VIII About the other two reasons why our Lord’s Body is veiled
VIII
About the other two reasons why our Lord’s Body is veiled
A. (3) The third reason for this veiling of Jesus is moral instruction.
Three things which perfect us in holiness are hidden in this Sacrament: 1, the person of our Saviour; 2, the beauty of His great brightness; 3, the wonderful work of the Almighty.
From this we learn that three things in us may sometimes be virtuously hidden: 1, our person; 2, bodily beauty; 3, the intention of good works. The first is hidden from the rage of persecutors; the second from the gaze of fools; the third from human respect.
1. The just man learns to hide himself for three reasons: a, that the rage of the persecutor may cease; b, that he may finish the work commanded him by God; c, that he may win a more glorious crown.
2. The just man learns to hide bodily beauty from the gaze of all, because outward beauty and its adornment have been to many an occasion of falling. Now bodily beauty is hidden in three ways: a, by poorness of dress; b, by austerity and fasting; c, by perseverance in good works.
3. The just man learns to hide the intentions of his virtues and good works from human respect. St. Gregory says, ‘Let your work be so done in public that your intention may be concealed. Thus shall we give an example to others by our good work, and yet as to our intention, by which we desire to please God alone, we shall always wish to be hidden.’
It is a threefold good that we ought chiefly to hide from men: a, alms-deeds; b, prayer; c, fasting.
(4) Fourthly, He is thus given to us veiled because of our weakness. It is proved in three ways that our weakness needs this.
1. From a figure of the law. The children of Israel, seeing that the face of Moses was horned from his communion with God, feared to come near; and he therefore put a veil on his face when he spoke to them. For the face of Moses caught such brightness from his nearness to the light of God that it seemed to the eyes of men to be horned. They could only bear the brightness of his face when veiled. Thus, then, nay, much more, must this be true of the Body of Jesus glorified in His Resurrection, and made spiritual and deiform. No one can look on it with mortal eye unless it be veiled under another appearance.
2. From the case of Mary, the Mother of God. Even she could not bear the brightness of her Son’s presence and His glory until it was overshadowed. But when His majesty was veiled in her virginal flesh, by the overshadowing of the Holy Ghost, then it was possible that He could be looked on by Mary and even by us. Hence the Word was made flesh. When, however, that very flesh was glorified after His Passion by His Resurrection, and glorified to the likeness of God, it was made such that the eye of man could not look on it in its own form, but only when hidden by some kind of veil. The works of God are wonderful and glorious and hidden.
3. From natural reason; that is, from the very great dissimilarity between the light of our eyes and the brightness of the light of the Body of Jesus. Our eye is small, weak, corruptible. But His brightness is incorruptible, and in a certain sense immeasurable. Now the visibility of every kind of light depends on a certain likeness between the light and the eye that sees it. But the greater likeness there is to a very great light, the clearer the vision is, and the sweeter. Hence it is that a healthy eye can to some extent look on the sun, but not on the Body of Jesus, because the eye has a kind of likeness to the sun, that is, a likeness of light and corruptibility; but it has no such likeness to our Lord’s Body. For unless the eye were in some way like the light of day, it could not possibly see it. So an ear or a finger or a blind eye could not see that light because of their too great unlikeness to it. So also because of our weakness and the exceedingly great splendour of our Lord’s Body, glorified and strengthened to incorruption, we cannot sweetly look eye to eye on that brightness of the Body of Jesus. But still we ought to look upon Him with the eye of the mind, that is, the pure intention of the heart. It does indeed seem right that truth should find an entrance to the soul by the upper windows of the eyes. But this, O my soul, is kept in store for us hereafter, when we shall see Him face to face. That vision will be everlasting life.
The Voice of the Holy Ghost
(3) About moral instruction; Wisdom is drawn out of secret places. Job. 28:18.
N. Three things hidden; 1. The person of our Saviour; Verily Thou art a hidden God, the God of Israel, the Saviour. Is. 45:15.
2. The great brightness; I will wait for the Lord, who hath hidden His face. Is. 8:17.
3. His almightiness; There are many things hidden from us that are greater than these; for we have seen but a few of His works. Ecclus. 43:3, 6.
Three things to be hidden in us; I. Ourselves; a. For rest Go, My people, enter into thy chambers, shut thy doors upon thee, hide thyself a little for a moment, till the indignation pass away. Is. 26:20.
b. For finishing our work; At Damascus, the governor of the nation under Aretas the king guarded the city of the Damascenes to apprehend me; and through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and so I escaped his hands. 2 Cor. 11:32, 33.
When King Sennacherib … slew many of the children of Israel, Tobias buried their bodies. But when it was told the king he commanded him to be slain, and took away all his substance. But Tobias, fleeing naked away with his son and with his wife, lay hid, for many loved him. Tob. 1:21–23.
c. For the crown; Behold David is hid in the hill of Hachila. 1 Kings 26:1.
2. Bodily beauty; a. By poorness of dress; I have sewn sackcloth upon my skin, and have covered my flesh with ashes. Job 16:16.
He said to her, That man is my master: but she quickly took her cloak and covered herself. Gen. 24:65.
If a woman be not covered, let her be shorn. But if it be a shame to a woman to be shorn or made bald, let her cover her head.… Therefore ought the woman to have a power over her head because of the Angels. 1 Cor. 11:6, 10.
b. By austerities; God forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world. Gal. 6:14.
c. By perseverance in good; Thou hast made his soul to waste away like a spider. Ps. 38:12.
The yoke and the thong bend a stiff neck, and continual labours bow a slave. Ecclus. 33:27.
Do not consider me that I am brown, because the sun hath altered my colour. Cantic. 1:5.
There is no beauty in him nor comeliness; and we have seen him, and there was no sightliness that we should be desirous of him. Despised, and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with infirmity; and his look was, as it were, hidden and despised, whereupon we esteemed him not. Is. 53:2, 3.
3. The intention of good works; The kingdom of Heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in a field: which a man having found hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath and buyeth that field. St. Matt. 13:44.
a. Alms-deeds; When thou dost an alms-deed sound not a trumpet before there, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and the streets, that they may be honoured by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. But when thou dost alms let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth; that the alms may be in secret; and thy Father who seeth in secret will repay thee. St. Matt. 6:2–4.
b. Prayer; When you pray you shall not be as the hypocrites, that love to stand and pray in the synagogues and corners of streets, that they may be seen by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. But thou when thou shalt pray enter into thy chamber, and having shut the door pray to they Father in secret; and thy Father who seeth in secret will repay thee. St. Matt. 6:5, 6.
c. Fasting; When you fast, be not as the hypocrites, sad. For they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. But thou when thou fastest anoint thy head and wash thy face, that thou appear not to men to fast, but to they Father who is in secret; and thy Father who seeth in secret will reward thee. St. Matt. 6:16–18.
(4) Our weakness; 1. From a figure of the law; He was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights … When Moses came down from the Mount Sinai he knew not that his face was horned from the conversation of the Lord.… Having done speaking he put a veil upon his face. Ex. 34:28, 29, 33.
The children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance. 2 Cor. 3:7.
2. The Mother of God; Now glorify Thou Me, O Father, with Thyself, with the glory which I had before the world was with Thee. St. John 17:5.
Thou canst not see My face, for man shall not see Me and live. Ex. 33:20.
The works of the Highest only are wonderful, and His works are glorious and secret and hidden. Ecclus. 11:4.
We see now through a glass in a dark manner, but then face to face. 1 Cor. 13:12.
3. A reason of nature; The light of thy body is thy eye. If thy eye be single thy whole body will be lightsome; but if it be evil thy body also will be darksome. Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. If then thy whole body be lightsome, having no part of darkness, the whole shall be lightsome, and as a bright lamp shall enlighten thee. St. Luke 11:34–36.
Dearly beloved, we are now the sons of God; and it hath not yet appeared what we shall be. We know that when He shall appear we shall be like to Him, because we shall see Him as He is. 1 John 3:2.
Prayer
O Holy Ghost, let my life be hidden with Jesus in God. Give me grace to live for God only, and to use creatures in Him and for His sake. Let the beauty of God blind me to the beauty of the world, and let the light of God blind me to the light of earth. Thou, O my God, art brighter than all things and sweeter. Take away from my soul all the dross, and purify it, giving it light and strength. To Thee, Spirit of deathless love, I turn for help. Take from me all human respect; for wrong regard of creatures blights the soul, so that its fruits are withered. Help me to be more faithful to Jesus, my Love, who is coming to me from His Altar. He is my life, as Thou art my life, and as the Eternal Father is my life. Give me more love, that I may welcome Jesus as He comes to me in the hidden light, and the freshness of the morning dew.
Thanksgiving
Thou art hidden, my Jesus, from every eye. Though Thou dwellest in the inaccessible light, yet clouds and thick darkness are round about Thy earthly dwelling. O dearest Lord, Thou art a hidden God. Thou art the God of Israel, my Saviour. I thank Thee for coming to me; and I thank Thee for bringing me to Thy banquet of love. I praise Thee and bless Thee in the Paradise of God; and I praise Thee and bless Thee in this dimness of the shadow of death. At Thy appearing I shall be like Thee, for I shall see Thee as Thou art. Make me more and more like Thyself here. One day, in the land of praise, in the great thanksgiving of eternity, I shall follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest over the mountains of the Israel of God. Give me grace to be faithful to Thee here, and to follow in Thy steps, day by day. Thou hast come to me, Jesus, in the Blessed Sacrament. By Thy gift Thou dost make me rich; and in Thy love Thou art the gladness of my life.