Song 1:7

“You see that it is not in the third hour that the spouse dines or reclines but at midday. Where do you dine, where do you rest, where shall I find you, where do you enjoy delights, where can I find you, O my spouse? Do you want to find me? At noon, in perfect knowledge, in good works, in the bright light. Because we have the noonday, that is why the devil disguises himself as an angel of light and pretends that he has the light, that he has the noonday. When heretics promise any pseudo-mysteries, when they promise the kingdom of heaven, when they promise continence, fasts, sanctity, the renunciation of the world, they promise the noonday. But since their midday is not the light of Christ, it is not the noonday but the noonday demon.”

“"Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where do you feed your flock, where you lie down?" Neither we nor they have any doubt that the bride is speaking to the bridegroom, the church to Christ. But listen to all the words of the bride. Why do you want to attribute to the bridegroom a word that is still in the bride's part? Let the bride say everything she says, and then the bridegroom will reply.…Midday is coming, you see, when the shepherds take refuge in the shade; and perhaps where you are feeding your flock and lying down will escape me; and I want you to tell me, lest perchance I go as one veiled, that is, as one concealed and not recognized. I am in fact plain to see, but lest as one veiled, as one hidden, I stumble on the flocks of your companions.”

“Why do I want you to tell me where you graze, where you lie down in the noonday? "Lest I should happen, like a veiled woman, on the flocks of your companions." That is the reason, she says, why I want you to tell me where you graze your flock, where you lie down in the noonday. When I come to you I won't lose my way, lest like a veiled woman I should come upon the flocks of your companions, that is to say, I should stumble on flocks that are not yours but belong to your companions.”

“With good reason then to this shepherd of shepherds, does his beloved, his spouse, his fair one, but by him made fair, before by sin deformed, beautiful afterward through pardon and grace, speak in her love and ardor after him, and say to him, "Where do you feed?" And observe how, by what transport this spiritual love is here animated. And far better are they by this transport delighted who have tasted of the sweetness of this love. They bear this properly who love Christ. For in them, and of them, does the church sing this in the Song of Songs.”

“It is logical for the bride to enquire at the time of midday where the bridegroom takes his rest because when the light of knowledge became stronger, heresies developed which, while bearing the name of Christians, were nevertheless devoid of truth. This is the reason she is exercised and anxious to learn the spot where the bridegroom rests the sheep, the risk of falling in with the flocks of so-called companions. It should be understood that just as there were the prophets and the false prophets opposed to them, and likewise apostles and false apostles of an opposite mind, so too false Christs are referred to in the divine Scripture. Hence the Lord also says, "Many false prophets will rise up and will lead many people astray." And blessed Paul was in the habit of speaking not only of false brethren but also of false apostles—hence his remark, "For such people are false apostles." The bride begs not to fall in with these people since they give the appearance of shepherds and likewise seem to have flocks and herds. Of such kind are the people who hold the views of Arius, Eunomius, Marcion, Valentinus, Mani and Montanus. While invested with a Christian appearance and name, building churches, reading divine Scriptures to sheep led astray, wrongly tending their followers and thought to be companions of the bridegroom, they are instead pernicious schemers, providing the sheep with poison instead of nourishing draughts.”

“It is fitting meanwhile to consider this contemplation of such great mercy. The deeds of a sinful woman, but one repenting—with what esteem does Truth preserve them in His presence, which He enumerates to her adversary with such detailed distribution. The Lord was reclining at the Pharisee's dinner, but He was delighting in the feasts of the mind at the penitent woman's. At the Pharisee's house, Truth was fed outwardly; at the sinful woman's, yet one who had converted, He was fed inwardly. Hence the holy Church says to Him in the Song of Songs, whom she seeks under the likeness of a young deer: "Show me, O you whom my soul loves, where you feed, where you rest at midday." For the Lord is called a young deer, according to His assumed flesh the son of the ancient fathers. Indeed, a more fervent heat burns at midday, and the young deer seeks a shady place where the fire of heat does not affect it. Therefore, the Lord rests in those hearts which the love of the present age does not inflame, which the desires of the flesh do not burn up, which, set ablaze by their anxieties, do not wither in the lusts of this world.”

“At midday the sun is more fervent. Everyone who burns in faith burns in the love of desire. This bridegroom who is called below a young stag feeds the greenness of virtues in their heart; in their heart he reclines at midday, in the fervor of charity. Show me, O you whom my soul loves, where you feed, where you lie down at midday. Why she thus seeks where he feeds, where he lies down, she gives the reason for her inquiry. Lest I begin to wander after the flocks of your companions. The companions of God are His close friends, just as all who live well are; but many appear to be companions and are not companions. For many teachers, while they were promoting perverse doctrine, seemed indeed to be companions, but turned out to be enemies. While Arius, Sabellius, and Montanus were still teachers, they appeared as if companions; but when they were strictly examined and exposed, they appeared as enemies. And very often faithful souls, while they cling to the word of God, while they love in their teachers that from which they may profit, do not know how to guard against the words of perverse teachers, and fall away through their very mouths. For how many congregations there are that trusted in these companions, and while those men pursued them, they wandered astray through the flocks of companions! Let her therefore say: "Show me where you pasture, where you rest at midday, lest I begin to wander after the flocks of your companions." Show me in whose hearts you truly rest, lest I begin to wander after the flocks of those who seem to be your companions, that is, who are believed to be your close friends and are not. All priests, all teachers are companions of God, as far as appearance goes; but as far as their life is concerned, many are not companions but adversaries. But these very things we have said about heretical masters, we can also say about Catholics who do not act rightly. For many little faithful ones within the Church desire to live well, wish to hold to a life of uprightness, and observe the life of the priests who are set over them; and when those very priests do not live well, when those who are in charge do not live rightly, those who follow after slip into error. Wherefore the Church, as if speaking in the person of those little and faithful ones, says: "Show me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture, where you rest at midday." Show me the life of those who truly serve you, so that I may know where you pasture — the verdure of virtues — so that I may know where you rest at midday, that is, where you repose in the fervor of charity; lest while I look upon the flocks of your companions, I myself begin to wander, not knowing to whose words and teachings I should entrust myself. For every hearer, every weak one, must carefully consider whose words he ought to believe, whose instruction he ought to follow, whose examples he ought to imitate.”

“Tell me, O you whom my soul loves, where you pasture, etc. Well indeed does she call him whom she seeks for protection, the beloved of her soul, because the more serious the danger from which she wishes to be rescued, the more she loves him through whom she knows she will be saved. This is similar to what the Psalmist says, "I will love you, O Lord, my strength" (Psalm 17). Which openly means, Therefore I do not cease to love you with all my mind, because I perceive that without your grace I can have no strength. She also implies that he is a shepherd, saying, Where you pasture, where you lie at midday. According to what he himself testifies in the Gospel: "I am the good shepherd, and I know my sheep, and my sheep know me" (John 10). He who pastures his sheep lies among them at midday, because he refreshes the hearts of his faithful ones with the memory of heavenly sweetness, so that they do not wither in the heat of temptations, and he is accustomed to mercifully dwell in them. Thus also the Psalmist says, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures" (Psalm 23). Hence John says, "He who abides in love abides in God, and God in him" (1 John 4). Therefore, because many false prophets go out into the world, saying "Look, here is Christ," or "There he is" (Matthew 24), the Church of Christ must always carefully discern who they are in whom he can be found, both in their profession and in their deeds; and she must implore him with pious words to deign to reveal himself: Tell me, she says, O you whom my soul loves, where you pasture, where you lie at midday.”

“"That I may not begin to wander among the flocks of your companions, etc. As if he says openly, Because the multifarious persecution by my adversaries affects me like the heat of the midday; I beseech you to declare to me, O my Redeemer and Protector, in which places I might find those who are refreshed by the grace of your presence, and what are those teachings among all that align with your evangelical truth, lest, with your help being delayed, I might perhaps stumble upon the congregations of those who err, for without your guidance, I can in no way enter the path of truth. For even heretics can not inappropriately be called his companions, inasmuch as they carry around either the confession or the mysteries of his name. Did not the bride of Christ do this, when the false apostles came to Antioch, namely, his companions, and preached, Except you be circumcised according to Moses, you cannot be saved (Acts XV), already wearied by no small fervor of sedition and question, finally sent Paul and Barnabas to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, to more certainly discern what was the truth of the Gospel? And after the conflict was finished, it was proven among them, whom James, and Cephas, and John, and the other apostles educated, that the Lord Christ was the shepherd and dweller, and that his flock, the Church, was to be safeguarded from the flocks of companions, that is, from the people of the heretics. Did not the bride of Christ also do this in subsequent times, when the sons of her mother fought against her, that is, when heresies rose up against her from within her, soon diligently seeking what was the truth of faith, by convening the councils of the Fathers? But, because the same bride, that is, the Church of Christ, while seeking the help of his presence in her tribulations, adds on behalf of the weak. That I may not begin to wander among the flocks of your companions, he immediately rebukes the same trepidation with kind reproof, as if saying that evangelical thing, Ye of little faith, why did you doubt (Matt. XIV)? For it follows:”

“"Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon?" The Word, who is the Bridegroom, often makes himself known under more than one form to those who are fervent. Why so? Doubtless because he cannot be seen yet as he is. That vision is unchanging, because the form in which he will then be seen is unchanging; for he is, and can suffer no change determined by present, past or future. Eliminate past and future, and where then is alteration or any shadow of a change? For whatever evolves out of the past and does not cease to move toward future development, passes through the instant that is the present, but one cannot say: it is. How can one say: it is, when it never remains in the same state? That alone truly is, which is neither altered from its past mode of being nor blotted out by a future mode, but "is" alone is predicated of it impregnably and unchangeably, and it remains what it is. No reference to the past can deny that it is from all eternity, nor any reference to the future that it is for all eternity. In this way it proves that it truly is, that is, it is uncreated, interminable, immutable. When he therefore who exists in this manner - who, furthermore, cannot be one moment in this form, another in that - is seen just as he is, that vision endures, as I have said, since no alteration interrupts it. This is the moment when that one denarius mentioned in the Gospel is given in the one vision that is offered to everyone who sees. For as he who is seen is immutable in himself, he is present immutably to all who contemplate him; to these there is nothing more desirable that they wish to see, nothing more enticing that they could see. Can their eager appetite, then, ever grow weary, or that sweetness ebb away, or that truth prove deceptive, or that eternity come to a close? And if both the ability and will to contemplate are prolonged eternally, what is lacking to total happiness? Those who contemplate him without ceasing are short of nothing, those whose wills are fixed on him have nothing more to desire. 2. But this vision is not for the present life; it is reserved for the next, at least for those who can say: "We know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." Even now he appears to whom he pleases, but as he pleases, not as he is. Neither sage nor saint nor prophet can or could ever see him as he is, while still in this mortal body; but whoever is found worthy will be able to do so when the body becomes immortal. Hence, though he is seen here below, it is in the form that seems good to him, not as he is. For example, take that mighty source of light, I speak of that sun which you see day after day; yet you do not see it as it is, but according as it lights up the air, or a mountain, or a wall. Nor could you see even to this extent if the light of your body, the eye, because of its natural steadiness and clearness, did not bear some degree of likeness to that light in the heavens. Since all the other members of the body lack this likeness, they are incapable of seeing the light. Even the eye itself, when troubled, cannot approach the light, because it has lost that likeness. Just as the troubled eye, then, cannot gaze on the peaceful sun because of its unlikeness, so the peaceful eye can behold it with some efficacy because of a certain likeness. If indeed it were wholly equal to it in purity, with a completely clear vision it would see it as it is, because of the complete likeness. And so when you are enlightened you can see even now the Sun of Justice that "enlightens every man who comes into this world," according to the degree of the light he gives, by which you are made somehow like him; but see him as he is you cannot, because not yet perfectly like him. That is why the Psalmist says: "Come to him and be enlightened, and your faces shall never be ashamed." That is very true, provided we are enlightened as much as we need, so that "with our unveiled faces contemplating the glory of God, all grow brighter and brighter as we are turned into the same image, as by the spirit of the Lord." 3. Note that we must approach gently, not intrude ourselves upon him, lest the irreverent searcher of majesty be overwhelmed by glory. This approach is not a movement from place to place but from brightness to brightness, not in the body but in the spirit, as by the Spirit of the Lord; evidently by the spirit of the Lord, not by ours, although in ours. The brighter one becomes, the nearer is the end; and to be absolutely bright is to have arrived. For those thus arrived in his presence, to see him as he is means to be as he is, and not to be put to shame by any form of unlikeness. But, as I have said, this is for the next life. In the meantime this immense variety of forms, these countless species of creatures, what are they but rays emanating from the Godhead, showing that he from whom they come truly is, but not fully explaining what he is. Hence what you see is what emanates from him, not himself. Nevertheless, though not seeing himself but what comes from him, you are made aware beyond all doubt that he exists, and that you must seek him. Grace will not be wanting to the seeker, nor ignorance excuse the negligent. All have access to this kind of vision. According to the Apostle Paul, it is common to everyone who has the use of reason: "The invisible attributes of God have been clearly perceived in the things that have been made." 4. Another kind of vision is that by which in former times the Fathers were often graciously admitted to sweet communion with God, who became present to them, though they did not see him as he is but only in the form he thought fitting to assume. Nor does he appear to all in a similar manner, but as the Apostle says: "in many and various ways," still remaining one in himself, in accord with his word to Israel: "The Lord your God is one God." This manifestation, though not apparent to everybody, took place exteriorly, and consisted of images or the spoken word. But there is another form of divine contemplation, very different from the former because it takes place in the interior, when God himself is pleased to visit the soul that seeks him, provided it is committed to seeking him with all its desire and love. We are told what the sign of such a visit is, by one who experienced it. "Fire goes before him and burns up his adversaries round about." The fire of holy desire ought to precede his advent to every soul whom he will visit, to burn up the rust of bad habits and so prepare a place for the Lord. The soul will know that the Lord is near when it perceives itself to be aflame with that fire, and can say as the Prophet did: "He has sent a fire from on high down into my bones, and enlightened me;" and again: "My heart became hot within me and in my meditation fire burst forth." 5. When the Beloved who is thus sought for pays a visit in his merciful love to the soul that is filled with longing, that prays often, even without intermission, that humiliates itself in the ardor of its desire, that soul may fittingly say with St Jeremiah: "You are good, O Lord, to those who hope in you, to the soul that seeks you." And that soul's angel, one of the friends of the Bridegroom, and by him commissioned to be the minister and witness of that secret and mutual exchange - that angel, I say, must be dancing with joy! Does he not participate in their gladness and bliss, and turning to the Lord, say: "I thank you, Lord of majesty, because 'you have granted him his heart's desire, not denied him what his lips entreated'"? He is everywhere the soul's tireless attendant, never ceasing to lure it on and guide it with constant inspirations, as he whispers: "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desire of your heart;" and again: "Wait for the Lord and keep his way." Or: "If he seems slow, wait for him; he will surely come, he will not delay." Turning to the Lord, he says: "'As a hart longs for flowing streams, so that soul longs for you, O God.' It has yearned for you in the night, and your Spirit within it watched for you from morning onwards." And again: "All the day this soul reaches out to you; grant what it wants because it is shouting after you; relent a little and show your mercy. Look down from heaven and see, and visit this desolate spirit." This loyal groomsman, watching without envy over this interchange of love, seeks the Lord's glory rather than his own; he is the go-between for the lover and his beloved, making known the desires of one, bearing the gifts of the other. He quickens the soul's affections, he conciliates the Bridegroom. Sometimes too, though rarely, he brings them into each other's presence, either snatching her up to him, or leading him down to her: for he is a member of the household, a familiar figure in the palace, one who has no fear of being rebuffed, who daily sees the face of the Father. 6. Be careful, however, not to conclude that I see something corporeal or perceptible to the senses in this union between the Word and the soul. My opinion is that of the Apostle, who said that "he who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him." I try to express with the most suitable words I can muster the ecstatic ascent of the purified mind to God, and the loving descent of God into the soul, submitting spiritual truths to spiritual men. Therefore let this union be in the spirit, because "God is a spirit," who is lovingly drawn by the beauty of that soul whom he perceives to be guided by the Spirit, and devoid of any desire to submit to the ways of the flesh, especially if he sees that it burns with love for himself. One who is so disposed and so beloved will by no means be content either with that manifestation of the Bridegroom given to the many in the world of creatures, or to the few in visions and dreams. By a special privilege she wants to welcome him down from heaven into her inmost heart, into her deepest love; she wants to have the one she desires present to her not in bodily form but by inward infusion, not by appearing externally but by laying hold of her within. It is beyond question that the vision is all the more delightful the more inward it is, and not external. It is the Word, who penetrates without sound; who is effective though not pronounced, who wins the affections without striking on the ears. His face, though without form, is the source of form, it does not dazzle the eyes of the body but gladdens the watchful heart; its pleasure is in the gift of love and not in the color of the lover. 7. Not yet have I come round to saying that he has appeared as he is, although in this inward vision he does not reveal himself as altogether different from what he is. Neither does he make his presence continuously felt, not even to his most ardent lovers, nor in the same way to all. For the various desires of the soul it is essential that the taste of God's presence be varied too, and that the infused flavor of divine delight should titillate in manifold ways the palate of the soul that seeks him. You must already have noticed how often he changes his countenance in the course of this love-song, how he delights in transforming himself from one charming guise to another in the beloved's presence: at one moment like a bashful bridegroom maneuvering for the hidden embraces of his holy lover, for the bliss of her kisses; at another coming along like a physician with oil and ointments, because weak and tender souls still need remedies and medicines of this kind, which is why they are rather daintily described as maidens. Should anybody find fault with this, let him be told that "it is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick." Sometimes, too, he joins up as a traveler with the bride and the maidens who accompany her on the road, and lightens the hardships of the journey for the whole company by his fascinating conversation, so that when he has parted from them they ask: "Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road?" A silver-tongued companion who, by the spell of his words and manners, persuades everyone, as if in a sweet-smelling cloud arising from the ointments, to follow him. Hence they say: "We will run after you in the odor of your ointments." At another time he comes to meet them as a wealthy father of a family "with bread enough and to spare" in his house; or again like a magnificent and powerful king, giving courage to his timid and poverty-stricken bride, stirring up her desire by showing her the ornaments of his glory, the riches of his wine-presses and storehouse, the produce of his gardens and fields, and finally introducing her into his private apartments. For "her husband's heart has confidence in her," and among all his possessions there is nothing that he thinks should be hidden from her whom he redeemed from indigence, whose fidelity he has proved, whose attractiveness wins his embraces. And so he never ceases, in one way or another, to reveal himself to the inward eye of those who seek him, thus fulfilling the promise that he made: "Be assured I am with you always, to the end of time." 8. On all these occasions he is kind and gentle, full of merciful love. In his kisses he shows that he is both loving and charming; with the oil and the ointments that he is boundlessly considerate and compassionate and forgiving; on the journey he is gay, courteous, ever gracious and ready to help; in the display of his riches and possessions he reveals a kingly liberality, a munificent generosity in the bestowal of rewards. Through the whole context of this song you will find images of this nature to delineate the Word. Hence I feel that the Prophet was thinking on these lines when he said: "Christ the Lord is a spirit before our face; under his shadow we shall live among the nations," because now we see in a mirror dimly and not yet face to face. So it will be while we live among the nations; among the angels it will be otherwise. For then we shall enjoy the very same happiness as they; even we shall see him as he is, in the form of God, no longer in shadow. Just as we say that our ancestors possessed only shadows and images, whereas the truth itself shines on us by the grace of Christ present in the flesh, so also no one will deny that in relation to the world to come, we still live in the shadow of the truth, unless he wishes to deny what the apostle asserts: "our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect;" or when he says: "I do not reckon myself to have got hold of it yet." Why should there not be a distinction between him who walks by faith and him who walks by sight? Hence the just man lives by faith, the blessed rejoices in the vision; the holy person here below lives in the shadow of Christ, the holy angel above is glorified in the splendor of his shining countenance. 9. That the faith is shadowy is a blessing, it tempers the light to the eye's weakness and prepares the eye for the light; for it is written: "He cleansed their hearts by faith." Faith therefore does not quench the light but protects it. Whatever it may be that the angel sees, is preserved for me by the shadow of faith, stored up in its trusty breast, until it be revealed in due time. If you cannot yet grasp the naked truth is it not worthwhile to possess it wrapped in a veil? Our Lord's Mother herself lived in the shadow of faith, for she was told: "Blessed are you who believed." Even the body of Christ was a shadow for her, as implied in the words: "The power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow." That is no mean shadow which is formed by the power of the Most High. Assuredly there was power in the flesh of Christ that overshadowed the Virgin, since by means of the envelope of his vivifying body she was able to bear his majestic presence, and endure the unapproachable light, a thing impossible to mortal woman. That was power indeed by which every opposing might was overcome. Both the power and the shadow put the demons to flight and became a shelter for men: an invigorating power surely, a shadow radiating coolness. 10. We therefore who walk by faith live in the shadow of Christ; we are fed with his flesh as the source of our life. For Christ's flesh is real food. And perhaps for that reason he is now described here as appearing in the guise of a shepherd, when the bride addresses him as though one of the shepherds: "Tell me where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon." The Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep! He gives them his life, he gives them his flesh; his life their ransom, his flesh their food. How wonderful! He is their shepherd, their food, their redemption.”

“HOW CHRIST IS RECEIVED BY THE HOLY SOUL AS A BRIDEGROOM, AND BY THE WEAK SOUL AS A PHYSICIAN. LIKEWISE ON THE DIFFERENCE OF THOUGHTS, WHENCE THEY ARISE. 1. "Show me where you pasture, where you lie down at midday" (Song 1:7). Here we are, from here we proceed. But before this vision and address begins to be treated, I think the other visions that preceded it should be briefly recapitulated, how they may be spiritually fitted to us according to the desires and merits of each, so that, having grasped those -- if indeed this be granted -- a readier understanding may shine forth in the discussion of this one also. But this is most difficult. For even if those words by which the visions or likenesses themselves are described seem to sound of bodies and bodily things, nevertheless the things ministered to us in them are spiritual, and on that account their causes and reasons must also be sought in the spirit. And who is fit to investigate and comprehend so many affections and advances of the soul, to which this so manifold grace from the presence of the Bridegroom is dispensed? Yet if we enter into ourselves, and the Holy Spirit deigns to show us in his light what he does not disdain to work continually in us by his operation, I think we shall not remain altogether without understanding in these things. For I am confident that we have not received the spirit of this world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may know the things that have been given to us by God (1 Cor 2:12). 2. Therefore if for any of us it is good to cling to God, as with the holy Prophet (Ps 73:28), and -- to speak more plainly -- if anyone among us is so a man of desire that he longs to be dissolved and to be with Christ, and longs vehemently, and thirsts ardently, and meditates unceasingly: he will assuredly receive the Word in no other way than in the form of a bridegroom at the time of visitation, at that hour, namely, when he feels himself clasped inwardly by certain arms of wisdom, and thence infused with the sweetness of holy love. For the desire of his heart will be granted to him, even while he is still a pilgrim in the body, yet in part, and that for a time, and a brief time. For when, after vigils and prayers and much labor and a shower of tears, the sought-for one is present, suddenly, while he is thought to be held, he slips away; and again, to the one weeping and pursuing, he comes to meet, and allows himself to be grasped, but by no means to be retained, while suddenly once more he flies away, as it were, from the hands. And if the devoted soul persists with prayers and weeping, he will return again, and will not defraud her of the will of her lips; but again he will presently disappear, and will not be seen, unless he is sought again with the whole desire. Thus therefore, even in this body, there can be frequent joy from the presence of the Bridegroom, but not fullness; because although the visitation gladdens, the alternation troubles. And the beloved must needs endure this so long, until once the burden of the bodily mass has been laid down, she herself too flies away, lifted on the wings of her desires, freely making her way through the fields of contemplation, and with unencumbered mind following the Beloved wherever he goes. 3. Nor yet even in his passing will he be thus present to every soul, but only to that one whom great devotion, and vehement desire, and the sweetest affection prove to be a bride, and worthy, one to whom the Word, coming with the grace of visitation, will put on beauty, taking the form of a bridegroom. For he who is not yet found so disposed, but rather struck with compunction at the remembrance of his deeds, speaking in the bitterness of his soul says to God: "Do not condemn me" (Job 10:2); or perhaps is even still perilously tempted, drawn away and enticed by his own concupiscence: such a one does not seek a bridegroom, but a physician; and therefore he will receive not kisses indeed or embraces, but only remedies for his wounds, in oil certainly and ointments. Do we not often feel thus, and experience this when praying, we who are daily still tempted by our present transgressions, bitten by past ones? From how great a bitterness you have frequently delivered me by your coming, O good Jesus! How often, after anxious weeping, unspeakable groans and sobs, have you anointed my wounded conscience with the ointment of your mercy, and poured over it the oil of gladness! How often has prayer, which received me nearly despairing, restored me exulting and confident of pardon! Those who are similarly affected, behold, these know that the Lord Jesus is truly a physician, who heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds (Ps 147:3). Those who have not experienced this, let them believe the very same one who says: "The Spirit of the Lord has anointed me, he has sent me to bring good tidings to the meek, to heal the broken-hearted" (Isa 61:2; Lk 4:17, 21). If they still doubt, let them come and prove it, and so learn in themselves what this means: "I desire mercy, and not sacrifice" (Mt 9:13). But let us see the rest also. 4. There are those who, wearied in spiritual pursuits and turned to lukewarmness, and placed in a certain failing of spirit, walk the ways of the Lord in sadness; with dry and weary heart they approach whatever tasks are enjoined, they frequently murmur; they complain of long days, long nights, speaking with holy Job: "If I lie down, I say: When shall I rise? and again I shall wait for evening" (Job 7:4). Therefore when it happens that one suffers something of this sort, if the Lord in mercy draws near to us on the way in which we walk, and he who is from heaven begins to speak of heaven, and indeed to sing for us something pleasing from the songs of Zion, to narrate also of the city of God, of the peace of that city, of the eternity of that peace, of the state of that eternity: I tell you, the glad narration will be as a vehicle for the drowsy and sluggish soul, so as to drive away all weariness from the mind of the hearer, and fatigue from the body. Or does he seem to you to suffer or to ask for something other, who says: "My soul has drowsed from weariness, strengthen me in your words"? And when he has obtained this, will he not cry out: "How I have loved your law, O Lord! It is my meditation all the day"? (Ps 119:97, 28.) For there are certain words of the Word-Bridegroom to us: our meditations on him and his glory, his elegance, his power, his majesty. And not only this, but also when with eager mind we turn over his testimonies and the judgments of his mouth, and meditate on his law day and night; let us know for certain that the Bridegroom is present and is addressing us, so that we may not be wearied by labors, being delighted by his discourses. 5. You therefore, when you feel such things being turned over in your mind, do not think it is your own thought, but recognize him speaking, who says through the prophet: "It is I who speak righteousness" (Isa 63:1). For the thoughts of our mind are most similar to the words of Truth speaking within us; nor does anyone easily discern what the heart gives birth to within, and what it hears, unless he prudently attends to the Lord speaking in the Gospel: "from the heart proceed evil thoughts" (Mt 15:19); and that: "Why do you think evil in your hearts?" (Mt 9:4). And: "He who speaks a lie, speaks from his own" (Jn 8:44). But the Apostle says: "Not that we are sufficient to think anything from ourselves as from ourselves" (that is to say, anything good); "but our sufficiency is from God" (2 Cor 3:5). When therefore we turn over evil things in our heart, it is our own thought; if good things, it is the word of God. The former our heart speaks, the latter it hears. "I will hear," he says, "what the Lord God may speak in me, for he will speak peace upon his people" (Ps 85:8). And so peace, piety, righteousness -- God speaks these in us; nor do we think such things from ourselves, but we hear them within us. But murders, adulteries, thefts, blasphemies, and things like these, proceed from the heart (Mt 15:19): nor do we hear them, but we speak them. For "the fool has said in his heart: There is no God" (Ps 14:1). And "therefore the wicked man has provoked God, because he said in his heart: He will not require it" (Ps 10:13). But there is besides something that is indeed perceived in the heart, yet is not a word of the heart. For it does not go out from the heart, as does our own thought, nor is it that which we have said comes to the heart, namely the word of the Word, since it is evil. But it is sent in by opposing powers, just as there are "sendings through evil angels"; such as, for example, was that which we read the devil put into the heart, that Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, should betray the Lord (Jn 13:2). 6. But who is so watchful and diligent an observer of his own inward motions, whether occurring in himself or from himself, as to clearly distinguish, amid all the illicit feelings of his heart, between a disease of the mind and a bite of the serpent? I think this possible to no mortal, unless one who, illuminated by the Holy Spirit, has received that special gift which the Apostle, among the other charisms he enumerates, names the discernment of spirits (1 Cor 12:10). For however much anyone, according to Solomon, may guard his heart with all custody (Prov 4:23), and observe with the most vigilant attention everything that moves within him; even if he has had perhaps long-continued practice and frequent experience in these matters, he will nevertheless not be able to discern or distinguish purely within himself the one from the other: the evil that is inborn, and the evil that is sown. For "who can understand his offenses?" Nor does it much matter for us to know whence evil is in us, provided we know that it is in us: we must rather watch and pray, wherever it may come from, lest we consent. For the prophet prays against both evils, saying: "From my hidden faults cleanse me, O Lord, and from those of others spare your servant" (Ps 19:12-13). And I cannot hand on to you what I have not received. But I have not received, I confess, a means to assign a sure distinguishing mark between the offspring of the heart and the seed of the enemy. For both are evil, both from evil; both are in the heart, but not both from the heart. This whole matter is certain to me within myself, even if it is uncertain what I attribute to the heart and what to the enemy. And this indeed, as I have said, is without peril. 7. But indeed there is a case where one errs perilously, nay damnably, and there a sure rule is rightly set down for us, lest what belongs to God in us we give to ourselves, thinking a visitation of the Word to be our own thought. Therefore as far as good is distant from evil, so far are these two from each other: since neither does evil come from the Word, nor will good proceed from the heart, unless what it has perhaps first conceived from the Word; because "a good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor a bad tree good fruit" (Mt 7:18). But I believe enough has been said about what belongs to God and what belongs to us in our heart; nor superfluously, as I judge, but so that the enemies of grace may know that without grace the human heart does not suffice even for thinking the good, but its sufficiency is from God; that it is the voice of God, the good that is thought, not an offspring of the heart. You therefore, if you hear his voice, no longer be ignorant whence it comes or where it goes; knowing that it goes out from God and goes to the heart. See to it, moreover, that the word which goes forth from the mouth of God does not return to him empty, but prospers and accomplishes all the things for which he sent it, so that you too may say: "The grace of God in me has not been in vain" (1 Cor 15:10). Happy the mind to which the Word is an inseparable companion, everywhere making himself affable, by whose unceasing sweetness of eloquence she is delighted and vindicates herself from the troubles and vices of the flesh at every hour, redeeming the time from the evil days (Eph 5:16). She will not be wearied, she will not be troubled; because, as Scripture says: "No sadness will befall the just man, whatever may happen to him" (Prov 12:21). 8. Now indeed I think the form of the great Paterfamilias, or of regal majesty, appears to those who, approaching the deep heart, made more magnanimous by the greater liberty of spirit and purity of conscience, are accustomed to dare greater things, restless indeed and curious to penetrate more secret places, and to grasp more sublime things, and to attempt more perfect things, not only of the senses but also of the virtues. For these, by the greatness of their faith, are found worthy to be led into all fullness; nor is there anything at all in all the storerooms of wisdom from which the Lord God of knowledge should judge that the eager seekers of truth, who are not conscious of vanity, ought to be barred. Such was Moses, who dared to say to God: "If I have found grace in your eyes, show me yourself" (Exod 33:13, 18). Such was Philip, who begged that the Father be shown to himself and his fellow disciples (Jn 14:8): such also Thomas, who, unless he touched the wound and the pierced side with his own hand, refused to believe (Jn 20:25). A small faith, but descending in a marvelous way from greatness of soul. Such also was David, who himself too said to God: "My heart has said to you: My face has sought you; your face, O Lord, I will seek" (Ps 27:8). Such therefore dare great things, because they are great: and what they dare, they obtain, according to the word of promise addressed to them, which is of this kind: "Every place upon which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours" (Deut 11:24). For great faith deserves great things; and to the extent you have stretched forth the foot of confidence in the good things of the Lord, to that extent you shall possess. 9. And so to Moses God speaks mouth to mouth; and openly, not through riddles and figures, does he merit to see the Lord, whereas to other prophets he says he appears only in a vision and speaks through a dream (Num 12:6-8). To Philip also, according to the petition of his heart, the Father was shown in the Son, in this undoubtedly: that he immediately heard: "Philip, he who sees me sees the Father also; and, Because I am in the Father, and the Father is in me" (Jn 14:9-10). But Thomas too, according to the desire of his heart, offered himself to be touched (Jn 20:27), and did not defraud him of the will of his lips. What of David? Does he not also indicate that he is not altogether defrauded of his wish, when he says he will not give sleep to his eyes, nor slumber to his eyelids, until he finds a place for the Lord? (Ps 132:4-5.) Therefore to such great spirits the great Bridegroom will come to meet them, and he will magnify his doing with them, sending forth his light and his truth, and leading them and bringing them to his holy mountain and to his tabernacles, so that one who is of this sort may say: "He who is mighty has done great things for me" (Lk 1:49). His eyes will see the King in his beauty (Isa 33:17); going before him to the lovely places of the desert, to the flowers of roses and the lilies of the valleys, to the pleasant places of gardens, the waters of fountains, to the delights of cellars and the fragrances of spices, and finally to the very secrets of the bedchamber. 10. These are the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden with the Bridegroom, these are the pastures of life prepared for the refreshment of holy souls. Blessed is the man who has filled his desire from them. Let him be admonished of this one thing only, that he should not wish to have alone what can suffice for many. For perhaps on account of this, after all these things, the Bridegroom is described as appearing like a shepherd, so that the attainer of so many gifts may thereby be admonished of pasturing the flock of the simpler ones, who of course are as unable to grasp these things by themselves as sheep dare not go out to pasture without a shepherd. And so the bride, wisely perceiving this very thing, asks that it be shown to her where he himself pastures and lies down under the noonday heat, prepared (as indeed is given to be understood from this) to be pastured and to pasture with him and under him. For she does not think it safe to drive the flock far from the chief Shepherd, especially on account of the attacks of wolves, most of all those who come to us in sheep's clothing: and therefore she is anxious to pasture in the same pastures equally with him, and to lie down in the same shady places. And she sets forth the reason: "Lest I begin," she says, "to wander after the flocks of your companions." These are they who wish to be seen as friends of the Bridegroom, and are not: and since it is their care to pasture their own flocks, not his, they nevertheless lie in wait on every side and say: "Behold, here is Christ, behold, there he is" (Mk 13:21), in order to lead many astray and draw them away from Christ's flocks and join them to their own. This for the text of the letter. Now as for the spiritual sense which lies hidden therein, await it under another beginning of a sermon, whatever it may be that the Bridegroom of the Church, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is God over all things, blessed forever, may deign in his mercy to impart to me for you as you pray. Amen.”

“SERMON 3 ON THE KISS OF THE LORD'S FOOT, HAND, AND MOUTH 6. To you, Lord Jesus, to you rightly has my heart said: "My face has sought you; your face, O Lord, I will seek." For you made me hear your mercy in the morning, when, as I lay first in the dust and kissed your reverend footsteps, you forgave what I had lived badly. Moreover, in the progress of the day you gladdened the soul of your servant, when next in the kiss of the hand you also granted the grace of living well. And now what remains, O good Lord, except that now in the fullness of light, in the fervor of the spirit, graciously admitting me also to the kiss of the mouth, you would fill me with joy with your countenance? Show me, O sweetest one, O most serene one, show me where you pasture, where you rest at midday.”