On the Sacraments by Saint Ambrose, Bishop of Milan

Latin Text from public domain Migne Editors, Patrologiae Cursus Completus.

Translated into English using ChatGPT.

Table of Contents Book One Chapter I. Chapter II. Caut III. Chapter IV. Chapter V. Chapter VI. Book Two Chapter I. Chapter II. Chapter III. Chapter IV. Chapter V. Chapter VI. Chapter VII. Book Three Chapter I. Chapter II. Book Four Chapter I. Chapter II. Chapter III. Chapter IV. Chapter V. Chapter VI. Book Five Chapter I. Chapter II. Chapter III. Chapter IV. Book Six Chapter I. Chapter II. Chapter III. Chapter IV. Chapter V.

Book One

Chapter I.

When he has sent to do concerning the sacraments, which it was not necessary to explain before, he approaches the mystery of opening, which he teaches designated by Christ in the cure of the deaf and mute.

About the sacraments that you have received, I begin my speech, the reason for which did not need to be mentioned beforehand; for in a Christian man, faith is foremost. Therefore, even in Rome, they are called faithful who have been baptized; and our father Abraham was justified by faith, not by works (Rom. IV, 3). Therefore, you have received baptism, you have believed. It would be wrong for me to consider anything else; for you would not have been called to grace unless Christ had judged you worthy by His grace.


So what did we do on Saturday? Indeed, the opening: which mysteries were celebrated in the opening, when the priest touched the ears and nose. This signifies in the Gospel our Lord Jesus Christ, when a deaf and mute man was brought to Him, and He touched his ears and his mouth, saying: Ephphatha (Mark 7:34). This is a Hebrew word, which in Latin means to open. Therefore, the priest touched your ears so that your ears would be opened to the word and to the conversation with the priest.


But you ask me: Why the nose? There, because he was mute, he touched his mouth; so that because he could not speak the heavenly sacraments, he could receive a voice from Christ. And there, because he was a man; here, because women are baptized, and the purity of the servant is not the same as that of the Lord (for while he forgives sins, the sins of this one are forgiven, what comparison can there be?). Therefore, because of the grace of the work and the gift, the bishop does not touch the mouth, but the nose; so that you may receive the good smell of eternal piety, and so that you may say: For we are the good smell of Christ to God, as the holy Apostle said (II Cor. II, 15); and may there be in you a fragrance full of faith and devotion.

Chapter II.

He explains the function of the Christian athlete, which is to encourage him to maintain the faith of renunciation, amplifying the dignity of the witnesses who were present when it was made, and finally adding light to the matter through example.

We came to the fountain (On the Consecration, dist. 4, c. You Came to the Fountain), you entered: consider whom you saw, consider what you said, repeat diligently. A Levite comes to you, a priest comes to you: you are anointed as an athlete of Christ, as if about to wrestle the struggles of this world, you have declared the contests of your struggle. He who struggles, has something to hope for: where there is struggle, there is a crown. You wrestle in the world, but you are crowned by Christ, and are you crowned for the struggles of the world? For although the reward is in heaven, here the merit of the reward is bestowed.

When he asked you: Do you renounce the devil and his works, what did you respond? I renounce. Do you renounce the world and its pleasures, what did you respond? I renounce. Remember your promise and never let your series of caution slip away. If you give a promissory note to someone, you are bound to him in order to receive his money: you are bound and the reluctant lender binds you; if you refuse, you go to the judge, and there you are convicted by your own caution.


6 and 7. Where you have promised, consider, or to whom you have promised. You have seen the Levite, but he is a minister of Christ. You have seen him ministering before the altars. Therefore, your written document is held not on earth, but in heaven. Consider where you receive the heavenly sacraments. If this is the body of Christ, here are also the angels. Where the body is, there also the eagles, as you have read in the Gospel (Matthew 24:28). Where the body of Christ is, there also the eagles are accustomed to fly; so that they may flee from earthly things and seek heavenly things. Why do I say this? Because both human beings and angels who announce Christ are seen to be assigned a place among the angels. How? Take the example of John the Baptist. John was born of a man and a woman; nevertheless, listen to this: he himself is an angel. 'Behold, I send my angel before your face, who will prepare your way before you' (Matthew 11:10). Take another example from the prophet Malachi: 'The lips of the priest guard knowledge, and people seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts' (Malachi 2:7). These things are said in order to proclaim the glory of the priest, not to attribute anything to personal merits.

Therefore, renounce the world, renounce the age, be diligent. He who owes money always considers his guarantee: and you, who owe faith to Christ, keep faith, which is much more precious than money; for faith is an eternal inheritance, money is temporal. And therefore, always remember what you have promised; and you will be more cautious. If you keep your promise, you will also keep your guarantee.

Caut III.

Although neophytes may only see the fountain and the servants, the author reveals that there are greater things that are not seen.

Then you approached closer: you saw the fountain, you also saw the priest above the fountain. And I cannot doubt that what did not occur to your mind, happened to that Syrian Naaman (IV Kings, 5:11 et seq.); because even though he was cleansed, he still doubted. Why? I will tell you, listen.

You entered, you saw water, you saw the priest, you saw the Levite. Lest perhaps someone may say: Is this the whole? No, it is the whole. Truly the whole, where there is complete innocence, complete piety, complete grace, complete sanctification. You have seen what you were able to see with the eyes of your body, and with human sight: you have not seen those things which they accomplish; because they are not seen. Those things which are not seen are much greater than those which are seen; because those things which are seen are temporal: those which are not seen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18).

Chapter IV.

The sacraments of Christians are more divine and prior than those of the Jews: and therein is the significance of the word 'Pascha'.

Therefore let us first say, keep the caution of my voice, and demand. We wonder at the mysteries of the Jews, which were given to our fathers, first by the ancient sacraments, then by their surpassing holiness. I promise that the sacraments of Christians are more divine and prior than those of the Jews.

What is more remarkable than the fact that the Jewish people crossed the sea? Let us speak for now about baptism. However, those Jews who crossed over all died in the desert. Moreover, (On Consecration, Distinction 4, Chapter On the water of baptism) whoever crosses through this font, that is, from earthly things to heavenly things; this is indeed a crossing, therefore it is called Pascha, that is, His crossing, a crossing from sin to life, from guilt to grace, from pollution to sanctification: whoever crosses through this font does not die, but rises again.

Chapter V.

In the story of the leper Naaman, it is said that only the water that has the grace of Christ can heal. Christ wanted to be baptized for our sake alone. Therefore, the Holy Spirit, appearing in the form of a dove, did not descend on him until he entered the water of the Jordan: in this way, the entire Trinity was present there.

So Naaman, therefore, was a leper, a certain girl said to his wife: If my lord wishes to be cleansed, let him go to the land of Israel, and there he will find someone who can remove his leprosy. His wife said to her mistress, the wife to her husband, Naaman, the king of Syria, who sent him as a very welcome person to the king of Israel. The king of Israel heard that the one who could cleanse his leprosy had been sent to him and tore his clothes. Then the prophet Elisha sent him a message: Why did you tear your clothes, as if there is not a powerful God who can cleanse the leper? Send him to me. He sent him; and when he came, the prophet said to him: Go to the Jordan, immerse yourself, and you will be healed.

He began to think to himself and say: Is this all? I came from Syria to the land of Judah, and it is said to me: Go and descend into the Jordan, immerse yourself, and you will be healed; as if the rivers are not better in my own country. Therefore his servants said to him: Master, why do you not do the word of the prophet? Do more and try. Then he went to the Jordan, immersed himself, and rose healed (2 Kings 5:1 et seq.).

So what does it mean? You saw water: but not all water heals (On the Consecration, dist. 4, chap. On water, § Not all); but the water that has the grace of Christ heals. One thing is the element, another is the consecration: one thing is the work, another is the operation. Water is the work, the operation is of the Holy Spirit. Water does not heal unless the Spirit descends and consecrates that water; as you have read that when our Lord Jesus Christ gave the form of baptism, he came to John and said to him: I ought to be baptized by you, and you come to me! Christ responds to him: Let it be so now. For thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:14-15). See that all righteousness is established in baptism.

Therefore why did Christ descend, if not to cleanse this flesh, the flesh which he assumed from our condition? For the washing of their sins was not necessary for Christ, who did not commit sin: but it was necessary for us, who remain subject to sin. Therefore, if baptism is established for us, it is established as a form of our faith.

Christ descended, and John stood who was baptizing, and behold, as if a dove the Holy Spirit descended. It was not a dove that descended, but as if a dove. Remember what I said: Christ took on flesh, not like flesh; but he took on the truth of that flesh, true flesh Christ took on: But the Holy Spirit did not descend in the truth of a dove, but in the likeness of a dove from heaven. Therefore, John saw and believed.

Christ descended, the Holy Spirit descended as well (De Consec., dist. 4, c. Per aquam, § Descendit). Why did Christ descend first, and then the Holy Spirit, when the form and use of baptism require that the font be consecrated before and then the one to be baptized descends? For when the priest first enters, he performs the exorcism according to the nature of water, then he offers the invocation and prayer, so that the font may be sanctified and the presence of the eternal Trinity may be present: but Christ descended before, and then the Spirit followed. By what reasoning? So that the Lord Jesus Himself would not appear to need the mystery of sanctification, but rather that He Himself would sanctify, and that the Spirit would sanctify as well.

Therefore, Christ descended into the water, and the Holy Spirit descended like a dove (Matthew 3:16). Additionally, God the Father spoke from heaven. You have the presence of the Trinity.

Chapter VI.

The figure of baptism is shown to have preceded the individual parts by the arrangement of the Red Sea. The same is also shown in the flood, with fewer words: after the completion of the first speech, the following is promised.

But the Apostle says that the figure of this baptism appeared in the Red Sea, saying: Because our fathers were all baptized in the cloud and in the sea (I Cor. X, 1, 2). And he added: But all these things happened in figure to them (Ibid., 6): to them in figure, but to us in reality. At that time, Moses held his rod, the people of the Jews were enclosed; the Egyptians were approaching with weapons on one side, and on the other side the Hebrews were closed off by the sea; they could neither cross the sea, nor turn back against the enemy: they began to murmur (Exod. XIV, 21 et seq.).


See, do not let yourself be provoked because they have been heard. Even though the Lord has heard, nevertheless those who complained are not without blame. It is up to you where you are confined, to believe that you will escape, not to complain; to invoke, to pray, not to express complaint.

Moses held a staff and led the people of the Hebrews at night with a pillar of light and during the day with a pillar of cloud. What is light but truth; for it pours forth clear and full illumination? What is the pillar of light but Christ the Lord, who dispelled the darkness of unbelief and infused the light of truth and spiritual grace into human hearts? But the pillar of cloud is indeed the Holy Spirit. The people were in the sea, and the pillar of light went before them; then the pillar of cloud followed, like the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. You see that he demonstrated through the Holy Spirit and through water the symbol of baptism.

In the flood also there was already the figure of baptism, and certainly at that time there were not yet the mysteries of the Jews. Therefore, if the form of this baptism preceded, you see the higher mysteries of the Christians, how much more so the Jews were.

But for now, according to the weakness of our voice and the measure of time, it is enough today to have even tasted the sacred fountain of mysteries. Tomorrow, if the Lord grants me the ability or opportunity to speak, I will disclose more fully. It is necessary that your holiness have attentive ears, a ready mind, so that you may be able to retain what we are able to gather from the series of Scriptures and communicate to you, so that you may have the grace of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. To whom belongs the eternal kingdom, now and forever, and unto all ages of ages.

Book Two

Chapter I.

Resume the explanation of the flood, where it is asserted that it was a true baptism; and briefly discuss other baptisms.

In the flood, also, we began to discuss the prefiguration of baptism. What is the flood (Gen. 7:23) if not the means by which the righteous are preserved for the propagation of righteousness, sin dies? Therefore, the Lord, seeing the sins of men multiplying, saved only the righteous with their progeny; but He commanded water to rise above the mountains as well. And so, in that flood, all corruption of the flesh perished, only the lineage and form of the righteous remained. Is this not the flood, which is baptism; by which all sins are washed away, only the righteous mind and grace are revived?

There are many kinds of baptisms, but one baptism, declares the Apostle (Ephes. IV, 5). Why? There are baptisms of the Gentiles, but they are not true baptisms. They are washings, but they cannot be baptisms. The body is washed, but the guilt is not washed away; indeed, in that washing it is contracted. However, there were baptisms of the Jews (Marc. VII, 8), some excessive, some symbolic. And the symbol itself benefits us, because it is a messenger of truth.

Chapter II.

The healing of the Pool of Bethesda, stirred by an angel, and the response of the paralyzed man to Christ, are recounted.

What was read yesterday? The Angel, he said, came down into the pool at certain times, and whoever went in first after the stirring of the water was healed from whatever sickness he had. (John 5:4) This signifies the figure of our Lord Jesus Christ to come.

Why the Angel? For he is the Angel of great counsel (Isaiah IX, 6). According to the time that was kept for the last hour, so that at the very setting it might catch the day, and defer the setting. Therefore, as often as the Angel descended, the water was moved. You might ask: Why is it not moved now? Hear why? Signs for unbelievers, faith for believers (I Cor. XIV, 22).

The one who descended first was healed of every infirmity. Who is the first, in time or in honor? Understand both. If in time, the one who descended first was healed before, that is, more from the people of the Jews than from the people of the nations. If in honor, the one who descended first, that is, the one who had the fear of God, the pursuit of justice, the grace of charity, the desire for chastity; he himself was more healed. However, at that time only one was healed, then, I say, in the form of time, the one who descended first alone was cured. How great is the grace of the Church in which all are saved, whoever may enter?

But behold the mystery. Our Lord Jesus Christ came to the pool, and many sick people were lying there. And there were many sick people lying there easily, where only one was healed. Then he said to the paralyzed man: Get up. He said: I have no man (John V, 7). See where you are being baptized. From where is baptism, if not from the cross of Christ, from the death of Christ? There is every mystery, because he suffered for you. In him you are redeemed, in him you are saved.


He said, I do not have a man; that is, because through a man is death, and through a man is the resurrection of the dead (I Cor. 19:21). He could not descend, he could not be saved, who did not believe that our Lord Jesus had taken flesh from the Virgin. But this one who was waiting for the mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, expecting him of whom it was said: And the Lord will send a man to save them (Isaiah 19:4); he said: I do not have a man; and therefore he deserved to come to health, because he believed in the one who was coming. However, it would have been better and more perfect if he had believed that the one he hoped would come had already arrived.

Chapter III.

Having recounted some of the history of Naaman, he then proceeds to describe several other figures of the same sacrament.

Now consider each point. We mentioned that the figure had gone ahead in the Jordan, when Naaman the leper was cleansed. That girl from among the captives (2 Kings 5:5), unless she who had the appearance of the Church and represented a figure? For the captive was the people of the nations, they were captive, I do not say held captive under any particular nation: but I say that captivity which is greater, when the devil with his cruel dominion rules and subjects the necks of sinners to himself.


Therefore you have one baptism, another in the flood, you have a third kind, when the fathers were baptized in the Red Sea, you have a fourth kind in the pool, when the water was stirred. Now I advise you whether you should believe because you have the presence of the Trinity in this baptism, by which one is baptized in the Church.

Chapter IV.

The Author presents two figures of baptism; one in the iron that floated at the prayer of Elisha, and the other in the fountain which, with wood thrown in, became sweet.

Therefore, our Lord Jesus Christ says in his Gospel to the Apostles: Go, baptize all nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). This is the sermon of the Savior.

Tell me, O man! Elijah called down fire from heaven, and fire came down from heaven (1 Kings 18:38). Elisha called upon the name of the Lord, and the iron axe head that had sunk into the water came up (2 Kings 6:6). Behold another kind of baptism. Why? Because every person, before baptism, is pressed down and submerged like iron; but once baptized, they are not like iron, but rather like the lighter form of fruitful wood that is lifted up. Therefore, here is another representation. There was an axe with which the wood was being chopped. The head of the axe fell off, that is, the iron was immersed. The son of the prophet did not know what to do: but he only knew to ask the prophet Elisha and request a remedy. Then he sent the wood, and the iron was lifted up. Do you see, therefore, that on the cross of Christ the weakness of all humanity is lifted up?

Another thing, although we do not maintain the order; for who can comprehend all the works of Christ? Just as the apostles said (John 21:25). When Moses came into the desert and the people sat down, and they came to the fountain of Merrha, and desired to drink water, because when he first drank, he sensed bitterness and could not drink; therefore Moses put wood into the fountain, and the water which was bitter before began to sweeten (Exodus 15:23 et seq.).

What does it mean, if not that every creature is subject to corruption, bitter water is for everyone. Although it is sweet for a time, although it is pleasant for a time; however, it is bitter, as it cannot take away sin. Where you drink, you will be thirsty: where you start to drink, you will feel sweetness, but again bitterness. Therefore, the water is bitter: but where is the cross of Christ, where you receive the heavenly sacrament, it begins to be sweet and pleasant: and rightfully sweet, in which guilt is revoked. Therefore, if the sacraments had such power in their outward form, how much more power does the sacrament have in its truth?

Chapter V.

He confirms that the Trinity is present at the priest's prayers and gathers from the higher powers, and from the physical forms through which the Holy Spirit is said to descend into Christ and the disciples.

Now, let us consider. The priest comes (De Consec., dist. 4, cap. The priest comes), says a prayer at the font, invokes the name of the Father, the presence of the Son and the Holy Spirit: he uses celestial words. What celestial words? They are Christ's, that we may baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. If, therefore, the presence of the Trinity was present at the speech of men and the invocation of the Holy, how much more is it present there, where eternal speech operates? Do you want to know why the Spirit descended? Did you hear that He descended like a dove (Matt. III, 16)? Why like a dove? So that the unbelievers would be called to faith. In the beginning, there had to be a sign, but in later times there must be perfection.

Take another example: After the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, the apostles were in one place, and they were praying on the day of Pentecost; and suddenly there was a loud noise, as if a strong wind were blowing, and tongues appeared, like fire (Acts II, 2, 3). What does this mean, if not the descent of the Holy Spirit, who wanted to show himself even physically to the unbelievers, that is, physically by a sign, spiritually by a sacrament? Therefore, clear evidence of his coming is given, but to us the prerogative of faith is already bestowed; for in the beginning signs were given to unbelievers, but now in the fullness of the Church truth must be gathered not by a sign, but by faith.

Chapter VI.

When the sentence of death had been pronounced against men on account of sin, baptism is found to be established for the purpose of their resurrection.

Now let us discuss what is called baptism. You came to the font, you descended into it, you observed the high priest, the deacon, and the presbyter at the font. What is baptism?

In the beginning, our God created man so that if he did not taste sin, he would not die. He contracted sin, became subject to death, and was expelled from paradise. But the Lord, who wanted his benefits to remain and to abolish all the snares of the serpent, and to annul everything that harmed; first, indeed, pronounced a sentence against man: You are dust, and to dust you shall return (Gen. III, 19); and made man subject to death. It was a divine decree that could not be fulfilled by human condition. The remedy given was for man to die and rise again. Why? So that what had yielded its place to condemnation may yield its place to the benefit. What is that if not death? You ask how? Because death, intervening, puts an end to sin. For when we die, we certainly cease to sin. Therefore, it seemed that the sentence was satisfied, because the man who was made to live, if he did not sin, began to die. But in order for man to persevere in the perpetual grace of God, he died; but Christ found resurrection, that is, to restore the heavenly blessing that was lost by the deceit of the serpent. Therefore, both are for us; because death is the end of sins, and resurrection is the reforming of nature.

However, in order to prevent the fraud and deceit of the devil from prevailing in this world, baptism was instituted. Concerning this baptism, listen to what the Scripture says, or rather, the Son of God, because the Pharisees who refused to be baptized with John's baptism rejected the counsel of God (Luke 7:30). Therefore, baptism is the counsel of God. How great is the grace where the counsel of God is!

Therefore, listen: so that in this age also the bond of the devil may be dissolved, it was discovered how a living man would die, and rise again while still alive. What is a living man? It is the life of the living body, when it comes to the fountain, and is immersed in the fountain. What is water, if not from the earth? Therefore, the heavenly sentence is satisfied without the stupor of death. That sentence is dissolved by immersion: You are dust, and to dust you shall return (Gen. III, 19); the sentence is fulfilled, and there is a place for heavenly blessing and remedy. Therefore, water from the earth, but the possibility of our life did not allow us to be covered by the earth and to rise from the earth. Then, it is not the earth that cleanses, but water cleanses; therefore, the fountain is like a burial place.

Chapter VII.

An example of triple questioning and immersion emerged in Peter's threefold response. Therefore, since the entire Trinity forgives sins, it is said that there is one name in which we must be saved; and by what means do we participate in Christ's baptism and anointing into eternal life?

You were asked: Do you believe in God the Father Almighty? You said: I believe, and you were immersed, that is, you were buried. You were asked again: Do you believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, and in His cross? You said: I believe, and you were immersed; therefore, you were also buried with Christ: for whoever is buried with Christ, rises with Christ. You were asked for the third time: Do you also believe in the Holy Spirit? You said: I believe, and were immersed for the third time, so that the triple confession might absolve the multiple lapse of an earlier age.


Finally, as an example for you, the holy apostle Peter, after appearing weak in the weakness of human condition during the passion of the Lord, who had previously denied, later to efface and dissolve that fall, is questioned for the third time by Christ if he loved Him; then he says: You know, Lord, that I love You (John 21:15 et seq.). He said it a third time, so that he might be absolved for the third time.

Therefore the Father forgives sin, just as the Son forgives sin, and so does the Holy Spirit. However, we are commanded to be baptized in one name, that is, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Do not be surprised that he said one name where there is one substance, one divinity, one majesty. This is the name of which it is said: In which it is necessary for everyone to be saved (Acts 4:12). In this name you all have been saved, you have been restored to the grace of life.


Therefore the Apostle cries out, as you have heard in the current reading: For whoever is baptized, is baptized in the death of Jesus (Rom. 6:3 ff). What is meant by 'in death'? That just as Christ died, so you too may taste death: just as Christ died to sin and lives to God; so may you die to the former enticements of sins through the sacrament of baptism, and rise again through the grace of Christ. It is death, indeed, but not in the truth of bodily death, rather in its likeness. For when you immerse yourself, you take on the likeness of death and burial: you receive the sacrament of that cross which Christ hung on, and His body was pierced with nails. So when you are crucified, you adhere to Christ, you adhere to the nail of our Lord Jesus Christ; lest the devil can drag you away. May the nail of Christ hold you, which recalls the weakness of human condition.

Therefore, you were baptized (On the Consecration, dist. 4, ch. Baptized), you came to the priest: what did he say to you? God, he said, the almighty Father who regenerated you through water and the Holy Spirit, and who forgave you your sins, will anoint you himself with eternal life. See where you have been anointed: with eternal life, he said. Do not prefer this life to that life. For example, if an enemy arises, if he wants to take away your faith, if he threatens death in order to make someone transgress, see what you choose: do not choose that in which you have not been anointed, but choose that in which you have been anointed; so that you may prefer eternal life to temporal life. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Book Three

Chapter I.

Why do those who have been plunged and brought back to life in baptism receive anointing on the head, and what is regeneration: by what means should we also imitate the nature of a fish in the sea of this world? Likewise, the usefulness of the mystery of foot-washing, although it does not obtain in the Roman Church, is declared to be not insignificant.

Yesterday we debated about the fountain, the appearance of which is like the form of a tomb; into which, believing in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, we are received and immersed and rise again, that is, we are resurrected. But you receive the oil, that is, the ointment, on your head (On the Consecration of the Chalice, Distinction 8, chapter You Have Received the Mystery). Why on the head? Because the senses of the wise are in their head, as Solomon says (Ecclesiastes 2:14); for wisdom is cold without grace: but when wisdom receives grace, then its work begins to be perfected. This is called regeneration.

What is regeneration? In the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 13:33), there is a verse that is quoted from Psalm 2: 'You are my Son, today I have begotten you,' which seems to refer to the resurrection. The holy apostle Peter interpreted in the Acts of the Apostles that when the Son rose from the dead, the voice of the Father revealed the truth: 'You are my Son, today I have begotten you' (Psalm 2:7). And so the firstborn from the dead is called. Therefore, what is resurrection, if not when we rise from death to life? So likewise in baptism, since it is a likeness of death, without a doubt, when you are immersed and rise again, it becomes a likeness of resurrection. Therefore, according to the interpretation of the apostle Peter, just as that resurrection was a regeneration, so is this resurrection a regeneration.

But what do you say about dipping into the water? Is it because you are a foreigner, is that why you are hesitant? We do indeed read: Let the earth bring forth the green herb (Gen. II, 11). Likewise, you have also read about the waters: Let the waters bring forth creatures (Ibid, 20), and creatures were born. Those were indeed creatures at the beginning: but it is reserved for you, that water may regenerate you unto grace, as it has generated others unto life. Imitate that fish that has obtained a lesser grace indeed; but it should still be a marvel to you. In the sea it is and above the waves it is: in the sea it is and it swims above the waves. In the sea the storm rages, the gales howl: but the fish swims, it is not submerged; because it is accustomed to swimming. Therefore, to you also this world is like the sea. It has various waves, heavy waves, fierce storms. And you, be like a fish, so that the wave of the world does not engulf you. Beautifully, however, the Father says to the Son: Today I have begotten you (Psalm II, 7), that is, when you redeemed the people, when you called them to the kingdom of heaven, when you fulfilled my will, you proved to be my Son.


You ascended from the fountain, what followed? You heard the reading. The high priest, though the presbyters also do it, nevertheless the beginning of the ministry is from the high priest. The high priest, I say, washed your feet. What is this mystery? You surely heard that when the Lord had washed the feet of the other disciples, he came to Peter and Peter said to him: 'Do you wash my feet?' (John 13:8). Is this, you the Lord washing the feet of a servant? Do you, the immaculate one, wash my feet? Do you, the creator of the heavens, wash my feet? Do you have this elsewhere: He came to John and John said to him: I should be baptized by you, and you come to me (Matt. III, 14)? I am a sinner, and you come to me, a sinner, to wash away your sins as if you had not committed any sins? See all righteousness, see humility, see grace, see sanctification: Unless I wash your feet, he says, you will not have any part with me.


We do not ignore that the Roman Church does not have this custom, whose type we follow in all things and its form: however, it does not have this custom of washing feet. See therefore, perhaps on account of the multitude, it declined. Nevertheless, there are those who say and attempt to excuse, because this is not to be done in a mystery, not in baptism, not in regeneration: but as if the feet of a guest were to be washed. Humility is one thing, sanctification is another. Finally, listen because it is a mystery and sanctification: Unless I wash your feet, you will not have a share with me (John XIII, 8). I say this for a reason, not because I am reproaching others, but to commend my own duties. In all things, I desire to follow the Roman Church, but we humans also have our own judgement; therefore, when something is more rightly observed elsewhere, we also observe it more rightly.

We follow the apostle Peter, we cling to his devotion. What does the Roman Church respond to this? Certainly Peter himself is the author of this assertion for us, Peter the apostle, who was a priest of the Roman Church. Peter himself says: Lord, not only the feet, but also the hands and the head (Ibid., 9). See the faith. What he excused before was humility; what he offered afterwards was devotion and faith.

The Lord responded to him, because he said hand and head: The one who has washed does not need to wash again, except to wash only the feet (Ibid., 10). Why is this? Because in baptism all sin is washed away. Therefore, sin is removed: but because Adam was deceived by the devil (Gen. III, 6), and poison was poured upon his feet, you wash the feet; so that in the part where the serpent laid its ambush, a greater assistance of sanctification may be added, so that it cannot deceive you thereafter. Therefore, wash your feet, so that you may wash away the poison of the serpent. It also leads to humility, so that we may not be ashamed in the mystery of that which we scorn in service.

Chapter II.

The baptized are signed with the Holy Spirit, to whom all virtues belong, but in a certain special right, seven especially pertain: to the same baptized, when he approaches the altar, his blind eyes, described in the Gospel of John, are anointed with mud, by which the confession of sins is signified; in this place, with those who deny themselves to be sinners confuted, it is shown that the eyes are opened to see spiritual things by this imposition of mud.

Following is the spiritual sign that you have heard today being read (De Consec., dist. 4, c. Accepisti, § Sequitur); for after the font it remains for perfection to be made; when at the priest's invocation the Holy Spirit is poured out, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and fortitude, the Spirit of knowledge and piety, the Spirit of the fear of the Holy Spirit: the seven quasi virtues of the Spirit (Isaiah XI, 2).

And indeed all virtues pertain to the Spirit, but these are like the cardinal virtues, like the principal ones. For what is so principal as piety? What is so principal as the knowledge of God? What is so principal as virtue? What is so principal as the counsel of God? What is so principal as the fear of God? Just as the fear of the world is weakness, so the fear of God is great strength.

These are the seven virtues when you enumerate them. For as the holy Apostle says: 'Because the wisdom of our God is manifold' (Ephesians 3:10). And just as the wisdom of God is manifold, so is the Holy Spirit manifold, who has diverse and varied virtues. Therefore, God is also called the God of virtues, which can be attributed to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But this is a discussion for another time, and another occasion.


After this, what follows? You have come to the altar (Ps. 79:5). Because you have come, you have the ability to see what you did not see before, that is, the mystery that you read in the Gospel; if indeed you have not read, surely you have heard. The blind man offered himself to the Savior to be healed: and He, who healed others only with a word and a command, restored the light of his eyes; yet in the Gospel book that is written according to John, who truly saw great mysteries above all others, and pointed them out, and explained them; this mystery he wanted to foreshadow in him. Indeed, all the holy evangelists, all the apostles except for the traitor, all the saints; however, Saint John, who wrote the Gospel last, as though necessary, requested and chosen by Christ, with a greater trumpet, poured out eternal mysteries. Whatever he spoke, it is a mystery. Another one said that a blind man was healed, said Matthew, said Luke, said Mark: what does John alone say? He took clay and spread it on his eyes, and said to him: Go to the pool of Siloam. And he arose and went, and washed, and came seeing (John 9:6, 7).

Consider also the eyes of your heart. You saw what is physical with physical eyes, but what is sacramental you could not yet see with the eyes of your heart. Therefore, when you gave your name, he took clay and anointed your eyes. What does this signify? That you should confess your sin, recognize your conscience, and repent of your offenses. In other words, that you should acknowledge the condition of the human race. For even if one who comes to baptism does not confess their sin, by seeking to be baptized, they fulfill the confession of all sins, that they may be justified, that is, that they may pass from guilt to grace.


Do not think that it is idle. There are some, I know for certain that there was someone who said, when we would say to them: In this age you should be baptized more, he would say: Why should I be baptized? I do not have sin. Have I contracted sin? This mud did not have, which Christ did not remove from him, that is, he did not open his eyes to it; for no man is without sin.

Therefore, he recognizes himself as a human who seeks refuge in the baptism of Christ. And so, he put clay on you, that is, modesty, prudence, consideration of your weakness; and he said to you: Go to Siloam. What is Siloam? It is translated as 'sent', that is: Go to that fountain in which the cross of the Lord is proclaimed: go to that fountain in which Christ redeemed the errors of all.

You, who have been baptized, have come to the altar, and have begun to see things which you had not seen before. This happened when your eyes were opened by the fountain of the Lord and the preaching of His passion. You, who were blind in heart, have begun to see the light of the sacraments. Therefore, beloved brethren, we have come to the altar for a more extensive discourse. And because time does not permit us to begin a complete discussion now, it is enough that what has been said today has been said; and tomorrow, if it pleases the Lord, we will discuss the sacraments themselves.

Book Four

Chapter I.

According to the old law of the Tabernacle and the customs that were observed there, the baptismal font and the effects of baptism are adapted.

In the old Testament, the priests used to enter frequently into the first tabernacle: the high priest entered the second tabernacle once a year (Lev. XVI, 2 et seq.). The apostle Paul explains this clearly, recalling the series of the old Testament to the Hebrews (Heb. IX, 1 et seq.). In the second tabernacle, there was manna, there was also Aaron's rod that blossomed, and there was incense.


To what does this refer? So that you may understand what is according to the tabernacle, into which the priest has led you, into which the high priest used to enter once a year, that is, to the baptistery, where Aaron's rod blossomed (Num. XVII, 8). Before it was dry, afterwards it blossomed again: and you were dry, and you began to flourish in the irrigating fountain. You had withered by sins, you had withered by errors and offenses: but you have now begun to bear fruit, planted beside the streams of waters.


But perhaps you would say: What does this have to do with the people, if the rod of the priest had blossomed and flourished? The people themselves are none other than the priestly. To whom it was said: But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, as the apostle Peter says (1 Peter 2:9). Each one is anointed into the priesthood, and is also anointed into the kingdom: but it is a spiritual kingdom, and a spiritual priesthood.

In the second tabernacle also there is a thurible (Heb. IX, 4), which is accustomed to emit a good fragrance; so too you now are a good odor of Christ, now no longer is there in you the lot of sins, no longer the scent of weighty error.

Chapter II.

In baptism, the condition of the human person is a source of admiration for the angels themselves; for through it, one is restored to the grace of innocence and youthfulness.

It follows that you come to the altar. You have begun to come: the angels looked on, they saw you coming, and suddenly they saw that human condition, which before was smeared with the dark filth of sins, shining forth. And so they said: Who is this that comes up from the desert, white as snow? (Song of Songs 8:5) Therefore the angels marvel. Do you want to know why they marvel? Listen then to the Apostle Paul saying that things have been revealed to us that the angels desire to see. (1 Peter 1:12) And again: What no eye has seen, nor ear heard . . . . . what God has prepared for those who love him (1 Corinthians 2:9).

Then recognize what you have received. Saint David the prophet saw and desired this grace in figure. Do you want to know why he desired it? Hear again the saying: You shall sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: You shall wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow (Ps. 50:9). Why? Because snow, although it is white, quickly becomes blackened and corrupted by some dirt: this grace that you have received, if you hold onto what you have received, will be lasting and perpetual.


So, you came desiring to approach the altar, since you had seen such great grace; you came desiring to approach the altar, where you would receive the sacrament. Let your soul say: I will go in to the altar of my God, to God who gives joy to my youth (Psalm 42:4). You have cast off the old age of sins, you have taken on the youthfulness of grace; this is what the heavenly sacraments have accomplished for you. Lastly, hear again what David says: Your youth will be renewed like the eagle's (Psalm 103:5). You have begun to be a good eagle, who seek heaven; you despise earthly things. Good eagles around the altar: Where the body is, there the eagles will be (Matthew 24:28). The form of the body is the altar, and the body of Christ is on the altar: you are the eagles, having been renewed by the cleansing of sin.

Chapter III.

He demonstrates that our sacraments are both more ancient and more divine than those of the Jews, by comparing the first part of the institution between Melchizedek and Abraham; where he clearly shows that Melchizedek was both the author of our mysteries and a prefiguration of Christ.

You came to the altar, you saw the sacraments placed on the altar, and indeed you marveled at the very creature; yet a solemn and well-known creature.

Perhaps someone might say: God bestowed such great grace on the Jews that manna rained down for them from heaven (Exod. XVI, 13): what more has God given to his faithful, what more has he granted to those to whom he has made greater promises?

Receive what I say, that the mysteries of Christians are more ancient than those of the Jews, and the sacraments of Christians are more divine than those of the Jews. How so? Receive. When did the Jews begin to exist? From Judah, surely, the great-grandson of Abraham; or, if you prefer to understand it in this way, from the Law, that is, when the Jews began to receive the Law. Therefore, the Jews were called so from the great-grandson of Abraham, or from the time of holy Moses. And if at that time God, with the Jews murmuring, rained manna from heaven, for you, however, the figure of these sacraments preceded, when Abraham was, when he gathered three hundred and eighteen born servants, and pursued your adversaries, delivering his grandson from captivity; then the victorious one came, Melchizedek the priest met him, and offered him bread and wine (Gen. XIV, 18). Who had bread and wine? Abraham did not have. But who had? Melchizedek. He is therefore the author of the sacraments (Heb. VII, 1 et seq.). Who is Melchizedek? He is the one who is signified as the king of righteousness, the king of peace. Who is this king of righteousness? Can any man be the king of righteousness? Therefore, who is the king of righteousness, if not the justice of God, who is the peace of God, the wisdom of God? Who could say: My peace I give to you, my peace I leave with you (John. XIV, 27).


Therefore, first understand that the sacraments which you receive are more ancient than the sacraments of Moses, whatever the Jews claim to have; and that the Christian people began before the Jewish people: but we in predestination, they in name.

Therefore Melchizedek offered bread and wine. Who is Melchizedek? Without father, he said, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life: this is said in the Epistle to the Hebrews. Without father, he said, and without mother he is. Similar to whom? The Son of God. Without mother he was born of God, born in a heavenly generation, because he was born only of God the Father: and again without father he was born, when he was born of the Virgin; for he was not generated from male seed: but he was born of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:20) and the Virgin Mary, being born in a virginally conceived womb, similar in all ways to the Son of God. The priest was also Melchizedek; because Christ is also a priest, of whom it is said: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4).

Chapter IV.

In order to convince that this sacrament is to be held more divinely than manna, Christ himself asserts that the bread itself becomes his body by the same word of Christ: which, after various effects were produced, by which the efficacy of the same word is evident, he confirmed; he gives the reason why the blood is given under another species.

So, who is the author of the sacraments if not the Lord Jesus? These sacraments came from heaven, for every plan is from heaven. Truly, it is a great and divine miracle that God rained manna from heaven for the people, and the people did not labor yet ate.

You may say: My bread is ordinary. But that bread is bread before the words of the sacraments (On Consecration, dist. 2, c. It is bread): when consecration takes place, bread becomes the flesh of Christ. Let us now explain this. How can he who is bread be the body of Christ? Through consecration. But by what words is consecration effected, by whose words? By the words of the Lord Jesus. For all the other things that are said in the preceding context, they are said by the priest, praises are offered to God, prayer is made for the people, for kings, for others; but when one comes to the point of celebrating the venerable sacrament, the priest no longer uses his own words, but he uses the words of Christ. Therefore, the word of Christ completes this sacrament.

What is the word of Christ? Truly, it is the word by which all things were made. The Lord commanded, and the heavens were made; the Lord commanded, and the earth was made; the Lord commanded, and the seas were made. The Lord commanded, and every created creature came into existence (Gen. I, 1 et seq.). Therefore, you see how effective the word of Christ is. If there is such power in the word of the Lord Jesus that things that did not exist began to exist, how much more effective is it that things that existed should be changed into something else? There was no sky, there was no sea, there was no earth; but hear David saying: He himself spoke, and they were made: he himself commanded, and they were created (Psalm 148:5).

So, in order to answer you, the body of Christ was not present before the consecration, but after the consecration I tell you that it is now the body of Christ. He himself said it, and it happened. He himself commanded it, and it was created. You were yourself, but you were an old creature: after being consecrated, you began to be a new creature. Do you want to know how new? Everyone, he says, is a new creature in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).

Therefore, understand how the speech of Christ has the power to change and alter every created thing, and how it changes the established laws of nature as it wishes. How do you ask? Understand, first of all, the example of his birth. It is the custom that a man is not born unless from a man and a woman, through the bond of marriage: but because the Lord willed it, and because he chose this mystery, Christ was born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, that is, the mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus (I Tim. II, 5). Do you see, therefore, that because it is contrary to nature and order, man is born from a Virgin?

Take another example. The people of the Jews were being pursued by the Egyptians and were cut off by the sea. By divine command, Moses touched the waters with his rod, and the sea divided itself, not according to its natural custom, but by the grace of the heavenly command (Exodus 14:21 et seq.). Take another example. The people were thirsty and came to a well. The well was bitter, so the holy Moses threw a log into the well, and it became sweet, even though it was bitter. That is, it changed its natural condition and received the sweetness of grace (Exodus 15:23 et seq.). Take the fourth example. The iron axe had fallen into the waters, as if the iron had sunk according to its usual nature: Elisha threw wood into the water, and immediately the iron floated and emerged from the waters (2 Kings 6:6), contrary to the nature of iron; for its material is heavier than the element of water.

Therefore, do you not understand how much the heavenly word operates among all these things? If the word operates in earthly matters, if the heavenly word operates in other things, does it not operate in heavenly Sacraments? Therefore, you have learned that the body of Christ is made from bread, and that wine and water are placed in the chalice: but blood is made by the consecration of the heavenly word (On Consecration, distinction 2, chapter Bread, section Therefore, and section But perhaps).

But perhaps you say: I do not see the appearance of blood. But it has a likeness: for just as you received the likeness of death, so also you drink the likeness of precious blood; so that there is no horror of blood, and yet the price of redemption is accomplished. Therefore, you have learned that what you receive is the body of Christ.

Chapter V.

With the very words of the Lord, his body and blood are consecrated and truly made present; hence it can be well understood that this sacrament excels manna, the truth of which is confirmed by the word, Amen.

Do you want to know why it is consecrated with heavenly words? Receive the words. The priest says: 'Make this offering written, ratified, reasonable, acceptable, which is the figure of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Who, on the day before he suffered, took bread into his holy hands, looked up to you, holy Father almighty, eternal God, giving thanks, he blessed it, broke it, and gave it to his apostles and disciples, saying: Take and eat all of you from this; for this is my body which will be broken for many.' (Luke 22:19).


Similarly, also, after supper, on the eve of his passion, he took the chalice, looked up to heaven to you, holy Father, almighty and eternal God, giving thanks, he blessed it, and gave it to his apostles and disciples, saying: Take and drink of this, all of you; for this is my blood. (Matt. XXVI, 27, 28). See all of that. Those words of the evangelist go up to 'Take', whether the body or the blood. Here are the words of Christ: Take, and drink from this all of you; for this is my blood. And see each one.

He took bread in his holy hands the day before he suffered. Before it is consecrated, it is bread; but when the words of Christ have been spoken, it becomes the body of Christ. Finally, listen to him saying: Take and eat of this all of you; for this is my body. And before the words of Christ, the cup is full of wine and water: when the words of Christ have been spoken, there the blood of Christ is made, which redeemed the people. Therefore, see how mighty is the word of Christ in converting all things. Then the Lord Jesus himself testifies to us that we should receive his body and blood. Should we doubt his faith and testimony?

Now return with me to my proposition. Great indeed and venerable is the fact that manna rained down from heaven for the Jews (Exod. XVI, 13): but understand. What is greater, manna from heaven or the body of Christ? Surely the body of Christ, who is the author of heaven. Furthermore, the manna that was eaten, died: whoever eats this body, will have forgiveness of sins and will not die eternally (De Consec., dist. 2, c. Ante, § Qui manduc.)

Therefore, you do not say in vain: Amen, now in spirit confessing that you receive the body of Christ. The priest says to you: The body of Christ; and you say: Amen, that is, true. Let the confession of the tongue be held by the heart.

Chapter VI.

The excellence of this sacrament having been proven, that through it the Passion of the Lord is renewed on Sunday, he concludes his sermon, forewarning strictly about the matter to be dealt with in the coming days.

In order for you to know that this is indeed a sacrament, its figure precedes. Then understand how great the sacrament is. See what He says: As often as you do this, you shall do it in remembrance of me, until I come again (1 Corinthians 11:26).

And the priest says: Therefore, remembering His most glorious passion, and His resurrection from the dead, and His ascension into heaven, we offer to You this spotless host, this reasonable host, this unbloody host, this holy bread and the cup of eternal life. And we ask and pray that You may accept this offering on Your sublime altar, through the hands of Your angels, as You graciously accepted the gifts of Your righteous servant Abel and the sacrifice of our patriarch Abraham, and what the high priest Melchizedek offered to You.


Therefore, whenever you receive, what does the Apostle say to you? Whenever we receive, we proclaim the death of the Lord. If we proclaim his death, we proclaim the forgiveness of sins. Whenever his blood is poured out, it is poured out for the forgiveness of sins; I must always receive it, so that my sins are always forgiven. As I always sin, I must always have the medicine.

In the meantime, today as much as we could, we have explained: but tomorrow, on Saturday and Sunday, we will speak about the order of prayer, as we are able. May our Lord God preserve for you the grace He has given, and may He deign to fully illuminate the eyes He has opened for you, through His only-begotten Son, our king and savior, the Lord our God, by whom, and with whom, there is praise, honor, glory, magnificence, power, with the Holy Spirit, forever and ever, from the ages, and now, and always, and for all ages to come. Amen.

Book Five

Chapter I.

First, he repeats what has already been said about the sacrament, and therefore that the figure of Christ himself and his sacrifice preceded in Melchizedek. Then he presents the two-fold reason why water is mixed in the chalice.

Yesterday our conversation and discussion was directed all the way to the sacraments of the holy altar. And we came to know that the figure of these sacraments preceded the time of Abraham, when the holy Melchizedek offered sacrifice (Gen. XIV, 18), having neither beginning nor end of days. Listen, man, what Paul the apostle says to the Hebrews. Where are those who say that the Son of God is from the time of Melchizedek? It is said that He has neither beginning nor end of days: if Melchizedek does not have a beginning of days, could Christ have had one (Hebr. VII, 1 et seq.)? But it is not more image than truth. Therefore, you see that he is the first and the last (Apoc. I, 8). First, because he is the author of all: last, not because he finds an end, but because he concludes everything.

Therefore, we say that a chalice and bread are placed on the altar. What is placed in the chalice? Wine. And what else? Water (On the Consecration, distinction 2, chapter On the Chalice. Exodus 17:6). But you say to me: How then did Melchizedek offer bread and wine? What is the meaning of the mixture with water? Understand the reasoning.

First of all, what is the meaning of the figure that came before the time of Moses? When the people of the Jews were thirsty and complained that they could not find water, God commanded Moses to strike the rock with his staff. Moses struck the rock, and a great amount of water came forth from the rock, as the Apostle says: 'And they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ' (I Cor. X, 4). It was not an immovable rock that followed the people. And you drink, so that Christ may follow you. See the mystery. Moses, that is, the prophet: the staff, that is, the word of God. The priest touches the rock with the word of God, and water flows, and the people of God drink. Therefore, the priest touches, the water overflows into the chalice, it jumps into eternal life, and the people of God, who have received the grace of God, drink. So you have learned this.

Take and read another. At the time of the Lord's Passion, when the Great Sabbath was approaching, because our Lord Jesus Christ was alive, as were the thieves, they were sent to strike them: but when they came, they found our Lord Jesus Christ dead; then one of the soldiers touched his side with a spear, and water and blood flowed from his side (John 19:33 et seq.). Why water? Why blood? Water, to cleanse; blood, to redeem. Why from the side? Because from where there is fault, there is also grace. Fault through the woman, grace through the Lord Jesus Christ (De Consec., dist. 2, c. In calicem, § De latere).

Chapter II.

Just as one who has been cleansed is invited by Christ and aspires to the inexplicable sweetness of the sacrament, the mystical interpretation of certain passages from the Songs reveals this.

You have come to the altar, the Lord Jesus calls you, either your soul or the Church, and He says: Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth (Song of Solomon 1:1). Do you want to unite with Christ? Nothing is more joyful. Do you want to unite with your soul? Nothing is more pleasant.

Let him kiss me. Do you see that you are free from all sin, because your sins have been cleansed? Therefore, he judges you worthy of heavenly sacraments and invites you to the heavenly feast: Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth.

However, due to the following reasons, your soul, either human condition or the Church, seeing that it is cleansed from all sins, and worthy to approach the altar of Christ (for what is the altar but the form of the body of Christ), saw wonderful sacraments, and said: Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, that is, let Christ imprint a kiss on me.

Why? Because your breasts are better than wine (Song of Solomon 1:1); that is, your senses are better, your sacraments are better than wine. Above that wine, which, even though it has sweetness, joy, and grace, has secular gladness, but in you there is spiritual joy. Therefore, Solomon now introduces the wedding of either Christ and the Church, or the spirit and the flesh and the soul.

And he added: Your name is like a precious ointment that has been poured out, therefore the young women love you. What are these young women, if not the souls of each individual who have cast off the old age of this body, renewed by the Holy Spirit?

Draw us, we shall run after the fragrance of your ointments (Canticles, 1:3). See what it says. You cannot follow Christ unless He himself draws you. Finally, so you may know: And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself (John 12:32).

The King led me into his chamber. The Greek said: He has in his storeroom, and in his cellar. There are good libations, pleasant fragrances, sweet honey, various fruits, and various meals; so that your lunch may be prepared with many dishes.

Chapter III.

May abundant fruits return to those who have received the body of the Lord, and in what way Christ responds to the Church overflowing with conviviality: finally, how much joy do the faithful, freed from Egyptian slavery, feel in this food.

Therefore, you came to the altar and received the body of Christ. Listen again to what sacraments you have received. Listen to the holy David saying this; and he foresaw these mysteries in the Spirit, and rejoiced, and said he lacked nothing. Why? Because whoever receives the body of Christ will not hunger forever.

How many times have you heard the twenty-second psalm and not understood it? See how suitable it is for heavenly sacraments (De Consec., dist. 2, c. In calicem, § Audi psalmum): The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He has placed me in a place of pasture. He has led me beside still waters. He has converted my soul. He has guided me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not fear evil, for You are with me. Your rod and your staff, they have comforted me (Psalm 23, 1 et seq.). The rod represents power, the staff represents suffering, that is, the eternal divinity of Christ, but also His physical suffering: the former created, the latter redeemed. You have prepared a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You have anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows. How wonderful!

Therefore, you came to the altar, you received the grace of Christ, you obtained heavenly sacraments. The Church rejoices in the redemption of many, and she is delighted to have a chosen family standing before her with spiritual exultation. You have this in the Song of Songs. She rejoices and calls upon Christ, having prepared a banquet that seems worthy of heavenly feasting. Therefore, she says: Let my brother come down into his garden, and take the fruit of his apple trees (Song of Songs 5:1). What are these fruit-bearing trees? You were dry wood in Adam, but now through the grace of Christ you sprout fruit-bearing trees.

The Lord Jesus willingly receives and in heavenly favor responds to His Church: 'I descended,' He says, 'into the garden, I harvested myrrh with my ointments; I ate my bread with my honey and drank my wine with my milk. Eat, my brothers,' He says, 'and be intoxicated.' (Ibid.)

I gathered myrrh with my perfumes. What is this harvest? Learn about the vineyard, and you will recognize the harvest. 'You transferred the vineyard from Egypt,' he says (Psalm 79:9), that is, the people of God. You are the vineyard, you are the harvest: like a vineyard planted, like a harvest you have produced fruit. I gathered myrrh with my perfumes, that is, for the fragrance that you have received.

I ate my bread with honey. Do you see that in this bread there is no bitterness, but all sweetness? I drank my wine with milk. Do you see the joy that is not polluted by any stain of sin? For whenever you drink, you receive the forgiveness of sins and are intoxicated in the spirit. Hence the Apostle says: Do not get drunk with wine... but be filled with the Holy Spirit; for those who are drunk with wine stagger and stumble, but those who are intoxicated in the Spirit are rooted in Christ. And therefore, the excellent drunkenness, which operates the sobriety of the mind. These are the things that we briefly go through about the sacraments.

Chapter IV.

In order to establish new faithful in the form of prayer, she presents to them, as though in a mirror, the Lord's Prayer in a few words.

Now what remains, if not prayer? And do not think that it is a small matter to know how to pray. The holy apostles said to the Lord Jesus: Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples. Then the Lord gave the prayer: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven: give us this day our daily bread: and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors: and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (Luke 11:1 et seq.). You see how brief a speech, and full of virtues: the first discourse of how great grace it is!

O man! You did not dare to lift your face to the sky, you directed your eyes to the ground, and suddenly you received the grace of Christ, all your sins are forgiven. You have become a good son from a wicked servant; therefore, presume not from your own works, but from the grace of Christ: for by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:5), says the Apostle. Therefore, this is not arrogance, but faith: to preach what you have received is not pride, but devotion. Therefore, lift up your eyes to the Father, who begot you through the baptism: to the Father who redeemed you through the Son, and say: Our Father. This is a good presumption, but one that is humble. You say Father as if you were a son: but do not claim any special privilege for yourself. The Father belongs exclusively to Christ, but is a Father for all of us in common; because He begot only Him, but created us. Therefore, say also by grace: Our Father; so that you may deserve to be a son. Commend yourself in the sight and consideration of the Church.


Our Father, who art in heaven. What is in heaven? Listen to the Scripture saying: The Lord is high above all heavens (Psalm 113:4). And everywhere you have that the Lord is above the heavens of heavens, as if not in the heavens and the angels, as if not in the heavens and the dominions. But in those heavens, of which it is said: The heavens declare the glory of God (Psalm 19:2). Heaven is there, where guilt has ceased; heaven is there, where crimes are punished; heaven is there, where there is no wound of death.


Our Father, who art in heaven: hallowed be thy name. What does 'hallowed' mean? It is as if we wish that he who says 'Be holy, for I am holy' (Leviticus 19:2) may be hallowed by something added from our prayer of sanctification. No, but let him be hallowed in us, so that his sanctification may come to us.

Our Father, who art in heaven: hallowed be thy name: thy kingdom come. As if the kingdom of God were not eternal. Jesus himself says: I was born for this (John 18:37); and you say to the Father: Thy kingdom come (Luke 17:21); as if it has not come. But then the kingdom of God comes, when you have attained his grace (On the Consecration, dist. 2, c. In calicem, § Thy will be done). For he himself says: The kingdom of God is within you.


Thy kingdom come: thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven: give us this day our daily bread. By the blood of Christ, all things have been reconciled, either in heaven or on earth: the heaven has been sanctified, the devil has been cast down. Where does he wander? Wherever there is man, whom he has deceived. Thy will be done, that is, let there be peace on earth, as in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread. I remember my discussion on the sacraments (Sup. lib. IV, cap. 4). I told you that before the words of Christ that are offered, it is called bread; when the words of Christ have been spoken, it is no longer called bread, but is called the body (De Consec., dist. 2, c. In calicem, § Dixi vobis). So why in the Lord's Prayer that follows afterwards does it say: Give us our bread (John 6:35)? Indeed, he said bread, but ἐπιούσιον, which means supersubstantial. This bread is not the one that goes into the body, but that bread of eternal life, which supports the substance of our souls (On the Consecration, dist. 2, chap. Non iste panis). Therefore, it is called ἐπιούσιος in Greek; but in Latin it is called daily bread, which the Greeks say is coming; because the Greeks say τὴν ἐπιοῦσαν ἡμέραν, meaning the coming day. Therefore, what the Latin said, and what the Greek said, both seem useful: the Greek expressed both with one word, the Latin said daily.


If daily bread is necessary, why do you take it after a year, as the Greeks in the East are accustomed to do? Receive daily what will benefit you daily. Live in such a way that you deserve to receive daily. Whoever does not deserve to receive daily does not deserve to receive after a year. Just as the holy Job offered a daily sacrifice for his sons (Job, I, 5) lest they may have sinned in their hearts or in their words. Therefore, you hear that whenever the sacrifice is offered, it signifies the death of the Lord, the resurrection of the Lord, the elevation of the Lord, and the forgiveness of sins. And you do not take this bread of life as something that is not daily (I Cor. XI, 26)? Who has a wound, needs medicine. The wound is because we are under sin: medicine is a heavenly and venerable sacrament.

Give us this day our daily bread. If you receive it daily, it is daily for you today. If Christ is for you today, He rises for you daily. How? You are my son, I have begotten you today (Psalm 2:7). Therefore, today is when Christ rises. He is the same yesterday and today, as the apostle Paul says (Hebrews 13:8). But he also says elsewhere: The night is far spent, the day is at hand (Romans 13:12): yesterday's night has passed, today's day has approached.


It follows: Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. What is a debt but a sin? Therefore, if you had not received money on loan, you would not be in need; and thus the sin is imputed to you. You had money, with which you were born rich. You were rich, made in the image and likeness of God (Gen. I, 26): you lost what you had, that is, humility, when you desired to vindicate arrogance; you lost money, just as Adam became naked (Gen. III, 7): you accepted a debt from the devil, which was not necessary. And therefore, you who were free in Christ, became a debtor to the devil. Your caution was held by the enemy, but the Lord crucified it and wiped it out with his blood (Colossians 2:14): he took away your debt, he restored freedom to you.

Therefore he says: And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. Consider what you say: Just as I forgive, so you also forgive me? If you forgive, you agree well, so that you may be forgiven. If you do not forgive, how do you expect to be forgiven?

And do not allow us to be led into temptation, but deliver us from evil. See what he says: And do not allow us to be led into temptation, which we cannot bear. He does not say: Do not lead us into temptation, but rather he wants such a temptation as can be borne by human condition, like an athlete; and let everyone be freed from evil, that is, from the enemy, from sin.

But the Lord is powerful, who has taken away your sin, and forgiven your transgressions, to protect and guard you against the snares of the opposing devil, so that the enemy, who is accustomed to generating fault, does not creep upon you. But those who commit themselves to God do not fear the devil; for if God is for us, who is against us? To Him, therefore, be praise and glory from ages, and now, and always, and forever and ever. Amen.

Book Six

Chapter I.

Since the true flesh and true blood of Christ are in the sacrament, consecrated by the divine power of the Word, and veiled under a different appearance so as not to cause offense, from this we understand that we participate in the divine substance in that food.

Just as Jesus Christ, our Lord, is true God, not in the same way as men through grace, but as the Son from the substance of the Father; so true is his flesh, as he himself said, which we receive, and true is his blood.

But perhaps you might say (what the disciples of Christ themselves said at that time, hearing him say, 'Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you' - John 6:54): Perhaps you might say, How can this be true? I see a likeness, but I do not see the truth of blood.

First of all I have told you (Sup. lib. IV, cap. 4) about the discourse of Christ, which works so that it can change and convert the established forms of nature (John VI, 67). Then when the disciples heard that Christ would give them His flesh to eat and His blood to drink, they withdrew; only Peter said: Do you have the words of eternal life, and how can I leave you? (Ibid., 69). So, in order not to have many say this, as if there were a horror of blood, but for the grace of redemption to remain, you take the sacrament in a likeness, but truly you attain the grace and power of nature.


'I am,' he says, 'the living bread which came down from heaven.' But flesh did not descend from heaven, that is, He assumed flesh on earth from the Virgin. How, then, did the bread descend from heaven, and the living bread? Because our Lord Jesus Christ is the same, both a sharer in divinity and in body: and you who receive the flesh participate in that divine substance as nourishment.

Chapter II.

In all the sacraments, it can be observed the activity of the Trinity and the equality of the divine persons, where incidentally the error of the Arians is exposed.

Therefore, having received the sacraments, you have fully understood everything that you were baptized in the name of the Trinity. In all that we have done, the mystery of the Trinity has been preserved. Everywhere, there is the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, one operation, one sanctification, although some things may seem special.

How? God who anointed you, and sealed you, and placed the Holy Spirit in your heart (II Cor. I, 21, 22). Therefore, you have received the Holy Spirit in your heart. Receive another, for just as the Holy Spirit is in the heart, so Christ is also in the heart. How? You have this in the Song of Songs, Christ saying to the Church: Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm (Can. VIII. 6).


Therefore God anointed you, Christ marked you. How? Because you were marked with the form of his cross, with his passion: you received the seal in his likeness; so that you may rise in his form, live in his image, who was crucified for sin and lives for God: and your old self, immersed in the font, was crucified for sin, but rose again for God (Rom. VI, 4 and following).

Then you have elsewhere something special, that God has called you, but in baptism you are crucified with Christ as if specially. Then as if specially, when you receive the spiritual seal, see the distinction of persons to be, but the whole mystery of the Trinity to be interconnected.

Then what did the Apostle say to you, as it is written again? There are diversities of graces, but the same Spirit. There are diversities of ministries, but the same Lord. There are diversities of operations, but the same God, who works all in all (I Cor. XII, 4 et seq.). He says, 'God works all things.' But it is also written of the Spirit of God: 'But all these things one and the same Spirit accomplishes, dividing to each one according as He wills' (Ibid., 21). Listen to the scripture saying that the Spirit divides according to its own will, not out of obedience. Therefore, the Spirit distributes grace to you as it wants, not as it is commanded; and especially because the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Christ. And hold on to this, that it is the Holy Spirit itself, the Spirit of God itself, the Spirit of Christ itself, the Spirit of the Comforter itself.

The Arians think that they derogate from the Holy Spirit if they say that he is the Paraclete. What is the Paraclete, if not the Comforter? As if it were not also said of the Father, because he himself is the God of consolation (2 Cor. 1:3). Therefore, you see that they think that they derogate from the Holy Spirit, in whom the power of the eternal Father is proclaimed with pious affection.

Chapter III.

In giving instructions on prayer, he reconciles the words of Christ and the Apostles, declaring that the room where Christ speaks should be interpreted as referring to the secrecy and silence of the heart.

Now, how we ought to pray, take note. There are many virtues of prayer. Where we ought to pray is not a small, nor a mediocre question. The apostle says: But I will that men pray in every place, lifting up pure hands, without anger and disputing (1 Timothy 2:8). And the Lord says in the gospel: But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy chamber; and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father (Matthew 6:6). Does it not seem contradictory to you, that the apostle says: Pray in every place; and the Lord says: Enter into thy chamber, and pray? But it is not the opposite. Therefore, let us complete this: then how you should begin a speech, and in what order to distinguish, what to develop, what to cite, how to conclude a speech, then for whom you should pray: let us discuss all these things.

First, where should you pray? Paul seems to say one thing, and the Lord another. Does Paul contradict Christ's teachings? Certainly not. How so? Because he is not a adversary, but an interpreter of Christ: Be imitators of me, he says, as I am of Christ. So what? You can pray anywhere, and always pray in your own room. You have your room everywhere. Even if you are among the Gentiles, among the Jews; you still have your secret place everywhere. Your mind is your own room. Although placed among the people, you still preserve your secret and hidden self within.

But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you (Matthew 6:6). So let not your prayer be only with your lips. Focus your mind entirely, enter into the innermost recess of your heart, enter with your whole self. Let not the one you want to please see you as superficial. Let them see that you pray from the heart, so that they may deign to hear you as one who prays from the heart.


But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matthew 6:6)

What is a closed door? Listen to what door you have that you should close when you pray. If only women would listen! You have already heard; the holy David taught you, saying: Set, O Lord, a guard over my mouth, and a door around my lips (Psalm 140:3). There is another door, which the apostle Paul says: That the door of the word may be opened to me to speak the mystery of Christ (Colossians 4:3); that is, when you pray, do not shout in your speech, nor spread your prayer, nor boast among the people. In your secret place, pray, secure that he may be able to hear you in secret, who sees all things and hears all things. And pray to your Father in secret, who hears you in secret while you are praying.

Chapter IV.

Why it is preferable to pray in secret rather than with loud shouting? Why men should pray in every place, but not women? And to what purpose do the voices that are directed? Raising pure hands, etc.

Let us consider what benefit it is to ask how we ought to pray in secret more than with loud shouting. Listen: let us take an example from the custom of men. If you ask someone who hears quickly, do you not think that shouting is unnecessary (Cicero, on shouting)? Rather, you ask quietly with a moderated voice. If you ask someone who is deaf, do you not begin to shout so that he may hear you? Therefore, the one who shouts believes that God cannot hear except when one shouts; and when he prays in this way, he detracts from His power. But the one who prays in silence shows faith and confesses that God is the searcher of hearts and kidneys (Psalm 7:10), and He hears your prayer before it is poured out from your mouth.


So let us see: I want men to pray in every place (I Tim. 2:8). Why did he specify men? Surely prayer is common to both men and women. The reason he mentioned men is perhaps so that women would not take over, would not misunderstand and start shouting everywhere, which we cannot tolerate in the Church.

But I desire men, that is, those who can keep the precept, to pray in every place, lifting up pure hands. What does it mean to lift up pure hands? Should you show the cross of the Lord to the Gentiles in your prayer? That is indeed a sign of power, not of modesty. However, you should pray in such a way that you do not show a physical gesture, but rather your light actions. If you want to perform your work, lift up pure hands through innocence. Lift them up not every day: once you have lifted them, there is no need to do so again.


However, I want men to pray in every place, lifting up holy hands without anger and dispute. Nothing is truer: Anger, he says, destroys even the wise (Prov. XV, 1). Therefore, at all times, as much as possible, a Christian man should temper his anger, especially when approaching prayer; so that the indignation of anger does not disturb your soul, and so that no fury hinders your prayer: but rather approach with a calm heart. For what are you angry about? The servant sinned? You approach prayer, so that your sins may be forgiven, and yet you are indignant. This is, without anger.

Chapter V.

On the disorderly debate of the praying ones, and on the modesty with which women ought to pray: also on the beginning of prayer, and its middle and end; with a repeated exposition of the Lord's Prayer, which leads the treatise to its conclusion.

Now let us consider about argument. Most of the time a merchant comes to speak, either a greedy one: one thinks about money, another about profit, another about honour, another about desire; and thinks that God can hear him. And therefore when you pray, it is fitting for you to prefer the divine to the human.

Similarly, women, he says, should pray not boasting themselves in adornments, nor in pearls, says the apostle Paul. But also the apostle Peter: The grace of a woman, he says, is very powerful so that her husband's affections are turned by her good conversation, and the unbeliever turns to the grace of Christ. The gravity and modesty of a woman, and her good conversation, have this power to call her husband to faith and devotion, which the speech of a wise man often accomplishes. Therefore, the woman, he says, should not have her adornment in the arrangement of her hair, nor in curled hair, but in prayer from a pure heart; where is the hidden person of the heart, who is always rich before God (Ibid. 3, 4). So you have in what you are rich. In Christ, your riches are purity and chastity, faith, devotion, and mercy. These are the treasures of righteousness, as the prophet has mentioned (Isaiah 33:6).


Then where you should begin. Tell me, if you want to ask a person, and thus begin: Give me, behold that which I ask of you; does the speech not seem arrogant? And therefore the speech should begin with praise of God, so that you ask the Almighty God, to whom all things are possible, who has the will to grant. The supplication follows, as the Apostle taught, saying: I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made (I Tim. II, 1). Therefore, the first prayer ought to have praise of God; the second, supplication; the third, petition; the fourth, thanksgiving. You should not begin with the food, like a hungry person, but with praises of God.

And so these wise orators have this discipline, that they present themselves as an advocate to the judge: they begin with praises of him, to make him friendly towards them as a knower. Then they gradually begin to ask the judge to deign to listen patiently. He dares to put forth his request for the third time, to express what he asks for. Just as he began with praises of God, so he must end in praise.

You have this in the Lord's Prayer: Our Father who art in heaven (Matt. VI, 9). It is the praise of God that the Father is preached: in Him is the glory of piety. Praise to God, for He dwells in heaven, not on earth. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, that is, that He may sanctify His servants; for His name is sanctified in us, when Christian men are preached. Therefore, it is the wish that thy name be sanctified. Your kingdom come (Ibid., 10). The request, that the kingdom of Christ may be in us. If God reigns in us, the adversary cannot have a place. Sin does not reign, wrongdoing does not reign: but virtue reigns, chastity reigns, devotion reigns. Then: Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread (Ibid., 11). This is the greatest request of those that are requested. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors (Ibid., 12). Therefore, receive daily, so that daily you may seek forgiveness for your debts. And do not allow yourself to be led into temptation: but deliver us from evil. (Ibid., 13) What follows? Listen to what the priest says: through our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom is to you, with whom is to you honor, praise, glory, magnificence, power with the Holy Spirit from ages, and now, and always, and unto all ages of ages, Amen.

Another: Although the Psalms of David are contained in one book, having the qualities of prayer that we mentioned above (Sup., no. 22); yet often all these parts of prayer are found in one psalm, as we find in the eighth psalm. Finally, it begins like this: O Lord, our Lord, how admirable is thy name in the whole earth! (Psalm VIII, 2). Therefore, the first part is a prayer. Then, a supplication: For I will see thy heavens, the works of thy fingers: that is, I will see the heavens, the moon and the stars, which thou hast founded (Ibid., 4). Certainly, I will not see heaven, but I will see the heavens, in which the grace and celestial splendor begin to appear. The Prophet promised these heavens to those who would deserve heavenly grace from the Lord. He calls the moon and the stars which you have established: the moon the Church, and the stars he calls the saints shining with heavenly grace. Then see his petition: What is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you visit him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and set him over the works of your hands. (Psalm 8:5) And another thanksgiving: You have put everything under his feet, all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, etc. (Psalm 8:7-8).

We have taught according to our ability, perhaps what we have not learned; and as much as we could, we have expressed. Your holiness, informed by priestly institutions, may strive to hold what you have received from God: and may the offering, like a pure sacrifice, always recognize its seal in you, so that you yourselves may be able to attain grace and rewards of virtues, through our Lord Jesus Christ; to whom is glory, honor, praise, perpetuity from age to age, now and always, and in all ages of ages. Amen.