All Saints
[November 1]
O ALMIGHTY God, who hast knit together thine elect in one communion and fellowship, in the mystical body of thy Son Christ our Lord; Grant us grace so to follow thy blessed Saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those unspeakable joys which thou hast prepared for those who unfeignedly love thee; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
At the beginning of morning prayer and for an anthem at communion:
The Lord is glorious in his saints; * O come, let us adore him
Revelation vii. 2 & St. Matthew v. 1
Homilies
Hymn: For All the Saints
Revelation vii. 2
AND I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and peoples, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four living creatures, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.St. Matthew v. 1
JESUS seeing the multitudes, went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: and he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for their's is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peace-makers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for their's is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."Our Lord's Sermon on the Mount According to Matthew V.
Augustine
1. If any one will piously and soberly consider the sermon which our Lord Jesus Christ spoke
on the mount, as we read it in the Gospel according to Matthew, I think that he will find in it, so
far as regards the highest morals, a perfect standard of the Christian life: and this we do not rashly
venture to promise, but gather it from the very words of the Lord Himself. For the sermon itself is
brought to a close in such a way, that it is clear there are in it all the precepts which go to mould
the life. For thus He speaks: “Therefore, whosoever heareth these words of mine, and doeth them,
I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and
the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded
upon a rock. And every one that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them not, I will liken unto
a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came,
and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” Since,
therefore, He has not simply said, “Whosoever heareth my words,” but has made an addition, saying, “Whosoever heareth these words of mine,” He has sufficiently indicated, as I think, that
these sayings which He uttered on the mount so perfectly guide the life of those who may be willing
to live according to them, that they may justly be compared to one building upon a rock. I have
said this merely that it may be clear that the sermon before us is perfect in all the precepts by which
the Christian life is moulded; for as regards this particular section a more careful treatment will be
given in its own place.
2. The beginning, then, of this sermon is introduced as follows: “And when He saw the great
multitudes, He went up into a mountain: and when He was set, His disciples came unto Him: and
He opened His mouth, and taught them, saying.” If it is asked what the “mountain” means, it may
well be understood as meaning the greater precepts of righteousness; for there were lesser ones
which were given to the Jews. Yet it is one God who, through His holy prophets and servants,
according to a thoroughly arranged distribution of times, gave the lesser precepts to a people who
as yet required to be bound by fear; and who, through His Son, gave the greater ones to a people
whom it had now become suitable to set free by love. Moreover, when the lesser are given to the
lesser, and the greater to the greater, they are given by Him who alone knows how to present to the
human race the medicine suited to the occasion. Nor is it surprising that the greater precepts are
given for the kingdom of heaven, and the lesser for an earthly kingdom, by that one and the same
God, who made heaven and earth. With respect, therefore, to that righteousness which is the greater,
it is said through the prophet, “Thy righteousness is like the mountains of God:” and this may well
mean that the one Master alone fit to teach matters of so great importance teaches on a mountain.
Then He teaches sitting, as behooves the dignity of the instructor’s office; and His disciples come
to Him, in order that they might be nearer in body for hearing His words, as they also approached
in spirit to fulfil His precepts. “And He opened His mouth, and taught them, saying.” The
circumlocution before us, which runs, “And He opened His mouth,” perhaps gracefully intimates
by the mere pause that the sermon will be somewhat longer than usual, unless, perchance, it should
not be without meaning, that now He is said to have opened His own mouth, whereas under the
old law He was accustomed to open the mouths of the prophets.
3. What, then, does He say? “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
We read in Scripture concerning the striving after temporal things, “All is vanity and presumption
of spirit;” but presumption of spirit means audacity and pride: usually also the proud are said to
have great spirits; and rightly, inasmuch as the wind also is called spirit. And hence it is written,
“Fire, hail, snow, ice, spirit of tempest.” But, indeed, who does not know that the proud are spoken
of as puffed up, as if swelled out with wind? And hence also that expression of the apostle,
“Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.” And “the poor in spirit” are rightly understood here,
as meaning the humble and God-fearing, i.e. those who have not the spirit which puffeth up. Nor
ought blessedness to begin at any other point whatever, if indeed it is to attain unto the highest
wisdom; “but the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;”for, on the other hand also, “pride”
is entitled “the beginning of all sin.” Let the proud, therefore, seek after and love the kingdoms
of the earth; but “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
4. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall by inheritance possess the earth:” that earth, I suppose,
of which it is said in the Psalm, “Thou art my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” For it
signifies a certain firmness and stability of the perpetual inheritance, where the soul, by means of
a good disposition, rests, as it were, in its own place, just as the body rests on the earth, and is
nourished from it with its own food, as the body from the earth. This is the very rest and life of the
saints. Then, the meek are those who yield to acts of wickedness, and do not resist evil, but overcome
evil with good. Let those, then, who are not meek quarrel and fight for earthly and temporal things;
but “blessed are the meek, for they shall by inheritance possess the earth,” from which they cannot
be driven out.
5. “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” Mourning is sorrow arising
from the loss of things held dear; but those who are converted to God lose those things which they
were accustomed to embrace as dear in this world: for they do not rejoice in those things in which
they formerly rejoiced; and until the love of eternal things be in them, they are wounded by some
measure of grief. Therefore they will be comforted by the Holy Spirit, who on this account chiefly
is called the Paraclete, i.e. the Comforter, in order that, while losing the temporal joy, they may
enjoy to the full that which is eternal.
6. “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”
Now He calls those parties, lovers of a true and indestructible good. They will therefore be filled
with that food of which the Lord Himself says, “My meat is to do the will of my Father,” which is
righteousness; and with that water, of which whosoever “drinketh,” as he also says, it “shall be in
him a well of water, springing up into everlasting life.”
7. “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” He says that they are blessed who
relieve the miserable, for it is paid back to them in such a way that they are freed from misery.
8. “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” How foolish, therefore, are those
who seek God with these outward eyes, since He is seen with the heart! as it is written elsewhere,
“And in singleness of heart seek Him.” For that is a pure heart which is a single heart: and just as
this light cannot be seen, except with pure eyes; so neither is God seen, unless that is pure by which
He can be seen.
9. “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” It is the perfection
of peace, where nothing offers opposition; and the children of God are peacemakers, because
nothing resists God, and surely children ought to have the likeness of their father. Now, they are
peacemakers in themselves who, by bringing in order all the motions of their soul, and subjecting
them to reason—i.e. to the mind and spirit—and by having their carnal lusts thoroughly subdued,
become a kingdom of God: in which all things are so arranged, that that which is chief and
pre-eminent in man rules without resistance over the other elements, which are common to us with
the beasts; and that very element which is pre-eminent in man, i.e. mind and reason, is brought
under subjection to something better still, which is the truth itself, the only-begotten Son of God.
For a man is not able to rule over things which are inferior, unless he subjects himself to what is
superior. And this is the peace which is given on earth to men of goodwill; this the life of the fully
developed and perfect wise man. From a kingdom of this sort brought to a condition of thorough
peace and order, the prince of this world is cast out, who rules where there is perversity and
disorder. When this peace has been inwardly established and confirmed, whatever persecutions
he who has been cast out shall stir up from without, he only increases the glory which is according
to God; being unable to shake anything in that edifice, but by the failure of his machinations making
it to be known with how great strength it has been built from within outwardly. Hence there follows:
“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
10. There are in all, then, these eight sentences. For now in what remains He speaks in the way
of direct address to those who were present, saying: “Blessed shall ye be when men shall revile
you and persecute you.” But the former sentences He addressed in a general way: for He did not
say, Blessed are ye poor in spirit, for yours is the kingdom of heaven; but He says, “Blessed are
the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven:” nor, Blessed are ye meek, for ye shall inherit
the earth; but, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” And so the others up to the
eighth sentence, where He says: “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” After that He now begins to speak in the way of direct address
to those present, although what has been said before referred also to His present audience; and that
which follows, and which seems to be spoken specially to those present, refers also to those who
were absent, or who would afterwards come into existence.
For this reason the number of sentences before us is to be carefully considered. For the beatitudes
begin with humility: “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” i.e. those not puffed up, while the soul submits
itself to divine authority, fearing lest after this life it go away to punishment, although perhaps in
this life it might seem to itself to be happy. Then it (the soul) comes to the knowledge of the divine
Scriptures, where it must show itself meek in its piety, lest it should venture to condemn that which
seems absurd to the unlearned, and should itself be rendered unteachable by obstinate disputations.
After that, it now begins to know in what entanglements of this world it is held by reason of carnal
custom and sins: and so in this third stage, in which there is knowledge, the loss of the highest good
is mourned over, because it sticks fast in what is lowest. Then, in the fourth stage there is labour,
where vehement exertion is put forth, in order that the mind may wrench itself away from those
things in which, by reason of their pestilential sweetness, it is entangled: here therefore righteousness
is hungered and thirsted after, and fortitude is very necessary; because what is retained with delight
is not abandoned without pain. Then, at the fifth stage, to those persevering in labour, counsel for
getting rid of it is given; for unless each one is assisted by a superior, in no way is he fit in his own
case to extricate himself from so great entanglements of miseries. But it is a just counsel, that he
who wishes to be assisted by a stronger should assist him who is weaker in that in which he himself
is stronger: therefore “blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” At the sixth stage there
is purity of heart, able from a good conscience of good works to contemplate that highest good,
which can be discerned by the pure and tranquil intellect alone. Lastly is the seventh, wisdom
itself—i.e. the contemplation of the truth, tranquillizing the whole man, and assuming the likeness
of God, which is thus summed up: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children
of God.” The eighth, as it were, returns to the starting-point, because it shows and commends what
is complete and perfect: therefore in the first and in the eighth the kingdom of heaven is named,
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven;” and, “Blessed are they which
are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven:” as it is now said, “Who
shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”31 Seven in number, therefore, are the things which bring perfection:
for the eighth brings into light and shows what is perfect, so that starting, as it were, from the
beginning again, the others also are perfected by means of these stages.
Let us pray in the words of Augustine.
Turn we to the Lord God, the Father Almighty, and with pure hearts offer to him, so far as our
meanness can, great and true thanks, with all our hearts praying his exceeding kindness, that of
his good pleasure he would deign to hear our prayers, that by his Power he would drive out the
enemy from our deeds and thoughts, that he would increase our faith, guide our understandings,
give us spiritual thoughts, and lead us to his bliss, through Jesus Christ his Son our Lord, who
liveth and reigneth with him, in the Unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
[A prayer which he was wont to use after his Sermons and Lectures.]
NPNF (V1-06)
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