914. Dixit ergo eis Iesus ego sum panis vitae: nam, sicut supra dictum est, verbum sapientiae est specialis cibus mentis, quia eo mens sustentatur; Eccli. XV, 3: cibavit illum pane vitae et intellectus. 914. Jesus said to them: I am the bread of life, for as we saw above, the word of wisdom is the proper food of the mind, because the mind is sustained by it: he fed him with the bread of life and understanding (Sir 15:3). Dicitur autem panis sapientiae esse panis vitae, ad differentiam panis corporalis, qui est panis mortis, qui non competit nisi ad restaurandum defectum mortalitatis, unde et solum in hac vita mortali necessarius est. Sed panis sapientiae divinae est per se vivificativus, nec habet mortem contrariam. Item panis corporalis non dat vitam, sed tantum praeexistentem sustentat ad tempus; sed panis spiritualis ita vivificat quod dat vitam, nam anima incipit vivere per hoc quod adhaeret Verbo Dei; Ps. XXXV, 10: apud te est fons vitae. Quia ergo omne Verbum sapientiae derivatur a Verbo Dei unigenito, Eccli. I, 5: fons sapientiae unigenitus Dei, residens in excelso, ideo ipsum Dei Verbum principaliter dicitur panis vitae; et ideo Christus dicit ego sum panis vitae. Et quia caro Christi ipsi Verbo Dei unita est, habet etiam quod sit vivificativa, unde et corpus, sacramentaliter sumptum, vivificativum est: nam per mysteria quae Christus in carne sua complevit, dat vitam mundo; et sic caro Christi, propter Domini Verbum, panis est, non consuetae vitae, sed illius quae morte non reseratur. Et ideo caro Christi dicitur panis; Gen. penult., 20: Aser, pinguis panis eius. Now the bread of wisdom is called the bread of life to distinguish it from material bread, which is the bread of death, and which serves only to restore what has been lost by a mortal organism; hence material bread is necessary only during this mortal life. But the bread of divine wisdom is life-giving of itself, and no death can affect it. Again, material bread does not give life, but only sustains for a time a life that already exists. But spiritual bread actually gives life: for the soul begins to live because it adheres to the word of God: for with you is the fountain of life (Ps 35:10). Therefore, since every word of wisdom is derived from the only begotten Word of God—the fountain of wisdom is the only begotten of God (Sir 1:5)—this Word of God is especially called the bread of life. Thus Christ says, I am the bread of life. And because the flesh of Christ is united to the Word of God, it also is life-giving. Thus, too, his body, sacramentally received, is life-giving: for Christ gives life to the world through the mysteries which he accomplished in his flesh. Consequently, the flesh of Christ, because of the Word of the Lord, is not the bread of ordinary life, but of that life which does not die. And so the flesh of Christ is called bread: the bread of Asher is rich (Gen 49:20). Significatur etiam per manna, I Cor. X, 1 ss. Manna interpretatur quid est hoc? Quia Iudaei illud videntes admirabantur, dicentes unus ad alium quid est hoc? Sed nihil est admirabilius quam Filius Dei homo factus, ita ut cuilibet contingat quaerere quid est hoc? Idest, quomodo Filius Dei, Filius hominis est; quomodo ex duabus naturis fit una persona Christi? Is. IX, 6: vocabitur nomen eius admirabilis. Est etiam mirabile quomodo Christus sit sub sacramento. His flesh was also signified by the manna. Manna means what is this? because when the Jews saw it they wondered, and asked each other what it was. But nothing is more a source of wonder than the Son of God made man, so that everyone can fittingly ask, what is this? That is, how can the Son of God be the Son of man? How can Christ be one person with two natures? His name will be called Wonderful (Isa 9:6). It is also a cause for wonder how Christ can be present in the sacrament. 915. Consequenter cum dicit qui venit ad me, non esuriet, assignat rationem expositionis, et hoc ex effectu istius panis. Panis enim corporalis comestus non in perpetuum famem aufert, cum corrumpatur et reficiat; et ideo exigitur ad nutrimentum; panis autem spiritualis dans per se vitam, numquam corrumpitur; et ideo homo semel comedens, numquam esurit. Et ideo dicit qui venit ad me, non esuriet; et qui credit in me, non sitiet in aeternum. 915. Next, at he who comes to me shall not hunger, he gives the reason for this from the effect of this bread. When material bread is eaten, it does not permanently take away our hunger, since it must be destroyed in order to build us up; and this is necessary if we are to be nourished. But spiritual bread, which gives life of itself, is never destroyed; consequently, a person who eats it once never hungers again. Thus he says: he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst. Hoc autem quod dicit, scilicet qui venit et qui credit, non esuriet nec sitiet, non differunt, secundum Augustinum, quia idem est venire ad eum, et credere in eum: quia ad Deum venimus non passibus corporis, sed mentis, quorum primus est fides. Idem est etiam comedere et bibere: utroque enim significatur aeterna satietas, ubi nulla est egestas. Mt. V, 6: beati qui esuriunt et sitiunt iustitiam, quoniam ipsi saturabuntur: ut sit idem cibus sustentans, et potus refrigerans. According to Augustine, it is the same thing to say, whoever comes, as to say, whoever believes: since it is the same to come to Christ and to believe in him, for we do not come to God with bodily steps, but with those of the mind, the first of which is faith. To eat and to drink are also the same: for each signifies that eternal fullness where there is no want: blessed are they who hunger and thirst for what is right, for they will be filled (Matt 5:6); so that food which sustains and that drink which refreshes are one and the same. Causa autem quare temporalia non auferunt sitim in perpetuum, una quidem est, quia non simul sumuntur, sed paulatim, et quasi cum motu, et ideo semper restat sumendum; et propter hoc, sicut congruit delectatio et satietas ex iam sumpto, ita et desiderium restat ex sumendo. Alia vero est, quia corrumpuntur, unde remanet memoria ex corrupto, et generatur iterato desiderium eorum. Spiritualia vero et simul sumuntur, et non corrumpuntur nec deficiunt; et ideo eorum satietas manet in perpetuum. Apoc. VII, 16: non esurient neque sitient. Ps. XV, 10: adimplebis me laetitia cum vultu tuo, delectationes in dextera tua, idest in spiritualibus bonis, usque in finem. One reason why temporal things do not take away our thirst permanently is that they are not consumed altogether, but only bit by bit, and with motion, so that there is always still more to be consumed. For this reason, just as there is enjoyment and satisfaction from what has been consumed, so there is a desire for what is still to come. Another reason is that they are destroyed; hence the recollection of them remains and generates a repeated longing for those things. Spiritual things, on the other hand, are taken all at once, and they are not destroyed, nor do they run out; and consequently the fullness they produce remains forever: they will neither hunger nor thirst (Rev 7:16); your face will fill me with joy; the delights in your right hand i.e., in spiritual goods will last forever (Ps 16:11). 916. Consequenter cum dicit sed dixi vobis etc., ponitur exponendi necessitas. 916. Then, at but I said to you, that you also have seen me, we see why Christ had to explain these things. Posset enim aliquis dicere: nos quaesivimus panem; sed tu non respondes: dabo vobis illum vel non dabo; sed potius dicis: ego sum panis vitae; et ideo non videtur bona responsio tua. Sed quod bona sit, ostendit Dominus dicens dixi vobis quia et vidistis me, et non credidistis: quod idem est ac si aliquis haberet panem coram se, ignorans illum et dicatur ei: ecce panis coram te est. Et ideo dicit dixi vobis (ego sum panis vivus) et vidistis me, et non credidistis; idest, desideratis panem, et habetis illum coram vobis; et tamen non sumitis, quia non creditis. In quo eorum incredulitatem improperat eis; infra XV, 24: sed viderunt, et oderunt me et Patrem meum. For someone could say: we asked for bread; but you did not answer, that I will give it to you, or I will not. Rather, you say, I am the bread of life; and so your answer does not seem to be appropriate. But our Lord shows that it is a good answer, saying, but I have said to you, that you also have seen me, and you do not believe. This is the same as a person having bread right in front of him without his knowing it, and then being told: look! The bread is right before you. And so Christ says: but I have said to you, (I am the bread of life) that you also have seen me, and you do not believe, i.e., you want bread, and it is right before you; and yet you do not take it because you do not believe. In saying this he is censuring them for their unbelief: they have both seen and hated me and my Father (John 15:24). 917. Consequenter cum dicit omne quod dat mihi pater, ad me veniet, ostendit quomodo acquiratur, et 917. Then, at all that the Father gives to me shall come to me, he shows how this bread is acquired. primo ponit modum acquirendi; First, he mentions the way to acquire it; secundo fidem perventionis, ibi et eum qui venit ad me, non eiiciam foras; second, the end attained by those who come to him, at and he who comes to me, I will not cast out; tertio manifestat quod dicit, ibi quia descendi de caelo etc. third, he enlarges on this, at because I came down from heaven. 918. Sciendum est circa primum, quod ipsum credere nostrum est nobis ex dono Dei. Eph. II, 8: gratia salvati estis, et non ex vobis, Dei enim donum est; Phil. I, 29: vobis datum est ut non solum in illum credatis, sed ut etiam pro illo patiamini. Dicitur autem quandoque Deus Pater dare Filio homines credentes, sicut hic omne quod dat mihi Pater, ad me veniet. Quandoque Filius dat Patri, sicut illud I Cor. XV, 24: cum tradiderit regnum Deo et Patri. Ex quo intelligimus quod sicut Pater dans non adimit sibi regnum, ita nec Filius. Pater autem Filio dat, inquantum facit hominem verbo suo adhaerere. I Cor. I, v. 9: per quem, scilicet Patrem, vocati estis in societatem Filii eius. Filius vero tradit Patri, inquantum Verbum est manifestativum ipsius Patris. Infra XVII, 6: Pater, manifestavi nomen tuum hominibus. Sic ergo dicit omne quod dat mihi Pater, ad me veniet; idest, qui in me credunt, quos Pater mihi facit adhaerere ex dono suo. 918. Concerning the first, we should note that the very fact that we believe is a gift of God to us: you are saved by grace, through faith; and this is not due to yourself, for it is the gift of God (Eph 2:8); it has been granted to you not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him (Phil 1:29). Sometimes, God the Father is said to give those who believe to the Son, as here: all that the Father gives to me shall come to me. At other times, the Son is said to give them to the Father: he will hand over the kingdom to God and the Father (1 Cor 15:24). We can see from this that just as the Father does not deprive himself of the kingdom in giving to the Son, neither does the Son in giving to the Father. The Father gives to the Son insofar as the Father makes a person adhere to his word: through whom that is, the Father you have been called into the fellowship of his Son (1 Cor 1:9). The Son, on the other hand, gives to the Father insofar as the Word makes the Father known: I have manifested your name to the men whom you have given me (John 17:6). Thus Christ says: all that the Father gives to me shall come to me, i.e., those who believe in me, whom the Father makes adhere to me by his gift. 919. Sed diceret forte aliquis, quod non necessarium est quod aliquis dono Dei utatur: multi enim recipiunt donum Dei, qui non utuntur eo. Quomodo ergo dicit omne quod dat mihi Pater, ad me veniet? 919. Perhaps some might say that it is not necessary for one to use God’s gift: for many receive God’s gift and do not use it. So how can he say: all that the Father gives to me shall come to me? Ad quod dicendum est, quod in datione ista non solum intelligitur habitus, qui est fides et huiusmodi, sed etiam interior instinctus ad credendum. Quidquid autem facit ad salutem, totum est ex dono Dei. We must say to this that in this giving we have to include not only the habit, which is faith, but also the interior impulse to believe. So, everything which contributes to salvation is a gift of God. 920. Sed restat quaestio: quia si omne quod dat Pater Christo, ad eum vadit, ut ipse dicit, illi soli ad Deum vadunt quos Pater dat ei; non ergo debet imputari illis qui non vadunt, cum non dentur ei. 920. There is another question. If everything which the Father gives to Christ comes to him, as he says, then only those come to God whom the Father gives him. Thus, those who do not come are not responsible, since they are not given to him. Ad quod dicendum, quod non imputatur eis, si absque auxilio Dei ad fidem venire non possunt, sed hoc ei imputatur qui non venit, quia impedimentum praestat quod non veniat, avertens se a salute, cuius via quantum in se est, omnibus est aperta. I answer that they are not responsible if they cannot come to the faith without the help of God. But those who do not come are responsible, because they create an obstacle to their own coming by turning away from salvation, the way to which is of itself open to all. 921. Finis autem perventionis ponitur cum dicit et eum qui venit ad me non eiiciam foras. Posset enim aliquis dicere: veniemus ad te; sed tu non recipies nos. Et ideo dicit, hoc excludens, eum qui venit ad me, passibus fidei et bonis operationibus, non eiiciam foras, in quo dat intelligere, esse se intus: illud est enim intus unde exitur foras. 921. Then, at and he who comes to me, I will not cast out, the end attained by those who come is mentioned. For some might say that we will come to you, but you will not receive us. To exclude this he says, he who comes to me, by steps of faith and by good works, I will not cast out. By this he lets us understand that he is already within, for one must be within before one can be sent out. Attendamus ergo quid sit istud intrinsecum, et quomodo inde eiiciantur. Let us consider, therefore, what is interior, and how one is cast out from it. Sciendum quidem igitur est, quod omnia visibilia cum dicantur esse quasi quaedam exteriora respectu spiritualium, quanto aliquid est magis spirituale, tanto magis est intrinsecum. Ergo duplex est intrinsecum. Unum est profundissimum, scilicet gaudium vitae aeternae, quod, secundum Augustinum, est magis penetrale et dulce secretum sine taedio, sine amaritudine malarum cogitationum, sine interpellatione tentationum et dolorum; de quo dicitur Matth. XXV, 21: intra in gaudium Domini tui. Et Ps. XXX, 21: abscondes eos in abscondito faciei tuae; idest, in plena visione tuae essentiae. Et ab hoc intrinseco nullus eiicietur. Apoc. III, 12: qui vicerit faciam illum columnam in templo Dei vivi, et foras non egredietur amplius, quia ut dicitur Matth. c. XXV, 46, ibunt iusti in vitam aeternam. Aliud intrinsecum est rectitudo conscientiae, quae est spirituale gaudium; et de hoc dicitur Sap. VIII, 16: intrans in domum meam, conquiescam. Et Cant. I, 3: introduxit me rex in cellaria sua. Et de isto aliqui eiiciuntur. We should point out that since all visible things are said to be exterior with respect to spiritual things, then the more spiritual something is the more interior it is. What is interior is twofold. The first is the most profound, and is the joy of eternal life. According to Augustine, this is a sweet and most interior retreat, without any weariness, without the bitterness of evil thoughts, and uninterrupted by temptations and sorrows. We read of this: share the joy of your Lord (Matt 25:21); and, you will hide them in the secret of your face, that is, in the full vision of your essence (Ps 30:21). From this interior no one is cast out: he who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of the living God; and he will no longer leave it (Rev 3:12), because the just will go to everlasting life (Matt 25:46). The other interior is that of an upright conscience; and this is a spiritual joy. We read of this: when I enter into my house I will enjoy repose (Wis 8:16); and the king has brought me into his storerooms (Song 1:3). It is from this interior, that some are cast out. Et ideo quod Dominus dicit non eiiciam foras, potest dupliciter intelligi. Uno modo, ut illi dicantur ad ipsum venire qui sunt dati ei a Patre per aeternam praedestinationem; et de illis dicit eum qui venit ad me, praedestinatus a Patre, non eiiciam foras; Rom. XI, v. 2: non repulit Deus plebem suam quam elegit. Alio modo, quia illi qui egrediuntur, non tamquam a Christo eiecti egrediantur, sed causa eiectionis sit ex parte ipsorum, qui per infidelitatem et peccata, a secreto rectae conscientiae recedunt. Et sic dicitur non eiiciam ego foras, sed ipsi se eiiciunt; Ier. XXIII, 33: vos estis onus, proiiciam vos, dicit Dominus. Et hoc modo eiectus est foras qui ad nuptias intraverat non habens vestem nuptialem, ut dicitur Matth. XXII, 11 ss. So, when our Lord says, and he who comes to me, I will not cast out, we can understand this in two ways. In one way, those who come to him are those who have been given to him by the Father through eternal predestination. Of these he says: he who comes to me, predestined by the Father, I will not cast out: God has not rejected his people, the people he chose (Rom 11:2). In a second way, those who do go out are not cast out by Christ, rather, they cast themselves out, because through their unbelief and sins they abandon the sanctuary of an upright conscience. Thus we read: I will not cast out such; but they do cast themselves out: you are the burden, and I will cast you aside, says the Lord (Jer 23:33). It was in this way that the man who came to the wedding feast without wedding clothes was cast out (Matt 22:13). 922. Rationem autem praemissorum assignat, cum dicit quia descendi de caelo etc., et 922. Next, at because I came down from heaven, he gives the reason for what he just said. primo ponit propositum de implenda voluntate Patris; First, he mentions his intention to accomplish the will of the Father; secundo manifestat quae sit voluntas Patris, ibi haec est voluntas eius qui misit me Patris; second, he states what the will of the Father is, at and this is the will of the Father who sent me; and tertio ostendit finalem voluntatis impletionem, ibi et ego resuscitabo eum in novissimo die. third, he shows the final accomplishment of this will, at and I will raise him up on the last day. 923. Circa primum sciendum est, quod littera ista potest legi dupliciter. Uno modo secundum Augustinum, alio modo secundum Chrysostomum. 923. Concerning the first, we should note that this passage can be read in two ways: either as Augustine does, or following the interpretation of Chrysostom. Secundum Augustinum quidem sic: eum qui venit ad me, non eiiciam foras, et hoc ideo, quia ille venit ad me qui meam humilitatem imitatur. Matth. XI, 28, cum diceret Dominus: venite ad me, omnes, qui laboratis, consequenter subdit: discite a me, quia mitis sum et humilis corde. Vera autem Filii Dei mititas in hoc est, quia voluntatem suam supposuit voluntati Patris. Et ideo dicit non eiiciam, quia descendi de caelo non ut faciam voluntatem meam, sed voluntatem eius qui misit me. Propterea anima a Deo exiit, quia superba erat; et ideo necesse est humilitate regredi veniendo ad Christum per imitationem suae humilitatis, quae in hoc est quod non facit voluntatem suam solum, sed Dei Patris. Augustine understands it this way: the one who comes to me I will not cast out; and this is because the one who comes to me imitates my humility. After our Lord said, come to me, all you who labor, he added, learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart (Matt 11:29). Now the true gentleness of the Son of God consists in the fact that he submitted his will to the will of the Father. Thus he says, because I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. Since a soul abandons God because of its pride, it must return in humility, coming to Christ by imitating his humility; and this humility of Christ was in not doing his own will, but the will of God the Father. Sciendum est autem, quod in Christo fuit duplex voluntas. Una secundum humanam naturam, quae est sibi propria, et natura, et voluntate Patris; alia secundum naturam divinam, quae est eadem cum voluntate Patris. Voluntatem ergo suam, scilicet humanam, ordinavit sub voluntate divina, quia obedientiam suam sub effectu Paternae voluntatis ostendit ipse, volens voluntatem Patris explere. Ps. XXXIX, 9: ut faciam voluntatem tuam, Deus meus, volui. Hanc voluntatem fieri in nobis petimus cum dicimus, Matth. VI, 10: fiat voluntas tua. Illi ergo non eiiciuntur foras, qui non faciunt voluntatem suam, sed voluntatem Dei. Nam diabolus volens facere voluntatem suam, quod est superbiae, eiectus est de caelo, et primus homo de Paradiso. Here we should note that there were two wills in Christ. One pertains to his human nature, and this will is proper to him, both by nature and by the will of the Father. His other will pertains to his divine nature, and this will is the same as the will of the Father. Christ subordinated his own will, that is, his human will, to the divine will, because, wishing to accomplish the will of the Father, he was obedient to the Father’s will: my God, I desired to do your will (Ps 39:9). We ask that this will be accomplished in our regard when we say, your will be done (Matt 6:10). Thus, those who do the will of God, not their own will, are not cast out. The devil, who wanted to do his own will out of pride, was cast from heaven; and so too the first man was expelled from paradise. Secundum Chrysostomum vero sic. Ideo non eiicio foras eum qui venit ad me, quia ad hoc veni, ut impleam voluntatem Patris de salute hominum. Si ergo pro salute hominum incarnatus sum, quomodo debeo eos eiicere? Et hoc est quod dicit: ideo non eiicio, quia descendi de caelo non ut faciam voluntatem meam, scilicet humanam, ut proprium mihi acquiram; sed voluntatem eius qui misit me, Patris, qui vult omnes homines salvos fieri, ut dicitur I Tim. II, 4. Et ideo, quantum est ex me, nullum eiicio. Rom. V, 10: si enim, cum inimici essemus, reconciliati sumus Deo per mortem Filii eius, multo magis, reconciliati, salvi erimus in vita ipsius. Chrysostom explains the passage this way. The reason I do not cast out one who comes to me is because I have come to accomplish the will of the Father concerning the salvation of men. So, if I have become incarnate for the salvation of men, how can I cast them out? And this is what he says: I do not cast out one who comes, because I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, my human will, so as to obtain my own benefit, but the will of him who sent me, that is, the Father, he desires the salvation of all men (1 Tim 2:4). And therefore, so far as I am concerned, I do not cast out any person: for if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, we will be saved by his life (Rom 5:10). 924. Quae autem sit voluntas Patris, exponit 924. He shows what the Father wills. primo, cum dicit haec est enim voluntas eius qui misit me Patris etc.; He does this first, at and this is the will of my Father who sent me, secundo rationem assignat, ibi haec est enim voluntas Patris mei etc. and next, he explains why he wills it, at and this is the will of my father. 925. Dixit ergo: non eiiciam foras eos qui ad me veniunt, quia carnem assumpsi ut faciam voluntatem Patris. Voluntas autem eius qui misit me Patris, haec est, scilicet ut non eiiciam foras; et ideo non eiiciam. I Thess. c. IV, 3: haec est voluntas Dei, sanctificatio vestra. Et ideo dicit ut omne quod dedit mihi, non perdam ex eo; pater, idest, ut nihil perdam, quousque perveniat ad resurrectionem futuram, in qua aliqui perdentur, non tamen de illis qui dati sunt ei per aeternam praedestinationem, sed impii; Ps. I, 6: iter impiorum peribit. Illi vero qui usque tunc conservantur, non perdentur. 925. He says: I will not cast out those who come to me, because I have taken flesh in order to do the will of the Father: and this is the will of him who sent me, the Father, that those who come to me I will not cast out; and so I will not cast them out. This is the will of God, your sanctification (1 Thess 4:3). Therefore he says that now this is the will of the Father who sent me: that of all he has given to me, I should lose nothing, i.e., that I should lose nothing until the time of the resurrection. At this time some will be lost, the wicked; but none of those given to Christ through eternal predestination will be among them: the way of the wicked will perish (Ps 1:7). Those, on the other hand, who are preserved until then, will not be lost. Per hoc autem quod dicit non perdam, non est intelligendum quod indigeat eorum, aut quod detrimentum sit ei, si pereunt. Sed dicit hoc propter affectum suum ad salutem illorum, et bonum illorum, quod reputat suum. Now when he says, lose nothing, we should not understand this as implying that he needs such people or that he is damaged if they perish. Rather, he says this because he desires their salvation and what is good for them, which he regards as his own good. 926. Sed contra est quod dicitur infra c. XVII, 12: nemo ex eis, scilicet quos dedisti mihi, periit, nisi filius perditionis. Ergo aliqui eorum qui dati sunt ei per aeternam praedestinationem, perduntur. Non est ergo verum hoc quod dicit non perdam ex eo. 926. What John later reports Christ as saying seems to conflict with this: none of them, that is, of those you have given me, is lost but the son of perdition (John 17:12). Thus, some of those given to Christ through eternal predestination are lost. Accordingly, what he says here, that of all that he has given to me, I should lose nothing, is not true. Sed dicendum est, quod ex illis qui dati sunt ei per praesentem iustitiam perduntur; non autem de illis qui dati sunt per aeternam praedestinationem. We must say to this that some are lost from among those given to Christ through a present justification; but none are lost from among those given to him through eternal predestination.