Loading…
VRSZ
This sets the art on your cards and whose commentary you read on each verse. You can change it later in settings.
Translation
Loading…
What the Fathers say
Eastern Fathers
John Chrysostom
"For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith." After saying above, "I beseech you by the mercies," here he says again, "by the grace." Observe the teacher's lowliness of mind, observe a spirit quite subdued! He means to say that he is in no respect worthy to be trusted in such an exhortation and counsel. …
Theophylact of Ohrid
Paul, being humble-minded, never considers his own words sufficient, but in confirmation of them presents now the mercy of God, now grace. I, he says, do not offer the word from myself, but from God, inspired in me by His grace. "Do not think of yourselves more highly than you ought to think," he says to everyone, both the common person and the ruler; and he reasons first of all about humility, imitating the Lord, who began with it: "Blessed are the poor in spirit" (Matt. 5:3). …
Desert Fathers
A hermit said to a brother, 'When a proud or vain thought enters your mind, examine your conscience to see if you are keeping God's commandments; ask yourself if you love your enemies; if you rejoice in your enemy's triumph, and if you are sad at his downfall; do you know yourself to be an unprofitable servant and a sinner beyond all others? But not even then must you think that you have corrected all your faults; to entertain such a thought as that would undo all the other good you have done.'
Western Saints
Thomas Aquinas
Then when he says, for I say, by the grace that is given me, he teaches how God's gifts should be used. First, he teaches this in regard to gifts that are not common to all, such as the graces freely given; second, in regard to the gift of charity, which is common to all, at let love be without dissimulation (Rom 12:9). In regard to the first he does two things. First, he teaches in general how one ought to use graces freely given; second, he follows this up in the parts, at having gifts (Rom 12:6). …
Bonaventure
The fourth need is good measure, so that a man seek not to savor beyond his means, but that he do so according to moderation. Do not extend yourself beyond the point your intelligence can reach; but neither remain short of it. Wherefore, in order to make this point, as Dionysius says, the Seraphim flew with their intermediate wings, showing that man should not remain short of his possibilities nor rise beyond them. Likewise, those who sing beyond their range never produce harmony. …
Translation