Lectio 2 Lecture 2 6 Hoc proverbium dixit eis Iesus: illi autem non cognoverunt quid loqueretur eis. 6. This parable spoke Jesus to them: but they understood not what things they were which he spoke to them. 7 Dixit ergo eis iterum Iesus: Amen, amen dico vobis, quia ego sum ostium ovium. 7. Then said Jesus to them again, Verily, verily, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 Omnes quotquot venerunt, fures sunt, et latrones, et non audierunt eos oves. 8. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9 Ego sum ostium. Per me si quis introierit, salvabitur: et ingredietur, et egredietur, et pascua inveniet. 9. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 10 Fur non venit nisi ut furetur, et mactet, et perdat. Ego veni ut vitam habeant, et abundantius habeant. 10. The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. Chrysostomus in Ioannem. Dominus attentiores volens Iudaeos facere, manifestat quod supra dixerat; unde dicitur dixit ergo iterum eis Iesus: amen, amen, dico vobis: ego sum ostium ovium. CHRYS Our Lord, to waken the attention of the Jews, unfolds the meaning of what He has said; Then said Jesus to them again, Verily, verily, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. Augustinus in Ioannem. Ecce quod clausum posuerat, aperuit: ipse est ostium: intremus, et nos intrasse gaudeamus. Sequitur omnes quotquot venerunt, fures sunt et latrones. AUG Lo, the very door which He had shut up, He opens; He is the Door: let us enter, and let us enter with joy. All that ever came before Me are thieves and robbers. Chrysostomus. Non de prophetis hoc dicit, sicut haeretici dicunt, sed de seditiosis; unde et laudans oves, subiungit sed non audierunt eos oves. Nusquam autem videtur laudare eos qui non obedierunt prophetis; sed eis detrahit vehementer. CHRYS He said not this of the Prophets, as the heretics think, but of Theudas, and Judas, and other agitators. So he adds in praise of the sheep, The sheep heard them not; but he no where praises those who disobeyed the prophets, but condemns them severely. Augustinus. Intellige ergo: quotquot venerunt praeter me; non autem praeter illum prophetae venerunt, quia cum illo venerunt qui cum verbo Dei venerunt, qui veraces fuerunt: quia ipse verbum et veritas venturus praecones mittebat: sed eorum corda quos miserat possidebat: carnem quippe ipse accepit ex tempore qui est semper: in principio enim erat verbum. Ante adventum autem eius, quo humilis venit in carne, praecesserunt iusti, sic eum credentes venturum, quomodo nos credimus in eum qui venit: tempora variata sunt, non fides: eadem enim fides utrosque coniungit, et eos qui venturum esse, et eos qui venisse crediderunt. Quotquot ergo praeter illum venerunt, fures fuerunt et latrones; idest ad furandum et occidendum venerunt. Sed non audierunt eos oves; illi scilicet de quibus dictum est: novit dominus qui sunt eius. Eos ergo non audierunt oves in quibus non erat vox Christi, errantes, vana fingentes, miseros seducentes. Quare autem se ostium dixerit, aperit subdens ego sum ostium: per me si quis introierit, salvabitur. AUG Understand, All that ever came at variance with Me. The Prophets were not at variance with Him. They came with Him, who came with the Word of God, who spoke the truth. He, the Word, the Truth, sent heralds before Him, but the hearts of those whom He sent were His own. They came with Him, inasmuch as He is always, though He assumed the flesh in time: In the beginning was the Word. His humble advent in the flesh was preceded by just men, who believed on Him as about to come, as we believe on Him come. The times are different, the faith is the same. Our faith knits together both those who believed that He was about to come, and those who believe that He has come. All that ever came at variance with Him were thieves and robbers; i.e. they came to steal and to kill; but the sheep did not hear them. They had not Christ’s voice; but were wanderers, dreamers, deceivers. Why He is the Door, He next explains, I am the Door; by Me if any man enter in he shall be saved. Alcuinus. Quasi dicat: illos non audiunt oves, sed me audiunt: quia ego sum ostium: et qui per me non fictus, sed verus introierit, perseverando salvabitur. ALCUIN As if to say, The sheep hear not them, but Me they hear; for I am the Door, and whoever enters by Me not falsely but in sincerity, shall by perseverance be saved. Theophylactus. Educit autem ad pascua dominus oves per ostium; unde sequitur et ingredietur et egredietur, et pascua inveniet. Quae sunt autem haec pascua nisi delectatio futura, et requies in quam nos dominus introducit? THEOPHYL The door admits the sheep into the pasture; And shall go in and out, and find pasture. What is this pasture, but the happiness to come, the rest to which our Lord brings us? Augustinus. Sed quid est quod dicit ingredietur et egredietur? Ingredi quippe in Ecclesiam per ostium Christum, valde bonum est: exire autem de Ecclesia non est bonum. Potest ergo dici ingredi nos, quando interius aliquid cogitamus; egredi autem, quando exterius aliquid operamur, secundum illud: exibit homo ad opus suum. AUG What is this, shall go in and out? To enter into the Church by Christ the Door, is a very good thing, but to go out of the Church is not. Going in must refer to inward cogitation; going out to outward action; as in the Psalm, Man goes forth to his work. Theophylactus. Vel ingredi dicitur cui est curae homo interior; egredi vero qui hominem exteriorem, id est membra quae sunt supra terram, in Christo mortificat: hic enim pascua in futuro reperiet saeculo. THEOPHYL Or, to go in is to watch over the inner man; to go out, to mortify the outward man, i.e. our members which are upon the earth. He that does this shall find pasture in the life to come. Chrysostomus. Vel hoc dicitur propter apostolos, qui cum audacia introierunt, et exierunt, ut totius orbis terrarum facti domini, et nullus eos eicere valuit: et nutrimentum habuerunt. CHRYS Or, He refers to the Apostles who went in and out boldly; for they became the masters of the world, none could turn them out of their kingdom, and they found pasture. Augustinus. Sed plus me delectat quod ipse quodammodo nos admonuit cum secutus adiungit fur non venit nisi ut furetur. AUG But He Himself explains it more satisfactorily to me in what follows: The thief comes not, but for to steal, and for to kill: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. Alcuinus. Quasi dicat: merito oves non audiunt vocem furis, quia non venit fur nisi ut furetur, alienam rem sibi usurpando, non de praeceptis Christi suos sectatores instruens, sed suis exemplis eos vivere suadens; unde subditur et mactet, mala doctrina retrahendo a fide, et perdat, in aeterna damnatione. Illi ergo furantur et occidunt. Ego veni, ut vitam habeant, et abundantius habeant. ALCUIN The thief comes not but for to steal, and to kill. As if He said, And well may the sheep not hear the voice of the thief; for he comes not but for to steal: he usurps another’s office, forming his followers not on Christ’s precepts, but on his own. And therefore it follows, and to kill, i.e. by drawing them from the faith; and to destroy, i.e. by their eternal damnation. Augustinus. Videtur mihi dixisse ut vitam habeant ingredientes, hoc est per fidem quae per dilectionem operatur, per quam fidem in ovile ingrediuntur ut vivant, quia iustus ex fide vivit. Et abundantius habeant, scilicet egredientes, scilicet quando veri fideles moriuntur, et abundantius habent vitam, ubi nunquam deinde moriuntur. Quamvis ergo et hic in ipso ovili non desint pascua, invenient tamen pascua ubi saturentur, qualia invenit cui dictum est: hodie mecum eris in Paradiso. By going in they have life; i.e. by faith, which works by love; by which faith they go into the fold. The just lives by faith. And by going out they will have it more abundantly: i.e. when true believers die, they have life more abundantly, even a life which never ends. Though in this fold there is not wanting pasture, then they will find pasture, such as will satisfy them. Today shall you be with Me in paradise. Gregorius super Ezech. Ingredietur ergo ad fidem, egredietur ad speciem; pascua vero inveniet in aeterna satietate. GREG Shall go in, i.e. to faith: shall go out, i.e. to sight: and find pasture, i.e. in eternal fullness. Chrysostomus. Quod autem dicit fur non venit nisi ut furetur et mactet et perdat, de seditiosis dicit: quod ad litteram est factum, omnibus occisis et perditis qui eos sequebantur; et sic etiam praesenti vita eos privaverunt. Ego autem veni pro salute ovium ut vitam habeant, et abundantius habeant in regno caelorum: et haec est tertia differentia, qua se discernit a pseudoprophetis. CHRYS The thief comes not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy; this was literally fulfilled in the case of those movers of sedition, whose followers were nearly all destroyed; deprived by the thief even of this present life. But came, He said, for the salvation of the sheep; That they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly, in the kingdom of heaven. This is the third mark of difference between Himself, and the false prophets. Theophylactus. Mystice autem fur Diabolus est, qui venit tentando ut furetur per cogitationes illicitas, et mactet per consensum, et deinde per opera destruat. THEOPHYL Mystically, the thief is the devil, steals by wicked thoughts, kills by the assent of the mind to them, and destroys by acts. Lectio 3 Lecture 3 11 Ego sum pastor bonus. Bonus pastor animam suam dat pro ovibus suis. 11. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. 12 Mercenarius autem, et qui non est pastor, cuius non sunt oves propriae, videt lupum venientem, et dimittit oves, et fugit: et lupus rapit, et dispergit oves; 12. But he that is a hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees: and the wolf catches them, and scatters the sheep. 13 mercenarius autem fugit, quia mercenarius est, et non pertinet ad eum de ovibus. 13. The hireling flees, because he is an hireling, and cares not for the sheep. Augustinus in Ioannem. Aperuit dominus duas res quas quodammodo clausas proposuerat. Primo quidem scimus quia ostium ipse est; nunc autem ostendit quia pastor est, dicens ego sum pastor bonus. Supra autem dixerat pastorem intrare per ostium. Si ergo ipse est ostium, quomodo per seipsum intrat? Sicut ergo ipse per seipsum novit patrem, nos autem per illum; sic intrat in ovile per seipsum, nos autem per ipsum: nos, quia Christum praedicamus, per ostium intramus; Christus autem seipsum praedicat: lumen enim et alia demonstrat et seipsum. Si autem praepositi Ecclesiae, qui filii sunt, pastores sunt; quomodo unus pastor est, nisi quia sunt illi omnes unius membra pastoris? Et quidem quod pastor est dedit et membris suis: nam et Petrus pastor, et ceteri apostoli pastores, et omnes boni episcopi: ostium vero nemo nostrum se dicit: hoc sibi ipse proprie tenuit. Non autem adderet bonus, nisi essent et pastores mali: ipsi sunt fures et latrones, aut certe ut multum mercenarii. AUG Our Lord has acquainted us with two things which were obscure before; first, that He is the Door; and now again, that He is the Shepherd: I am the good Shepherd. Above He said that the shepherd entered by the door. If He is the Door, how does He enter by Himself? Just as He knows the Father by Himself, and we by Him; so He enters into the fold by Himself, and we by Him. We enter by the door, because we preach Christ; Christ preaches Himself. A light shows both other things, and itself too. There is but one Shepherd. For though the rulers of the Church, those who are her sons, and not hirelings, are shepherds, they are all members of that one Shepherd. His office of Shepherd He has permitted His members to bear. Peter is a shepherd, and all the other Apostles: all good Bishops are shepherds. But none of us calls himself the door. He could not have added good, if there were not bad shepherds as well. They are thieves and robbers; or at least mercenaries. Gregorius in Evang. Atque eius bonitatis formam, quam nos imitemur, adiungit, dicens bonus pastor animam suam ponit pro ovibus suis. Fecit quod monuit, ostendit quod iussit: pro ovibus suis animam suam posuit, ut in sacramento nostro corpus suum et sanguinem verteret, et oves quas redemerat carnis suae alimento satiaret. Ostensa est nobis de contemptu mortis via quam sequamur, apposita forma cui imprimamur. Primum nobis est exteriora nostra misericorditer ovibus eius impendere; postremum vero, si necesse sit, etiam in mortem animam nostram pro eisdem ovibus ministrare. Qui autem non dat pro ovibus substantiam suam, quando pro his daturus est animam suam? GREG And He adds what that goodness is, for our imitation: The good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep. He did what He bade, He set the example of what He commanded: He laid down His life for the sheep, that He might convert His body and blood in our Sacrament, and feed with His flesh the sheep He had redeemed. A path is shown us wherein to walk, despising death; a stamp is applied to us, and we must submit to the impression. Our first duty is to spend our outward possessions upon the sheep; our last, if it be necessary, is to sacrifice our life for the same sheep. Whoso does not give his substance to the sheep, how can he lay down his life for them? Augustinus in Ioannem. Non autem solus Christus hoc fecit, et tamen si illi qui fecerunt, membra eius sunt, idem ipse unus hoc fecit: ipse enim potuit facere sine illis, illi sine illo non poterant. AUG Christ was not the only one who ho did this. And yet if they who did it are members of Him, one and the same Christ did it always. He was able to do it without them; they were not without Him. Augustinus de Verb. Dom. Omnes tamen pastores boni fuerunt, non solum quia sanguinem fuderunt, sed quia pro ovibus fuderunt: non enim fuderunt elatione, sed caritate. Nam et apud haereticos, qui propter iniquitates et errores suos aliquid molestiarum perpessi fuerunt, nomine martyrii se iactant, ut hoc pallio dealbati facilius furentur, quia lupi sunt. Non autem omnes qui corpora sua in passione etiam ignibus tradunt, aestimandi sunt sanguinem fudisse pro ovibus, sed potius contra oves; dicit enim apostolus: si tradidero corpus meum ita ut ardeam, caritatem autem non habeam, nihil mihi prodest. Quomodo autem habet vel exiguam caritatem, qui etiam convictus non amat unitatem? Quam dominus commendans, noluit multos appellare pastores, sed pastorem unum, dicens ego sum pastor bonus. AUG All these however were good shepherds, not because they shed their blood, but because they did it for the sheep. For they shed it not in pride, but in love. Should any among the heretics suffer trouble in consequence of their errors and iniquities, they forthwith boast of their martyrdom; that they may be the better able to steal under so fair a cloak: for they are in reality wolves. But not all who give their bodies to be burned, are to be thought to shed their blood for the sheep; rather against the sheep; for the Apostle said, Though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profits me nothing. And how has he even the smallest charity, who does not love connection with Christians? to command which, our Lord did not mention many shepherds, but one, I am the good Shepherd. Chrysostomus in Ioannem. Sic igitur de cetero dominus de passione sua disputabat, ostendens quoniam pro salute fieret mundi, et non invitus in hanc venit. Deinde rursus ostendit signa pastoris et mercenarii, cum dicit mercenarius autem, et qui non est pastor, cuius non sunt oves propriae, videt lupum venientem, et dimittit oves et fugit. CHRYS Our Lord shows here that He did not undergo His passion unwillingly; but for the salvation of the world. He then gives the difference between the shepherd and the hireling: But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees. Gregorius. Sunt enim nonnulli qui dum plus terrenam substantiam quam oves diligunt, merito nomen pastoris perdunt: non enim pastor, sed mercenarius vocatur qui non pro amore intimo oves dominicas, sed ad temporales mercedes pascit. Mercenarius quippe est qui pastoris locum tenet, sed lucrum animarum non quaerit, terrenis commodis inhiat, honore praelationis gaudet. GREG Some there are who love earthly possessions more than the sheep, and do not deserve the name of a shepherd. He who feeds the Lord’s flock for the sake of temporal hire, and not for love, is an hireling, not a shepherd. An hireling is he who holds the place of shepherd, but seeks not the gain of souls, who pants after the good things of earth, and rejoices in the pride of station. Augustinus de Verb. Dom. Aliud ergo quaerit in Ecclesia, non Deum quaerit: si Deum quaereret, castus esset, quia legitimum maritum anima Deum habet: quisquis a Deo praeter Deum aliquid quaerit, non caste Deum quaerit. AUG He seeks therefore in the Church, not God, but something else. If he sought God he would be chaste; for the soul has but one lawful husband, God. Whoever seeks from God any thing beside God, seeks unchastely. Gregorius. Utrum vero pastor sit, vel mercenarius, cognosci veraciter non potest, si occasio necessitatis deest: tranquillitatis enim tempore plerumque ad gregis custodiam sicut verus pastor, sic etiam mercenarius stat; sed lupus veniens indicat quo quisque animo super gregis custodiam stabat. GREG But whether a man be a shepherd or an hireling, cannot be told for certain, except in a time of trial. In tranquil times, the hireling generally stands watch like the shepherd. But when the wolf comes, then every one shows with what spirit he stood watch over the flock. Augustinus. Lupus autem Diabolus est, et qui illum sequuntur: nam dictum est quod induti quidam pellibus ovium, intus sunt lupi rapaces. AUG The wolf is the devil, and they that follow him; according to Matthew, Which come to you in sheep’s’ clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Augustinus in Ioannem. Ecce lupus ovis guttur apprehendit, Diabolus fideli adulterium persuasit, excommunicandus est: sed excommunicatus inimicus erit, insidiabitur, nocebit cum potuerit: unde taces, non increpas: lupum venientem vidisti, et fugisti: corpore stetisti, animo fugisti; affectiones enim nostrae motus animorum sunt: laetitia animi diffusio est, tristitia autem contractio, cupiditas animi progressio, timor animi fuga est. AUG Lo, the wolf has seized a sheep by the throat, the devil has enticed a man into adultery. The sinner must be excommunicated But if he is excommunicated, he will be an enemy, he will plot, he will do as much harm as he can. Wherefore you are silent, you do not censure, you have seen the wolf coming, and fled. Your body has stood, your mind has fled. For as joy is relaxation, sorrow contraction, desire a reaching forward of the mind; so fear is the flight of the mind. Gregorius. Lupus etiam super oves venit cum quilibet iniustus et raptor fideles quosque atque humiles opprimit. Sed is qui pastor esse videbatur et non erat, reliquit oves et fugit: quia dum sibi ab eo periculum metuit, resistere eius iniustitiae non praesumit. Fugit autem non mutando locum, sed subtrahendo solatium. Sed contra haec mercenarius nullo zelo accenditur: quia dum solum exteriora commoda requirit, interiora gregis damna negligenter patitur; unde subditur mercenarius autem fugit, quia mercenarius est, et non pertinet ad eum de ovibus. Sola ergo causa est ut mercenarius fugiat quia mercenarius est, ac si dicat: stare in periculo ovium non potest qui in eo quod ovibus praeest, non oves diligit, sed lucrum terrenum quaerit; et ideo opponere se contra periculum trepidat, ne hoc quod diligit amittat. GREG The wolf too comes upon the sheep, whenever any spoiler and unjust person oppresses the humble believers. And he who seems to be shepherd, but leaves the sheep and flees, is he who dares not to resist his violence, from fear of danger to himself. He flees not by changing place, but by withholding consolation from his flock. The hireling is inflamed with no zeal against this injustice. He only looks to outward comforts, and overlooks the internal suffering of his flock. The hireling flees, because he is a hireling, and cares not for the sheep. The only reason that the hireling flees, is because he is a hireling; as if to say, He cannot stand at the approach of danger, who does not love the sheep that he is set over, but seeks earthly gain. Such a one dares not face danger, for fear he should lose what he so much loves.