February 1 – Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

OVERVIEW: Praising God will not cease when we die; rather the next life will be characterized by our seeing, loving and praising God forever and ever (AUGUSTINE). God brought to justice the enemies and persecutors of Christians and then brought about a reversal of fortune for Christians in the famous Edict of Milan (EUSEBIUS). When a Christian compares his lot with that of successful pagans, he wonders what the benefit of his faith is. The benefit is that he will live eternally, while the unbeliever will die eternally. Like Lazarus in the New Testament parable, whose name means “helped,” God-fearing people will be helped by the true Savior to receive eternal life (AUGUSTINE). Although the word spirit has many uses, which must be correctly distinguished, the “spirit” that departs at death is the soul of a person (CYRIL OF JERUSALEM). No one should be so foolish and negligent of his soul’s well-being as to believe that his existence ends at the time of his temporal death (AUGUSTINE). It is imperative that we never doubt that the triune God created all things (FULGENTIUS). The church never stops praying for and having compassion on those who have lapsed from faith because, as long as they are alive, there is hope for their conversion (LEO). God promises kindness and help to those suffering calamity, and there are many examples that he keeps his promises when people often lose hope (GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS). All spiritual blessings come from God and are not the result of human effort (CASSIAN). God has promised to provide for children and wives when their father and husband has been taken from them (CHRYSOSTOM). Although it is natural to be saddened by the death of a loved one or the unfortunate condition of orphans and widows, we must trust in the unfailing providence of God, especially in the knowledge that eternal life awaits the faithful (THEODORET).

WE SHOULD NEVER DESPAIR OF ANYONE’S SALVATION WHILE THEY ARE ALIVE. LEO THE GREAT: We not only do not hold back, but even encourage, compassion, wisely and divinely set up by the church, that even for such people you should pray to the Lord with us. We also, with tears of sorrow, have pity on the downfall of misled souls. Following the example of the apostle’s compassion, “we are made weak with the weak,”²⁷ and “we weep with those who weep.”²⁸ We hope that the mercy of God may be gained with many tears and requisite satisfaction on the part of those who have lapsed. While we live in this body, no one’s rehabilitation is to be despaired of. We should desire the amendment of all, with the Lord helping us, who “raises up those who have been broken down, sets captives free, gives sight to the blind,” to whom is honor and glory “with the Father and with the Holy Spirit” forever and ever. Amen. SERMON 34.5.2.²⁹

UNHOPED FOR RECOVERY FROM MISFORTUNE. GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS: She³⁰ owed her recovery to none other than to [God] with the result that people were no less impressed by her unexpected recovery than by her misfortune. They concluded that the tragedy had happened for her glorification through sufferings—the suffering being human, the recovery superhuman. This will provide a lesson for people in the future who exhibit a high degree of faith in the midst of suffering and patience in calamity, but in a still higher degree experience the kindness of God that she received. To God’s beautiful promise to the righteous “though he fall, he shall not be utterly broken,”³¹ has been added a more recent one, “though he be utterly broken, he shall speedily be raised up and glorified.” For if her misfortune was unreasonable, her recovery was extraordinary, so that health soon replaced the injury, and the cure became more celebrated than the illness. ON HIS SISTER ST. GORGIANA, ORATION 8.15.³²

GOD ALONE IS THE SOURCE OF ALL BLESSINGS. JOHN CASSIAN: For it is not free will but the Lord who “looses those who are bound.” It is not our strength, but the Lord who “raises those who have fallen.” It is not our diligence in reading, but “the Lord who enlightens the blind” where the Greek says kyrios sophoi typhlous, that is, “the Lord makes wise the blind.” It is not our care, but “the Lord who cares for the stranger.” It is not our courage, but “the Lord who assists (or supports) all those who are down.”³³ CONFERENCES 3.15.3.³⁴

CARE FOR THE FATHERLESS AND WIDOWS. CHRYSOSTOM: For as long as your blessed husband was with you,³⁵ you enjoyed honor and care and zealous attention. In fact you enjoyed such as you might expect to enjoy from a husband; but, since God took him to himself, [God] has taken his place with you. And this is not my saying but that of the blessed prophet David, for he says, “He will take up the fatherless and the widow,”³⁶ and elsewhere he calls him “father of the fatherless and judge of the widow.” Thus in many passages you will see that he is earnestly concerned about the cause of this class of people. LETTER TO A YOUNG WIDOW 1.³⁷

GOD IS THE GUARDIAN OF ORPHANS AND WIDOWS. THEODORET OF CYR: But what excuse for despondency will we have left if we take to heart God’s own promises and the hopes of Christians: the resurrection, I mean, eternal life, continuance in the kingdom, and all that “eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of people, the things that God has prepared for them that love him”?³⁸ Does not the apostle say emphatically, “I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that you sorrow not even as others which have no hope”?³⁹ I have known many people who even without hope have got the better of their grief by the strength of reason alone, and it would indeed be extraordinary if they who are supported by such a hope should prove weaker than they who have no hope at all. Let us then, I implore you,⁴⁰ look at the end as a long journey. When he went on a journey, we used indeed to be sorry, but we waited for his return. Now let the separation sadden us indeed in some degree, for I am not exhorting what is contrary to human nature, but do not let us wail as over a corpse; let us rather congratulate him on his setting forth and his departure hence, because he is now free from a world of uncertainties and fears no further change of soul or body or of corporeal conditions. The strife now ended, he waits for his reward. Do not grieve too much for orphans and widows. We have a greater Guardian whose law it is that all should take good care of orphans and widows and about whom the divine David says, “The Lord relieves the fatherless and widow, but the way of the wicked he turns upside down.” Only let us put the rudders of our lives in his hands, and we shall meet with an unfailing providence. His guardianship will be surer than can be that of any man, for his are the words “Can a woman forget her sucking child that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yet will I not forget you.”⁴¹ He is nearer to us than father and mother for he is our Maker and Creator. It is not marriage that makes fathers, but fathers are made fathers at his will. LETTER 14.⁴²

OVERVIEW: A little learning is a dangerous thing, for it makes people unwilling to learn more (CHRYSOSTOM). The world does not understand that the Savior’s sufferings have become the source of power, for through these sufferings Christ vanquished death (AMBROSIASTER). Christ gave himself as an atonement on our behalf, ransoming us from death with his own life (GREGORY OF NYSSA). No one should glory in human works (AUGUSTINE, THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA). If only the most eloquent people had been chosen as preachers, they would have gloried in their own abilities and been damned for it (THEODORET OF CYR).

1:26 Considering Their Call

WORLDLY STANDARDS. CHRYSOSTOM: The man who is wise according to the standards of this world is really very foolish, because he will not cast away his corrupt teaching. A little learning is a dangerous thing, because it makes those who have it unwilling to learn more. The unlearned are more open to conviction, because they are not so foolish as to think that they are wise. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 5.2.¹

NOT MANY WERE POWERFUL. THEODORET OF CYR: Paul did not say that there was nobody like this in the church, only that there were not many. COMMENTARY ON THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 173.²

1:27 Shaming the Wise by What Is Foolish

WEAK THINGS A SOURCE OF POWER. AMBROSIASTER: The two most “foolish things of the world” are in particular the virgin birth of Christ and his resurrection from the dead. The wise are confounded because they see that what a few of them deny, the many profess to be true. There is no doubt that the opinions of the many faithful take precedence over those of a small number. Likewise, those who are mighty in this world can easily see the so-called weak things of Christ overturning demons and performing miracles. To the world the injuries and sufferings of the Savior are weak things, because the world does not understand that they have become the source of power through Christ who submitted to suffering in order to overcome death. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.³

GETTING THE BETTER OF THE PHILOSOPHERS. CHRYSOSTOM: In human terms, it was not possible for fishers to get the better of philosophers, but that is what happened by the power of God’s grace. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 5.5.⁴

1:28 Bringing to Nothing Things That Are

GOD CHOSE WHAT IS LOW. AMBROSIASTER: God chose ignoble and contemptible things to exalt. It is not that they are really ignoble and contemptible; this is how the world sees them. By believing in Christ they have overturned worldly reasoning. God did this in order to destroy things which are really ignoble and contemptible, because those who judged were more deserving of judgment and condemnation. Their teaching was asserted in words but not demonstrated in power, and so it was destroyed. Our teaching is proved true not only by words but by power as well. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.⁵

THINGS THAT ARE NOT. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Paul uses the expression “things that are not” differently here from the way he uses it in his epistle to the Romans. Here it means simply that which is vile and contemptible, as opposed to “things that are,” which are beautiful, powerful and respected. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.⁶

1:29 No Human Boasting in God’s Presence

UNDER THE JUDGMENT OF GOD. AMBROSIASTER: Under the judgment of God the wisdom of the flesh can only blush at its miscalculations. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.⁷

HUMBLING THOSE IN HIGH PLACES. CHRYSOSTOM: God did not just choose the unlearned, but also the needy, the contemptible and the obscure, in order to humble those in high places. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 5.3.⁸

THE HARM OF BOASTING. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Boasting, even if it is of good works, harms the soul of the boaster. Anyone who boasts of worldly achievements is highly worldly himself. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.⁹

ATTACKING PRIDE. AUGUSTINE: Paul’s intention is perfectly clear—to accost the pride of man, that no one should take glory in human works and that no one should glory in himself. PREDESTINATION OF THE SAINTS 5.9.¹⁰

THE TEMPTATION OF THE ELOQUENT. THEODORET OF CYR: If Paul had chosen only the most eloquent and gifted people as preachers they would have gloried in their own abilities and been damned for it, whether they preached the truth or not. COMMENTARY ON THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 173.¹¹

1:30 The Source of Life in Christ Jesus

GOD MADE CHRIST OUR SANCTIFICATION. AMBROSE: Christ was made our sanctification, not so that he might change what he was but that he might sanctify us in the flesh. THE HOLY SPIRIT 3.4.26.¹²

OUR REDEMPTION. AMBROSIASTER: Christ did what he did in order to strengthen believers, for no one can redeem something which did not originally belong to him. Therefore, whether it is because we have been redeemed, or because we have been sanctified (i.e., purged from the works of the flesh and the filthiness of idols), or because we have been justified (for it is just to worship only the Creator and spurn everything else) or because we are wise, having learned that worldly people are unwise—all this is a gift of God through Christ. But this is our redemption—when the devil desires it, Christ offers himself to the devil so that he may cancel sin and rescue the devil’s captives. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.¹³

OUR RANSOM. GREGORY OF NYSSA: We are taught by the knowledge that Christ is redemption, because he gave himself as an atonement on our behalf, that when he bestowed immortality on us as our own possession, he ransomed us from death with his own life. ON PERFECTION.¹⁴

OUR SALVATION. CHRYSOSTOM: God did not just make us wise, righteous and holy in Christ. He gave us Christ so that we should never need anything else for our salvation. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 5.4.¹⁵

1:31 Boasting of the Lord

BOAST OF THE LORD. AMBROSIASTER: What Jeremiah [as quoted here] says is commendable, because the person who glories in the Lord will not be confounded. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.¹⁶

Overview: Why did the Lord ascend the mount to deliver his teaching? That he might give the heavenly commandments to his disciples, leaving the earthly and seeking the sublime (Chromatius); that he might bring the people with him to a higher life (Jerome); that the highest teaching of the Father and the Son might be made known (Augustine); to show us that whoever teaches God’s way of justice must embody his own teaching from the heights of spiritual virtue. Hence whoever today wishes to learn the mysteries of truth must go up to the mountain of the church (Anonymous). Jesus taught them according to their readiness to hear, both by his silence and by his speech (Chrysostom). The severity of the law was first given by Moses on the mountain, but the people were forbidden to draw close. Now with Jesus, all are invited to draw near to him to hear of the gift of the gospel (Chromatius).

Bringing the Great Crowd to a Higher Point. Jerome: The Lord went up the mountain that he might bring the crowds with him to higher things. The crowds were unable to go up, however, and he was followed by the disciples to whom he spoke, not standing but sitting together. For they were unable to understand this brilliant man in his majesty. Many of the simple believers literally believed that he taught the Beatitudes and other things on the Mount of Olives, but this is not really true.¹ From the events that went before and followed, the place in Galilee has been shown to be what we believe is either Mount Tabor or some other high mountain. After he finished speaking, the Evangelist says, “Now when he had entered Capernaum.” Commentary on Matthew 1.5.1.²

Ascent to the Heights. Chromatius: From the low and humble to the high and exalted places, the Lord, ready to instruct his disciples, went up the mountain—specifically to the Mount of Olives—so that according to the very meaning of this word, he might present the gift of his divine mercy. The Lord went up the mountain that he might give the precepts of the heavenly commandments to his disciples, leaving the earthly and seeking the sublime things as though already placed on high. He went up that he might now give the divine gift of the long-promised blessing, according to what David had once declared: “For indeed he who gave the law will give blessings.” Tractate on Matthew 17.1.1-2.³

The Mount of Moses and the Sermon on the Mount. Augustine: If we ask what the mountain signifies, it is rightly understood to point toward the gospel’s higher righteousness. The precepts given to the Hebrews were lower. Yet, through his holy prophets and servants and in accordance with a most orderly arrangement of circumstance, the same God gave the lower precepts to a people to whom it was fitting to be bound by fear. Through his Son he gave the higher precepts to a people to whom it is fitting to be set free by love. Sermon on the Mount 1.1.2.⁴

Embodied Speech from the Heights of Spiritual Virtue. Anonymous: Wasn’t he able to teach right there where the people were? He went up on the mountain for two specific reasons. First, that he might fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah, who said, “Go up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings.”⁵ Next, that he might show the mystery of love. For his ascent signifies the height of virtue. He therefore went up the mountain to show us that whoever teaches and whoever hears God’s way of justice must stand on the height of spiritual virtues. The one who teaches must himself be an example of his words, so he may teach more by his works than his words, as the apostle says to Timothy: “Set the believers an example.”⁶ The one who walks in the valley of earthly life, however, treads on obscure pathways and speaks high-flown words: He does not teach anyone but chastens himself. For no one can stand in the valley and speak from a mountain. Speak from where you take your stand. Take your stand from where you are speaking. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 9.⁷

Looking Toward the Church as the Mighty Mountain. Anonymous: The church is called a mountain. It is pictured in Scripture as the “mountain of God, a mighty mountain.”⁸ Christ therefore went up the mountain to reveal there the mysteries of truth to his disciples. He showed that whoever wishes to learn the mysteries of truth ought to go up the mountain of the church—not to just any mountain, but to the mighty mountain. For there are mountains of heretics that are not mighty but swollen. On these mountains are revealed not the mysteries of truth but lies that fly in the face of the truth. That is why the Holy Spirit scolds those who go up such mountains when he says through the prophet: “Why do you look with envy, O swollen mountains?”⁹ Heretical assemblies are called swollen because their heart is swollen like fat.¹⁰ Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 9.¹¹

All Are Invited to Come. Chromatius: And that he might more openly show the grace of the apostles and the author of this very great blessing, he added, “They shall walk from strength to strength; God shall look down upon Zion.”¹² That is to say, the Son of God, who gave blessings to the apostles on Zion. On this mountain he also gave his apostles a blessing. He is the One who had once handed down the Mosaic law on Mt. Sinai, showing that he was the author of both laws. . . . When the law was first given on the mountain, the people were forbidden to draw close. But now, as the Lord was teaching on the mountain, no one is forbidden. Rather, all are invited that they may hear, because there is severity in the law and grace in the gospel. In the former case, terror is instilled in the unbelievers. In the latter case, a gift of blessings is poured out on the believers. Tractate on Matthew 17.1.3-4.¹³

According to Their Readiness to Hear. Chrysostom: And for what reason is the clause added, “He opened his mouth”? To inform you that in his very silence he gave instruction, and not only when he spoke. At one time he taught by “opening his mouth,” while at another by the works that he did.¹⁴ But when you hear that he taught them, do not think of him as discussing matters with his disciples only, but rather with the entire group through his teaching to them. For since the crowd was just like any crowd always is, including as it did those who live on a very low level, he withdrew the group of his disciples and addressed his teaching to them, but in his conversation with them he also provided for the rest, who were at this point very far from being ready to hear his sayings on self-denial without being offended. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 15.1.¹⁵

Overview: One is said to be poor in spirit when one has repented and become humbled like a child (Anonymous). When the prophets announced that God would choose a humbled people who would stand in awe of his words, they anticipated the leading Beatitude: humility of spirit (Hilary). Those are truly blessed who, having spurned the riches of the world, become rich in God (Chromatius). The kingdom is the most fitting life for those who are already practicing virtue. On account of the Holy Spirit these blessed ones are poor by willing freely to be so (Jerome). Those who mourn are comforted by cessation of the pain of mourning (Anonymous). Mourning in this case does not refer to mourning over death but over sin (Jerome, Chrysostom). Those who mourn over the sins of the whole world are especially blessed (Chromatius, Anonymous). Imbued with the gospel, the meek imitate the gentleness of the Lord (Chromatius). The meek are those who are more content to endure an offense than to commit one (Anonymous). The blessing of the meek is not merely figurative but real. The meek will be blessed in this world and in the world to come (Augustine, Chrysostom). As long as this present life is in this corrupted state, it is the land of the dead, subject to vanity; but once it has been liberated from the slavery of corruption to the freedom of the glory of God’s children, it becomes the land of the living (Anonymous). To hunger and thirst for righteousness is to desire God’s righteousness alone (Anonymous) and to do nothing else but think of righteousness and search for it (Chromatius). The passion of thirst and the heat and burning of longsuffering are implied in the metaphor of thirsting for righteousness (Apollinaris). The thirst for righteousness produces true wealth, which does not fear poverty or tremble at hunger (Chrysostom). To behold God is the end by which we are to be perfected, not the end by which we come to nothing (Augustine). The epitome of virtue is the good unmingled with any lesser good, hence the good of God himself (Origen). The reward from God is much greater than that received from others for any human acts of goodness (Chrysostom). When you hear the voice of a beggar, remember that before God you yourself are a beggar. As you treat your beggar, so will God treat his (Augustine). One who is truly merciful will show mercy even to one’s own enemies (Anonymous). The pure of heart are those who have gotten rid of sin, cleansed themselves of all the pollution of the flesh and pleased God through works that grow from faith and from the practice of justice (Chromatius). Whoever acts justly and intends so with the mind sees God, for human justice is like God’s justice (Anonymous). Unless your heart is pure, you will not be permitted to see what cannot be seen unless the heart be pure. Nothing can satisfy one who would not be satisfied with God (Augustine). Peace is present where faith gleams, hope is strengthened and charity is kindled (Augustine). Christ himself is our peace (Anonymous). The peacemakers are those who guard the peace of the church under the unity of the apostolic teaching (Chromatius). Contentiousness is overcome in this kingdom of peace, where all things are so well ordered inwardly and outwardly that everything that is common to humanity and to the beasts is spontaneously governed by that which is distinctive to humanity, namely, empathic understanding and reason (Augustine). The peacemaker is one who demonstrates the harmony of the Scriptures, where others only see a contradiction (Cyril of Alexandria). Those who embody peace within themselves express the reign of God (Augustine). Those who undergo persecution for the sake of justice are given grace to endure the hardship without anxiety (Augustine). In being unjustly reviled, they will receive their blessed reward in heaven (Anonymous). The blessedness of persecution for righteousness’ sake is best exemplified by the apostles and with them all those who for the sake of justice are persecuted (Chromatius). One may be persecuted for righteousness’ sake not only at the hands of alien peoples but also at the hands of one’s own people (Anonymous). In every Beatitude the blessed are receiving the kingdom of heaven (Chrysostom). Taking into account the reward of glory, the faithful remain ready to endure every form of suffering that they may be fit partners in God’s glory (Chromatius). One who desires what is in heaven does not fear reproaches on earth. So weigh earthly disturbance against heavenly glory (Anonymous).

You Who Are Poor in Spirit. Anonymous: Although the Evangelist Luke explains in part the same Beatitudes, the Beatitudes in Matthew must be considered more complete. The former were spoken on a level plain, whereas the latter were expounded on a mountain. The former were low-key in nature, whereas the latter were well-rounded and more directly addressed to the apostles themselves. The reason for this difference we outlined earlier.¹ Luke simply said “you poor,”² whereas Matthew said “you poor in spirit.” One who is poor in spirit and humble of heart has a meek spirit and does not think great things of himself. On the other hand, one who imagines himself to be rich in spirit will imagine great things of himself. He is proud and does not fulfill the commandment of Christ that “unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”³ Only one who has repented and become like a child is poor in spirit. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 9.⁴

Perfect Blessedness Is Humility of Spirit. Hilary: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The Lord taught by way of example that the glory of human ambition must be left behind when he said, “The Lord your God shall you adore and him only shall you serve.”⁵ And when he announced through the prophets that he would choose a people humble and in awe of his words,⁶ he introduced the perfect Beatitude as humility of spirit. Therefore he defines those who are inspired as people aware that they are in possession of the heavenly kingdom. . . . Nothing belongs to anyone as being properly one’s own, but all have the same things by the gift of a single parent. They have been given the first things needed to come into life and have been supplied with the means to use them. On Matthew 4.2.⁷

The Blessed Poor, Rich in God. Chromatius: We know many poor people, indeed, who are not merely poor but blessed. For the necessity of poverty does not produce blessedness in each of us, but a devout trust sustained through poverty does. Some, having no worldly resources, continue to sin and remain without faith in God. Clearly we cannot call these people blessed. We must inquire just who are these blessed of whom the Lord says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus means that those persons are truly blessed who, having spurned the riches and resources of the world to become rich in God, desire to be poor in the world. Indeed, such people seem to be poor in the sight of the world, but they are rich in God, needy in the world but wealthy in Christ. Tractate on Matthew 17.2.1-2.⁸

Free Humility, Not Forced Poverty, Is Blessed. Jerome: This is what we read elsewhere: “He shall save the humble in spirit.”⁹ But do not imagine that poverty is bred by necessity. For he added “in spirit” so you would understand blessedness to be humility and not poverty. “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” who on account of the Holy Spirit are poor by willing freely to be so. Hence, concerning this type of poor, the Savior also speaks through Isaiah: “The Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor.”¹⁰ Commentary on Matthew 1.5.3.¹¹

The Kingdom Is Fitting for Those Who Practice Virtue. Anonymous: What does it mean that theirs is the kingdom of heaven? Is not the kingdom fitted for those who practice virtue? Even as the road to hell is lined with all the vices, and especially pride, all the virtues lead toward the kingdom of heaven, and especially humility. For the root of all evil is pride, and the root of all good is humility.¹² It is only fitting that one who exalts himself shall be humbled, and one who humbles himself shall be exalted. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 9.¹³

Mourning Unrepented Sin. Jerome: The mourning discussed here does not concern the common natural law of the dead but rather their sins and vices. Thus Samuel grieved over Saul,¹⁴ and the Lord repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.¹⁵ Also Paul the apostle says that he wept and mourned over those who, after committing fornication and impure deeds, did not feel the need of repentance.¹⁶ Commentary on Matthew 1.5.4.¹⁷

Mourning the Sins of the World. Chromatius: As with Jesus’ earlier teaching on the poor, here too he speaks of those who mourn. The blessed of whom he speaks are not those bereaving the death of a spouse or the loss of cherished servants. Rather, he is speaking of those blessed persons who . . . do not cease to mourn over the iniquity of the world or the offenses of sinners with a pious, duty-bound sentiment. To those who mourn righteously, therefore, they will receive, and not undeservedly, the consolation of eternal rejoicing promised by the Lord. Tractate on Matthew 17.3.1-2.¹⁸

A Greater Blessedness. Anonymous: Those who mourn their own sins are indeed blessed, but blessed in a less wonderful way than those who mourn the sins of others. Those who mourn the sins of others are less likely to have sins of their own to mourn. These are the ones who should be called teachers. They are with the Lord on the mountain. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 9.¹⁹

Intense Grief over Sin. Chrysostom: He calls blessed even those who mourn. Their sorrow is of a special kind. He did not designate them simply as sad but as intensely grieving. Therefore he did not say “they that sorrow” but “they that mourn.” This Beatitude is designed to draw believers toward a Christian disposition. Those who grieve for someone else—their child or wife or any other lost relation—have no fondness for gain or pleasure during the period of their sorrow. They do not aim at glory. They are not provoked by insults nor led captive by envy nor beset by any other passion. Their grief alone occupies the whole of their attention. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 15.3.²⁰

Mourners to Be Comforted. Anonymous: Those who mourn receive comfort when the pain of mourning ceases. Those who mourn over their own sins and have obtained forgiveness shall be comforted in this world. Those who mourn over the sins of others will be comforted in the future age to come. As long as they are in the world, not knowing the outcomes of God’s providence and not fully understanding those who have fallen under the sway of the devil’s influence, they mourn over all sinners, even those who without evil intention yet do evil. They see all sinners as buffeted by the devil. They clearly see that God’s own cannot perish and those who perish are not of God. No one can escape from the hands of God. Once their mourning has ended, however, they shall be comforted. Without further suffering, they shall rejoice in their blessedness. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 9.²¹

Imitating the Lord’s Meekness. Chromatius: The meek are those who are gentle, humble and unassuming, simple in faith and patient in the face of every affront. Imbued with the precepts of the gospel, they imitate the meekness of the Lord, who says, “Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.”²² Moses found the greatest favor with God because he was meek. It was written about him: “And Moses was the meekest of all people on earth.”²³ Furthermore, we read in David’s psalm: “Be mindful, O Lord, of David and his great meekness.”²⁴ Tractate on Matthew 17.4.1-2.²⁵

Enduring Offenses. Anonymous: A gentle person neither provokes evil nor is provoked by evil. Charges of sin do not prevail against such persons insofar as they are not the cause of sin. The meek one is more content to endure an offense than to commit one. For unless one is unafraid of being offended, one cannot be without sin. For even as weeds are never lacking in a field, provokers are never lacking in the world. Therefore that person is truly gentle who, when he or she has been offended, neither does evil nor even thinks of doing it. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 9.²⁶

A Present Blessing. Chrysostom: Tell me, what kind of earth is referred to here? Some say a figurative earth, but this is not what he is talking about.²⁷ For nowhere in Scripture do we find any mention of an earth that is merely figurative. But what can this Beatitude mean? Jesus holds out a prize perceptible to the senses, even as Paul also does. For even when Moses had said, “Honor your father and your mother,” he added, “For so shall you live long upon the earth.”²⁸ And Jesus himself says again to the thief, “Today you shall be with me in paradise.”²⁹ Today! In this way he does not speak only of future blessings but also of present ones. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 15.3.³⁰

A Perpetual Inheritance. Augustine: “Inherit the earth,” I believe, means the land promised in the psalm:³¹ “Thou art my hope, my portion in the land of the living.”³² It signifies the solidity and stability of a perpetual inheritance. The soul because of its good disposition is at rest as though in its own place, like a body on the earth, and is fed with its own food there, like a body from the earth. This is the peaceful life of the saints. The meek are those who submit to wickedness and do not resist evil but overcome evil with good.³³ Let the haughty therefore quarrel and contend for earthly and temporal things. But “blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the land.” This is the land from which they cannot be expelled. Sermon on the Mount 1.2.4.³⁴

Eternal Beings Will Inherit an Eternal Land. Anonymous: The psalmist wrote, “I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”³⁵ But some say that as long as this land is in this corrupted state, it is the land of the dead, for it is subject to the worthless and empty. But once it has been liberated from the slavery of corruption to the freedom of the glory of God’s children, it becomes the land of the living, so that immortals inherit immortality. According to another commentator, it is a sort of heaven in which the saints are about to live; hence it is called the land of the living. As to our lower region, it is earth; but as to the heaven above, it is called the land of the living. Others say that our body is on earth and as long as it is subject to death, it is the land of the dead. When the body has been transformed, however, and made to conform with the body of Christ’s glory, it will dwell in the land of the living. Eternal beings will inherit it as an eternal land, and spiritual beings and saints as a spiritual and holy land. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 9.³⁶

God Is the True Virtue. Origen: But if I must utilize a bold explanation indeed, I think that perhaps it was through the word that is measured by virtue and justice that the Lord presents himself to the desire of the hearers. He was born as wisdom from God for us, and as justice and sanctification and redemption.³⁷ He is “the bread that comes down from heaven”³⁸ and “living water,”³⁹ for which the great David himself thirsted. He said in one of his psalms, “My soul has thirsted for you, even for the living God; when shall I come and appear before the face of God?”⁴⁰ . . . “I shall behold your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied in beholding your glory.”⁴¹ This then, in my estimation, is the true virtue, the good unmingled with any lesser good, that is, God, the virtue that covers the heavens, as Habakkuk relates.⁴² Fragment 83.⁴³

The Passionate Longing for Justice. Chromatius: He taught that we must seek after righteousness with earnest desire, not with fainthearted energy. Indeed, he calls those persons blessed who in their search for righteousness virtually burn with passionate longing in their hunger and thirst. For if each one of us really hungers and thirsts for righteousness with eager desire, we can do nothing else but think and seek after righteousness. It is necessary that we eagerly desire that for which we hunger and thirst. Tractate on Matthew 17.5.1.⁴⁴

Transfering Desire to a New Object. Chrysostom: Note how drastically he expresses it. For Jesus does not say, “Blessed are those who cling to righteousness,” but “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness”—not in a superficial way but pursuing it with their entire desire. By contrast, the most characteristic feature of covetousness is a strong desire with which we are not so hungry for food and drink as for more and more things. Jesus urged us to transfer this desire to a new object, freedom from covetousness. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 15.4.⁴⁵

Thirsting for Righteousness. Apollinaris: When Luke mentions these blessed ones, he calls them simply those “who hunger.”⁴⁶ But Matthew here defines them as those who willingly and from a longing for the good abstain from fleshly pleasures. Both of them speak in a similar way. Whoever longs for the righteousness of God has found what is truly desirable. But the yearning for righteousness is not satisfied by analogy to the appetite alone. For brotherhood in justice is desired not merely as food. That is only half the total picture. But now he has also represented this yearning as analogous to thirst for something to drink. By the passion of thirst he intends to indicate the heat and burning of intense longing. He says that such a person “will be filled.” But such fulfillment does not produce a turning away but rather an intensification of the desire. Fragment 11.⁴⁷

The Docile Heart. Anonymous: To hunger and thirst for righteousness is to desire God’s own righteousness. People should hear and do God’s righteousness, not as though they hear or do it unwillingly but from their heart’s desire. Every good that is not done out of this sort of love for righteousness is not pleasing to God. Hence the Lord, through John, does not simply call everyone to drink, but only those who are thirsty, saying, “If anyone thirst, let that one come to me and drink.”⁴⁸ Similarly it was not for nothing that he spoke of those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness.” Whoever hungers for righteousness wants to live actively according to God’s righteousness; this is proper for the person with a good heart. One who thirsts for righteousness wants to acquire the knowledge of God that one can gain only by studying the Scriptures. This is fitting for the person with an attentive heart. “For they shall be satisfied.” They are filled with the abundance of God’s reward. Greater are the rewards of God than even the most avid desires of the saints. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 9.⁴⁹

The Promise of Fulfillment. Chromatius: Rightly then the One who is the heavenly bread and the fountain of living waters promises in return to those who thus hunger and thirst the fullness of perpetual refreshment: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” This indeed is that righteousness of faith that comes from God and Christ, of which the apostle says, “The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ in all and upon all who believe in him.”⁵⁰ Tractate on Matthew 17.5.2.⁵¹

They Shall Be Filled. Chrysostom: Then he designates the prize, again by analogy with things sensible, saying, “for they shall be filled.” Thus, because it is commonly thought that the rich are made wealthy through their own greed, Jesus says in effect: “No, it is just the opposite. For it is righteousness that produces true wealth. Thus so long as you act righteously, you do not fear poverty or tremble at hunger. Rather those who extort are those who lose all, while one who is in love with righteousness possesses all other goods in safety.” If those who do not covet enjoy such great abundance, how much more will they be ready to offer to others what they have. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 15.4.⁵²

Blessed by the Lord of Compassion. Chromatius: By a great number of witnesses indeed, just as many in the Old Testament as the New, we are called by the Lord to show compassion. But as a shortcut to faith we deem enough and more than enough what the Lord himself in the passage at hand expresses with his own voice, saying, “Blessed are the compassionate, for God will have compassion for them.” The Lord of compassion says that the compassionate are blessed. No one can obtain God’s compassion unless that one is also compassionate. In another passage he said, “Be compassionate, just as your Father who is in the heavens is compassionate.”⁵³ Tractate on Matthew 17.6.1-2.⁵⁴

The Reward of Compassion. Chrysostom: Jesus speaks here not only of those who show mercy by giving worldly goods but also of those who demonstrate mercy in their actions. There are many ways to show mercy. The commandment is broad in its implications. What reward can people expect if they obey the commandment? “They obtain mercy.” The reward at first glance appears to be an equal reimbursement, but actually the reward from God is much greater than human acts of goodness. For whereas we ourselves are showing mercy as human beings, we are obtaining mercy from the God of all. Human mercy and God’s mercy are not the same thing. As wide as the interval is between corrupted and perfect goodness, so far is human mercy distinguished from divine mercy. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 15.4.⁵⁵

As Beggars in God’s Presence. Augustine: Hear what follows: “Blessed are the compassionate, for God will have compassion on them.” Do this, and it will be done to you. Do it in regard to another that it might be done in regard to you. For you may overflow yet remain in need. You may overflow with temporal things but remain in need of eternal life. You hear the voice of a beggar, but before God you are yourself a beggar. Someone is begging from you, while you yourself are begging. As you treat your beggar, so will God treat his. You who are empty are being filled. Out of your fullness fill an empty person in need, so that your own emptiness may be again filled by the fullness of God. Sermon 53.5.⁵⁶

Mercy Toward Enemies. Anonymous: The kind of compassion referred to here is not simply giving alms to the poor or orphan or widow. This kind of compassion is often found even among those who hardly know God. But that person is truly compassionate who shows compassion even to his own enemy and treats the enemy well. For it is written, “Love your enemies, and treat well those who hate you.”⁵⁷ Remember that God too sends his rain and asks his sun to rise not only over the grateful but also over the ungrateful.⁵⁸ So Jesus calls us to “be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.”⁵⁹ Such a person is truly blessed, for if in fact he hasn’t sinned, which is difficult for us all, God’s grace helps him along in increasing his sense of justice. So he prays, “Forgive me my debts, just as I too forgive my debtors.” Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 9.⁶⁰

The Promise of Seeing God. Chrysostom: Note that the reward is spiritual. Those he here calls “pure” are either those who have so fully filled their lives with goodness that they are practically unaware of evil within themselves, or he may be referring to those who live a moderate, simple life, or there is nothing that we need so much in order to behold God as a self-controlled life. In the same vein Paul wrote, “Pursue peace with everyone and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.”⁶¹ He is here speaking of such sight as it is possible for one to have.⁶² For there are many who show mercy, who refuse to rob others and who are not covetous but who still may remain entangled in sins like fornication and licentiousness. Jesus adds these words to indicate that the former virtues do not suffice in and of themselves. Paul, writing to the Corinthians, bore witness concerning the Macedonians, who were rich not only in almsgiving but also in the rest of the virtues. For having spoken of the generous spirit they demonstrated toward their own possessions, Paul says, “They gave themselves to the Lord and to us.”⁶³ The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 15.4.⁶⁴

What Only the Pure Heart Can Behold. Augustine: Mark well what follows. When the text says “blessed are the pure in heart,” it refers to those who have been made clean within, for they shall see God. To behold God is the end and purpose of all our loving activity. But it is the end by which we are to be perfected, not the end by which we come to nothing. Note that food is finished in a different way than a garment is finished. Food is finished when it is consumed in the eating. A garment is finished when it is completed in the weaving. Both are finished, but the former’s finish means destruction; the latter’s, perfection. Whatever we do, whatever good deeds we perform, whatever we strive to accomplish, whatever we laudably yearn for, whatever we blamelessly desire, we shall no longer be seeking any of those things when we reach the vision of God. Indeed, what would one search for when one has God before one’s eyes? Or what would satisfy one who would not be satisfied with God? Yes, we wish to see God. Who does not have this desire? We strive to see God. We are on fire with the desire of seeing God. But pay attention to the saying, “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.” Provide yourself with this means of seeing God. Let me speak concretely: Why would you, while your eyes are bleary, desire to see a sunrise? Let the eyes be sound, and that light will be full of joy. If your eyes are blind, that light itself will be a torment. Unless your heart is pure, you will not be permitted to see what cannot be seen unless the heart be pure. Sermon 53.6.⁶⁵

Seeing God Face to Face. Chromatius: The pure of heart are those who have gotten rid of sin’s filth, have cleansed themselves of all the pollution of the flesh and have pleased God through works of faith and justice. As David testifies in a psalm, “Who will climb up the Lord’s mountain, or who will stand in his holy place? The one with innocent hands and a pure heart, who has not received his soul in vain.”⁶⁶ And David, rightly knowing that God can be seen only with a pure heart, prays as follows in the psalm, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”⁶⁷ So the Lord shows that it is pure-hearted people like this who are blessed. They are those who, living by faith in God with a pure mind and unstained conscience, will win the right to see the God of glory in the heavenly kingdom to come, “no longer in a mirror and in riddles, but face to face,” as the apostle has said.⁶⁸ Tractate on Matthew 17.6.3-4.⁶⁹

Seeing God in Creation. Apollinaris: He calls “pure of heart” here those who have acquired virtue in general. Showing the inadequacy of what he had said before, he adds “for they shall see God.” Why then is it said that “no one has seen God at any time”?⁷⁰ We maintain that he is seen and understood by reason. Either we may see God through the holy Scriptures with the eyes of the understanding, or again, through the wisdom visible in the universe it is possible to see, in a conjectural sort of way, him who made it. God is seen in the same way that in objects made by human beings, the maker of a given work is, after a certain manner, seen by the intellect. But what is seen is not the nature of the artificer but only his or her artistic skill. So also, whoever sees God by looking at the creation gains an impression not of the essence but of the wisdom of the One who has made all things. Therefore the Lord tells the truth when proclaiming that God is seen by the pure in heart, while at the same time the Scripture does not lie when it asserts that God has not been seen nor can be seen. Fragment 13.⁷¹

Seeing God in This Age and in the Age to Come. Anonymous: “Blessed are those with a pure heart, for they will see God.” There are two ways of seeing God: in this age and in the age to come. In this age, as has been written, “He who sees me sees my Father, too.”⁷² For they have a pure heart who not only do no evil and intend no evil but who also always do and intend everything good. For it is possible now and then to do good but not to intend it. Those who do so may do good, but not on account of God. And God does not reward such good, for the good rewarded by God isn’t the one that is merely done but the one that is well done. Moreover, a person who does good on account of God no doubt also intends the good. So whoever acts entirely justly and intends so with his mind sees God, for justice is the likeness of God. For God is just. So, to the extent that anybody has torn himself from evils and done good things, to that extent he also sees God, either dimly or clearly, or slightly or to a greater degree, or partly or completely, or now and then or always, or in accordance with human possibility. In this very way, a person too who acts and intends in an evil way sees the devil, for every evil is the symbol of the devil. In that age, however, those pure in heart in this way will see God face to face, no longer in a mirror darkly,⁷³ as is the case here. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 9.⁷⁴

Guarding the Peace of the Church. Chromatius: The peacemakers are those who, standing apart from the stumbling block of disagreement and discord, guard the affection of fraternal love and the peace of the church under the unity of the universal faith. And the Lord in the Gospel particularly urges his disciples to guard this peace, saying, “I give you my peace; I leave you my peace.”⁷⁵ David earlier testified that the Lord would give this peace to his church, saying, “I will listen to what the Lord speaks in me, for he will pronounce his peace to his people and upon his holy ones and to those who turn to him.”⁷⁶ Tractate on Matthew 17.7.1-2.⁷⁷

Where Peace Is. Augustine: There is in the inner person a kind of daily quarrel; a praiseworthy battle acts to keep what is better from being overcome by what is worse. The struggle is to keep desire from conquering the mind and to keep lust from conquering wisdom. This is the steadfast peace that you ought to develop in yourself, that what is better in you may be in charge of what is worse. The better part in you, moreover, is that part in which God’s image is found. This is called the mind, the intellect. There faith burns, there hope is strengthened, there charity is kindled. Sermon 53a.12.⁷⁸

The Peacemaker. Cyril of Alexandria: The peacemaker is the one who demonstrates the harmony of the Scriptures, where others see only a contradiction: the Old with the New, the law with the prophets, Gospel with Gospel.⁷⁹ Accordingly, having imitated the Son of God, “he shall be called a son,” having by his work grasped of the “spirit of adoption.”⁸⁰ Fragment 38.⁸¹

Christ Is Our Peace. Anonymous: Peace is the only begotten God, of whom the apostle says, “For he himself is our peace.” So people who cherish peace are children of peace. But some may be thought to be peacemakers who make peace with their enemies but remain heedless of evils within. They are never reconciled in heart with their own internal enemies, yet they are willing to make peace with others. They are parodies of peace rather than lovers of peace. For that peace is blessed which is set in the heart, not that which is set in words. Do you want to know who is truly a peacemaker? Hear the prophet, who says, “Keep your tongue from evil, and let your lips not speak deceit. Do not let your tongue utter an evil expression.”⁸² Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 9.⁸³

The Blessings of Peace. Chrysostom: Here he not only responds that they should not feud and become hateful to one another, but he is also looking for something else and something more, that we bring together others who are feuding. And again he promises a spiritual reward. What kind of reward is it? “That they themselves shall be called sons of God.” For in fact this was the crucial work of the Only Begotten: to bring together things divided and to reconcile the alienated. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 15.4.⁸⁴

An Expression of the Coming Reign of God. Augustine: Where there is no contention, there is perfect peace. And that is why the children of God are peacemakers, because nothing can finally stand against God. In this way the children possess a likeness to God the Father. And those who calm their passions and subject them to reason, to mind and spirit, and who keep their carnal lusts under control engender peace within themselves. Thereby they themselves become the kingdom of God. In this kingdom all things are so well ordered that everything in humanity that is common to us and to the beasts is spontaneously governed by that which is chief and preeminent in humanity, namely, the reasoning mind. This preeminent human faculty is itself subject to a still higher power, which is Truth itself, the only begotten Son of God. Sermon on the Mount 1.2.9.⁸⁵

Persecution for Righteousness’ Sake. Chromatius: Not without reason did the Lord previously mention hungering and thirsting for justice. He instructs us so to thirst in our desire for justice that for its sake we should despise the world’s persecutions, the punishments of the body and death itself. The martyrs above all are the epitome of those who for the righteousness of faith and the name of Christ endure persecution in this world. To them a great hope is promised, namely, the possession of the kingdom of heaven. The apostles were chief examples of this blessedness, and with them all the just people who for the sake of righteousness were afflicted with various persecutions. Due to their faith they have come into the heavenly realms. Tractate on Matthew 17.8.1-2.⁸⁶

Three Crosses. Augustine: “For the sake of justice.” This addition clearly distinguishes the martyr from the robber. For the robber too in return for evil deeds suffers at the law’s hand and doesn’t ask for a prize or garland but instead pays the due penalty. It is not the penalty as such but the basis for the penalty that makes the martyr. Let us first choose the right reason, and then let us endure the penalty without anxiety. There were three crosses in a single place when Christ suffered: he himself was in the middle, and at his two sides were two robbers. Look at the penalty: it is similar for all three. Yet one of the robbers found paradise on the cross. The man in the middle, judging, condemns the proud man and receives the humble man. That piece of wood served as a judgment seat for Christ. He who judges, who is able to make the judgment correctly, says to the robber who confessed: “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”⁸⁷ For the robber was humbling himself. Note what he had so simply said, “Remember me, Lord, when you come to your kingdom.”⁸⁸ The implication: I know my evil deeds. May I continually be crucified until you come. And because everybody who lowers himself shall be lifted up, Christ immediately expressed his thought and showed his mercy. Sermon 53a.13.⁸⁹

On Persecution by Your Own People. Anonymous: We are not to suppose that this refers only to those who suffer persecution from alien nations for not worshiping idols. This refers also to those who are blessed for not abandoning the truth when they suffer persecution from heretics.⁹⁰ They too suffer for the sake of righteousness. While the heathen nations deny Christ, the heretics deny Christ’s truth. Those who deny Christ’s truth deny Christ himself. For Christ is the truth. And so the heretics, who undertake persecution not on account of Christ but on account of Christ’s supposed truth, while they at first sight seem to be Christians, in fact are heathen in their mode of justice. If such people persecute you, you are blessed in the same way as John the Baptist was blessed under persecution. For John was killed neither because he was heathen nor because of heresy but on moral grounds, because he kept reproaching Herod for his adultery. In fact, all the prophets were killed by their own people, not by heathen kings. If, however, it is true that the prophets are martyrs, there is no doubt that a person who suffers something for God’s cause today, even if one suffers it at the hands of one’s own people, receives an eternal reward. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 9.⁹¹

Falsely on Christ’s Account. Chrysostom: But to keep you from supposing that being slandered of itself makes people blessed, he has added two qualifications: first, that it happens for Christ’s sake, and second, that what is said be false. Do not expect to be blessed if you are being reviled for something evil, and what is being said is true. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 15.4.⁹²

When People Revile You. Anonymous: He has just been speaking about enduring persecution. Now it is as if someone were asking God: God, what if we are not enduring persecution for your sake or for the sake of justice? What if we are facing the reproach and the evil talk of wicked people? You will be blessed, Jesus says, “not only if you endure persecution but also if others utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” Many people become our enemies because of our belief in God, but they do not persecute us openly. Maybe they do not have the power to persecute.⁹³ Nevertheless they go all about and slander us and say deplorable things about us. The Scripture says, “You will be blessed when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” So your reward does not end the moment you have given a glass of water compassionately. If somebody wrongs us, even with a single, slight word, your soul will not be lacking a reward. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 9.⁹⁴

Enduring Persecution. Chromatius: Not only should we patiently endure all the horrible treacheries of the persecutors that can be contrived in a time of persecution for Christ’s name against the just, or the various reproaches that can be heaped upon us, or the punishments that can be applied to the body, but we should even welcome them with exultation because of the coming glory. For he says, “Rejoice in that day and exult; I tell you this, because your reward is great in heaven.” How glorious is the endurance of this persecution, the reward for which the Lord says is in heaven! And so, taking into account the reward of the proposed glory, we should be ready with devout faith for every endurance of suffering, so that we may be ready to be made partners in the prophets’ glory. Tractate on Matthew 17.9.2-3.⁹⁵

The Context of the Kingdom of Heaven. Chrysostom: Look then at the reward again: “for your reward is great in heaven.” And don’t be discouraged if you don’t hear the kingdom of heaven granted with every single Beatitude. For even if Jesus names the rewards differently, he still puts all of them in the kingdom of heaven. For in fact he says, “Those who mourn will be comforted, and those who show mercy will receive mercy, and those pure in heart will see God, and the peacemakers will be called sons of God.” In all these things the blessed One does nothing but hint at the kingdom of heaven. For people who enjoy these things will certainly reach the kingdom of heaven. So do not suppose that the reward of the kingdom of heaven belongs only to the poor in spirit. It also belongs to those who hunger for justice, and to the meek and to all these blessed others without exception. For he set his blessing upon all these things to keep you from expecting something belonging to this material world. For if one wore a prize or garland for things that are to be dissolved together with the present life, things that flit away faster than a shadow, would that one be blessed? The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 15.5.⁹⁶

Weigh Earthly Disturbance Against Heavenly Glory. Anonymous: Weigh earthly shame against heavenly glory, and see whether what you suffer on earth is not much lighter than what you expect in heaven. But perhaps you may say, “Who can be joyful when reviled? Who can not only endure being reviled but rejoice in it with a great soul?” The answer is, only one who does not delight in empty glory. One who desires what is in heaven does not fear reproaches on earth. He does not care about what people say about him but rather how God judges him. But one who rejoices in the praise of others and how much they praise him is saddened when he receives no praise. He feels sad at others’ reproaches. But a person who is not lifted up by others’ praise is not lowered by their reproach. Wherever any one seeks his own glory, just there he also fears reproach. A person who constantly seeks glory on earth constantly fears troubles on earth. But a person who seeks glory only with God fears no disturbance except for God’s judgment. A soldier endures the danger of war so long as he hopes for the spoils of victory. So how much more should you who are waiting for the reward of the heavenly kingdom have no fear of the world’s reproaches. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 9.⁹⁷