Sermons on the Song of Songs

Of this intensification both of light and darkness in the world to come we may understand, and not unreasonably, the words of the Lord, where He says, “To every one that hath shall be given and he shall abound; and from him that hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken from him.” So it is. Those who see shall obtain after death an increase of light, whereas those who do not see shall even lose the little light they may seem to possess. For in proportion as the vision of the former grows more and more clear, the blindness of the latter becomes darker and darker, until those are received into the aspiring day and these swallowed up in the suspiring night. Thus the last end for both shall be either the extreme of brightness or the extreme of darkness. When this consummation has been reached no more light shall remain to be taken from the one class, who shall be altogether empty; nor can any more be added to the other class, who shall be completely full; except indeed that the latter shall still have hope to receive in some way or other even more than a plenitude, according to the promise made to them. For the Lord has said, “Good measure, and pressed down, and shaken together and running over, shall they give into your bosom.” Is it not evident to you that a measure which runs over must be more than full? But you will feel no surprise to hear of a measure being more than full, if you remember what is said in Exodus, “The Lord shall reign for ever and beyond” (in aeternum et ultra). Such therefore shall be the superabundance of the aspiring day. It shall add to the measure, full and abounding, of the inspiring day, “working for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory,” so that the excess of glory superadded shall overflow to our bodies. This appears to be the reason why that day is called not a breathing (spirans) day, but rather an aspiring day, the Holy Ghost wishing to signify by the addition of the prefix ad (ad-spirans=aspirans) what “aspiration” superadds to “spiration” or “inspiration.” For those whom the inspiring day interiorly enlightens, are exteriorly adorned by the aspiring day, and vested with the “robe of glory” I have now, I hope, said enough to explain what is meant by the expression “till the day aspire.” And if you wish to know, this aspiring day is nothing else but He Whom “we look for, the Saviour, Who will reform the body of our lowness, made like to the Body of His glory.” He is also the inspiring day, according to the operation whereby He causes us to respire in the light which He infuses; so that we may become in Him a respiring day, whilst our “inward man is renewed from day to day,” “renewed in the Spirit of his mind” “to the image of Him Who created him,” becoming thus day of His day, and light of His light. Already, my brethren, two of the good days have dawned for us, I mean the day of inspiration, which represents the life infused into us by God at the beginning, and the day of respiration, which signifies the restoration of the spiritual life of the soul by grace and holiness; whilst the third day still remains, namely the aspiring day, which shall break upon us in the glory of the general resurrection. In this way, therefore, we shall most certainly see fulfilled in the body sometime what has been already accomplished in the Head. I speak of that “great mystery of godliness,” and the prediction of the Prophet, “He will revive us after two days; on the third He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight. We shall know, and we shall follow on, that we may know the Lord” the same “on Whom the angels desire to look,” the Bridegroom of the Church, Jesus Christ Our Lord, Who is over all things God, blessed for ever. Amen.