Lectio 6 Lecture 6 Petite in nomine Christi Ask in Christ’s name 16:23 Et in illo die me non rogabitis quidquam. Amen, amen dico vobis: si quid petieritis Patrem in nomine meo, dabit vobis. [n. 2136] 16:23 And in that day you will not ask me anything. Amen, amen I say to you: if you ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it you. [n. 2136] 16:24 Usque modo non petistis quidquam in nomine meo: petite et accipietis, ut gaudium vestrum sit plenum. [n. 2144] 16:24 Hitherto you have not asked anything in my name. Ask, and you will receive; that your joy may be full. [n. 2144] 2135. Supra prosecutus est Dominus duas rationes confortantes apostolos, scilicet ex promissione Paracliti, et reditu sui; hic vero prosequitur tertiam rationem in qua confortavit eos ex promissione accessus eorum ad Patrem, et 2135. Above, our Lord enlarged on two things which would comfort his apostles, the promise of the Paraclete and his own return (C. 16, L. 2, 5). Here he mentions a third reason by which he comforts them, promising them access to the Father. primo promittit eis familiarem accessum eorum ad Patrem: First, he promises them an intimate relationship with the Father; secundo assignat rationem dictorum, ibi haec in proverbiis locutus sum vobis. second, he gives a reason for this intimacy: these things I have spoken to you in proverbs (John 16:25). Circa primum duo facit. He does two things about the first: Primo dat fiduciae securitatem; he gives them that security that comes from confidence; secundo hortatur eos ad usum fiduciae, ibi usque modo non petistis quidquam etc. second, he encourages them to act on their confidence: hitherto you have not asked anything in my name. Circa primum duo facit. He does two things with the first: Primo excludit interpellationis necessitatem; first, he rejects a need for an intercessor; secundo promittit impetrandi opportunitatem, ibi amen, amen dico vobis. Si quid petieritis Patrem in nomine meo, dabit vobis. second, he promises them an opportunity to ask: amen, amen I say to you: if you ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it to you. 2136. Dicit ergo in illo die non rogabitis me quidquam. Ubi secundum quod Augustinus dicit, ubi nos habemus rogabitis, Graeci habent quoddam verbum quod duo significat, scilicet petere et interrogare; et ideo potest dupliciter intelligi in illo die non me rogabitis quidquam, idest nihil a me petetis, vel nihil me interrogabitis. 2136. He says, in that day you will not ask me anything. According to Augustine, where we have ask, the Greeks have a word which means two things: to ask for something, or to pose a question. Consequently, in that day you will not ask me anything can mean two things: you will not ask me for anything, or you will not question me about anything. Dicit ergo: in illo die. Quis autem sit iste dies, patet ex supra dictis scilicet iterum autem videbo vos. Quod potest intelligi de resurrectione, et de visione in gloria. In that day. What that day is can be seen from what he said before, I will see you again (John 16:22). This can be understood to be the day of his resurrection, or the day when we have the vision of his glory. 2137. De primo exponitur, secundum Chrysostomum in illo die, scilicet quando a mortuis resurrexero, me non interrogabitis quidquam; idest non dicetis: ostende nobis Patrem, et huiusmodi. 2137. Chrysostom understands this passage the first way. Thus, in that day, when I arise from the dead, you will not ask me anything, that is, you will not say such things as show us the Father (John 14:8). Sed contra hanc expositionem obiicit Augustinus: quia discipuli post resurrectionem dicunt, Act. I, 6: si in tempore hoc restitues regnum Israel? Et infra ult., 19, interrogat Petrus dicens: hic autem quid? Augustine objects to this interpretation because after the resurrection the disciples did say: Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? (Acts 1:6); and Peter poses the question: Lord, what will this man do? (John 21:21). Sed, sustinendo expositionem Chrysostomi, dicendum, quod Dominus illum diem vocat non solum diem resurrectionis, sed etiam diem illum quo a Spiritu Sancto docendi erant; supra eodem: cum autem venerit ille Spiritus veritatis, docebit vos omnem veritatem. Et sic confuse loquens de tempore illo, includit etiam adventum Spiritus Sancti; quasi dicat in illo die, dato scilicet Spiritu Sancto, me non interrogabitis, quoniam scietis omnia per Spiritum Sanctum; I Io. II, 27: unctio docet nos de omnibus. Item, secundum eumdem: in illo die adventus Spiritus Sancti, non me interrogabitis quidquam, idest, nulla erit vobis necessitas me rogandi. Yet one can uphold Chrysostom’s explanation by saying that our Lord calls that day not only the day of his resurrection, but also that day the disciples were to be taught by the Holy Spirit: when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will teach you all truth (John 16:13). And so by speaking in a vague manner of that time, our Lord also includes the coming of the Holy Spirit. It is like saying: in that day, once the Holy Spirit has been given, you will not ask me anything, because you will know all things by the Holy Spirit: his anointing teaches you about everything (1 John 2:27). Again, according to Chrysostom, in that day, when the Holy Spirit comes, you will not ask me anything, that is, you will have no need to ask me. 2138. Sed numquid post resurrectionem apostoli non fecerunt aliquam orationem Christo? Videbitur quod sic; II Cor. c. XII, 8, dicit Apostolus: propter quod ter Dominum rogavi, idest Christum. 2138. But after the resurrection did not the apostles pray to Christ for things? It seems so, for the Apostle says: three times I besought the Lord, that is, Christ (2 Cor 12:8). Responsio. Dicendum, quod in Christo erat duplex natura: scilicet humana, per quam est mediator Dei et hominum: I Tim. II, 5, et divina, per quam est Deus unus cum Patre. Christus autem secundum quod homo, non erat talis mediator ut numquam nos Deo coniungeret, sicut aliqui mediatores qui numquam extrema coniungunt. Coniungit ergo nos Patri. Eadem autem est coniunctio ad Deum Patrem et ad Christum secundum divinam naturam; unde dicit: non necesse habebitis ut utamini mea mediatione, inquantum homo. Sic ergo in illo die non rogabitis me, quasi mediatorem, quia per vos habebitis accessum ad Deum; sed rogabitis me ut Deum. Et licet Christus interpellet pro nobis, ut dicit Apostolus ad Rom. VIII, 34, Ecclesia tamen rogat eum ut interpellantem: unde non dicimus: Christe, ora pro nobis; sed rogat ipsum ut Deum: inhaerens ei ut Deo, per amorem et fidem. I answer that there are two natures in Christ: his human nature, by which he is the mediator between God and us (1 Tim 2:5), and his divine nature, by which he is one God with the Father. Christ, considered as having a human nature, was not a mediator who never united us to God, like some mediators who never unite extremes. So, Christ joins us to the Father. Now to join God the Farther and to join Christ as God are the same. Thus he says: it is not necessary for you to use my mediation as man. Thus, in that day you will not ask me anything as mediator, because you will have access to God by yourselves, but you will ask me as God. Although Christ intercedes for us, as the Apostle says (Rom 8:34), still the Church does not ask him as an intercessor. Thus we do not say, Christ, pray for us; but we do ask him as God, adhering to him as God by faith and love. 2139. Secundum Augustinum exponitur de die visionis gloriae, hoc modo: in illo die, quando videbo vos in gloria, me non rogabitis, idest, nil petetis, quia nil desiderandum remanebit, cum omnia bona superabundent nobis in patria; Ps. XV, 10: adimplebis me laetitia cum vultu tuo; et iterum, Ps. XVI, 15: satiabor cum apparuerit gloria tua. Item nil interrogabitis, quia pleni eritis cognitione Dei; Ps. XXXV, 10: in lumine tuo videbimus lumen. 2139. Augustine explains this passage as referring to the day of the vision of glory in this way: in that day, when I see you in glory, you will not ask me anything, that is, you will not ask me for anything because there will be nothing left to desire, since all goods will be ours in superabundance in our homeland: you will fill me with joy by your face (Ps 16:11); and again, I will be satisfied when your glory appears (Ps 17:15). Also, you will ask no questions because you will be filled with the knowledge of God: in your light do we see light (Ps 36:9). 2140. Sed contra utrumque obiicitur, quia sancti in patria orant: secundum illud Iob V, 1: voca si est qui tibi respondeat, et ad aliquem sanctorum convertere. Et II Mac. ult. dicitur, quod hic orabat pro populo suo. Nec potest dici, quod pro aliis rogent, non pro se; quia dicitur Apoc. VI, 10: usquequo non iudicas sanguinem nostrum? 2140. An objection can be raised against both. The saints do pray in our homeland: call now, if there is any who will answer you; and turn to some of the saints (Job 5:1); and in 2 Maccabees we see that a saint prayed for the entire Jewish people (2 Macc 15:12). Nor can one say that the saints pray just for others and not for themselves, for we read: how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell upon the earth? (Rev 6:10). Item sancti interrogant: erunt enim aequales angelis, ut dicitur Matth. XXII, 30, sed angeli interrogant dicentes: quis est iste rex gloriae? Et in Is. LXIII, 1: quis est iste qui venit de Edom? Quae est vox angelorum, secundum Dionysium. Ergo et sancti interrogant. Further, the saints ask questions: for they will be equal to the angels (Matt 22:30), and the angels question: who is the King of glory? (Ps 24:8), and, according to Dionysius, it is the angels who ask, who is this that comes from Edom? (Isa 63:1). Therefore, the saints also question. Sed quantum ad utramque est duplex responsio. Primo, quia tempus gloriae potest considerari dupliciter: secundum gloriae inchoationem, et secundum plenariam consummationem. Tempus autem inchoationis gloriae est usque ad diem iudicii: nam sancti quantum ad animam receperunt gloriam, sed aliquid adhuc expectant ad recipiendum, scilicet gloriam corporis in se, et quantum ad alios, ut impleatur numerus electorum; et sic usque ad iudicii diem et petere possunt et interrogare, non tamen de his quae pertinent ad essentiam beatitudinis. Tempus autem gloriae consummatae plenarie est post diem iudicii, post quam nihil restat petendum, nihil cognoscendum; et de eo dicit in illo die, scilicet gloriae consummatae, nil petetis, nil interrogabitis. Two points can be made in answer to this. The time of glory can be considered in two ways: the time of the beginning of glory, and the time of its full completion. The time of the beginning of glory lasts until the day of judgment: for the saints receive glory in their soul, but something still remains to be received, that is, the glory of the body for each one, and the completion of the number of the elect. Consequently, till the day of judgment the saints can both ask for things and question, but not about what pertains to the very essence of beatitude. The time of fully complete glory is after the day of judgment, and after this nothing is left to be asked for, and nothing left to be known. It is about this that he says, in that day, of consummated glory, you will not ask me anything. Quod autem dicitur de angelis, quod interrogant, verum est de mysteriis humanitatis et incarnationis Christi, non autem divinitatis. The observation about the angels asking questions is true in his way: they do ask about the mysteries of the humanity of Christ and the incarnation, but they do not question about the divinity. 2141. Hic promittit impetrandi opportunitatem: quod quidem continuatur dupliciter. Uno modo, secundum Chrysostomum, ut referatur ad tempus resurrectionis, et adventum Spiritus Sancti; quasi dicat: verum est quod in illo die resurrectionis et Spiritus Sancti non interrogabitis me, tamen habebitis meum auxilium, quia petetis in nomine meo, a Patre, ad quem habebitis accessum per me. 2141. Now he promises them an opportunity to ask. This is related to the above in two ways. According to Chrysostom, this refers to the time of the resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit. It is like saying: it is true that in that day of the resurrection and of the Holy Spirit that you will not ask me; yet you will have my help, because you will ask the Father, to whom you have access through me, in my name. Alio modo, secundum Augustinum: in illo die, gloriae meae, non rogabitis quidquam, sed interim, dum in peregrinatione huius miseriae conversamini, si quid petieritis Patrem, dabit vobis. Et secundum hoc si quid petieritis Patrem etc., non refertur ad hoc quod dicit in illo die, sed ad ea quae praecedunt illum diem. Augustine explains it the other way. In that day, of my glory, you will not ask me anything; but in the meantime, during your sorrowful pilgrimage, if you ask the Father anything . . . he will give it to you. So according to this explanation, if you ask the Father anything, does not refer to in that day, but to what precedes that day. 2142. Ponit autem Dominus septem conditiones bonae orationis. Prima est ut petantur bona spiritualia; et hoc cum dicit si quid. Quod enim est penitus terrenum, etsi in se sit aliquid, comparatum tamen ad spiritualia, nihil est; Sap. VII, 8: divitias nihil esse duxi in comparatione illius; Ier. IV, v. 23: aspexi terram, et vacua erat et nihil. 2142. Our Lord lays down seven conditions for good prayer. The first is that spiritual goods should be sought, when he says, if . . . anything. For what is entirely earthly, even though it is something in itself, is nothing when compared to spiritual goods: I accounted wealth as nothing in comparison with her (Wis 7:8); I looked on the earth, and lo, it was waste and void (Jer 4:23). Sed contra. Matth. VI, docet Dominus petere temporalia, ibi: panem nostrum quotidianum. Sed dicendum, quod temporale petitum relatum ad spirituale iam est aliquid. But an objection: in Matthew, our Lord teaches us to ask for temporal goods: give us this day our daily bread (Matt 6:11). I answer that a temporal good asked for in relation to a spiritual good is then something. Secunda conditio est ut fiat cum perseverantia; et quantum ad hoc dicit petieritis, quasi perseverando; Lc. XVIII, 1: oportet semper orare, et non deficere; et I Thess. V, v. 17: sine intermissione orate. The second is that it be made with perseverance; as to this he says, if you ask, with perseverance: they ought always to pray and not lose heart (Luke 18:1); pray constantly (1 Thess 5: 17). Tertia, quod fiat cum concordia, cum dicit petieritis, in plurali; Matt. XVIII, 19: si duo ex vobis consenserint super terram, de omni re quamcumque petierint fiet illis a Patre meo qui in caelis est. Unde Glossa, Rom. c. ult., dicit, quod impossibile est multorum preces non exaudiri. Third, we should pray in harmony with others; he says, if you, in the plural, ask: if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven (Matt 18:19). Thus the Gloss says, about the final chapter of Romans, that it is impossible for the prayers of many not to be heard. Quarta, ut procedat ex filiali affectu, cum dicit Patrem. Qui enim ex timore petit, non patrem, sed dominum petit, vel hostem; Matth. VII, 11: si vos nostis bona data dare filiis vestris, quanto magis Pater vester qui in caelis est, dabit bona petentibus se? Fourth, it should arise from an affection like that of a child for its parents, as he says, the Father. One who asks out of fear does not ask a father, but a master or an enemy: if you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him? (Matt 7:11) Quinta, ut fiat cum pietate, idest cum humilitate, Ps. CI, 18: respexit in orationem humilium, et non sprevit preces eorum, cum fide impetrandi, Iac. I, 6: postulet autem in fide, nihil haesitans; et ordinate, Iac. IV, 6: petitis, et non accipitis, eo quod male petatis. Et quantum ad hoc dicit in nomine meo, quod est nomen Salvatoris, in quo nomine petit qui pertinentia ad salutem petit, et eo modo quo potest salutem consequi; Act. IV, v. 12: non est aliud nomen sub caelo datum hominibus, in quo oporteat nos salvos fieri. The fifth condition is that it be made with piety, that is, with humility: he will regard the prayer of the humble and will not despise their petitions (Ps 102:17); with confidence that it will be granted: let him ask in faith, with no doubting (Jas 1:6); and it should be made correctly: you ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly (Jas 4:3). In regard to this he says, in my name, which is the name of the Savior, in which name one asks when asking for things pertaining to salvation, and when asking in that way by which one can attain salvation: there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). Sexta, ut fiat tempore debito; et ideo dicit dabit. Non enim oportet statim decidere, si non accipiat; sed profecto dabitur, etsi, ut in tempore congruo detur, differatur, ut magis crescat desiderium; Ps. CXLIV, 15: tu das escam illorum in tempore opportuno. The sixth condition is that prayer be made for an appropriate time, so he says, he will give. One should not stop praying if one does not immediately receive; it will be given to us even if it is postponed till a better time, so as to increase our desire: you give them their food in due season (Ps 145:15). Septima, ut petat pro se; unde dicit vobis, quia aliquando pro aliis non exauditur, contrariantibus eorum demeritis, pro quibus fit petitio; Ier. VII, 16: tu ergo noli orare pro populo isto; et XV, 1: si steterint Moyses et Samuel coram me, non est anima mea ad populum istum. Seventh, one should ask for himself. Thus he says, to you, because sometimes prayers for others are not heard because the demerits of those we ask for stand in the way: do not pray for this people (Jer 7:16); though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people (Jer 15:1). 2143. Hic hortatur eos ad usum datae fiduciae, et 2143. Now he encourages them to act with the confidence he has given them: