The vine-dresser and the fig-tree

Saint Luke - Chapter 13

The vine-dresser and the fig-tree. J-J Tissot

[6] Dicebat autem et hanc similitudinem : Arborem fici habebat quidam plantatam in vinea sua, et venit quaerens fructum in illa, et non invenit.
He spoke also this parable: A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and found none.

[7] Dixit autem ad cultorem vineae : Ecce anni tres sunt ex quo venio quaerens fructum in ficulnea hac, et non invenio : succide ergo illam : ut quid etiam terram occupat?
And he said to the dresser of the vineyard: Behold, for these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down therefore: why cumbereth it the ground?

[8] At ille respondens, dicit illi : Domine dimitte illam et hoc anno, usque dum fodiam circa illam, et mittam stercora,
But he answering, said to him: Lord, let it alone this year also, until I dig about it, and dung it.

[9] et siquidem fecerit fructum : sin autem, in futurum succides eam.
And if happily it bear fruit: but if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam 

The vine-dresser and the fig-tree (Notes)

Saint Luke - Chapter 13

The vine-dresser and the fig-tree. J-J Tissot

[6] Dicebat autem et hanc similitudinem : Arborem fici habebat quidam plantatam in vinea sua, et venit quaerens fructum in illa, et non invenit.
He spoke also this parable: A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and found none.

[7] Dixit autem ad cultorem vineae : Ecce anni tres sunt ex quo venio quaerens fructum in ficulnea hac, et non invenio : succide ergo illam : ut quid etiam terram occupat?
And he said to the dresser of the vineyard: Behold, for these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down therefore: why cumbereth it the ground?

He spake also this parable. “Cumbereth”—the Greek is κατάργει, that is, loads with a useless burthen, nay, renders the ground barren and fruitless, as well by its shade as by its roots, which keep the earth’s moisture from the other trees. The Syriac says, “keeps it idle;” for ἄργον, is idle, inert, devoid of strength.

[8] At ille respondens, dicit illi : Domine dimitte illam et hoc anno, usque dum fodiam circa illam, et mittam stercora,
But he answering, said to him: Lord, let it alone this year also, until I dig about it, and dung it.

[9] et siquidem fecerit fructum : sin autem, in futurum succides eam.
And if happily it bear fruit: but if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.

Trew, C.J [Public domain  via Wikicommons]

In the letter the fig-tree represents the synagogue of the Jews, which God planted through Moses; to which Christ came by the Incarnation, to cultivate it by His preaching. Christ, therefore, is the keeper of the vine, that is, of the synagogue, to whom God said, “Cut it down, for now for three years in which Thou hast preached to it, I have looked for the fruit of faith and good works, and I find none, from the unbelief, perverseness, and malice of the Jews.” Christ intercedes for it, that the Father would allow Him to tend it by His preaching for one year more, or, at least, for half an one; and then, if it gave no fruit, it might be cut down. So it came to pass: for the Jews, in the fourth year of Christ’s preaching, at the Passover, adding sin to sin, and becoming more and more perverse, crucified Him; so that, a few years after, Titus was sent by God as His avenger, and took Jerusalem, and destroyed all Judæa. What remains are additions belonging to the finish of the parable, which it is unnecessary to apply to what is signified by it.

S. Ambrose observes, that the fig-tree is an apt symbol of the Synagogue: first, because it was a tree with abundance of leaves, but which disappointed its owner in his hope of fruit. Secondly, while the doctors of the Synagogue were fruitless of good works and boasted only of words like redundant leaves, the vain shadow of the law flourished exuberantly, but the false hope of the expected produce deceived the prayers of the people.

Secondly, as the fig puts out a green, that is an immature, fig (grossum) instead of blossoms, which soon falls, and then produces a savoury and solid fruit, so the Synagogue firstly put forth the Jews, like green and evanescent fruit, and then, through Christ, gave Christians, like mature and savoury figs. So Pliny, vii. 7, “Figs are produced late, if the green fruit, when exceeding the size of a bean, are taken away, for then are produced figs that ripen later.”

Tropologically. The fig is any individual person, especially a believer; the gardener is Christ, the Apostles, and the like; the Lord is God the Father, or the Holy Trinity. Our own Salmeron (tom. vii., tract 21), gives various reasons and analogies, why the faithful are compared to a fig. 1. The fig produces sweet fruit, which seems to be purses of honey and sugar, and the righteous produce the like. 2. As the fig tree increases little in height but is always short, so the righteous cast themselves down, and humble themselves. 3. The fig, instead of blossoms, gives fruit, and that twice; namely, the early ripe in the summer, and in the autumn the later—for the fig bears twice a year, as the righteous is ever plentifully bringing forth the fruit of good works. 4. As the fig makes a shade with its ample leaves, so the righteous defends and protects others by his charity. 5. The fig is never grafted into another tree, because of its exceeding sweetness, which cannot leave it. So the righteous rests in no man, but in God alone and his own conscience. 6. The fig tree, if stripped of its bark, gives no fruit, but withers away; and the righteous, unless protected by the bark of honest conversation, modesty, and outward decency, will bring no fruit with his neighbours. 7. The fig has medical properties, and heals diseases, as Isaiah healed Hezekiah by means of a fig (Isa. 38:21). Pliny also says that the fig alone, of trees, has medical virtues. So the righteous, because he is perfect and mature in virtue, ministers to the infirmities of others, by teaching, advising, and living holily. He adds that lopping and pruning it remedies its too great luxuriousness; as the righteous by circumcising and cutting off the desire of honour above, and the appetites of the senses below, by meditations on death and burial, is rendered fruitful in virtue and good works, and converts many of his neighbours to God.

Behold these three years I come seeking fruit. This alludes to the nature of the fig tree, which sometimes gives fruit in its third year. If not then, it commonly does not give it at all.

Symbolically, these three years, according to Euthymius, signify the three policies or political status of the Jews, under the Judges, Kings, and the High Priests, namely the Maccabees. St. Ambrose says “He came to Abraham, He came to Moses, He came to Mary; that is, He came in circumcision, He came in the Law, He came in the body. We acknowledge His Advent from His benefits to us. In the first, Purification; in the second, Sanctification; in the third, Justification—Circumcision purified, the Law sanctified, Grace justified—one in all, and all in one; no one can be cleansed but one who fears God: no one deserves to receive the Law but one who is purified from sin: no one comes to Grace but he who knows the Law.” So also St. Cyril: “God sought the nature of the human race before the Law, under the Law, and under Grace by waiting, admonishing, visiting; but some are not corrected by the natural law, nor taught by precept, nor converted by miracle.”

Tropologically, these three years, says Theophylact, are the three ages of man—childhood; full manhood; and old age. For every one ought at all times to bring forth the fruits of virtue to God, as is fitting and proportionate to every age. God, who would have no age of man idle, requires these of every one.

And He, namely, the dresser of the Vine, Christ and the Apostles, answering said unto him. Christ and the Apostles, says the Interlineator, knowing that some of the Jews could be saved, pray God to delay the avenging of the Lord’s cross, that is, the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus.

And if it bear fruit. Understand, “It shall be well, it shall be safe, and it shall be saved.” It is an aposiopesis. [A rhetorical artifice, in which the speaker comes to a sudden halt, as if unable or unwilling to proceed.]The Arabic adds, “For it has brought forth fruit.” The Synagogue formerly gave fruit under Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, and others.

And if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. As God cut down the Jews by the Romans.

Mystically, S. Augustine (De Verb. Dom.) says: “He who intercedes is all holy; who, within the Church, prays for those who are without.” To dig about the conscience is to teach humility and patience, and to engraft on the mind the consideration of heaven and heavenly things, lest, as S. Ambrose says, the heap overwhelm the root of earthly wisdom and of earthly desires and hide it from view.


And dung it. This is, as S. Ambrose says, the feeling of humility, and S. Augustine (De Verb. Dom.): “Dung is filth, but it causes fruitfulness. The filth of the vine-dresser is the grief of the sinner.” And S. Gregory, “Dung is the sins of the flesh, from which the mind is roused to good works.”

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam 

Jesus teaches in the synagogue

Saint Matthew - Chapter 4

Jesus teaches in the synagogue. J-J Tissot

[23] Et circuibat Jesus totam Galilaeam, docens in synagogis eorum, et praedicans Evangelium regni : et sanans omnem languorem, et omnem infirmitatem in populo.
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom: and healing all manner of sickness and every infirmity, among the people.

[24] Et abiit opinio ejus in totam Syriam, et obtulerunt ei omnes male habentes, variis languoribus, et tormentis comprehensos, et qui daemonia habebant, et lunaticos, et paralyticos, et curavit eos :
And his fame went throughout all Syria, and they presented to him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and such as were possessed by devils, and lunatics, and those that had palsy, and he cured them:

[25] et secutae sunt eum turbae multae de Galilaea, et Decapoli, et de Jerosolymis, et de Judaea, et de trans Jordanem.
And much people followed him from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam 

Jesus teaches in the synagogue (Notes)

Saint Matthew - Chapter 4

Jesus teaches in the synagogue. J-J Tissot

[23] Et circuibat Jesus totam Galilaeam, docens in synagogis eorum, et praedicans Evangelium regni : et sanans omnem languorem, et omnem infirmitatem in populo.
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom: and healing all manner of sickness and every infirmity, among the people.

And Jesus went about, &c. Sickness—Greek, νόσος,—an habitual, organic, or incurable disease, says Euthymius. Disease—Greek, μαλακίον—i.e., languor, infirmity, failure of strength.

[24] Et abiit opinio ejus in totam Syriam, et obtulerunt ei omnes male habentes, variis languoribus, et tormentis comprehensos, et qui daemonia habebant, et lunaticos, et paralyticos, et curavit eos :
And his fame went throughout all Syria, and they presented to him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and such as were possessed by devils, and lunatics, and those that had palsy, and he cured them:


And his fame. Greek, ἀκοὴ—i.e., rumour, report. Torments (Gr. βασάνοις. This word means, properly, examination under torture, when an accused person was tormented on the little horse, to make him confess his crime and accomplices. Lunatics are sick persons, who suffer from the changes of the moon, either by sickness, or delirium, or madness, especially epilepsy. Tho. Valesius (Sac. Philos. c. 71) denies that the moon has any such effect.

And healed them. From none of these did Christ require faith, says S. Chrysostom, for He had not yet manifested His power; and those who came from far had as yet but small faith in Him. But afterwards He required faith on the part of the sick, as will appear in the sequel. “Clouds of miracles,” says S. Chrysostom, “does S. Matthew pass over in few words, a few of which he afterwards relates more at length.”

Mystically, lunatics are mutable and inconstant persons, who at one time serve God and religion, at another the devil and their lusts, according to the words in Ecclus. 27:12—“A holy man abides in wisdom like the sun, but a fool changes like the moon.”

[25] et secutae sunt eum turbae multae de Galilaea, et Decapoli, et de Jerosolymis, et de Judaea, et de trans Jordanem.
And much people followed him from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

Followed him. Hear S. Bernard (Serm. 1 de omnibus Sanc.): “From the cities and villages the people followed the preaching of the Lord. He saved their souls; He healed their bodies. They clave to Him, being delighted both by the sight of Him and by His words. His voice was sweet, His face was comely, as it is written, ‘Thou art fairer than the children of men; full of grace are thy lips.’ Such is He whom we follow, to whom we adhere—who is altogether desirable, upon whom not the people only, but the holy angels themselves desire to look.”

Decapolis—i.e., the region of ten cities—from δέκα ten, and πόλις, a city. The names of these ten cities, according to Burchard, were Tiberias, Saphet, Asor, Kedesh, Cæsarea Philippi, Capernaum, Jotapata (which Josephus defended against the Romans), Bethsaida, Corozaim, and Beth-shan, or Scythopolis.

Beyond Jordan—i.e., in respect of Galilee, which was on this side Jordan. These regions were Gilead, Trachonitis, Abilene, Seir, Cœlosyria, and Batanæa, the ancient Bashan, formerly the dominions of King Og.

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam 

Jesus went into a desert place

Saint Luke - Chapter 4

Jesus went into a desert place. J-J Tissot.

[42] Facta autem die egressus ibat in desertum locum, et turbae requirebant eum, et venerunt usque ad ipsum : et detinebant illum ne discederet ab eis.
And when it was day, going out he went into a desert place, and the multitudes sought him, and came unto him: and they stayed him that he should not depart from them.




[43] Quibus ille ait : Quia et aliis civitatibus oportet me evangelizare regnum Dei : quia ideo missus sum.
To whom he said: To other cities also I must preach the kingdom of God: for therefore am I sent.

[44] Et erat praedicans in synagogis Galilaeae.
And he was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam 

The man who laid up treasure

Saint Luke - Chapter 12

The man who laid up treasure. J-J Tissot

[16] Dixit autem similitudinem ad illos, dicens : Hominis cujusdam divitis uberes fructus ager attulit :
And he spoke a similitude to them, saying: The land of a certain rich man brought forth plenty of fruits.

[17] et cogitabat intra se dicens : Quid faciam, quia non habeo quo congregam fructus meos?
And he thought within himself, saying: What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

[18] Et dixit : Hoc faciam : destruam horrea mea, et majora faciam : et illuc congregabo omnia quae nata sunt mihi, et bona mea,
And he said: This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and will build greater; and into them will I gather all things that are grown to me, and my goods.

[19] et dicam animae meae : Anima, habes multa bona posita in annos plurimos : requiesce, comede, bibe, epulare.
And I will say to my soul: Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years take thy rest; eat, drink, make good cheer.

[20] Dixit autem illi Deus : Stulte, hac nocte animam tuam repetunt a te : quae autem parasti, cujus erunt?
But God said to him: Thou fool, this night do they require thy soul of thee: and whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?

[21] Sic est qui sibi thesaurizat, et non est in Deum dives.
So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God.

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam 

The man who laid up treasure (Notes)

Saint Luke - Chapter 12

The man who laid up treasure. J-J Tissot

[16] Dixit autem similitudinem ad illos, dicens : Hominis cujusdam divitis uberes fructus ager attulit :
And he spoke a similitude to them, saying: The land of a certain rich man brought forth plenty of fruits.

And He spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully. The ground in the Greek (χώρα) means a large extent of land, a number of fields.

And he reasoned with himself saying, What shall I do? &c. Behold the care, behold the poverty of this rich man—he who is overflowing with wealth and receptacles has need of some place in which to store his goods. He is in doubt and perplexity, says Euthymius, as if he were really poor, though he is in truth wealthy. And S. Basil, in his homily on these words of Christ: “The earth did not return fruits but lamentations; for this unhappy man is afflicted quite as much as they who are oppressed by want, and he cries out saying, ‘What shall I do?’ Does not he who is in straits from his poverty utter the same words? and he who has to beg?” From all the good things that flowed in upon him he derived no gratification. They rather annoyed his mind and troubled him.

[17] et cogitabat intra se dicens : Quid faciam, quia non habeo quo congregam fructus meos?
And he thought within himself, saying: What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

My fruits. “Did he not,” says S. Basil, “collect his crops and incur the reputation of avarice when he called them his own?” For how many dangers are there before the harvest is gathered in. The hail often beats it down, and the heat snatches it out of the very grasp, and rains suddenly rush down from the mountains and sweep it away.

[18] Et dixit : Hoc faciam : destruam horrea mea, et majora faciam : et illuc congregabo omnia quae nata sunt mihi, et bona mea,
And he said: This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and will build greater; and into them will I gather all things that are grown to me, and my goods.

And he said, This will I do, I will pull down my barns, &c. All the harvests collected in past years. He took counsel of his cupidity, not of his charity, which would have said to him, “Spend them on the poor.” “Dost thou want barns? Thou hast them in the bellies of the poor,” says S. Basil; and S. Ambrose (Lib. de Naboth, cap. vii.), “Thou hast storehouses; the bosoms of the poor, the houses of widows and orphans, the mouths of infants. Let these be thy barns, and they will last thee for ever.” S. Basil again, in the homily above: “He is a despoiler who, when he receives what he ought to dispense, considers it as his own. The bread thou hast is the bread of the famishing, thy robe is the robe of the naked, thy silver that is buried in the ground is the silver of the indigent: wherefore dost thou wrong so many poor whom thou mightest support?” He adds, “And when thou hast filled thy barns, what wilt thou do with the harvest of the following year? Wilt thou pull them down again and build new ones for ever? Thou wilt always be consuming thy substance and thy wealth in pulling down the old and building new, that the fruits which sprang from the earth may return to it again. Thou wilt not bestow them upon the poor, because thou enviest others the use of them, and thus, when earth restored them again to thee, thou deprivest all men of their benefit, nay even thyself; for as corn, falling into the ground, brings gain to the sower, so thy bread, if thou gavest it to the hungry, would bring thee much profit hereafter.”

[19] et dicam animae meae : Anima, habes multa bona posita in annos plurimos : requiesce, comede, bibe, epulare.
And I will say to my soul: Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years take thy rest; eat, drink, make good cheer.

And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. This rich man again errs and commits sin. First, in promising himself very many years, when he was to die that night. “He who promised himself a long life did not see the following day,” says S. Gregory (22 Moral. chap. 6). And S. Cyril, in the Catena, “Thou hast fruits in thy barns, O rich man, but whence hast thou many years?” Secondly, in giving himself up to gluttony and luxury, saying, “Eat, drink, and be merry like an Epicurean.” For after death is no enjoyment.

Take thine ease. To the plague of avarice is joined that of sloth, says the Gloss. “If you had the soul of a sow,” says S. Basil, “what else could you propose for yourself?—you are so brutish, so ignorant of the soul’s good, that you indulge it in carnal gratification.” Being wholly of the flesh, you make yourself a slave to its lusts. An appellation worthy of you, was bestowed upon you, “Thou fool, this night shall thy soul be required of thee.”


S. Ambrose (Lib. ii. de Interpell. in Job c. 5) says wisely, “A great incitement to fall away is an influx of prosperity. It makes us supine puffs us up, causes forgetfulness of its author.”

[20] Dixit autem illi Deus : Stulte, hac nocte animam tuam repetunt a te : quae autem parasti, cujus erunt?
But God said to him: Thou fool, this night do they require thy soul of thee: and whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?

But God said unto him. God said this, not in word but in deed, sending him a fever or some other mortal disease, and causing his conscience by this means to speak thus to him. “God said this to the rich man,” says Euthymius, “through his conscience, which, as he felt death coming upon him, said this to him.”

Thou fool. Because in thy plan, in which thou appearedst to thyself wise, thou now perceivest that thou wast a fool.

This night. “His soul, which would take no heed of light, and which was tending on to Gehenna, was taken in the night.” Gregory, Moral., lib. xv. 11.

shall be required. (Repetunt, απαιτοῦσιν, Greek). They require: that is, God and His angels, who are His instruments, not by misfortune but by the just judgment of God, as if against His will.

Thy soul. “That thou mayest give account of all thy fruits and of the riches and other property which God has given to thee.” So Toletus. They seek it again, because thy soul does not die with the body, but is immortal; thy soul, too, is not thy own, but God’s, who breathed it into thee and entrusted it to thee as a sacred gift. Rightly, therefore, does He now seek it of thee again by a sudden death. Hear S. Jerome on the death that is imminent on all (Ep. iii. to Heliodorus): “Xerxes, that most mighty king, who overthrew mountains, who controlled seas, when he had viewed from a lofty place an infinite multitude of men and an immense army, is said to have wept, because after a hundred years none of those whom he then saw would be surviving. Oh, if we could ascend such a tower from which we could see the whole earth under our feet! I would show you the ruins of the world—nations in strife with nations—kings with kings—and, not the army of Xerxes alone, but the inhabitants of the entire globe, who are now alive, in a short space of time passed away.”

And the things which thou hast prepared, whose shall they be? “They shall not only not belong to thee,” says Euthymius, “they shall not be thine; but thou dost not know whose they will be—whether thy heir’s or a stranger’s, a friend’s or an enemy’s;—and this increases thy grief.” S. James says, “They shall eat your flesh as fire” (5:3); and S. Ambrose, “The things that we cannot carry with us are not our own. Virtue alone is the companion of the dead. Mercy alone follows us—and mercy alone gains abodes for the departed.” S. Augustine: “The purse contains that which Christ receives not” (Hom. 48, inter. 50). Well says the wise man, “What fortune has lent let her take, what nature has changed let her seek again, what virtue has gained she will retain.” See what I have collected from the Fathers on vanity and the perniciousness of riches on Isaiah 5:9.

[21] Sic est qui sibi thesaurizat, et non est in Deum dives.
So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God.

So is he that layeth up treasure for himself. Such an end and such a death did the rich covetous man meet who had not laid up treasure toward God. It will be asked, Who is rich towards God? I answer—He who has by alms and other good works many merits and safeguards hidden up as treasures before God, and who day by day hides more, as the apostle teaches at length, 1 Tim. 6:17 and following. See what is said thereon.

Secondly, “He is rich in God who studies to please God alone, who fixes all his hope and love on God, who rests wholly on Him, that he may be blessed by Him and made eternally happy.” “He is rich,” says the Gloss, “whose expectation is the Lord, and whose substance is with God.” “The rich in God,” says S. Augustine, “is poor in gold” (Serm. xxviii. de verb. Apostoli)—that is, poor in spirit, as St. Peter was when he said to the lame man, “Silver and gold have I none; but what I have, that I give thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk,” Acts 3. On Ps. 40 he says, “When Christ was rich He became poor, that by His poverty He might make you rich. He enriches the truly poor, He brings the falsely rich to poverty. ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,’ ” Matt. 5:3. “Let us endeavour,” says Theophylact, “to be made rich in God, that is, to have trust in Him, that He may have our wealth and the granary of it, and not call our goods our own but God’s, and if they are God’s, let us not deprive Him of His own. This is to be rich in God, to believe that if I give Him all things and empty myself, nothing that is needful for my good shall ever fail me. God is my storehouse, which I will open and take from it all of which I have need.”

Thirdly, He who is rich, that is liberal, in God, is charitable to the poor. For what is done to them God holds to be done to Himself and rewards it. “Let him,” says Bede, “who wishes to be rich in God, not lay up treasure to himself, but distribute his possessions among the poor.” The meaning is good, but it is not complete: for Christ is not speaking here exclusively of almsgiving, but of the true riches, which He declares to be not the fruits of the ground and the wealth of mines, but virtues and good works, for these procure us long life and blessing, as well in this world as in the world to come.

Fourthly, S. Augustine, in his 44th Discourse on the Temptation, teaches that “he is rich to God who is full of love and therefore of God.” “God is love, and he that abideth in love abideth in God, and God abideth in him,” 1 John 4:16. “If you have love you have God. What has the rich man if he have not love? If a poor man have love, what has he not? You think him rich perhaps whose chest is full of gold; and is he not so whose conscience is full of God? He is truly rich in whom God deigns to dwell.” S. Augustine.

Lastly, The rich man toward God is one who abounds in every virtue. So S. Ambrose explains at length (lib. iv. epis. 27) to Simplicianus, whose words I have cited on 1 Peter 3:4, “That which is not corruptible, the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.”

In allegory. The rich toward God are the blessed who enjoy God and all His works. S. Augustine (Serm. 74 de Temp.) teaches that the blessed alone are happy, both because they possess God, and want nothing. “He,” he says, “is truly rich who wants nothing, but the blessed alone want nothing—the blessed alone are truly happy.” He says in the preface of Psalm 41, “Christ was rich to the Father, and poor to us—rich in heaven, poor on earth—rich as God, poor as man.”

S. Ambrose in his Epistle to Demetrias, wisely says, “By what price can the repose of this world be more fitly purchased than by the restoration to the world itself of all riches, all dignities, and all desires; and the purchase of Christian liberty by a holy and happy community by which the sons of God, from having been poor will be made rich, from patient will become brave, from humility be exalted?”

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam 

hh

The healing of Peter's mother-in-law

Saint Mark - Chapter 1

Healing of Peter's mother-in-law. J-J Tissot

[29] Et protinus egredientes de synagoga, venerunt in domum Simonis et Andreae, cum Jacobo et Joanne.
And immediately going out of the synagogue they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

[30] Decumbebat autem socrus Simonis febricitans : et statim dicunt ei de illa.
And Simon's wife's mother lay in a fit of a fever: and forthwith they tell him of her.

[31] Et accedens elevavit eam, apprehensa manu ejus : et continuo dimisit eam febris, et ministrabat eis.
And coming to her, he lifted her up, taking her by the hand; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam 

All the City was gathered together (Notes)

Saint Mark - Chapter 1

He healed many... J-J Tissot

[32] Vespere autem facto cum occidisset sol, afferebant ad eum omnes male habentes, et daemonia habentes :
And when it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all that were ill and that were possessed with devils.

When the sun had set: Gr. ὅτε ἔδυ ὁ ἥλιος, i.e., when the sun was swallowed up and sunk in the sea. For δυόμαι means to be sunk, submerged, and is spoken of islands which are submerged and drowned by the sea. This is a form of speech adopted from the common people, who think that when the sun sets it is submerged in the ocean.

[33] et erat omnis civitas congregata ad januam.
And all the city was gathered together at the door.

And all the city (Capernaum, as appears from ver. 21) was gathered together at the door. Of the house of Peter and Andrew, where Jesus was being entertained, as is plain from ver. 29.

Capernaum

Capernaum means village of Nahum or consolation. It is frequently mentioned in the Gospels: Jesus, when rejected by the Nazarenes, made it His new abode (Matthew 4:13; Luke 4:31; John 2:12); He chose there his first disciples, Peter, Andrew, James, John, Matthew (Matthew 4:18, 21; 9:9; Mark 1:16); He cured there the centurion's servant, Peter's mother-in-law, a paralytic, a demoniac, the Hæmorrhoissa, etc.; it was there that He brought to life again the daughter of Jairus, and delivered many discourses, especially the one concerning the institution of the Eucharist (John 6). The inhabitants, however, at the instigation of the Pharisees, broke off with Him, and Jesus, on leaving their city, cursed it (Matthew 11:23). [Catholic Encyclopedia. 
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03309a.htm]





[34] Et curavit multos, qui vexabantur variis languoribus, et daemonia multa ejiciebat, et non sinebat ea loqui, quoniam sciebant eum.
And he healed many that were troubled with divers diseases; and he cast out many devils, and he suffered them not to speak, because they knew him.

And He healed many, i.e., all who presented themselves, for they were many.

Suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew Him. Arab., because they knew that He Himself was He.

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam 

The man possessed of an unclean spirit in the synagogue (Notes)

Saint Mark - Chapter 1

The man possessed of an unclean spirit. J-J Tissot

[21] Et ingrediuntur Capharnaum : et statim sabbatis ingressus in synagogam, docebat eos.
And they entered into Capharnaum, and forthwith upon the sabbath days going into the synagogue, he taught them.

[22] Et stupebant super doctrina ejus : erat enim docens eos quasi potestatem habens, et non sicut scribae.
And they were astonished at his doctrine. For he was teaching them as one having power, and not as the scribes.

[23] Et erat in synagoga eorum homo in spiritu immundo : et exclamavit,
And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,

And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, i.e., a man having an unclean spirit, that is to say, possessed by a devil. The Greek has, in an unclean spirit, and it is a Hebraism. For the Hebrew uses ב, beth, i.e., in, when one noun governs another in the genitive.

And he cried out, i.e., the spirit, by the mouth of the man possessed, “as though he were suffering torment,” says the, Scholiast in S. Chrysostom, “as though in pain, as though not able to bear his strokes.” “For,” as Bede says, “the presence of the Saviour is the torment of the devils.” Christ desired that by this public testimony of the demon concerning Him, in the synagogue of Capernaum (for it is plain from ver. 21 that these things occurred there), the Jews who were gathered there might acknowledge Him to be Messias. There is nothing about this demoniac in Matthew, but there is in Luke 4:33.


[24] dicens : Quid nobis et tibi, Jesu Nazarene? venisti perdere nos? scio qui sis, Sanctus Dei.
Saying: What have we to do with thee, Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know who thou art, the Holy One of God.

Saying. The Gr. subjoins ἔα, which the translator of Luke 4:34 renders by let alone, as if the imperative of the verb ἐάω, i.e., suffer, permit; as Euthymius says, dismiss us. Others take ἔα as an adverb of grieving, wondering, beseeching. As it were, “Ah!, alas! Lord, in what have I injured Thee?”
What have we to do with Thee, Jesus of Nazareth? Art Thou come to destroy us? I know who Thou art, the Holy One of God. “What is there between us and Thee, O Jesus? We have not attacked Thee, O Christ, who art holy; but sinners, who are, as it were, our own. We have no contention with Thee; do not Thou, then, contend with and destroy us.”

Come to destroy us. Some MSS. add, before the time. But the words are not found in the Greek, Latin, Syriac, and Arabic received texts. They seem to have been transferred hither from S. Matt. 9:25. With respect to the meaning, in the first place, Bede says that the demons, beholding the Lord upon earth, supposed that they were to be immediately judged. It was as though they said, “Do not Thou, O Jesus, by Thine advent bring on so quickly the day of judgment, and banish us to the bottomless pit without any hope of coming forth.” Second, the Scholiast in S. Chrysostom says, “Thou givest us no place among men when Thou teachest divine things.” But this is mystical. Third, and correctly, “Hast Thou come to destroy us, to cast us out from men, and send us to hell?” Whence Theophylact says, “He calls going out of men his destruction.” For the highest pleasure of the devils is to possess and vex men.

I know, &c. Arab. O Holy One; the Gr. ὁ ἅγιος, emphatically, the Holy One. “Thou who art so holy that Thou communicatest Thy holiness to others, since Thou art, as it were, the Fountain and the Sun of holiness, who sanctifiest all the saints, the Messiah and the Son of God, for whom all are eagerly waiting so many thousand years!” There is an allusion to Dan. 9:24, “until the Holy of Holies, i.e., Messiah, be anointed.”

I know, i.e., I suspect, I think. For, as the Scholiast in Chrysostom says, the devil had no firm and certain knowledge of the coming of God. Because, as S. Austin says (lib. 9, de Civ. c. 21), He only made known to them as much as He wished; and He only wished as much as was expedient.

[25] Et comminatus est ei Jesus, dicens : Obmutesce, et exi de homine.
And Jesus threatened him, saying: Speak no more, and go out of the man.

And Jesus threatened him: Gr. ἐπετίμησεν, i.e., rebuked, chided him with threats. That He would punish him unless he were silent.

Saying, Speak no more: Arab, shut thy mouth. Wherefore? I answer, First, Because it was not fitting that Christ should be commanded by the devil.

Second, That He might not appear to be a friend of the devil, and to hold intercourse with him. For afterwards it was objected to Christ that He cast out devils by the aid of Beelzebub. By acting as He did, Christ has taught us to shun all dealings with the devil; for he is the sworn enemy of God, and is wholly bent upon injuring and destroying us, even when he promises or brings us any corporal aid. Wherefore, as the Scholiast in Chrysostom saith, “Be silent; let thy silence be My praise. Let not thy voice, but thy torments praise Me. I am not pleased that thou shouldst praise Me, but that thou shouldst go forth.”

Third, To show that we should resist flattery, that it may not stir up any desire of vainglory in our breast.

Fourth, Euthymius says, “He has taught us never to believe the demons, even when they say what is true. For since they love falsehood, and are most hostile to us, they never speak the truth except to deceive. They make use of the truth as it were a kind of bait.” For, liars that they are, they conceal their lies by a colouring of truth. They say certain things that are true at the first, and afterwards interweave with them what is false, that those who have believed the first may believe also the last. For this cause Paul drove out the spirit of Python, who praised him, Acts 16:18.

Fifth, Because the demon in an unseasonable manner, and too speedily, disclosed that Christ was Messiah. For this might have injured Him, and turned the people away from Him. For so mighty a secret should be disclosed gradually, and the people be persuaded of its truth by many miracles; for otherwise they would not at first receive it and believe it. This was why (8:30) Christ forbids the Apostles also to say that He was Christ. So Maldonatus and others.

Symbolically: Bede, “The devil, because he had deceived Eve with his tongue, is punished by the tongue, that he might not speak.”

[26] Et discerpens eum spiritus immundus, et exclamans voce magna, exiit ab eo.
And the unclean spirit tearing him, and crying out with a loud voice, went out of him.

And the unclean spirit tearing him, &c. Tearing (Vulg. discerpens), not by lacerating or mutilating the man who was possessed by him, for Luke says (4:35) that he did no harm to him, but by contorting and twisting his limbs this way and that, as if he wished to tear him piecemeal. For the Greek σπαράττω signifies to pull or tear in pieces. The devil did this through rage and madness, that being compelled by Christ to go out of the man, he might injure him as much as he could. But the nearer and the more powerful the grace of Christ is, the more impotently does the devil rage. For, observe, the devil only raised a dreadful tempest, but one that was vain and ineffectual. For he cannot hurt when Christ forbids. Christ permitted it for three reasons. 1. That it might be plain that this man was really possessed by the devil. 2. That the malice and wrath of the demon might be made apparent. 3. That it might be clear that the demon went forth, not of his own will, but because he was compelled to do so by Christ.

Tropologically: S. Gregory teaches (Hom. 12, in Ezek.) that the devil wonderfully tempts and vexes sinners when they are converted. “As soon,” he says, “as the mind begins to love heavenly things, as soon as it collects itself for the vision of inward peace with its whole intention, that ancient adversary, who fell from heaven, is envious, and begins to lie in wait more insidiously, and brings to bear sharper temptations than he was wont, so as, for the most part, to try the soul which resists in a way that he had never tried her when he possessed her. Wherefore it is written, My son, if thou come to serve the Lord, stand fast in justice and fear, and prepare thy soul for temptation.”

And crying out. With dreadful howlings, shrieking, and roaring, to show how unwillingly he went out, and what great power was applied to him by Christ. For he uttered no articulate speech. For Christ had forbidden him to speak when He said shut thy mouth. Thus Euthymius says, “Being scourged by the Lord’s commands, he cried out with a loud voice, and yet he spake not when he cried, because he uttered cries which signified nothing.” Titus adds, “When the man was restored to himself, then he uttered the speech of a man.”

[27] Et mirati sunt omnes, ita ut conquirerent inter se dicentes : Quidnam est hoc? quaenam doctrina haec nova? quia in potestate etiam spiritibus immundis imperat, et obediunt ei.
And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying: What thing is this? what is this new doctrine? for with power he commandeth even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.

What new doctrine is this, &c. “What is this heavenly and divine doctrine, which indeed God confirms from heaven by so many and such mighty miracles? For Christ, the Teacher of this doctrine, not by prayers, but of His mere power, and by His command only, orders the devils to go out, and they obey Him. Wherefore this must be the Messias, the Son of God, and the true God; for He alone commands the devils by His power.”

[28] Et processit rumor ejus statim in omnem regionem Galilaeae.
And the fame of him was spread forthwith into all the country of Galilee.

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam 

The man possessed of an unclean spirit in the synagogue

Saint Mark - Chapter 1

The man possessed of an unclean spirit. J-J Tissot

[21] Et ingrediuntur Capharnaum : et statim sabbatis ingressus in synagogam, docebat eos.
And they entered into Capharnaum, and forthwith upon the sabbath days going into the synagogue, he taught them.

[22] Et stupebant super doctrina ejus : erat enim docens eos quasi potestatem habens, et non sicut scribae.
And they were astonished at his doctrine. For he was teaching them as one having power, and not as the scribes.

[23] Et erat in synagoga eorum homo in spiritu immundo : et exclamavit,
And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,

[24] dicens : Quid nobis et tibi, Jesu Nazarene? venisti perdere nos? scio qui sis, Sanctus Dei.
Saying: What have we to do with thee, Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know who thou art, the Holy One of God.

[25] Et comminatus est ei Jesus, dicens : Obmutesce, et exi de homine.
And Jesus threatened him, saying: Speak no more, and go out of the man.

[26] Et discerpens eum spiritus immundus, et exclamans voce magna, exiit ab eo.
And the unclean spirit tearing him, and crying out with a loud voice, went out of him.

[27] Et mirati sunt omnes, ita ut conquirerent inter se dicentes : Quidnam est hoc? quaenam doctrina haec nova? quia in potestate etiam spiritibus immundis imperat, et obediunt ei.
And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying: What thing is this? what is this new doctrine? for with power he commandeth even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.

[28] Et processit rumor ejus statim in omnem regionem Galilaeae.
And the fame of him was spread forthwith into all the country of Galilee.

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam 

The Hidden Treasure & The Ploughman

Saint Matthew - Chapter 13

The Hidden Treasure. J-J Tissot

[43] Tunc justi fulgebunt sicut sol in regno Patris eorum. Qui habet aures audiendi, audiat.
Then shall the just shine as the sun, in the kingdom of their Father. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

[44] Simile est regnum caelorum thesauro abscondito in agro : quem qui invenit homo, abscondit, et prae gaudio illius vadit, et vendit universa quae habet, et emit agrum illum.
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in a field. Which a man having found, hid it, and for joy thereof goeth, and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

Saint Luke - Chapter 9

The Man at the Plough. J-J Tissot

[60] Dixitque ei Jesus : Sine ut mortui sepeliant mortuos suos : tu autem vade, et annuntia regnum Dei.
And Jesus said to him: Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou, and preach the kingdom of God.

[61] Et ait alter : Sequar te Domine, sed permitte mihi primum renuntiare his quae domi sunt.
And another said: I will follow thee, Lord; but let me first take my leave of them that are at my house.

[62] Ait ad illum Jesus : Nemo mittens manum suam ad aratrum, et respiciens retro, aptus est regno Dei.
Jesus said to him: No man putting his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam 

The Hidden Treasure & The Ploughman (Notes)

Saint Matthew - Chapter 13

The Hidden Treasure. J-J Tissot

[43] Tunc justi fulgebunt sicut sol in regno Patris eorum. Qui habet aures audiendi, audiat.
Then shall the just shine as the sun, in the kingdom of their Father. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Then shall the righteous, &c. Then, because now, says Remigius the just shine for an example to others; but then they shall shine as the sun for the praise of God. He alludes to Daniel 12:3: “They that are learned (Heb. mascilim, i.e., wise and prudent—such, namely, as shall live wisely and prudently) shall shine as the splendour of the firmament; and they that shall instruct many to justice, as the stars for everlasting eternities.” See what I have there said. From this passage some heretics were of opinion, that in the resurrection our bodies will be transformed into globes, so as to be like the solar orb. The emperor Justinian ascribes this heresy to Origen, and condemns it. (See Baronius, tom. 7, A. C. 538, pp. 289 and 293.)

[44] Simile est regnum caelorum thesauro abscondito in agro : quem qui invenit homo, abscondit, et prae gaudio illius vadit, et vendit universa quae habet, et emit agrum illum.
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in a field. Which a man having found, hid it, and for joy thereof goeth, and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

The kingdom of Heaven is like, &c. For he who knows that a treasure is lying hid in any place, and buys the place, becomes the master of the treasure, and is not bound to point it out to the former owner, but may use his knowledge for his own advantage by buying the field for as much as it is worth by common estimation; with which the hid treasure has nothing to do.

Which when a man has found. The Greek has the Aorist, εὑρὼν.

Observe: Christ, in the preceding four parables (namely, of the Sower, of the Seed, of the Grain of Mustard, and of Leaven) has declared the nature, power, and efficacy of the Gospel; now, in the two following parables, of the Treasure, and of the Pearl, He declares its price, how great it is, that all things are deservedly counted as loss in comparison of it. So SS. Chrysostom, Hilary, and others. In a similar way, Wisdom is spoken of by Solomon in the Proverbs (8:11, 19): “For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it. My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.”

Literally. By this treasure S. Jerome understands Christ Himself; and S. Augustine, Holy Scripture. (Quest in Matt. q. 13). “For when anyone has attained partly to the understanding of it, he feels great mysteries lie hid in it, and he sells all he has, and buys it; that is, by despising things temporal, he procures rest for himself, that he may be rich in the knowledge of God.”

Tropologically. S. Gregory, by the treasure, understands heavenly desire. He says: “The treasure being found is hid that it may be preserved, because it is not enough for a man to guard the zeal of his heavenly desire from the wicked spirits, who does not hide the same from the praise of men. In this present life we are, as it were, in a road, by which we are going to our country. Wicked spirits, like robbers, beset our path. He, therefore, who openly carries his treasure in the way desires to be robbed of it.”

Saint Luke - Chapter 9

[60] Dixitque ei Jesus : Sine ut mortui sepeliant mortuos suos : tu autem vade, et annuntia regnum Dei.
And Jesus said to him: Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou, and preach the kingdom of God.

[61] Et ait alter : Sequar te Domine, sed permitte mihi primum renuntiare his quae domi sunt.
And another said: I will follow thee, Lord; but let me first take my leave of them that are at my house.

And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. This verse has been variously explained.

1. Suffer me to give notice to my parents and to consult with them; for he was doubtful what he should do. But Christ would not grant his request, because parents very often do not approve of the higher life, and sometimes dissuade their children from adopting it. Titus.

2. Suffer me to tell my parents of my intention, that knowing what is become of me, they may neither be anxious about me, nor come to seek me. S. Augustin (serm. vii. De verbis Domini) and Toletus.

3. S. Basil (Constit. cap. xxi.) thinks that the man, like the one who preceded him, was a disciple, and that he only sought permission to say farewell to his friends, as about to return to them no more. The Syriac favours this interpretation, and translates, “Let me go to salute, i.e. to bid farewell to my family at home, and I will come again.”

4. The best rendering is that of the Vulgate, which for “them” substitutes “those things.” Let me go bid “those things” farewell. Give me time to dispose of my property at home, and divide it amongst my brethren and kinsmen; for this is the true meaning of the Greek word ἀποτάξασθαι. Hence the Arabic has, “Suffer me to make division amongst my friends at home.” So also S. Augustin, Maldonatus, and others.

[62] Ait ad illum Jesus : Nemo mittens manum suam ad aratrum, et respiciens retro, aptus est regno Dei.
Jesus said to him: No man putting his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

The Man at the Plough. J-J Tissot

And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God, or, to carry on the metaphor, is fit to work in the vineyard of God. For as the ploughman who seeks to make his furrows straight ought to look forward and never back, so he who has determined to consecrate himself to God’s service, is unworthy to be Christ’s disciple and to be an heir of the heavenly kingdom, if he still has regard for the perishable possessions of this world which he has renounced and given up; and so Euthymius says, “He who follows Christ ought forthwith to give up all things, lest by averting his eyes from his leader and guide, he might again be entangled by the sight of those things which he has left.” So also Titus, Jansenius, Toletus, and others.


''The husbandman represented in our picture is doubly at fault. He is not only looking back and as a result deviating from his furrows, but he is sinning against an ordinance of the Jewish Law, which says:
[10] Non arabis in bove simul et asino.
Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together.
....
In a passage in the second Epistle to the Corinthians, Chapter VI, Saint Paul applies the passage quoted above to the relations between the Christians and the Gentiles: '' [From Tissot's commentary]

[14] Nolite jugum ducere cum infidelibus. Quae enim participatio justitiae cum iniquitate? aut quae societas luci ad tenebras?
Bear not the yoke with unbelievers. For what participation hath justice with injustice? Or what fellowship hath light with darkness?[15] quae autem conventio Christi ad Belial? aut quae pars fideli cum infideli?
And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath the faithful with the unbeliever?[16] qui autem consensus templo Dei cum idolis? vos enim estis templum Dei vivi, sicut dicit Deus : Quoniam inhabitabo in illis, et inambulabo inter eos, et ero illorum Deus, et ipsi erunt mihi populus.
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God; as God saith: I will dwell in them, and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.[17] Propter quod exite de medio eorum, et separamini, dicit Dominus, et immundum ne tetigeritis :
Wherefore, Go out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing:[2 Cor VI]

Christ in this very remarkable verse points out the way of perfection, and endeavours to withdraw the man from his own anxiety for his friends and possessions, in order that he might give himself up wholly to God. Especially as there was danger lest, delayed in the disposal of his property, or impressed with the value of his possessions, he might change his purpose, and like many others, lose the hope of his calling. And again, there was no need of his presence, for his brethren and kinsfolk could divide his property without him.

Thus James and John, when they were called, left their father and their nets, and straightway followed Christ, S. Matt. 4:20. But on the other hand Elisha (1 Kings 19:20) was permitted to bid farewell to his father and mother, apparently because there was in his case little danger of his being forgetful of his call. Hence S. Basil saith (serm. 1 De Baptism): He looks back who delays, however briefly, that obedience which is to be rendered at once and promptly to the call of God.

Hence of the cherubim we read (Ezek. 1:12), “They went every one straight forward: they turned not when they went.” Whereon S. Gregory says the winged creatures, i.e. holy preachers, turn not as they go, because they are passing through earthly things to heavenly; and therefore no more return to these things which they have left behind. For to seek in heart and mind after better things is, as it were, to advance or go along a certain road. Hence S. Paul, Phil. 3:13, 14: “Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” And to the bride it is said, “Forget thine own people and thy father’s house,” Ps. 45:10.

Hence also S. Augustin (serm. 7 De verbis Domini) says, “The east calleth thee, and thou turnest to the west.”

Figuratively, says Bede, he putteth his hand to the plough, who by the Cross of Christ, as if by an instrument of remorse, wears away the hardness of his heart, and opens it to bear the fruit of good works. But he must not look back like Lot’s wife to the things which he has left, and if the follower of the Lord, who wishes to bid farewell to them which are at home, is worthy of reproach, what will become of them, who for no sufficient reason visit the houses of those whom they have left in the world? For the frequent looking back on the things which we have forsaken, by force of habit draws us again to our past way of life. For practice, by which habits are formed, is very powerful; and habits become a second nature, which it is difficult to do away with or change. For it rapidly returns to itself.

See also the copious explanation of Suarez, “De voto, lib. 1. cap. ii.

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam 

The Brow of the Hill near Nazareth

Saint Luke - Chapter 4

The brow of the Hill near Nazareth. J-J Tissot.

[25] In veritate dico vobis, multae viduae erant in diebus Eliae in Israel, quando clausum est caelum annis tribus et mensibus sex, cum facta esset fames magna in omni terra :
In truth I say to you, there were many widows in the days of Elias in Israel, when heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there was a great famine throughout all the earth.

[26] et ad nullam illarum missus est Elias, nisi in Sarepta Sidoniae, ad mulierem viduam.
And to none of them was Elias sent, but to Sarepta of Sidon, to a widow woman.

[27] Et multi leprosi erant in Israel sub Elisaeo propheta : et nemo eorum mundatus est nisi Naaman Syrus.
And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet: and none of them was cleansed but Naaman the Syrian.

[28] Et repleti sunt omnes in synagoga ira, haec audientes.
And all they in the synagogue, hearing these things, were filled with anger.

[29] Et surrexerunt, et ejecerunt illum extra civitatem : et duxerunt illum usque ad supercilium montis, super quem civitas illorum erat aedificata, ut praecipitarent eum.
And they rose up and thrust him out of the city; and they brought him to the brow of the hill, whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.

[30] Ipse autem transiens per medium illorum, ibat.
But he passing through the midst of them, went his way.

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam 

The Brow of the Hill near Nazareth (Notes)

Saint Luke - Chapter 4

The brow of the Hill near Nazareth. J-J Tissot.

[25] In veritate dico vobis, multae viduae erant in diebus Eliae in Israel, quando clausum est caelum annis tribus et mensibus sex, cum facta esset fames magna in omni terra :
In truth I say to you, there were many widows in the days of Elias in Israel, when heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there was a great famine throughout all the earth.

[26] et ad nullam illarum missus est Elias, nisi in Sarepta Sidoniae, ad mulierem viduam.
And to none of them was Elias sent, but to Sarepta of Sidon, to a widow woman.

But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. Three years and six months—This does not appear in the Old Testament, but Jesus, as God, knew it, and revealed it to S. James, Ep. 5:17, for as to what is said in 1 Kings 18:1, “The word of the Lord came to Elias, in the third year, saying, Go and show thyself to Ahab that I may give rain upon the face of the earth.” This third year is not to be taken from the beginning of the drought, but as from the sojourn of Elias in Sarepta.

In all the land—Israel and the neighbouring region, such as Sidon, and Sarepta, where this widow was.

The sense is that, as Elias, in the time of the famine, procured food for no Israelite, but only for the widow of Sarepta, a Sidonian, a Gentile, and a foreigner, because, valuing the prophet very highly, and believing him that God would provide for her hunger according to his word, she gave him the little oil and meal which she had, postponing her own and her children’s wants to his; so Christ, in like manner, puts the Capernaites before the Nazarenes, His own fellow-citizens, because the former hear Him as a Teacher sent from Heaven, honour Him and pay Him respect, but the latter despise Him as a carpenter, and their own fellow-townsman; and so He imparts to the former the spiritual bread of heavenly doctrine and miracles, but leaves the latter in their spiritual want. For Elias was the type and precursor of Christ, and the widow of Sarepta the type and first-fruits of the Gentiles whom Christ preferred before the Jews, His fellow-countrymen. Bede says that “Sidon” in Hebrew signifies “useless hunting;” “Sarepta,” “conflagration” or “neediness”—namely, of bread; that is, the Gentile world given up to the pursuit of worldly things, and suffering from the conflagration of their carnal passions and the want of spiritual bread. Elias is the prophetic word, which, being received, feeds the hearts of them that believe.

[27] Et multi leprosi erant in Israel sub Elisaeo propheta : et nemo eorum mundatus est nisi Naaman Syrus.
And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet: and none of them was cleansed but Naaman the Syrian.

And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed saving Naaman the Syrian, a foreigner and a Gentile. As Elisha, following his master Elias, did not prophecy to the Jews, his own people, but to foreigners, and did not therefore heal the lepers that were in Judœa, but Naaman the Gentile, by reason of his faith and their incredulity; so I preach and work miracles among these Capernaite strangers, on account of their faith, reverence, and goodwill towards Me, but I leave you Nazarenes alone for your infidelity, your irreverence, and your contempt of Me. For Elisha, like Elias, was a type and forerunner of Christ; and Naaman the Gentile, a type of the Gentiles to whom Christ, leaving the Jews, would, by the apostles, transfer His faith, His church, and His grace. So Bede, Titus, Theophylact. Euthymius, Jansenius, Toletus, and others.

[28] Et repleti sunt omnes in synagoga ira, haec audientes.
And all they in the synagogue, hearing these things, were filled with anger.

And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath—because they knew that they were touched by these two examples of the widow and Naaman, as being incredulous, and that a slur was cast upon them as being unworthy of the miracles of Jesus; and again because they were indignant that Jesus, their fellow-townsman and equal, should compare Himself with, and place Himself before, Elias and Elisha, nay, make Himself out the Messiah, from the prophecy of Isaiah and, lastly, because Christ hinted that He would transfer His gifts from the Jews to the Gentiles. So S. Thomas, Toletus, Francis Lucas, and others.

[29] Et surrexerunt, et ejecerunt illum extra civitatem : et duxerunt illum usque ad supercilium montis, super quem civitas illorum erat aedificata, ut praecipitarent eum.
And they rose up and thrust him out of the city; and they brought him to the brow of the hill, whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.

And rose up and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill, when on their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong—“led him”—dragged Him, as it seemed to them, by violence, but, in reality, Christ of His own accord allowed Himself to be led and dragged.

That they might cast him down headlong—from the top of the hill to the bottom, and so kill Him, as one who had defamed his own native place, and inflicted injury and insult upon it; and therefore they brought Him forth outside of the city, as being unworthy of it, that they might cast Him from the top of the mountain, dash Him down upon the rocks, and break His whole body to pieces. This was a grievous piece of violence on the part of the Nazarenes against Christ, their fellow-citizen, and thus, as Euthymius observes, they confirmed in act, what He had spoken in words, namely, that a prophet is not held in honour in his own country, but dishonoured, nay, slain; and that therefore the Nazarenes were unworthy of the preaching and miracles of Christ.

S. Bonaventure, Toletus, and others add, that they took Christ out of the city to the top of the hill that they might slay Him as a blasphemer, because He had made Himself the Messiah. For though, by the law, the blasphemer was to be stoned, still they wished to cast Christ headlong upon the rocks and stones, because this is the same as if they had stoned Him. Whether the stones are cast at the man, or the man hurled headlong upon the stones, is all one; indeed, the latter is more cruel and terrible. So it was that they cast S. Stephen out of Jerusalem as a blasphemer, and stoned him; and S. James, the first Bishop of Jerusalem, was hurled down from a pinnacle of the Temple as a blasphemer, because He taught that Christ was the Messiah.

S. Ambrose points out that these men were worse than the devil, who did but set Christ upon a pinnacle of the Temple, and say to Him, “Cast thyself down,” while these did their best to hurl Him down by force. “The heritage of the disciples,” he says, “is worse than that of the master—he tempts the Lord by word, they attempt His life by their act—he says, ‘Cast thyself down,’ they do Him violence in order to cast Him down.”

[30] Ipse autem transiens per medium illorum, ibat.
But he passing through the midst of them, went his way.

But He passing through the midst of them went His way. Maldonatus thinks that Christ here made Himself invisible, S. Ambrose and Bede that He changed their wills, so that they consented to let Him go. Others hold the better opinion that Christ turned away their imagination or their eyes, or suspended their consciousness and held their hands and feet, so that, like men bereft of their senses, though they saw Him they could not or dared not lay hold of Him. Wherefore Christ here manifested His Godhead. S. Ambrose says, “Behold! the minds of these furious men, being suddenly changed, or stupefied, He goes down through the midst of them.” And he adds the reason, “For when He wills He is taken; when He wills He slips away; when He wills He is slain; because His hour had not yet come,” John 7:30. 

For as yet He must preach, and at last be crucified at Jerusalem by the Father’s decree, but not cast down headlong in Nazareth. So Bede, S. Chrysostom, Euthymius, and others. Brocardus, in his “Description of the Holy Land,” gives the tradition that Christ glided away from out of the hands of the Jews, and suddenly appeared on the opposite side of the mountain, and that therefore the place is called “the Leap of the Lord.” N. de Lyra adds that the rock on which Christ stood yielded, and received like wax the impress of His feet, just as, when ascending into heaven from Mount Olivet, He left the marks of His feet there. This is what Adrichomius says, in his “Description of the Holy Land,” on the word “the Leap of the Lord:” “The tradition is that Christ fled to a high mountain, which is called from that circumstance ‘the Leap of the Lord,’ and that, at the touch of His garment, the rock flowed, and being melted and loosened like wax, made a kind of hollow for the Lord’s body to be received in and protected, a hollow of a capacity equal to the quantity of the Lord’s body. And in this, even at the present day, the lineaments and folds of the garment on the Lord’s back, and the marks of His feet, are preserved, marked out as though by the hand of a sculptor.” This, however, lacks confirmation.

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam