Sermon XLIV. On the Mystical Oil and Wine

"A cluster of Cyprus is my Love to me in the vineyard of Engaddi."

"A cluster of Cyprus¹ is my Love to me." If the Bride loves her Bridegroom in the bitterness of the myth, how much more in the sweetness of the cyprusluster? My Lord Jesus Christ, then, is as myrrh to me in His death, and in His resurrection as a cluster af delicious grapes. In this way He has made Himself for me a most salutary draught, and has given me for my drink "tears in measure." He died "for our sins and rose again for our justification," to the end "that we, being dead to sins, should live to justice." Hence, my brethren, if you have wept over your sins, you have thereby drunk the pungent draught of myrrh; but its bitterness has been changed for you into the wine which "cheereth the heart of man," if you are now. established in the hope of a more perfect life. And perhaps it was thus, as a symbol of penance, that the Saviour was offered myrrh upon the cross. He refused to drink it, however, to teach us that the cup He now thirsted for was the bliss of a glorious resurrection. You also, as I have said, whilst you enjoy the wine of gladness after the bitter potion of affliction, may con- fidently exclaim, "A cluster of cyprus is my Love to' me in the vineyards of Engaddi." This word "Engaddi" has a manifold signification. But the various senses complete each other, and can be combined in one adequate interpretation. It may mean "the Fountain of the Kid," or "the Baptism of the Gentiles," and thus manifestly has reference to the tears of penitence; another meaning is "the Eye for Temptation." Now, the eye that sheds the tears, the same it is" that discovers the temptations, which, in truth, are never) wanting to the life of man upon earth. For the gentile: peoples, who walked in darkness, were unable to detect' the snares of the tempter, and consequently to avoid them, until, through the grace of Him Who giveth' sight to the blind, they were endowed with the vision of faith, until they entered the Church which has) "the eye for temptation," until they submitted themselves for instruction to persons of virtuous life, who, enlightened by the Spirit of wisdom and taught by their own experience, can truthfully say with St. Paul that they are not ignorant of Satan's deceits and devices.

We are told that Engaddi produces balsam-bearing shrubs, which the natives cultivate and dress after the manner of vines. And perhaps it is to these the Spouse refers when she speaks of the vineyards of Engaddi. For otherwise what would be the meaning of a "cluster of Cyprus in the vineyards of Engaddi"? Who ever thought of carrying clusters of grapes from one vineyard to another? It is only to places, which produce no wine that wine is wont to be brought. Therefore, in the mystical sense, we are to understand by the vineyards of Engaddi the different branches of the Catholic Church, which abounds in the spirit of mildness, as in the sweetness of balsam, wherewith she lovingly fosters the tenderness of such as are still but little ones in Christ, and soothes the sufferings of her penitents. And if any brother should have the misfortune to fall into sin, the priests of the Church, imitating their mother's example, shall take care to 'instruct such a one in the (same) spirit of mildness, considering themselves, lest they also be tempted." It is to typify this spiritual balsam that the Church is accustomed to anoint with material oil the bodies of all whom she admits to baptism.

But inasmuch as that poor man who "fell among robbers," and who was carried rather in the arms than on the beast of the Good Samaritan to the inn of the Church, had his wounds healed and his health 'Testored not by means of oil alone, but through oil and wine; therefore the spiritual physician has need to provide himself with the wine of burning zeal as well as with the oil of mercy. For to correct the froward is quite as much a part of his duty as to encourage the pusillanimous. Thus, should he observe that the wounded man, that is, the brother who has committed sin, derives no benefit from the mild and loving exhortations addressed to him, but is rather abusing his patience and clemency and taking occasion therefrom to grow more remiss and to lull his conscience to sleep in greater security; he must desist from using the oil of gentle admonition, which has proved ineffectual, and apply the sharper remedy of the mordant wine. I mean to say, such obstinate transgressors have to be reproved and reprimanded with great severity. Even the rod of ecclesiastical censure ought to be wielded to chastise the contemner of authority, whenever the occasion requires and gentler methods are found unavailing. But whence is this wine to be obtained? For the vineyards of Engaddi yield only oil. We must seek it in Cyprus, in that island which © abounds with wine, and wine of the very best quality. — Thence must we carry off an immense cluster of grapes, such as that which was brought from the Promised Land by the spies of Israel, hung upon a pole between two bearers, and thus presenting a most beautiful image of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who came to us preceded by the prophets and followed by the apostles. He, therefore, who obtains such a cluster, can say with all confidence, "' A cluster of Cyprus is my Love to me in the vineyards of Engaddi."

I have now said enough concerning the cluster. Let us next consider how the wine of holy zeal is to be pressed therefrom. When a man, who is himself but a sinner, sees another committing some fault, if he feels his heart overflow with charity as with oil of the sweetest balsam, and, instead of showing indignation, manifests towards the offending brother an affection of tender compassion, we know whence this kindness comes and you have already heard, though perhaps without due attention. I have said in a preceding discourse that it is from a consideration of ourselves we learn to be gentle with others. For in order to "instruct in the spirit of meekness" the brother who has been "overtaken in any fault," it is necessary, according to the wise prescription of St. Paul, that "thou shouldst consider thyself, lest thou also be tempted." Indeed, is not this regard to self the very root of that fraternal charity enjoined in the law, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself"? For it is quitey certain that our love for our fellow-men has its source deep down amongst the most intimate and primordial feelings of the human heart, and that it is from the instinctive, natural affection wherewith each loves himself, as from a vivifying, soil-sprung sap, it draws the nourishment and energy by which, under the influence of heavenly grace, it is enabled to bring forth the fruits of piety, causing us to esteem it a duty not to deny to any of those who participate in our nature, I mean to any man, the good which, by natural necessity, we desire for ourselves; but rather to share it with all, freely and spontaneously, according to our capacity and the wants of our brethren, as if they were entitled to such communication by belonging to the same human family. From human nature, therefore, as it was in its sinlessness, is derived that balsam of sweet and delightful savour. And its presence should be revealed in the disposition, felt and made manifest, rather to pity than reproach the transgressor.

But sin has played havoc with our natural benignity, just as, in the words of the Wise Man, "Dying flies spoil the sweetness of the ointment." And because we have not in ourselves wherewith to repair the damage done, by a most lamentable change we find ourselves fallen to that condition of which Holy Scripture truly says, "The imagination and thought of man's heart are prone to evil from his youth." Nothing good, therefore, but something evil is designated by the youthfulness of that younger son who demands the. sequestration of his own portion of the patrimony, and wants a division of the inheritance which would be more sweetly enjoyed in common, yea, who would have exclusive possession of that which communication does not diminish, but which is lost when divided. For it is written that "he wasted his substance living riotously" with evil companions. Who are these evil companions? It seems to me that by them, as by the "dying flies" which "spoil the ointment" of our innocence, we are to understand our carnal passions, against which Holy Scripture most wisely warns us, where it says, "Go not after thy lusts." And very properly are the "flies"' represented as "dying," since "the world passeth away and the concupiscence thereof." Thus, by endeavouring to secure to ourselves the private and personal good of sensual gratification, we forfeit the enjoyment of the sweeter good which is social and communal.² But how filthy and venomous must these flies of passion be, seeing that they can so destroy the original beauty of our nature, so torment our minds with cares and anxieties, so "spoil the sweetness of the ointment"' of social love and good fellowship! Hence, in the Gospel, man is called the "younger son," because having degraded his nature by following the lusts of his thoughtless youth, he lost all the vital sap of virile sobriety and prudence. As a consequence, his soul has been dried up and abandoned to bitterness, so that he now despises everyone except himself, "being without affection."

Accordingly, from the very beginning of this his most unholy and most unhappy youth, "the imagination and thought of man's heart are prone to evil," and his fallen nature more inclined to anger than to pity. Indeed, it may be said that man has put off his nature completely, inasmuch as he is unwilling that other men should receive in their necessities the assistance which he would not have denied himself in his own. A man himself and a sinner, he nevertheless judges, despises, and scorns other men who are sinners, "not considering himself, lest he also be tempted." From this deplorable condition, as I have already 'remarked, human nature will never of itself be able to rise, nor can it recover unaided the ointment of spontaneous benignity, the sweetness whereof has been spoiled by sin. But grace can accomplish what is impossible to nature. Whomsoever, therefore, the Holy Spirit by His unction deigns out of compassion to re-invest in his original and natural kindliness, he shall be restored forthwith to the integrity of his manhood, yea, shall receive from grace a perfection more sublime than ever belonged to his nature. For ae er ge ei "He shall sanctify him in faith and meekness," and shall give him not ointment only, but also balsam "in the vineyards of Engaddi."

Ae ne ge a a

To me it seems evident that the "better gifts"' flow — from the "fountain of the kid," by being washed in which the kids are transformed into lambs, and sinners transferred from the left hand to the right, in order that "where sin abounded, grace might more abound." And you also, my brethren, do you not suppose that he may be regarded as reinstated in his manhood, who, having laid aside the ferocity of a worldly disposition and recovered, even with the added unguent of grace, — the ointment of human gentleness, so utterly spoiled by the "dying flies "of carnal concupiscence, discovers now in the very human nature in which he participates, or rather which he is, the motive and the measure of the meekness to be exercised towards other men, and recoils in horror, as from the open jaws of a wild beast, — from the bare thought not only of doing to any man the evil he would not have done to himself, but even of omitting to do to all the good he wishes done to himself? This, as I believe, is the source of the oil. But whence comes the wine? Unquestionably from the" cluster =| of Cyprus."For if you love the Lord Jesus with your 7 whole heart and with your whole soul and with all your strength, can you possibly restrain your feelings when you behold Him exposed to insult and injury? No, surely not. Rather each one of you, carried away by the spirit of righteousness and the spirit of zeal,"like a mighty man that hath been surfeited with wine,"and inflamed with the holy ardour of Phinees, shall say with the Psalmist," My zeal hath made me pine away, because my enemies forgot Thy words,"and with the Saviour," The zeal of Thy house hath eaten me up."Fervent zeal, therefore, is this wine, pressed from the cluster of Cyprus; for an inebriating chalice is the love of Christ." Our God,"so we read,"is a consuming fire,' and the Prophet Jeremias declares that "from above He hath sent fire into my bones," because he was all inflamed with divine charity. Having, then, the oil of meekness from the love of your neighbour, and the wine of zeal from your love of God, you may securely undertake to heal the wounds of the man who "fell among robbers," being fully qualified to act the part of the Good Samaritan. Securely also can you say with the Spouse, "A cluster of Cyprus is my Love to me in the vineyards of Engaddi." That is to say, "the zeal of justice is the love of my Beloved to me amidst the affections of fraternal piety."

Let so much suffice for the present. As often on other occasions, so now also my weakness obliges me to break off. You know yourselves, my brethren, how frequently I am thus compelled to interrupt my discourses and to reserve their completion for another day. But am I complaining? No, no! "I am ready for scourges," knowing well that what I suffer is far less than my deserts. Let Him scourge me by all means, let Him scourge me, I repeat, as a wicked servant, provided only my stripes be accounted as merits. Perchance after punishment I may obtain mercy from Him Who can find in me no good to reward, the Bridegroom of the Church, Jesus Christ Our Lord, Who is. over all things, God blessed for ever. Amen.

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Footnotes

1. "Botrus cypri"—Sédrpus res xKimpov. This expression appears to have given the commentators a great deal of rouble. Of Hebrew scholars, some understand by cyprus the samphor-tree, an aromatic shrub found in India; others take t to mean the palm tree. Christian exegetists are also divided. According to Origen the Greek Bérpus ris ximpou is equivalent 9 Bérpus Kumpid{wv, which signifies a "flowering branch." bede regards cyprus as synonymous with balsam. Delrio thinks hat by the "cluster of cyprus "is meant a cluster of Engaddi stapes, which are peculiarly flavoured from their vicinity to ne odoriferous tree called cyprus. But the most simple and natural interpretation is that given by St. Gregory the Great, according to which the "cluster of cyprus" means a cluster. grapes from a vine imported from the island of Cyprus, where the best vines are found. This is the view held by St. bernard, St. Anselm, Cassiodorus, etc. A Lapide mentions St. Bernard as favouring the opinion of Bede, but with how little rea a perusal of this sermon will show.—(Translator.) "A ↩

2. See Sermon XXIII, where this same subject is more fully treated. What the Saint wants to impress upon us here is that all sin is selfishness.—(Translator.) ↩