Waterblood (The Sacerdos Mysteries Book 3)

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Waterblood By Elizabeth Amisu. This item has not been rated yet. Caelara grapples with growing up, mounting responsibilities and the amorous affections of Nathaniel Yate. She must harness the power of the sea within her gifted blood. There is still a chance to turn the tide. Log in to rate this item. You must be logged in to post a review. There are no reviews for the current version of this product Refreshing There are no reviews for previous versions of this product.

Maur,to whom students owe so much for their labours on the MSS. This was reprinted at Venice in 1 , and again in 1 A further reprint appeared in Migne's Patrologia Latina vols, xiv. Both de Mysteriis and de Sacramentis are included in vol. Another edition, founded on that of the Benedictines, but not displaying the same care or critical acumen, appeared at Milan in six volumes in , under the editorship of P.

An edition of the works of Ambrose is in course of publication in the Vienna Corpus scriftorum eccl. An English translation of selected works and letters of Ambrose was published by H. It includes de Mysteriis, but not de Sacramentis. He expoimds the meaning of the "opening of the ears. On questions of right conduct we discoursed daily at the time when the lives of the patriarchs or the pre- cepts of the Proverbs were being read, 1 in order that, trained and instructed thereby, you might become accus- tomed to walk in the paths of our elders and to tread in their steps, and to obey the divine oracles ; to the end that you might, after being renewed by baptism, continue to practise the life which befitted the regenerate.

Now the season reminds us to speak about the mysteries, and to give a reasoned account of the sacra- ments ; for if we had thought that such an account should be propounded before baptism to the uninitiated, we should be esteemed traitors rather than teachers; further, because it were better that the light of the mys- teries should reveal itself unasked and unexpected than preceded by some discourse. We have an example of the kind of instruction given in the sermons of Ambrose, On Abraham, which deal with "right conduct" and which were addressed to candidates for baptism.

This mystery Christ performed in the Gospel, as we read, when he cured a deaf and dumb man. Thou didst renounce the devil and his works, the world and its luxury and pleasures. Thou sawest there a levite, thou sawest a priest, 1 2 Cor. It is more fully described in de Sacram. Here it refers to the baptistery.

Thou didst speak in the presence of the angels, as it is written that the priesfs lips keep knowledge, and they seek the law at his mouth: He shall be to thee as one not to be valued for his outward appearance, but for his office. What he has delivered to you, consider ; ponder its use, recognize its character. Thou didst enter, therefore, to discern thine ad- versary, and, by way of renouncing him, to spit in his face ; 3 thou dost turn to the east.

For he who renounces the devil, turns to Christ, looks at him with direct gaze. Water, to be sure, but not water only ; levites ministering there, the high priest 1 The words are: See note on de Sacram. Here sacerdos 'priest' is used in the same sense as presbyter in de Sacram. On the Biblical text of Ambrose see Introd. These parallels, however, belong to a later period, and there is no mention of the practice elsewhere in the writings of Ambrose.

First of all, the Apostle has taught thee that we must not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: Thou believest the working, dost not thou believe the presence? Whence would ensue the working, did not the presence precede? But consider how old the mystery is, prefigured in the beginning of the world itself.

In the very beginning, when God made heaven and earth, the Spirit, it says, moved upon the waters. But why do I say "work"? As regards presence, 6 he moved. Did not he who moved work? Admit that he was working in the creation of the world, when the prophet says to thee, 7 By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the Spirit of his mouth. Each rests upon prophetic testimony, both that he moved, and that he worked.

That he moved, Moses says: All flesh was corrupt from its sins. My Spirit, said God, shall not abide in 1 In de Sacram. Whence God, wishing to repair what was wanting, made a flood, and bade righteous Noah go up into the ark. So the water is that in which the flesh is plunged, to wash away every sin of the flesh ; every wrong act is buried there. The wood is that whereon the Lord Jesus was nailed when he suffered for us. The dove is that in whose shape the Holy Ghost descended, as thou hast learned in the New Testament, 4 who breathes into thee peace of soul, calm of mind.

The raven is a figure of sin, which goes forth and does not return, if thou art careful to guard and conform to righteousness. There is also a third testimony, as the Apostle teaches thee, that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and were all baptized in Moses i? For what else are we taught in this sacrament daily, but that guilt is drowned and error destroyed, while goodness and innocence remained safe to the end?

Thou hearest that our fathers were under the cloud; 1 Gen. The good cloud overshadows those whom the Holy Spirit visits ; so he came upon the virgin Mary and the power of the Highest overshadowed her, 1 when she bare redemption for the human race. And that miracle was wrought by Moses in a figure. The font of Marah was most bitter; Moses cast wood into it, and it was made sweets For water without the proclamation of the Lord's cross serves no purpose of future salvation ; but when it has been consecrated by the mystery of the saving cross, 5 then it is fitted for the use of the spiritual laver and the cup of salvation.

As, therefore, Moses, that is, the prophet, cast ivood into that font, so also the priest casts the proclamation of the Lord's cross into this font, and the water becomes sweet unto grace. Do not, therefore, trust only the eyes of thy body ; that which is not seen is more truly seen. For the one is temporal ; in the other the eternal is seen, which is not apprehended by the eyes but is discerned by the intellect and mind.

Thus again, let the lesson from the Kings 6 that has been read teach thee. Naaman was a Syrian, and a leper, nor could he be cleansed by any one. Then said a maid, who was of the captives, that there was a prophet in Israel who could cleanse him from the taint of leprosy. Taking gold and silver, it says, he went his way to the king of Israel. He, learning the cause of his arrival, 1 Lk. But Elisha bade the king send the Syrian to him, that he might know that there was a God in Israel. Then he began to think within himself that he had the better waters of his own country, in which he had often dipped without being cleansed from leprosy, and drawn away by this thought, he was minded to disobey the prophet's commands; but he yielded to the advice and solicitations of his servants, and dipped ; and he was straightway cleansed, and understood that it was due not to water, but to grace, that each one was cleansed.

Learn now who that young captive maiden is. Of a truth she is the congregation from the Gentiles, that is, the Church of the Lord once sunk in the captivity of sin, when she did not as yet possess the liberty of grace; by whose counsel the vain people of the nations heard the prophetic word. And this at first and for long they doubted ; afterwards, however, they believed that it should be obeyed, and were washed from all taint of faults.

Now they doubted 2 before they were healed ; thou art already healed, and therefore oughtest not to doubt. Ambrose, by a slip of memory, substitutes " a God in Israel" for " a prophet in Israel. This probably refers to popuhis rather than Naaman. Illustrations from the healing of the paralytic in John v. For this cause wast thou forewarned not to believe merely what thou sawest, lest perchance thou too shouldest say, " Is this that great mystery which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man?

And for this very reason thou hast read that the three witnesses in baptism are one, the water, the blood, and the Spirit,' 2 ' because, if thou takest away one of these the sacrament of baptism no longer remains. For what is water without the Cross of Christ? A common element without any sacramental effect. Nor again is there any mystery of regeneration without water, for except a man be born anew oj water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

The same order, "water," "blood," "Spirit," is found in the reference to this passage in Ambrose, Expos, in Luc am x. It probably took place at the beginning of the catechumenate. It is not mentioned in de Sacramentis, but is found in the Gelasian Sacramentary in the Ora'o ad catechumenum ex pagano faciendum Wilson, p.

So the Syrian dipped seven times 1 under the Law. But thou wast baptized in the name of the Trinity, thou didst confess the Father — remember what thou didst — thou didst confess the Son, thou didst con- fess the Holy Spirit. Do not forget the order of things in this faith. Thou didst die to the world, and didst rise to God. And as if buried together in this element of the world, thou art dead to sin, 2 and raised to eternal life. Believe, therefore, that the water is not without power. Therefore it was told thee how that an angel of the Lord went down at a certain season into the pool, and the water was troubled: This pool was in Jerusalem, and in it one person a year was cured ; but no one was healed before the angel had descended.

For a sign that the angel had descended, the water was troubled because of the unbelieving. For them the sign, for thee faith ; for them an angel descended, for thee the Holy Spirit ; for them the created element was troubled, for thee Christ acts, the very Lord of creation. Then one was healed, now all are made whole ; or, to be exact, one only — the Christian people ; for in the case of some even the water is deceitful.

The Vulgate reads, facta est mihi quasi mendacitim aquarum infidelium. Ambrose, combining this with the statement about the " baptism " of cups and pots in Mk. He is thinking of the baptisms practised by heathen and Jews. The Jew baptizes pots and cups, as if inanimate things were capable of sin or grace.

Baptize thou this animate cup of thine, in which thy good works may shine, in which the splendour of thy grace may glow. Therefore also that pool was as a figure, that thou mayest believe that the divine power descends into this font. Thus again, the sick of the palsy was waiting for a man. At whose coming no longer would the shadow heal men one at a time, but the truth would heal all. He, therefore, it is who was expected to descend, of whom God the Father said to John the Baptist, upon whom thou shall see the Spirit descending from heaven, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.

And perhaps thou mayest say, "Since that was a real dove which was sent forth, here only as it were a dove descended, how do we say that the likeness was there, the reality here? The thought seems to be as follows. Still, in the ordinary sense, the word species, which implies mutability, is properly used of the created and not of the divine, though there is another sense in which it may be predicated even of the divine.

The argument is further confused by the interpolation of the suggestion that the reason why the Spirit took the form of a dove was to be a type of the simplicity of the true Christian. But what is so real as the divinity which abideth for ever? At the same time because in those who are baptized there should be innocence, not in appearance, but in reality whence the Lord also says, Be ye wise as serpents, and innocent as doves , 2 rightly, therefore, did he descend like a dove, to remind us that we ought to have the innocence of a dove. But that the word "likeness" is to be taken also as meaning reality is shown by what we read both of Christ, And he was found in likeness as a man, 3 and of God the Father.

Nor have you seen his likeness: The baptismal profession of faith. Is there still any reason why thou shouldst doubt, when the Father clearly calls to thee in the Gospel and says, This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased ; 5 when the Son calls, on whom the Holy Spirit showed himself as a dove: Do not consider the merits of persons, but the office of priests. And if thou lookest at merits, consider the priest as Elijah; look at the merits of Peter, too, or of Paul, 3 who received this mystery from the Lord Jesus, and handed it on to us.

Visible fire was sent to them, that they might believe ; for us, who believe, one who is invisible acts: Believe, therefore, that invoked by the prayers of the priests the Lord Jesus is present who says, Where there are two or three, there am I also ; 4 how much more where the Church is, where his mysteries are, does he deign to bestow his presence! Thou didst descend, then; remember what thou didst answer, that thou believest in the Father, thou be- lievest in the Son, thou believest in the Holy Spirit. The name Jerubbaal is found in Judges vi.

After all this thou didst go' up to the priest. Understand why this is done, because the wise man's eyes are in his head. The word sacerdos translated " priest" here refers to the bishop see note on ii. The prayer accompanying the unction is given in de Sacram. On the mystical interpretation of the Song of Songs, see Introd. The words " to the odour of thy ointments " are found in the LXX and Vulgate.

Ambrose substitutes "garments" for "ointments," possibly because he has in mind Gen. The same passage is referred to in de Sacram. I, where the author has "the senses of a wise man," a reading also found in Ambrose, Exp. The meaning of Ambrose is brought out more clearly if we render: It is because the wise man's eyes are in his head.

So it is explained in de Sacram. Thou didst go up from the font. Remember the Gospel lesson. When he came to Simon Peter, Peter said, Thou shalt never wash my feet. He did not perceive the mystery, and therefore he refused the ministry ; because he thought that it was an offence against the humility of a servant, if he should patiently allow the Lord's service to himself.

The Lord answered, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit. Peter was clean, but he needed to wash his feet; for he still had sin by derivation from the first man, when the serpent tripped him and led him into trespass. Thompson, Offices of Baptism and Confirmation, p. Apparently the Gospel lesson was read at the time of the washing of the feet of the newly-baptized. The earliest reference to the later custom of bishops washing the feet of their subordinates on Maundy Thursday comes from Spain, and is found in the third canon of the Seventeenth Council of Toledo a.

But he also suggests that the "washing of the feet " has a similar sacramental efficacy with regard to transmitted or hereditary sin. This is one of the passages which led Daille and others to contest the ascription of the treatise to Ambrose. But the same teaching is found elsewhere in Ambrose's writings, e.

The author of de Sacra?? At the same time recognize that there is a mystical meaning in the actual ministry of humility ; for He says, If I, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, how much more ought ye also to wash one another's feet? The "spiritual seal" and its interpretation. Thou receivedst after this white raiment 3 for a sign that thou hast put off the covering of sins, thou hast put on the chaste garments of innocence, whereof the Prophet said, Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: The Church, having received these garments by made his treacherous attack.

On the ceremony of the washing of the feet, see Introd. The quotation agrees with the LXX, and is found in a corresponding form in Cyprian. Seeing these garments the daughters of Jerusalem say in amazement, Who is this that cometh up made white? The angels also doubted when Christ rose, 4 the powers of the heavens doubted seeing that flesh ascended into heaven. So they said, Who is the King of glory? And when some said, Lift up the gates of your Prince, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting gates, and the King of glory shall come in; then others doubted saying, Who is this King of glory?

But Christ seeing his Church in white garments — the Church for whom he had put on filthy garments, as thou readest in the book of the prophet Zechariah 7 — or 1 Tit. The passage is similarly applied in de Spiv, sancto, ii. In the former of these passages, as here, Ambrose also refers to Is. The quotation differs from both LXX and Vulgate. The text may be corrupt, and perhaps we should read with the Vulgate tollite portas, principes, vestras "Lift up your gates, ye princes ". The reading vestras is found in some MSS. The rendering given follows the LXX in the earlier part of the quotation.

Jerome once quotes the concluding words in the form in stola Candida. The name of Joshua in that passage is represented by "Jesus" in the LXX and Latin versions ; hence the application which Ambrose makes of the narrative. And further on, Thy teeth, are like a flock of the shorn, which have come up from the laver ; which all bear twins, and none is barren among them. First, in the pleasant comparison with the shorn. For we know that goats both feed on high places without danger and get food on steep ascents securely 5 ; then when they are shorn, they are relieved of what is superfluous.

With a flock of these the Church is compared, having in herself the many virtues of the souls who through the laver lay down superfluous sins, who offer to Christ mystic faith and the grace of right conduct, who tell of the cross of the Lord Jesus. In these the Church is beautiful. Whence God the Word says to her, Thou art all fair, my love ; there is no fault in thee — because guilt is sunk in the waters. Come hither from Lebanon, my spouse, come hither from Lebanon; thou shalt pass, and pass over from the begin- ning of faith 6 — because, in renouncing the world, she 1 Similarly in de Sacram.

This twofold application goes back to Origin's Commentary on Canticles, part of which is extant in the Latin translation of Rufinus. The reading proxima 'neighbour' follows the LXX. The passage is similarly applied in de Inst. I Mount Gilead is referred to as the abode of the goats. The passage is quoted in the same form in Ambrose, de Isaac, v. And again God the Word says to her, How fair and pleasant thou art become, love, in thy delights I Thy stature has become like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes.

To whom the Church replies, Who will give thee to me, my brother, that didst suck the breasts of my mother? Finding thee without I will kiss thee; and indeed they will not despise me. I will take thee, and bring thee into my mother's house and into the chamber of her who con- ceived me.

Thou shalt teach me. Still she seeks, still she stirs up love, and asks that it may be stirred up for her by the daughters of Jerusalem, by the grace of whom, that is, by the grace of faithful souls, she desires that the Bride- groom be roused to fuller love for her. Whence the Lord Jesus himself also attracted by the zeal of such love, by the beauty of comeliness and grace since there is no longer the foulness of sins in those who are washed , says to the Church, Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a signet upon thine arm, 3 that is, thou art comely, my neighbour, thou art all fair, thou lackest nothing.

Set me as a seal upon thine heart, that thy faith may shine with the fulness of the sacrament. Let thy works also shine and display the image of God, 1 Cant. The words "into the chamber of her who conceived me " are found in the LXX, but are not in the Hebrew or Vulgate. The passage is quoted with these words in de hist. On the other hand, the words "thou shalt teach me " are absent from the LXX, but are found in the Vulgate, and are quoted by Ambrose, Exp.

Let no persecution impair thy love, which much water cannot shut out, -floods cannot overflow. Wherefore recollect that thou hast received the spiritual seal, 2 the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and godliness, the spirit of holy fear, 3 and preserve what thou hast received. God the Father hath sealed thee, Christ the Lord hath confirmed thee, and hath given the earnest of the Spirit in thy heart, as thou hast learned from the apostolic lesson.

Rich with these adornments the cleansed people hastens to the altar of Christ, saying, And I will go unto the altar of God, even unto the God that maketh glad my 1 Cant. For a closely parallel application see de Inst. It seems to have consisted of a " signing" whether with or without unction we are not told , and is connected both here and in de Sacram. It is referred to in similar terms in Ambrose, de Spir. The passage suggests that the "spiritual seal " may have been accompanied with a prayer for the sevenfold gifts, such as we find mentioned in Spanish writers.

There is a similar prayer in the Gelasian Sacramentary Wilson, p. The reading virtutis "strength" for Vulg. For a similar application see de Spir. AMBROSE youth ; 1 for, putting off the slough of long-standing sin, renewed in the youth of the eagle, 2 she hastens to approach that heavenly banquet.

She comes, therefore, and see- ing the holy altar duly ordered, cries and says, Thou hast prepared a table before me. In a place of pasture there he hath placed me ; by the water of rest he hath tended me. And below, For though I walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil ; for thou art with me: Thy rod and thy staff, they have comforted me.

Thou hast prepared a table before me against them that trouble me: Thou hast anointed my head with oil; and Thy inebriating cup, how glorious it is! Now let us consider the following point, lest perchance any one, seeing the visible things for those that are invisible are not seen, nor can they be appre- hended by human eyes may say perchance, " For the Jews God rained manna? This psalm is often mentioned by Ambrose in connexion with the Eucharist, though the Introil of the Roman and Ambrosian rites belongs to a later date.

The rendering in verse 5 " thy inebriating cup There is a v. For the quails see Ex. The reading diligent ibus is Old Latin Vulg. That they are older is taught by the lesson from Genesis which has been read. For the synagogue derived its origin from the law of Moses. But Abraham is far earlier; who, when he had won the victory, defeating the enemy and recovering his own nephew, was then met by Melchizedek who brought forth the gifts which Abraham received with reverence. Do you not recognize who this is?

Can a man be King of righteousness, when he is hardly righteous himself? Can he be King of peace when he can hardly be peaceable? It is he who is without mother, as touch- ing his Godhead, because he was begotten of his Father who is God, being of one substance with the Father; without father, as touching his incarnation, for he was born of the Virgin ; not having beginning, and end, because he is the beginning and the end 4 of all, the first 1 Gen. The sacrifice of Melchizedek is constantly referred to as a type of the Eucharist in Church writers from the time of Cyprian onwards, and finds a place in the prayers of the Canon of the Mass quoted in de Sacram.

The incident is also dealt with in de Sacram. The attribution of the Epistle to St. Paul, which first appears in Clement of Alexandria, became common in the East in the fourth century, and thence it spread into the West, though doubts as to the authorship continued to be expressed by Western writers. It has been proved that the sacraments of the Church are older; now learn that they are better. It is indeed a wonderful thing that God should have rained manna z for the fathers, and they were fed on daily food from heaven. Consider now whether the bread of angels or the flesh of Christ which is indeed the body of life is the more excellent.

That manna was from heaven, this is above heaven ; that was of heaven, this is of the Lord of the heavens ; that was liable to corruption, if it was kept for a second day; 8 this is far removed from all corruption, which whosoever shall taste devoutly, cannot feel corruption. For them water flowed from the rock, 9 for thee blood from Christ ; 10 the water satisfied them for a season, the blood cleanses thee for ever. The Jews drank, and thirsted ; thou when thou hast drunk, canst not thirst.

And that was in shadow, this is in reality. If that which excites thy wonder is a shadow, how great is that, the very shadow of which excites thy wonder? Hear how that the things which happened 1 Rev. But with many of them God was not well pleased: Now these things happened as a figure of us. For the light -is better than the shadow, the reality is better than the figure, the body of the Author and Giver is better than manna from heaven. Illustrations from the miracles of the Old Testament and the Virgin Birth.

The wonder and joy of the Sacrament are set forth in the language of the Song of Songs. Perchance thou mayest say, " I see something different; how dost thou claim that it is the body of Christ which I receive? What precedents, then, shall we em- ploy? Let us prove that this is not what nature formed but what the blessing consecrated, and that there is greater force in a blessing than in nature, because by a blessing even nature itself is changed.

Moses held a rod, he cast it down, and it became a serpent ; again he took hold of the tail of the serpent, and it returned to its natural state of a rod. The rivers of Egypt ran with a pure flood of water ; suddenly blood began to well out from the veins of -their sources, and there was naught that men could drink in the rivers. The Jordan turned backward contrary to nature and returned to the source of its stream.

The people of the fathers was thirsty, Moses touched the rock, and water flowed from the rock. Marah was a most bitter stream, so that the thirsty people could not drink. Moses cast wood into the water, and the nature of the water lost its bitterness which was tempered by a sudden infusion of grace. He who had lost the axehead besought Elisha ; Elisha also cast wood into the water, and the iron did swim.

Q Certainly we know that this also took place contrary to nature ; for iron is a heavier kind of thing than liquid water. We observe, therefore, that grace is of greater power than nature ; and yet it is only the grace of a prophet's blessing of which we are so far taking account.

But if a human blessing was powerful enough to change nature, what do we say of the divine consecration itself 1 Ex.

The Sacerdos Mysteries

The withdrawal of the plague is not recounted in Exodus, but is added by Ambrose on the analogy of Ex. The passage referred to is Ex. Ambrose makes a similar allusion to the incident in de Spir. But if the word of Elijah was powerful enough to bring down fire from heaven, 3 will not the word of Christ be powerful enough to change the characters of the elements? For to give new natures to things is quite as wonderful as to change their natures. In Latin Church writers of the fourth century it is often used as a synonym of consecrare. Strictly speaking, it is the elements which are "con- secrated," but by a proleptic use that which the elements become is made the object of the verb "to consecrate," and so Ambrose speaks of "consecrating the body" of Christ ix.

Elsewhere in this treatise species is used in the less technical sense of "form" or " appearance," see iv.

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But why do we employ arguments? Let us em- ploy the proper examples, 1 and by the example of the incarnation let us prove the truth of the mystery. Did the usage of nature precede when the Lord Jesus was born of Mary? If we look to the order of generation, it usually results from the union of a woman with a man. It is clear, therefore, that the Virgin gave birth contrary to the order of nature. And this body which we conse- crate is from the Virgin ; why do you seek the natural order here in the case of the body of Christ, when the Lord Jesus himself was born of the Virgin contrary to nature?

It was certainly the true flesh of Christ which was crucified, which was buried ; truly, therefore, the sacrament is a sacrament of that flesh. The Lord 2 Jesus himself cries, This is my body? Before the blessing of the heavenly words another kind of thing is named, 4 after consecration it is designated "body.

Before consecration it is spoken of as something else, after consecration it is named "blood. What the mouth speaks let possible for Him to make something into something else. By a " new nature" then is meant one which does not succeed a former or older nature, but is the first of its kind to exist. The same practice prevailed in the Gallican rite and still exists in the Ambrosian rite at Milan.

Ambrose is writing at a time when the Canon was recited aloud, and not silently, as was the later practice. With these sacraments, therefore, Christ feeds his Church ; by them the soul's very being is strengthened. And, seeing her continuous growth in grace, he rightly saith to her, How fair are thy breasts become, my sister, my spouse I how fair are they become from wine I and the smell of thy garments is better than all spices. Thy lips, my spouse, are a dropping honeycomb ; milk and honey are under thy tongue ; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon. Thou oughtest, therefore, to keep a good watch over thy faith, that an unblemished perfection of life and silence may be maintained.

The latter is the Vulgate rendering, to which the reading in the present passage may have been assimilated. Thus, too, the Lord, rejoiced by their fruitfulness answers, I have come into my garden, my sister, my spouse; I have gathered my myrrh with my unguents ; I have eaten my food with my honey ; I have drunk my drink with my milk. Nay, this is not doubtful. Thou hast read that he tells us that in us he is in prison: Whence also the Church seeing so great grace, bids her sons, bids her neighbours come together to the sacraments, saying, Eat, my neighbours ; and drink and be inebriated, my brethren.

Whence also the Apostle says of the type of it that our fathers ate spiritual meat, and drank spiritual drink. He has in view such passages as Jn. Wherefore, having obtained all things, let us recognize that we are regenerate. Nor let us say, " How- are we regenerate? Have we entered into our mother's womb, and been born again?

Accordingly it is not always the usage of nature that produces birth ; we confess that Christ the Lord was born of a Virgin, and we deny the order of nature. This leads on to the thought of the Passion. The "opening of the ears. The sacraments which you have received are the theme of my discourse. To have given a reasoned account of these earlier would not have been right ; x for in a Christian man faith is first. Therefore, at Rome 2 the title of " faithful " is given to those who have been baptized ; and also our father Abraham was justified by faith, not by works? So you received baptism, you believed.

For it is wrong for me to think otherwise ; for thou wouldst not have been called to grace,- had not Christ thought thee worthy of his grace. Therefore, what did we do on the Saturday? What but "the opening"? But the obvious difficulty that the name "faithful" was not peculiar to Rome suggests that there may be an error. The highest order is denominated alike "bishop" and "priest" sacerdos. It is this which our Lord Jesus Christ indicates in the Gospel, when a deaf and dumb 1 man was brought to him, and he touched his ears and his mouth: It is a Hebrew word, which rendered into Latin is adaperire, that is, Be opened.

The reason, therefore, that the priest touched thine ears was that thine ears might be opened to the discourse and the address of the priest. But thou sayest to me, "Why the nostrils? Also, in that case because it was a man ; in our case, because women are baptized, and there is not the same purity in the servant 2 as in the Lord for what comparison can there be, when the latter forgives sins, the former has his sins remitted? This was the older practice T. We find, however, occasionally in earlier times, e.

For the use of terms in de Myst. Of the renunciations, and the dignity of the office of priests, who were witnesses of their baptismai promises. We came to the font, thou didst enter. Consider whom thou sawest ; consider what thou saidst, recall it carefully. A levite met thee, a presbyter met thee. He who wrestles, has some- thing to hope for; where the contest is, there is the crown.

Thou wrestlest in the world, but thou art crowned by Christ, and thou art crowned for contests in the world ; for, though the reward is in heaven, yet the earning of the reward is placed here. When he asked thee, " Dost thou renounce the devil and his works," what didst thou reply? If thou givest a man thy note of hand, thou art held to be under acknowledgment of receiving his money ; thou art held bound, and the lender keeps thee to it, however unwilling thou mayest be.

If thou deniest, thou goest before the judge, and there thou art convicted by thy bond. Consider where thou didst promise, or to whom 1 Cf. See Thompson, Offices oj Baptism and Confirmation, p. It is not quoted in the parallel passage, de Myst. Bishop suggests to me that the words may have been introduced into the later Ambrosian rite from de Sacram. Thou sawest a levite. But he is the minister of Christ ; thou hast seen him ministering at the altar.

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Therefore, thy note of hand is kept, not on earth, but in heaven. Consider where thou receivest the heavenly mysteries. If the body of Christ is here, the angels are stationed here also. Where the body is, there also are the eagles, 1 hast thou read in the Gospel. Where the body of Christ is, there also the eagles are wont to fly, that they may shun earthly things, pursue heavenly. Why do I say this? Because men also are angels, whosoever proclaim Christ, and seem to be admitted into the place of angels.

Take the case of the Baptist. John was born of a man and a woman. Yet hear how even he is an angel: Behold, I send my angel before thy face, and he shall prepare thy way before thee. For the priest's lips keep knowledge, and they seek the law at his mouth: These things are said to extol the dignity of the priest, not to claim anything for personal merits. Therefore, thou hast renounced the world, thou hast renounced this life. A man who owes money is always considering his bond. And thou who owest faith to Christ, keep faith, which is much more precious than money ; for faith is an eternal possession, money a temporal.

And, therefore, always remember what thou hast promised, and thou wilt be more cautious.

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If thou keepest thy promise, thou wilt keep also thy bond. There is a play on the word angelus which may mean either "messenger" or "angel. Then thou drewest near; 1 thou sawest the font, thou sawest also the priest above the font. Nor can I doubt, that this may have occurred to your mind, which occurred to the Syrian Naaman; for, although he was cleansed, yet he doubted previously. I will tell ; listen. Thou didst enter, thou sawest the water, thou sawest the priest, thou sawest a levite. Let not some one haply say, " Is this all? It is truly all, 2 where all is innocency, all is godliness, all is grace, all is sanctification.

Thou hast seen all that thou couldst see with the eyes of thy body and with human vision. Thou hast not seen the things which are effected, because they cannot be seen. The things which are not seen are far greater than those which are seen; since the things which are seen are temporal, the things which are not seen are eternal? Therefore, let us say this first hold my words as a pledge, and exact full payment.

We marvel at 1 With this and the following section cf. Colson suggests that, as the author in what follows con- tends that what is visible to the eye is not all that is involved in baptism, a negative answer is required. By removing the full stop after Immo est totum we get the sense, "No, the whole, the true whole, is where all is innocency. For the quotation cf. This I promise, that the sacraments cf Christians are more divine and older than those of the Jews. What stands out so much as the fact that the people of the Jews passed through the sea?

Yet the Jews who passed through all died in the wilderness. But he who passes through this font, that is from earthly to heavenly things — for this is the "passing over," 3 therefore, pascha, that is, his passover, a passing over from sin to life, from guilt to grace, from defilement to sanctification — he who passes through this font, dies not, but rises again. The king of Israel heard that a man had been sent to him to be cured of his leprosy, 1 Cf.

With this and the following section cf. Then Elisha the prophet charges him: Send him to me" He sent him, and, when he came, the prophet said, "Go to Jordan, dip, and thou shalt be healed. He began to reflect and to say: I have come from Syria into the land of Judah, and I am told, Go and descend into Jordan, dip, and thou shalt be healed, as if there were not better rivers in my native land. Do it rather, and make trial. What, then, does it mean?

But it is not all water that heals, but that water heals which has the grace of Christ. The element is one thing, the consecration is another; the work is one thing, the working another. The water is the work, 1 the working is of the Holy Spirit. Why, then, did Christ descend, unless that that flesh might be cleansed, the flesh which he took of our nature?

For the washing away of his sins was not necessary for Christ, who did no sin ; 3 but it was neces- sary for us who remain subject to sin. The sentence is omitted by some MSS. Christ descended, John stood by baptizing, and, lo, the Holy Ghost descended as a dove. Remember what I said, Christ took flesh, not as it were flesh ; but it was the reality of that flesh, real flesh, which Christ took.

The Holy Spirit, however, descended from heaven, not in the reality of a dove, but in the likeness of a dove. Therefore, John saw and believed. Christ descended, the Holy Spirit also descended. Why did Christ descend first, the Holy Spirit afterwards, since the form and practice of baptism provides that the font should be consecrated first, and then the person to be baptized should descend? For as soon as the priest enters, he makes an exorcism 2 over the element of water, afterwards he offers an invocation and a prayer, that the font may be consecrated, and the presence of the eternal Trinity may come down.

But Christ descended first, the Spirit followed. That the Lord Jesus might not seem himself as it were to need the mystery of sanctification ; but that he might sanctify, and the Spirit also sanctify. Therefore Christ descended into the water, and the Holy Spirit descended as a dove. Also God the Father spake from heaven.

Thou hast the presence of the Trinity.

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Again, that there was a figure of our baptism in the Red Sea x is asserted by the Apostle, when he says that our fathers were all baptized in the cloud and in the sea. Then Moses held his rod: They could neither cross the seas, nor return to the enemy. They began to murmur. See that it tempt thee not, that they were heard. Although the Lord heard, yet they are not without fault who murmured. It is thy duty, when thou art in a strait, to believe that thou wilt escape, not to murmur ; to appeal, to entreat, not to utter complaint.

Moses held his rod, and led the people of the Hebrews at night in a pillar of light, and in the day in a pillar of cloud. What is the pillar of light but Christ the Lord, who scattered the shadows of unbelief, and poured the light of truth and spiritual grace on human hearts? The pillar of cloud, on the other hand, is the Holy Spirit. The people was in the sea, and the pillar of light went on before; then the pillar of cloud followed, as if the shadowing of the Holy Spirit.

Thou seest that by the Holy Spirit and by the water he has shown a type of baptism. As early as the flood 1 there was also a figure of baptism, and, certainly, the mysteries of the Jews did not as yet exist. Therefore, if the figure of our baptism preceded, thou seest that the mysteries of the Christians are earlier than were those of the Jews. But meanwhile, in view of the weakness of our voice 2 and the consideration of the time at our disposal, let us content ourselves to-day with just having touched the mysteries concerning the holy font.

It behoves your holiness 3 to have your ears prepared, your mind the more ready, that you may be able to retain what we may gather from the course of the Scriptures, and shall declare unto you, that you may have the grace of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, to which Trinity belongs an everlasting kingdom, from all ages, both now, and always, and for ever and ever. But the work is not a genuine work of Ambrose, and bears ace. David as de Sacram. Of the baptisms of heathen and Jews. Yesterday we began to expound how in the flood also there was a prefiguring of baptism.

What is the flood, but that in which the righteous is saved to be a seed-plot of righteousness, while sin dies? Therefore, when the Lord saw that the transgressions of mankind were multiplied, he saved the righteous one alone with his offspring, but he bade the water rise even above the mountains. And therefore, in that flood all corruption of the flesh perished, only the family and pattern of the righteous survived.

Is not the flood the same thing as baptism, whereby all sins are washed away, only the mind and grace of the righteous is revived? There are many kinds of baptisms: There are baptisms of the Gentiles, but they are no baptisms. The flesh is washed, but guilt is not washed away ; nay, it is contracted in that bath. There were, however, baptisms of the Jews, some super- fluous, others figurative. And the mere figure helps us, since it is the herald of reality.

What was read yesterday? Because he himself is the Angel of Great Counsel? At a certain season, because he was kept till the last hour, that he might catch the day at its setting, and delay its setting. Signs for the unbelieving, faith for believers 5. Whosoever first descended, was made whole of every sickness. What is the meaning of first?

Understand in both ways. If it means he who descended first in time was made whole first, it signifies the people of the Jews, as opposed to the people of the Gentiles. If it means he who descended first in honour, that signifies that he who had the fear of God, the love of righteousness, the grace of charity, and the desire of purity, he rather was made whole.

Yet at that time one only was made whole ; at that time, I say, by way of figure he who first descended was alone 1 Cf. On the system of lessons indicated in this book see Introd. Ambrose, de Abraham i. In that case qui is relative, not interrogative, and the meaning will be " He who is first, is he first in time or in honour? How much greater is the grace of the Church, wherein all are saved, whosoever descend! But observe the mystical sense. Our Lord Jesus Christ came to the pool ; many sick were lying there.

And, naturally, there were many sick lying there, where only one was healed. Then he saith to the sick of the palsy, "Descend. Herein is the whole mystery, in that he suffered for thee. In him thou art redeemed, in him thou wilt be saved. Yet he would have been better and more perfect, if he had believed that he whose coming he hoped for had already come.

Summary of types already indicated. Now look at the types one by one. We said that baptism was prefigured in the Jordan, when Naaman 1 Jn. There is nothing in the Gospel parallel to the word " descend. The reading "quia per hominem " is an Old Latin rendering for Vulg. Who is that captive maid, but one who had the likeness of the Church, and exhibited a figure of it? I do not mean a captivity under some hostile people ; but I mean that captivity which is worse, when the devil and his minions rule with cruel sway, and subject to themselves the captive necks of sinners. Now I ask thee whether thou oughtest not to believe that thou hast the presence of the Trinity in this baptism which is administered in the Church.

Go, baptize all nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Tell me, O man. Elijah called fire from heaven, and fire came down from heaven. Because every man before baptism is weighed down like iron, and sinks: The axe was that with which wood was cut down. The haft fell from the axe, that is, the iron sank. The son of the prophet knew not what to do ; but this alone he knew, to ask the prophet Elisha and to demand help. Then he cast in wood, and the iron was raised. Dost thou see, therefore, how the weakness of all men is raised on the cross of Christ?

Another example — though we are not keeping to our order, for who can recount all the deeds of Christ, as the Apostles said? What does it mean, but that every creature is sub- ject to corruption, that water is bitter to all. Although it is sweet for a time, although it is pleasant for a time, yet it is bitter, since it cannot take away sin. When thou hast drunk, thou wilt thirst ; when thou hast imbibed the sweetness of the draught, thou wilt taste its bitterness.

Water, therefore, is bitter. But when thou hast received the cross of Christ, 4 and the heavenly 1 "sed tanquam iam levior fructuosi ligni species elevatur. For this and the following section see de Myst. In" the passage of de Myst. There- fore, if baptisms by way of figure could do so much, how much more can baptism in reality do?

The Spirit at the Baptism of Christ and on the day of Pentecost manifested by outward signs to convince unbelievers. Now, then, let us consider. The priest comes ; he says a prayer at the font ; he invokes the name of the Father, the presence of the Son and of the Holy Ghost ; he uses heavenly words. They are those of Christ, that we should baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Do you wish to know that the Spirit descends?

Thou hast heard that he descended as a dove. That unbelievers might be called to belief. In the begin- ing there had to be a sign, later there ought to be the fulfilment. After the death of our Lord Jesus Christ the Apostles were in one place, and they were praying on the day of Pentecost.

And suddenly there came a great sound as if the Spirit were carried along with great violence, and there appeared divided tongues as of fire. There is no mention of the exorcism, which however is found in later Milanese and in Gallican books. See Thompson, Offices of Baptism and Confirmation, p. Therefore, there was given an evident proof of his coming. But to us is now offered the privilege of faith. For in the beginning signs were shown for unbelievers ; now in the fulness of the Church we must gather truth not by a sign, but by faith.

The redemptive grace of baptism. Now let us examine what it is which is called baptism. Thou earnest to the font, thou wentest down in it; thou didst watch the high priest, thou didst see the levites and the presbyter in the font. In the beginning our God made man, so that, if he did not taste sin, he would not surely die?

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He com- mitted sin, he became subject to death, he was driven out of Paradise. But the Lord, who wished his benefits to endure, who wished to destroy all the wiles of the serpent, and also to root out everything harmful, first gave sentence upon the man, Earth thou art, and, unto earth thou shalt go ; 3 and he made man. It was a Divine sentence ; it could notjjbe paid by human means.

A remedy was granted that man should die, and rise again. In order that the thing which had been previously counted as a condem- nation, might be counted as a benefit. What is that thing but death? Because death intervening makes an end of sin. For when we die, we certainly cease to sin.

Therefore, the sentence seemed satisfied, because man who had been made to live, on 1 Cf. But, in order that the continual goodness of God might endure, man died, but Christ found the resurrection, that is, a way to restore the heavenly benefit which had been lost by the serpent's guile.

Each, therefore, is for our good, since death is the end of sins, and the resurrection is the refashioning of our nature. Nevertheless, that the craft or guile of the devil might not prevail in this world, baptism was devised. Concerning which baptism hear what the Scripture saith, nay, the Son of God, that the Pharisees who would not be baptized with the baptism of John, rejected the counsel of God. How great is the grace, where there is the counsel of God.