The Great Commentary (Mossman/Cobb English)

Now upon the first day of the week. The first day after the Sabbath, the Lord’s day, i.e. the day on which Christ rose from the dead. See S. Matt xxviii. 1

Joanna. A disciple, although her husband Chusa was the steward of Herod, who was an avowed enemy of Christ. So, as in the cases of SS, Serena, the wife of Diocletian, Antherina, her daughter, Tryphonia and others who were the near relatives of emperors notorious for their persecutions. God gathers roses from thorns, and wills that wives should win over their husbands, and that queens should make of none effect the evil counsel of kings

And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus , &c. These two are generally considered to be the same as those mentioned by S. Mark xvi. 12, but Euthymius is of a different opinion, and argues that the Apostles believed these (see verse 34), whereas S. Mark, xvi. 13, expressly states that those spoken of by him, “ went and told it unto the residue : neither believed they them.” But I answer that most of them believed, although some, as Thomas, doubted. You ask, who were these two? I answer, one was Cleopas, but that it is uncertain about the other. S. Ambrose thinks he was called Amaon, because he was a native of Emmaus. Origen calls him Simeon. S. Epiphanius considers him to be the Nathanael mentioned by S. John i. 45. Very many again think that it was S. Luke himself, but it seems from the introduction to this Gospel that S. Digitized by Google TWO DISCIPLES JOURNEY TO EMMAUS. 509 Luke had never seen Christ in the flesh, and that he was converted after the death of the Lord. Two of them , i.e. of the disciples, went probably on some matter of business, and also for the purpose of diverting their thoughts from the sad subject of their Master’s passion. Threescore furlongs , eradms i.e., 125 paces, the eighth part of a Roman mile. Called Emmaus. Emmaus was a village in the time of Christ, according to S. Jerome the birthplace of Cleopas ; who seems now to have gone thither for some family reason. In the Hebrew the name may mean, according to its spelling, “fear” or “ardour.” Each meaning is here very appropriate, for these two disciples were of a timorous disposition, but when the love of Christ was kindled in their hearts, their fear gave place to burning zeal Others take ijifAavs as equivalent to D1ND W am maus, “a people rejected,” and explain that the two disciples, because of their doubtings and distrust, were drawing nigh unto rejection, but were recalled by Christ and sent back to the chosen Apostles in Jerusalem. Some say that this Emmaus, after the capture of Jerusalem by the Romans, was enlarged and called Nicopolis, of which Sozomen writes, " Before the village, where the roads meet, when Christ made as though He would have gone further, is a healing spring, in which not only men, but also animals suffering from manifold diseases, seek relief. For they say that Christ came thither with the disciples, and washed His feet therein, from which time its waters have possessed healing power.” He adds something similar about a tree near Hermopolis, the leaves, fruit, and bark of which cure many diseases, because it bent in adoration as Christ passed on his flight into Egypt. Many are of opinion that there were two places known by the name of Emmaus, one, the city afterwards called Nicopolis, about 140 stadia from Jerusalem, the other the village mentioned in the text

And they talked together of all these things which had happened^ Le. they were talking of the sufferings, the death, and the Digitized by Google 5*0 burial of their Master, grieving that so great a prophet had suffered so unworthily, and sorrowing because they would see Him no more ; for they evidently despaired of his resurrection and of the redemption of Israel

And one of them , whose name was Cleopas , answering said , &c. This Cleopas was the brother of S. Joseph, the husband of the Blessed Virgin, the father of S. James the less, and S. Jude, and the grandfather of S. James the greater and S. John, who were the sons of Salome, the daughter of Cleopas. See chap, iii 23. Digitized by Google JESUS QUESTIONS THE TWO DISCIPLES. 513 Helecas, Bishop of Caesarea, tells us on the authority of S. Jerome, that “Cleopas, or Alphaeus, was the brother of S. Joseph, and one of the seventy disciples, and that he was slain by the Jews in the castle of Emmaus because of Christ” He was therefore a martyr. Hence, in the Roman Martyrology, the 25th of September is put down as the birthday of Blessed Cleopas, the disciple of Christ, who they say was slain by the Jews for confessing the faith in the very house in which he had entertained the Lord. See also Dorotheus (Lives of the Patriarchs). Again, Cleopas, in the Greek KXiowaf, is the same as “ a 11 glory,” for the Jews who were subjugated by Alexander and the Greeks, took Greek names. But in the Hebrew the name may be taken to mean “ adding to or increasing the Church,” for nSlp, kehala, is an assembly or church, and EDS), pus, is to multiply. For Cleopas gave many sons and daughters to the Church of Christ Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem t Theophylact and Euthy mius translate waptxtlg b 'iigwtfaXibtby “Art thou (only) a dweller in Jerusalem?” Others render it, “Art thou (only) a sojourner in Jerusalem?” The meaning is “Art thou such a stranger in Jerusalem, and so ignorant of what has been done in it to Jesus of Nazareth, as to ask who and what he was, about whom we are so sorrowfully conversing ? All know the circumstances of His crucifixion and death, and can talk of nothing else. How is it that thou only art ignorant of these things ? ”

And He said unto ihem> What things t Christ constrains them to open their grief and to confess their doubts as to His resurrection. And they said unto him , Concerning Jesus of Nazareth. They acknowledge Him, says Bede, to be a great prophet, but they do not speak of Him as the Son of God, either because their faith was imperfect, or because they feared lest they might fall into the hands of the persecuting Jews. For they knew not with whom they were speaking, and therefore concealed what they believed to be true. Because they say (verse 21) that they trusted that it had been he, as being the Messiah and the Son of God, which should have redeemed Israel. VOL. vi. 2 K Digitized by Google 5*4 Mighty in deed and in word. So should every Christian be, especially those who have devoted themselves to a religious life, or have been called to any office in the Church. What they preach they should perform, and teach first by example and then by word

And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him, &c. They do not accuse the chief priests and the rulers, although they were persuaded of the injustice of their actions. For they feared lest this stranger might be a spy, seeking some cause of accusation against them

But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel from the power of their enemies, e.g., from the power of the Romans. “We trusted that he had been the Messiah who would have restored the kingdom of Israel to the same, or even greater, dignity than it had possessed in the time of David and of Solomon. But now that he has been so unworthily put to death, although we do not despair, we have but little hope.” This was their grief, the wound which their faith had received, which Christ desired to hear from them, in order to heaL “O disciples,” says S. Augustine (serm. 140 De Temp. “ye were hoping, therefore ye do not now hope. Behold Christ lives, but your hope within you is dead ; ” and again, “ He was walking with them as their companion, and yet was their leader and guide.” And beside all this, to-day is the third day, &c. For Christ was crucified on the sixth day, and after three days rose from the dead. This is an aposiopesis, for the disciples, anxious and perplexed, knowing not what to think about Christ, as good as say, ( Jesus when He was alive said that He would rise from the dead on the third day ; but although this is the third day we know not whether He has risen or is yet to rise.” They were doubtful, balanced between hope and fear. “They speak thus,” says Theophylact, “as men in doubt, and seem to me to be very undecided in their minds, for they are not absolutely unbelieving, nor do they believe aright. For their words ‘we trusted that it had been he,’ &c, indicate incredulity, but when they make mention of the third day, they Digitized by Google JESUS EXPOUNDS THE SCRIPTURES. 5 15 show themselves mindful of the words of Christ, 1 on the third day I shall rise again ; * ” and again, “ On the whole they spake as men in perplexity and doubt.”

Yea9 and certain women also of our company made us astonished (i^tertieap). For what the women had told inspired them with awe rather than fear, and, says Theophylact, “ overthrew their doubting and unbelief, whilst it strengthened their faith and hope in the resurrection of Christ Their fear therefore struggled with their hope, and between the two they were undecided and in doubt”

Then said He unto them , O fools . ’Aronro/, rendered here in the Vulgate “ stulti,” but Gal. iii. 1., “ insensati.” With these keen words Christ as the Master rebukes the disciples for their ignorance and slowness to believe. For a teacher is allowed to stimulate his disciples by sharp reproof to the pursuit of higher or more accurate knowledge. See S. Matt v. 22. So our nature, frail and dull of understanding, needs some such stimulus to enable it to believe in spiritual things, and to keep itself steadfast in the hope of their realisation

And He made as though He would have gone further. This was no deceit : for He would have gone on if the disciples had not constrained Him, but as He knew that they would thus constrain Him to abide with them, in this respect he was not willing, but was making as if (wfsfivtitto) He would have gone further. Hence S. Augustine (Quasi. Evang.) says, “When one feigning has reference to a certain meaning, it is not a falsehood, but a certain figure of the truth.” And again, “A fiction founded on truth is a figure ; not so founded, it is a lie.” And S. Gregory (horn. 23 in Evang.) writes, “ By the word ‘ fingere * we mean to put together or form, hence modellers of clay we call ‘ figuli.’ He who was the truth did nothing by deceit He manifested Himself to them in the body, such as He came before them in their midst He would prove them whether they could show charity to Him as a stranger, although they might not yet love Him as God.”

And they constrained Him. “ From which example it is gathered,” says S. Gregory, “ that strangers are not only to be invited to hospitality, but even to be taken by force.” And S. Augustine adds (Serm. 140 De Temp.), “ Detain a guest, if you wish to recognise the Saviour; for hospitality restored what unbelief had taken away.” Saying, Abide with us; for it is towards evening, and the day is far spent, Le. it is drawing near sunset In order to detain Christ as their guest they exaggerate the lateness of the hour, for they returned soon after to Jerusalem, which was a three hours’ journey. Cardinal Hosius his whole life long had these words continually in his heart and on his lips, and died repeating often, “ Abide with us, O Lord, for it is toward evening,” and in truth the Lord abode with him, working many marvels by his means in Poland, in Digitized by Google JESUS KNOWN IN THE BREAKING OF BREAD. 5 1 J Germany, and in Italy, which are related by his biographer Rescius, who ends by eulogising him as “ the atlas of religion, the voice and other hand of Paul, the demolisher of Luther, the janitor of heaven, and the love and admiration of the world”

He took bread and blessed it. He blessed it by causing it to become His body as in the consecration of the Eucharist For that Christ thus consecrated it, although Jansenius and some others deny it, is clear : 1. Because S. Matthew, S. Mark, and S. Luke use the same words concerning the institution of the Eucharist, as S. Luke uses here. 2. Because this blessing does not appear to have been given at the commencement of the meal, for Christ wished not to vanish out of their sight before He had eaten with them, lest they might think him a phantom. It was given in the midst, or rather at the end, of the meaL It was not therefore the ordinary blessing on what had been provided for their use, but solemn and eucharistic. 3. This is clear also from the effect which this blessing of the bread had upon the disciples : “ their eyes were opened and they knew Him.” 4. Furthermore, this is the opinion of the great majority of the Fathers. So the author quoted by S. Chrysostom (Horn. 17) says, “ The Lord not only blessed the bread, but gave it with His own hand to Cleopas and his companion. But that which is given by His hand is not only sanctified, but sanctification and a cause of sanctity to the recipient” Again, “ How did the Lord will to make Himself known ? By the breaking of bread. We are content then ; in the breaking of bread the Lord is made known unto us. In no other way is it His will to reveal Himself. Therefore, although we shall not see Him in bodily form, He has given us His flesh to eat” S. Augustine (Serm. 140 De Temp.). This passage of Holy Scripture is a proof of the use of one species only in the Eucharist, for it is clear that Christ neither consecrated nor gave the cup to the disciples. After He had blessed the bread, Digitized by Google 5i8 and given it to them, they knew Him, and immediately He vanished out of their sight S. Augustine, Chrysostom, Bede and others

Their eyes were opened. “ See here the power and effect of the Eucharist. It opens the eyes of the mind to the knowledge of Jesus, and enables it to comprehend heavenly and divine mysteries. For the flesh of Christ possesses a great and illuminative power.” Theophylact Hence. S. Augustine (Serm. 140 De Temp.) says, “ Whosoever thou art that believest, the breaking of bread consoles thee, the absence of the Lord is no absence. Have faith, and He whom thou seest not is with thee.” Tropologically, he goes on to say, “ By the exercise of hospitality we come to the knowledge of Christ” Again, “ Let him who wishes to understand what he has heard, put in practice what he has understood” “Behold the Lord was not known whilst He was speaking, but when He gives them to eat, He allows Himself to be recognised” Gregory. Or according to the Gloss : “ Truth is understood better in operation than by hearing ; and none know Christ unless they are partakers of His Body, ie. the Church, whose unity the Apostle commends in the sacrament of bread, saying, ‘we being many are one bread, and one body.1” 1 Cor. x. 17. And He vanished out of their sight, afavret fymrv, absconditus ab iliiSy Arabic version. Christ was present with His disciples, but made Himself invisible to them : a power possessed, as theologians teach us, by His glorified body. So after His resurrection He was wont to appear to His disciples and vanish from their midst Calvin, rashly, denies this, and contrary to its meaning translates &<t9Toc by “ He withdrew Himself.” He denies this somewhat craftily, lest he might be compelled to acknowledge that Christ was present in the Eucharist, but hidden and invisible. The causes why Christ vanished out of their sight directly He was recognised by the disciples are these 2 — 1. To show that He had risen from the dead, and had become glorified. For it is the property of a glorified body to appear or disappear at will. His sudden disappearance therefore was a new argument by which Christ proved the truth of His resurrection. Digitized by d.oosLe JOY OF THE TWO DISCIPLES. 519 2. To teach that by the resurrection He had passed from this mortal life to a state of glory, and therefore no longer held familiar converse with men, but with God and the angels. 3. To teach us how we ought to reverence Christ, and those blessed ones who have entered into heaven. For we are bound to render to our glorified Lord the worship of latria, and to the blessed saints that of dulia, 4. That the disciples might return to the Apostles, who were sorrowing over the death of Christ, and comfort them by the tidings of His resurrection and appearing

And they said one to another. Did not our hearts bum within us 1 This was a new and certain proof that Christ was alive from the dead. For Christ taught not as Aristotle, Plato, and the philosophers, but so as to inflame the hearts of his hearers with divine love. Let then all teachers and interpreters of Holy Scripture imitate their Master, and seek not only to enlighten the understandings of those who attend upon their teaching, but to kindle the love of God in their hearts as well. Let them not be content with being as the Cherubim, but be also as the Seraphim. Let them be as S. Francis and his disciple S. Bonaventura, who became known as the “ Seraphic Doctor.” So David wrote, “ Thy word is very pure ” ( ignitum , Vulgate), Ps. cm. 140 ; and Solomon : “ Every word of God is pure,” Prov. xxx. 5; and Moses: ((From His right hand went a fiery law,” Deut. xxxiii. 2. So also Christ declared, “ I am come to send fire on the earth.” S. Luke xii. 49. Thus the Baptist “ was a burning and a shining light,” S. John v. 35 ; and Elias the prophet “ stood up as fire, and his word burned like a lamp,” Ecclus. xlviii. 1. Let us be, each one, an Ignatius, a burning and fiery disciple and preacher of Christ, so that the words of the prophet may be true of us, “ Their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps.” “ They ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.”

And they rose up the same hour (Le., immediately and Digitized by Google 520 without waiting to finish their meal) and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together. Actually there were but ten assembled, for Thomas was absent and Judas had hanged himself But the Apostolic college is spoken of as “the eleven,” even though some of the members may not happen to be present They “ returned ” (wr'vsrp-fyat*) quickly, filled with an eager joy. Them that were with them. The other disciples who were tarrying at Jerusalem with the Apostles

Saying , The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared unto Simon. Christ appeared unto Peter before He showed Himself to the two disciples and the rest of the Apostles, because he was penitent, and because he was the prince of the Apostles. See verse 36

And He said unto them , . . . Why do thoughts arise in your hearts? ie. why do you give way to them and permit them to arise? “These thoughts,” says Augustine (serm. 69 Dt Diversis) “were earthly. For had they been from heaven they would have descended, not ascended, into their hearts. Thus Christ showed that He knew the hearts of men, (xaedtoywerjie, Acts L 24) and that He was God.” Titus and Euthymius

Behold My hands and My feet , &c. If you cannot believe your sight, believe your touch. Let your hands prove whether your eyes have played you false. S. Augustine. For the sense of touch is more to be relied upon than the sight Handle me (•faXatfeari), that by touching my body you may be assured of the reality of its existence. Hence it is clear, says S. Gregory, that a glorified body is immaterial (subtile) by reason of its spiritual powers, but material (palpabile) inasmuch as it is true to its nature. You will ask, firstly, how the glorified body of Christ could be at one and the same time material and inmaterial ? I answer. First, because glorified bodies possess (1) the property of permeability, and hence are able not only to offer no resistance to another body, but even to penetrate it And they possess (2) the power of eluding the touch, as they have the power of vanishing from the sight, according to what I have just said. These properties or powers they use or not, according as they are inclined. Consequently, glorified bodies can be apprehended by the touch or not, according as they will You will ask, secondly, whether this handling of Christ, His sitting at meat with the disciples, and such like, are sufficient proofs of His resurrection ? I answer that these proofs were not absolutely and physically certain, for the angels, when they appeared in bodily form, were touched and handled by Abraham, Lot, and others ; but they are certain in a moral sense, and as far as human certainty permits. Digitized by Google 522 . Because on this account, Christ willed to abide long with the Apostles, and to manifest Himself after His resurrection, as in His death, to their hearing, sight, and touch, senses which are held by men to be most trustworthy. 2. Because it pertained to the providence of God not to let these so great signs pass unnoticed, but to take away all pretence of deception. For the truth of the Messiah and the new religion was at stake, specially the point as to whether He really had risen from the dead. 3. Because these signs, taken in conjunction with the miracles of Christ, and the prophecies of His coming, made it both credible and certain, that He had indeed risen from the dead

And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb A proof of the frugality of the Apostles, for if they had had any better food they would have offered it to their Master. But as fishermen they fed on fish, just as Athseneus (De Cosnis Sapientum) tells us the frugal men of old were accustomed to do ; and in point of fact up to the time of the deluge flesh was not known as an article of food. (See Gen. ix.) Symbolically , says Bede, “ the broiled fish signifies the sufferings of Digitized by Google 524 Christ. For He, having condescended to lie in the waters of the human race, was willing to be taken by the hook of our death, and was as it were burnt up by anguish at the time of His passion. But the honeycomb was present to us at the resurrection; the honey in the wax being the divine nature in the human ; ” and again “ He ate part of a broiled fish, signifying that having burnt by the fire of His own divinity our nature swimming in the sea of this life, and dried up the moisture which it had contracted from the waves, He made it divine food of sweet savour in the sight of God, which the honeycomb signifies. Or we may take the broiled fish to mean the active life drying up the moisture by the coals of labour, and the honeycomb is the sweet contemplation of the oracles of God.” Theophylact. “ By the command of the law the passover was eaten with bitter herbs, but after the resurrection the food is sweetened with a honeycomb.” Gregory Nyssen. Tropologically , says the Gloss: “ Those who endure tribulation ( assantur tribulaiionibus) for the sake of God, will hereafter be satisfied with true sweetness.” Another reason why Christ ate the broiled fish is given by an anonymous writer in the Greek Catena: “The word of God as a new and unapproachable fire, by the hypostatic union, dried up the moisture in which human nature as a fish — because of its incontinency — was immersed, and set it free by mixture of His passion, fulfilling so sweetly this dispensation as to make ready sweet food for Himself; for the salvation of men is the food of God.” Hence Christ soon after He had eaten, breathed on the Apostles, and bestowed on them the gift of the Holy Ghost for the remission of sins. S. John xx. 22

And He took if, and did eat before them . Christ truly ate of the food, and not in appearance only, after the manner of an angeL “ I did neither eat nor drink, but ye did see a vision.” Tobit xil 19. Tet He was not thereby nourished. So Theophylact says, “ He ate by some divine power consuming what He was eating.” Similarly, S. Augustine : “ The thirsty earth, and the burning rays of Digitized by Google JESUS OPENS THE APOSTLES* UNDERSTANDING. 525 the sun absorb water, each in a different way ; the one because of its need ; the other by its power.” So D. Thomas and the Schoolmen. The Vulgate adds, “sumens rdiquias , dedit eis ; ” but these words, although in the Arabic, are absent from the Greek and from the Syriac versions

And He said unto them. These are the words which 1 spake unto you , while I was yet with you, &c., Le. that I was to suffer death upon the Cross and rise again the third day. Acknowledge Me then as the true Messiah, inasmuch as My words have been verified to the letter. Or by a metonomy these are the words, i.e. the things which I spake to you, My passion, death, and resurrection, which ye see accomplished. These things therefore ought not to appear to you strange and unexpected, for they were predicted, not only by me, but in time past by Moses, and the prophets, and by David in the Psalms concerning Me. Some think that S. Luke wrote these words by anticipation, and that Christ spake them not on the day of His resurrection but on that of His ascension. For it was then that He bade the disciples remain in Jerusalem (Acts i. 4), as Luke records, verse 49, going on in the verses following to describe the ascension. But perhaps the words were used on both occasions, the oftener to impress them upon the Apostles for the greater confirmation of their faith

Then opened He their understanding that they might understand the scriptures. He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself, as He had done before at Emmaus. See ver. 27. Christ did this both to confirm the Apostles in their belief and to prepare them to teach and to preach the faith. For it was part of the apostolic office to expound the Scriptures* Hence what He here began, Christ perfected at Pentecost, by the gift of the Holy Ghost Hence it is clear : 1. That Holy Scripture is not, as heretics say, easy of interpretation to all. 2. That it is not to be interpreted, as they contend, according to the letter, but according to the teaching of that Holy Spirit, which Digitized by Google 526 Christ bestowed upon His Apostles, which the Apostles delivered to the Church, and the Church has handed down to us. Hence S. Paul, i Cor. xii., tells us that God hath set teachers in the Church, and among the diversities of gifts numbers “the interpretation of tongues.11 And so in former times the Church had her interpreters, whose special duties are described by Baronins, voL L pi 394

And said unto them , Thus it is written (Isa. liii., Ps. xxil et alib.) and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, , &c. See how by these articles of faith Christ opened the understanding of the Apostles, to the acknowledging the Scriptures, which foretold these events

And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name% Le. — 1. By His authority. 2. At His command. 3. In His stead. That the Apostles should continue the teaching of Christ, and spread the doctrine of repentance and remission of sins throughout the world. 4. In His name, ie., in virtue of His meritorious death upon the cross, whereby alone God gives the spirit of repentance and remission of sin. Beginning at Jerusalem. A command to the Apostles to commence their preaching at Jerusalem, and from thence to go unto all nations. u Beginning ” (c^ct^iw, incipientibus, Vulgate). The Apostles were to begin their preaching at Jerusalem : 1. Because there the Synagogue was flourishing, and there the Church had its origin, for the old Jewish dispensation was transformed into the Christian Church by the preaching of Christ, according to the words of the prophet : “ Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” Isaiah ii. 3. And again, “ Arise, shine ; for thy light has come.’1 Ibid. lx. (Vulgate). 2. Because Christ, with all the blessings He came to bestow, was promised to the Jews by the prophets, and Jerusalem was their chief city ; and 3. Because David and Solomon had reigned there, and Christ, the son of David, had come to restore their kingdom, but in a higher and a spiritual sense (see Acts L 4)

And ye are witnesses of these things. (See commentary on Acts L)

And behold 1 send the promise of My Father upon you. Digitized by Google JESUS’ ASCENSION AND PARTING BLESSING. 527 i.e. after a few days, when the Feast of Pentecost is come, I will send you the Holy Spirit, who will teach you clearly many things beside these, and enable you to preach the gospel to all nations. But tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high . dwd/Atv, i.e., with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, for waa a general does not permit his soldiers who are about to meet a large number, to go out until they are armed, so also the Lord did not permit His disciples to go forth to the conflict before the descent of the Spirit” S. Chrysostom in Catena. Tropologically , S. Gregory (Past iii. 26) says, “ We abide in a city when we keep ourselves close within the gates of our minds, lest by speaking we wander beyond them ; that when we are perfectly endued with divine power we may then as it were go out beyond ourselves to instruct others.”

And He led them out as far as to Bethany , and from thence to the mount of Olives. Bethany was about fifteen furlongs [stadia] from Jerusalem, and close by the mount of Olives. Christ went to Bethany to say farewell to Lazarus and his sister, and to bring them with Him to mount Olivet, in order that they might witness His ascension, and share in His triumph. And He lifted up His hands towards heaven, as if seeking a special blessing for His disciples. And blessed them , signing them with the sign of the Cross, as Dionysius the Carthusian and others think. Indeed, S. Jerome, commenting on the words, “ I will set a sign among them,” Isa. lxvi 19, says, Our ascending Lord left us this sign, or rather placed it on our foreheads, so that we may freely say, “ The light of Thy countenance is lifted up upon us, O Lord.” For the Cross is the sign of Christ, which is the fountain of all benediction and grace. Hence the tradition which has come down from the time of Christ and the Apostles that in giving a blessing the hands should always form the sign of the Cross. Therefore, says Theophylact, we should learn when about to leave our dependents or friends, to give them our blessing, and, signing them with the sign of the Cross, commit them to the keeping of God. Digitized by Google 528

And they worshipped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. They rejoiced greatly because they had seen their Master triumphantly ascend into heaven, because they eagerly and without doubting looked for the promised gift of the Comforter, and because they had good hope that Christ would, in like manner, after they had laboured in the gospel cause, receive them to Himself according to His gracious promise. S. John

And were continually in the temple , praising and blessing God. Amen. “ Continually.” We may either take this word to refer to the time of the descent of the Holy Spirit, for before His coming they remained at home for fear of the Jews, or we may take it absolutely, for the upper room in which they dwelt was near the temple, so that they could easily go to and fra Acts L 13. In midst of prayers and praises, with eager preparation of heart, they waited for the promise of the Spirit, says Bede, who also observes “that S. Luke, who commenced his Gospel with the ministry of Zacharias, the priest in the temple, very fitly concludes it with the devotion of the Apostles in the same holy place. For he has placed them there, about to be the ministers of a new priesthood, not in the blood of sacrifices, but in the praises of God, and in blessing.” Morally , the Apostles and the disciples teach us by their example to make the Christian life a perpetual round of praise to God and Christ For thus we enter upon the life of the blessed, to whom the ceaseless praise of God is, as I have often shown, for everlasting their labour and their rest “ Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house : they will be alway praising Thee.” end or VOL vi. Digitized by Google JAN 13*64 I Digitized by Google