Caesarius of Arles — Commentary on Scripture

Isaiah 53:7

Though he was guilty of not even a slight sin, for no serpent could make a mark on this rock, he was condemned. He suffered with patience the insults, blows, crown of thorns, scarlet robe, and the other mockeries enumerated in the Gospel. Although guiltless, he endured it in order that filled with patience he might come to the cross “as a sheep for sacrifice.” Although he could have returned the injury to his adversaries, he bore it all with kindness.

SERMON 11:4

Isaiah 58:7

If we carefully heed the fact that Christ hungers in the person of the poor, beloved, it will be profitable for us.… Listen and see, a coin and a kingdom. What comparison is there, beloved? You give the poor a coin and receive a kingdom from Christ; you bestow a mouthful and are given eternal life; you offer clothes, and Christ grants the forgiveness of your sins.

SERMON 25:2

Isaiah 63:17

Behold how a person is hardened if he does not merit to be chastised by the Lord for his correction? Moreover, what is written concerning those whom God’s mercy does not even allow to become hardened? “God scourges every child whom he receives”; … and again, “For whom God loves he reproves.” Concerning this hardening the prophet also exclaims to the Lord in the person of the people, “Why do you harden our hearts that we fear you not?” Surely this is nothing else than, You have abandoned our heart, that we should be converted to you.

SERMON 101:3

Isaiah 66:2

People do not observe a spiritual sabbath unless they devote themselves to earthly occupations so moderately that they still engage in reading and prayer, at least frequently, if not always.

SERMON 100:4

Isaiah 66:2

God wishes to dwell in you. In order that you may not be unable to receive him because you are full, if you are filled elsewhere, let your heart be freed of superfluities so that it may be filled with what is necessary. Vices should be expelled, in order that there may be room for virtues; to say briefly what is useful and quite necessary, let carnal desires be rejected and charity invited. As long as we do not expel evil, we cannot be filled with the good, because jars filled with slime cannot receive and hold precious ointment.

SERMON 210:5

James 2:10

What does it mean to offend in one point and lose all, except to have fallen from the precept of love and thereby to have offended in all the other commandments? Without love none of our virtues amounts to anything at all.

SERMONS 100a.12

James 2:16

Christ says: "My justice can give you nothing except what your works deserve. To no purpose do you cry out, now that you are dead and in the power of another, for when you had opportunities and saw me in the person of the poor, you were blind."

James 2:16

Christ says: “My justice can give you nothing except what your works deserve. To no purpose do you cry out, now that you are dead and in the power of another, for when you had opportunities and saw me in the person of the poor, you were blind.”

SERMONS 31.4

James 2:19

The apostle says that a man who believes and does not act has the faith of demons. If that is true, imagine the fate of a man who does not believe at all.

SERMONS 12.5

James 2:26

In order that we may bear the name Christian as a remedy, not leading to judgment, let us take up good works while the remedies are still within our power.

SERMONS 13.1

James 4:6

Be humble, in order that God may rest in you, which he wants to do.

SERMONS 210.5

James 4:7

Let us fight as hard as we can, with the Lord’s help, against that most harsh captivity of the soul [which is the devil’s ability to divert our thoughts away from spiritual concerns].

SERMONS 77.7

James 5:2

Riches cannot harm a good person, because he spends them kindly. Likewise they cannot help an evil person as long as he keeps them avariciously or wastes them in dissipation.

SERMONS 35.4

James 5:5

These things which Christ threatened through the apostle should terrify us very much, but we should not despair of the mercy of God. Those of us who have been careless up to now can, with God’s help, correct ourselves, provide that we are willing to dispense more generously those alms which we have given sparingly up to now.

SERMONS 199.5

James 5:15

Whenever some illness comes upon a man, he should hurry back to the church. Let him receive the body and blood of Christ, be anointed by the presbyters with consecrated oil and ask them and the deacons to pray over him in Christ’s name. If he does this, he will receive not only bodily health but also the forgiveness of his sins.

SERMONS 19.5

Jeremiah 17:7-8

You have begun to love what is outside of yourself. You have gone outside of yourself. When a person’s love goes away from him toward things that are outside of him, he begins to become vain along with useless goods, and somehow to spend his substance like the prodigal son. He is emptied. He is poured forth. He becomes a beggar. However, we must not despair even of such people when they begin to repent. May God grant this to them: “He came to himself.” Now if he came to himself, he had gone outside of himself. Just as he remained in himself when he fell away, so he should not remain in himself when he fell away, so he should not remain in himself when he returns. Therefore, let him keep himself close to God. Let him deny himself so he will not fall again. What does to deny oneself mean? Let him not confide in his own strength, let him realize that he is human, and let him look to the prophetic word: “Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings.”

SERMON 159:3

Jeremiah 18:7-8

If only the sinner would have recourse to repentance as quickly as God is willing to change that fixed sentence. Listen to the Lord through the prophet promise the greatest hope to the human race: “Finally I shall speak against a nation and against a kingdom, to root out and destroy them. If that nation shall turn from all of their evil deeds, I also shall repent of the evil that I thought to do to them.” Behold how great is our God’s goodness to us, and learn whether he will refuse his mercy, since he longs to change his sentence if we are converted. Therefore, let us turn to him, dearly beloved, and not wish to defer the amendment of our ways until the end of our life.

SERMON 109:2

Jeremiah 24:1-10

The prophet speaks thus concerning the people of Israel and ours: “The Lord showed me two baskets of figs. One had very good ones, the other had very bad ones.” This fact, as has often been said, presents an image of the two people, for those two baskets prefigured the synagogue and the church. The basket of very bad fruit mystically designated the people of the synagogue, while the one with very good fruit pointed out the church of the Christians.

SERMON 106:4

Jeremiah 31:15

Today we are celebrating the feast of all those infants who, the Gospel text tells us, were killed by King Herod, and for this reason our land, the fruitful mother of heavenly soldiers and such great virtues, should rejoice with the greatest exultation. Behold, the wicked enemy could never have helped the blessed infants as much by submission as he did by his hatred. As today’s most sacred feast shows us, the grace of benediction shone forth in the blessed infants as much as cruelty against them abounded. For we heard a little while ago that when King Herod was pursuing Christ, thousands of happy boys were killed. As the prophet said, “Rachel mourns her children; she refuses to be consoled because her children are no more.” The blessed mother of the triumphant, the land of illustrious warriors, rich in children, for a short time seemed to the eyes of the foolish to be bereaved. But she never was in need of consolation, nor did she bewail the sons whom she acquired with enviable sorrows, even while she lost them. Blessed are you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, who suffered the cruelty of K…

Today we are celebrating the feast of all those infants who, the Gospel text tells us, were killed by King Herod, and for this reason our land, the fruitful mother of heavenly soldiers and such great virtues, should rejoice with the greatest exultation. Behold, the wicked enemy could never have helped the blessed infants as much by submission as he did by his hatred. As today’s most sacred feast shows us, the grace of benediction shone forth in the blessed infants as much as cruelty against them abounded. For we heard a little while ago that when King Herod was pursuing Christ, thousands of happy boys were killed. As the prophet said, “Rachel mourns her children; she refuses to be consoled because her children are no more.” The blessed mother of the triumphant, the land of illustrious warriors, rich in children, for a short time seemed to the eyes of the foolish to be bereaved. But she never was in need of consolation, nor did she bewail the sons whom she acquired with enviable sorrows, even while she lost them. Blessed are you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, who suffered the cruelty of King Herod in the death of your sons and at the same time merited to offer to God a white-clad group of peaceable, sinless infants.

SERMON 222:1

Jeremiah 48:10

I exhort and admonish you, dearly beloved, that whenever the priest prays at the altar or when the deacon intones the prayer in a loud voice, you devoutly bow your bodies as well as your hearts. I have carefully noted that when the deacon says the usual flectamus genua, most of the people frequently remain standing like straight columns. This is not at all proper or right for Christians who are praying in church, because the deacon does not pray for us from you. Since those words are addressed to you in particular and most of all to the negligent, it is just for you to devoutly obey them. Let that prayer become a remedy for those who obey it but evidence against those who do not, according to the words, “Cursed is one who does the work of God carelessly.” We also ought to fear and perfectly accomplish what the apostle said: “Be attentive in prayer, being vigilant,” and “pray without ceasing. In all things give thanks.”

SERMON 77:1