A word does not keep one meaning wherever it appears, and a house that clings to God is not stretched into times. Augustine says the sins of great men are written so that no one who thinks he stands may despise another. God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. The first question about any expression is whether it is literal or figurative. Leaven is the Pharisees, and leaven is the kingdom. A lion is Christ, and a lion is the devil. Water is the peoples, and water is the Spirit. The sense is taken from the place, and the obscure place is read by the clearer one. A shield is the favor of God, and a shield is faith, and faith is also a breastplate. In the Confessions the soul that thirsts, and whose tears are bread, may understand how far beyond all times God is eternal. His house has not wandered. It is not co-eternal, and by clinging it suffers no vicissitude. Formlessness cannot exhibit the changes of times, because without the change of motions times are not. Aquinas asks why the mother of Christ was espoused, and why an angel spoke before the conception. The betrothal guarded the virginity. The marriage with Joseph was true by consent. The announcement came first, so that she might know and consent, and then the Word was conceived.

Today’s Readings:

Augustine — On Christian Doctrine, Book 3, Chapters 23–26 (Sections 33–37) Augustine — The Confessions, Book 12, Chapter 11 (Sections 13–14) Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 3, Questions 29–30

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