Even Years: Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Romans, 15:7 (PG 74, 854-855)
Ἕν
σῶμά ἐσμεν οἱ
πολλοὶ, καὶ ἀλλήλων
μέλη, κατὰ τὸ
γεγραμμένον,
συνείροντος ἡμᾶς
εἰς ἑνότητα τοῦ
Χριστοῦ τοῖς τῆς
ἀγάπης δεσμοῖς.
Αὐτὸς γὰρ ὁ
ποιήσας τὰ ἀμφότερα
ἓν, καὶ τὸ μεσότοιχον
τοῦ φραγμοῦ λύσας,
τὸν νόμον τῶν ἐντολῶν
ἐν δόγμασι
καταργήσας. Δεῖ
δὴ οὖν ἄρα τὸ αὐτὸ
φρονεῖν εἰς ἀλλήλους,
καὶ εἴ τι πάσχει
ἓν μέλος, συμπάσχειν
πάντα τὰ μέλη·
εἴτε δοξάζεται
ἓν μέλος, χαίρειν
πάντα τὰ μέλη.
Διὸ
προσλαμβάνεσθε,
φησὶν, ἀλλήλους,
καθὼς καὶ ὁ
Χριστὸς
προσελάβετο ὑμᾶς
εἰς δόξαν Θεοῦ.
Προσληψόμεθα δὲ
ἀλλήλους, τὰ αὐτὰ
φρονεῖν ᾑρημένοι,
βαστάζοντες δὲ
καὶ ἀλλήλων τὰ
βάρη, καὶ τηροῦντες
τὴν ἑνότητα τοῦ
πνεύματος ἐν τῷ
συνδέσμῳ τῆς εἰρήνης.
Οὕτως ἡμᾶς
προσελάβετο καὶ
ὁ Θεὸς ἐν Χριστῷ.
Καὶ γάρ ἐστιν ἀληθὴς,
οὕτως ἠγαπῆσθαι
τὸν κόσμον εἰπὼν
παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ
καὶ Πατρὸς, ὥστε
καὶ αὐτὸν ὑπὲρ
ἡμῶν δεδόσθαι
τὸν Υἱόν. Δέδοται
γὰρ τῆς ἁπάντων
ἡμῶν ζωῆς ἀντάλλαγμα,
καὶ θανάτου τὴν
καταλλαγὴν ἐσχήκαμεν,
καὶ θανάτου καὶ
ἁμαρτίας ἐκλελυτρώμεθα.
Καὶ τόν γε τῆς οἰκονομίας
σκοπὸν
διαλευκαίναι λέγων,
Χριστὸν γεγενῆσθαι
διάκονον
περιτομῆς ὑπὲρ
ἀληθείας, καὶ τὰ
ἑξῆς. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ
τοῖς Ἰουδαίων
πατράσι προεπήγγελται
Θεὸς, ὅτι καὶ εὐλογήσει
τὸ ἐξ αὐτῶν ἐσόμενον
σπέρμα, καὶ ὡσεὶ
τὰ ἄστρα τοῦ οὐρανοῦ
τῷ πλήθει, ταύτῃ
τοι πέφηνεν ἐν
σαρκὶ καὶ γέγονεν
ἄνθρωπος, Θεὸς ὑπάρχων,
ὁ Λόγος αὐτὸς ὢν,
ὁ πᾶσαν τὴν κτίσιν
καὶ εἰς τὸ εἶναι
συνέχων, καὶ τὸ
εὖ εἶναι τοῖς οὖσιν
ἀπονέμων ὡς Θεός.
Ἦλθεν δὲ εἰς τόνδε
τὀν κόσμον μετὰ
σαρκὸς, πλὴν οὐ
διακονηθῆναι
μᾶλλον, καθὰ
φησὶν αὐτὸς, ἀλλὰ
διακονῆσαι, καὶ
δοῦναι τῆν ψυχὴν
αὐτοῦ ἀντίλυτρον
ὑπὲρ πολλῶν.
Ὡμολόγει
γε μὴν ἀφῖχθαι
σαφῶς, ἵνα πληρώσῃ
τῷ Ἰσραὴλ τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν.
Ἔφασκεν γάρ· οὐκ
ἀπεστάλην εἰ μὴ
εἰς τὰ ἀπολωλότα
πρόβατα οἴκου Ἰσραήλ.
Οὐκοῦν οῦ
ψευδοεπήσει λέγων
ὁ Παῦλος διάκονον
αὐτὸν γεγενῆσθαι
ἐκ περιτομῆς εἰς
τὸ βεβαιῶσαι τὰς
ἐπαγγελίας τῶν
πατέρων, τεθεῖσθαί
τε πρὸς τοῦτο
παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ
καὶ Πατρὸς καὶ
εἰς ἔλεον τοῖς ἐξ
ἐθνῶν, ἱνα καὶ
αὐτοὶ δοξάσειαν
ὡς τῶν ὅλων
γενεσιουργὸν
καὶ τεχνίτην τὸν
Σωτῆρά τε καὶ
Λυτρωτήν Ταύτῃ
τοι κατευρυνομένης
ὥσπερ ἐφ᾿ ἁπαντας
τῆς ἄνωθεν
γαληνότητος
προσελήφθη τὰ ἐθνη,
καὶ τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ
σοφίας τὸ μυστήριον
οὐχ ἡμαρτηκὸς ὀρᾶται
τοῦ πρὸς ἡμερότητα
βλέποντος σκοποῦ·
σέσωσται γὰρ ἀντὶ
τῶν ὠλισθηκότων
ἡ ὑπ᾿ οὐρανὸν,
κατοικτείροντος
Θεοῦ.
Odd Years: Maximus of Turin, Sermon 53, 1-2,4 (CCL 23, 214-216)
| Per resurrectionem Christi aperitur tartarum, per neophytos Ecclesiae innovatur terra, caelum per Sanctum Spiritum reseratur; apertum enim tartarum reddit mortuos, innovata terra germinat resurgentes, caelum reseratum suscipit ascendentes.
| Christ is risen! He has burst open the gates of hell and let the dead go free; he has renewed the earth through the members of his Church now born again in Baptism, and has made it blossom afresh with men brought back to life. His Holy Spirit has unlocked the doors of heaven, which stand wide open to receive those who rise up from the earth.
| | Denique ascendit latro in paradisum, sanctorum corpora ingrediuntur in sanctam civitatem, ad vivos mortui revertuntur; et profectu quodam in resurrectione Christi ad altiora cuncta elementa se tollunt.
| Because of Christ's Resurrection the thief ascends to Paradise, the bodies of the blessed enter the holy city, and the dead are restored to the company of the living; there is an upward movement in the whole of creation, each element raising itself to something higher.
| | Tartarum quos habet reddit ad superos, terra quos sepelit mittit ad caelum, caelum quos suscipit repraesentat ad Dominum; et una eademque operatione Salvatoris passio elevat de imis, suscitat de terrenis, collocat in excelsis.
| We see the underworld restoring its victims to the upper regions, earth sending its buried dead to heaven, and heaven presenting the new arrivals to the Lord. In one and the same movement our Saviour's Passion raises men from the depths, lifts them up from the earth, and sets them in the heights.
| | Resurectio enim Christi defunctis est vita, peccatoribus venia, sanctis est gloria. Omnem ergo creaturam ad festivitatem resurrectionis Christi propheta sanctus invitat; ait enim exsultandum in hac die quam fecit Dominus et laetandum.
| Christ is risen! His rising brings life to the dead, forgiveness to sinners, and glory to the saints. And so David the prophet summons all creation to join in celebrating the Easter festival: Rejoice and be glad, he cries, on this day which the Lord has made.
| | Lux Christi dies est sine nocte, dies sine fine. Quod autem iste dies Christus sit, Apostolus dicit: Nox praecessit, dies autem appropinquavit. Praecessit, inquit, nox, non sequitur, ut intellegas, superveniente Christi lumine, diaboli tenebras effugari et peccatorum obscura non subsequi; et iugi splendore praeteritas caligines depelli, subrepentia delicta prohiberi.
| The light of Christ is an endless day that knows no night. Christ is this day, says the Apostle; such is the meaning of his words: Night is almost over; day is at hand. He tells us that night is almost over, not that it is about to fall. By this we are meant to understand that the coming of Christ's light puts Satan's darkness to flight, leaving no place for any shadow of sin. His everlasting radiance dispels the dark clouds of the past and checks the hidden growth of vice.
| | Ipse est enim dies Filius, cui Pater dies divinitatis suae eructat arcanum. Ipse, inquam, est dies, qui ait per Salomonem: Ego feci ut oriretur in caelo lumen indeficiens.
| The Son himself is the day to whom The Day, his Father, communicates the mystery of his Divinity. He it is who says through the mouth of Solomon, I have caused an unfailing light to rise in heaven.
| | Sicut ergo diem caeli nox omnino non sequitur, ita et Christi iustitiam peccatorum tenebrae non sequuntur. Semper enim dies caeli splendet, lucet et fulget, neque aliqua potest obscuritate concludi; ita et lumen Christi semper micat, radiat, curruscat, nec aliqua potest delictorum caligine comprehendi, unde ait evangelista Ioannes: Et lux in tenebris lucet, et tenebrae eam non comprehenderunt.
| And as in heaven no night can follow day, so no sin can overshadow the justice of Christ. The celestial day is perpetually bright and shining with brilliant light; clouds can never darken its skies. In the same way, the light of Christ is eternally glowing with luminous radiance, and can never be extinguished by the darkness of sin. This is why John the Evangelist says: The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never been able to overpower it.
| | Igitur, fratres, omnes in hac die sancta exultare debemus. Nullus se a communi laetitia peccatorum conscientia subtrahat, nullus a publicis votis delictorum sarcina revocetur! Quamvis enim peccator, in hac die de indulgentia non debet desperare; est enim praerogativa non parva. Si enim latro paradisum meruit, cur non mereatur veniam christianus?
| And so, my friends, each of us ought surely to rejoice on this holy day. Let no one, conscious of his sinfulness, withdraw from our common celebration, nor let anyone be kept away from our public prayer by the burden of guilt. Sinner one may indeed be, but no one must despair of pardon on this day which is so highly privileged; for if a thief could receive the grace of Paradise, how could a Christian be refused forgiveness?
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