The Temple of God is Saintly, and that Temple is you
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Gods Temple is Saintly, and that Temple is you
From an exposition of Psalm 118 by Saint Ambrose, bishop
(Nn. 12.13-14: CSEL 62, 258-259)
(Nn. 12.13-14: CSEL 62, 258-259)
My Father and I will come to fix in him our abode. May they find, then, when they come, the door open. Open your soul; extend the interior of your mind so that it may be possible to contemplate in it the riches of rectitude, treasures of peace, gentleness of grace. Expand your heart; step out for the encounter with the sun of the eternal light that enlightens every man. This true light shines for all, but the one that closes his windows deprives himself of the eternal light. You also, if you close the door of your soul, leave Christ outside. Although He has the power to enter, He does not want to as He does not want to be inopportune; He does not want to obligate by force.
He emerged from the womb of the Virgin like the rising sun, to illuminate with His Light the entire orb of the earth. Receive this Light those who desire the clarity of endless splendor, that clarity that is not interrupted by any night. Indeed, the sun that we see each day, the fogs of the night, follow. Instead, the Sun of Justice never sets, because malice does not happen with wisdom.
Blissful then is the one to whose door Christ calls. Our door is faith, which, if strong and resistant, defends the entire house. Through this door, Christ enters. This is why the Church says in the Canticles of Canticles: The voice of my beloved is calling at the door. Listen to how he calls, how he desires to enter. Open to me, my sister, my beloved, my dove! My head is covered with dew, and my locks of hair with the moisture of the night.
Consider when the one who calls you at your door is none other than the Word of God, being in a state so that His locks of hair are covered with the moisture of the night. He deigns to visit those being tempted or undergoing trials, so that nobody succumbs under the weight of their tribulations. His head is thus covered with dew or moisture when those who are His body are in distress. Therefore, this is the time when you must keep watch so that when the bridegroom comes He may not have to leave. Because: if you are asleep and your heart is not watchful, He might leave without calling for you; but, if your heart is watchful, He calls you and asks you to open the door.
Thus, there is a door in our soul; there are doors in us, of which the Psalm says: Portals! Raise your lintels, arise, ancient doors: the King of glory is going to enter. If you want to raise the lintels of your faith, the King of glory will enter into you, carrying with Himself the triumph of His Passion. Triumph also has its doors, as we hear in the Psalm what the Lord Jesus says by the words of the psalmist: Open up for me the doors of Triumph!
We see therefore that the soul has its own door, to which Christ comes and calls. Open it then: He wishes to enter; He wants to find His Spouse watchfully waiting.
PRAYER
LET US PRAY,
O God, that through the humiliation of your Son you raised fallen humanity, keep your faithful in continual happiness and grant the joys of heaven to those who You have freed from eternal death. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit and is God, for ever and ever. Amen
Translated from the Spanish by Jan Paul von Wendt -
liturgiadelashoras.com.ar
Gods Temple is Saintly, and that Temple is you
From an exposition of Psalm 118 by Saint Ambrose, bishop
(Nn. 12.13-14: CSEL 62, 258-259)
(Nn. 12.13-14: CSEL 62, 258-259)
My Father and I will come to fix in him our abode. May they find, then, when they come, the door open. Open your soul; extend the interior of your mind so that it may be possible to contemplate in it the riches of rectitude, treasures of peace, gentleness of grace. Expand your heart; step out for the encounter with the sun of the eternal light that enlightens every man. This true light shines for all, but the one that closes his windows deprives himself of the eternal light. You also, if you close the door of your soul, leave Christ outside. Although He has the power to enter, He does not want to as He does not want to be inopportune; He does not want to obligate by force.
He emerged from the womb of the Virgin like the rising sun, to illuminate with His Light the entire orb of the earth. Receive this Light those who desire the clarity of endless splendor, that clarity that is not interrupted by any night. Indeed, the sun that we see each day, the fogs of the night, follow. Instead, the Sun of Justice never sets, because malice does not happen with wisdom.
Blissful then is the one to whose door Christ calls. Our door is faith, which, if strong and resistant, defends the entire house. Through this door, Christ enters. This is why the Church says in the Canticles of Canticles: The voice of my beloved is calling at the door. Listen to how he calls, how he desires to enter. Open to me, my sister, my beloved, my dove! My head is covered with dew, and my locks of hair with the moisture of the night.
Consider when the one who calls you at your door is none other than the Word of God, being in a state so that His locks of hair are covered with the moisture of the night. He deigns to visit those being tempted or undergoing trials, so that nobody succumbs under the weight of their tribulations. His head is thus covered with dew or moisture when those who are His body are in distress. Therefore, this is the time when you must keep watch so that when the bridegroom comes He may not have to leave. Because: if you are asleep and your heart is not watchful, He might leave without calling for you; but, if your heart is watchful, He calls you and asks you to open the door.
Thus, there is a door in our soul; there are doors in us, of which the Psalm says: Portals! Raise your lintels, arise, ancient doors: the King of glory is going to enter. If you want to raise the lintels of your faith, the King of glory will enter into you, carrying with Himself the triumph of His Passion. Triumph also has its doors, as we hear in the Psalm what the Lord Jesus says by the words of the psalmist: Open up for me the doors of Triumph!
We see therefore that the soul has its own door, to which Christ comes and calls. Open it then: He wishes to enter; He wants to find His Spouse watchfully waiting.
PRAYER
LET US PRAY,
O God, that through the humiliation of your Son you raised fallen humanity, keep your faithful in continual happiness and grant the joys of heaven to those who You have freed from eternal death. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit and is God, for ever and ever. Amen
Translated from the Spanish by Jan Paul von Wendt -
liturgiadelashoras.com.ar
The Temple of God is Saintly, and that Temple is you - From an exposition of Psalm 118 by Saint Ambrose (340-397), Bishop of Milan - Feast day: December 7
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