Patristic Lectionary, Philosophy of Happines, Augustine and Eckhart

TWO YEAR LECTIONARY

PATRISTIC VIGILS READINGS

ORDINARY TIME

WEEKS 1 to 17 : YEAR II

Meister Eckhart - YouTube

► 2:20► 2:20

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eesLtg5ywrU‎

21 May 2013 - Uploaded by Eric Gilmour

Interview of Professor Bernard McGinn on Christian Mysticism.

YouTube, Augustine of Hippo together with Meister Eckhart

Fourt Week in Ord TimeTUESDAY Year II

First Reading

Genesis 28:10-29:14

Responsory           Gn 28:11-12.16

While Jacob slept, he saw a stairway rested on the ground, with its top reaching to the heavens, and God's messengers were going up and down on it; t and Jacob awaking from his sleep said: Truly the Lord is here.

V. This is an abode of God and the gateway to heaven. t And Jacob ...

Second Reading From a homily by Saint Augustine of Hippo (Enarr. in Ps 44, 20: ccr, 38, 508-509)

Alternative Reading From a sermon by Meister Eckhart (Sermon 69: Die Deutschen Werke, 159-180)

Jacob and the anointed stone, which is Christ Jacob the patriarch set a stone under his head and while he slept, with that stone under his head, he saw the heavens open and a ladder stretching from heaven to earth, and angels ascending and descending. After seeing this, he woke up, he anointed the stone, and departed. In this stone he understood Christ, that is why he anointed it. Just take a look at what forms the basis of this preaching Christ. What is meant by that act of anointing the stone, especially in the time of the patriarchs, who worshiped the one God? And this was done symbolically, and then he left. For he did not anoint the stone, and keep going back there to worship, and to offer sacrifices there. What happened was this: expression was given to a mystery, it was not the grand opening of a sacrilege. And take a look at the stone: The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. And it is because Christ is the head of man that the stone is placed at the head. Take note of this great symbol: the stone is Christ. A living stone, says Peter, rejected by humankind, but specially chosen by God. And the stone is at the head, because Christ is the head of the man. And the stone is anointed because the name Christ derives from anointing. And as Christ unfolds this picture, a ladder is seen, from earth to heaven, or from heaven to earth, and angels ascending and descending. What this is all about we shall see better when we have rehearsed the testimony of the Gospel as spoken by the Lord himself. You know that Jacob himself is Israel. He wrestled with an angel and won; he was blessed by the one over whom he prevailed. His name was changed and he was called Israel. This is just like the situation with Jesus and the Jews. The people of Israel prevailed over Christ in such a way as to crucify him, and yet in the case of those who believed in Christ, Israel was blessed by the one over whom it prevailed. But many did not believe, and that is why Jacob has a limp - blessing and limping both. Blessing refers to those who have believed. For we know that afterward many from that nation did believe. But limping refers to those who have not believed. And because many have not believed, and few have believed, the angel touched the broad part of his thigh to bring about this limping. What is meant by the broad part of his thigh? The great number of his descendants. You can therefore see that ladder. When the Lord saw Nathaniel in the gospel, he said: Look, someone who really is an Israelite, in whom there is no guile. For this is the sort of language that was used about Jacob himself: And Jacob was free from guile and he lived at home. The Lord remembered this when he saw Nathaniel free from guile, a member of that race and that people. Look, he said, someone who is really an Israelite, in whom there is no guile. He called him an Israelite, in whom there was no guile because of Jacob. And Nathaniel said: How do you know me? And the Lord said: When you were beneath the fig tree I saw you. This means, when you were within the Jewish people and under the law, which covered over that people with a bodily shadow, that is where I saw you. What is meant: that is where I saw you? That is where I took pity on you. And Nathaniel thought back to when he was under the fig tree in truth, and he was amazed because he thought that he had been seen by nobody when he was there. He made his confession and said: You are the Son of God, you are the king of Israel. Who said this? The person who had heard that he was a true Israelite, and that in him there was no guile. And the Lord said: It is because I saw you under the fig tree that you have believed. You shall see things greater than these. He is speaking with Israel, with Jacob, with the one who placed a stone under his head. You will see things greater than these. What greater things? The fact that already that stone is by the head. Truly I tell you, you shall see the heavens opened up, and God's angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man. Let God's angels ascend and descend on that ladder. Let this happen in the Church. God's angels are heralds of the truth: let them ascend and see: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. Let the angels descend and see that The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Let them ascend so as to lift up those who are grown-ups. Let them descend so as to nourish the little ones. Watch Paul ascending: If I have taken leave of my senses, it is to God that I am talking. Watch him descending: If I am making sense, then I am talking to you. Watch him ascending: I am speaking of wisdom among the perfect. Watch him descending: I have given you milk to drink, not solid food. This is happening in the Church: God's angels ascend and descend on the Son of Man. This is because the Son of Man is above. They ascend to him in their heart, that is, his head. And the Son of Man is below, that is, his body. His limbs are here, his head is up above. One rises up to the head, comes down to the limbs. It is the same Christ here and there. For were he there only, and not here, what would be the point of saying: Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?     • Responsory           Ps 145:4-5.14 One age shall proclaim your works to another, shall declare your mighty deeds. + People will speak of your splendour and glory, and tell of your wonderful works. V. The Lord supports all who stumble and raises all who are bowed down. + People will speak ...

God is near to us Our Lord says: Know that the kingdom of God is close to you. Indeed, the kingdom of God is within us; God is closer to me than I am to myself: my being depends on God's being near me and present to me. So he is also in a stone or a log of wood, only they do not know it. If the wood knew God and realized how close he is to it as the highest angel does, it would be as blessed as the highest angel. And so man is more blessed than a stone or a piece of wood because he is aware of God and knows how close God is to him. And I am the more blessed, the more I realize this, and I am the less blessed, the less I know this. I am not blessed because God is in me and is near me and because I possess him, but because I am aware of how close he is to me, and that I know God. The prophet says in the Psalter: Do not be without understanding like a mule or a horse. Again, the patriarch Jacob says: God is in this place, and I knew it not. We should know God and be aware that God's kingdom is near to hand. Sometimes I declare that in whatever soul God's kingdom dawns, which knows God's kingdom to be near here, is in no need of sermons or teaching: she is instructed by it and assured of eternal life, for she knows and is aware how near God's kingdom is, and she can say with Jacob: God is in this place, and I knew it not - but now I know it. If the soul is to know God, she must forget herself and lose herself: for if she were aware of herself, she would not be aware of God: but she finds herself again in God. By the act of knowing God, she knows herself and in him all things from which she has severed herself. To the extent that she has abandoned them, she knows herself totally. If I am truly to know goodness, I must know it there where it is goodness in itself, not where goodness is divided. If I am truly to know being I must know it where being subsists in itself, undivided: that is, in God. No one should think it is hard to come to this, even though it sounds hard and a great matter. It is true that it is a little difficult in the beginning in becoming detached. But when one has got into it, no life is easier, more delightful or lovelier: and God is at great pains to be always with a man and to lead him inward, if only he is ready to follow. No man ever wanted anything so much as God wants to bring a man to knowledge of himself. God is always ready, but we are unready. God is near to us, but we are far from him. God is in, we are out. God is at home in us, we are abroad. The prophet says: God leads the just through narrow paths to the highway, that they may come out into the open. May we all follow his lead and let him bring us to himself where we shall truly know him, so help us God. Amen. Responsory               PhiI2:12-13; Eph 3:20 Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for + God is at work in you, inspiring both the will and the deed for his own chosen purpose. V. Glory be to him whose power, working in us, can do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine.+ God is at ...

Philosophy of happiness - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_happiness‎

2 Happiness in the philosophy of the middle ages. 2.1Augustine of Hippo; 2.2 Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite; 2.3Meister Eckhart. 3 Happiness in modern  ... 

Allegory and the Text of the Bible. Hilary of Poitiers and Ambrose of Milan are considered to be the two theologians in the Latin West

COMMENT: from previous Post.

Candlemass Offertory

 
Hebrew Bible, Old Testament  The History of Its Interpretation - Google Books

A Word in Season - Reading by St Ambrose,- newer Edition commentary of ST HILARY OF POITIERS.

Placing the commentaries of Hilary (315-367) and Ambrose (339-397) in columns impress on us the patristic biblical styles succeeding in 30 years. 367-397.

http://orthodoxwiki.org/Ambrose_of_Milan

Ambrose zealously combatted imperial court attempts at favoritism to the parties of Arians, the "old" religion, and the Jews, particularly opposing the favors from Emperor Valentinian who supported the Arians. In defending the Orthodox position he has often been compared to St. Hilary of Poitiers. 

Ambrose is ranked with the great Western Christian leaders of the time: Augustine, St. Jerome, St. Gregory the Great, and St. Hilary of Poitiers. Ambrose was most known for his administrative talents, given his education and early experience before becoming a bishop. Yet, like Hilary he was an Alexandrian and was in the forefront in the doctrinal issues of the day, particularly those concerning Arianism. His sermons were famous and were influential in the conversion of Augustine. His endeavors in hymn writing became models of hymns of dignified simplicity for future times. Ambrose is credited with introducing antiphonal chanting wherein one choir alternates with another. Of particular note is that Ambrose baptized Augustine, his celebrated convert.

http://orthodoxwiki.org/Ambrose_of_Milan

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Hebrew Bible, Old Testament: The History of Its Interpretation

Magne Saebø, Christianus Brekelmans, Menahem Haran

Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1 Dec 1996 - Bible - 847 pages

The first volume of the series Hebrew Bible / Old Testament deals with questions of the canon with regard to its interpretation from the Jewish, New Testament, rabbinic, and patristic point of view, and encompasses the time up to Augustine. It ends with a synopsis on Church and Synagogue as the respective matrix for the development of authoritative text interpretation.

page 682-3

Chapter Twenty

The Reception of the OriginistTradition in Latin Exegesis

By Christoph Jacob Munster

 Allegory and the Text of the Bible

Hilary of Poitiers and Ambrose of Milan are considered to be the two theologians in the Latin West who by their personal fate or by the the thoroughness of their education learned to know the Origenist interpretation of Scripture, assumed it wholeheartedly and paved the way for subsequent Latin exegesis.

p. 287     x 4

p. 688

In the conclusion to the treatise on the mysteries, Hilary speaks about the difficulties of allegorical interpretation in general: it is not easy to discern whether a certain passage of Scripture is to be understood as a simple event as a simple historical narrative or in the typical sense: the knowledge of the simple event is corrupted if treated vainly as a prophecy and its transfiguration dynamic is destroyed if it is considered as a historical fact only. (25 Cf Tractatus mysteriorum I. 13). This is said to be one of the wisest statements of Christian antiquity. (26 J. Danielou, Saint Hilaire eveque et docteur 1968)

This may be correct; it would be wrong, however, to trust J. Danielou’s introductory remark: he believes he has discovered here a distinction between allegory and ‘typology’. But Hilary does not oppose a “true exegesis”, i.e. an ecclesiastical typology, to an allegorical or literal understanding of Scripture. This the distinction of Danielou is trying to promote. Hilary rather speaks of the general difficulty arising from the decision about suitability of an historical or a spiritual reading of the Bible. One may n fact approve of the question raised by Hilary, but it is not possible to claim him to be an adherent of a ‘typological exegesis’ as opposed to allegorical interpretations. His question is more fundamental, asking about the meaning of ‘holy’ Scripture as such.

... It is not only a matter of historical justice to appreciate the hermeneutics of Hilary and Ambrose even if it differs essentially from the position of modern exegesis.

Ambrose and Hilary use allegorical techniques in order to get away from a semantical reading of the Bible. They regard Scripture as a crystal being able to reflect interpretations Christological or ecclesiastical issues. These different  interpretations do no harm to this crystal and at the same time its transparency is not complete: it scatters the light shining through it and gives rise to its many different colours. Is not this exactly the objective of allegorical expositions of the Bible.

Contents:

20. The Reception of the Origenist Tradition in Latin Exegesis 
By CHRISTOPH JACOB, Munster 

1. Allegory and the Text of the Bible
2. Hilary of Poitiers
2.1. The Fullness of His Exegetical Work
2.2. The Bible in the Christological Debates
3. Ambrose of Milan    :
3.1. Towards the Principles of His Exegesis
3.2. Allegorica dissimulatio: the Ambrosian Rhetoric
3.3. The Song of Songs in Ambrosian Allegory
4. Allegory and Interpretative Pluralism

Patristic Lectionary, Esau is supplanted: Genesis 27:30-450 Hilary and Ambrose

Candlemass Offertory

A Word in Season - Reading by St Ambrose,- newer Edition commentary of St. Hilary of Poitiers.  
Placing the commentaries of Hilary (315-367) and Ambrose (339-397) in columns impress on us the patristic biblical styles succeeding in 30 years, 367-397.

MONDAY, FOURTH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME, YEAR II

Jacob deceives Isaac

A READING FROM THE BOOK OF GENESIS

(Esau is supplanted: Genesis 27:30-450

As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting. ... When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!” ..
.v. 40 “By your sword you shall live,  And your brother you shall serve;  But it shall come about when you become restless,  That you will break his yoke from your neck.” 

Monday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Year 2

A READING FROM ON JACOB AND THE BLESSED LIFE BY ST AMBROSE

Saint Ambrose

Saint Hilary of Poitiers

A READING St Ambrose, On Jacob and the Blessed Life, 3.10-12; FoC 65 (1971) tr. McHugh On Jacob and the Blessed Life After Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, the elder brother arrived. By this it is revealed that the Kingdom was predestined to be bestowed on the Church rather than on the synagogue, but had secretly entered the synagogue so that sin might abound and, when sin had abounded, that grace might also abound. At the same time, it makes it clear that the candidate for the kingdom of heaven must be quick to carry off the blessing for which he has been recommended. On this ac­count the younger son was not blamed by his father but praised, for Isaac says, Your brother came deceitfully and received your blessing. For deceit is good when the plunder is without reproach. Now the plunder of piety is without reproach, because from the days of John the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent bear it away. Our fathers celebrated the Pasch in haste and ate the Lamb in haste with no delay, and the holy Joseph summoned his brother Benjamin by a holy fabrication and deceit. Nevertheless, Esau brought it about by his demands and entreaties that he did receive a blessing, but such a blessing as was in agreement with the earlier one, namely that he should serve his brother. Indeed, the one who could not command the other ought to have served him, in order to be ruled by the one who was more wise. It was not the role of the holy Patriarch to deliver his own son to the ignoble state of slavery. But since he had two sons, one without moderation and the other moderate and wise, in order to take care for both like a good father, he placed the moderate son over the son without moderation, and he ordered the foolish one to obey the one who was wise. For the foolish man cannot of his own accord be a disciple of virtue or persevere in his intent, because the fool changes like the moon. Isaac was right to deny Esau freedom to make his own choices; else he might drift like a ship in the waves without a helmsman. But Isaac made him subject to his brother according to that which is written, The unwise man is the slave of the wise man. Therefore the Patriarch was right to make him subject, so that he might amend his dispositions under rule and guidance. And so Isaac says, By your sword shall you live; you shall serve your brother, for holiness has mastery over cruelty and kindness excels over emotions that are harsh. Every man who does not possess the authority conferred by a clear conscience is a slave; whoever is ensnared by pleasure or seduced by desires or provoked by wrath or felled by grief is a slave. In fact, every passion is servile, because everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin, and, what is worse, he is the slave of many sins. The man who is subject to vices has sold himself to many masters, so that he is scarcely permitted to go out of servitude.­ But the man who is the master over his own will, judge over his counsels, and who restrains the longing of his bodily passions, is assuredly a free man. For the man who does all things wisely and in complete accord with his will is the only truly free man.

Second Reading From the writings of Saint Hilary of Poitiers (Tract. Mysteriorum 25-26: se 19bis, 116-120) The door of salvation is open to all In the Bible everything is carefully recounted and written down to enable us to perceive the superabundant mercy of God in the present prefiguration of what will take place in the future, for the same narrative of events applies both to the here and now and to what is hoped for in time to come. When about to bless Jacob in place of Esau, Isaac was anxious not to be deceived in any way. This shows his love for Esau, Nevertheless, when a little later Esau returned from his hunting and presented himself to his father as his first-born to receive his blessing, Isaac showed no emotion on discovering that Jacob had stolen his blessing but rather confirmed the blessing he had given him. Why did he change his mind? Why were his feelings inconsistent? Surely it must be because the words of scripture refer both to historical events and to those to which we look forward in hope. The concern Isaac showed by the questions he put to Jacob was prompted by his paternal affection; his refusal to revoke the blessing stemmed from spiritual insight. In the former he followed natural impulse, in the latter he held to providentially ordained symbolism. In the former the father was concerned to sanctify his first-born, in the latter, moved by the spirit of prophecy, he confirmed the blessing of the new people. The narrative recounts historical events, but at the same time points to the hope they prefigure. Yet this is not the end of the prophecy, for the people of old could still aspire to a share in the blessing bestowed on the new people if only they would believe. The door of salvation is open to all, and the way of life is hard not because it is difficult in itself, which it is not, but because of our own will. That it is the human will which delays the reception of divine mercy is shown by the words addressed to Esau, He had asked for a blessing, but his father, moved by the Spirit, delayed the effects of the blessing he asked for until he had thrown off the yoke of his brother, who was to be his master. He was at liberty, then, to throw off the yoke, since it is the power of each of us, by an act of the will, to accept the faith. When we have passed from the servitude of disbelief to the free­dom of faith we shall deserve the blessing.