6. See Mk 14:38.
SERMON 223G 233
5. He actually says celeritate vaporea. But "with the speed of steam" would sound ridiculous in English—even though "with the speed of light" is perhaps just a little too quick for what Augustine had in mind.
6. See Mk 14:38.
SERMON 223H
AT THE EASTER VIGIL
Date: uncertain1
The apostles, mountains of God cast into the sea, have consecrated this vigil as a means for us to humble our souls
We are celebrating in this solemn festival the humility of the Lord, who humbled himself, becoming obedient to the death, death indeed on the cross (Phil 2:8). That is why we too are humbling our souls on this holy night by fasting, by watching, and by praying; nor is this glowing fervor of yours at odds with such humility. What else, after all, is a grain of mustard seed but the fervor of humility?2 It is by this grain that mountains were carried into the heart of the sea (Ps 46:2); that is, the great preachers of the gospel, the holy apostles, were carried from Judea to the nations, and the very heart of the world, that is, the secular thoughts of this age were captured by the mountains of which it is said, Your justice like the mountains of God (Ps 36:6); by the mountains of which it is said, Shedding wonderful light are you from the everlasting mountains (Ps 76:4).
These very mountains, you see, had light shed on them, so that their summits glowed with fervor, and thus they carried the light which sheds light on every person,3 the mountain of mountains so to say, the king of kings and the holy of holy ones,4 both this and themselves into the faith of the nations; thus fulfilling what the prophet had foretold: There will be manifest in the last times the mountain of the Lord, prepared on the summit of the mountains (Is 2:2); and also what he had said himself: If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, Pick yourself up and throw yourself into the sea and it will happen (Mt 17:20).
It is these mountains that consecrated for us this night,5 on which the Lord rose again after being buried, the grain of mustard seed humbling itself by being covered up so as not to be seen, and then sprouting and growing and spreading its branches in all directions, so as to overtop everything else and invite the proud-hearted to lake refuge and find rest in them like birds building their nests.6 May this mountain also dwell in your hearts; it will not, you see, be cramped for space wherever charity provides it with the broadest, most ample place.
Turning to the Lord ...