle” (Psalm 102:5). 115. Consequently, and according to David, the soul finds its foothold in spiritual wings, and in view of this it was (David) who wanted to call it a flying bird, which is why in another place he says: “Our soul, like a bird, has escaped from the snare of those who catch” (Psalm 123:7). And in another place (he also says): “I trust in the Lord, how can you say to my soul: fly away to the mountain... like a bird” (Psalm 10:2). So, the soul has its own wings, with the help of which it can freely rise from the earth. The ability of wings to fly depends not on the material combination of feathers, but on the progressive arrangement of good deeds, which was (the work) of the Lord, in relation to whom it is well said: “And in the shadow of your wings I will hide” (Psalm 56:2). Indeed, the passions of the agitated world are tamed, as if by the cool shadow of eternal salvation, not only by the hands of the Lord, nailed to the cross and spread out like the wings of a bird, but also by heavenly deeds. 116. Since we have been given the ability to fly, let each of us call upon ourselves the grace of God and, forgetting what is behind, reaching forward, let us strive to achieve the goal (Phil. 3:13). Let him be far from official honors, from the temptations of the world, so that, as told in the fables of Icarus, the wax melted from the heat of the sun and (as a result) the wings falling off do not stop his flight. True, these legends do not represent (anything) real, but with poetic wit they wanted to show that for those with a mature mind it is safe to fly around the world, and youthful frivolity, subject to the passions of the world, due to the loss of wings and the loss of good deeds due to forgetting the truth, falls to the ground with great danger to itself. 117. Flight is not easy for everyone; with the mutual disagreement of the inner beasts, the path of human life is even difficult. But if the course of our actions is consistent with itself, then the prophet will see in us that single wheel on earth, which was connected to the four animals. So Ezekiel will see again; for he still sees, and lives, and will live. I say, the prophet will see in the middle of the wheel a wheel rolling unhindered on the earth (Ezek. 1:15, 16). The wheel on earth is bodily life, prepared for spiritual achievement and correspondingly aligned with the Gospel commandments; a wheel in the middle of a wheel is like life within life; (this means) that the life of the saints is not in contradiction with itself: what it was before will remain the same in the future; or - that the same thing in this bodily life reveals the way of eternal life. 118. When exactly these (animals) agree with each other, then the divine voice will be heard, then a likeness will appear above the likeness of the throne, like the appearance of a man (Ezek. 1:26). This man is the Word, because “the Word became flesh” (John 1:14). This man is the pacifier of our animals, the corrector of our morals; He, according to our merits, usually ascends either to a chariot, or to a mountain, or to a ship, but only to the ship on which either the apostles sail or Peter fishes (Luke 5:3 et seq.). And that ship that is taken to the depths (Matthew 17:1), that is, moves away from those of little faith, is not an ordinary ship. Why, one may ask, is a ship chosen to seat Christ and teach the people? Of course, because the ship is the Church, which, on the full sails of the Cross of the Lord, with the breath of the Holy Spirit, sails safely in this world. 119. On this ship Peter fishes; and at one time he is commanded to catch with nets, and at another with a fishing rod. Great mystery! Obviously, there is a spiritual fishing in which he is commanded to cast the fishing rod of teaching into the vain world in order, first of all, to retrieve from the sea that martyr Stephen, who in his heart (in interioribus) contained the property of Christ; in fact, the martyr of Christ is the treasure of the Church. So, this martyr, who was the first to ascend from the sea to heaven, this altar servant captured by Peter, is not pulled out with nets, but with a fishing rod; that he may be carried up into heaven by the stream of his blood. There was wealth in his mouth when he confessed and spoke about Christ. What wealth is ours if not the Word of God? Consequently, the one who is more perfect with God catches with both nets and fishing rod; He catches with nets and hooks with a fishing rod (adurat), but many are caught in the nets, but only one is selected with a fishing rod. Oh, if only I could swallow this bait so that it would set my mouth on fire and, at the cost of a slight wound, grant me salvation! 120. So, daughters, enter the apostolic nets, which are laid not according to the will of man, but according to the word of God; The net of spiritual wisdom and teaching is the kingdom of heaven, for it is written: “The kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea” (Matthew 13:47). 121. Today you heard the Lord Jesus say to Simon: “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch” (Luke 5:4). Previously, Peter did not swim to the depths, but fished in still water. And it was a sea, but not a deep one (Luke 5:5): Scripture does not know a deep sea. Find out what this depth is: “water is deep wisdom in the heart of a man” (Proverbs 18:4). A deep heart is a husband in whom there is nothing base. So, sail into the depths of meditation and take the oars of your faith, sail into the heart of a husband. With this parable (the Lord) calls Peter into the Church, whom according to Matthew He called with such simple words: “Go..., and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). 122. There is another mysterious meaning (in the expression): “Sail to the depths.” Previously, when (Christ) was in the synagogue, He stood on the sandy shore. The waters of the Jews were not deep. The Samaritan woman even considered the well deep when she said: the well is deep, where do you want to give living water (John 4:11). So, Peter could not sail to the depths when he was of the same faith with the Jews, who could not even draw water from a well. That is why it is said to Peter: “sail out into the deep,” that is, go to Christ; after all, Christ is deep, about Him the Father says this to John: “And you, little child, will be called the prophet of the Most High” (Luke 1:76). So, swim to Christ. And wonderful is the depth in which is the abyss of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God (Rom. 11:33). Swim into the depths: He who is high surveys the depths and exalts. 123. Consequently, there are deep waters - that is, faith - where Christ is. The deep waters are those who fear the Lord: “The waters saw You, O God; the waters saw You and were afraid” (Ps. 76:17). Among the Jews the water was not deep because it was not in the heart of the husband. That is why the Lord says: “These people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me” (Matthew 15:8). Christ loves to dwell in the heart: “For as Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights, so the Son of man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights” (Matthew 12:40). 124. Finally, know that the words: “sail into the depths” speak of faith; Peter says: “Master, we worked all night and caught nothing; but according to Your word I will let down the net” (Luke 5:5). Peter spent the night before he saw Christ; the day had not yet come for him because he had not seen the true light. The synagogue is night, and the Church is day. That is why Paul says: “The night is past, but the day is near” (Rom. 13:12). Beautiful is the light that dispersed the darkness of unbelief and gave the day of faith. And Peter became day, and Paul became day; therefore, today, on their birthday, the Holy Spirit proclaimed the following words: “day by day the verb burps out” (Ps. 18:3), i.e.: they glorify the faith of Christ from the depths of their hearts. Both of these days are beautiful, because they both belched (evomuit) true light for us. 125. So we read in the Gospel; and perhaps the same conversation between Christ and Peter is taking place today in heaven about us. Peter fishes daily, and daily the Lord says to him: “sail out into the deep.” I imagine I hear Peter say: “Master, we worked all night and didn’t catch anything.” The night passed and few were awake. When our devotion to God weakens, Peter works for us, Paul also works. After all, you heard what he says today: “Whoever faints, no matter with whom I faint” (2 Cor. 11:29)? But don't let the apostles work for you. Here (the apostles) say (to Christ): “We worked all night and caught nothing.” None of the rich men, of course, fasted, and Peter answers them perfectly today: Spend the time of your pilgrimage in fear, “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, silver or gold, from the futile life handed down to you from your fathers, but with the precious blood of the lamb of Christ Jesus, as without blemish and without spot” (1 Pet. 1:18-19). So it was not gold or silver that set you free; but proven faith, which is much more precious than perishing gold. 126. A good servant tries to pay off the debt to the Master that has already been paid for him. And you, daughter, do not collect either gold or silver: after all, Christ did not redeem you with these riches. Let the board be (you) ready. It is not always demanded from you, but you must always have it. He paid with blood, and you must (pay) with blood. He paid for you, and you return to Him for yourself. We were pledged for our sins to an evil lender; we were bound (as it were) by a receipt (chirographum) for our crime, we had to (pay) with blood; but the Lord Jesus came and offered His (blood) for us; but you are not able to return to Him (payment) in blood. 127. A good slave must, of course, pay his debt to his Master; if he cannot repay the debt, then let him at least act in such a way as not to be unworthy of (this) gift (redemption). And you act in such a way that you are worthy of such a great price (redemption), so that Christ, who cleansed and redeemed you, coming and finding you in your sins, does not say to you: “What profit is my blood” (Ps. 29:10)? What benefit is it to you when I indulge in corruption? 128. And do not be surprised at how He could descend to corruption, whose body, as is written elsewhere (Acts 2:24 et seq.), did not see corruption. Of course, He who penetrated into the underworld descended into the place of corruption, but, as incorruptible, He did not accept corruption. 129. I return again, with your permission, to what was stated above, and I ask you: pray that it will be said to me: “Sail out into the depths and let down your nets for a catch.” Indeed, who without (the help of) God can catch this people, especially when such great storms and disturbances of this world prevent this? But as soon as the Lord wishes, He commands to cast the nets, and then many fish are caught; not only one, but also the other boat is then filled; many churches are then filled with an immaculate crowd (of people). And it’s good that the Lord knew that we would work, and gave us help in the form of partners (sociis). Here is with me a fisherman from the Church of Bononiensis, skilled in fishing of this kind. God! You have given us helpers, give us fish too! 130. However, we do not use our own networks, but the apostolic ones. In these bends (networks) and, as it were, in some kind of refuge for your apostolic reflections, let your family gather, daughters. May Peter revive you, daughters; if he interceded even for a widow (Acts 9:39, 40), then how much more will he intercede for a virgin! He could no longer bear the crying of the widows, he was touched by their tears and restored (their) nurse. Let Paul revive you, who commanded to honor you (1 Tim. 5:3), and who says: “It is good for them to remain as I do” (1 Cor. 7:8), (Christ) attracts you with rewards, teaches you with His preaching and calls by example (Matthew 4:20 et seq.). Let him who left all his own and followed the Lord revive you; Paul was such a follower, as was John. 131. Look what benefit this fisherman has received. While he was searching for his prey in the sea, he found everyone alive. Leaving the boat, he found God; leaving the oars, he found the Word; by unfurling the sail, he strengthened his faith; having rolled up the nets, he elevated the people; he despised the sea and gained the sky. So, this fisherman, rushing along the waves of a stormy sea, fixed his thoughts on a rock, wavering due to his instability. 132. Let us reflect more often on the art of fishing in order to more fully understand virtue. (John) was an insignificant worker and became a glorious evangelist; he was a poor poor man and became very rich in virtue; he was inglorious and became precious by (his) faith. How little is entrusted to the fisherman, so much is entrusted to him (now): after all, he speaks not his own, but God’s. The crowd obeys him; she abandons hope for worldly wisdom and strives more for spiritual wisdom. He, who did not study the law, but knew (everything) legal, is a law to himself; he, who did not study the law and reasoned beyond the law, received (this gift) from Him from Whom the law itself came (Rom. 2:14,15). 133. What unexpected honor? On the Mount of the Lord (Matthew 17:1ff.) two fishermen are placed, on the one hand, next to the legislator and, on the other, with the executor (of this law). Look what this fisherman is like! Moses, having experienced everything earthly and the depth of earthly wisdom, ascended with his thoughts even to the sky and stars; the thought of this fisherman is not obscured by clouds, is not limited by time, does not dwell on the mysteries of heavenly nature, but, having risen above all material nature, saw the Word of God and saw that this Word itself was God (John 1:1); (and the thought) of Peter, with all her weakness of carnal vision, however, was not afraid, but even in man she recognized the Son of God (Matthew 16:17); so that the perception of the flesh, combined with the divine nature (jus) of the perceiver, became the name of the Creator 43. And when Moses says: “And God spoke... and God did it” (Gen. I, 3 et seq.), then in this case he points to the Father and the Son: I still did not know, but he (already) knew. And, indeed, after the law the people wandered, but after the Gospel they believed. Great is the goodness of God, manifested in various deeds. In one - for the fact that he described the world, and in the other for the fact that (he) did not know the world. There are no last words in the Gospel text. conjugium - marriage comes from the word: jugurn, which means: yoke. This refers to the Gnostics and Manichaeans, who considered marriage to be evil, as an unmoral and unnatural institution. of course - monastic clothes. Vestibulum vocis, literally: vestibule of the voice. Commune, ordinary, ordinary - in the sense of worldly, nasty, as they say in the Apocalypse. communis castitas – actually: ordinary, conventional cleanliness. communis pudicitia - actually: chastity in the worldly, everyday sense of the word. In the text slav. Bible: “and you lead me in the spirit”; “and he lifted me up in the spirit” - in Russian. translation. that is, carnal, seeking wisdom in the squares of this world. “Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; Save me, O Lord, and I will be saved, for You are my praise.” In some manuscripts: fundamentum - foundation. Assumptio corporis, ad jus divinitatis assumentis adscita, in nomen transiret auctoris. You might be interested in: