The Great Commentary (Mossman/Cobb English)

Knowing that the Father gave all things into His hands , and that He came forth from God and went to God. That is, first, though Christ knew Himself to be such, and so great as to have all things in His power, and indeed to be Very God of Very God, and that, as He had come forth from, so he was about to return to, and Digitized by v^iOOQLe 46 sit down at the right hand of God, yet He humbled Himself so fai as to kneel down and wash the feet of His disciples and of Judas His betrayer. So Cyril, Augustine, Bede, and S. Gregory ( Morals , Book iii., chap. 12). Maldonatus adds that Christ knew that all things were given Him by the Father , that is, that it was now permitted Him by the Father’s ordinance to complete all the things that were given Him to do ; — that hitherto He had not been permitted to die, because the time appointed by the Father had not yet come, but that now that time had come when it was permitted Him to do all that belonged to the redemption of man. Again, John here assigns three very fitting and efficacious motives which impelled Christ to wash the feet of His disciples. The first is, that “ the Father gave all things into His hands ; ” that is, because the Father intrusted to Him the salvation of mankind, and committed their whole care to Him ; for this trust incited Him to leave to mankind before His departure these stupendous examples of humility and charity. As for what is meant by the Father’s making over all things to Christ, see the remarks on Matt xi. 27. The second motive was that “ He came forth from God” It was fitting that Christ the Son should by this washing of feet manifest His supreme love and reverence towards God the Father. For by nothing is God more honoured and gratified than by our humility ; so that humility is the highest praise of God. And the third was that “ He went to God” Knowing that His death was near at hand, and wishing the last act of His life to be one of the most sublime virtue, He would now do an act of the greatest charity and humility, and leave it as a legacy to posterity. Such is the view of Toletus. He rises from supper and lays aside His garments , and taking a towel girded Himself John enumerates all the actions, conditions, and circumstances of the washing of feet to show us how attentive, exact, and observant of decorum Christ was in this, as in all else that He did, that we may learn to do likewise even in the smallest matters, according to the words of Ecclus. xxxiii. 23, “ In all thy works [be thou careful to] excel" Digitized by v^iOOQLe CHRIST’S HUMILITY. 4 7 Lays aside Hts garments — the outer tunic, keeping on the inner lest His body should be exposed ; or rather the robe which those about to partake of supper usually put on over their ordinary dress. The Greek has i/uanct, the outermost garments or garment ', such as the toga or pallium. By the figure of enallage the plural number is here put for the singular. Girt Himself— that He might not soil His garments, that He might be the. more unimpeded in the work of washing, that He might wipe their feet when He had washed them, and also that He might assume for this servile office the servile garb which befitted it, and in this way abase Himself completely. “ What wonder,” says S. Augustine, “if He who, when He was in the form of God, did make Himself void, arose from supper and laid aside His gar ments?” For humility is the distinctive virtue of Christ and Christians. S. Basil ( Constit ., chap, xvi.) says that humility guards the treasure-house of the virtues. Humility, says S. Macarius (HomiL xv.), is the badge of Christianity, which he who lacks is a vessel of the Evil One ; humility is the ballast of the virtues. This is what S. Augustine says in his first Discourse on Psalm xxiii. “ As David laid Goliath low, it is Christ who hath slain the devil. And what is the Christ who hath slain the devil ? Humility hath slain pride. When therefore, my brethren, I mention Christ, humility is chiefly commended to us. For by humility He hath made a way for us, inasmuch as by pride we had receded from God. Except by humility we could not have returned to Him, and we had none to set before us as an example to imitate, for all mortals had become puffed up with human pride. And if there existed any man humble in spirit, as were the prophets and patriarchs, the human race disdained to imitate humble persons. Then let not man disdain to imitate a humble man ; God hath become humble that so the pride of the human race might at least not disdain to follow the footsteps of God.”

Then He puts water into a bason and begins to wash the feet of His disciples , and wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. S. Cyprian, Theophylact, and Euthymius note that Digitized by v^iOOQLe - 48 Christ did all these things by Himself, without the aid or help of any one, to teach us how attentively and carefully we ought to serve others. Euthymius adds that Christ Himself asked the master of the house for the basin, and drew and brought the water. “ What wonder,” says S. Augustine ( Tract 55), “if He who poured forth His blood on the earth to wash away the uncleanness of sin poured water into a bason to wash the feet of His disciples ? What wonder if He who made firm with the flesh He had taken upon Him the footsteps of His Evangelists, wiped with the towel He was girded with the feet that He had washed ? ” Symbolically , S. Ambrose (Book i., “On the Holy Spirit ”) says, “This water was the heavenly dew. This it was that was prophesied, that with that heavenly dew the Lord Jesus should wash the feet of His disciples.” And later on, “Come, therefore, O Lord Jesus ! put off the garments that Thou hast for my sake put upon Thee ; be Thou naked, that Thou rnayest clothe us with Thy mercy. Gird Thyself for our sakes with linen, that Thou mayest gird us with the immortality of Thy (muneris immortalitate ) free gift. Pour water in the bason, and wash not our feet only but our head also ; and not only those of the body, but I would also put off from the footsoles of the mind all the uncleanness of my frailty, that I too may say, ‘ 1 have put off my garment in ^he night, how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet, how shall I soil them?*” (Cant, v.)

He comes therefore to Simon Peter: so as to begin here* as elsewhere with Peter, the Head and Primate of the Apostles. For if He had gone first to the other Apostles, they would assuredly have protested as much as Peter against so great and unusual an act of condescension on the part of their Lord ; but <when they saw Peter acquiesce after having been rebuked by Christ, they too acquiesced, and allowed their feet to be washed by Him. So S. Augustine, Bede, Rupert, Maldonatus, and others. Christ here indicates figuratively that visitation and reformation must be begun with the head and those who bear rule, for that so it will be easy to reform the faithful who are subject to them. However, Origen and Leontius think that Peter was the last in this Digitized by v^iOOQLe CHRIST’S HUMILITY. 49 washing of feet, and with Chrysostom, Theophylact, and Euthymius, hold that Christ first of all washed the feet of Judas that He might soften his heart and recall him from his wicked treason, and might give us an example of the love of our enemies, that we may repay their injuries with kindness, and do them the more good the more spiteful we feel them to be towards us. And Peter says to Him , Lord, dost Thou wash my feet ? That is, dost Thou prepare to do so? The action is represented as just beginning, or rather intended, for Christ had not yet begun to wash his feet. Peter said this in stupefied amazement at the humility of Christ, and out of the depth of his reverence for Him, says Cyril ; and hence every one of the words is emphatic. Thou who art the King of kings and Lord of lords, my feet, who am a low fisherman, and but a worm of this earth, feet that are muddy and filthy, dost Thou wash them with Thine own blessed hands? “ These things,” says S. Augustine, “ must be thought upon rather than spoken of, lest the tongue fail to express what the mind has more or less worthily comprehended by these words.”

Jesus answered and said to him , What I do thou knowest not now, but hereafter thou shalt know Christ means that in this washing of feet, mysteries are hidden which as yet Peter knew not. “ Peter,” says S. Ambrose (in his work, De Us qui initiantur^ ch. 6), “saw not the hidden meaning, and therefore rejected the service, thinking that the humility of the servant would be compromised should he suffer his Lord to do him this office.” “ Her* after thou shalt know,” that is, first, “ when I shall tell you (ver. 14) that I do this to give to thee, to the apostles, and to the rest of the faithful an example of the greatest humility and most sublime charity ; ” so S. Cyril interprets. Secondly, because by this ablution penance is signified, and this sacrament must precede that of the Eucharist, as thou, O Peter, shalt understand after the Holy Spirit has been sent, for “ He shall teach you all things.” So S. Cyprian, (Tract, de Coend Dom. S. Pacianus (Ep. 1, contra JVovat.)9 S. Gregory (bk. ix. Ep. 39), and SS. Augustine and Bernard imply the same. It was as a type of this that the Jewish priests vol. v. d ^Digitized by v^iOOQLe SO used, when entering the temple to sacrifice, to wash their hands and feet in the brazen laver that was set for this purpose in front of the Holy of Holies ; and this they did for the sake of bodily cleanliness, that by it they might be admonished of spiritual purity. On this point S. Ambrose is singular in his view ; for in his work “On the Sacraments” (bk. iii. ch. i, and in De Us qui initiantur , ch. 6) he holds that this bodily washing of feet is necessary for all the faithful before baptism, that by it they may be prepared for the Holy Eucharist just as Christ prepared the apostles. Hence he maintains that the washing of feet is a kind of sacrament or sacred rite here sanctioned by Christ, by which we are to be strengthened against the devil’s endeavours to trip us up. And for this reason he reckons the washing of feet amongst the rites or ceremonies of baptism, so that it came into use as such at Milan. S. Bernard, too, in his sermon “ On the Lord’s Supper,” calls the washing of feet a sacrament, and implies that it has power for the remission of venial sins ; “ for,” he says, “ that we may not be in doubt about the remission of our daily sins, we have the sacrament of it — the washing of feet” By “sacrament” however, S. Bernard here understands symbol or figure, , as he himself explains a little farther on. Symbolically , Origen and S. Jerome (in his epistle to Damasus on the first vision of Isaiah) think that Christ washed His apostles’ feet to prepare them for the preaching of the gospel, according to the words, “ How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, of them that bring good tidings!” (Isa. Iii. 7.) Secondly, S. Ambrose thinks that Christ in baptism washes away actual sin by washing the head, but that here, in washing their feet, He washed away the remains of original sin, the movements of concupiscence, for that by this washing He strengthened their feet — that is, their affections — to make generous resistance to their lower appetites. Thirdly, S. Augustine and S. Bernard (Lc.) say that by the feet with which we tread the earth are signified the loves, the stains, and the defects which, while we are amid the things of earth, adhere to our affections, as dust or mud to our feet. Digitized by v^iOOQLe ANCIENT CUSTOMS AT BAPTISM. SI S. Ambrose (Be Initiandis , ch. 6) gives the mystical reason for the washing of feet as follows : — “ Peter was clean, but He must wash his foot, for he had by inheritance the sin of the first man when the serpent tripped him up and led him astray ; and therefore is his foot washed, that these hereditary sins may be taken away.” He alludes here to the word spoken by God to the serpent, “Thou shalt ensnare his heel” (Gen. iii. 15). The same Saint says again (Be Sacratn , book iii. ch. 1), “Because Adam was tripped up by the devil and the venom was poured out over thy feet, therefore dost thou wash thy feet that in that part where the serpent ensnared thee there may be added the more abundant aid of sanctification, so that he be not able to trip thee up hereafter,” x. r. X. Another more literal reason was that those who were to be baptized used to go barefooted as a sign of hiimility. This going barefooted is called by S. Augustine (“On the Creed,” bk. ii. ch. 1) “the humility of the feet.” And so they used to wash off the stains contracted by their bare feet. This custom spread from the Church of Milan to other churches (see S. Augustine, Epp. 118, 1 19). Palladius, too, in his Lauriaca , ch. 73, tells how Serapion the Sindonite converted two comic actors, washed their feet and then baptized them ; but afterwards, as a great many persons came to think that this washing of feet was sufficient without baptism, it was forbidden by the Council of Eliberis, ch. 48. The Church of Milan, however, continued the usage. Guisseppe Visconti treats at length of this subject in his De Ritibus Baptism (bk. iii. ch. 17, etseq.)

“ Peter says to Him , Thou shalt never wash my feet.” Origin accuses Peter of headstrong audacity and disobedience, but S. Augustine (Tract. 56) rightly excuses him, inasmuch as this speech of his showed profound faith, reverence, fear, humility, and love. “ I ” (the words are St. Cyprian's in his treatise on the washing of the feet), “I am ready to die with Thee, if needs be, for this I ought to do, this fate I embrace. For Thee I will gladly present my neck to the executioner ; but my God and my Lord prostrate at my feet, this I suffer not, this I dare not endure.” Digitized by v^iOOQLe TT. 52 Jesus answered him , If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me. First , S. Augustine takes this mystically. Unless I wash away thy venial sins by penance I will not give thee the Eucharist, which I am about to institute, neither shalt thou enter heaven, for nothing that is defiled can enter there. So, too, St. Cyprian in his treatise on the washing of feet. Secondly , according to SS. Chrysostom and Cyril : Unless thou receive the lesson of humility which I give thee in this washing of feet, thou shalt have no part with Me, for only the humble attain to the grace and glory of God. Thirdly , according to the letter: If thou, O Peter, persistest in thy disobedience, thou shalt not communicate with Me in the Eucharistic table, — I will give thee no part of the bread that is about to be consecrated into My body, — I will not have thee for My familiar friend and the companion of My sacred table. Christ threatens Peter with the loss of His intimate friendship and of the Eucharist, not the loss of His grace and glory ; for though Peter was loth to obey, yet this arose from his profound humility and reverence, and was, therefore, worthy of pardon. Toletus says: He threatened not to give Peter the Eucharist by which Christ was to abide in him and he in Christ ; for it was chiefly for this that He washed their feet, so that they might be clean and fitly prepared to receive Him when He should give Himself to them and be really united to them. Peter did not distinctly understand what Christ said at the time, but only understood that he was to be cut off from Christ and have nothing in common with Him unless he underwent this washing; afterwards, however, he comprehended the mystery. There is a similar expression in 3 Kings xii. 16, where the people, exasperated by the cruelty of Roboam, say, “ What part have we in David ? or what inheritance in the son of Jesse ?” S. Basil, in his “ Discourse on Sin,” says, “ For this reason threats of this kind were held out by Christ against Peter, that unless he had rectified his will by promptitude and quickening of obedience, not those wonderful blessings which had come to him from God, not his gifts, not the promises made to him, not even that declaration of Digitized by v^iOOQLe nature oe true obedience. S3 such and so great a yearning towards the Only-Begotten Son of God the Father, would have served him to expiate his actual disobedience.” Hence S. Basil draws from this two remarkable rules of conduct : — 44 He that opposes himself to the commands of God, even though he do so with a pious and friendly intention, such an one is nevertheless for this cause estranged from the Lord.” And the second is : — “ Whatever is said by the Lord, that ought we to receive with all the fulness of our heart.” (Reg. xii. ch. 2.) Simon Peter says to Himy Lordy not only my feet% but also my hands and my head Struck by the threat of Christ as by a thunderbolt, Peter obeys, and offers more than Christ had asked. Hence S. Basil in his Shorter Rules, 60th Answer, gives a useful rule : — 44 Whatever we have before resolved upon beside that which is commanded by the Lord must be rescinded. This is plainly shown in the case of the Apostle Peter, who had first resolved 4 Thou shalt never wash my feet/ but when he heard the Lord say positively, 4 Unless I wash thee, thou shalt have no part with Me/ straightway changed his mind and said, * Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands.’ ” Again, in the 233rd Answer, St Basil teaches us from this text that obedience is to be preferred to all the other virtues. 44 Peter,” he says, 44 although the Lord had borne him witness of such and so great meritorious acts, and had called him and pronounced him blessed in so singular a manner, yet, having in one point only seemed to turn aside from obedience, and that too not from negligence or pride, but from reverence and respect to his Lord, — for this and this only is it said to him, 4 Unless I wash thy feet, thou shalt have no part with Me.’ ”

Jesus says to him , He that has been washed needeth not but to wash his feety but is clean throughout. Observe that Christ here alludes to those who wash themselves in the baths and go out washed all over, but, walking barefoot on the ground soil their feet, and therefore afterwards wash them only. Again, observe that Christ, as His wont is, here rises from the corporal to the spiritual washing, thus — He that has been spiritually washed by baptism, as Digitized by v^iOOQLe 54 I, O apostles, have washed you, or he who has been washed by contrition and penance, such an one is washed all over in soul, but needs only to wash his feet, that is, purge frequently by contrition, bodily austerities, and the like virtues, the inclinations of the soul which is stained by contact with the things of earth, and contact from their slight impurities, and this is especially needful before receiving the Holy Eucharist SS. Augustine, Bede, Rupert, and S. Bernard in his Sermon on the Lord’s Supper, interpret more or less to this effect. So Christ by this washing of feet purged away the sins of Peter and the apostles, especially their venial sins ; for by means of this act of self-abasement He pricked their consciences and reminded them of that inward purification that must be made in the soul by contrition by means of which venial sins are expiated. Lastly, S. Augustine in his 108th Letter to Seleucianus, gathers with some probability from the words “ he that has been washed,” that Peter and the apostles had been baptized before the Eucharist ; both because no one is qualified to receive the Eucharist without having been baptized, and also because Christ baptized them before His death, for after His death He baptized no one, and it is clear that they must all have been baptized either by Christ Himself or by others in His behalf. The expression appears to be rightly applicable to the washing which takes place in baptism. And ye are clean , but not all Christ secretly strives to provoke Judas to think better of his plot of wicked treason; still He would not mention him by name, lest He should bring him into bad odour, and the apostles should rise up against him as a traitor, and ill-use him. Ver. n. — For He knciu who it was that should betray Him; wherefore He said , Ye are not all clean . From this S. Augustine gathers that Judas was then present, and had been washed by Christ, and that he received the Blessed Sacrament — (Bk ii. contra Petil. ch. 22.) S. Cyprian, however, in his treatise on the Washing of Feet, says that Judas was not present at the washing, nor, consequently, at the Eucharist

Ye call Me 'Master' and ‘ Lord / and ye speak rightly , Digitized by V boogie CHRIST TAUGHT BY EXAMPLE. 55 for so I am. Christ was Master and Lord of all men and of the whole world, not only as God but as man, and not only taught externally by speaking, as masters commonly do, but illuminated minds interiorly, and impelled the will whithersoever He would See Matt. xxii. io

I have given you an example, that as I have done so ye may do also — not unto Me, seeing that I am even now going to death, but to others, your neighbours, when necessity or kindness shall require. For, as St. Gregory says in his preface to his books of Dialogues, “ Examples stir us up to the love of our heavenly country more than preaching.” It was thus that Jesus began first to do and then to teach (Acts i. 1), and taught more by deed than by word. Hence S. Basil teaches that he who bears rule must first do those things which he teaches his subjects to do, and that he ought to excel his subjects in humility as he does in dignity. Christ foresaw that the apostles would soon be wrangling in their pride as to who should be the greater, so He put before them this example of humility to break down and suppress their ambition; and in the event He did if not crush at least break it

Verily , verily I say to you, The slave is not greater than his Lord, nor the messenger than He that sent him. Foreseeing the contention about the chief place which would soon follow, Christ insists on the humility which He is inculcating on His apostles

If ye know these things , blessed shall ye be if ye do them. If you know these things — and who is ignorant that a master is greater than his slave ? — you shall be blessed if, as you know them, you also act up to your knowledge in practice. Blessed in hope, though not yet in actuality ; — blessed ye shall be after death if until then ye continue to do these things, and persevere in following Me, as I know that ye all will persevere excepting only Judas. And so, to indicate this exception, He adds

1 speak not of you all, because I know that Judas will not do these things which I have said. I know whom 1 have chosen, S. Augustine (Tract. 59) Aplains this with reference to the eternal predestination and election to glory by God : — I speak not of all, Digitized by v^iOOQLe 5« U. but of those only whom I have chosen to glory, and Judas I have not chosen. This, however, seems rather harsh, both because the whole blame must be laid upon Judas and not upon Christ, and His election from which He excluded Judas, and in the next verse Christ lays the blame on Judas ; and then again because Christ, when He speaks of the eternal election and predestination of God, is not wont to attribute it to Himself but to the Father, for it is a primary function of Providence, which is the attribute of the Father. Christ therefore is here speaking of His temporal election, by which He, as man, chose twelve apostles (see Luke vi.), and Judas himself among the number. This is the view of Toletus and Maldonatus. I know and have known whom and what manner of men 1 have elected to be apostles , who will be worthy , and who will not , who will persevere, , arid therefore be blessed , and who will not ; I know those who will do these things which I have said , and who will not , as I know and have known , that Judas being chosen by Me> would not do these things , but would be My betrayer. Wherefore I did not choose him in ignorance , nay rather I foreknew and foresaw that he would betray Me} yet did I choose him to use his malice for the common good , that through him My Passion might be fulfilled , and through it the salvation and redemption of men . Wherefore He adds, — But that the Scripture may be fulfilled ; He that eateth bread with Me shall lift up his heel against Me. I knew that Judas would be My betrayer , yet I elected him an Apostle , that through him the Scripture which foretold My Passion and its manner , might be fulfilled , for it foretold that it should be begun by the treachery of My familiar friend , of one of Mine own household of Judas who has abused My friendship and familiarity in order to betray Me. And I have been willing to allow this, that from his wickedness I may elicit an infinite good — the salvation, namely, of the world — just as I permitted the fall of Lucifer and of Adam, to draw from thence the Incarnation of Christ Lift up his heel . He is quoting Ps. xl. 9, where the Septuagint translate “made great upon Me his tripping up,” and S. Jerome, “lifted up against me the sole of his foot,” that is, tried to deceive, Digitized by v^iOOQLe s; CHRISTAS FOREKNOWLEDGE. trip up, betray, and bring Me to ruin ; nay, he did indeed trip Me up by his deceit, caused Me to fall into the hands of the Jews, and brought Me to My Cross and death. David is speaking literally of Achitophel, who betrayed him to his son Absalom, but mystically of Judas, the betrayer of Christ, of whom Achitophel was a type as David was of Christ

I say to you at once, before it come to pass , that when it come to pass ye may believe that I am. Now , in the Greek, a*’ agn, which may be translated from now or from this time, as in the Syriac Version, or, as here, straightway , forthwith, indicating the treachery of Judas to be near at hand. A few hours hence Judas shall betray Me, and therefore I foretell it to you, that when you see Me betrayed, seized, and killed, you may not be disturbed, but may believe— persevere in My Faith, that I am — the Messiah, the Son of God, freely offering Myself to death for the redemption of mankind. I foretell all these things to you that you may believe that I know them all beforehand and could withdraw Myself from danger, but that I will not, but wish to suffer for the salvation of the world. Then, too, shall you see that I said truly, “ Ye are not all clean ” — that Judas is unclean and wicked, and therefore to be reprobated and condemned, when you see him for the enormity of his crime strangle himself with a cord. Let, therefore, this prediction of Mine, coupled with the occurrence of the thing predicted, make you firm and strong in My faith when you are on the point of tottering. So Cyril

Verily , verily I say to you, that He that receives him whom 1 have sent, receives Me; and he that receives Me receives Him that sent Me. It is not clear how these words are connected with those which precede. First Chrysostom (Horn. 21), and Theophylact after him, refer them to the passion and cross of Christ, as though He were encouraging the apostles to imitate it. In other words : Fear not the persecutions, death, and crosses which you shall suffer in preaching My faith, for in this you will be following Me, — suffering as My ambassadors, sent by Me and therefore by God the Father. Wherefore this suffering shall not bring ignominy Digitized by v^iOOQLe 5« on you, but glory. There is, however, no reference here to the sufferings of the apostles, but to their reception by the world. Then again Cyril (bk. ix. ch. 12) thinks that Christ is showing the heinousness of Judas’ treachery by means of an argument from its contrary, thus — Just as he who receives and honours one sent by Me receives and honours Me, so, too, he who rejects him that I send offers a grievous insult not only to Me, but also to God who sent Me. Here, however, we must supply a great many things which Christ did not say. Gaetano, Jansen ius, and Ribera, with more probability, hold that Christ wished, at the close of His discourse on the washing of feet, to make some additional remarks by way of exhorting all the faithful to receive and treat with kindness the apostles sent to them, just as He had previously exhorted the apostles to be kind to the faithful. In this way He consoles the apostles too, whom He had bidden labour in offices of charity for the good of all (Chrysostom, Homily 71.) Lastly, Toletus thinks that this is connected with the example given in the washing of feet by Christ, in order that the apostles and the faithful may not excuse themselves from following it on the score that such an act lowers a man. For Christ Himself practised it, and in so doing rendered it honourable and noble. The meaning then is: He who entertains guests who are of the faith, especially apostles, and washes their feet, as it were receives Me who sent them, but he that receives Me receives also the Father who sent Me. Christ, then, here teaches that offices of humility, such as the washing of feet, must be undertaken even by apostles and prelates, and not refused by them on the score of the dignity of their station, for by these works they shall become honourable as true imitators of Christ and His genuinely accredited agents. It was for this that St Francis Xavier when, on his voyage to India, he used to make the beds of the sick people, cook their food, and give them their medicine, hearing the complaint made that such degrading occupations were not becoming to an Apostolic Legate Digitized by Google Example of s. Francis xavier. 59 as he was, answered that they were becoming to a disciple and apostle of Christ, since Christ Himself underwent, and, as it were, ennobled them. For in the school of Christ humility alone ennobles and exalts, because it makes us like Christ our God and Lord. So says Tursellinus in his life of this Saint. S. Charles Borromeo would, on an occasion of public supplication, ga with his feet bare, a halter tied round his neck, carrying a cross. He used to discharge servile functions towards the poor,^ninister to those who were stricken with the plague, and fulfil every menial office ; yet did he not by so doing derogate from his dignity as an Archbishop and a Cardinal, but rather enhanced it, and earned the name of “ the Holy Cardinal.” For as a carbuncle set in a gold ring increases its beauty, so does humility shed a lustre upon the insignia of high station

When He had said these things , Jesus was troubled in spirit , and testified (openly and plainly), saying , Verify, I say unto you, that one of you will betray Me. In the Syriac, “ These things said Jeschua, and groaned in spirit, and testified and said, Amin, amin, I say to you,” x.r.A. In the Arabic Version “was moved in spirit.” This emotion, then, was an immense grief and indignation at the crime of Judas. Christ was pained in the innermost feelings of His soul, and groaned in spirit for the enormity of this crime as well as for the perdition of Judas. And this sorrow he did not suffer involuntarily, but admitted it of His free will, and took it upon Him at this point of His own accord, as He did at the death of Lazarus. See commentary on ch. xi. ver. 33. The question arises here, Did this prediction of Christ take place before or after the institution of the Eucharist? John omits all mention of that event, it having been narrated fully by the other Evangelists. Matthew and Mark put the prediction before the institution of the Eucharist in order of time, but Luke puts it after. There are three probable opinions on this point. The first is that of Jansenius and Francis Lucas, who think that Christ predicted the treason of Judas after the Eucharist, as Luke has it, and that Matthew and Mark, in making it come before, anticipate intenDigitized by v^iOOQLe 6o tionally. The reason for this view is that if Christ had predicted the treason of Judas before the institution of the Eucharist, He would have disturbed the minds of the apostles, moved them to anger, and rendered their dispositions for its reception less collected than would have been fitting. But this is not conclusive. For Christ before the Eucharist foretold His passion and death, and this disturbed the apostles far more : and soon after the Eucharist— as these interpreters themselves admit — He foretold the treason of Judas, and this disturbed them then, so that they did not duly dispose themselves for that recollection which is proper after Communion. Then again this prediction would, before the Eucharist, have had the force of deterring Judas from his crime, as well as producing compunction in the hearts of the apostles and making them all careful to examine each one his own conscience, lest Christ should there find anything to bring to light and complain of, as He did the crime of Judas. The second opinion is that of Baronius (Anno Dni. 34, ch. 58). He thinks that Christ made this prediction before the institution of the Eucharist, as Matthew and Mark have it Baronius, then, is of opinion that the events took place in the order given by John, namely, that after the washing of the feet, Jesus spoke of His betrayal, that it was then that He gave John the sign of the morsel dipped in the dish, but that, as for Judas having gone out immediately after he had taken the morsel, we are not to take the phrase as meaning without any delay in point of time, but that, driven on by a kind of madness, he did not wait for the lengthy discourse which our Lord made after the Supper. For S. Luke clearly bears witness that Judas stayed with the others until the end of the Communion ; and after this, according to the Jewish ceremonial, it would seem that nothing was left on the table in which the morsel of bread could have been dipped, so, too, it seems impossible to say that this morsel of bread was the Eucharist But then Judas, after taking the morsel, did go out immediately , nay, that very moment according to the Syriac. He did not, then, wait for the lengthy Communion of the apostles, if that took place after the incident of the morsel. Digitized by v^iOOQLe THE SOP GIVEN TO JUDAS. 61 Hence it is with greater likelihood that other upholders of this view maintain that the morsel given to Judas by Christ was itself the Eucharist ; and he, driven, as it were, to madness by the devil when he had received it unworthily, straightway went forth to carry out the crime he was meditating. Moreover, during and after the institution of the Eucharist Christ reclined at the table, and there, as Luke has it, foretold the treason of Judas. It is, therefore, altogether probable that the table had not yet been removed, but that on it there remained bread and fragments of food out of which Christ could take the bread which He dipped and gave to Judas. The third opinion, therefore, holding a middle place between the two former, seems to be the more correct — namely, that Christ both foretold His betrayal by Judas before the Eucharist, and repeated the prediction after it ; and this both because He felt the atrocity of the crime, and was, as John here says, disturbed in spirit by it, again, that He might place his own wickedness before Judas, show him that He knew of it, and deter him from carrying it out, and also to prepare and fortify the minds of the Apostles, that when they should soon after see the actual betrayal and the capture of Jesus they might not be shocked, but might persevere with constancy in His faith. In this way we best reconcile Matthew and Mark with Luke. This is the expressed view of S. Augustine (De Consensu Evang ;, bk. iii. ch. i), of Euthymius, and of Toletus, who say that the order of events was as follows. The Supper of the Paschal Lamb having been finished, and the ordinary Supper begun, Christ, while they were supping, arose and washed the feet of His disciples ; then, reclining once more, He said all these things which John narrates ; being troubled in spirit He speaks of His betrayer, and they all ask, one by one, “ Is it I ? ” Judas receiving the answer, “Thou hast said.” Next He institutes the Eucharist, and this being done, and the Mystery having been celebrated, He again speaks of His betrayer, as Luke relates, ch. xxii. “Nevertheless,” He says, “behold, the hand of him that betrayeth Me is with Me at table,” &c. Then Peter asks John, “Who is it of whom He speaks?” and John askDigitized by v^iOOQLe 62 ing Jesus, receives the answer, “ He to whom I shall offer the bread when I have dipped it.” And after this morsel Satan entered into Judas, and he went away ; and when he went away, and the Supper was quite finished, Christ made to His disciples the wonderful discourse shortly after recorded by John

Therefore the disciples began to look at one another , doubting of whom He was speaking, and asking, too, one by one, “ Lord, is it I ? ” For, as Chrysostom says, “ Because He did not speak of His betrayer by name, He brought fear upon all, and, though conscious to themselves of nothing evil, they yet believed Christ more than their own thoughts.” And, as Origen says, “ They, as being men, remembered that the feelings even of enthusiasts are liable to change.”

There was then reclining on the bosom of Jesus one of His disciples , whom Jesus loved , namely, John himself. The Apostles, desiring to know by name who was to be the traitor, Peter, more eager and fervent than the rest, hints to John, who is reclining on the bosom of Jesus, to inquire of Jesus, as John here relates, and this is the force of the “then.” John being dearer to Jesus and closer to Him, inasmuch as he was reclining on His bosom, therefore, for this reason, Peter hints to him to inquire of Jesus his beloved the name of the traitor. Moreover, John is said to have reclined on the bosom of Jesus because the ancients used not to sit at table, but reclined by twos or threes on the several couches placed before the tables, so that, leaning on the lower part of the right arm, they lay rather than sat at table ; and so it came to pass that the second person coming next to the first on his left hand would seem as it were to lie upon his bosom. Whom Jesus loved — not only with the love of human friendship, but also with the love of charity, for the sake of virginity and purity, his modesty and meekness, and the sweet and holy disposition by which he excelled all the others. So say Cyril, Chrysostom, Theophylact, Euthymius, and St. Jerome in his letter to Heliodorus. Still it does not follow from this that John was absolutely holier than all the other apostles ; Peter may have been more ardent in Digitized by v^iOOQLe S. PETER MAKES SIGNS TO S. JOHN. 63 charity than he, and therefore holier than John. For sanctity consists chiefly in the love of God, which is its measure. Moreover, that John was reclining on the bosom of Jesus was not only a mark of His love for him at the time, but also a sign of what was to be, “ That he might take from thence,” says Bede, “ that voice unheard through all ages which he was afterwards to send forth to the world.”

Simon Peter , therefore, gave him a sign , and said to him , Who is it of whom He speaks t — Hence it is plain that Peter not only gave a sign to John by winking and nodding, as S. Augustine would have it, but also spoke to him quietly, as John here relates. Such is the opinion of Origen, Chrysostom, and Cyril. Peter asks this not as Prince of the Apostles (though Cyril takes this view), nor as though fearing for himself lest he should be the traitor, as Chrysostom thinks, but out of his zeal, that he might avert so enormous a crime and prevent the betrayal of Christ, just as in the garden he wished to prevent His capture by cutting off the right ear of Malchus. Verses 25, 26. — So when he had reclined upon the breast of fesus9 x.r. A. John seems to have moved towards Peter, who was making signs to him, and so to have moved away a little from the bosom of Jesus in order to hear what Peter had to say ; and having heard, he seems to have reoccupied his former position to ask of Jesus what Peter had suggested to him. The bread I have dipped. — Observe that Judas was present at the celebration of the Passover, and also of the Eucharist ; and received the latter together with the other Apostles, as SS. Augustine, Chrysostom, Cyril, and others show. Indeed some have thought that this bread which He had dipped was the Eucharist, but erroneously ; for Christ did not consecrate bread which He had dipped, but dry bread, and likewise pure wine and unmixed (with bread). Christ, after the Holy Communion, took from the table a morsel of the bread that remained, dipped it into some little dainty sauce that remained on the table, for it is not fitting that at a banquet dry bread should be given to a guest by the host, and gave it to Judas, that by this sign He might Digitized by v^iOOQLe 6 4 indicate him to John as the traitor. The other apostles did not hear the words of Christ to John about this way of pointing -out the traitor, He having spoken quietly to John in his ear. Moreover, Christ pointed him out by this sign with peculiar fitness, bread which we eat at table being a sign of peace and friendship, so that Christ showed by it, not only who the traitor was, but also the nature and mode of his treachery, for Judas was to betray Him by a similar sign of friendship, a kiss. Mystically this pipping of the bread denoted the falseness and fraud that was in the soul of Judas, says St. Augustine. Again St Cyril and Augustine say that Judas was pointed out by Christ by the morsel of bread that the words of Ps. xli. might be fulfilled — “ He that eateth bread with me hath lifted his heel against me.” Indeed Chrysostom says that by this very act Christ here upbraided Judas with this, as if He had said, How is it, Judas, that thou, a companion of My table, art not ashamed to betray Me? Judas, then, having received the morsel from Christ, feeling by his own evil conscience, and by this sign, that he was a marked man, persisted shamelessly and obstinately in his intention of betraying Christ. For seeing himself found out and disgraced, as it were beside himself and infuriated, he went forth at the devil's prompting to finish his crime, going to the chief priests to ask them for guards who, with him for their leader and guide, should seize Jesus. Though Matthew puts these words and Christ's answer before the Eucharist, so that S. Augustine (De Consensu Evang . bk. iii. ch. 1) thinks that they were spoken before it, yet from the words of Luke and John it is plain that they were spoken after the Eucharist. For it is altogether likely that Judas, when he heard Christ;s answer, Thou hast said , straightway went out embarrassed and indignant. Immediately, then, after receiving the morsel he asked, Master • is it 11 received the answer, Thou hast said , and then went out at once, covered with shame and indignation

And after the morsel Satan entered into him, urging and impelling him to avenge this his disgrace, — to betray to the Jews Christ who had betrayed his villainy. Satan, who had before “ Digitized by v^iOOQLe CAUSES OF JUDAS* FALL. 65 entered into Judas for the plotting of the betrayal, as was said in verse 2, here again entered into him for its accomplishment ; both because Jifdas, being already called by Christ and the apostles a traitor, dared remain among them no longer lest he should be ill-treated by them, and also because the hour proper for the betrayal, and appointed first by Judas, was near at hand — that hour, namely, when he knew that Christ would, after His wont, go out to pray on Mount Olivet, where He could easily seized* Wherefore there was no need for John to point out Judas to Peter when Christ pointed out the traitor to him, for Judas soon betrayed himself both by his question and by his departure. So Satan entered into Judas to take complete possession of him, and that with certainty and with a strong hold, so that he brought him soon to the halter. Not that the morsel given him by Christ put the devil into him, for this was a sign of Christ’s love by which He wanted to win the heart of Judas to love Him in return, but that Judas, ungrateful for this love of Christ, took it in bad part, thinking that Christ was giving him the morsel out of hatred and a desire to injure him and make his crime known to the apostles. Wherefore, bidding farewell to the apostolate of Christ, he went away to the household and the bondage of Satan and of the Jews as a deserter and apostate. So S. Chrysostom, S. Augustine, and Cyril, who observes that a kindness hurts those who are ungrateful not of itself, but through their fault and ingratitude. S. Ambrose ( De Cain et Abel bk. ii. ch. 4) says — “When Satan put himself into the heart of Judas, Christ went away from him, and in that moment when he received the former he lost the latter.” The devil entered into Judas for three reasons. First, for his ingratitude, says S. Augustine ; for Christ having discharged all the offices of love towards him, and he not being moved even by these, was left to be fully possessed by the devil. Then again, because the devil knew from the words of the Lord and from outward signs that he was stubborn in his evil will, and given over by the Lord, says Chrysostom (Homily 71). Thirdly, because Judas himself understood that he was now found out, and, as it were, separated vol. v. e Digitized by v^iOOQLe 66 from the disciples and from their Master ; so he became hardened in evil, and, as if in desperation, gave himself over entirely to the devil; and so it was that he went out, unable to bear the looks of his Lord and of the disciples, or, says Euthymius, following S. Chrysostom, fearing lest he should be torn to pieces by them. So Ribera. Notice here in the case of Judas how a man who deserts Christ is palpably deserted by Christ, and when deserted is attacked by Satan — possessed by him, and, when possessed, hurried into every crime, and then into the abyss. Just as Judas from an apostle became a devil, so Lucifer from the fairest of angels became the darkest of evil spirits, — as the sourest vinegar is made from the sweetest wine, and the heretic — Luther, for instance — nay, the heresiarch, is made from the monk. And Jesus said to him ; What thou doesi, do more quickly — more quickly , that is quickly , as the Syriac translates it ; the comparative is put for the positive. Christ is not precipitating the treason of Judas, but He permits it He says as it were : Think not that thy doings are hidden from Me ; I know that thou art meditating treason. He did not tell him to commit the crime, says S. Augustine, but He foretold it, not so much in wrathful desire for the destruction of the villain, as in haste for the safety of the faithful. He permitted it, saying, as it were : Do what thou hast begun, finish what thou didst intend ; in a thousand ways could I hinder thee, but I will not ; rather do I leave thee to thy free wilL Do what thou hast planned in thy heart. Thirdly, S. Chrysostom says they are words of reproach. I know that thou art working great evil against Me, from whom thou hast received so many gifts ; are these the injuries thou repayest Me for so many kindnesses? But do what thou hast to do. For even though I have made known thy crime, yet have I not done so as fearing it, nor would I wish to hinder it ; for if I wished I could do so; but in order to cast before thine eyes thy malice and thy shamelessness, and to reprove thee. Fourthly, they are the words of a lofty mind that despises all the machinations of Judas. St. Leo (Serm. y, On the Passion) says, Digitized by v^iOOQLe SATAN ENTERS INTO JUDAS. 67 “ It is the voice of one who commands not but permits, of one not fearing but prepared, who, holding all time in His power, showed that He allowed no delay to the traitor, and that He so followed out the will of the Father for the redemption of the world, as neither to prompt nor fear the crime that was being matured.” Fifthly, they are the words of one excluding Judas, as incorrigible, from His family and the fellowship of the apostles. Since thou wilt sever thyself from us, I exclude thee from My table, from My house, My apostolate, and My companionship ; get thee gone, then, to thine own Jews and to Satan, to whom thou hast sold thyself. So S. Ambrose (De Cain et Abel , bk. ii. ch. 4). Cyril (bk. ix. ch. 17), following Origen, interprets in a novel fashion, taking these things as said by Christ not to Judas but to Satan, who was entering into Judas. He says that, “ Just as if a mighty man against whom some one advances with hostile intent, trusting in his own might, doubts not but that his adversary shall fall, and, with loud and threatening noise, speaks : What thou doest do quickly , that thou niayest know the strength of my right hand. Such words we would not call so much the words of one in haste to die, as of one who knew before that his adversary must fall. So our Lord bids the devil run quickly to the things he has made ready, that being conquered and bound he may the sooner relieve the world of his tyranny.” But from what we have said it is clear that this was said to Judas and not to Satan, as the Fathers and interpreters generally hold

But of this , none of those at table kneiu why He said it , *. r. A. For though they knew from the words of Christ that Judas was to be His betrayer, yet they did not know that he would betray Him that very night ; and therefore they did not understand that Christ, when He said, What thou doest , do quickly , was speaking of His betrayal, but interpreted it with reference to the purchase of things needful for the celebration of the Passover, Judas being the steward of Christ and the apostles

When, therefore , he had gone forth , Jesus said , Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him — “ is glorified equivalent to “ is soon to be glorified f the perfect put for the immediate future; Judas is now gone forth to betray Me, therefore is my cross and death nigh at hand, and so far is it from bringing ignominy on Me that* on the contrary, by it I am to be supremely glorified. For in it shall I be recognised as not only man and the Son of man, but also the Son of God and God ; for the Divinity that lieth veiled in My humanity shall be recognised by the darkening of the sun, the cleaving asunder of rocks, the opening of sepulchres, the rising up of the dead, and the quaking of all the earth, — all these things shall show forth that God suffereth and dieth upon the cross. And again by its effects, for by the cross will I subjugate to Myself the whole world, all the devils, and sin, death and hell, as the God and Lord of all things. So S. Chrysostom, Cyril, and others. And here, note that by these signs God and the Godhead Digitized by v^iOOQLe 70 of Christ not only glorified the humanity of Christ but Itself also ; for in them was made manifest the infinite goodness, power, wisdom, majesty, and glory of Chrises Godhead

If God is glorified in Him, God shall also glorify Him in Himself and shall glorify Him straightway . If that is because — because Christ, made obedient unto the death of the cross, hath by this His obedience, reverence, and sacrifice, glorified God the Father, therefore shall God the Father in turn glorify the Son in Himself by demonstrating and making manifest the Divinity that is hidden in Him. And this straightway — quickly, for on the third day He shall raise Him up revived, and glorious in His death ; on the fortieth day He shall cause Him to ascend in triumph into Heaven ; and on the fiftieth to send down His Holy Spirit upon the apostles. By all these things He made known to the world that Jesus is not only man but God, and the Son of God. So Cyril and Chrysostom. Origen, in his 6th Homily, says that the glorification of Christ was twofold, — the former in His death, by which He was glorified in the lowliness of His mortality ; and the latter in His resurrection, by which He was glorified in the sublimity of His immortality. Secondly, S. Hilary (He Trinitate , bk. v.), and Toletus following him,' think that God is said to be glorified in Christ , because He showed His own Divinity in His death and resurrection ; proving Himself God and the Son of God by raising Himself from death, ascending into heaven by His own power, and thence sending down the Holy Spirit and working many wonders through the apostles. This interpretation is called for by the expressions — in Him , in Himself The Godhead was veiled in Christ until His death, but it then shone out and thrust itself forth, showing Christ to be not only man, but also the Son of God, inasmuch as He raised Himself from death by virtue of His own Divinity. Origen says, “The Son is, as Paul says, the brightness of the Divine glory, from whence come its splendours upon every rational creature ; for only the Son is capable of comprehending all the brightness of the Divine glory.” The words “ in Himself” may be referred, first, to “the Son of Man.” God glorified the Man Christ, by showing that He, as man, Digitized by v^iOOQLe THE SAINTS CALLED LITTLE ONES. J I had God indwelling in Him, and the Godhead of the Word ; and secondly, to “ God ” — God showing that the Man Christ subsists in the Divine Person of the Word, that is, in God

Peter says to Him , Why can I not follow Thee now l I will lay down my life for Thee. Peter says this with his wonted fervour and zeal, but a zeal not according to knowledge. For, suspecting that Christ was going to death, as He had foretold, he offers himself as a comrade to share all dangers with Him. I am ready with Thee to take every chance of danger ; I offer myself to Thee as a companion for all that may befall; with Thee and for Thee I will gladly welcome death. The affectionate feeling of Peter for Christ, though without effect, is worthy of praise ; he had not yet received the wings of love from the Holy Ghost to fly to so lofty a cross

Jesus answered him : Layest thou thy life down for Mel Verily I say unto thee , The cock shall not crow before thou deny Me thrice. Christ humbles Peter, who trusts too much in himself, and suffers him to fall, that he may learn to confide not in his own strength but in the grace of Christ. Wherefore Christ repeatedly made this prediction to Peter. Hear S. Chrysostom (Horn. 72), M Thou shalt know by experience that thy love is nothing without Divine grace. And hence it appears that Jesus permitted this fall for his benefit.” Digitized by v^iOOQLe ( 76 ) CHAPTER XIV. I Christ comforteth His disciples with the hope of heaven. 6 Professeth Himselj the way , the truths and the life , and one with the Father. 13 Assureth their prayers in His name to be effectual. 1 5 Requesteth love and obedience. 16 Promiseth the Holy Ghost the Comforter . 27 And leaveth His peace with them. LET not your heart be troubled : ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many mansions : if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself 5 that where I am, there ye may be also. 4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. 5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest ; and how can we know the way? 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life : no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also : and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. 8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then , Show us the Father ? 10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me ? the words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself : but the Father, that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. 1 1 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me : or else believe me for the very works* sake. 12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also ; and greater works than these shall he do ; because I go unto my Father. 13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it, 15 If ye love me, keep my commandments : 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever ; 17 Even the spirit of truth ; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him : but ye know him ; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. Digitized by Google CHRIST COMFORTS HIS DISCIPLES. 77 1 8 I will not leave you comfortless ; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me ; because I live, ye shall live also. 20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. 21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me ; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 22 Judas saith unto him (not Iscariot), Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world ? 23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words : and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. 24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings : and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me. 25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you : not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father : for my Father is greater than L 29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. 30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you; for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. 31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence. Let not your heart , &*c. Christ saw that the minds of His disciples were troubled, i.e. anxious and sorrowful, because He had foretold them that His own departure and Passion, through the treachery of Judas, was at hand, as well as the scandal of Peter’s threefold denial of Him. For they feared lest they also through dread of the Jews should betray Christ For if Peter, who seemed as firm as a rock, was about to do so, would not the rest, who were weaker and more timid, do the same ? Christ heals this their perturbation by the words, Ye believe in God% believe also in Me. The Greek reads for ye believe , cr/mu«ri, i.e. Believe ye in God , or, ye believe , &*c. The meaning is, If ye believe in God, as I know ye do, believe also in Me, and consequently trust Me. For I am God. By this faith and confidence ye may overcome all your fears, and Digitized by ' 7 8 be made partakers of My promises. Cast all your cares and anxieties upon Me, your Lord and your God. For although I go away from you as to My bodily presence, yet in My spirit, in My care and guidance of you, I shall be always with you. Listen to S. Chrysostom. He shows the power of His Divinity, setting out what they had in their minds. As if He said, “Ye fear the adversity which hangs over Me and you. Lay aside your fear. For faith in Me and the Father is mightier than those things which will come upon us. And nothing can prevail against it.” And S. Augustine says, “ Lest as men they should fear the death of Christ, and so be troubled, He consoles them, declaring that He is God. As though He said, Ye fear death for this form of a servant ; let not your heart be troubled, the form of God will raise it up.” Moreover Christ did this, as Ribera says, like husbandmen who attach a weakly vine to an elm, that it may from the elm receive strength to mount up and grow, even though wind and storms rage against it Thus the Lord joins the apostles to Himself as a most strong wall, by faith : as it is said in Ps. 26, “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom then shall I fear?” Let the Christian think that the same thing is said to himself by Christ when he is harassed by temptation, trouble, or fear. “ Thou believest in God, believe also in thy Christ. He will be present with thee, and give thee strength. He will open out for thee a way of escape, and make thee conqueror.” In My Fathers house, . Christ had said that He was about to go to the Father, and that Peter would follow Him thither, but He had said nothing concerning the other disciples. They feared therefore that they should be shut out from the Father’s house and from heaven. This fear Christ removes. “Fear not, for though it be that I do not take you with Me now to My Father’s kingdom, yet I will cause you to follow Me in due time. Do not suppose that Peter only will follow Me thither, as if there were only room for Myself and Peter. I tell you there will not be wanting room for you likewise. For in My Father's house are many mansions . For heaven is a vast empyrean, and has innumerDigitized by Google MANY MANSIONS. 79 able mansions, sufficient to hold all men whatsoever.” So SS. Augustine and Chrysostom. Moreover, the expression many , intimates that there are in heaven various degrees and ranks of blessedness and glory. As it were said, To each saint shall be his own place in heaven, to each his own beatitude, his own glory, in accordance with the merit of each. So the Fathers against Jovinian, who thought that as all virtues are equal, so likewise would be all rewards in heaven. Listen to St. Gregory (lib. 4, “Moral,” ch. 31), “ In the many mansions shall be a concordant diversity of requital. For so great shall be the might of the love which shall unite us in that house of peace, that whatsoever any one shall not receive in himself, he shall rejoice to have received it in another. Wherefore, although all did not labour equally in the vineyard, yet every one received a penny. And indeed with the Father there are many mansion, and yet the different labourers receive the same penny, because to all shall be the one blessed gladness, although not to all the same sublimity of life.” The same S. Gregory says, that to a certain Stephen these many mansions were shown full of a marvellous light Christ then by these words, and by this exhibition of the heavenly reward, animates the apostles, so that they should not dread the temptations and persecutions which were impending over them, but should rather court them, forasmuch as by their means they were about to obtain such rewards. If it were not so , i.e. if it were otherwise, I would have told you. First, it is as though He said, “ I would have told you that I was going away that I might go to prepare a place for you in heaven, unless there were already many mansions prepared there ; but because they are already prepared, I said not to you, 1 will go to prepare them.19 2. Following the Greek and Syriac, which omit the word that before I go, Arias Montanus simply expounds as follows : “ There are many mansions in My Father’s house. If it were not so I would tell you plainly ; nor would I deceive you with the vain hope that I am going to prepare a place for you.” As though He said, “ Since So I so greatly love you, that I am going away from you for the sake of preparing a place for you, how should I suffer you to be deceived in so great a matter? To prepare a place is to come into possession of heaven, which until that time had been closed to man. When I ascend, the heavens shall be opened to you, according as it is said, ‘Lift your gates, ye princes, and the King of glory shall come in,* (Ps. xxiv. Vulg.) ; and, ‘ He shall ascend preparing the way before them*” (Mic. ii. Vulg.) You will say, if mansions were already prepared for the apostles in heaven, why does Christ go to prepare a place for them? I answer, both are true. For, ist, these mansions were prepared for the apostles and the rest of the elect from all eternity, by God’s predestination, in the first intention, as it were. 2d, Christ went, nevertheless, to prepare them in act, as it were ; namely, to bring the apostles into possession of them so to say. Moreover, Christ made plain the way to heaven, which before was shut, by His ascension. For He by His own blood and death upon the cross paid to God the price of those heavenly mansions, and by that price purchased them for us. Moreover, when Christ ascended, He sent the Holy Ghost from heaven, that He, by His peace, might render the apostles and the rest of the elect worthy of heaven. So S. Augustine. “ How,” saith he, “ does He prepare, if there are already many ? They are not yet in existence if they are still to be prepared. But they do already exist by predestination. Otherwise, He would have said, I will go and prepare , t.e. I will predestinate. But it was because they were not prepared as a matter of actual existence that He said, If I go away and prepare , &c., He is preparing the mansions by preparing their destined inhabitants. For that is the house of God, of which the apostle says, ‘ The temple of God is holy, which temple are ye/ It is still being built, it is yet being prepared. He speaks of going away to prepare, because the just live by faith. For if thou seest there is no faith, the thing is hid that it may be believed, then is the place being prepared if there is a life of faith ; being believed it is desired, that that which is longed for may be possessed. He goes away by Digitized by v^iOOQLe THE WAY TO HEAVEN. *1 becoming unseen. He comes by appearing. But unless He abide with us to rule us, that we may make progress in good living, we shall not have a place prepared for us where we can abide in continual gladness.”