Bede

Into whom angels long to look. It is indeed clear that so great the later glory of Jesus Christ, the man who suffered for us, followed, that even the angelic powers in heaven, though they are perfected in eternal happiness, not only rejoice to always look upon the eternal magnificence of the Deity, but also the glory of His assumed humanity. But it should be more diligently considered how it is said that angels desire to look into Him, since longing is not usually spoken of concerning that which we have, but that which we wish to have, for no one longs for what he has. How then do they desire to look into Christ, whose face they never cease to behold, unless the contemplation of the divine presence so beatifies the citizens of the heavenly homeland, that in an ineffable order for us, they are both always satisfied with the vision of His glory, and always hunger insatiably for His sweetness as if it were new? For, as blessed Pope Gregory, wonderfully distinguishing the delights of the heart and of the body, says, bodily delights, when not possessed, kindle a grave desire in themselves, but when possessed and consumed, immediately turn the eater into disgust through satiety. On the contrary, spiritual delights, when not possessed, are in disgust; when possessed, are in desire; and they are hungered for more by the one who eats them more, as they are consumed more by the one who is hungry. In those, appetite begets satiety, and satiety begets disgust; in these, appetite begets satiety, and satiety begets appetite. For spiritual delights increase desire in the mind while they satisfy it, because the more their flavor is perceived, the more it is known that they should be loved more. Moreover, what is said: "Into whom angels long to look," can also be rightly understood of the Holy Spirit, of whom it was promised: "Those who preached the Gospel to you in the Holy Spirit sent from heaven." For blessed Peter wished to refer this to the grace of divine pity, that He who is of such great majesty and glory, that His vision, as well as that of the Father and the Son (since indeed it is one and the same), is desired by angels in heaven, for the sake of human salvation sent the Spirit to earth, and infused it into the minds of the faithful to illuminate them.

Because all flesh is like grass, etc. Therefore, just as perishable flesh generates perishable flesh, so the word of the Lord, which remains forever, gives eternal life in both flesh and soul to those whom it regenerates from water. Saint Cyprian, in his book on the Dress of Virgins, thus recalls this testimony: "Isaiah's God, he says, proclaims: All flesh is grass, and all its glory is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures forever." It is not fitting for any Christian, and especially not for a virgin, to consider any fleshly glory and honor, but to seek only the word of God and embrace what is good and will endure forever. Or if there is to be any glorying in the flesh, it is clearly when one suffers in the confession of the name, when a woman is found stronger than torturing men: when she endures fires, or crosses, or iron, or beasts, so that she may be crowned. Those are the precious adornments of the flesh, those are the better ornaments of the body. However, let it not trouble the reader that in this sentence of the prophet, he used "claritas" while our translation says "gloria," for both are commonly translated from the one Greek word, which is δόξα (doxa), into Latin.

And you, as living stones, etc. He says they are being built upon because without our Lord Jesus Christ, specifically the living stone, no spiritual edifice can stand. For no one can lay another foundation except for Him (1 Cor. 3), by whose participation the faithful are made living stones, who through disbelief had been dead stones, meaning hard and insensible, to whom it is rightly said: I will take the stone heart from you and give you a heart of flesh (Ezek. 36). But as living stones, they are fit for the spiritual edifice, who, through the discretion of a learned teacher with superfluous actions and thoughts cut away, are squared like with the blow of an axe. And as the layers of stones in a wall are carried by one another, so too are the faithful each borne by the preceding just ones in the Church, and they themselves bear the following just ones through doctrine and tolerance until the last just one. He who, being borne by the previous ones, will not have one whom he should bear himself among the following. But He who carries the whole edifice and is not carried by anyone, is the Lord Christ, whence He is also called a precious stone founded on the foundation by the prophet. Likewise, He calls the chosen living stones, to insinuate the effort of their good intention or action, by which, with the grace of God preventing and accompanying, they must always be exercised. For dead, that is, material stones, when they are prepared or placed in the building, can neither assist in the labor of the worker nor can they, except by falling, do anything of themselves, but wherever and however the builder places them, they endure insensibly there or fall away. But the blessed Peter does not want us to imitate the hardness and insensibility of such stones, but to be built upon the foundation of Christ as living stones, so that, with grace aiding us, we may cooperate by living soberly, justly, and piously, according to the example of him who said: And his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all (1 Cor. 15). For he was a living stone in the edification of the holy Church who, lest he should seem to have received the grace of God in vain, strove to labor diligently. And lest he should seem to have attributed any part of this labor to himself, he vigilantly added: Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me (ibid.). Therefore, anyone who is built into His house by Christ, as a living stone, who, by the gift and help of the same, diligently strives to persevere in good works. But whoever, having been incorporated into the holy Church by the grace of regeneration, does not strive to do anything more for his salvation, is, like a dead stone, utterly unworthy of celestial edification, and thus is to be rejected in divine judgment, and another who is worthy is to be placed in his stead, according to the command of Leviticus, where the stones of a leprous house are inspected by the priest and, if found incapable of purification, are to be counted among the unclean and are ordered to be removed from the order of clean stones. Be built into, he says, spiritual houses. He says those houses must be made into spiritual ones since there is one house of Christ made from all the elect angels and men, just as when there is one Catholic Church spread throughout the world, it is frequently called churches in the plural because of the various congregations of the faithful, distinct by various tribes, languages, and peoples. Hence, he says: I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you in the churches. Nor should it be overlooked that some codices have in the singular, Be built into, spiritual house; others: Be built up into a spiritual house. In which, indeed, the unity of the entire holy Church is more openly commended. But when he had said: Be built into spiritual houses, or spiritual house, he added: