Sed hoc non videtur sane dictum; et ideo melius dicendum, quod tenetur causaliter. Est enim duplex malum: scilicet culpae et poenae. Sed malum quidem culpae Deus non facit, sed permittit fieri; quod non permitteret, nisi intenderet inde bonum aliquod. Unde dicit Augustinus in Enchir.: Deus adeo bonus est, quod numquam permitteret aliquod malum fieri, nisi esset adeo potens quod de quolibet malo eliciat bonum. Sic ergo permittit aliqua peccata fieri ex intentione boni quod intendit: sicut permisit saevire tyrannos, ut coronaret martyres. Multo ergo magis debet dici, quod malum poenae, quod ipse fecit, ut dicitur Amos III, 6: non est malum quod Dominus non fecerit, numquam inducit nisi ex intentione boni. Et inter alia bona optimum est quod opera Dei manifestentur, et ex eis innotescat Deus. Non est ergo inconveniens si aliqua flagella immittit, vel peccata aliqua fieri permittit, ut bonum inde proveniat.
But this does not seem to be reasonable; and so it is better to say that the reason is being given. For evil is twofold: the evil of fault and of punishment. Now God does not cause the evil of fault, but permits it; yet he would not permit it unless he intended some good from it. So Augustine says in his Enchiridion: God is so good that he would never permit any evil to occur, unless he was so powerful as to draw some good from every evil. Therefore, he allows certain sins to be committed because he intends some good; in this way, he allows the rage of tyrants so that martyrs may be crowned. Much more, therefore, should it be said that the evil of punishment, which he causes, as it is said: does evil befall a city, unless the Lord has done it? (Amos 3:6) is never applied except for the good he intends. And among these goods the best is that the works of God be manifested, and from them that God be known. Therefore, it is not unfitting if he sends afflictions or allows sins to be committed in order that some good come from them.
1302. Et sciendum, quod, ut Gregorius dicit I Moral., quinque modis Deus hominibus immittit flagella.
1302. It should be noted, as Gregory says in I Morals, that God sends afflictions to men in five ways.
Quandoque quidem ad initium damnationis, secundum illud Ier. VII, 18: duplici contritione contere eos. Et hoc flagello percutitur peccator in hac vita sic, ut sine retractatione et fine puniatur in alia; sicut Herodes qui occidit Iacobum, punitus est in hac vita, et in Inferno similiter: Act. XII, 23.
Sometimes they are the beginning of damnation: strike them with a double punishment (Jer 17:18). A sinner is struck with this kind of punishment in this life so that without interruption or end he might be punished in the other life. For example, Herod, who killed James, was punished in this life and also in hell (Acts 12:23).
Quandoque autem ad correctionem: et de hac dicitur in Ps. XVII, 36: disciplina tua ipsa me docebit.
Sometimes afflictions are sent as a correction, as we read: your discipline will teach me (Ps 17:36).
Quandoque autem flagellatur aliquis non propter praeteritorum correctionem, sed ad futurorum praeservationem: sicut de Paulo legitur II Cor. XII, 7: ne magnitudo revelationum extollat me, datus est mihi stimulus carnis meae, angelus Satanae, qui me colaphizet.
And sometimes a person is afflicted not to correct past wrongs, but to preserve him from future ones, as we read of Paul: and to keep me from being too elated by the abundance of revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from being too elated (2 Cor 12:7).
Quandoque autem ad promotionem virtutis: ut scilicet cum in aliquo nec praeterita culpa corrigitur, nec futura prohibetur, dum inopinata salus persecutionem sequitur, salvantis virtute cognita, ardentius amatur; II ad Cor. XII, 9: virtus in infirmitate perficitur; Iac. I, 4: patientia opus perfectum habet.
Again, sometimes it is done to encourage virtue: as when a person’s past sins are not being corrected, nor future ones hindered, but he is led to a stronger love by knowing the power of the one who unexpectedly delivered him from some difficulty: virtue is made perfect in infirmity (2 Cor 12:9); patience has a perfect work (Jas 1:4).
Quandoque vero ad manifestationem divinae gloriae: unde et hic dicitur ut manifestentur opera Dei in illo.
And finally, sometimes afflictions are sent to manifest the divine glory; thus we read here, that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
1303. Consequenter cum dicit me oportet operari etc., manifestat causam veram quam posuit: et quia mentionem fecerat de operibus Dei, ideo
1303. Next he explains the true reason: I must do the works of him who sent me while it is day. And because he had mentioned God’s works,
primo ponit opportunitatem opera Dei manifestandi;
first he states the opportunity for manifesting God’s works;
secundo assignat opportunitatis, seu necessitatis rationem, ibi venit nox;
second, he assigns the reason for this opportunity or need: the night comes, when no man is able to work; and
tertio eam exponit, ibi quamdiu in mundo sum.
third, he explains this: as long as I am in the world.
1304. Dicit ergo: ideo scilicet caecus natus est, ut manifestentur opera Dei in illo, quae quidem manifestari oportebat: nam me oportet operari opera eius qui misit me. Quod quidem potest referri ad Christum secundum quod homo; et sic est sensus: me oportet operari opera eius qui misit me, idest, opera commissa mihi a Patre; supra c. V, 36: opera quae dedit mihi Pater ut faciam. Infra XVII, 4, dicit: Pater, opus consummavi quod dedisti mihi ut faciam. Vel ad Christum, secundum quod Deus; et sic dicit aequalitatem suae potentiae ad Patrem, ut sit sensus: me oportet operari opera eius qui misit me, idest, opera quae habeo a Patre. Omnia enim quae Filius facit, etiam secundum divinam naturam, a Patre habet; supra V, 19: non potest Filius a se facere quidquam, nisi quod viderit Patrem facientem.
1304. He says, therefore, this man was born blind that the works of God should be made manifest in him. And it was necessary that they be manifested, for I must do the works of him who sent me, which can refer to Christ according as he is a man; and then in this sense: I must do the works of him who sent me, that is, the works entrusted to me by my Father, as mentioned above: for the works that the Father has given to me (John 5:36). And below he says: Father, I have finished the work that you gave me to do (John 17:4). Or, these words can refer to Christ insofar as he is God; and then they indicate the equality of his power with that of the Father. Then the meaning is, I must do the works of him who sent me, that is, the works which I have from the Father. For everything that the Son does, even according to his divine nature, he has from his Father: the Son cannot do anything of himself, but what he sees the Father doing (John 5:19).
1305. Oportet, inquam, donec dies est. Dies quidem materialis ex praesentia solis super terram causatur. Sol autem iustitiae est Christus Deus noster; Mal. IV, 2: vobis timentibus nomen meum, orietur sol iustitiae. Quamdiu ergo sol iste nobis praesens est, opera Dei fieri possunt in nobis, erga nos, et a nobis. Praesens autem fuit nobis aliquando quidem corporali praesentia; et tunc dies erat; Ps. CXVII, 25: haec dies quam fecit Dominus: exultemus et laetemur in ea. Et ideo oportet operari opera Dei. Est etiam nobis praesens per gratiam: et tunc est dies gratiae, in quo scilicet oportet operari opera Dei, donec dies est; Rom. XIII, v. 12: nox praecessit, dies autem appropinquabit. Abiiciamus ergo opera tenebrarum, et induamur arma lucis; I Thess. V, 7: qui dormiunt, nocte dormiunt. Vos autem non estis in tenebris etc.
1305. I must do the works of him who sent me while it is day. Our natural day is produced by the presence of the sun to the earth. But the Sun of Justice is Christ, our God: but for you who fear my name the sun of righteousness will rise (Mal 4:2). Therefore, as long as this Sun is present to us, the works of God can be done in us, for us, and by us. At one time this Sun was physically present to us; and then it was day: this is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it (Ps 118:24). Therefore, it was fitting to do the works of God. He is also present us by grace; and then it is the day of grace, when it is fitting to do the works of God, while it is day; the night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light (Rom 13:12); those who sleep, sleep at night. You, however, are not in the night (1 Thess 5:7).
1306. Sed sciendum, quod si praesentia solis facit diem et absentia noctem, cum sol sibi praesens sit semper, ipsi soli semper dies est: et sic soli semper est tempus operandi et lucendi. Sed quantum ad nos, quibus aliquando est praesens, aliquando absens, non semper operatur et lucet. Eodem modo apud Christum, solem iustitiae, semper est dies et tempus operandi; non autem apud nos: quia non semper sumus capaces suae gratiae, propter impedimentum ex parte nostra.
1306. If the presence of the sun produces day, and its absence night, then, since the sun is always present to itself, it is always day for the sun; and so for the sun, it is always the time for acting and illuminating. But with regard to ourselves, to whom it is sometimes present and at other times absent, it is not always acting and illuminating. In the same way for Christ, the Sun of Justice, it is always day and the time for acting; but not with respect to us, because we are not always able to receive his grace due to some obstacle on our part.
1307. Rationem autem opportunitatis praedictae subdit, dicens venit nox, quando nemo potest operari. Sicut est duplex dies, ita est duplex nox. Una est per abscessum corporalem solis iustitiae, sicut Apostoli incurrerunt, quando Christo eis corporaliter sublato tempore passionis, perturbati sunt; Matth. XVI, 31: omnes vos scandalum patiemini in me in ista nocte. Et tunc non fuit tempus operandi, sed patiendi.
1307. He mentions why this is our opportunity when he says, the night comes, when no man is able to work. Just as there are two kinds of day, so there are two kinds of night. One is by the physical departure of the Sun of Justice, which is what the Apostles experienced when they were demoralized at the time of the passion, when Christ was physically taken from them: you will all fall away because of me this night (Matt 26:31). Then it was not the time for acting, but for suffering.
Sed melius est ut dicamus, quod etiam Christo absente corporaliter per ascensionem, dies Apostolis erat, inquantum illucebat eis Sol Iustitiae, et tempus operandi. Et ideo intelligendum est de nocte quae est per spiritualem separationem Solis Iustitiae, scilicet per subtractionem gratiae: quae quidem nox duplex est. Una per subtractionem actualis gratiae quam inducit peccatum mortale; I Thess. V, 7: qui dormiunt, nocte dormiunt. Et quando haec nox venit, nemo potest operari opera meritoria vitae aeternae. Alia nox est consummata, quando non solum privatur actuali gratia quis per peccatum mortale, sed etiam facultate adipiscendi, per aeternam damnationem in inferno, ubi profunda nox est, quae erit illis quibus dicitur: ite, maledicti, in ignem aeternum: Matth. XXV, 41. Et tunc nemo potest operari, quia non est tempus merendi, sed secundum merita recipiendi. Dum ergo vivis, fac sicut facturus es. Unde Eccle. IX, 10: quaecumque potest manus tua, instanter operare: quia neque ratio, neque opus, nec sapientia, nec scientia erunt apud Inferos, quo tu properas.
But it is better to say that even when Christ was physically absent because of his ascension, it was still day for the Apostles insofar as the Sun of Justice shone on them, and it was a time for working. And so night in this passage refers to that night which comes from the spiritual separation from the Sun of Justice, that is, by the separation from grace. This night is of two kinds. One is by the loss of actual grace through mortal sin: those who sleep, sleep at night (1 Thess 5:7). When this night comes, no one can perform works that merit eternal life. The other night is total, when one is deprived not only of actual grace by mortal sin, but even of the ability of obtaining grace because of an eternal damnation in hell. Here there is a vast night for those to whom it will be said: depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire (Matt 24:41). During this night no one can work, because it is not the time for meriting, but for receiving according to one’s merits. Therefore, while you are living, do now what you will want to have done then: whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or thought of knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going (Eccl 9:10).
1308. Rationem autem dictorum exponit dicens quamdiu sum in mundo, lux sum mundi; quasi diceret: si vultis scire quis sit dies, et quae nox, de quibus loquor; ego, inquam, sum lux mundi: nam praesentia mea diem facit, et absentia noctem; supra VIII, 12: ego sum lux mundi. Quamdiu ego sum in mundo, corporaliter per meam praesentiam; infra XVI, 28: exivi a Patre, et veni in mundum; iterum relinquo mundum, et vado ad Patrem. Lux sum mundi: unde dies iste duravit usque ad ascensionem Christi. Item, quamdiu sum in mundo, spiritualiter per gratiam; Matth. ult., 20: ecce ego vobiscum sum usque ad consummationem saeculi. Lux sum mundi: unde dies iste usque ad consummationem saeculi extendetur.
1308. He gives the reason for what he has just said, saying, as long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. This is like saying: if you want to know what is that day and what is that night of which I speak, I say that I am the light of the world, for my presence makes day, and my absence night; I am the light of the world (John 8:12). As long as I am in the world by my bodily presence: I came forth from the Father, and have come into the world: again I leave the world, and I go to the Father (John 16:28); I am the light of the world. And thus this day lasted until the ascension of Christ. Or again, as long as I am in the world spiritually by grace—I am with you until the consummation of the world (Matt 28:20)—I am the light of the world. And this day will last until the consummation of the world.
1309. Consequenter cum dicit hoc cum dixisset, expuit in terram etc., agitur de sanatione caeci, ad quam quinque per ordinem concurrunt facta per Christum. Primo quidem sputatio, unde dicit spuit in terram; secundo luti factio, unde dicit lutum fecit ex sputo; tertio oculorum linitio, unde dicit et linivit super oculos caeci; quarto mandatum quod lavaretur, unde dicit vade et lava in natatoris Siloe; quinto, visionis perceptio, unde subdit et venit videns: quae quidem omnia causam habent et litteralem et mysticam.
1309. Next, when the Evangelist says, when he had said these things, he spat on the ground, he describes the healing of the blind man. Here five things were done by Christ. First, he moistens the earth, he spat on the ground. Second, he made the clay, as we read, he made clay of the spittle. Third, Christ smeared the man’s eyes and he spread the clay on his eyes. Fourth, he commands the man to wash, with go, wash in the pool of Siloam. And fifth, the man’s sight is restored, and he came back seeing. Each of these has both a literal and a mystical explanation.
1310. Litteralem quidem, secundum Chrysostomum, hoc modo. Sputo illuminat, ut ostendat quod virtute a se egrediente hoc faciebat, et nulli alteri rei miraculum ascribatur; Lc. VI, 19: virtus exibat de illo. Licet enim omnia miracula Dominus solo verbo facere potuisset, quia ipse dixit, et facta sunt, frequenter tamen corpore suo in eis utitur, ut ostendat ipsum, inquantum est divinitatis organum, virtutem quamdam salutarem esse sortitum.
1310. The literal meaning is explained by Chrysostom in this way. Christ restored the man’s sight by spittle in order to show that he accomplished this by a power coming from himself, and that the miracle should not be attributed to anything else: power came forth from him (Luke 6:19). Although our Lord could have performed all his miracles by his mere word, because he commanded and they were created (Ps 148:5), he frequently used his body in them to show that, as an instrument of his divinity, it held a definite healing power.
Lutum autem fecit ex sputo, ut ostendat se membra homini deficientia posse formare, qui formaverat totum primum hominem. Unde sicut primum hominem de luto formavit, ita lutum fecit ut formaret oculos caeci nati.
He made clay from his spittle to show that he who had formed the entire first man can reform the deficient members of a man. Thus, just as he formed the first man from clay, so he made clay to re-form the eyes of the one born blind.
Linivit autem lutum super oculos caeci nati, ut ostenderet se conditorem corporum, per id quod potissimum est in corporibus. Homo enim inter creaturas corporales praecellentior est; inter membra vero hominis praecellit caput; inter membra autem capitis, oculus excellentior invenitur. Unde Matthaeus VI, 21: lucerna corporis tui est oculus tuus. Formando ergo oculum ceteris corporalibus excellentiorem, ostendit se Creatorem esse totius hominis et naturae corporeae. Dixit autem ei vade, et lava te in natatoria Siloe, ne videretur terra super oculos linita virtutem sanativam oculi habere. Unde quamdiu lutum in oculis habuit, non vidit, sed postquam lavit.
He rubbed the clay on the eyes of the one born blind to show, by healing what is most important in bodies, that he was the creator of bodies. For man is more excellent than all other bodily substances; and among his members, the head is the more excellent; and among the organs of the head, the eye is more excellent than the others: the eye is the lamp of the body (Matt 6:22). Therefore, by repairing the eye, which is more excellent than the other bodily members, he showed that he was the creator of the entire man and of all corporeal nature. He said, go, wash in the pool of Siloam, so that it would not seem that the clay he rubbed on the eyes had the power to heal them. Thus, as long as he had the clay on his eyes, the man did not see, but saw only after he washed.
Misit autem eum longe ad lavandum, scilicet ad natatoria Siloe: primo quidem ad confutandam Iudaeorum duritiam; nam oportebat eum transire civitatem, ut sic omnes viderent eumdem caecum euntem, lutum super oculos habentem, et redeuntem visu suo restituto. Secundo vero ut commendetur caeci obedientia et fides: frequenter enim forte lutum in faciem receperat, frequenter in natatoria Siloe se laverat, et tamen non viderat. Unde potuisset dicere: lutum solet magis excaecare, et multoties me ibidem lavi, et in nullo sum adiutus, sicut de Naaman legitur IV Reg. V, 10 ss. Sed non contradixit, immo simpliciter obedivit. Unde sequitur abiit, et lavit. Ideo autem ad natatoria Siloe eum misit, quia per illam aquam signatus est populus Iudaeorum; Is. VIII, 6: populus iste abiecit aquas Siloe, quae currunt cum silentio. Ut ergo ostendat quod non est alienus ab amore populi Iudaici, ad Siloe mittit eum.
He sent him some distance to wash, to the pool of Siloam, first, to overcome the obstinacy of the Jews. For he had to cross the city, and so all would see the blind man going with the clay on his eyes, and then returning with his sight restored. Second, he did this to acclaim the obedience and faith of the blind man; for perhaps he had frequently had clay put on his face, and had often washed in the pool of Siloam, and yet had not seen. So he could have said: clay usually makes me worse, and I have often washed in the pool but was never helped, as we read of Naaman (2 Kgs 5:10). Yet he did not argue, but simply obeyed. Thus it follows, he went therefore and washed. The reason why he sent him to the pool of Siloam was because the Jewish people were signified by that water: because this people have refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently (Isa 8:6) Therefore, he sent him to Siloam to show that he still loved the Jewish people.
Effectus autem sequitur, quia venit videns. Hoc praedictum fuit Is. XXXV, 5: tunc aperientur oculi caecorum.
The effect follows, because he came back seeing. This was predicted: then the eyes of the blind will be opened (Isa 35:5).
1311. Causam vero mysticam et allegoricam assignat Augustinus, qui dicit, quod per sputum, quod est saliva de capite descendens, signatur verbum Dei, quod a Patre capite omnium rerum procedit; Eccli. c. XXIV, 5: ego ex ore altissimi prodii. Tunc ergo Dominus de sputo et terra lutum fecit, cum verbum caro factum est. Linivit autem oculos caeci, idest humani generis, oculos scilicet cordis, per fidem incarnationis Christi. Sed nondum videbat: quia quando forte inunxit, catechumenum fecit, qui fidem habet, sed nondum est baptizatus. Et ideo mittit eum ad piscinam, quae vocatur Siloe, ut lavetur et illuminetur, idest baptizetur et in Baptismo plenam illuminationem recipiat. Unde, secundum Dionysium, Baptismus dicitur illuminatio; Ez. XXXVI, 25: effundam super vos aquam mundam, et mundabimini ab omnibus inquinamentis vestris. Et ideo signanter hoc Evangelium legitur illo die in Quadragesima quo incipit fieri scrutinium baptizandorum in sabbato sancto. Nec sine causa Evangelista subdit interpretationem piscinae, dicens quod interpretatur missus: quia quicumque baptizantur oportet baptizari in Christo, qui est missus a Patre; Gal. III, 27: quotquot baptizati estis, Christum induistis. Nisi enim ille fuisset missus, nemo nostrum esset ab iniquitate dimissus.
1311. Augustine gives the mystical and allegorical explanation. He says that the spittle, which is saliva that descends from the head, signifies the Word of God, who proceeds from the Father, the head of all things: I came forth from the mouth of the Most High (Sir 24:3). Therefore, the Lord made clay from spittle and the earth when the Word was made flesh. He spread the clay on his eyes, that is, of the human race. And the eyes are the eyes of the heart, anointed by faith in the incarnation of Christ. But the blind man did not yet see, because the anointing produced a catechumen, who has faith but has not yet been baptized. So he sends him to the pool of Siloam to wash and receive his sight, i.e., to be baptized, and in baptism to receive full enlightenment. Thus, according to Dionysius, baptism is an enlightenment: I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you will be clean from all your uncleanness (Ezek 36:25). And so this Gospel is appropriately read in Lent, on Holy Saturday, when those about to be baptized are examined. Nor is it without reason that the Evangelist adds the meaning of the pool, saying, which means sent, because whoever is baptized must be baptized in Christ, who was sent by the Father: as many of you as were baptized in Christ have put on Christ (Gal 3:27). For if Christ had not been sent, none of us would have been freed from sin.
Secundum Gregorium autem, per salivam sapor intimae contemplationi accipitur, quae ad os de capite defluit, quia de caritate conditoris adhuc in hac vita nos positos, gustu revelationis tangit. Unde Dominus salivam luto miscuit, et caeci nati oculos reparavit, quia superna gratia carnalem cogitationem nostram per mixtionem suae contemplationis irradiat, et ab originali caecitate homines ad intellectum reformat etc.
According to Gregory, however, the spittle signifies the savor of intimate contemplation, which flows from the head into the mouth, because due to the love of our Creator we have been touched even in this life with the savor of revelation. Thus the Lord mixed spittle with earth and restored sight to the man born blind, since supernatural grace illuminates our carnal understanding by the admixture of his contemplation, and heals our understanding from its original blindness.
Lectio 2
Lecture 2
Testimonium caeci
The blind man’s testimony
9:8 Itaque vicini, et qui viderant eum prius, quia mendicus erat, dicebant: nonne hic est qui sedebat, et mendicabat? Alii dicebant: quia hic est, [n. 1313]
9:8 Therefore the neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar, said: is this not he who sat and begged? Some said: this is he. [n. 1313]
9:9 alii autem: nequaquam, sed similis est eius. Ille vero dicebat quia: ego sum. [n. 1314]
9:9 Others said: no, but he is like him. But he said: I am he. [n. 1314]
9:10 Dicebant ergo ei: quomodo aperti sunt tibi oculi? [n. 1316]
9:10 Therefore they said to him: how were your eyes opened? [n. 1316]
9:11 Respondit: ille homo qui dicitur Iesus, lutum fecit, et unxit oculos meos, et dixit mihi: vade ad natatoria Siloe, et lava. Et abii, et lavi, et video. [n. 1318]
9:11 He answered: that man who is called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes, and said to me: go to the pool of Siloam and wash. And I went, and I washed, and I see. [n. 1318]
9:12 Et dixerunt ei: ubi est ille? Ait: nescio. [n. 1319]
9:12 And they said to him: where is he? He said: I do not know. [n. 1319]
9:13 Adducunt eum ad Pharisaeos, qui caecus fuerat. [n. 1320]
9:13 They brought him who had been blind to the Pharisees. [n. 1320]
9:14 Erat autem Sabbatum quando lutum fecit Iesus, et aperuit oculos eius. [n. 1322]
9:14 Now it was the Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. [n. 1322]
9:15 Iterum ergo interrogabant eum Pharisaei, quomodo vidisset. Ille autem dixit eis: lutum mihi posuit super oculos, et lavi, et video. [n. 1323]
9:15 Again therefore the Pharisees asked him how he had received his sight. He said to them: he put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see. [n. 1323]
9:16 Dicebant ergo ex Pharisaeis quidam: non est hic homo a Deo, qui Sabbatum non custodit. Alii autem dicebant: quomodo potest homo peccator haec signa facere? et schisma erat inter eos. [n. 1325]
9:16 Some of the Pharisees said: this man is not of God, who does not keep the Sabbath. But others said: how is a man who is a sinner able to do such miracles? And there was division among them. [n. 1325]