Sermons on the Song of Songs27 Sermon XXVII. Of the adornment of the Bride: and in what sense the Holy soul is called heaven
Sermon XXVII. Of the adornment of the Bride: and in what sense the Holy soul is called heaven
Now that we have rendered the last offices of affection to our dear friend on his return to his [heavenly country, I resume, brethren, the purpose of edification which was thus interrupted: for it is incongruous to continue long lamenting one who is in joy and gladness, and out of place to trouble with many tears one who is sitting at a banquet; and although we may, with weeping, deplore our own loss, it behoves us to do even that with moderation, so that it may not seem to be the case that it is not so much the loss of our friend as of his service to us that we deplore. The grief of those who are bereaved should be tempered by the joy of the beloved one who is its object, and that he is with God should make it more easy to bear the fact that he is no longer with us. I desire, then, relying on the support of your prayers, to bring to light, if I am able, the sense which is hidden under those passages of our Song in which the beauty and adornments of the Bride are spoken of. This, if you remember, was touched upon, but left undiscussed; all that was examined and concluded having been the sense in which she was said to be black as the tents of Kedar. In what way, then, is she comely as the curtains of Solomon? as if Solomon, in all his glory, had had anything of equal worthiness to the beauty of the Bride, and the magnificence of her ornaments! And, indeed, if we should say that those ' curtains' refer rather to the blackness than to the beauty of the Bride, the same as the tents of Kedar, I do not know that we should be wrong; nor would there be wanting reasons to support that reference, as we shall see in the sequel. But if we think that the beauty of curtains, however splendid they may be, is to be compared to the glorious beauty of the Bride, we have need to obtain the help of Him at whose door you have knocked in order to be able worthily to unfold a mystery so great. For what beauty is there in those things which are perceived by the outward senses which is to be compared with the inward beauty of a holy soul, or which, to a just judge, can appear other than common and defiled? What is there, I ask, in the spectacle of this world which passeth away that is capable of equalling the fairness and beauty of a soul which has put off its former vesture of earthly and soiled humanity, and clothed itself anew in that which came from heaven, and is in every respect fair? For gems, it is adorned with virtues; it is purer and loftier than the air itself, and more brilliant than the sun. Do not, then, look back to [the curtains of Solomon for a comparison when you desire to understand what is the degree of beauty and splendour to which the Bride declares herself to be like. 2. What means she, then, by these words: am beautiful as the 3. But the beauty of the Bride is of an intellectual kind; it is spiritual and eternal, for it is the image of eternity. Her beauty, for example, consists in charity; and charity, as you read, never faileth (1 Cor. xiii. 8). It is also in righteousness, and His righteousness endureth for ever (Ps. cxii. 3). It is also in patience, and we learn that the patient abiding of the poor shall not perish forever (Ps. ix. 18). What is to be said of voluntary poverty? and of humility? Has not the one the promise of the kingdom of heaven (Matt. v. 3), and the other of an everlasting exaltation (Luke xiv. n)? It is the same with the fear of the Lord; it is holy, and endureth for ever (Ps. xix. 9). So, also, with respect to prudence, to temperance, and to fortitude, and to any other virtues, if such there be, what are they but, as it were, pearls in the Coronet of the Bride, which glitter with constant lustre for ever? For ever, I say, because they are the base and the 1 HbV = Shel6m6h, the 4 Peaceful One.5—Ed.
4. But I could in no way compare in beauty this visible and physical heaven, although most fair of its kind, and adorned with a bright galaxy of stars, with that other splendour of varying colours, spiritual and surpassingly beautiful, which sparkles even now on the robe of sanctification which the Bride has received. But there is a heaven of heaven of which the Psalmist says: Sing praises unto the Lord, who ascends above the heaven of heavens (Ps. lxviii. 32, 33). This heaven is intellectual and spiritual; and He who by His wisdom made the heavens (Ps. cxxxvi. 5) has created this and established it for ever, and it is this in which He dwells. Do not suppose, then, that the devotion of the Bride allows her to stop short of this heaven, in which, as she knows, her Beloved dwells; for where her treasure is, there is her heart also (Matt. vi. 21). She has a holy jealousy of those who are before that Countenance, for [the sight of which she sighs, and studies to render her life conformed to theirs with whom she is not as yet associated in that happy vision. She cries by her life more than by words: Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thine honour dwelleth (Ps. xxvi. 8).
5. She does not hold it at all unworthy of her to be compared to that heaven. It is stretched out as a curtain, if not extending over plains of space, yet over the affections and longings of souls. It has Divisions also, not of colours, but of degrees of beatitude attained. For [God has created some Angels, others Archangels, but others Virtues, Dominations, Principalities, Powers, Thrones; others, again, Cherubin, and others Seraphin. These are the stars with which His heaven is studded; these are the bright and glorious colours which adorn the curtains of this Solomon. This is one out of very many which are His, and the chief among them, which are each of them 1 Horst adds: 'Such as we have described in their place'; which words are wanting in the earliest editions and in all our MSS.—Mabillon.
2 All our MSS. have ' of colours, except that of Jumieges, which has ' of places' {locontm). The editions have ' of heavens' (caeloram).
6. Contemplate, then, the glory of her who compares herself even to the heaven; and to that heaven which is so much the more glorious as its origin is divine. Not unfitly does she select to be a point of comparison for herself that from whence she draws her origin. For if, on account of the body she has from the earth, she compares herself to the tents of Kedar, why should she not equally glorify herself as having a likeness to heaven, because her soul is from heaven; especially when her life bears witness to her origin, to the dignity of her nature, and to the land to which she belongs? She worships and adores one God, as do the angels; she loves, as they do, Jesus Christ above all; she is chaste as the angels, and that in a weak body of sinful flesh, as the angels are not; lastly, she desires and 1 Berengar, the disciple of Abaelard, in his treatise, Apologeiicum% which he put forth on behalf of his preceptor, against the Council of Sens, and against St Bernard himself, takes hold of these words, and tries to draw from them a proof that St. Bernard supposed souls to be created in heaven, and sent thence into the bodies they are to occupy. That writer thus rudely addresses the holy man: ' You have certainly erred in asserting that souls have their origin from heaven. It will be useful and easy for the intelligent reader to understand by what arguments you support that position; and I will recount them throughout. There is a book named in Hebrew Firasirim {Schirbaschirim), and in Latin Cantiatm Canticorum% of which the sense hidden under the text reveals Divine mysteries to those who diligently watch for them.' Then, further on, he adds: 4 These words of yours, if carefully considered, savour of heresy to every Christian palate. For if you argue that souls draw their origin from heaven upon this ground, that they are one day to return to heaven in order to be happy there, you must say the same of the body, since it, too, is to be happy in heaven. 'Or, if you write that the soul is celestial as to its origin, because it originated, that is, was created, in the heavens (which, indeed, seems to be the sense of your words), you fall into the error of Origen.' Thus rashly writes the apologist. But, after all, why should not the soul be said to be celestial, seeing that it has a Father in heaven, that its conversation ought to be in heaven, that its own country is in heaven, and that, in the same way, its nature transcends all earthly things? Wherefore St. Augustine says, in arguing against Julianus: * Since we have a body which is from the earth, and a spirit which is from heaven, we ourselves are at the same time earth and heaven' (Bk. ii., contra Julian.). But enough as to Berengar, the unscrupulous calumniator of our saint.—Mabillox.
7. Thus, then, each of them is from heaven—the Bridegroom, who is Jesus, and the Bride, the heavenly Jerusalem [which is the Church]. As for the Bridegroom, in order that He might be made manifest upon earth, He emptied Himself, taking upon Him the form of a servant, and being made in the likeness of men, was found in fashion as a Man (Philip, il 7, 8). But as to the Bride: in what form or appearance, or with what degree of beauty think you was she beheld when she came down out of heaven? Was it, perhaps, in the company of the angels whom St. John saw ascending and descending upon the Son of Alan (John i. 51)? But it were better to say that he saw the Bride when he saw the Word made Flesh, and recognised two Natures in His one Person. For when He, our holy Emmanuel, brought to earth the rules of heavenly culture and training, when the visible form and image of the beauty of the heavenly Jerusalem, which is our mother, is expressed in Him and made known to us by His means, what have we beheld, except in the Bridegroom the Bride, and, gazing with admiration and reverence, have divined in one and the 8. I think that every soul which is such as I have described is not only heavenly because of its origin, but may be not unfitly said to be itself heaven, because of its resemblance to heaven, which is thus brought about. And it is then that such a soul plainly shows that its origin is from heaven, because its conversation is in heaven. A holy soul is, then, a heaven, having understanding for a sun, faith for a moon, and for stars countless virtues. Or we may say that its sun is zeal for righteousness or fervent charity, and its moon is continence. For as the brightness of the moon is said to be wholly from the sun, so there is no merit in continence without charity or justice. Hence the Wise man says: How beautiful is a generation which joins continence to charity (Wisdom iv. i). As for the stars of this sky, I do not regret having called the virtues by this name when I consider the fitness of the similitude. For as the stars shine by night, and in the day are unseen, so true virtue, which often in prosperity is not apparent, shines out brightly in time of adversity. It is a matter of prudence to hide it in the one case, but in the other it is of necessity rendered visible. A virtue is, then, as a star, and a man of many virtues as a heaven of such stars, unless, perhaps, that which the Lord has spoken by the Prophet, Heaven is My Throne (Is. lxvi. 1), is to be 1 Vulgate. The rendering of the Vulgate is but a paraphrase of the Greek text here.—Ed.
9. And it is not wonderful that the Lord Jesus should dwell in this, as in heaven, since not only, as in the case of other living beings, did He speak the word and it came into existence, but He has striven in order to acquire it; He has died to redeem it. Therefore, having after many sufferings and efforts made it His own according to His wish, He says: This is My rest for ever: here will dwell, for I have desired it (Ps. cxxxii. 14). Blessed is that soul to whom it is said: 4 Come, Mine elect one, and upon thee will I place My Throne. Why art thou so heavy, O my soul, and why art thou disquieted within me?' Dost thou think that not within thee canst thou find a place for the Lord? What place is there, in truth, in us that is fit for the presence of a glory so great, or sufficient to receive so high a Majesty? Would that I were worthy even to offer adoration in the place where His Feet have stood! Who will grant unto me the grace to be able to follow closely in the footsteps of some holy soul which He has chosen for His habitation? Yet if He shall deign only to pour into my soul the unction of His mercy, and to expand it, as a curtain is extended when anointed, then I may be able to say: have run the way of Thy commandments, when Thou didst enlarge my heart (Ps. cxix. 32, Vulg. and Douay). Perhaps I shall be able to show in my soul, if not an upper chamber sufficiently large for Him to sit with His disciples, at least a pillow where He may lay His Head. At least, I may from afar look up to those blessed ones of whom it is said: I will dwell in them, and walk in them (2 Cor. vi. t).
10. O how broad the confines of that soul and how commanding its merits, which is found worthy to receive in itself that Divine Presence; and not only worthy to receive it, but capable of so doing!
1 The same passage is cited in Sermon I., for the Purification, w. 4; in Sermon V., for November I, n. 5; and in Sermon XXV., 6. Others of the Fathers, as St. Augustine (Ettarr. in Ps. xlvi. 9, and Serrtion CC, n. 1) and St. Gregory the Great (29 Moral., c. 15; and Horn. 38, in Evang.), quote it as Scripture. But it is apparently not found in the Vulgate. Compare Ps. xxxvii. 30, and Prov. x. 31.—Ed.
11. If, however, it progresses and grows greater, so as to overpass the limits of a love so petty and so narrow, let it, in the full liberty of the Spirit, reach the broad confines of a charity and kindness which is wholly free and gratuitous; insomuch as out of the largeheartedness of its good-will, to extend its kindly cares to all men, and to love all and everyone as it loves its own self. And then the reproach could not be addressed to it: i What doest thou more than is of obligation?' in face of a charity so capacious. The charity, I repeat, which embraces all persons, even those with whom it _has no bond of social relation, which is not allured by any hope of personal advantage, nor repelled by any feeling of dislike, which again is constrained by no obligation, except indeed by that of which it is said:
Owe no man anything, but to love one another (Rom. xiii. 8); that is indeed great But if in addition to this you take by violence the realm of charity, and, like a pious invader, occupy it even to its farthest bounds, then you will regard the bowels of charity as not to be shut up even to enemies; you will do good even to those who hate you, you will pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you, and strive to be peaceful even with those who are haters of peace; then the breadth, and height, and beauty of your soul, will be as the breadth, and height, and beauty of heaven. Then will be fulfilled in it that which is spoken: He stretcheth forth the heavens like a curtain (Ps. civ. 2); and in it He in whom greatness, immensity, and glory are equally without bound will deign not only to dwell, but to go to and fro at His pleasure in a heaven so extended and so fair.
12. You see, then, what are the heavens which the Church includes, without ceasing to be in her universality, as a vast heaven, extending from sea even to sea and from the River unto the world'send. Consider also as a consequence, to what you can, in this respect, compare it; provided that you have not forgotten what was said a little while ago with regard to * the heaven of heaven, and the heavens of heavens' (n. 9). Our mother [the Church], though she be here below in a place of exile, has, even while she is performing her pilgrimage, heavens of her own, spiritual men, illustrious in their faith and by their life, pure in faith, unshaken in hope, of wide charity, of deep and lofty contemplation. And these heavens let fall the rain of the word of salvation, thunder by their rebukes, lighten by their wonderful works (miraculis). They declare the glory of God; they are spread, like a curtain, over all the earth; they show in themselves the law of life and conduct written as by the Finger of God, to give the knowledge of salvation unto their people; they also teach the Gospel of peace, because they are the * curtains of Solomon.' 13. We must discern also upon these curtains the likenesses of things heavenly, which were described above when we spoke of the ornaments of the Bridegroom (n. 3). We must discern similarly the Queen standing on His right hand, decked with ornaments similar, if not equal, to His (Ps. xlv. 9). For although she has no little splendour and beauty for her portion, in the righteousness of the Saints, both in the place of her pilgrimage and in the day of her power, yet there is a difference between His crown of virtues and the consummation of the glory of the blessed. Yet I may say that the Bride is perfect and blessed, though it be in part. For in part she is as the tents of Kedar. Yet she is beautiful, whether in that part which is already blessed and reigns in heaven; or in that, even while she is in the night of this world, she is adorned with men who are illustrious by their wisdom and their virtues, even as the midnight sky is adorned with its stars. Wherefore the Prophet says: They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they 14. What humility is there here, and yet what sublimity! It is to be at once the tents of Kedar, and the sanctuary of God; at once a habitation on earth, and a palace in heaven; a hut of clay, and a royal hall; a body of death, and a temple of light; an object of contempt to the proud, and yet the Bride of Christ. She is black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem; and although labour and the sorrow of a prolonged exile have darkened her face, yet she is fair with the beauty of heaven, as the curtains of Solomon. If you are displeased with her blackness, yet you cannot but admire her beauty; if you despise her as humble, yet look up to her as sublime. Yet in this condition in which she is, how remarkable a proof of wisdom, of discretion, of fitness, is to be gathered from the fact that this abasement and this elevation, are each so tempered, according to time, in the Bride, that among all the changes and chances of this world, this loftiness raises her up in adversities, so that she does not fail; and this humbleness represses the tendency to pride, so that even in prosperity she does not grow forgetful of her Lord. These two results are each of them most beautiful, but are exactly contrary to each other; nevertheless, they both work together for good to the Bride, and are helpful to her salvation.
15. So much with regard to the comparison which the Bride makes between herself and the curtains of Solomon. Yet there remains still to be treated another sense, which I referred to at the beginning, and promised to explain, namely, that which refers the whole comparison to the blackness of the Bride only. This promise am fully intending to keep, but it must be deferred to the beginning of another sermon, as well because this is already sufficiently long, as also that the prayer prevents, which, according to our custom, we offer to the praise and glory of the Bridegroom of the Church, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is God blessed for ever. Amen.
1. Quia debitis humanitatis officiis amicum revertentem in patriam prosecuti sumus, redeo, fratres, ad propositum aedificandi quod intermiseram. Incongruum namque est diu flere laetantem; et sedenti ad epulas lacrymas multas ingerere, importunum. Sed et si nostras defleamus aerumnas, ne id quidem oportet nimis, ne non tam amasse illum, quam nostra quaesisse de illo commoda videamur. Temperet sane dilecti gaudium moestitiam desolatorum; et tolerabilius fiat nobis quod nobiscum non est, quia cum Deo est. Fretus ergo orationibus vestris, volo in lucem, si possum, prodere quidquid illud est, quod opertum illis pellibus sentio, quae in exemplum decoris sponsae productae sunt. Hoc, si recolitis [ alias, sicut recolitis], tactum fuit, sed indiscussum remansit: porro discussum et declaratum, quomodo nigra sit sicut tabernacula Cedar. Quomodo ergo sicut pelles Salomonis formosa, quasi vero Salomon in omni gloria sua quidquam habuerit condignum decore sponsae, et gloria ornatus ejus? Et quidem si non ad decorem sponsae, sed ad nigredinem potius nescio quas pelles istas, sicut et tabernacula Cedar respicere diceremus, fortassis competeret, nec deesset unde id congruere monstraremus, sicut et monstrabimus. At vero si sponsae claritati quarumcunque decorem pellium comparandum putamus, hic prorsus opus nobis est ejus ad quem pulsastis auxilio, quatenus mysterium hoc digne aperire possimus. Quid namque eorum quae in facie lucent, si internae cujuspiam sanctae animae pulchritudini comparetur, non vile ac foedum recto appareat aestimatori? Quid, inquam, tale in se ostendit ea quae praeterit figura hujus mundi, quod aequare speciem animae possit illius, quae exuta terreni hominis vetustatem, ejus qui de coelo est, decorem induit, ornata optimis moribus pro monilibus, ipso purior sicut et excelsior aethere, sole splendidior? Noli ergo respicere ad istum Salomonem, cum indagare cupis cujusmodi se pellibus similem in decore sponsa glorietur.
2. Quid est ergo quod dicit: Formosa sum sicut pelles Salomonis? Magnum et mirabile quiddam, ut ego aestimo: si tamen non hunc, sed illum hic attendamus, de quo dicitur: Ecce plus quam Salomon hic. Nam usque adeo is meus Salomon est, ut non modo pacificus (quod quidem Salomon interpretatur), sed et pax ipsa vocetur, Paulo perhibente quia ipse est pax nostra. Apud istum Salomonem non dubito posse inveniri quod decori sponsae omnino comparare non dubitem. Et praesertim de pellibus ejus adverte in Psalmo: Extendens, ait, coelum sicut pellem. Non ille profecto Salomon, etsi multum sapiens, multumque potens, extendit coelum sicut pellem; sed is potius qui non tam sapiens quam ipsa Sapientia est, ipse prorsus extendit et condidit. Istius siquidem, et non illius illa vox est: Quando praeparabat coelos, haud dubium quin Deus Pater, ego aderam. Aderat sine dubio praeparanti coelos sua virtus, suaque sapientia. Nec putes astitisse otiosam, et quasi ad spectandum solummodo, quia dixit, aderam, non etiam, praeparabam. Respice paulisper inferius, et invenies aperte subjungentem, quia eram cum eo componens omnia. Denique ait: Quaecunque enim Pater facit, haec et Filius similiter facit. Et ipse itaque extendit coelum sicut pellem. Pulcherrima pellis, quae in modum magni cujusdam tentorii universam operiens faciem terrae, solis, lunae atque stellarum varietate tam spectabili humanos oblectat aspectus. Quid hac pello formosius? quid ornatius coelo? Minime tamen vel ipsum ullatenus conferendum gloriae et decori sponsae, eo ipso succumbens, quod praeterit et haec figura ipsius, utpote corporea, et corporeis subjacens sensibus. Quae enim videntur, temporalia sunt; quae autem non videntur, aeterna.
3. Sed est rationalis quaedam sponsae species, et spiritualis effigies; ipsaque aeterna, quia imago aeternitatis. Decor ejus, verbi gratia, charitas est, et charitas, sicut legitis, nunquam excidit. Est certe et justitia: Et justitia ejus, inquit, manet in saeculum saeculi. Est etiam patientia; et legitis nihilominus quia patientia pauperum non peribit in finem. Quid voluntaria paupertas? quid humilitas? Nonne altera regnum aeternum, altera aeque exaltationem promeretur aeternam? Eo quoque spectat et timor Domini sanctus, permanens in saeculum saeculi. Sic prudentia, sic temperantia, sic fortitudo, et si quae sunt virtutes aliae, quid nisi margaritae sunt quaedam in sponsae ornatu, splendore perpetuo coruscantes? Perpetuo, inquam, quia sedes et fundamentum perpetuitatis. Nec enim perpetuae beataeque vitae omnino locus in anima est, nisi mediis quidem interjectisque virtutibus. Unde Propheta Deo, qui utique vita beata est: Justitia, inquit, et judicium praeparatio sedis tuae. Et Apostolus dicit: Christum habitare, non omni modo quidem, sed signanter per fidem in cordibus nostris. Domino quoque sessuro super asellum, vestes suas discipuli substraverunt; significantes Salvatorem seu salutem nequaquam insidere nudae animae, quam non videlicet vestitam invenerit doctrina et moribus apostolorum. Et ideo Ecclesia promissionem habens futurae felicitatis, curat interim praeparare et praeornare se in vestitu deaurato, circumdata varietate gratiarum atque virtutum, quo digna et capax plenitudinis gratiae inveniatur.
4. Caeterum spirituali huic tam pulchrae varietati, quam de prima interim stola in quadam veste suae sanctificationis accepit, nullo pacto ego comparaverim in decore coelum hoc visibile atque corporeum, quamvis in suo genere quidem siderea varietate pulcherrimum. Sed est coelum coeli, de quo Propheta: Psallite, inquit, Domino, qui ascendit super coelum coeli ad orientem. Et hoc coelum intellectuale ac spirituale: et qui fecit coelos in intellectu, creavit illud et statuit in sempiternum, ipsumque inhabitat. Ne vero putes sponsae devotionem citra illud remanere coelum, in quo scit habitare dilectum: ubi enim thesaurus ejus, ibi et cor ejus. Aemulatur sane assistentes vultui ad quem suspirat, et quibus se interim non valet videndo associare, studet conformare vivendo, moribus magis, quam vocibus clamans: Domine, dilexi decorem domus tuae, et locum habitationis gloriae tuae.
5. Prorsus de hoc coelo minime sibi indignum ducit ducere similitudinem. Hoc extentum sicut pellis, non spatiis tamen locorum, sed affectibus animorum; hoc miris variisque artificis distinctum operibus. Divisiones autem sunt, non colorum, sed beatitudinum. Nam alios quidem posuit angelos; alios autem, archangelos; alios vero, virtutes; alios, dominationes; alios, principatus; alios, potestates; alios, thronos; alios cherubin, atque alios seraphin. Sic stellatum coelum hoc; sic depicta haec pellis. Haec una de pellibus mei Salomonis, et haec praecipua in omni ornatu multiformis gloriae ejus. Habet autem grandis ista pellis quamplurimas in se aeque Salomonis pelles, quoniam unusquisque beatus et sanctus, qui ibi est, pellis est utique Salomonis. Benigni siquidem sunt atque extenti in charitate, pertingentes usque ad nos, quibus gloriam, quam habent, non invident, sed optant; ita ut ex ipsis hujus rei gratia demorari apud nos non graventur, seduli circa nos, et curam gerentes nostri, omnes administratorii spiritus, missi in ministerium propter eos qui haereditatem capiunt salutis. Quamobrem sicut coelum coeli singulariter dicitur universa illa multitudo collecta beatorum; sic et coeli coelorum propter singulos, qui utique coeli sunt, nominantur, et ad singulos spectat quod dicitur: Extendens coelum sicut pellem. Viderie, credo, quaenam illae pelles, et cujus sint Salomonis, de quarum sponsa similitudine gloriatur.
6. Nunc jam intueamini ejus gloriam, quae et coelo se comparat, et illi coelo, quod tanto est gloriosius, quanto divinius. Nec immerito usurpat inde similitudinem, unde originem ducit. Nam si propter corpus, quod de terra habet, tabernaculis Cedar se assimilat, cur non et propter animam, quae de coelo est, coelo aeque similem se esse glorietur, praesertim cum vita testetur originem, testetur naturae dignitatem et patriae? Unum Deum adorat et colit, quo modo angeli, Christum super omnia amat, quo modo angeli, casta est, quo modo angeli, idque in carne peccati et fragili corpore, quod non angeli, quaerit postremo, et sapit quae apud illos sunt, non quae super terram. Quod evidentius coelestis insigne originis, quam ingenitam, et in regione dissimilitudinis, retinere similitudinem, gloriam vitae caelibis in terra, et ab exsule, usurpari, in corpore denique pene bestiali vivere angelum? Coelestis sunt ista potentiae, non terrenae, et quod vere de coelo sit anima quae haec potest, aperte indicant. Audi tamen apertius: Vidi, inquit, civitatem sanctam Jerusalem novam, descendentem de coelo, a Deo paratam, tanquam sponsam ornatam viro suo; et addidit: Et audivi vocem magnam de throno dicentem: Ecce tubernaculum Dei cum hominibus, et habitabit cum eis (Apoc. XXI, 2, 3). Ad quid? Credo ut sibi acquirat sponsam de hominibus. Mira res! Ad sponsam veniebat, et absque sponsa non veniebat. Quaerebat sponsam, et sponsa cum ipso erat. An duae erant? Absit! Una est enim, ait, columba mea. Sed sicut de diversis ovium gregibus unum facere voluit, ut sit unum ovile, et unus pastor, ita cum haberet sponsam inhaerentem sibi a principio multitudinem angelorum, placuit ei et de hominibus convocare Ecclesiam, atque unire illi quae de coelo est, ut sit una sponsa, et sponsus unus. Ergo ex adjecta ista, perfecta est illa, non duplicata, et agnoscit de se dictum: Una est perfecta mea. Porro unam conformitas facit, nunc quidem in simili devotione, postea vero et in pari gloria.
7. Habes itaque utrumque de coelo, et sponsum, scilicet Jesum, et sponsam, Jerusalem. Et ille quidem ut videretur, semetipsum exinanivit formam servi accipiens, in similitudinem hominum factus, et habitu inventus ut homo. At illam in quanam, putamus, forma seu specie, aut in quo habitu videlicet descendentem vidit ille qui vidit? An forte in frequentia angelorum, quos vidit descendentes et ascendentes super Filium hominis? Sed melius dicimus quod sponsam tunc viderit, cum Verbum in carne vidit, agnoscens duos in carne una. Dum enim sanctus ille Emmanuel terris intulit magisterium disciplinae coelestis, dum supernae illius Jerusalem, quae est mater nostra, visibilis quaedam imago et species decoris ejus per ipsum nobis et in ipso expressa innotuit: quid nisi in sponso sponsam perspeximus, unum eumdemque Dominum gloriae admirantes, et sponsum decoratum corona, et sponsam ornatam monilibus suis? Ipse igitur qui descendit, ipse est et qui ascendit, ut nemo ascendat in coelum, nisi qui de coelo descendit, unus idemque Dominus, et sponsus in capite, et sponsa in corpore. Nec frustra in terris visus est homo coelestis, cum de terrenis coelestes quamplurimos fecerit sibi similes, ut sit quod legitur: Qualis coelestis, tales et coelestes. Extunc igitur in terra vivitur more coelestium, dum instar supernae illius beataeque creaturae, haec quoque, quae a finibus terrae venit audire sapientiam Salomonis, coelesti viro nihilominus casto inhaeret amore, etsi necdum quomodo illa juncta per speciem, tamen sponsata per fidem, juxta promissum Dei dicentis per prophetam: Sponsabo te mihi in misericordia et miserationibus, et sponsabo te mihi in fide. Unde magis magisque conformari satagit formae, quae de coelo venit, discens ab ea verecunda esse et sobria, discens pudica et sancta, discens patiens atque compatiens, postremo discens mitis et humilis corde. Et ideo moribus hujuscemodi contendit et absens placere ei, in quem angeli prospicere concupiscunt, ut dum desiderio fervet angelico, probet se proinde civem sanctorum, et domesticam Dei, probet dilectam, probet sponsam.
8. Ego puto omnem animam talem non modo coelestem esse propter originem, sed et coelum ipsum posse non immerito appellari propter imitationem. Et tunc liquido ostendit quia vere origo ipsius de coelis est, cum conversatio ejus in coelis est. Est ergo coelum sancta aliqua anima, habens solem intellectum, lunam fidem, astra virtutes. Vel certo sol, justitiae zelus aut fervens charitas; et luna continentia. Quomodo enim claritas, ut aiunt, lunae nonnisi a sole est, sic absque charitate seu justitia continentiae meritum nullum est. Hinc denique Sapiens: O quam pulchra est, inquit, casta generatio cum charitate! Porro stellas dixisse virtutes non me poenitet, considerantem congruentiam similitudinis. Quo modo nempe stellae in nocte lucent, in die latent, sic vera virtus, quae saepe in prosperis non apparet, eminet in adversis. Illud sane cautelae est, hoc necessitatis. Ergo virtus est sidus, et homo virtutum, coelum. Nisi quis forte cum Deum, per prophetam dixisse legit: Coelum mihi sedes est; coelum hoc volubile visibileque intelligendum existimet, et non potius illud, de quo alibi apertius Scriptura commemorat: Anima, inquiens, justi sedes est sapientiae. Qui autem ex doctrina Salvatoris sapit spiritum esse Deum, atque in spiritu adorandum; etiam sedem ei non ambigit assignare spiritualem. Ego vero fidenter id fecerim, non minus in hominis justi, quam in angelico spiritu. Confirmat me in hoc sensu maxime illa fidelis promissio: Ego et Pater, ait Filius, ad eum, id est ad sanctum hominem, veniemus et mansionem apud eum faciemus. Prophetam quoque non de alio dixisse coelo arbitror: Tu autem in sancto habitas, laus Israel. Manifeste autem Apostolus dicit habitare Christum per fidem in cordibus nostris.
9. Nec mirum, si libenter inhabitat coelum hoc Dominus Jesus, quod utique, non quomodo caeteros, dixit tantum ut fieret, sed pugnavit ut acquireret, occubuit ut redimeret. Ideo et post laborem voto potitus, ait: Haec requies mea in saeculum saeculi; hic habitabo, quoniam elegi eam. Et beata cui dicitur: Veni, electa mea, et ponam in te thronum meum. Quid tu tristis es nunc, o anima mea, et quare conturbas me? Putasne et tu penes te invenias locum Domino? Et quis nobis locus in nobis huic idoneus gloriae, sufficiens majestati? Utinam vel merear adorare in loco ubi steterunt pedes ejus. Quis dabit mihi saltem vestigiis adhaerere sanctae cujuspiam animae, quam elegit in habitationem sibi? Tamen, si dignetur infundere et meam animam unctione misericordiae suae, atque ita extendere sicut pellem, quae utique cum ungitur dilatatur, quatenus et ego dicere valeam: Viam mandatorum tuorum cucurri, cum dilatasti cor meum; potero etiam ipse fortassis ostendere in me ipso, etsi non coenaculum grande stratum, ubi possit recumbere cum discipulis suis; attamen ubi saltem reclinet caput. A longe suspicio illos certe beatos, de quibus dicitur: Et inhabitabo in eis, et deambulabo in illis.
10. O quanta illi animae latitudo, quanta et meritorum praerogativa, quae divinam in se praesentiam, et digna invenitur suscipere, et sufficiens capere! Quid illa, cui et spatiosa [ alias, spatia] suppetunt deambulatoria, ad opus quidem majestatis? Non est profecto intricata forensibus causis curisve saecularibus, nec certe ventri et luxuriae dedita; sed nec curiosa spectandi, seu cupida omnino dominandi, vel etiam tumida dominatu. Oportet namque primo quidem his omnibus vacuam esse animam, ut coelum fiat atque habitatio Dei. Alioquin quomodo poterit vacare, et videre quoniam ipse est Deus? Sed et odio sive invidiae aut rancori minime prorsus indulgendum, quoniam in malevolam animam non introibit sapientia. Deinde necesse est eam crescere ac dilatari, ut sit capax Dei. Porro latitudo ejus, dilectio ejus, sicut dicit Apostolus: Dilatamini in charitate. Nam etsi anima minime, cum sit spiritus, quantitatem corpoream recipit; tamen confert illi gratia quod negatum est a natura. Crescit quidem et extenditur, sed spiritualiter; crescit non in substantia, sed in virtute; crescit et in gloria; crescit etiam in templum sanctum in Domino; crescit denique et proficit in virum perfectum, in mensuram aetatis plenitudinis Christi. Ergo quantitas cujusque animae aestimetur de mensura charitatis quam habet, ut verbi gratia, quae multum habet charitatis, magna sit; quae parum, parva; quae vero nihil, nihil, dicente Paulo; Si charitatem non habuero, nihil sum. Quod si quantulamcunque habere coeperit, ut saltem diligentes se diligere curet, ac salutare vel fratres suos, et eos qui se salutant; jam nonnihil quidem illam animam dixerim, quae in ratione dati et accepti socialem saltem retinet charitatem. Verumtamen juxta sermonem Domini, quid amplius facit? Nec amplam proinde, nec magnam, sed plane angustam modicamque censuerim animam, quam adeo modicae charitatis esse cognoverim.
11. At si grandescat et proficiat, ita ut transiens limitem angusti obnoxiique amoris hujus, latos fines bonitatis gratuitae tota libertate spiritus apprehendat, quatenus largo quodam gremio bonae voluntatis ad omnem seipsam curet extendere proximum, diligendo unumquemque tanquam seipsam; nunquid jam illi recte dicetur: Quid amplius facis? quippe quae seipsam tam amplam facit. Amplum, inquam, gerit charitatis sinum, quae complectitur universos, etiam quibus nulla se novit carnis necessitudine junctam, nulla spe percipiendi commodi cujusquam illectam, nulla percepti redhibitione obnoxiam, nullo denique omnino astrictam debito, nisi illo sane, de quo dicitur: Nemini quidquam debeatis, nisi ut invicem diligatis. Verum si adjicias etiam usquequaque vim facere regno charitatis, ut usque ad ultimos ejus terminos occupare illud pius invasor praevaleas, dum ne inimicis quidem claudenda viscera pietatis existimes; benefacias his quoque qui te oderunt, ores et pro persequentibus ac calumniantibus te, nec non et cum his qui oderunt pacem esse pacificus studeas: tunc prorsus latitudo coeli, latitudo tuae animae; et altitudo non dispar, sed nec dissimilis pulchritudo; impleturque tunc demum in ea quod dicitur: Extendens coelum sicut pellem: in quo jam mirae latitudinis, altitudinis, ac pulchritudinis coelo summus et immensus atque gloriosus, non modo dignanter habitat, sed et spatiose deambulat.
12. Videsne quales in se habeat Ecclesia coelos, cum sit nihilominus ipsa, in sua quidem universitate, ingens quoddam coelum, extentum a mari usque ad mare, et a flumine usque ad terminos orbis terrarum? Vide etiam consequenter, cui et in hoc ipso assimiles eam, si tamen non tibi excidit illud quod paulo ante memoratum est hujus rei exemplar, de coelo videlicet coeli, et coelis coelorum. Ergo exemplo illius quae sursum est mater nostra, haec quoque quae adhuc peregrinatur, habet coelos suos, homines spirituales, vita et opinione conspicuos, fide puros, spe firmos, latos charitate, contemplatione suspensos. Et hi pluentes pluviam verbi salutarem, tonant increpationibus, coruscant miraculis. Hi enarrant gloriam Dei, hi extenti sicut pelles super omnem terram, legem vitae et disciplinae digito quidem Dei scriptam in semetipsis ostendunt, ad dandam scientiam salutis plebi ejus: ostendunt et Evangelium pacis, quoniam Salomonis sunt pelles.
13. Agnosce jam in his pellibus supernarum illarum imaginem, quae in sponsi ornatu non longe superius describebantur. Agnosce similiter et reginam astantem a dextris ejus, circumamictam similibus ornamentis, non tamen paribus. Nam etsi huic etiam in loco peregrinationis suae, et in die virtutis suae, in splendoribus sanctorum, non minima claritatis atque decoris est portio; differenter tamen illum coronat integritas et consummatio gloriae beatorum. Quanquam et sponsam dixerim perfectam atque beatam, sed ex parte. Nam ex parte tabernaculum Cedar; formosa tamen, sive in illa portione sui, quae jam beata regnat; sive etiam in illustribus viris, quorum, etiam in hac nocte, sua sapientia atque virtutibus, tanquam coelum suis sideribus, adornatur. Unde propheta: Qui docti, inquit, fuerint, fulgebunt quasi splendor firmamenti; et qui ad justitiam erudiunt multos, quasi stellae in perpetuas aeternitates.
14. O humilitas! o sublimitas! Et tabernaculum Cedar, et sanctuarium Dei; et terrenum habitaculum, et coeleste palatium; et domus lutea, et aula regia; et corpus mortis, et templum lucis; et despectio denique superbis, et sponsa Christi. Nigra est, sed formosa, filiae Jerusalem: quam etsi labor et dolor longi exsilii decolorat, species tamen coelestis exornat, exornant pelles Salomonis. Si horretis nigram, miremini et formosam; si despicitis humilem, sublimem suspicite. Hoc ipsum quam cautum, quam plenum consilii, plenum discretionis et congruentiae est, quod in sponsa dejectio ista, et ista celsitudo, secundum tempus quidem, eo moderamine sibi pariter contemperantur, ut inter mundi hujus varietates et sublimitas erigat humilem, ne deficiat in adversis; et sublimem humilitas reprimat, ne evanescat in prosperis? Pulchre omnino ambae res, cum ad invicem contrariae sint, sponsae tamen pariter cooperantur in bonum, subserviunt in salutem.
15. Et haec pro eo quod sponsa videtur de pellibus Salomonis inducere similitudinem. Restat tamen aperiendus ille super eodem capitulo sensus, quem in principio commemoravi et promisi, qualiter videlicet tota ad solam nigredinem similitudo referatur: qua quidem non estis promissione fraudandi. Caeterum id differendum in aliud sermonis principium; tum quia hoc jam hujus flagitat longitudo; tum etiam ut praeveniat ex more oratio ea, quae in laudem et gloriam sunt referenda sponsi Ecclesiae Jesu Christi Domini nostri, qui est Deus benedictus in saecula saeculorum. Amen.