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+<p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 60pt">15</span>
+<p align=center><B>LECTURE I
+<BLOCKQUOTE><p>1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2
+Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that
+does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already made
+clean by the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As
+the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither
+can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who
+abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me
+you can do nothing. 6 If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a
+branch and withers; and the branches are [and he is] gathered, thrown into the
+fire and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever
+you will, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that
+you bear much fruit, and so [become] prove to be my disciples.<a href="#_ftn1"
+name="_ftnref1">[1]</b></a></BLOCKQUOTE>
+<p>1978 In this
+talk our Lord especially wants to comfort his disciples about two things: one
+was near, in the present, and this was his passion; the other was what they
+feared in the future, and this was the troubles which would come upon them. He
+had said to them about these two things: <b>Let not your hearts be troubled, </b>referring
+to the first, and neither let them be afraid (14:27), referring to the second.
+<p>So
+now, after comforting them over his leaving (14:1), he strengthens them for the
+troubles which will come upon them. First, he presents a certain picture;
+secondly, he moves from this to his intention (15:3). The picture he presents
+is of a vine and a vinedresser. First, he mentions the vine; secondly, the
+vinedresser; and thirdly, he approves of the vinedresser's concern for the
+branches of the vine.
+<p>1979 He himself
+is the vine. So he says, making a comparison, <b>I am the vine</b>; for just
+like a vine, although it seems to be of small account, nevertheless surpasses
+all trees in the sweetness of its fruit, so Christ, although he seemed to be
+despised by the world because he was poor, and seemed of small account and was
+publicly disgraced, nevertheless produced the sweetest fruit: "His fruit was
+sweet to my taste" (Song 2:3). And so Christ is a vine producing a wine which
+interiorly intoxicates us: a wine of sorrow for sin: "You have given us to drink
+the wine of sorrow" [Ps 60:3]; and a wine which strengthens us, that is, which
+restores us: "My blood is drink indeed" (6:55). In the same way he compared
+himself, above, to wheat, for his flesh is truly food.
+<p>This
+is the vine mentioned in Genesis (40:9&#8209;10): "There was a vine before me,
+and on the vine there were three branches," that is Christ, in whom there are
+three substances: his body, soul and divinity. This is also the vine about
+which Jacob says: "My son, tie your she&#8209;ass," that is, the Church, "to the
+vine" [Gen 49:11].
+<p>1980 This vine
+is true. Sometimes what is true is distinguished from its likeness, as a man is
+distinguished from his picture. And sometimes what is true is distinguished
+from what is deformed or spoiled, as true wine is distinguished from vinegar,
+which is spoiled wine. When Christ says here, <b>I am the true vine, </b>he is
+using true in the second sense to distinguish himself from the deformed or
+spoiled vine, which is the Jewish people. We read about them: "How then have
+you turned degenerate and become a wild vine" (Jer 2:21). This was because this
+vine brought forth wild grapes instead of grapes: "When I looked for it to
+yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?" (Is 5:4).
+<p>1981 There are
+two natures in Christ, the divine and the human. Because of his human nature he
+is like us and is less than the Father. Because of his divine nature he is like
+God and above us. Thus he is the true vine insofar as he is the head of the
+Church, the man Christ Jesus. He implies this when he mentions the vinedresser,
+who is the Father. He says, <b>and my Father is the vinedresser. </b>If Christ
+is the vine because of his divine nature, the Father would also be the vine
+like the Son. But because Christ is the vine by reason of his human nature, the
+Father is related to him as vinedresser to vine. Indeed, even Christ himself,
+as God, is a vinedresser.
+<p>1982 [The
+vinedresser cultivates the vine.] Now to cultivate something is to devote one's
+interest to it. And we can cultivate something in two ways: either to make what
+is cultivated better, as we cultivate a field or something of that sort, or to
+make ourselves better by the cultivating, and in this way we cultivate wisdom.
+God cultivates us to make us better by his work, since he roots out the evil
+seeds in our hearts. As Augustine says, he opens our hearts with the plow of
+his words, plants the seeds of the commandments, and harvests the fruit of
+devotion.<a href="#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a>
+<p>But
+we cultivate God, not by plowing but by adoring, in order that we may be made
+better by him: "If any one is a worshiper," that is, a cultivator, "of God and
+does his will, God listens to him" (9:31). And so the Father is the vinedresser
+of this vine for the good of others. For he plants: "I planted you a choice
+vine, wholly of pure seed" (Jer 2:21), and makes its grow: I planted, Apollos
+can make one grow from within and produce fruit, no matter how much others
+cooperate on the exterior. And God guards and preserves, for we read that he
+built a watchtower in the vineyard, and put a hedge around it (Mt 21:33; Is
+5:2).
+<p>1983 The
+vinedresser is concerned about two things: the vine and its branches. Now the
+vine considered here was perfect, and did not need care by the vinedresser. And
+so the entire care of the vinedresser will be directed to the branches. He says,
+<b>every branch of mine </b>and so forth. The branches of a vine, however, have
+the nature of the vine; and so those united to Christ are branches of this
+vine: "The vine brought forth branches" [Ez 17:6]. He mentions two things about
+the branches: first, the attitude of the vinedresser to the bad branches; his
+interest in the good branches.
+<p>1984 The
+vinedresser's interest in the bad branches is to cut them off the vine. Thus he
+says, <b>every branch</b>, that is, every believer, <b>of mine that bears no
+fruit, </b>that is, bears no fruit on the vine, which is me, without whom
+nothing can bear fruit, <b>he takes away </b>from the vine. It is clear from
+this that not only are some cut off from Christ for doing evil, but also
+because they neglect to do good: "We entreat you not to accept the grace of God
+in vain" (2 Cor 6:1). Thus the Apostle said about himself: "By the grace of God
+I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain" (1 Cor 15:10). We read
+in Matthew (25:28) that the money was taken away from the servant who did not
+bear fruit with it, but hid it instead; and our Lord ordered the unfruitful fig
+tree to be cut down (Lk 13:7).
+<p>1985 His
+interest in the good branches is to help them so they can bear more fruit. So
+he says, <b>and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear
+more fruit. </b>Considering the literal sense, we see that a natural vine with
+branches that have many shoots bears less fruit, because the sap is spread out
+through all the shoots. Thus the vinedresser prunes away the extra shoots so
+that the vine can bear more fruit. It is the same with us. For if we are well&#8209;disposed
+and united to God, yet scatter our love over many things, our virtue becomes
+weak and we become less able to do good. This is why God, in order that we may
+bear fruit, will frequently remove such obstacles and prune us by sending
+troubles and temptations, which make us stronger. Accordingly, he says, he <b>prunes</b>,
+even though one may be clean, for in this life no one is so clean that he does
+not need to be cleansed more and more: "If we say we have no sin, we deceive
+ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 Jn 1:8). And he does this so <b>that
+it may bear more fruit, </b>that is, grow in virtue, so that the more pruned or
+cleansed the more fruitful one is: "Let the just still be justified, and the
+holy still be sanctified" [Rev 22:11]; "The Gospel is bearing fruit and
+growing" (Col 1:6); "They go from strength to strength" (Ps 84:7).
+<p>1986 Now he
+passes from this picture to his main intention. Two things were noticed in the
+above picture when comparing the branches to the vine: the union of the
+branches to the vine, and the pruning of the branches. First, he considers the
+union of the branches with the vine; secondly, their pruning (v 18). As to the
+first, he advises the disciples to cling to the vine; secondly, he gives the
+reason for this (v 4b); thirdly, he describes this union (v 9). He does two
+things concerning the first: he reminds them of a benefit already received;
+secondly, he tells them to abide in him (4a).
+<p>1987 The benefit
+they had already received was that of being cleansed. He says, <b>you are
+already made clean. </b>It is like saying: I have said certain things about
+branches; and you are branches ready to be pruned so as to bear fruit. And you
+are clean by the <b>word which I have spoken to you.</b>
+<p>The
+word of Christ, in the first place, cleanses us from error by teaching us: "He
+must hold firm to the sure word as taught, so that he may be able to give
+instruction in sound doctrine" (Tit 1:9). This is because there is no falsity
+in the words of God: "All my words are right" [Prv 8:8]. He says, <b>you are
+already made clean </b>from the errors of the Jews. Secondly, the word of
+Christ cleanses our hearts from earthly affections by inflaming them toward
+heavenly things. For the word of God by its power moves our hearts, weighed
+down by earthly things, and sets them on fire: "Is not my word fire?" (Jer
+23:29). Thirdly when God is invoked in baptism, his word cleanses us from sin.
+For we are cleansed in baptism because the word cleanses with the water. As
+Augustine says: "Take away the word and what is the water but only water? The
+word accompanies the element and a sacrament is formed."<a href="#_ftn3"
+name="_ftnref3">[3]</a>
+Thus it is the word which makes the water touch the body and wash the heart.
+The word, I say, not because it is spoken, but because it is believed. For this
+word of faith is so strong in the Church that it even cleanses infants,
+although they themselves cannot believe, when it is proclaimed from the faith
+of those who believe, offer, bless and touch the infants, "baptizing them in
+the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Mt 28:19).
+Fourthly, the word of Christ cleanses by the power of faith: God "cleansed
+their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:9).<a href="#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4">[4]</a>
+<p>Thus
+he says to them, you already instructed, moved, baptized, strengthened in
+faith, <b>are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. </b>"You
+are clean, but not all" (13:10). Since he had said above that the work of a
+vinedresser was to prune, he clearly shows that he is a vinedresser when he
+says that his word cleanses. And indeed, Christ, as God, is a vinedresser and
+prunes the branches.
+<p>1988 Here he
+urges them to persevere. He is saying in effect: Because you are now cleansed
+and have received such a great benefit, you should remain this way. He says, <b>Abide
+in me, </b>by charity: "He who abides in love abides in God" (1 Jn 4:16); and
+by means of the sacraments: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in
+me" (6:56). He says, <b>Abide in me, </b>by receiving grace, <b>and I in you, </b>by
+helping you.
+<p>1989 Next (v
+4b), he gives four reasons for being united to Christ. First, it sanctifies
+those who are united to him; secondly, those not united are punished (v 6);
+thirdly, those who are united to him have their desires satisfied (v 7);
+fourthly, it glorifies God (v 8). In regard to the first, he shows that being
+united to Christ is necessary in order to bear fruit; secondly that this is
+efficacious (v 5).
+<p>1990 He does two
+things about the first: first, he presents an illustration; and secondly shows
+that it is apt. As to the first he says, I say that you should abide in me so
+that you can bear fruit, because just <b>as the branch </b>literally, a
+material branch, <b>cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, </b>from
+whose roots sap ascends to give life to the branches, so <b>neither can you </b>bear
+fruit <b>unless you abide in me. </b>Thus, being united to Christ is the reason
+why someone bears fruit. And so of those who are not united to Christ we read:
+"What return [fruit] did you get from the things of which you are now ashamed?"
+(Rom 6:21); "The company of the godless is barren" (Job 15:34).
+<p>His
+example is apt because <b>I am the vine, you are the branches. </b>It is like
+saying: The relation between you and me is like that of branches to the vine.
+We read of these branches: "It sent out its branches to the sea" [Ps 80:11].
+<p>1991 Here he
+shows that being united to Christ is efficacious: first, he shows that it is
+efficacious; secondly, the reason for this efficacy (v 5b).
+<p>1992 First he
+says: I say that it is not only necessary for a person to abide in me in order
+to bear fruit, it is also efficacious, <b>because he who abides in me</b>, by
+believing, obeying and persevering, <b>and I in him, </b>by giving
+enlightenment, help and perseverance, he it is and not another, <b>that bears
+much fruit.</b>
+<p>Such
+persons bear a threefold fruit in this life. The first is that they avoid sin.
+Secondly, they are eager to accomplish works of holiness: "the return you get
+is sanctification" (Rom 6:22). Thirdly, they are eager for the progress of
+others: "The earth will be filled with the fruit of your works" [Ps 104:13].
+They also pro�duce a fourth fruit, but in eternal life: "He gathers fruit for
+eternal life" (4:36). Eternal life is the last and perfect fruit of our labors:
+"The fruit of good works is glorious" [Wis 3:15].
+<p>1993 The reason
+for this efficacy is because <b>apart from me you can do nothing. </b>With
+these words he instructs the hearts of the humble and silences the mouths of
+the proud, especially of the Pelagians, who say that they can do by themselves,
+without the help of God, the good works of the virtues and of the law. And
+although they were trying to maintain our free will, they really undermined it.
+<pIndent>Look at what our Lord says here! He says that
+without him we cannot do anything great, nor anything small, indeed, we cannot
+do anything at all. This is not surprising because neither does God do anything
+without him: "Without him was not anything made that was made" (1:3). For our
+works are either from the power of nature or from divine grace. If they are
+from the power of nature, then, since every action of nature is from the Word
+of God, no nature can act to do anything without him. If our works are from the
+power of grace, then, since he is the author of grace &#8209; "grace and truth
+came through Jesus Christ" (1:17) &#8209; it is obvious that no meritorious
+work can be done without him: "Not that we are capable of thinking anything of
+ourselves as originating from ourselves; our capability is from God" [2 Cor
+3:5]. Therefore, if we cannot even think without it coming from God, much less
+can we do anything else.<a href="#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5">[5]</a>
+<p>1994 Here he
+mentions the second reason for remaining united to Christ, which is the threat
+of punishment, for unless we abide in him, we will not escape punishment. He
+mentions five things which describe this punishment. Some of these belong to
+the punishment of loss, that is to say, the exclusion from glory; so he says, <b>he
+is cast forth. </b>Sometimes on a natural vine we see a branch which remains by
+some sort of an external connection without sharing any of the sap. In this way
+also some remain connected to Christ only by faith, yet they do not share the
+sap of the vine because they do not have charity. Thus, such persons will be
+cast out, that is, separated from fellowship with the good.<a href="#_ftn6"
+name="_ftnref6">[6]</a>
+<p>The
+second punishment of loss is a withering; he says, <b>and withers</b>, for if
+such a person once took anything at all from the root, he will lose it when
+deprived of its help and life. Even bad Christians seem to have some kind of a
+freshness, but when they are separated from the saints and from Christ their
+dried up condition will be apparent: "My strength is dried up like a potsherd"
+(Ps 22:16).
+<p>The
+third punishment is association with those who are evil; he says, <b>and he is
+gathered</b>, by the reaping angels, to be with the wicked. This is a very
+great punishment. For if it is a great punishment to be with the wicked for
+only a little while, how much greater it is to be with the most evil men and
+devils forever: "They will be gathered together as prisoners in a pit" (Is
+24:22); "Gather the weeds first and bind them into bundles to be burned" (Mt
+13:30).
+<p>The
+fourth punishment is that of sense; he says, <b>thrown into the fire, </b>which
+is eternal: "What will be done with the wood of the vine?... Look, it is given
+to the fire for fuel" [Ez 15:2]. If the wood of the vine does not remain united
+to it, it is more worthless than other woods; but if it abides on the vine it
+is more beautiful than the others. Thus Augustine says: "A branch is fit for
+two things: either the vine or the fire. If it is not on the vine, it will be
+in the fire."<a href="#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7">[7]</a>
+"Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire" (Mt 25:41). The fifth
+punishment is the unending experience of fire, he says, <b>and burned, </b>without
+end: "And they will go away into eternal punishment" (Mt 25:46).
+<p>1995 Now we have
+the third reason for abiding in Christ: our prayers become effective. He is
+saying, in effect, <b>If you abide in me</b>, you will obtain this fruit, that
+is, <b>ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.</b>
+<p>Note
+that when before he urged them to remain united to him, he mentioned two
+things; and he repeats them here. First, he said before, <b>Abide in me</b>,
+and he repeats it here by saying, <b>If you abide in me</b>. Secondly, he said
+before, <b>and I in you, </b>in place of which he now says, <b>and my words
+abide in you. </b>Because Christ is the Word of the Father, all words of wisdom
+are from him: "The source of wisdom is God's Word in the highest heaven" (Sir
+1:5). Thus it is clear that Christ is in us when the words of his wisdom are in
+us: "You do not have his word abiding in you" (5:38).
+<p>Thus
+he says, <b>and my words abide in you, </b>in four ways: by your loving them,
+believing them, meditating on them and accomplishing them: "My son, be
+attentive to my words," by believing them; "incline your ear to my sayings," by
+obeying or accomplishing them; "let them not escape from your sight," because
+you meditate on them; but "keep them within your heart," by loving them (Prv
+4:20). "Your words were found and I ate them" (Jer 15:16).
+<p>Therefore,
+the words of Christ are in us when we do as he commands and love what he
+promises. And from this it follows that they teach us what we ought to pray
+for: "We do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes
+for us with sighs too deep for words" (Rom 8:26). For this reason Christ taught
+us to pray with his own words (Mt 6:9; Lk 11:2). And so the words of God, when
+believed and meditated upon, teach us to ask for the things necessary for our
+salvation; and these words of God when loved and accomplished help us to merit
+it. So he adds, <b>ask</b>, with sound judgment and perseverance, <b>whatever
+you will, and it shall be done for you: </b>"If you ask anything of the Father
+in my name he will give it to you" [16:23].
+<p>1996 Now the
+fourth reason for abiding in Christ is mentioned, and it is the glory of the
+Father. All our works should be directed to the glory of God: "Not to us, O
+Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory" (Ps 115:1); "So, whether you eat
+or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" [1 Cor 10:31]. And so
+our Lord shows that we are in Christ, because this is why we bear fruit, and
+because we bear fruit the Father is glorified. He says, <b>By this my Father is
+glorified</b>, that is, it reflects glory on my Father, <b>that you bear much
+fruit.</b>
+<p>Here
+he mentions, in reverse order, three things which follow one from the other.
+One refers to abiding in Christ, <b>you become my disciples</b>, and this is
+the same as "Abide in me" (v 4). The second follows from this, <b>you bear much
+fruit. </b>And from this my Father is glorified. He is saying in effect: It
+gives glory to the Father that you bear much fruit, and you bear much fruit
+because you are my disciples. You do this, first of all, by living well: "That
+they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven"
+(Mt 5:16); and by teaching well, which also glorifies God: "Glorify the Lord by
+teaching" [Is 24:15]; "Every one who calls upon my name I have created him for
+my praise and glory" (Is 43:7). And so the apostles are the soil which bears
+much fruit because they have become the disciples of Christ by abiding in him
+and by the fire of their charity.
+<p>For
+these are the signs of a disciple of Christ: first that one abides in him, is
+united to him: "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples" (8:31).
+And by doing this they become fit for bearing the fruit of teaching. The second
+sign is charity: "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you
+have love for one another" (13:35). And because of this they are able to bear
+the fruit of good works, because nothing has any value without charity: "If I
+have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries ... but have not love, I am
+nothing" (1 Cor 13:2).
+<BR><BR><BR>
+<p align=center><B>LECTURE 2
+<BLOCKQUOTE><p>9 "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide
+in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as
+I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I
+have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
+12 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13
+Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his
+friends."<a href="#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8">[8]</a></B></BLOCKQUOTE>
+<p>1997 Above, our
+Lord urged his disciples to remain united with him; here he shows what this
+involves. He makes three points: first, to abide in him is to abide in his
+love; secondly, to abide in his love is to keep his commandments (v 10);
+thirdly, that his commandment is to love (v 12). He does two things about the
+first: first, he recalls the benefit granted to the disciples; secondly, he
+urges them to persevere, <b>abide in my love </b>(v 9).
+<p>1998 He says
+that the fact that we abide in Christ is due to his grace; and this grace is
+the effect of his love: "I have loved you with an everlasting love" (Jer 31:3).
+It is clear from this that all our good works are ours due to the benefit of
+divine love. For they would not be ours unless faith acted through love, and we
+would not love unless we were first loved. And so he reminds them of this
+benefit by saying, <b>As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.</b>
+<p>1999 The word
+"as" sometimes indicates an equality of nature, and at other times a similarity
+in acting. The Arians, who erred about this passage, wanted the "as" to
+indicate an equality, and because of this they concluded that the Son was inferior
+to the Father. But this is false. We must say, then, according to Augustine,
+that the word "as" indicates a likeness in grace and love; for the love with
+which the Son loves his disciples is a certain likeness of that love with which
+the Father loves the Son.<a href="#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9">[9]</a>
+<p>Now
+since to love someone is to will good to that person, the Father loves the Son,
+with respect to the Son's divine nature, because the Father wills him his own
+infinite good, which he has, by communicating to the Son the very same
+numerical nature the Father himself has: "For the Father loves the Son, and
+shows him all that he himself is doing" (5:20). The Father also loves the Son
+with respect to his human nature: "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and
+out of Egypt I called my son" (Hos 11:1). And he loves him so that he would be
+at once both God and man.
+<p>But
+the Son did not love the disciples in either of these ways. For he did not love
+them to the point of their being gods by nature, nor to the point that they
+would be united to God so as to form one person with him. But he did love them
+up to a similar point: he loved them to the extent that they would be gods by
+their participation in grace &#8209; "I say, 'You are gods'" (Ps 82:6); "He has
+granted to us precious and very great promises, that through these you may
+become partakers of the divine nature" (2 Pet 1:4) &#8209; and he loved them to
+the extent that they would be united to God in affection: "He who is united to
+the Lord becomes one spirit with him" (1 Cor 6:17); "For those whom he foreknew
+he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son" (Rom 8:29). Thus
+the Father communicated to the Son a greater good, with respect to each nature
+of the Son, than the Son did to his disciples; yet there is a similarity, as
+was said.
+<p>2000 <b>Abide in
+my love. </b>This is like saying: Because you have received such a great
+benefit from my love, <b>abide</b> in it so that you love me. Or it could mean,
+<b>abide in my love</b> because I love you, that is, abide in my grace so you
+will not be excluded from the good things I have prepared for you. This meaning
+is the more apt, so that the thought is: Persevere in this state so that you
+will be loved by me through the effect of grace: "Every one should remain in
+the state in which he was called" (1 Cor 7:20). "He who abides in love abides
+in God, and God abides in him" (1 Jn 4:16).
+<p>2001 Now he
+shows what it means to abide in his love. First, he shows that it means to keep
+his commandment; secondly, he illustrates it with an example, <b>as I have kept
+my Father's commandments; </b>thirdly, he eliminates an assumption (v 11).
+<p>2002 He says, <b>Abide
+in my love, </b>and you will do this <b>if you keep my commandments, </b>for
+this is the way you will abide in my love. Keeping the commandments is an
+effect of divine love, not only of the love by which we love, but also of the
+love by which God loves us. For from the fact that God loves us, he influences
+us and helps us to fulfill his commandments, which we cannot do without grace:
+"In this is love, not that we love God but that he loved us first" [1 Jn 4:10].
+<p>2003 He adds an
+example when he says, <b>as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in
+his love. </b>For just as the love which the Father has for him is the model or
+standard of Christ's love for us, so Christ wants his obedience to be the model
+of our obedience. By saying this Christ shows that he abided in the Father's
+love because in all things he kept the Father's commandments. For he submitted
+to death: "He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a
+cross" (Phil 2:8); and refrained from all sin: "He committed no sin; no guile
+was found on his lips" (1 Pet 2:22). These things are to be understood of
+Christ in his human nature: "He has not left me alone, for I always do what is
+pleasing to him" (8:29). And so he says, <b>I abide in his love, </b>because
+there is nothing in me, as a human being, opposed to his love.
+<p>2004 Now so they
+do not think he is urging them to keep his commandments for his own benefit and
+not for their benefit, he says, <b>These things I have spoken to you, </b>that
+you keep my commandments, for your own good, so <b>that my joy may be in you. </b>Now
+love is the cause of joy, for everyone takes joy in what he loves. But God
+loves himself and creatures, especially rational creatures, to whom he grants
+an infinite good. So Christ rejoices in two things from all eternity: first, in
+his own good and that of the Father: "I was delighted every day, playing before
+him" [Prv 8:30]; secondly, he delights in the good of the rational creature:
+"delighting in the sons of men" (Prv 8:31), that is, in the fact that I am
+shared in by the children of men. He rejoices in these things from eternity:
+"As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you"
+(Is 62:5).
+<p>Consequently,
+our Lord wants us to become sharers of his joy by our observing his
+commandments. He says, <b>that my joy, </b>the joy I take in my divinity and
+that of my Father, <b>may be in you</b>. This is nothing else than eternal
+life, which as Augustine says, is joy in the truth.<a href="#_ftn10"
+name="_ftnref10">[10]</a>
+<b>That my joy may be in you </b>means, in effect, that you may have eternal
+life: "Then you will delight yourself in the Almighty" (Job 22:26). <b>And that
+your joy</b>, which I take in my own humanity, <b>may be full</b>. The goods in
+which we rejoice are either imperfect or imperfectly possessed; and so in this
+life our joy cannot be full. But it will be full when perfect goods are
+perfectly possessed: "Enter into the joy of your master" (Mt 25:21).
+<p>2005 Now our
+Lord states what his precepts are: first, he states his commandment; secondly,
+he presents an example (v 12b); thirdly, he recalls a benefit (v 14).
+<p>2006 The
+commandment he gives is the commandment of charity, which he wants us to keep: <b>This
+is my commandment, that you love one another. </b>Since there are many other
+commandments of the Lord in the sacred writings, why does he say that his
+commandment is only the practice of charity?
+<p>The
+answer, according to Gregory, is that charity is the root and end of all the
+virtues.<a href="#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11">[11]</a>
+It is the root, because it is from charity, firmly rooted in the human heart,
+that we are led to accomplish all the other commandments: "He who loves his
+neighbor has fulfilled the law" (Rom 13:8). Therefore, all the commandments
+are, in a way, directed to this: that we do good to our neighbor, and not harm
+him; and this is done best through charity. Charity is the end because all the
+commandments are directed to it and by it alone are given strength: "The aim of
+our charge is love" (1 Tim 1:5). So he says, <b>This is my commandment, that
+you love one another, </b>since everything comes from charity as its source,
+and all things are directed to charity as their end. As Gregory puts it: just
+as many branches of a tree spring from one root, so the many virtues are
+produced from one root; and the branch of a good work has no life if it is not
+united to the root of charity.<a href="#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12">[12]</a>
+<p>2007 Since we
+read in Matthew (22:40) that the law and the prophets depend not only on love
+for God, but also on love for neighbor, why does Christ mention here only love
+for neighbor? The answer is that one is included in the other: for a person who
+loves God must love his neighbor and things which belong to God; and the person
+who loves his neighbor for the sake of God must love God. Now although the
+objects of these acts are different, yet the outcomes are the same. There are
+two reasons why he mentions love of neighbor rather than the love of God. By
+doing this he wants to teach and lead them to help their neighbor, and to help
+them to become strong enough to endure sufferings from those who will persecute
+them. To do both of these, charity for our neighbor is necessary.
+<p>2008 Here he
+shows by an example how we should love our neighbor, which is, as Christ loved
+us. Now Christ loved us in the correct order and efficaciously. His love was
+orderly because he loved nothing in us but God and in relation to God: "I am
+the mother of beautiful love" (Si 24:18), and efficacious because he loved us
+so much that he delivered himself for us: "Christ loved us and gave himself up
+for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Eph 5:2). So we should love
+our neighbor, in a holy way, for his good, and efficaciously, by showing our
+love by our actions: "Let us not love in word or speech but in deed and in
+truth" (1 Jn 3:18).
+<p>2009 <b>Greater
+love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. </b>Here
+he shows the efficacy of love, which is that one undergo death for his friends;
+this is a sign of the greatest love. Yet one could object that it is considered
+to be a sign of a greater love when someone lays down his life for his enemies,
+as Christ did: "But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners
+Christ died for us" (Rom 5:8).
+<pIndent>We should answer that Christ did not lay down his
+life for his enemies so that they would remain his enemies, but to make them
+his friends. Or, one could say, that he lay down his life for his friends, not
+in the sense that they were friends who loved him, but rather were those whom
+he loved. It is clear that the sign of the greatest love is to lay down one's
+life for one's friends. This is so because there are four lovable things to be
+put in order: God, our soul, our neighbor, and our body. We should love God
+more than ourselves and our neighbor, so that for the sake of God we ought to
+give ourselves, body and soul, and our neighbor. We should lay down our body,
+but not give it, for the sake of our soul. For our neighbor, we should expose
+our body and our physical life for his salvation. Consequently, since our
+physical life is the best thing we have after our soul, it is the greatest
+thing to expose it for the sake of our neighbor, and a sign of greater love:
+"In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son
+into the world, so that we might live through him" (1 Jn 4:9).
+<BR><BR><BR>
+<p align=center><b>LECTURE 3
+<BLOCKQUOTE><p>14 "You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No
+longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is
+doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father
+I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and
+appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should
+abide; so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
+17 This I command you, to love [so that you will love] one another."<a
+href="#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13">[13]</b></a></BLOCKQUOTE>
+<p>2010 Above, our
+Lord urged us to love our neighbor, based on his example. Here, Christ shows
+his disciples the benefit conferred upon them which obliges them to imitate
+him, which is, that he has embraced them in his love. First, he mentions a sign
+of friendship; secondly, the cause of this friendship (v 16). He gives two
+signs of friendship: one is found in the disciples; the other in himself (v
+15).
+<p>2011 The sign in
+the disciples that they are friends of Christ is that they keep his
+commandments; he says, <b>You are my friends if you do what I command you. </b>He
+is saying in effect: Up to now I have urged you to love one another, but now I
+am speaking and teaching you about your friendship with me.
+<p>The
+statement, <b>you are my friends </b>can be understood in two ways, based on
+the two ways someone is called a friend. A person is called a friend either
+because he loves or because he is loved. And what follows, <b>if you do what I
+command you </b>is true for both meanings of friend. Those who love God keep
+his commandments, and because a friend is, as Gregory says, in a way the
+guardian of the other's soul, it is appropriate that one who guards or keeps
+the will of God in his commandments is called the friend of God.<a
+href="#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14">[14]</a>
+Again, those whom God loves keep his commandments, because by conferring his
+grace on them he helps them to keep them: for by loving us, God makes us love
+him: "I love those who love me" (Prv 8:17). It is not they who first loved God,
+but God makes them lovers by loving them.
+<p>2012 Note that
+keeping the commandments is not the cause of divine friendship but the sign,
+the sign that both God loves us and that we love God: "Love of her [Wisdom] is
+the keeping of her laws" (Wis 6:19); "He who says he loves him and does not
+keep his commandments is a liar" [1 Jn 2:4].
+<p>2013 The sign of
+Christ's friendship for them is mentioned when he says, <b>No longer do I call
+you servants</b>. First, he excludes what seems opposed to friendship;
+secondly, he mentions the sign of true friendship (v 15b).
+<p>2014 Servitude
+is opposed to friendship; and he rejects this by saying, <b>No longer do I call
+you servants. </b>It is like saying: although you were formerly servants under
+the law, now you are free under grace: "You have received the spirit of
+adoption" [Rom 8:15].
+<p>Secondly,
+he adds the reason for this when he says, <b>for the servant does not know what
+his master is doing: </b>for a servant is like a stranger to his master, "The
+slave does not continue in the house for ever" (8:35). Now secrets should not
+be told to strangers, "Do not tell a secret to a stranger" [Prv 25:9]. And so
+secrets should not be given to those who are now servants. This verse shows the
+servant does not act for the sake of himself, because charity does not seek its
+own, but the interests of Jesus and the salvation of one's neighbor. Those who
+act entirely by reason of another are bad servants. Thus it is clear that the
+disciples were servants, but it was a good servitude springing from love.
+<p>As
+for the second difficulty, we should say that the servant who is moved only by
+another and not by himself, is related to the one who moves him as a tool to
+the worker. Now a tool shares with the worker in the work, but not in the
+reason for the work. So such servants share only in the work. But when a
+servant acts by his own will, it is necessary for him to know the reason for
+the work and have secrets revealed to him so he can know what he is doing. "If
+you have a servant, regard him as your own soul" [Sir 33:31]. Now the apostles,
+as was said, were moved by themselves to accomplish good works, that is, they
+were moved by their own will, inclined by love. And so our Lord revealed his
+secrets to them. But bad servants do not know what their master is doing. What
+things don't they know? Strictly speaking, they do not know what God does in
+us. For God acts in us in all the good we do: "O Lord ... you have wrought for
+us all our works (Is 26:12). So the bad servant, darkened by the pride in his
+own heart, <b>does not know what his master is doing </b>when this servant
+attributes to himself what he does.
+<p>2016 Now he sets
+down the true sign of friendship on his own part, which is that <b>all that I
+have heard from my Father I have made know to you. </b>For the true sign of
+friendship is that a friend reveals the secrets of his heart to his friend.
+Since friends have one mind and heart, it does not seem that what one friend
+reveals to another is placed outside his own heart: "Argue your case with your
+neighbor" (Prv 25:9). Now God reveals his secrets to us by letting us share in
+his wisdom: "In every generation she [Wisdom] passes into holy souls and makes
+them friends of God and prophets" (Wis 7:27).
+<p>2017 There is a
+question here as to what and in what way the Son hears from the Father. The
+answer has already been indicated in many ways. Since to hear is to receive
+knowledge from another, for the Son to hear from the Father is nothing other
+than for the Son to receive knowledge from the Father. Now the knowledge of the
+Son is his own essence. Thus, for the Son to hear from the Father is for the
+Son to receive his essence from the Father.
+<p>2018 Another
+question concerns the statement, <b>all that I have heard from my Father I have
+made known to you. </b>If he did make all things known to them it would follow
+that the disciples knew as much as the Son. The answer, according to
+Chrysostom, is that <b>all that I have heard </b>means all that I have heard
+which you ought to hear, but not absolutely all things, <b>I have made known to
+you: </b>"I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now"
+(16:12).<a href="#_ftn15" name="_ftnref15">[15]</a>
+<p>Or,
+one could say, according to Augustine, that what he would say to them was so
+certain that he used the past tense instead of the future.<a href="#_ftn16"
+name="_ftnref16">[16]</a>
+So the meaning becomes, <b>all that I have heard from my Father I have made
+known to you, </b>that is, I will make known with that fullness of which the
+Apostle says: "Then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully
+understood" (1 Cor 13:12). And below we read, "The hour is coming when I shall
+tell you plainly of the Father" (16:25), that is, when I lead you to the vision
+of the Father. For all things the Son knows the Father knows. So when he revels
+the Father to us, the Son will reveal all that the Son himself knows and which
+we know.
+<p>            Again,
+one could say with Gregory, and this is better, that the same thing can be
+known perfectly or imperfectly. For example, in the sciences it is obvious that
+a person who knows all the principles of a science is said to know that
+science, although imperfectly. And so a person who teaches some principles of a
+science can say that he teaches that science, because everything that belongs
+to that science is virtually contained in its principles. But one will know
+that same science more perfectly when he knows the individual conclusions which
+are virtually in the principles. In the same way we can have a twofold
+knowledge of divine matters. One is imperfect, and is gained by faith, which is
+a foretaste of that future happiness and knowledge which we will have in
+heaven: "Faith is the substance of things to be hoped for" [Heb 11:2]. He says
+of this knowledge, <b>all ... I have made known to you, </b>that is, in faith,
+by a kind of foretaste, like conclusions are virtually contained in their
+principles. So Gregory says: "All the things he has made known to his servants
+are the joys of interior love and the feasts of our heavenly fatherland, which
+he excites in our minds every day by the breath of his love. For as long as we
+love the sublime heavenly things we have heard, we already know what we love,
+because the love itself is knowledge."<a href="#_ftn17" name="_ftnref17"
+title="">[17]</a>
+<p>2019 Now he
+mentions the cause of this friendship. It is the usual practice for each one of
+us to say that he or she is the cause of friendship: "Every friend will say, 'I
+started the friendship'" [Sir 37:1]. And so many people attribute to themselves
+the cause of God's friendship when they attribute to themselves, and not to
+God, the source of their good actions. Our Lord rejects this by saying, <b>you
+did not choose me. </b>He is saying in effect: Whoever has been called to this
+sublime friendship should not attribute the cause of this friendship to
+himself, but to me, who chose him or her as a friend. First, he mentions the
+gratuitous choice of God; secondly, he sets forth for what they have been
+chosen, <b>that you should go and bear fruit.</b>
+<p>2020 He says,
+you did not choose me to be your friend, <b>but I chose you </b>to make you my
+friends: "Not that we loved God, but that he loved us first" [1 Jn 4:10].
+<p>Now
+God's love is twofold. One is eternal, by which we are predestined: "He chose
+us in him before the foundation of the world" (Eph 1:4). The other is temporal,
+by which we are called by him, and this is simply the carrying out of eternal
+predestination. And this is because those he chose by predestining them he also
+chose by calling them: "Those whom he predestined he also called" (Rom 8:30);
+"He chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles" (Lk 6:13).<a href="#_ftn18"
+name="_ftnref18">[18]</a>
+<p>2021 Some say
+that God's temporal choice is caused by the merits of those who are chosen.
+This conflicts with what it says here. For if God chose you because you were
+good, you were still not able to be good unless you chose the good, and this
+good is especially God. Therefore, it was you who first chose the good which is
+God, before you were chosen. But our Lord says the contrary: <b>you did not
+choose me, but I chose you. </b>Thus we should not say that our own goodness
+entirely precedes God's choice. I say "entirely" because we might have some
+particular good which could be the cause of another good being given to us; and
+this good could be the cause of being given still another good, since there is
+a certain order in God's gifts. But in general, nothing can be the cause of and
+precede the divine choice, because all our goods are from God.
+<p>2022 It would be
+an even greater error to say that our eternal election was preceded by our own
+choice. Yet there are some who said that our preceding merits are the cause of
+that election. This was Origen's error. He said that human souls were created
+equal at the same time and that while some stood firm, others sinned, more and
+less seriously. Thus, some merited to receive grace, and others did not.<a
+href="#_ftn19" name="_ftnref19">[19]</a>
+Our Lord's saying is opposed to this, <b>you did not choose me.</b>
+<p>2023 Others say
+that it is true that our actually existing merits are not the cause of our
+predestination, but those merits preexisting in the foreknowledge of God are.
+Thus they say that because God knew that certain persons would be good and make
+good use of grace, he decided to give them grace. But if this were so, it would
+follow that the reason he chose us was because he foreknew we would choose him.
+And so our choice would be prior to the divine choice; which is contrary to our
+Lord's statement.
+<p>2024 Perhaps
+someone might say: What choice could there be since we were nothing and there
+was no rank among us? But one who says this is mislead by thinking that the
+divine choice is like human choice. They are not the same. Our choice is caused
+by some already existing good; while God's choice is the cause of an influx of
+good, greater in one than in another. Since choice is an act of the will, then
+according as the will of God and the human will are differently related to the
+good, so the character of their choice will be different. Now God's will is
+related to a created good as its cause: "How would anything have endured if
+thou hadst not willed it?" (Wis 11:25). And so goodness is dispensed to created
+things from the will of God. Accordingly, God prefers one person to another
+insofar as he confers more good on that one than on another. But the human will
+is moved to something by a preexisting good which has become known. Therefore,
+in our choices it is necessary that one good exist before another. The reason
+why God confers more good on one than on another is so that there might be a
+splendor of order in things. This is clear in material things where prime
+matter of itself is uniformly disposed to all forms. Also, before things
+themselves exist, they are not disposed to this or that existence; rather, they
+receive different forms and existences from God so that an order can be
+established among them. It is like this among rational creatures, where some
+are chosen for glory and some are rejected for punishment: "The Lord knows who
+are his ... In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but
+also of wood and earthenware, and some for noble use, some for ignoble" (2 Tim
+2:19). And so we see a diversified order: the mercy of God shines forth in
+those whom, without any previous merits, he prepares for grace; in others we
+see the justice of God when, because of their own guilt, he allots them
+punishment, yet less than is deserved. So, I have chosen you by predestining
+you from all eternity, and by calling you to the faith during your lifetime.
+<p>2025 Then he
+points out for what he has chosen them when he says, <b>I appointed you that
+you should go and bear fruit. </b>First, he states for what he chose them;
+secondly, he gives a reason for the above (v 17). In regard to the first he
+does two things: first, he shows that he chose them to do something; secondly,
+that he <b>chose them to receive something, whatever you ask the Father.</b>
+<p>2026 He says, <b>I
+appointed you, </b>that is, I gave you a definite rank in my Church: "And God
+has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets" (1 Cor 12:28).
+Again, <b>I appointed you, </b>that is, firmly set you: "And God made the two
+great lights ... and God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light
+upon the earth" (Gen 1:16).
+<p>2027 <b>I
+appointed you, </b>I say, to three things. First to go; and so he says, <b>that
+you should go, </b>traveling over the whole world to convert the whole world to
+the faith: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation"
+(Mk 16:15). Or, <b>that you should go, </b>that is, progress from virtue to
+virtue: "They go from strength to strength; the God of gods will be seen in
+Zion" (Ps 84:7); "His shoots shall spread out" (Hos 14:6).
+<p>Secondly,
+he appointed them to bear fruit; so he says, <b>and bear fruit. </b>This fruit
+is the fruit of conversion to the faith, as in Paul's first journey, "In order
+that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the
+Gentiles" (Rom 1:13); or an interior and spiritual fruit, as in his second
+journey, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace" (Gal 5:22); "My blossoms
+became glorious and abundant fruit" (Sir 24:17).
+<p>Thirdly,
+they were appointed to bear fruit that would not be destroyed by death or sin;
+so he says, <b>and that your fruit should abide, </b>that is, that the society
+of the faithful would be led into eternal life and their spiritual fruit
+flourish: "He gathers fruit for eternal life" (4:36).
+<p>2028 <b>So that
+whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. </b>Here he
+shows that he chose them to receive something, namely, all that they ask for.
+He is saying: I have appointed you to be worthy to receive from the Father in
+my name: "If our hearts do not condemn us we have confidence before God; and we
+receive from him whatever we ask" (1 Jn 3:22).
+<p>2029 <b>These
+things I command you so that you will love one another. </b>Here he is giving
+the reason for what he has said. Someone might ask: Why did Christ tell them
+all these things? So our Lord answers, <b>These things I command you so that
+you will love one another. </b>He is saying in effect: Everything I said to you
+was to lead you to love your neighbor: "The aim of our charge is love" (1 Tim
+1:5). One could also say, with Chrysostom, that the apostles could have said:
+Lord, why are you reminding us so much about your love? Are you reprimanding
+us? But our Lord says: Not at all. I am doing this to encourage you to love
+your neighbor: "And this commandment we have from him, that he who loves God
+should love his brother also" (1 Jn 4:21).
+<BR><BR><BR>
+<p align=center><B>LECTURE 4
+<BLOCKQUOTE><p>18 "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me
+before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own;
+but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world,
+therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, 'A
+servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will
+persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. 21 But all this
+they will do to you on my account, because they do not know him who sent me."</B></BLOCKQUOTE>
+<p>2030 After
+presenting the picture of the vine and the branches and explaining the part
+about the branches being united to the vine, he now explains it in regard to
+the pruning or cleansing they will receive from their trials. So our Lord now
+consoles them against the tribulations they were going to endure. First, he
+mentions a few considerations which will console them; secondly, he explains
+these (v 20); thirdly, he rejects the excuses of those who will persecute them
+(v 22). He mentions two reasons why they should be consoled: the first uses
+himself as an example; the second is based on the reason for their being hated,
+<b>because you are not of the world.</b>
+<p>2031 Our Lord
+consoles them by using himself as an example of one who has suffered the
+persecution of oppressors, saying, <b>If the world hates you, know that it has
+hated me before it hated you. </b>Note that just as the source of all benefits
+is love, so the source of all persecutions is hatred. And so our Lord foretells
+that they will be hated: "You will be hated by all nations" (Mt 24:9); "Blessed
+are you when men hate you" (Lk 6:22).
+<p>He
+says, <b>If the world hates you</b>, that is, it will come to pass that the
+world will hate you, and show its hatred by persecuting you, <b>know that it
+has hated me before it hated you: </b>"The world cannot hate you, but it hates
+me" (7:7). This thought is a great consolation for the just so that they can
+courageously endure persecutions: "Consider him who endured from sinners such
+hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted" (Heb
+12:3); "Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should
+follow in his steps" (1 Pet 2:21). According to Augustine, the members should
+not consider themselves greater than the Head, nor refuse to be part of his
+body by being unwilling to endure with their Head the hatred of the world.<a
+href="#_ftn20" name="_ftnref20">[20]</a>
+<p>2032 The world
+can have two meanings. First a good meaning, for those who lead a good life in
+the world: "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself" (2 Cor 5:19).
+Secondly, it can have an evil sense, meaning those who love the world: "The
+whole world is in the power of the evil one" (1 Jn 5:19). And so the whole
+world hates the whole world, because those who love the world, and they are
+spread throughout the whole world, hate the whole world, that is, the Church of
+the good, which has been established throughout the whole world.
+<p>2033 Now he
+mentions a second point for their consolation, and this is based on the reason
+for their being hated. When a person endures another's hatred because of his
+own sins, there is reason for regret and sorrow; but when he is hated because
+of his virtue he should rejoice. First, our Lord gives the reason why some are
+loved by the world; secondly, why the apostles are hated by the world (v 19).
+<p>2034 The reason
+why some are loved by the world is that they are like the world; <b>If you were
+of the world, the world would love its own. </b>Like loves like: "Every
+creature loves its like" (Sir 13:15). And thus the world, that is, those who
+love the world, love those who love the world. Accordingly, our Lord says, <b>If
+you were of the world</b>, that is, followers of the world, <b>the world would
+love its own, </b>because you would be its own and like to it: "The world
+cannot hate you, but it hates me" (7:7). "They are of the world, therefore what
+they say is of the world, and the world listens to them" (I Jn 4:5).
+<p>2035 One might
+object that our Lord meant by the world the authorities of the world, who would
+persecute the apostles. Yet these very same authorities persecute other worldly
+people, like murderers and thieves. Therefore, the world does not love its own
+any more than it loves the apostles.
+<p>I
+reply that it is possible to find something purely good, but not something
+purely evil, since the subject of evil is something good. Consequently, the
+evil of guilt is located in some good of nature. Therefore, no person can be a
+sinner and evil without having some good. So it is because of the evil of these
+authorities, the evil of their unbelief, that they belong to the world and hate
+the apostles and those who are not of the world. But because of the good they
+possess they are not of the world and hate those who are of the world, as
+thieves and robbers, and such. Still, there were some who were living well in
+the world yet loved the apostles and approved of their actions.
+<p>2036 But now
+there seems to be a greater difficulty. For every sin pertains to the world,
+and so a person is of the world by reason of any sin. Yet we observe that
+people who commit the same sin hate each other, for, example, the proud: "Among
+the proud there is always strife" [Prv 13:10]. And one greedy person hates
+another who is also greedy. As the Philosopher says, potters quarrel with one
+another.<a href="#_ftn21" name="_ftnref21">[21]</a>
+Thus, the world is hating the world, and what our Lord says here does not seem
+to be true, that is, <b>the world would love its own.</b>
+<p>I
+reply that there are two kinds of love: the love of friendship and the love of
+concupiscence. These are quite different. With the love of concupiscence we
+draw external things or persons to ourselves, and we love these others insofar
+as they are useful to us or give us pleasure. But in the love of friendship we
+have the opposite, for we draw ourselves to what is external to us, because
+those we love in this way we treat the same as ourselves, sharing ourselves
+with them in some way. Thus, likeness is a cause of love, when we are speaking
+of the love of friendship, for we do not love a person in this way unless we
+are one with that person: and likeness is a certain way of being one. But with
+the love of concupiscence, whether it is for what is useful or gives pleasure,
+likeness is a cause of division and hated. For since with this love I love some
+person or thing insofar as it is useful to me or gives me pleasure, I hate as
+opposed to me whatever hinders this usefulness or pleasure. So it is that the
+proud feud among themselves, for one takes for himself the glory that another
+loves and in which he takes pleasure. As for the potters, they quarrel because
+one takes for himself some profit which another wants for himself.
+<p>Notice
+that the love of concupiscence is not a love for the thing desired but a love
+for the person desiring: for in this kind of love, one loves another because
+the other is useful, as was said. Therefore, in this kind of love, one is
+rather loving himself than the other. For example, a person who loves wine
+because it gives him pleasure loves himself rather than the wine. But the love
+of friendship is concerned rather with the thing loved than with the one
+loving, because here one loves another for the sake of the one loved, and not
+for the sake of the one loving. And so because in the love of friendship
+likeness is a cause of love, and unlikeness a cause of hatred, the world hates
+what is not its own and is unlike it; but it loves, with the love of
+friendship, what is its own. It is the reverse with the love of concupiscence.
+Thus he says, <b>If you were of the world, the world would love its own, </b>with
+the love of friendship.
+<p>2037 Now he
+gives the reason why the world hates the apostles, which is because they are
+unlike the world. He says, <b>but because you are not of the world, </b>because
+your spirit has been lifted above it &#8209; although you are of the world by
+your origin: "You are from below, I am from above" (8:23) &#8209; lifted above
+it not by yourselves but by my grace, because <b>I chose you out of the world, </b>therefore,
+because you are not of the world, <b>the world hates you, </b>that is, those
+who love the world and who are unlike you, hate you: "An unjust man is an
+abomination to the righteous, but he whose way is straight is an abomination to
+the wicked" (Prv 29:27); and in the same chapter "Bloodthirsty men hate one who
+is blameless" (v 10).
+<p>2038 Three
+reasons can be given why the world hates those who are holy. First, there is a
+difference of condition: the world is in a state of death, but those who are
+holy are in a state of life: "Do not wonder, brethren, that the world hates
+you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the
+brethren" (1 Jn 3:13). And so we read: "The very sight of him is a burden to
+us" (Wis 2:15). The second reason is that the world does not like to be
+corrected: for those who are holy are, by their words and actions, a rebuke to
+the conduct of the world. Consequently the world hates them: "They hate him who
+reproves in the gate" (Amos 5:10); "But it," the world, "hates me because I
+testify of it that its works are evil" (7:7). The third reason is because of
+evil envy, for those who are evil envy the good when they see them grow and
+increase in goodness and holiness, just like the Egyptians hated and persecuted
+the children of Israel when they saw them increasing (Ex 1:9). And we also see
+that Joseph's brothers hated him when they saw that he was loved more than they
+(Gen 37:4).
+<p>2039 Now he
+amplifies on the reasons just given for their consolation: first, the one using
+himself as an example; secondly, the one relating to the reason why they are
+hated (v 21). He does two things with the first: first, he reminds them that he
+and they are different in condition; secondly, he shows they are alike in what
+will be done to them, <b>If they persecuted me, they will persecute you</b>.
+<p>2040 Their
+different conditions were that Christ was the Lord and the apostles were
+servants: "A servant is not greater than his master" (13:16). He reminds them
+of this difference when he says, <b>Remember the word that I said to you, A
+servant is not greater than his master. </b>Therefore, it is not unfitting for
+you to undergo the same sufferings as your Lord; rather, you should regard this
+as a great glory. Thus Christ said to the disciples who were asking to sit on
+his right and left, "Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?" (Mt
+20:22). "It is a great honor to follow God" (Sir 23:28); "It is enough for the
+disciple to be like his teacher" (Mt 10:25).
+<p>2041 On the
+contrary. He said above, "No longer do I call you servants" (15:15), while he
+says here, <b>A servant is not greater than his master. </b>I answer that there
+are two kinds of servitude. One comes from a slave&#8209;like fear, that is,
+from a fear of punishment; and the Apostles were not servants in this way. The
+other comes from a "chaste fear," [the respect of a spouse], and such servitude
+was in the apostles: "Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake
+when he comes" (Lk 12:37).
+<p>2042 If then you
+are my servants and I am your Lord, you should be content to have happen to you
+what happens to me. Now some have despised me, while others have accepted me: "He
+came to his own home, and his own people received him not. But to all who
+received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of
+God" (1:11). You will be treated the same way: if some despise you, yet others
+will honor you.
+<p>For
+this reason he says, <b>If they persecuted me, they will persecute you. </b>Here
+we see how the saints are like Christ: for the disciples were persecuted for
+the same reason that Christ was, because Christ was being persecuted in the
+disciples. In fact in Acts (9:4) Christ said that he was being persecuted in
+the persecution of his disciples: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"
+<p>And
+so because their reason for acting is the same in the two cases, the
+consequence follows: <b>If they persecuted me, they will persecute you: </b>"If
+they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they
+malign those of his household" (Mt 10:25). Matthew (23:34) says of this
+persecution: "Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of
+whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues
+and persecute from to town to town." Similarly, they will be honored for the
+same reason that Christ was: if they kept my word, they will keep yours also,
+because your words are my words: "You desire proof that Christ is speaking in
+me" (2 Cor 13:3); "For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father
+speaking through you" (Mt 10:20). And so Christ says, "He who hears you hears
+me" (Lk 10:16). The apostles were in truth accepted and honored by some of the
+people, as is clear from "When you received the word of God which you heard
+from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the
+word of God" (1 Thess 2: 13).
+<p>2043 Now he
+amplifies on the second consideration that would console them, which is based
+on the reason for their being hated. The apostles were chosen and raised above
+the world insofar as they had been made sharers of divinity and joined to God.
+This is why the world hated them. From this it follows that the world rather
+hated God in them than hated them. The reason for this hatred was that the
+world lacked the true knowledge of God which comes from the true faith and
+devoted love. If they did have this knowledge and recognized that the apostles
+were friends of God, they would not have persecuted them. Thus he says, <b>all
+this they will do to you, </b>that is, hate and persecute you, <b>on my account</b>.
+And so this should be your glory: "Let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a
+thief, or a wrongdoer, or a mischief&#8209;maker; yet if one suffers as a
+Christian, let him not be ashamed, but under that name let him glorify God" (1
+Pet 4:14). On my account, not because they love me, but because they hate me;
+just as, on the contrary, you will suffer on my account because you love me.
+<p>They
+will do these things to you <b>because they do not know him who sent me</b>:
+"If you knew me, you would perhaps know my Father also" [8:19]. For they did
+not know that God would be pleased by their accepting Christ. Note that he is
+speaking here of a perfect knowledge, which consists in a faith which perfects
+the intellect and joins the affections to God. We read of this kind of
+knowledge: "Let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows
+me" (Jer 9:24); "To know you is complete righteousness" (Wis 15:3).
+<BR><BR><BR>
+<p align=center><B>LECTURE 5
+<BLOCKQUOTE><p>22 "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not
+have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 He who hates me hates
+my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works which no one else
+did, they would not have sin; but now they have seen and hated both me and my
+Father. 25 It is to fulfill the word that is written in their law, 'They hated
+me without a cause.' 26 But when the Counselor [Paraclete] comes, whom I shall
+send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the
+Father, he will bear witness to me. 27 And you also are witnesses, because you
+have been with me from the beginning."<a href="#_ftn22" name="_ftnref22"
+title="">[22]</a></B></BLOCKQUOTE>
+<p>2044 Before,
+when our Lord said that the Jews would persecute his disciples, he give as the
+reason that the Jews did not know the one who sent him. Now, since ignorance
+usually excuses one, he here shows that they are inexcusable. He does this in
+two ways: first, because of the things he personally did and taught them;
+secondly, because of what will occur when he is no longer present (v 26). In
+regard to the first he does two things: first, he shows that they were without
+excuse because of the truth he taught; secondly, because of the witness of the
+works he performed (v 24). He does three things about the first: first, he
+shows what could have excused them; secondly, that they did not have this
+excuse (v 22); thirdly, he shows the real source of their persecution (v 23).
+<p>2045 He had
+said: "But all this they will do to you on my account." Yet they might have had
+an excuse. <b>If I had not come and spoken to them, </b>that is, if I had not
+shown myself personally and taught them personally, <b>they would not have sin.</b>
+<p>2046 How does
+this reconcile with Romans (3:23) which states that "All have sinned"? We
+should say that our Lord is not speaking here of just any sin, but of the sin
+of disbelief, that is, they do not believe in Christ. This is called here
+simply "sin" because it is a prime example of sin, because as long as this sin
+lasts, no other sin can be remitted; for no sin is remitted except by faith in
+Jesus Christ through whom we are justified, as we read in Romans (5:1).
+Consequently, <b>they would not have sin </b>means that they would not be
+charged with not believing in him. This is primarily because "faith comes from
+what is heard" (Rom 10:17). So, if Christ had not come and had not spoken to
+them, they could not have believed. And no one is charged with a sin for not
+doing what he can't do at all.
+<p>2047 Yet some
+could say that they were bound to believe and could have believed even if
+Christ had not come, since he had been foretold to them by the prophets: "which
+he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel
+concerning his Son" (Rom 1:2). I answer that of themselves the Jews could not
+believe and understand the words of the prophets unless they were shown by
+divine help: "The words are shut up and sealed until the appointed time" [Dan
+12:9]. Thus the eunuch said: "How can I understand, unless some one guides me?"
+(Acts 8:31).
+<pIndent>Therefore, if Christ had not come, they would not
+have this sin, the sin of disbelief, although they would have had other actual
+sins for which they would have been punished. And a similar reasoning holds for
+all those whom the preaching of God's word could not reach. For this reason
+they cannot be charged with the sin of disbelief for their condemnation; but
+they will be condemned, because deprived of God's favors because of their other
+actual sins and original sin.
+<p>2048 Note that
+Christ's coming and teaching resulted in good for many, that is, for those who
+accepted him and kept his word. And for many it turned out bad, that is, for
+those who decided neither to listen to him nor believe him. "He will become ...
+a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and
+a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem" (Is 8:14); "This child is set for the
+fall and rising of many in Israel" (Lk 2:34).
+<p>2049 He has just
+stated what could have excused them from unbelief. But they don't have this
+excuse because Christ showed himself to them in person and taught them. Thus he
+says, <b>but now, </b>since I have come and spoken to them, <b>they have no
+excuse</b>, that of ignorance, <b>for their sin. </b>"So they are without
+excuse; for although they knew God they did not honor him as God" (Rom 1:20).
+But they did know Christ, as is clear from Matthew (21:38): "This is the heir;
+come, let us kill him." However, they knew that he was the Christ promised in
+the law, but they did not know that he was God, because "If they had, they
+would not have crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Cor 2:8). And so their ignorance
+is no excuse, because they did not do this from ignorance but from another
+root, that is, from hatred and a certain malice.
+<p>2050 This is why
+he adds, <b>He who hates me hates my Father also. </b>This is like saying:
+Their sin is not ignorance of me, but hatred for me, and this involves hatred
+for the Father. Since the Son and the Father are one in essence, truth and
+goodness, and since all knowledge of anyone is through the truth which is in
+him, whoever loves the Son loves the Father also; and whoever knows the one
+knows the other also; and whoever hates the Son hates the Father also.
+<p>2051 Two
+problems arise here. First, whether anyone can hate God? We should say that no
+one can hate God as God. Since God is the pure essence of goodness, and since
+this is lovable in itself, it is impossible that God be hated in himself. This
+is the reason why it is impossible for an evil person to see God. For it is
+impossible for God to be seen without being loved; and one who loves God is
+good. So these two things are incompatible, namely, to see God and be evil.
+<p>Yet
+one can hate God from a particular point of view. For example, one who loves
+lustful pleasures hates God as forbidding the enjoyment of lust, and one who
+wants to be free from all punishment hates the justice of God when it punishes.<a
+href="#_ftn23" name="_ftnref23">[23]</a>
+<p>2052 The second
+problem arises because no once can hate what he does not know. But the Jews did
+not know the Father: "They do not know him who sent me" (15:21). Therefore,
+what he says here does not seem to be true, that they <b>hate my Father also. </b>We
+can say, according to Augustine, that a person can love or hate something that
+was never seen nor truly known.<a href="#_ftn24" name="_ftnref24">[24]</a>
+This can happen in two ways. In one way, I can hate or love a person according
+as I know him; or, according to what I am told about him. For example, if I
+hear that someone is a thief I hate him, not because I know or hate this very
+person, but because in general I hate all thieves. So, if he were a thief and I
+did not know it, I would hate him without knowing that I hated him. Now the
+Jews hated Christ and the truth that he preached. Since the very truth that
+Christ preached and the works he performed were in the will of God the Father,
+then just as they hated Christ, so also they hated the Father, even though they
+did not know that these things were in the will of the Father.
+<p>2053 Now he
+shows they are without excuse because of the witness of his signs. They could
+say that they were not convinced by the words he spoke in opposition to them.
+So he corroborates his words with marvelous actions, saying, <b>If I had not
+done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin. </b>First,
+he shows that they could be somewhat excused; secondly, he reveals the root of
+their sin (v 24b); thirdly, he cites an authority (v 25).
+<p>2054 There are
+two questions about the first point. One is about the truth of the antecedent
+statement, <b>If I had not done among them the works which no one else did. </b>Did
+Christ perform certain good works among them that no one else had done? It
+seems not. If we say that Christ raised the dead, Elijah and Elisha also did
+this. If Christ walked on the water, Moses parted the waters. Again, Joshua did
+something greater [than Christ] for he made the sun stand still. So it seems
+that Christ should not use this as an argument, and thus the conclusion is not
+true.
+<p>I
+answer that we can say, according to Augustine, that our Lord is not speaking
+of the miracles he worked among them, that is, merely in their sight, but of
+those he worked "among" them, that is, on their very persons.<a href="#_ftn25"
+name="_ftnref25">[25]</a>
+In curing the sick, although others did it, no one did it so much as Christ,
+because no other was made God and no one was born of a virgin but Christ. So in
+healing the sick he performed among them works which no one else performed; and
+this in three ways. First, because his works were so great: for he raised a
+person who had been dead for four days; he gave sight to a man who was born
+blind, which had never been heard of before, as we read above (9:32). Secondly,
+because of the great number of his works, for he healed all who were sick (Mt
+14:35), and no one else did this. Thirdly, because of the way he did these
+works: others did these things by praying for help, which showed that they were
+not doing this by their own power; but Christ did it by command, for he did it
+by his own power: "What is this? A new teaching! With authority he commands
+even the unclean spirits, and they obey him" (Mk 1:27).
+<p>Therefore,
+although others have raised the dead and have accomplished other miracles which
+Christ did, they did not do it in the same manner as Christ, nor by their own
+power, as Christ did. Further, making the sun stand still is less than what the
+dying Christ did, when he made the moon move backwards and changed the whole
+course of the heavens, as Dionysius says.<a href="#_ftn26" name="_ftnref26"
+title="">[26]</a>
+<p>2055 The second
+question is about the truth of the conditional statement, that if Christ had
+not done among them works which no one else did, the Jews would not have the
+sin of disbelief. My reply is that if we speak of any of the miracles
+indiscriminately, the Jews would have been excusable if they had not been done
+among them by Christ. For no one can come to Christ by faith unless he is
+drawn: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him" (6:44).
+So the spouse says in the Song (1:4): "Draw me after you." Therefore, if there
+were no one who had drawn them to the faith, they would have an excuse for
+their disbelief. Note that Christ drew by words and by signs, both visible and
+invisible, that is, by inciting and stirring hearts from within: "The king's
+heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord" (Prv 21:1). And so an inner
+impulse to act well is the work of God, and those who resist it sin. If not,
+Stephen would have no reason to say: "You always resist the Holy Spirit" (Acts
+7:51). And Isaiah (50:5) says: "The Lord has opened my ear," that is, the ear
+of my heart, "and I was not rebellious." When our Lord said, <b>If I had not
+done among them the works which no one else did, </b>we have to understand this
+as referring not only to visible works but also to the interior impulses and
+attractions to his teaching. If these had not been done among them, they would
+not have sin. It is now clear how they could have been excused, that is, if he
+had not accomplished miraculous works among them.
+<p>2056 Now he
+shows the root of their sin of disbelief, namely, their hatred, because of
+which they did not believe the works they saw. He says, <b>but now they have seen,
+</b>the works he did among them, <b>and hated both me and my Father: </b>"Because
+they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord" (Prv 1:29). As
+Gregory says, there are some in the Church who not only do not do good works,
+but they even persecute those who do, so that what they fail to do they detest
+in others.<a href="#_ftn27" name="_ftnref27">[27]</a>
+Thus their sin is not one of weakness or ignorance, but is committed of set
+purpose.
+<p>2057 Yet some
+could say: If it is true that the Jews hated you and your Father, why did you
+perform miracles among them? He answers and says <b>It is to fulfill the word
+that is written in their law. </b>Here we could ask why he says that this was
+written in their law when it was written in the Psalms? We can say to this that
+the "law" is understood in three ways in scripture. Sometimes it is taken for
+the entire Old Testament; and this is the way it is understood here, because
+the entire teaching of the Old Testament is directed to the observance of the
+law: "Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom" (Lk 23:42). Sometimes
+it is taken as distinguished from the histories and the prophets: "that
+everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the
+psalms" (in which the histories are sometimes included) "must be fulfilled" (Lk
+24:44). And sometimes the law is taken as distinct only from the prophets, and
+then the histories are included in the prophets. He says, <b>It is to fulfill
+what is written in their law, </b>that is, in the Psalms (35:19) <b>'They hated
+me without a cause,'</b> and not to gain some benefit or avoid some trouble
+(for this is why people hate). Indeed, Christ gave them opportunities to love
+him when he healed and taught them: "He went about doing good" (Acts 10:38);
+"Is evil a recompense for good? They have dug a pit for my life" (Jer 18:20);
+"What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me" (Jer 2:5).
+<p>2058 Now he
+shows that they are inexcusable because of what will come to pass after him:
+because they would have other testimonies, namely, those of the Holy Spirit and
+of the apostles. First, he states what was to come from the Holy Spirit;
+secondly, from the apostles (v 27). He indicates four things about the Spirit:
+his freedom, tenderness, procession and activity.
+<p>2059 He
+indicates his freedom, or power, when he says, <b>But when the Paraclete comes.
+</b>Strictly speaking that person is said to come who comes willingly and on
+his own authority; and this is true of the Holy Spirit, because "the Spirit
+blows where it wills" [3:8]; "I called upon God, and the Spirit of wisdom came
+to me" (Wis 7:7). Therefore, in saying, <b>whom I shall send, </b>he does not
+suggest force but origin.
+<p>2060 He touches
+on his tenderness when he says, <b>the Paraclete</b>, that is the Consoler.
+Since the Paraclete is the Love of God he makes us scorn earthly things and
+cling to God; and thus he takes away our pain and sadness and gives us joy in
+divine things: "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace" (Gal 5:22); and in
+Acts (9:31) we read that the Church was walking "in the comfort of the Holy
+Spirit."
+<p>2061 Thirdly, he
+touches on the twofold procession of the Holy Spirit. First, he mentions the
+temporal procession when he says, <b>whom I shall send to you from the Father. </b>Note
+that the Holy Spirit is said to be sent not because the Spirit is changing
+place, since the Spirit fills the entire universe, as we read in Wisdom (1:7),
+but because, by grace, the Holy Spirit begins to dwell in a new way in those he
+makes a temple of God: "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that
+God's Spirit dwells in you?" (1 Cor 3:16). There is no disagreement in saying
+that the Holy Spirit is sent and that he comes. In saying that the Spirit comes
+the grandeur of his divinity is indicated: the "Spirit, who apportions to each
+one individually as he wills" (1 Cor 12:11). And he is said to be sent to
+indicate his procession from another, for the fact that he sanctifies the
+rational creature by indwelling he has from that other, from whom he has it
+that he is, just as it is from another that the Son has whatever he does.
+<p>The
+Holy Spirit is sent by the Father and the Son together; and this is indicated
+in "He showed me the river of the water of life," that is, the Holy Spirit,
+"flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb," that is, of Christ (Rev
+22:1). Therefore, when speaking of the sending of the Holy Spirit he mentions
+the Father and the Son, who send the Spirit by the same and equal power. Thus
+sometimes he mentions the Father as sending the Spirit, but not without the
+Son, as above (14:26): "The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name";
+at other times he says that he himself sends the Holy Spirit, but not without
+the Father: as here, <b>whom I shall send to you from the Father, </b>because
+whatever the Son does he has from the Father: "The Son cannot do anything of
+himself" [5:19].<a href="#_ftn28" name="_ftnref28">[28]</a>
+<p>2062 He mentions
+the eternal procession of the Holy Spirit when he shows in a similar way that
+the Spirit is related both to the Father and the Son. He shows the Spirit as
+related to the Son when he says, <b>the Spirit of truth, </b>for the Son is the
+Truth: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" (14:6). He shows the Spirit
+as related to the Father when he says, <b>who proceeds from the Father. </b>So
+to say that the Holy Spirit is <b>the Spirit of truth, </b>is the same as
+saying the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Son: "God has sent the Spirit of
+his Son into our hearts" (Gal 4:6). And because the word "spirit" (<i>spiritus</i>)
+suggests a kind of impulse and every motion produces an effect in harmony with
+its source (as heating makes something hot), it follows that the Holy Spirit
+makes those to whom he is sent like the one whose Spirit he is. And since he is
+the Spirit of Truth "He will teach you all truth" [16:13]; "The inspiration of
+the Almighty gives understanding" [Job 32:8]. In the same way, because he is
+the Spirit of the Son, he produces sons: "You have received the spirit of
+sonship" (Rom 8:15). He says the <b>Spirit of truth </b>as contrasted with the
+spirit of lying: "The Lord has mingled within her the spirit of error" [Is
+19:14]; "I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his
+prophets" (1 Kgs 22:22).
+<p>2063 Because he
+says <b>who proceeds from the Father </b>and does not add "and from the Son,"
+the Greeks say that the Holy Spirit does not proceed from the Son but only from
+the Father. But this absolutely cannot be. For the Holy Spirit could not be
+distinguished from the Son unless he either proceeds from the Son, or on the
+other hand, the Son proceeds from him (and no one claims this). For one cannot
+say that among the divine persons, who are entirely immaterial and simple,
+there is a material distinction based on a division of quantity, which matter
+underlies. Thus it is necessary that the distinction of the divine persons be
+by way of a formal distinction, which has to involve some kind of opposition.
+For if forms are not opposed they are compatible with one another in the same
+subject and do not diversify a supposit; for example, to be white and large. So
+among the divine persons, since "not subject to birth" and "fatherhood" are not
+opposed, they belong to one person. If, then, the Son and the Holy Spirit are
+distinct persons proceeding from the Father, they have to be distinguished by
+some properties that are opposed. These properties cannot be opposed like
+affirmation and negation or privation and possessing are opposed, because then
+the Son and the Holy Spirit would be related to one another like being and non&#8209;being
+and as the complete to the deprived, and this is repugnant to their equality.
+Nor can these properties be opposed like contraries are opposed, one of which
+is more perfect than the other. What remains is that the Holy Spirit is
+distinguished from the Son only by a relative opposition.
+<p>This
+kind of opposition rests solely on the fact that one of them is referred to the
+other. For the different relations of two things to some third thing are not
+directly opposed except accidentally, that is by some incidental consequence.
+So in order for the Holy Spirit to be distinguished from the Son, they must
+have relations that are opposed, by which they will be opposed to each other.
+No such relations can be found except relations of origin, insofar as one
+person is from the other. Thus it is impossible, granting the Trinity of
+persons, that the Holy Spirit not be from the Son.
+<p>2064 Some say
+that the Holy Spirit and the Son are distinguished by the different ways they
+proceed, insofar as the Son is from the Father by being born and the Holy
+Spirit by proceeding. But the same problem still returns which arose from the
+previous opinion, as to how these two processions differ. One cannot say that
+they are distinguished because of the diverse things received by their
+respective generations, like the generation of a human being and a horse differ
+because of the diverse natures that are communicated. For the very same nature
+is received by the Son by being born from the Father and by the Holy Spirit by
+proceeding. So we are left with the conclusion that they are distinguished only
+by the order of origin, that is to say, insofar as the birth of the Son is a principle
+of the procession of the Holy Spirit. And so, if the Holy Spirit were not from
+the Son, the Spirit would not be distinguished from the Son and procession
+would not be distinguished from birth.
+<p>Thus
+even the Greeks admit some order between the Son and the Holy Spirit. For they
+say that the Holy Spirit is of the Son, and that the Son acts through the Holy
+Spirit, but not conversely. And some even admit that the Holy Spirit is from
+the Son, but they will not concede that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son.
+Yet in this they are obviously imprudent. For we use the word "procession" in
+all cases in which one thing is from another in any way. And so this word,
+because it is so general, has been adapted to indicate the existence of the
+Holy Spirit as from the Son. We don't have any examples of this in creatures
+which would lead us to give it a specific name; while we do have examples which
+give us the special term of "generation" which is applied to the Son. The
+reason for this is that in creatures we do not find a person proceeding from
+will, as love, while we do find a person proceeding from nature, as son. Thus,
+however the Holy Spirit is ordered to the Son, it can be concluded that the
+Spirit proceeds from the Son.
+<p>2065
+Nevertheless some of the Greeks assert that one should not say that the Holy
+Spirit proceeds from the Son because for them the preposition "from" indicates
+a principle which is not from a principle, and this is so only of the Father.
+This is not compelling because the Son with the Father is one principle of the
+Holy Spirit, as also of creatures. And although the Son has it from the Father
+that the Son is a principle of creatures, still creatures are said to be from
+the Son; and for the same reason it can be said that the Holy Spirit proceeds
+from the Son.
+<p>Nor
+does it make any difference that we read here,<b> who proceeds from the Father,
+</b>instead of "from the Father and the Son," because in a similar way it is
+said, <b>whom I shall send</b>, and yet the Father is also understood to send,
+since there is added, <b>from the Father. </b>In a similar way because it says,
+<b>the Spirit of truth, </b>that is, the Spirit of the Son, we understand that
+the Spirit proceeds from the Son. For, as has been said, when the procession of
+the Holy Spirit is mentioned, the Son is always joined to the Father, and the
+Father to the Son; and so these different ways of expression indicate a
+distinction of persons.
+<p>2066 Fourthly,
+he mentions the activity of the Holy Spirit when he says, <b>he will bear
+witness to me; </b>and this in three ways. First, the Spirit will teach the
+disciples and give them the confidence to bear witness: "For it is not you who
+speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you" (Mt 10:20).
+Secondly, the Spirit will communicate his teaching to those who believe in
+Christ: "God also bore witness by signs and miracles and by gifts of the Holy
+Spirit" wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit" (Heb
+2:4). Thirdly, the Spirit will soften the hearts of their hearers: "When you
+send forth your Spirit, they are created" (Ps 104:30).
+<p>2067 Finally, he
+mentions what lies ahead for the disciples when he says, <b>and you also are
+witnesses, </b>inspired by the Holy Spirit: "You shall be my witnesses in
+Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of this earth" (Acts
+1:8). We read of this twofold testimony in Acts (5:32): "We are witnesses to
+these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey
+him."
+<p>He
+adds why this testimony is appropriate when he says, <b>because you have been
+with me from the beginning, </b>that is, the beginning of my preaching and
+working of miracles, and so you can testify to what you have seen and heard:
+"That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you" (1 Jn 1:3). We can
+see from this that Christ did not perform miracles in his youth, as some
+apocryphal gospels relate but only from the time he called his disciples.
+</div>
+<div><br clear=all>
+<hr align=left size=1 width="33%">
+<div id=ftn1>
+<p><a href="#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">Arial'>[1]</a> "Times New Roman";color:blue'>St. Thomas refers to Jn 15:1
+in the <i>Summa Theologiae:</i> III, q. 74, a. 5, s. c.; Jn 15:3: <i>ST </i>III,
+q. 74, a. 5, s. c.; Jn 15:5: <i>ST</i> I-II, q. 6, a. 1, obj. 3; q. 109, a. 6,
+ad 2; II-II, q. 156, a. 2, ad 1.<i> </i>
+</div>
+<div id=ftn2>
+<p><a href="#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2">[2]</a> <i>Sermones
+de Verbis Domini</i> 61; PL 38, col. 1859;"Times New Roman";color:black'> "Times New Roman";color:green'>cf. <i>Catena Aurea,</i> 15:1-3.
+</div>
+<div id=ftn3>
+<p><a href="#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3">[3]</a> <i>Tract. in Io</i>., 80, ch. 3, col. 1839; cf.
+<i>Catena Aurea</i>,<i> </i>15:1-3.
+</div>
+<div id=ftn4>
+<p><a href="#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4">[4]</a> Summa-Word of Christ cleanses
+both in faith and baptism.
+</div>
+<div id=ftn5>
+<p><a href="#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5">[5]</a> Summa-it it impossible to do
+any work except by Christ.
+</div>
+<div id=ftn6>
+<p><a href="#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6">[6]</a> Summa-that it is
+possible to be united to the Church in faith, but not by charity.
+</div>
+<div id=ftn7>
+<p><a href="#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7">[7]</a> <i>Tract. in Io</i>., 81 ch.
+3, col. 1841-2; cf.
+<i>Catena Aurea</i>,<i> </i>15:4-7.
+</div>
+<div id=ftn8>
+<p><a href="#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8">[8]</a> St. Thomas
+refers to Jn 15:11 in the <i>Summa Theologiae:</i> II-II, q. 28, a. 3 s. c.; Jn
+15:12: <i>ST</i> I-II, q. 68, a. 1; II-II, q. 22, a. 1. s. c.; Jn 15:13: <i>ST</i>
+II-II, q. 26, a. 5, obj. 3; q. 124, a. 2, obj. 2; q. 124, a. 3, q. 184, a. 5,
+obj. 3; q. 184, a. 2, ad 3; III, q. 66, a. 12.
+</div>
+<div id=ftn9>
+<p><a href="#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9">[9]</a> <i>Tract. in Io</i>., 82, ch.
+4, col. 1844; cf.
+<i>Catena Aurea</i>,<i> </i>15:8-11.
+</div>
+<div id=ftn10>
+<p><a href="#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10">[10]</a> <i>Tract. in Io</i>., 83, ch.
+1, col. 1844-5; cf.
+<i>Catena Aurea</i>,<i> </i>15:8-11.
+</div>
+<div id=ftn11>
+<p><a href="#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11">[11]</a> <i>Homiliae in Evangelista</i>,
+XXVII; 1; PL 76, col. 1205B;
+cf. <i>Catena Aurea,</i> 15:12-16.
+</div>
+<div id=ftn12>
+<p><a href="#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12">[12]</a> Ibid.; cf. <i>Catena Aurea,</i> 15:12-16.
+</div>
+<div id=ftn13>
+<p><a href="#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13">[13]</a> St. Thomas refers
+to Jn 15:14 in the <i>Summa Theologiae: </i>II-II, q. 23, a. 1, s. c.; Jn
+15:15: <i>ST</i> II-II, q. 172, a. 4, obj. 2; Jn 15:17: <i>ST</i> I, q. 73, a.
+2, arg. 1.
+</div>
+<div id=ftn14>
+<p><a href="#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14">[14]</a> <i>Moralia
+XVII</i>, ch. 15, no. 28; PL 76, col. 415B"Times New Roman";color:green'>;  cf. <i>Catena Aurea, </i>15:12-16.
+</div>
+<div id=ftn15>
+<p><a href="#_ftnref15" name="_ftn15">[15]</a> <i>In Ioannem hom</i>., 77, ch. 1;
+PG 59, col. 415; cf. <i>Catena Aurea</i>, 15:12-16.
+</div>
+<div id=ftn16>
+<p><a href="#_ftnref16" name="_ftn16">[16]</a> <i>Tract. in Io</i>., 86, ch.
+1, col. 1850; cf.
+<i>Catena Aurea</i>,<i> </i>15:12-16.
+</div>
+<div id=ftn17>
+<p><a href="#_ftnref17" name="_ftn17">[17]</a> <i>Homiliae in Evangelista
+XXVII</i>; PL 76; cf. <i>Catena Aurea,</i> 15:12-16.
+</div>
+<div id=ftn18>
+<p><a href="#_ftnref18" name="_ftn18">[18]</a> Summa-God predestines and
+calls men not based on their merit.
+</div>
+<div id=ftn19>
+<p><a href="#_ftnref19" name="_ftn19">[19]</a>
+Origen.
+</div>
+<div id=ftn20>
+<p><a href="#_ftnref20" name="_ftn20">[20]</a> <i>Tract. in Io</i>., 87, ch.
+2, col. 1853; cf.
+<i>Catena Aurea</i>,<i> </i>15:17-21.
+</div>
+<div id=ftn21>
+<p><a href="#_ftnref21" name="_ftn21">[21]</a> Aristotle.
+</div>
+<div id=ftn22>
+<p><a href="#_ftnref22" name="_ftn22">[22]</a> St. Thomas
+refers to Jn 15:22 in the <i>Summa Theologiae:</i> II-II, q. 5, a. 2, obj. 3;
+q. 10, a. 1; q. 10, a. 3, s. c.; III, q. 47, a. 5; q. 80, a. 5, s. c.; q. 86,
+a. 3, ad 2; Jn 15:24: <i>ST</i> II-II, q. 34, a. 1 s. c.; III, q. 43, a. 4, ad
+1; q. 47, a. 5, obj. 2; Jn 15:25: <i>ST</i> II-II, q. 16, a. 1, obj. 5:<i> </i>Jn
+15:26: <i>ST</i> I, q. 27, a. 3, s. c.; q. 36, a. 2, obj 1.
+</div>
+<div id=ftn23>
+<p><a href="#_ftnref23" name="_ftn23">[23]</a> Summa-man can hate God under a
+certain aspect.
+</div>
+<div id=ftn24>
+<p><a href="#_ftnref24" name="_ftn24">[24]</a> <i>Tract. in Io</i>., 90, ch. 1,
+col. 1858-9; cf.
+<i>Catena Aurea</i>,<i> </i>15:22-25.
+</div>
+<div id=ftn25>
+<p><a href="#_ftnref25" name="_ftn25">[25]</a> Ibid., cf. <i>Catena Aurea</i>,<i> </i>15:22-25.
+</div>
+<div id=ftn26>
+<p><a href="#_ftnref26" name="_ftn26">[26]</a> Dionysius.
+</div>
+<div id=ftn27>
+<p><a href="#_ftnref27" name="_ftn27">[27]</a> <i>Moralia</i>,
+XXV, ch. 11, no. 28; PL 76, col. 339B;  "Times New Roman";color:green'>cf. <i>Catena Aurea, </i>15:22-25.
+</div>
+<div id=ftn28>
+<p><a href="#_ftnref28" name="_ftn28">[28]</a> Summa-procession of the Holy
+Spirit from the Father and the Son. 2061-2065.
+</body></html>

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