Catechesis XVIII
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On the Words: "And in One Holy Catholic Church:
And in the Resurrection of the Flesh, and in Life Everlasting"
"The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he led me out in the spirit of the Lord and set me in the center of the plain, which was now filled with bones."l
(1) The root of all well-doing is the hope of the resurrection.
The expectation of the recompense strengthens the soul to undertake good works. Every laborer is ready to endure the toils if he foresees the reward of his toils; but when men weary themselves without return, their spirit soon fails along with their body. A soldier who expects rewards is ready for war; but no soldier serving an undiscerning king, who bestows no premiums for toils, is ready to die for him. So every soul believing in the resurrection is naturally solicitous for itself, but the unbelieving soul abandons itself to perdition. He who believes that the body is destined for resurrection is careful of his robe and does not defile it by fornication; but he who does not believe in the resurrection gives way to fornication, abusing his body as though it were not part of himself. Faith in the resurrection of the dead is a central precept and teaching of the holy Catholic Church; it is both central and essential; though denied by many, it is fully confirmed by the truth.
Greeks gainsay it, Samaritans disbelieve it, heretics attack it viciously;2 the denial takes many forms, the truth is uniform.
I Ezech.37.1.
2 Of the three classes of enemies here mentioned the Greeks accepted no scripture, the Samaritans only the Pentateuch; the heretics rejected the Old Testament though they used it in an attempt to refute the Catholics or bolster their own views.
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(2) Greeks as well as Samaritans pose the following difficulties to us. The dead man, they say, is gone; he has moldered away and become food for worms. Even the worms have died; such is the decay and destruction that have overtaken the body. How is it to be raised? The shipwrecked have been devoured by fish, which in turn have themselves been devoured. Bears and lions have crushed and consumed the very bones of men who have fought with wild beasts; vultures and ravens have fed on the flesh of unburied corpses and flown all over the world. How then is the body to be reassembled?
For it may be said that of the birds that have eaten them one has died in India, another in Persia, another in the land of the Goths. Yet other men have been consumed by fire; wind and rain have scattered their ashes; how are their bodies reconstituted?
(3) To you, poor weak man that you are, India is far from the land of the Goths, Spain from Persia. But to God, who holds the whole earth in the hollow of His hand, all things are near. Do not because of your own weakness charge God with impotence; rather consider His power. If the sun, minor work of God though it be, by one flashing of its beams warms the whole world, and the atmosphere which God made encompasses everything in the world, are we to think that God, the Creator of the sun and the atmosphere, is far off from the world? Suppose for example that different seeds of plants have been mixed-for the weak in faith I propose weak examples-and you hold these different seeds in one hand; now is it a difficult or an easy task for you, man though you are, to arrange the contents of your hand, and pick out the seeds according to their individual nature and group them according to their kind? If you can distinguish the contents of your hand, do you think that God cannot separate the things grasped in His hand and restore each to its proper place?
Consider whether the answer "no" would not be blasphemous.
(4) Consider also the very principle of justice and reflect
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within yourself. You have a variety of servants, let us say, of whom some are good, some bad. You esteem the good and you punish the bad. If you happen to be a judge, you praise the good and chastise the bad. Do you think that while justice is preserved before you, a mortal man, before God, the ever-changeless King of all, there is no just requital? To deny it would be impious. Or consider this. Many murderers have died in their beds, unpunished; where, then, is the justice of God? Oftentimes a murderer, guilty of fifty murders, is beheaded once; how will he pay the penalty for the forty-nine?
If after this world there is no justice and retribution, you charge God with injustice.3 But do not wonder at the delay of the judgment. Everyone who contends for a prize is crowned or put to shame only after the contest is over; never does the presiding judge crown men while they are still contending; he waits until all the contestants have finished, intending afterwards, having sifted them, to award the prizes and the crowns. So God also, while the strife in this world goes on, assists the just only in part; but afterwards he bestows on them their rewards in all fullness.
(5)' If you hold there is no resurrection, why do you condemn grave robbers? For if the body perishes completely and there is no hope of resurrection, why does the grave robber undergo punishment? You see that though you deny it with your lips you retain the indelible consciousness of the resurrection.
(6) If a tree that has been cut down blossoms again, will man, when cut down, not blossom again? If what is sown and reaped remains for the threshing floor, will man, when reaped from this world, remain no more for the threshing?
The shoots of vine and of other trees, when cut off and transplanted, quicken and bear fruit. Will man, for whom all these exist, when he has fallen to earth, rise no more?
3 Cyril argues for the resurrection from the necessity of a judgment to reward and punish men according to their deserts.
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To tompare tasks, which is harder, to fashion from the beginning a statue which did not exist, or to recast to the same shape one which has fallen to pieces? Is God, who made us out of nothing, unable to raise us up again when we have perished? But it is because you are a Greek that you disbelieve the Scripture concerning the resurrection. Well, let us take the analogy of physical nature, and consider what happens in the world today. You sow wheat, let us say, or some other kind of grain; the seed, falling into the ground, dies and rots, becoming useless for food. But then it rises again a green herb; and that tiny seed is reborn in beauty. But wheat was made for us, for it was for our use that wheat and all seeds were created, not for their own sake. If creatures made for our service come to life again, shall we, for whom they were created, rise no more after death?
(7) It is wintertime, as you see; the trees stand as though dead; for where are the leaves of the fig tree, where are the grape clusters of the vine? But these, though lifeless in the winter, are green in the spring; and when the time comes, they have a sort of resurrection from the dead. For God, knowing your disbelief, each year effects a resurrection in these visible things, that seeing what occurs in inanimate creatures, you may believe concerning the animate rational beings. Flies and bees are often drowned in water, yet after a time revive; and there is a species of toad, which remaining motionless in the winter, bestirs itself again in the summer-for your simple thoughts simple illustrations are provided. Will not He who so miraculously restores to life irrational and insignificant creatures grant it also to us, for whose sake He made these?
(8)' But the Greeks demand a resurrection of the dead still manifest. They object that the creatures mentioned do rise again, but that they had never completely moldered away.
They demand an unequivocal precedent of an animal that after total decay has risen again. God knew men's unbelief,
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and for this reason provided a bird called the phoenix.4 The phoenix, as Clement writes and many others record, alone among birds, comes into Egypt every five hundred years, and demonstrates the resurrection; not just in some out-of-the-way spot, for then the prodigy might go unreported, but in a wellknown city that there might be observers of what otherwise would be incredible. This bird makes itself a coffin from frankincense, myrrh and other spices, which when the cycle of years is completed, it enters and then in public view dies and molders away. Then from the decayed flesh of the phoenix a worm is generated, which, when it becomes large, is transformed into a bird. (Do not disbelieve this, for you see the young of bees formed in the same way out of worms; and from liquid eggs you yourselves have seen emerge birds' wings, bones and sinews.) Subsequently this transformed phoenix grows wings and becomes a perfect phoenix, just like the original one, and flies up into the air, rising as publicly as it had died. The phoenix is a wonderful bird, but irrational, and it never sang psalms to God. It flies through the air but does not know who is the Only-begotten Son of God. If resurrection from the dead has been granted to this irrational creature that knows not its Maker, will not a resurrection be granted to us, who praise God and keep His commandments?
(9) But since the sign of the phoenix is a remote and rare occurrence, and still men disbelieve, here is a proof from everyday experience. Where were we, all of us, speakers and hearers alike, one or two hundred years ago? Don't we know the original formation of our bodies? Do we not know that it is from weak, formless, simple elements we were
4 It is amazing that the early Christians accepted so readily such a tale as that of the phoenix. Clement tells the story, in his First
Epistle to the Corinthians 25, and many of the Fathers seem to have believed it (d. Ambrose, On his Brother Satyrus 2.59). Herodotus first tells the legend in detail; Ovid, Pliny, Tacitus and others repeat the ancient account. The "well-known city" is Heliopolis. For references and further discussion, see Sr. Mary Francis McDonald, O.P., in her introduction to Lactantius' poem The Phoenix (in this series,
Vol. 54, pp. 207-211).
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generated, and that living man is formed from what is weak and simple? And that this weak principle, being made flesh, is transformed into strong sinews, bright eyes, sensitive nose, hearing ears, speaking tongue, beating heart, busy hands, running feet, and into members of all kinds? And that weak principle becomes a shipwright, a builder, an architect, a craftsman of every art, a soldier, a ruler a lawgiver, a king.
Cannot God, who has made us of imperfect materials, raise us up when we have decayed? Cannot He, who formed the most insignificant thing into a body, raise up the body again when it dies? Will not He, who made what was not, raise up what is, after it has fallen?
(10) There is another manifest proof of the resurrection of the dead to be seen each month in the sky and the celestial bodies. The body of the moon suffers total eclipse, and not even a trace of it is any longer visible; then it is filled out again and restored to what it was before. For a perfect demonstration of our point, the moon, after certain revolutions of years, suffers eclipse and is apparently turned into blood; yet it recovers its luminous bpdy. God has brought this about to prevent you, a man formed of blood, from disbelieving in the resurrection of the dead; rather should you believe of yourself what you see in the moon. Make use of these arguments, therefore, against the Greeks; for with those who do not accept the Scriptures you must contend, not with arms taken from Scripture, but with rational demonstrations only; for they do not know who Moses is, or Isaia, or the Gospels, or Pau1.5
(11) Come now to the Samaritans, who accept the Law but do not admit the Prophets; thus the passage just read from Ezechiel seems to them of no weight, as they do not accept the Prophets. How can we convince the Samaritans?
Let us go to the writings of the Law. Now God says to Moses:
5 The argumentation is naive if not bizarre and belongs in the same category as the story of the phoenix. It is hard to believe that the Greeks would have been impressed.
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"I am God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob";6 that is, clearly, of those who live and have substantial being. For if Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob have ceased completely to be, then God is God of those who are not. When did a king ever boast of a paper army or any man make a show of nonexistent wealth?
Therefore, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob must exist for God to be the God of things that are. For He did not say, "I was their
God," but, "I am their God." That there is a judgment is clear from what Abraham says to the Lord: "He who is judge of all the world, shall he not exercise judgment?"7
(12) The senseless Samaritans, however, object that it· is possible that the souls of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob still survive, but their bodies cannot rise. If of old it was possible for the rod of the just Moses to become a serpent, is it impossible for the bodies of the just to revive and rise again? The transformation of the rod was above nature: will not the just be restored according to nature? The rod of Aaron also, cut off and dead, budded without scent of waters and, though under a roof as it was, blossomed as if in the fields. Though lying in dry places, it brought forth in one night the flowers and fruits of plants like those which have been watered for years. If the rod of Aaron rose, you might say, from the dead, is Aaron himself not to rise again? If God worked a miracle in wood to preserve for him the high priesthood, will He not grant Aaron himself resurrection? A woman too, against the laws of nature, was turned into salt-flesh was transformed into salt-shall not flesh be made flesh again? If Lot's wife was turned into a pillar of salt, will not the wife of Abraham rise again? By what power was the hand of Moses transformed, which in the space of one hour was made as snow and again restored? Surely by the command of God. Is His command, efficacious then, powerless now?
(13) What, you silly Samaritans, was man's first origin? Go 6 Cf. Exod. 3.6.
7 Cf. Gen. 18.25.
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to the first book of the Scripture, which even you accept.
"God formed man out of the dust of the ground."8 What? Is dust transformed into flesh, but flesh not made flesh again?
We must ask you also, whence arose the heavens, the earth and the seas? Whence came the sun, the moon and the stars?
How did things that fly and swim come from the waters?
How did all the beasts come from the earth, of whom so many thousands were brought from nothingness into being? Shall we men, who bear God's image, not be raised again? Surely such a stand manifests complete unbelief, and broad condemnation falls upon the unbelievers: when Abraham calls upon God as "the judge of all the earth" and the learners of the Law disbelieve it; and when it is written that man is of earth, and the readers disbelieve it.
(14) These arguments, then, are for unbelievers, but those from the Prophets are for us who believe. But since even some who make use of the Prophets do not believe what is written and cite against us the text, "The wicked shall not rise again to be judged/'9 and also, "He who goes down to the nether world shall come up no more,"lO and "The dead shall not praise thee, 0 Lord"ll (for they pervert what is well written), it would be best to answer them in passing, so far as it is now possible. For if it is said, "The wicked shall not rise to be judged," the meaning is that they shall rise, though not to be judged, but to be sentenced. For God needs no lengthy scrutiny, but as soon as the wicked rise again, their punishment forthwith follows. If it is said, "The dead shall not praise thee, 0 Lord," this indicates that since in this life only is the appointed time for repentance and pardon, for which those who enjoy it "shall praise thee," it is no longer possible for those who have died in sin to offer praise, as having been blessed, but only to grieve for themselves; for 8 Gen. 2.7.
9 Cf. Ps. 1.5.
10 Job 7.9.
11 Ps. ll3.17 (Douay).
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praise belongs to those who give thanks, but lamentation to those who are punished. Therefore, while the just wiIl then offer praise, those who have died in sin will have no further season for confessing God's goodness.12
(15) As regards the text, "He who goes down to the nether world shall come up no more," notice how it goes on: "He shall come up no more. He shall not again return to his house."13 Since the whole world is to pass away and every house to be destroyed, how will he return to his house when another world has come into being? They ought to hear Job saying: "For a tree there is hope, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again and that its tender shoots will not cease.
Even though its root grow old in the earth, and its stump die in the dust, yet at the first whiff of water it may flourish and put forth branches like a young plant. But man when he shall be dead, is gone; but when mortal man is fallen, is he no more?"14 He is almost reproaching or censuring (for the words "is he no more" should be read thus as a question).
Since a tree falls and rises again, he says, shall not man, for whom the trees were made, rise again? To prevent your thinking that I am forcing the passage, read what follows. After saying by way of question, "but when mortal man is fallen, is he no more?" it says: "For if a man die, he shall live again,"15 and immediately adds: "I wait until I shall be made again";16 and again elsewhere: "Who shall raise upon the earth my skin, which endures these things?"17 And the Prophet Isaia says: "But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise."18 But the Prophet Ezechiel, now before us, is explicit: "I will open your graves and have you rise from 12 Cf. note 2; in this chapter and the next Cyril is arguing against heretics.
13 Job 7.10.
14 Job 14.7-10 (Sept.).
15 Ibid. 14.
16 Ibid. (Sept.).
17 Job 19.25, 26 (Sept.).
18 Isa.26.19.
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them."19 So Daniel says: "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall wake; some shall live forever, others shall be an everlasting disgrace."20
(16) Many Scriptures bear witness to the resurrection of the dead; for there are many further statements about it.
Now, however, just as a reminder, we mention in passing the raising of Lazarus after four days, and merely refer, for brevity's sake, to the raising of the widow's son. Let me mention in passing also the ruler's daughter, and how the rocks were rent, the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep arose. But above all let it be remembered that Christ arose from the dead. I have passed over Elia and the widow's son whom he raised, and Eliseus, who twice raised from the dead, once while he was living and once after his death. When alive, he wrought the resurrection through his soul. But not only to honor the souls of the just, but also to instill faith in the power inherent in the bodies of the just, when the corpse cast into the sepulchre of Eliseus touched the dead body of the Prophet, it came back to life. The dead body of the Prophet performed the function of the soul, and his buried corpse quickened the dead, itself, after imparting life, remaining among the dead. Why? Because if Eliseus had arisen, the deed would have been ascribed to his soul alone, and to show that even in the absence of the soul there is a mysterious power in the body of the saints, because of the just soul which dwelt in it so many years and used its ministry. Let us not foolishly disbelieve, as though this had not happened; for if the application to the sick of handkerchiefs and aprons, mere appurtenances of the body, raised them up, how much more should the Prophet's actual body raise the dead.
(17) On this subject we might speak at length, describing in detail each of the miracles. Because of your having come to today's lecture already tired from the prolonged fast of 19 Ezech. 37.12.
20 Cf. Dan. 12.2.
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preparation and from the vigils,21 let this cursory mention suffice for the present; we have sown, we may say, a few seeds; may you receive them like rich soil, and increase and bring forth fruit. Remember that the Apostles also raised the dead;
Peter raised Tabitha at Joppe, and Paul raised Eutychus at Troas; so did all the rest of the Apostles, though not all the wonders wrought by each have been recorded. Be mindful too of the whole argument of the First Epistle to the Corinthians, which Paul wrote against those who said: "How do the dead rise? or with what kind of body do they come?"22 Paul says: "If the dead do not rise, neither has Christ risen";23 and he called them senseless who did not believe. Remember all his teaching there concerning the resurrection of the dead; and how he wrote to the Thessalonians: "And we would not, brethren, have you ignorant concerning those who are asleep, lest you grieve, even as others who have no hope," and all that follows, especially the words: "And the dead in Christ will rise up first."24
(18) Note particularly how Paul, all but pointing the finger, says: "For this corruptible body must put on incorruption, and this mortal body must put on immortality."25
For this body shall be raised, not in its present weakness; it shall be raised the very same body, but by putting on incorruption, it shall be transformed, just as iron becomes fire when combined with fire, or rather as the Lord, who raises us, knows. This body, therefore, shall rise, but it will not abide in its present condition, but as an eternal body. No longer will it, as now, need nourishment for life, nor stairs for its ascent, for it will become spiritual, a marvelous thing, beggaring description. "Then shall the just," it is said, "shine forth like the sun and the moon, and like the splendor of the 21 The prolonged fast would last at least two days. probably longer.
22 I Cor. 15.35.
23 Ibid. 16.
24 1 Thess. 4.13. 17.
25 1 Cor. 15.53.
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firmament."26 God, foreknowing men's unbelief, has given to the smallest worms to emit from their bodies beams of light in the summer, that natural fluorescence might be a parable of what we expect. For He who gives in part can also give wholly; and He who makes the worm shine luminously will much more illumine the just man.
(19) Therefore we shall rise again, all with eternal bodies, though not all with like bodies. A just man will receive a heavenly body, to dwell worthily with the angels, whereas the sinner will receive an eternal body, and so never be consumed, though it burn eternally in fire. Justly does God make this dispensation of both classes, for nothing is done without the body. We blaspheme with the mouth, with the mouth we pray. We commit fornication through the body, and through the body we preserve our purity. We rob by the hand, by the hand we give alms, and so forth. Since the body has ministered to us in everything, it will share our lot hereafter.
(20) Therefore, brethren, let us be careful of our bodies, and not abuse them as though they were not our own. Let us not say, like the heretics, that the vesture of the body does not belong to us, but let us be concerned for it as our very own. For we must render an account to God of everything we have done through the body. Do not say "No one sees me," or think that there is no witness of your deeds; for though there is no human witness, He who fashioned us, an infallible witness, remains faithful in heaven and sees what is done. Moreover the stains of sin remain in the body. For just as when a wound has pierced the body, and though some healing is applied the scar remains, so also sin wounds both soul and body, traces of the scars remaining in both, only to be removed by the reception of Baptism. God heals the past wounds of soul and body by Baptism; but against future wounds let us all henceforth secure ourselves, and so keep
26 Cyril combines Matt. 13.43 and Daniel 12.3 and adds something of his own.
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pure the vesture of the body. Let us not by fornication, wantonness or any other sins of short duration lose the salvation of heaven, that we may inherit the eternal kingdom of God, which may He, by His grace, vouchsafe to all of you.
(21) Let these remarks suffice for the proof of the resurrection of the dead. And now, as I repeat for you the profession of faith, pronounce the words carefully, and commit it to memory.27
(22) The Creed which we repeat contains in order the following: "And in one Baptism of repentance unto the remission of sins; and in one Holy Catholic Church; and in the resurrection of the flesh; and in life everlasting." Of Baptism and repentance we have spoken in earlier lectures; our present discourse concerning the resurrection of the dead treats of the article, "In the resurrection of the flesh." Let me complete what remains to be said, dealing with the article,
"And in one Holy Catholic Church," regarding which, though there is much to be said, we will discourse but briefly.
(23) The Church is called Catholic because it is spread throughout the world, from end to end of the earth; also because it teaches universally and completely all the doctrines which man should know concerning things visible and invisible, heavenly and earthly; and because it subjects to right worship all mankind, rulers and ruled, lettered and unlettered; further because it treats and heals universally every sort of sin committed by soul and body, and it possesses in itself every conceivable virtue, whether in deeds, words or in spiritual gifts of every kind.
(24) Well is the Church named Ecclesia [assembly], because it calls forth and assembles all men, as the Lord says in Leviticus: "Then assemble the whole community at the en27 At the end of chapter 21 Cyril presumably recited the whole creed and the candidates for Baptism repeated it.
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trance of the Meeting Tent."28 It is worthy of note that this world "assemble" is used in the Scriptures for the first time in the passage when the Lord established Aaron in the high priesthood. In Deuteronomy God says to Moses: "Assemble the people for me; I will have them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me."29 He mentions the name of the Church again when He says of the tablets: "And on them were inscribed all the words that the Lord spoke to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly";80 as if He would say more plainly, "on the day on which you were called and gathered together." And the Psalmist says: "I will give you thanks in a great church [ecclesia] J in the mighty throng I will praise yoU."81
(25) The Psalmist of old had sung: "In the churches bless God; bless the Lord, you of Israel's wellspring."32 But since the Jews for their plots against the Savior were cast down from grace, the Savior built out of the Gentiles a second holy
Church, the Church of us Christians, concerning which He said to Peter: "And upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."38 Prophesying of both these Churches, David said plainly of the first, which was rejected: "I hate the assembly of the evildoers";34 and of the second, which is built up, he says in the same psalm: "0 Lord, I have loved the beauty of your house";35 and immediately thereafter: "In the assemblies I will bless thee, 0 Lord."86 For after the rejection of the first Church in Judea, the Churches of Christ are multiplied throughout
28 Lev. 8.3. The word used for church in Latin and Greek is ecclesia, which etymologically means a calling out, and suggests the idea of people summoned to a public assembly. An ordinary translation for ecclesia is "assembly."
29 Deut. 4.10.
30 Cf. Deut. 9.10.
31 Cf. Ps. 34.18.
32 Cf. Ps. 67.27.
33 Matt. 16.18.
34 Ps.25.5.
35 Ibid. 8.
36 Ibid. 12.
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the whole world, and of them it is said in the Psalms: "Sing to the Lord a new song of praise in the assembly of the faithful."37 In keeping with this the Prophet also said to the Jews:
"I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts," and he immediately adds: "For from the rising of the sun, even to its setting, my name is great among the nations."3s It is of this holy Catholic Church that Paul writes to Timothy: "That thou mayest know how to conduct thyself in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and mainstay of the truth."39
(26) But the word Ecclesia [Church, assembly] has several different applications-for example, to the multitude in the theatre of the Ephesians, "And with these words he dismissed the assembly";<W and one might properly and truly say that there is a "church [assembly] of the malignant" (I mean the meetings of the heretics, the Marcionists, the Manichaeans and the rest)'. For this reason the Faith has delivered to you for your security the article, "And in one holy Catholic
Church," to teach you to avoid their abominable meetings, and hold fast always to the holy Catholic Church, in which you were reborn. If ever you sojourn in the cities, do not ask simply where the Lord's house is (for the sects of the impious also dare to call their haunts houses of the Lord) nor merely where the Church is, but where the Catholic Church is. For this is the distinctive name of this holy Church, the mother of us all, and the spouse of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Onlybegotten Son of God (for it is written: "As Christ also loved the Church, and delivered himself up for her,"41 and all that follows); and it is the figure and copy of the Jerusalem above, which is free and the mother of us all; barren before, it now has many children.42
37 Ps.149.1.
38 Mal. 1.10, 11.
39 1 Tim. 3.15.
40 Acts 19.40.
41 Eph. 5.25.
42 Cf. Gal. 4.26, 27.
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(27) After the rejection of the first Church, in the second, the Catholic Church, God, as Paul says, "has placed first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers; after that miracles, then gifts of healing, services of help, power of administration, and the speaking of various tongues,"43 and every kind of excellence, such as wisdom and understanding, temperance and justice, mercy and loving-kindness, and invincible patience in persecutions. And she, "with the armor of justice on the right hand and on the left, in honor and dishonor,"44 in former times in persecutions and afflictions crowned the holy martyrs with divers flowery diadems of endurance; but now in times of peace, by the grace of God, she receives honors from kings and dignitaries, and from every rank and race. While kings of the various nations have limits to their power, the holy
Catholic Church alone has unlimited power throughout the whole world. For God has placed peace as her border, as it is written.45 If I wished to speak fully concerning her, my discourse would require many more hours.
(28) Instructed in this holy Catholic Church and conducting ourselves rightly, we shall gain the kingdom of heaven and inherit life everlasting; it is to receive this from the Lord that we endure all things. For it is no trifling goal we strive for, but eternal life. Therefore, in the Creed, after the article,
"and in the resurrection of the flesh," that is, of the dead, of which we have discoursed, we are taught to believe, "and in life everlasting," the prize of the Christian contest.
(29) The real and true life, then, is the Father, who through the Son in the Holy Spirit pours forth upon all as from a fountain His heavenly gifts; and of His love towards men He promises to us also the blessings of eternal life. We should not think that this is impossible, but rather believe, looking not to our own weakness, but to His power, for "with God all
43 1 Cor. 12.28.
44 2 Cor. 6.7, 8.
45 Cf. Ps. 147.14.
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things are possible."46 That it is possible, and that we may look for eternal life, Daniel confirms, saying: "And of the many just, like the stars forever."47 And Paul says: "And so we shall ever be with the Lord";48 for the words, "ever be with the Lord" signify life everlasting. The Savior also says plainly in the Gospels: "And these will go into everlasting punish. ment, but the just into everlasting life."49
(30), There are many proofs of life everlasting. For us who desire to possess it, the Sacred Scriptures propose the ways to achieve it. Of these we shall now adduce only a few testimonies because of the length of our discourse; the rest we shall leave for the diligent to discover. The Scriptures say that at times life everlasting is gained by faith, for it is written: "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life,"5o and again He Him· self says: "Amen, amen, I say to you, he who hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has life everlasting."51 At another time it is by the preaching of the Gospel, for He says: "And he who reaps receives a wage, and gathers fruit unto life everlasting."52 At another time it is by martyrdom and confession of Christ, for He says: "And he who hates his life in this world, keeps it unto life everlasting."53 And it is by putting Christ above riches and kindred: "And everyone who has left brothers, or sisters," and what follows, "shall possess life everlasting."54 It is also by the observance of the commandments, "Thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not kiII,"55 and so forth, as He answered the man who came to Him, saying: "Good Master, what shall I do to gain eternal
46 Matt. 10.26.
47 Dan. 12.3 (Sept.).
48 I Thess. 4.17.
49 Matt. 25.46.
50 John 3.36.
51 John 5.24.
52 John 4.36.
53 John 12.25.
54 Matt. 19.29.
55 Ibid. 18.
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life?"o6 Further, it is by shunning wicked deeds and serving God for the future, for Paul says: "But now set free from sin and become slaves to God, you have your fruit unto sanctification, and as your end, life everlasting."oT
(31) There are many other ways, too numerous to mention, of finding life everlasting. For God in his loving-kindness has opened up not one, or two, but many doors that lead into life everlasting, to enable all, so far as it rests with Him, to enjoy it without hindrance. We have said enough for the present about life everlasting; it is the last doctrine we profess in the Creed, and its conclusion. God grant that all of us, both teachers and hearers, may enjoy it.
(32) My final words, beloved brethren, in this instruction, will be words of exhortation, urging all of you to prepare your souls for the reception of the heavenly gifts. On the holy and Apostolic Faith handed down to you to profess, we have by the grace of God delivered as many lectures as possible in these past days of Lent; not that we have said all that might be said, for much has been omitted; and perhaps it has been more logically developed by better teachers. But when the holy day of Easter dawns, and your love of Christ is enlightened by the water of regeneration, you will, God willing, receive the further necessary instruction. 58 I mean with what devotion and order you must come forward when summoned; for what purpose each of the holy mysteries of Baptism is performed; with what reverence and order you must proceed from Baptism to God's holy altar, and there enjoy its spiritual and heavenly mysteries; so your soul, enlightened beforehand
56 Ibid. 16.
57 Rom. 6.22.
58 In this chapter and the next there are references to supplementary lectures. In the catechetical lectures before baptism it would have been forbidden to reveal the mysteries to the candidates for baptism, and besides they were not prepared for them.
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by instructive discourse, may discover in detail the magnitude of the gifts imparted to you by God.
(33)' After Easter's holy day of salvation, you will come every day, starting Monday, immediately after the assembly into the holy place of the Resurrection, where, God willing, you will hear other lectures. In these you will be instructed again in the reasons for everything that has been done, reasons warranted by proofs from the Old and the New Testaments; first concerning what is done immediately before Baptism; then how you were cleansed by the Lord "in the bath of water by means of the word";59 how like priests you have become partakers of the name of Christ; and how the seal of the fellowship of the Holy Spirit has been given to you. You will be instructed concerning the mysteries at the altar of the New
Testament, those mysteries first instituted here in Jerusalem.
You will hear what the Sacred Scriptures have delivered to us, and of the efficacy of these mysteries; how you must approach them, when and how to receive them; and last of all, how you must behave in word and deed worthily of the grace received, that all of you may be able to enjoy life everlasting.
These points will, God willing, be the burden of our talks.
(34) "For the rest, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice,"60 "because your redemption is at hand,"61 and the heavenly host of the angels is looking forward to your salvation. Already you can hear "the voice of one crying in the desert, Make ready the way of the Lord."62 The Prophet cries: "All you who are thirsty, come to the water!" and then:
"Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare."63 Soon you will hear read that fine passage: "Be enlightened, be enlightened, 0 new Jerusalem! Your light has come."64 It is of this Jerusalem that the Prophet said: "After 59 Eph. 5.26.
60 Phil. 3.4; 4.4.
61 Luke 21.28.
62 Matt. 3.3.
63 Isa.55.I.
64 Cf. Isa. 60.1.
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that you shall be called city of justice, faithful city, Sion,"65
"for from Sion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from ]erusalem";66 from here it poured out like rain upon the whole world. To Jerusalem the Prophet speaks of you: "Lift up your eyes round about, and see your children gathered together" ;67 and she answers, saying: "Who are these that fly as clouds, and as doves with their young over me?"68
She says "clouds," because of their spiritual nature, and "doves," because of their innocence. Again: "Who ever heard of such a thing, or saw the like? Can a country be brought forth in one day, or a nation be born in a single moment?
Yet Sion is scarcely in labor when she gives birth to her children."69 All things shall be filled with ineffable joy, because of the Lord who said: "I will rejoice in Jerusalem and exult in my people."7Q (35) Of you also may it be said in that hour: "Sing out, o heavens, rejoice, 0 earth," "for the Lord comforts his people, and shows mercy to his aillicted."71 All this will come to pass through the loving-kindness of God, who says to you:
"I have brushed away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like a mist."72 You have been accounted worthy of the name of faithful-of whom it is written: "My servants shall be called by a new name, which shall be blessed upon the earth"73and you will say with gladness: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing on high in Christ. In him we have redemption through his blood, the remission of sins, according to the riches of his grace. This grace has abounded beyond
65 Cf. Isa. 1.26, 27.
66 Isa. 2.3.
67 Cf. Isa. 49.18.
68 Cf. Isa. 60.8 (Sept.).
69 Isa. 66.8.
70 Isa. 65.18.
71 Cf. Isa. 49.13.
72 Isa. 44.22.
73 Isa. 65.15, 16 (Sept.).
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measure in US";74 and again: "But God, who is rich in mercy, by reason of his very great love wherewith he has loved us even when we were dead by reason of our sins, brought us to life together with Christ."75 In this strain praise the Lord, the Author of blessings, saying: "But when the goodness and kindness of God our Savior appeared, then not by reason of good works that we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the bath of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit; whom he has abundantly poured out upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior, in order that, justified by his grace, we may be heirs in the hope of life everlasting."76
May God Himself and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, "grant you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in deep knowledge of him: the eyes of your mind being enlightened";77 and may He keep you ever in good works and words and thoughts; to whom be glory, honor, and power through our Lord Jesus Christ, with Holy Spirit, now and ever, and all the infinite ages of eternity. Amen.
74 Eph. 1.3.7.8.
75 Eph. 2.4. 5.
76 Titus 3.4-7.
77 Eph. 1.17. 18.