Lectio 6
Lecture 6
Caritas Pauli Ephesiis
Paul’s love for the Ephesians
1:15 Propterea et ego audiens fidem vestram, quae est in Domino Jesu, et dilectionem in omnes sanctos, [n. 46]
1:15 Wherefore, I also, hearing of your faith that is in the Lord Jesus and of your love towards all the saints, [n. 46]
1:16 non cesso gratias agens pro vobis, [n. 47] memoriam vestri faciens in orationibus meis: [n. 48]
1:16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, [n. 47] remembering you in my prayers, [n. 48]
1:17 ut Deus Domini nostri Jesu Christi, Pater gloriae, det vobis Spiritum sapientiae et revelationis [n. 49] in agnitione ejus, [n. 52]
1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation, [n. 49] in the knowledge of him: [n. 52]
1:18 illuminatos oculos cordis vestri, ut sciatis quae sit spes vocationis ejus, [n. 52] et quae divitiae gloriae haereditatis ejus in sanctis, [n. 54]
1:18 The eyes of your heart enlightened that you may know what the hope is of his calling [n. 52] and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. [n. 54]
45. Postquam enumeravit Apostolus beneficia Ephesiis collata per Christum, hic ostendit quomodo affectus suus crevit ad eos.
45. After enumerating the blessings conferred on the Ephesians through Christ, the Apostle now reveals how his affection for them has grown.
Dividitur autem haec pars in tres partes, quia
This section is divided into three parts:
primo praemittitur bonorum, quae audivit de eis, commemoratio;
first, he begins by relating the good reports he has heard concerning them;
secundo de perceptis beneficiis gratiarum debita actio, ibi non cesso gratias agens, etc.;
second, he gives the thanks due for the blessings they have received, at I do not cease to give thanks;
tertio subditur pro futuris beneficiis eius oratio, ibi memoriam vestri faciens, et cetera.
third, he adds a prayer for future blessings, at remembering you.
46. Bona autem quae de eis audivit, sunt duo, unum quo ordinantur ad Deum, et hoc est fides, et quantum ad hoc dicit propterea et ego audiens fidem vestram, quae est in Christo Iesu, quae quidem facit habitare Deum in homine. Infra III, 17: habitare Christum per fidem in cordibus vestris. Item, corda purificat. Act. XV, 9: fide purificans corda eorum. Item, sine lege iustificat. Rom. III, 28: arbitramur iustificari hominem per fidem sine operibus legis.
46. There were two good things which he heard about them. One was their faith by which they were properly orientated toward God; regarding this he remarked: wherefore, I also, hearing of your faith that is in the Lord Jesus. Indeed, faith makes God dwell in man: that Christ may dwell by faith in your hearts (Eph 3:17). Again, it purifies hearts: purifying their hearts by faith (Acts 15:9). Moreover, it justifies without recourse to the law: for we account a man to be justified by faith, without the works of the law (Rom 3:28).
Secundum quo ordinantur ad proximum, et hoc est dilectio, et quantum ad hoc dicit et dilectionem, id est opera caritatis, quae quidem dilectio est spirituale signum, quod homo sit discipulus Christi. Io. XIII, 35: in hoc cognoscent omnes, quia mei estis discipuli, si dilectionem, et cetera. Et ibidem XIII, 34: mandatum novum do vobis, ut diligatis invicem, et cetera.
The second good is love by which they are properly orientated toward their neighbor; in reference to this he says and of your love consisting in works of charity. This love is a spiritual sign that a man is a disciple of Christ: a new commandment I give you: that you love one another, as I have loved you, so also you must love one another. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another (John 13:34–35).
Dilectionem, dico, in omnes sanctos. Nam omnes quos ex caritate diligimus, debemus eos diligere vel ideo quia sancti sunt, vel ut sancti sint. Gal. VI, 10: dum tempus habemus, operemur bonum ad omnes, maxime autem ad domesticos fidei, et cetera.
This love, I say, is towards all the saints. For everyone whom we love with charity, we ought to love either because they are holy or in order that they become holy. While we have time, let us work good to all men, but especially to those who are of the household of the faith (Gal 6:10).
47. Deinde cum dicit non cesso, etc., agit Apostolus gratias de bonis et beneficiis huiusmodi auditis, dicens non cesso gratias agens, et cetera.
47. Next, at I do not cease, the Apostle gives thanks for these goods and blessings he has heard about, saying I do not cease to give thanks for you.
Contra, quia non semper poterat continue pro eis gratias agere.
On the contrary, however, he could not have continually offered thanks for them.
Respondeo. Apostolus dicit non cesso, id est horis debitis; vel non cesso quia affectus gratias agendi pro vobis sine cessatione habitualiter est in me. Col. I, 9: non cessamus pro vobis orantes, et postulantes, et cetera. Rom. I, 9–10: sine intermissione memoriam vestri facio semper in orationibus meis.
I reply. In saying I do not cease, the Apostle means at the required times; or, I do not cease because my attitude of thanksgiving for you is without intermission habitually in me. We do not cease to pray for you, and to beg that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding (Col 1:9). I remember you constantly, always in my prayers making request (Rom 1:9–10).
48. Consequenter orat Apostolus pro beneficiis eis in futurum concedendis, et quantum ad hoc dicit memoriam vestri, et cetera. Et haec dividitur in tres, quia
48. Consequently, the Apostle prays for the blessings that must be given them in the future, and concerning this he says remembering you in my prayers. This has three divisions:
primo proponit quaedam quae eis petit;
first, he sets down certain ones that he asks for them;
secundo exponit ea, ibi in agnitionem eius, etc.;
second, he explains these, at in the knowledge;
tertio ostendit exemplar et formam illorum, ibi secundum operationem potentiae, et cetera.
third, he discloses the exemplar and form of these blessings, at according to the operation of the might (Eph 1:19).
49. Dicit ergo quantum ad primum: non solum gratias ago quantum ad beneficia praeterita, quae recepistis, et quantum ad bona audita de vobis, sed etiam oro ut omnino in futurum accrescant. Memoriam vestri faciens in orationibus meis, pro his scilicet, ut Deus Domini nostri Iesu Christi, Pater gloriae, et cetera.
49. In regard to the first he says: not only do I give thanks for past benefits which you have received and for the good reports concerning you, but I also pray that, by all means, these increase in the future, remembering you in my prayers in behalf of these to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory.
Ubi sciendum quod Dominus noster Iesus Christus et Deus et homo est. Et inquantum homo est, Deum habet, cum sit compositus ex anima et corpore, quorum utrique, cum sint creaturae, competit Deum habere; secundum autem quod Deus est, Patrem habet. Io. XX, 17: ascendo ad Patrem meum et Patrem vestrum; Deum meum et Deum vestrum. Similiter etiam secundum quod est Deus, est gloria Patris. Hebr. I, 3: qui cum sit splendor gloriae, et cetera. Est etiam gloria nostra, quia ipse est vita aeterna. I Io. c. ult., 20: simus in vero Filio eius, hic est verus Deus, et vita aeterna.
It must be acknowledged, at this point, that our Lord Jesus Christ is both God and man. Insofar as he is man, he is related to God, since he is composed of body and soul, both of which, being creatures, are necessarily related to God. But according as he is God, he is related to the Father. I ascend to my Father and to your Father, to my God and to your God (John 20:17). Likewise, as God he is the glory of the Father: who, being the brightness of his glory, and the figure of his substance (Heb 1:3). He is also our glory because he himself is life eternal: we are in his true Son, Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20).
Sic ergo dicit ut Deus Domini nostri Iesu Christi, secundum quod est homo, et Pater eiusdem, secundum quod est Deus; Pater, inquam, gloriae, scilicet Christi, qui est gloria eius, Prov. X, 1: gloria patris filius sapiens, etc., et gloriae nostrae, inquantum dat omnibus gloriam.
Therefore, he states the God of our Lord Jesus Christ in relation to him as man, and his Father in reference to him as God. I say the Father of glory, that is, of Christ who is his glory. A wise son is the glory of his father (Prov 10:1); and of our glory, inasmuch as he communicates glory to all.
50. Deinde cum dicit det vobis, etc., ponit ea quae petit, quae sunt duo.
50. Then he writes down the two things he asks for: the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation.
Ubi sciendum est, quod quaedam sunt dona communia omnibus sanctis, scilicet illa quae sunt necessaria ad salutem, ut fides, spes, caritas, et haec habebant, ut iam patet. Alia autem sunt dona specialia, et quantum ad hoc pro eis orat; primo quidem pro dono sapientiae, et quantum ad hoc dicit ut det vobis Spiritum sapientiae, quem nullus potest dare, nisi Deus. Sap. IX, 17: sensum autem tuum quis sciet, nisi tu dederis sapientiam, et miseris Spiritum Sanctum tuum de altissimis?
It must be realized here that certain gifts are common to all the saints and are necessary for salvation, such as faith, hope and charity. These they already possessed, as is evident. Then there are other special gifts; he prays that they receive these. First is the gift of wisdom when he says the Spirit of wisdom whom no one can bestow except God: who ever knew your counsel, unless you had given wisdom, and sent your Holy Spirit from above? (Wis 9:17)
Secundo orat pro dono intellectus, et hoc consistit in revelatione spiritualium secretorum, propter quod dicit et revelationis, quae etiam a solo Deo est. Dan. II, 28: est Deus in caelis revelans mysteria.
The second gift prayed for is that of understanding which consists in the revelation of spiritual mysteries that God alone can give, on account of which he says and of revelation: there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries (Dan 2:28).
51. Exponit autem quae sint ista quae petit, et
51. Next, he explains what he asks for:
primo quod pertinet ad donum sapientiae;
first, what pertains to the gift of wisdom;
secundo quod pertinet ad donum intellectus, ibi ut sciatis, quae sit spes, et cetera.
second, what pertains to the gift of understanding, at that you may know what the hope is.
52. Ad donum autem sapientiae pertinet cognitio divinorum. Unde petere donum sapientiae est petere quod habeant cognitionem Dei, et hoc petit ibi in agnitionem Dei, etc., quasi dicat: hoc peto ut per Spiritum sapientiae habeatis illuminatos oculos cordis vestri in agnitionem, scilicet clariorem, eius, scilicet Dei. Ps. XII, 4: illumina oculos meos, et cetera.
52. To the gift of wisdom belongs the knowledge of divine realities. Hence, to ask for the gift of wisdom is to ask that they enjoy a knowledge of God. He begs for this in saying in the knowledge of him, as if to say: I ask that, through the Spirit of wisdom, you may have the eyes of your heart enlightened in a clearer knowledge of God. Look at me, answer me, Yahweh my God! Enlighten my eyes; turn away the sleep of death (Ps 13:3).
Hoc est contra eos, qui habent oculos illuminatos tantum ad temporalia cognoscenda, cum magis tamen sit necessarium et etiam gloriosum cognoscere Deum. Ier. III, 23 s.: non glorietur sapiens in sapientia sua, et non glorietur dives in divitiis suis; sed in hoc glorietur, qui gloriatur, scire et nosse me.
This is the opposite of those whose eyes are enlightened only with respect to temporal reality when it is more necessary and more glorious to know God. Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom . . . and let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let anyone who boasts glory in this, that he understands and knows me (Jer 9:23–24).
53. Ad donum autem intellectus tria pertinentia ponit: unum quantum ad statum praesentem, et duo quantum ad futurum.
53. Three aspects pertain to the gift of understanding, one of which has reference to the present life, and two to the future.
Ad statum vero praesentem pertinet spes, quae est necessaria ad salutem. Rom. VIII, v. 24: spe enim salvi facti sumus, et cetera. Et quantum ad hoc dicit ut sciatis quae, id est quanta, sit spes vocationis eius, id est virtus spei, et de quanta re sit. Quae quidem et maxima est, quia de maximis. I Petr. I, v. 3: regeneravit nos in spem vivam per resurrectionem Iesu Christi ex mortuis, et cetera. Et fortissima virtutum. Hebr. VI, 18: fortissimum solatium habeamus, qui confugimus ad tenendam propositam spem; quam sicut anchoram habemus animae, et cetera.
Hope, which is necessary for salvation, belongs to the present condition: for we are saved by hope (Rom 8:24). Concerning this he says that you may know what, that is, how great the hope is of his calling, meaning the virtue of hope and what an immense reality it is concerned with. This hope is of the utmost importance because it concerns the greatest realities: he has given us a new birth to a living hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Pet 1:3). It is also the strongest of the virtues: that we who have fled for refuge may have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. This we have as a sure and firm anchor of the soul, which enters behind the veil (Heb 6:18–19).
54. Sed quia ea quae speramus, sunt de futura vita, ideo alia duo pertinent ad vitam futuram; unum quidem pertinet ad omnes iustos communiter, quod est praemium essentiale, et quantum ad hoc, dicit et quae divitiae gloriae, et cetera. Ubi ponit quatuor ad illa dona pertinentia. Primum est, quod sunt copiosissima, et quantum ad hoc, dicit divitiae. Prov. I, 33: abundantia perfruetur, terrore malorum sublato. Ps. CXI, 3: gloria et divitiae in domo eius, et cetera. Prov. c. VIII, 18: mecum sunt divitiae et gloria, et cetera.
54. Yet, since what we hope for concerns the future life, the other two aspects of the gift of understanding pertain to the future. One, the essential reward, is common to all the just; regarding which he says what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. Here he writes down four characteristics of those gifts. First, they are most abundant, which he implies in riches. He who obeys me will enjoy abundance, and be at ease without fear of evil (Prov 1:33); glory and wealth shall be in his house (Ps 112:3); riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and prosperity (Prov 8:18).
Secundo quod sunt clarissima, et quantum ad hoc dicit gloriae. Rom. II, 10: gloria autem, et honor, et pax omni operanti bonum, et cetera.
Second, they have the greatest clarity, regarding which he says of glory. Glory, honor and peace to everyone who does good (Rom 2:10).