St Augustine on lectio divina

Commentary on Psalm 89:

This Psalm is entitled, The prayer of Moses the man of God, through whom, His man, God gave the law to His people, through whom He freed them from the house of slavery, and led them forty years through the wilderness. Moses was therefore the Minister of the Old, and the Prophet of the New Testament. For all these things, says the Apostle, happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, unto whom the ends of the world come. 1 Corinthians 10:11 In accordance therefore with this dispensation which was vouchsafed to Moses, this Psalm is to be examined, as it has received its title from his prayer

On Psalm 36

I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread Psalm 36:25.

If it is spoken but in the person of one single individual, how long is the whole life of one man? And what is there wonderful in the circumstance, that a single man, fixed in some one part of the earth, should not, throughout the whole space of his life, being so short as man's life is, have ever seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread, although he may have advanced from youth to age. It is not anything worthy of marvel; for it might have happened, that before his lifetime there should have been some righteous man seeking bread; it might have happened, that there had been some one in some other part of the earth not where he himself was. Hear too another thing, which makes an impression upon us. Any single one among you (look you) who has now grown old, may perhaps, when, looking back upon the past course of his life, he turns over in his thoughts the persons whom he has known, not find any instance of a righteous man begging bread, or of his seed begging bread, suggest itself to him; but nevertheless he turns to the inspired Scriptures, and finds that righteous Abraham was straitened, and suffered hunger in his own country, and left that land for another; he finds too that the son of the very same man, Isaac, removed to other countries in search of bread, for the same cause of hunger. And how will it be true to say, I have never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread? And if he finds this true in the duration of his own life, he finds it is otherwise in the inspired writings, which are more trustworthy than human life is.

2. What are we to do then? Let us be seconded by your pious attention, so that we may discern the purpose of God in these verses of the Psalm, what it is He would have us understand by them. For there is a fear, lest any unstable person, not capable of understanding the Scriptures spiritually, should appeal to human instances, and should observe the virtuous servants of God to be sometimes in some necessity, and in want, so as to be compelled to beg bread: should particularly call to mind the Apostle Paul, who says, In hunger and thirst; in cold and nakedness; 2 Corinthians 11:27 and should stumble thereat, saying to himself, Is that certainly true which I have been singing? Is that certainly true, which I have been sounding forth in so devout a voice, standing in church? 'I have never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.' Lest he should say in his heart, Scripture deceives us; and all his limbs should be paralyzed to good works: and when those limbs within him, those limbs of the inner man, shall have been paralyzed (which is the more fearful paralysis), he should henceforth leave off from good works, and say to himself, Wherefore do I do good works? Wherefore do I break my bread to the hungry, and clothe the naked, and take home to mine house him who has no shelter, Isaiah 58:7 putting faith in that which is written? 'I have never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread;' whereas I see so many persons who live virtuously, yet for the most part suffering from hunger. But if perhaps I am in error in thinking the man who is living well, and the man who is living ill, to be both of them living well, and if God knows him to be otherwise; that is, knows him, whom I think just, to be unjust, what am I to make of Abraham's case, who is commended by Scripture itself as a righteous person? What am I to make of the Apostle Paul, who says, 'Be followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.' 1 Corinthians 11:1 What? That I should myself be in evils such as he endured, 'In hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness'? 2 Corinthians 11:27

3. Whilst therefore he thus thinks, and while his limbs are paralyzed to the power of good works, can we, my brethren, as it were, lift up the sick of the palsy; and, as it were, lay open the roof of this Scripture, and let him down before the Lord. Luke 5:19 For you observe that it is obscure. If obscure therefore, it is covered. And I behold a certain patient paralytic in mind, and I see this roof, and am convinced that Christ is concealed beneath the roof. Let me, as far as I am able, do that which was praised in those who opened the roof, and let down the sick of the palsy before Christ; that He might say unto him, Son, be of good cheer, your sins be forgiven you. Luke 5:20 For it was so that He made the inner man whole of his palsy, by loosing his sins, by binding fast his faith....

4. But who is the righteous man, who has never been seen forsaken, nor his seed begging bread? If you understand what is meant by bread, you understand who is meant by him. For the bread is the Word of God, which never departs from the righteous man's mouth....See now if holy meditation does 'keep you' in the rumination of this bread, then have you never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

Readings for the Votive Office of St Benedict on Tuesday for October

You can find introductory notes on the old Votive Office of St Benedict here.  The texts for each of the hours can be found as follows:

• I Vespers of St Benedict on Tuesdays;
• Matins of St Benedict on Tuesday;
• Lauds of St Benedict on Tuesdays;
• Prime to None of St Benedict on Tuesdays.

The readings for Matins in October are set out below.

Reading 1: From the second book of Corinthians - If I must glory (it is not expedient indeed): but I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ above fourteen years ago (whether in the body, I know not, or out of the body, I know not; God knoweth), such a one caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man (whether in the body, or out of the body, I know not: God knoweth): That he was caught up into paradise, and heard secret words, which it is not granted to man to utter. For such an one I will glory; but for myself I will glory nothing, but in my infirmities. For though I should have a mind to glory, I shall not be foolish; for I will say the truth. But I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth in me, or any thing he heareth from me. And lest the greatness of the revelations should exalt me, there was given me a sting of my flesh, an angel of Satan, to buffet me. For which thing thrice I besought the Lord, that it might depart from me. And he said to me: My grace is sufficient for thee: for power is made perfect in infirmity.

R: Sanctus Benedictus plus appetiit mala mundi  perpeti quam laudes pro Deo laboribus fatigari * Quam vitae hujus favoribus extolli V: Divina namque praeventus gratia magis ac magis ad superna animo suspirabat R: Quam vitae hujus favoribus extolli

R St Benedict desiring rather the miseries of the world than the praises of men: rather to be wearied with labor for God's sake * than to be exalted with transitory commendation V: For filled greatly with divine grace, his soul aspired to even higher things R: Than to be exalted with transitory commendation

Reading 2: From the Dialogues of St Gregory the Great, Book II (ch 35) - The man of God, Benedict, |97 being diligent in watching, rose early up before the time of matins (his monks being yet at rest) and came to the window of his chamber, where he offered up his prayers to almighty God. Standing there, all on a sudden in the dead of the night, as he looked forth, he saw a light, which banished away the darkness of the night, and glittered with such brightness, that the light which did shine in the midst of darkness was far more clear than the light of the day. Upon this sight a marvellous strange thing followed, for, as himself did afterward report, the whole world, gathered as it were together under one beam of the sun, was presented before his eyes, and whiles the venerable father stood attentively beholding the brightness of that glittering light, he saw the soul of Germanus, Bishop of Capua, in a fiery globe to be carried up by Angels into heaven. Then, desirous to have some witness of this so notable a miracle, he called with a very loud voice Servandus the Deacon twice or thrice by his name, who, troubled at such an unusual crying out of the man of God, went up in all haste, and looking forth saw not anything else, but a little remnant of the light, but wondering at so great a miracle, the man of God told him all in order what he had seen, and sending by and by to the town of Cassino, he commanded the religious man Theoprobus to dispatch one that night to the city of Capua, to learn what was become of Germanus their Bishop: which being done, the messenger found that reverent Prelate departed this life, and enquiring curiously the time, he understood that he died at that very instant, in which the man of God beheld him ascending up to heaven.

R: O laudanda sancti Benedicti merita gloriosa qui dum pro Christo patriam mundique sprevit pompam adeptus omnium contubernium beatorum * Et particeps factus praemiorum aeternorum V: Inter choros confessorum splendidum possidet locum ubi ipsum fontem omnium intuetur bonorum R: Et particeps factus praemiorum aeternorum

O praise the glorious merits of St Benedict who for Christ left his fatherland and the pomp of the world, and arrived at the companionship of all the blessed * And was made a partaker of eternal rewards  V: He holds a splendid place among the chorus of confessors, where he gazes upon the font of all good R: And was made a partaker of eternal rewards

Reading 3: Assure yourself, Peter, of that which I speak: to wit, that all creatures be as it were nothing to that soul which beholdeth the Creator: for though it see but a glimpse of that light which is in the Creator, yet very small do all things seem that be created: for by means of that supernatural light, the capacity of the inward soul is enlarged, and is in God so extended, that it is far above the world: yea and the soul of him that seeth in this manner, is also above itself; for being rapt up in the light of God, it is inwardly in itself enlarged above itself, and when it is so exalted and looketh downward, then doth it comprehend how little all that is, which before in former baseness it could not comprehend. The man of God, therefore, who saw the fiery globe, and the Angels returning to heaven, out of all doubt could not see those things but in the light of God: what marvel, then, is it, if he saw the world gathered together before him, who, rapt up in the light of his soul, was at that time out of the world? But albeit we say that the world was gathered together before his eyes, yet were not heaven and earth drawn into any lesser room than they be of themselves, but the soul of the beholder was more enlarged, which, rapt in God, might without difficulty see that which is under God, and therefore in that light which appeared to his outward eyes, the inward light which was in his soul ravished the mind of the beholder to supernal things, and shewed him how small all earthly things were.

R: Sanctissime confessor Christi Benedicte monachorum pater et dux *  Intercede pro nostra omniumque salute V: Devotae plebi subveni sancta intercessione ut tuis adjuta precibus regna caelestia consequatur R: Intercede pro nostra omniumque salute V: Gloria Patri... V: Devotae plebi subveni sancta intercessione ut tuis adjuta precibus regna caelestia consequatur

R: O Benedict, Most holy confessor of Christ, father and leader of monks * Intercede for us and the salvation of all V: Assist your devoted people with holy intercession so that with the help of your prayers they may reach the heavenly kingdom R: Intercede for us and the salvation of all V: Glory be... R: Intercede for us and the salvation of all

St Gregory the Great's Commentary on Job and lectio divina

This Lent I'm reading (courtesy of a kind gift of two readers of my blogs) St Gregory the Great's commentary on the book of Job, and the introduction, by the always interesting Mark DelCogliano, provides some very nice comments on St Gregory's approach to reading Scripture.

As they are available online by way of a taster for the book, I thought I'd share a couple of extracts with you, as they are well worth considering.

On St Gregory's exegetical method he comments:

In the dedicatory letter to Leander, Gregory reports that the brothers with whom he was living in Constantinople have asked him to give an exposition of the book of Job. They requested that he do three things: (1) reveal the mysteries of its great riches, (2) explain the literal narrative through allegorical interpretations aimed at providing moral reflections, and (3) support his interpretations with proof texts (which should themselves also be explained if they were difficult to understand)...

Gregory does what they requested, but in his own more systematic way. In the same dedicatory letter he explains his approach to interpreting Job. Each passage of Scripture, he says, has a threefold sense: the historical or literal (the meaning of which will be discussed below), the “typical” (more or less what Christians believe or need to believe), and the moral (what Christians need to do). Gregory considered the latter two to be the “hidden” senses of Scripture: they are not clear from the literal or historical sense and can be uncovered or revealed only by allegorical interpretations. In practice these two senses are sometimes hard to distinguish, blending into each other, because for Gregory Christian belief is inseparable from practice.  Gregory takes the threefold sense of Scripture as the basis of his exegetical method and, at least initially, as the organizing principle for each book of his commentary.... 

On elephants and lambs 

Delcogliano continues:

He was convinced that Scripture contained different levels of meaning, so that everyone who read it, regardless of training, intelligence, spiritual insight, or lack thereof, could benefit from it: Just as the Word of God puts to the test those who are learned in his mysteries, so also it often refreshes the simple with clear teaching. It is publicly proclaimed, and it nourishes children; its private suppers hold the minds of the wise in admiration.

Perhaps I might say it is like a river both shallow and deep, in which a lamb walks and an elephant swims. Gregory was clearly an elephant. He knew that plumbing the depths of Scripture and searching into its mysteries required exegetical effort.

Scripture’s obscure passages would only nourish if their meaning could be wrestled from them. Thus he also conceptualized scriptural exegesis as a kind of digestion. He writes in the first book of the Moralia:

For Sacred Scripture is sometimes food and sometimes drink for us. It is food in its obscure passages, for it is broken in exposition, as it were, chewed, and swallowed. It is drink, however, in its easier passages, for it is assimilated just as it is found. . . . It belongs to few people to know the hidden and powerful things, whereas the many understand plain history. Lambs are more plentiful than elephants. Yet the elephant does not swim in the depths of Sacred Scripture merely for his own enjoyment: those possessing the wisdom and requisite skill to penetrate the deep mysteries of Scripture have a responsibility to communicate their insights to the simple lambs. Elephants enable lambs to be nourished by the obscure passages of Scripture; lambs should be given access to all the Scriptures, not simply the plain passages.