The following is taken from:
Gregory the Great, Homily 3 on the Gospel of Matthew, in
Gregorius Magnus, Homiliae in Evangelia (Corpus Christianorum Series
Latina 141; Turnhout: Brepols, 1999), 20-25 (emphasis added)
Homilia III
Lectio sancti euangelii secundum Matthaeum.
In illo tempore loquente Iesu ad turbas, ecce mater eius et fratres stabant
foris, quaerentes loqui ei. Dixit autem ei quidam: Ecce mater tua et fratres
tui foris stant quaerentes te. At ipse respondens dicenti sibi ait: Quae est
mater mea et qui sunt fratres mei? Et extendens manus in discipulos suos dixit:
Ecce mater mea et fratres mei. Quicumque enim fecerit uoluntatem Patris mei
qui in caelis est, ipse meus frater et soror et mater est.
Homilia lectionis eiusdem habita
ad populum in basilica sanctae Felicitatis die natalis eius.
1. Sancti euangelii, fratres carissimi, breuis est lectio recitata, sed
magnis mysteriorum ponderibus grauida. Iesus etenim Conditor et Redemptor
noster matrem se nosse dissimulat, et quae ei mater sit, qui propinqui, non per
cognationem carnis, sed per coniunctionem spiritus designat dicens: Quae est
mater mea et qui sunt fratres mei? Quicumque fecerit uoluntatem Patris mei qui
in caelis est, ipse meus frater et soror et mater est. Quibus nobis uerbis
quid aliud innuit, nisi quod obsequentibus iussionibus suis multos ex
gentilitate colligit, et Iudaeam, ex cuius carne est genitus, non agnoscit?
Vnde et mater eius cum quasi non agnoscitur foris stare perhibetur, quia
uidelicet synagoga idcirco ab auctore suo non recognoscitur, quia legis
obseruationem tenens, spiritalem intellectum perdidit et sese ad custodiam
litterae foris fixit.
2. Sed cum is qui uoluntatem Patris fecerit, soror et frater Domini
dicitur, propter utrumque sexum qui ad fidem colligitur, mirum non est;
mirandum uero ualde est quomodo etiam mater dicatur: Fideles enim discipulos
fratres uocare dignatus est dicens: Ite, nuntiate fratribus meis. Qui
ergo frater Domini fieri ad fidem ueniendo potuerit, quaerendum est quomodo
esse etiam mater possit. Sed sciendum nobis est quia qui Christi frater et
soror est credendo, mater efficitur praedicando. Quasi enim parit Dominum
(Iesum: α), quem cordi
audientis infuderit. Et mater eius efficitur, si per eius uocem amor
Domini in proximi mente generatur.
3. Ad quam rem nobis idonee
confirmandam adest beata Felicitas, cuius hodie natalitia celebramus, quae
credendo exstitit ancilla Christi, et praedicando facta est mater Christi.
Septem quippe filios sicut in gestis eius emendatioribus legitur, sic* post se timuit
uiuos in carne relinquere, sicut carnales parentes solent metuere ne mortuos
praemittant. In persecutionis enim labore deprehensa, filiorum corda in amorem
(amore: α) supernae patriae praedicando roborauit, et parturiuit spiritu quos
carne pepererat, ut praedicatione pareret Deo quos carne pepererat mundo.
Considerate, fratres carissimi, in femineo corpore uirile pectus. Ad mortem
stetit imperterrita. Amittere se in filiis lumen ueritatis timuit, si non
fuisset orbata. Numquid ego hanc feminam martyam dixerim? Certe Dominus cum de
Iohanne loqueretur dixit: Quid existis uidere in deserto? Prophetam? Vtique dico uobis et (uere dico uobis: α) plus quam prophetam. Et Iohannes ipse requisitus respondit
dicens: Non sum propheta. Quia enim se plus quam prophetam nouerat, esse se
prophetam negabat. Qui idcirco plus quam propheta dicitur, quia prophetae est
officium uentura praenuntiare, non etiam ostendere. Iohannes uero plus quam
propheta est, quia quem uerbo dixit digito ostendit. Non ergo hanc feminam
martyam, sed plus quam martyam dixerim, quae septem pignoribus ad regnum
praemissis, toties ante se mortua, ad poenas prima uenit, sed peruenit octaua.
Aspexit mater et cruciata et imperterrita filiorum mortem, spei gaudium debuit,
dolorem naturae. Timuit uiuentibus, gaisa morientibus. Optauit nullum post se
relinquere, ne si quem haberet superstitem, non posset habere consortem. Nemo
ergo ex uobis, fratres carissimi, existimet quod eius cor morientibus filiis
etiam carnalis affectus minime pulsauit. Neque enim filios, quos carnem suam
esse nouerat, sine dolore poterat morientes uidere, sed erat uis amoris
interior, quae dolorem uinceret carnis. Vnde et passuro Petro dicitur: Cum
senueris, extendes manus tuas et (extendes ... et: om. a) alius te praecinget
et ducet quo tu non uis. Neque enim si plenissime Petrus nollet, pro
Christo pati potuisset; sed martyrium, quod per infirmitatem carnis noluit, per
uirtutem spiritus amauit. Qui dum per carnem ad poenas trepidat, per spiritum
ad gloriam exultat, actum est ut cruciatum martyrii nolendo uoluisset, sicut
nos quoque cum gaudium quaerimus salutis, amaram poculum sumimus purgationis.
Amaritudo quidem in poculo displicet, sed restituenda per amaritudinem salus
placet. Amauit ergo iuxta carnem Felicitas filios, sed prae amore caelestis patriae
mori coram se uoluit quos amauit. Ipsa eorum uulnera accepit, sed ipsa in eis
ad regnum praeueniientibus excreuit. Recte ergo hanc feminam ultra martyam
dixerim, quae toties in filiis est desiderabiliter exstincta, dum multiplex
martyrium obtinuit, ipsa quoque martyrii palmam uicit. Fertur apud ueteres mos fuisse, ut quisquis consul
exsisteret, iuxta ordinem temporum honoris sui locum teneret, at si quis
posterius ad consulatum ueniens, consul non semel, sed bis fortasse aut tertio
fieret, etiam illos laude et honore transcenderet, qui non plus quam semel
consules exstitissent. Vicit ergo beata Felicitas martyas, quae tot ante se
morientibus filiis, pro Christo frequenter occubuit, quia ad amorem illius sola
sua mors minime suffecit.
4. Consideremus, fratres, hanc feminam, consideremus nos qui membris
corporis uiri sumus (qui esse uiri cernimur: α), in eius comparatione quid existimabimur (sumus:
α). Saepe namque agenda
aliqua bona proponimus, sed si unus contra nos leuissimus sermo ab ore
irridentis eruperit, ab intentione actionis nostrae fracti protinus et confusi
resilimus. Ecce nos plerumque
a bono opere uerba reuocant, Felicitatem uero a sancta intentione frangere nec
tormenta potuerunt. Nos in aura maledictionis impingimus, haec ad regnum etiam
per ferrum exiit, nihilque esse quod obsistebat aestimauit. Nos ad praecepta dominica
largire* nostra saltem superflua nolumus, haec non solum Deo suam substantiam
contulit, sed pro illo etiam propriam carnem dedit. Nos cum ex diuina iussione filios amittimus, sine
consolatione lugeamus, haec eos uelut mortuos plangeret si non obtulisset. Cum
ergo ad illud terribile examen districtus iudex uenerit, quid nos uiri dicemus
cum eius feminae gloriam uiderimus? De debilitate mentis suae quae tunc erit
uiris excusatio, quando haec ostenditur quae cum saeculo sexum uicit? Sequamur
ergo, fratres carissimi, districtam et asperam Redemptoris uiam, usu quippe
uirtutum ita iam plana facta est, ut per eam feminis libeat ambulare. Despiciamus
cuncta praesentia, nulla sunt etenim quae transire possunt. Turpe sit diligere
quod constat citius perire. Non nos terrenarum rerum amor superet, non superbia
inflet, non ira dilaniet, non luxuria polluat, non inuidia consumat. Amore
nostro, fratres carissimi, Redemptor noster occubuit, et nos amore eius
discamus uincere nosmetipsos. Quod si perfecte agimus, non solum imminentes
poenas euadimus, sed communi cum martyribus gloria remuneramur. Nam quamuis
occasio persecutionis deest, habet tamen et pax nostra martyrium suum, quia
etsi carnis colla ferro non subdimus, spiritali tamen gladio carnalia desideria
in mente trucidamus.
Homily
III
Reading of the holy Gospel according to Matthew.
At that time, while Jesus was speaking to the crowds,
behold, his mother and his brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak
with him. And someone said to him, “Behold, your mother and your brothers are
standing outside, seeking you.” But he answered the one who spoke to him and
said, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand
toward his disciples, he said, “Behold, my mother and my brothers. For
whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother and
sister and mother.”
Homily on the same reading, delivered to the people in
the basilica of Saint Felicitas on her feast day.
1. The Gospel reading, my dearest brothers, is short,
but burdened with the weight of great mysteries. For Jesus, our Maker and
Redeemer, pretends not to know his mother, and he identifies as his mother, and
as his kin, not those related by the flesh, but those joined by the spirit,
when he says: Who is my mother, and who are my brothers? For whoever does
the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.
By these words, what else does he suggest, except that by obeying his commands
he gathers many from among the Gentiles, and does not recognize Judea, from
whose flesh he was born? Hence his mother is said to be standing outside, as
though she were unrecognized, because the synagogue is not recognized by its
Author for this reason: holding to the observance of the Law, it has lost
spiritual understanding and has fixed itself outside in the guarding of the
letter.
2. But since the one who does the will of the Father is
called the Lord’s sister and brother, because both sexes are gathered into the
faith, this is not surprising; but it is very surprising how he can also be
called mother. For he deigned to call the disciples brothers, saying: Go,
tell my brothers. Whoever, then, can become the Lord’s brother by coming to
faith must be considered in order to understand how he can also be mother. But
we must know that whoever is Christ’s brother and sister by believing becomes
mother by preaching. For in a manner of speaking she gives birth to the Lord
(Jesus: α), whom she has poured into the heart of the hearer. And she becomes
his mother if through her voice the love of the Lord is generated in the mind
of her neighbor.
3. For this purpose, to confirm us suitably, blessed
Felicitas is present to us, whose birthday we celebrate today; by believing she
became the handmaid of Christ, and by preaching she became the mother of
Christ. She had seven sons, and, as is read in the more carefully corrected
account of her deeds, she feared to leave them alive in the flesh after her, as
fleshly parents are accustomed to fear lest they send the dead before them.
For, caught up in the labor of persecution, she strengthened her sons’ hearts
by preaching into a love of the heavenly homeland, and she gave birth in spirit
to those whom she had borne in the flesh, so that by preaching she might bear
to God those whom she had borne in the flesh to the world. Consider, dearest
brothers, the manly heart in a woman’s body. She stood fearlessly in the face
of death. She feared to lose the light of truth in her sons, if she had not
been bereaved of them. Shall I call this woman a martyr? Certainly, when the
Lord was speaking about John, he said: What did you go out to see in the
desert? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and (truly I tell you: α) more than a
prophet. And John himself, when questioned, replied, saying: I am not a
prophet. For since he knew himself to be more than a prophet, he denied that he
was a prophet. He is called more than a prophet because a prophet’s task is to
foretell what is to come, not also to display it. John, however, is more than a
prophet because he showed by his finger the one whom he had spoken of in words.
Therefore I would not call this woman a martyr, but more than a martyr: she,
who had already sent seven pledges before her to the kingdom, came first to
suffer punishments and arrived as the eighth. The mother looked on, and, though
tortured and unshaken, she ought to have grieved over her sons’ deaths with the
joy of hope rather than the pain of nature. She feared while they were living;
she rejoiced when they were dying. She wished to leave none behind after her,
lest, if she had anyone surviving, she might not be able to have a companion.
Let none of you, dearest brothers, think that while her sons were dying her
heart was not touched even by natural affection. For she could not behold the
dying of sons, whom she knew to be her own flesh, without pain; but there was
an inner power of love that overcame the pain of the flesh. Thus it is said to
Peter, who was to suffer: When you grow old, you will stretch out your
hands, and (stretch out ... and: omitted in a) another will gird you and lead
you where you do not wish. For if Peter had wanted it with his whole being,
he could not have suffered for Christ; but the martyrdom which he did not will
through the weakness of the flesh he loved through the strength of the spirit.
While through the flesh he trembles before punishments, through the spirit he
exults toward glory; so it came about that he would have willed the suffering
of martyrdom even by not willing it. Likewise, when we seek the joy of
salvation, we drink the bitter cup of purification. The bitterness in the cup
is unpleasant, but salvation, to be restored through bitterness, is pleasing.
So Felicitas loved her sons according to the flesh, but for the love of the
heavenly homeland she wished those she loved to die before her. She received
their wounds, and yet she herself grew in them as they went ahead into the
kingdom. Rightly, then, I would call this woman more than a martyr, who was, as
each of her sons died, repeatedly extinguished in them; while she attained many
martyrdoms, she also herself won the martyr’s palm. It is said that in olden
times it was customary that whoever became consul would hold the place of honor
according to the order of the times; but if someone came later to the
consulship and became consul not once but perhaps twice or even a third time,
he would surpass in praise and honor even those who had been consuls only once.
So blessed Felicitas conquered the martyrs: with so many sons dying before her,
she frequently fell for Christ, because her own single death was not enough for
her love of him.
4. Let us consider, brothers, this woman; let us
consider ourselves, who are numbered among the members of a man’s body (who are
seen to be men: α), and in comparison with her what shall we think ourselves to
be (we are: α)? Often indeed we set before ourselves the doing of some good
work, but if only a single, very slight remark comes forth from the mouth of
someone mocking us, we are immediately broken and, ashamed, withdraw from the
purpose of our action. See how words often turn us away from a good work, whereas
even torments could not break Felicitas from her holy purpose. We stumble in a
breath of abuse; she went to the kingdom even through iron and considered
nothing to be standing in her way. We refuse to part with even our surplus for
the Lord’s commands; she gave not only her substance to God, but for him also
her own flesh. When, by divine command, we lose our children, we mourn without
consolation; she would have lamented them as though dead if she had not offered
them up. So when that dreadful judgment comes and the stern judge arrives, what
shall we men say when we see the glory of that woman? What excuse will there
then be for men’s weakness of mind, when she is displayed, she who overcame her
sex together with the world? Let us therefore follow, dearest brothers, the
narrow and rugged way of the Redeemer; for by the use of virtues it has now
become so level that women may walk it. Let us despise all present things, for
nothing here is lasting. It is shameful to love what is plainly bound to perish
the sooner. Let not love of earthly things overcome us; let not pride inflate
us; let not anger tear us apart; let not lust defile us; let not envy consume
us. Our Redeemer fell for love of us, dearest brothers, and for love of him let
us learn to conquer ourselves. And if we do this perfectly, we shall not only
escape the punishments that threaten us, but shall also be rewarded with the
glory shared with the martyrs. For although the occasion for persecution is
lacking, our peace nevertheless has its own martyrdom; for although we do not
submit the necks of the flesh to iron, we nonetheless cut down carnal desires
in the mind with the spiritual sword.