St. Ambrose, Recalling His Sister’s Consecration

(About the image: this is the statue of St. Ambrose’s sister, St. Marcellina, which situated above her tomb in Milan.)

Continuing my amateur Patristics commentary on St. Ambrose’s De Virginibus, here is the first chapter of book III. De Virginibus, or in English “On Virgins,” is one of St. Ambrose’s several works addressing the value and practice of consecrated virginity. It was written while St. Ambrose was bishop of Milan, in the year 377 AD.

St. Ambrose wrote De Virginibus in the form of a letter to his sister, St. Marcellina, who herself was a consecrated virgin. (For an interesting article on St. Marcellina, see this post from the archives of the blog, “What Does the Prayer Really Say?”)

In this particular chapter, St. Ambrose reflects on his sister’s solemn consecration to a life of virginity, which she received in Rome at the hands of Pope Liberius (who reigned in the years 352-366).

One thing which makes this chapter especially interesting to me is that it gives us clear evidence that a liturgical ritual for the consecration of virgins existed at least as early as the fourth century. This is significant, because our oldest written copies of the Rite of Consecration to a Life of Virginity are found in the Leonine and Gelasian Sacramentaries. And even while these are two of our oldest written liturgical sources, they only date back to the sixth and seventh centuries, respectively.

Also, you’ll notice that this section of De Virginibus is focused more on Pope Liberius’ homily for St. Marcellina’s consecration than it is on St. Ambrose’s commentary. This could be considered an example of what is called a “fragment”—i.e., when discussing ancient authors, often those authors’ complete, original works have been lost to us. But, sometimes we can still have an idea of what those lost works contained, based on surviving quotations (the “fragments”) in works by other authors. So here, although we don’t have a treatise written by Pope Liberius on consecrated virginity, we still have a record of some of his thoughts on the matter.

You can read De Virginibus in its entirety here, on NewAdvent.org. For more of this blog’s discussion on De Virginibus, see my previous posts on the writings of St. Ambrose. Emphases, in bold, and commentary, in red, are mine.

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St. Ambrose now goes back to the address of Liberius when he gave the veil to Marcellina. Touching on the crowds pressing to the bridal feast of that Spouse Who feeds them all, he passes on to the fitness of her profession on the day on which Christ was born of a Virgin, and concludes with a fervent exhortation to love Him.

1. Inasmuch as I have digressed in what I have said in the two former books, it is now time, holy sister, to reconsider those precepts of Liberius of blessed memory which you used to talk over with me, as the holier the man the more pleasing is his discourse. For he, when on the Nativity of the Savior in the Church of St. Peter you signified your profession of virginity by your change of attire (and what day could be better than that on which the Virgin received her child?) (This, and some other passages in the Church Fathers’ writings, seem to indicate that in at least some places and time periods during the Patristic era, consecrated virgins did wear distinctive clothing. It’s also interesting to me that St. Marcellina was consecrated on Christmas—the modern Rite of Consecration to a Life of Virginity indicates that it’s appropriate to celebrate a consecration on a feast celebrating the Incarnation, so apparently this reflects a very ancient tradition.) while many virgins were standing round and vying with each other for your companionship. (I’m wondering if this isn’t a reference to the ancient Rite of Consecration’s equivalent of the two women who accompany a virgin to the sanctuary at her consecration.) You, said he, my daughter, have desired a good espousal. You see how great a crowd has come together for the birthday of your Spouse, and none has gone away without food. This is He, Who, when invited to the marriage feast, changed water into wine. (John 2:9) He, too, will confer the pure sacrament of virginity on you who before were subject to the vile elements of material nature. (The consecration of virgins is not a “sacrament” in the same way as the Seven sacraments—which, incidentally, were not numbered in St. Ambrose’s time. The Latin word “sacramentum” here probably refers more generally to the Rite of Consecration as a being a “sign” or sacred “mystery.”) This is He Who fed four thousand in the wilderness with five loaves and two fishes. (Luke 9:13) He could have fed more; if more had been there to be fed, they would have been. And now He has called many to your espousal, but it is not now barley bread, but the Body from heaven which is supplied.

2. Today, indeed, He was born after the manner of men, of a Virgin, but was begotten of the Father before all things, resembling His mother in body, His Father in power. Only-begotten on earth, and Only-begotten in heaven. God of God, born of a Virgin, Righteousness from the Father, Power from the Mighty One, Light of Light, not unequal to His Father; nor separated in power, not confused by extension of the Word or enlargement as though mingled with the Father, but distinguished from the Father by virtue of His generation. He is your Brother, (Song of Songs 5:1) without Whom neither things in heaven, nor things in the sea, nor things on earth consist. The good Word of the Father, Which was, it is said, in the beginning, (John 1:1) here you have His eternity. And, it is said, the Word was with God. (John 1:1) Here you have His power, undivided and inseparable from the Father. And the Word was God. (John 1:1) Here you have His unbegotten Godhead, for your faith is to be drawn from the mutual relationship. (The above discourse seems like a reference to, or a reiteration of, one of the Creeds. It’s not surprising to me that this discussion of Christ’s nature should be included here, since the forth century was “prime time” for Christological heresies, which virtually all of the Church Fathers labored to refute. N.b., Pope Liberius ascended to the papacy at the height of the Arian controversy (which called into question the divinity of Christ), and was one of the few bishops who refused to sign a letter in condemnation of St. Athanasius.)

3. Love him, my daughter, for He is good. For, none is good save God only. (Luke 18:19) For if there is no doubt that the Son is God, and that God is good, there is certainly no doubt that God the Son is good. Love Him I say. He it is Whom the Father begat before the morning star, as being eternal, He brought Him forth from the womb as the Son; He uttered him from His heart, as the Word. He it is in Whom the Father is well pleased; (Matthew 17:5) He is the Arm of the Father, for He is Creator of all, and the Wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30) of the Father, for He proceeded from the mouth of God; (Wisdom 24:3) the Power of the Father, because the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him bodily. (Colossians 2:9) And the Father so loved Him, as to bear Him in His bosom, and place Him at His right hand, that you may learn His wisdom, and know His power.

4. If, then, Christ is the Power of God, was God ever without power? Was the Father ever without the Son? If the Father of a certainty always was, of a certainty the Son always was. So He is the perfect Son of a perfect Father. For he who derogates from the power, derogates from Him Whose is the power. The Perfection of the Godhead does not admit of inequality. Love, then, Him Whom the Father loves, honor Him Whom the Father honors, for he that honors not the Son, honors not the Father, (John 5:23) and who so denies the Son, has not the Father. (1 John 2:23) So much as to the faith.

—St. Ambrose, De Virginibus; Book III, chapter 1

St. Ambrose on Mary, the Model for Consecrated Virgins

Continuing in my discussion of St. Ambrose’s treatise on virginity, De Virginibus, we are now moving on to Book II of this three-part work!

For new readers, De Virginibus is St. Ambrose’s treatise on virginity, which he wrote addressed to his sister who was herself a consecrated virgin. St. Ambrose was Bishop of Milan during the fourth century A.D., a time when the “original” (i.e., pre-Vatican II) Order of Virgins was flourishing. By reading St. Ambrose, we not only get a brilliant Patristic commentary specific to the vocation of consecrated virginity lived “in the world,” but we also find some valuable insight as to the concrete lives of the ancient consecrated virgins.

Whereas in Book I St. Ambrose focused primarily on the theology of consecrated virginity, in the first chapter of Book II he indicates that this coming book will focus more on the formation of consecrated virgins. Though instead of giving us a step-by-step manual on formation (which actually, I sort of wish he had done!), St. Ambrose decides that the best way to treat the subject of formation of consecrated virgins is to present some of the most illustrious examples. And, quite appropriately, in Book II, chapter 2, he begins by discussing the life of Our Lady, the “virgin of virgins.”

You can read De Virginibus in its entirety in the NewAdvent.org “Fathers” section. For more of this blog’s commentary on De Virginibus, see my previous posts: “St. Ambrose on Consecrated Virginity”; “St. Ambrose Writes on Marriage and Virginity”; “Easter Bees”; and “St. Ambrose on Parents and Discernment.”

I have made some very slight grammatical changes in the interest of clarity. Emphases, in bold, and commentary, in red, are mine.

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The life of Mary is set before virgins as an example, and her many virtues are dwelt upon, her chastity, humility, hard life, love of retirement, and the like; then her kindness to others, her zeal in learning, and love of frequenting the temple. St. Ambrose then sets forth how she, adorned with all these virtues, will come to meet the numberless bands of virgins and lead them with great triumph to the bridal chamber of the Spouse.

6. Let, then, the life of Mary be as it were virginity itself, set forth in a likeness, from which, as from a mirror, the appearance of chastity and the form of virtue is reflected. From this you may take your pattern of life, showing, as an example, the clear rules of virtue: what you have to correct, to effect, and to hold fast.

7. The first thing which kindles ardor in learning is the greatness of the teacher. What is greater than the Mother of God? What more glorious than she whom Glory Itself chose? What more chaste than she who bore a body without contact with another body? For why should I speak of her other virtues? She was a virgin not only in body but also in mind, who stained the sincerity of its disposition by no guile, who was humble in heart, grave in speech, prudent in mind, sparing of words, studious in reading, (There is some debate over whether or not “the historical Mary” was literate, but it seems that this reference is one of the recurring praises for scholarship or study as a pursuit appropriate to consecrated virgins.) resting her hope not on uncertain riches, but on the prayer of the poor, intent on work, modest in discourse; wont to seek not man but God as the judge of her thoughts, to injure no one, to have goodwill towards all, to rise up before her elders, not to envy her equals, to avoid boastfulness, to follow reason, to love virtue.

When did she pain her parents even by a look? When did she disagree with her neighbors? (I do have somewhat of a hard time believing these last two statements—my thought is that anyone who lives in completely union with God would almost necessarily encounter at least some sort of persecution or misunderstanding. But as Mary would not have been in any way culpable for whatever misunderstanding she might have encountered, perhaps St. Ambrose’s point is that Mary’s kindness would have prevented a lot of the personality conflicts that non-immaculate people often experience.) When did she despise the lowly? When did she avoid the needy? Being wont only to go to such gatherings of men as mercy would not blush at nor modesty pass by, there was nothing gloomy in her eyes, nothing forward in her words, nothing unseemly in her acts, there was not a silly movement, nor unrestrained step, nor was her voice petulant, that the very appearance of her outward being might be the image of her soul, the representation of what is approved. (I think modesty, dignity, and decorum are, in this day and age, much under-rated as specifically feminine virtues. I find it interesting that St. Ambrose would highlight them here.) For a well-ordered house ought to be recognized on the very threshold, and should show at the very first entrance that no darkness is hidden within, as our soul hindered by no restraints of the body may shine abroad like a lamp placed within.

8. Why should I detail her spareness of food, her abundance of services—the one abounding beyond nature, the other almost insufficient for nature? And there were no seasons of slackness, but days of fasting, one upon the other. And if ever the desire for refreshment came, her food was generally what came to hand, taken to keep off death, not to minister to comfort. (Fasting also seems to be mentioned time and time again in Patristic writings as something especially appropriate for consecrated virgins; although, like decorum, fasting is not a popular subject for twenty-first century spiritual reflections. But even while St. Ambrose’s era had its prejudices and “pet” topics just as ours does, I think that the frequency with which fasting is mentioned suggests that we should perhaps give more consideration as to the role of fasting and penance in the spirituality of modern consecrated virgins.) Necessity before inclination caused her to sleep, and yet when her body was sleeping her soul was awake, (I’m sure this is a reference to Song of Songs 5:2) and often in sleep either went again through what had been read, or went on with what had been interrupted by sleep, or carried out what had been designed, or foresaw what was to be carried out. (I think vigil-keeping as a spiritual practice falls into my aforementioned “fasting and penance” category.)

9. She was unaccustomed to go from home, except for divine service, and this with parents or kinsfolk. (Retirement—or, in modern parlance, “not going out much”—is yet another “odd” virtue that the Church Fathers often praise in consecrated virgins. Even though today’s consecrated virgins who live “in the world” are not in any sense cloistered, I still think we should take seriously the attribute of retirement. Basically, my thought is that while modern consecrated virgins should not hesitate to leave home for prayer, for works of charity, or for the sake of their work or apostolate; it might be a good idea to be selective about when, where, and with whom one would go out for purely social or recreational purposes. I think that discretion in this area could help foster a more focused prayer-life.) Busy in private at home, accompanied by others abroad, yet with no better guardian than herself, as she, inspiring respect by her gait and address, progressed not so much by the motion of her feet as by step upon step of virtue. But though the Virgin had other persons who were protectors of her body, she alone guarded her character; she (a consecrated virgin) can learn many points if she (Mary) be her own teacher, who possesses the perfection of all virtues, for whatever she did is a lesson. Mary attended to everything as though she were warned by many, and fulfilled every obligation of virtue as though she were teaching rather than learning. (And so it goes without saying that whenever a consecrated virgin does leave the house, she should behave in a way which befits a public person in the Church!)

10. Such has the Evangelist shown her, such did the angel find her, such did the Holy Spirit choose her. Why delay about details? (Okay, technically, we really don’t know most of the details of Mary’s life, but this might reflect some oral tradition, and I’m willing to suspend disbelief long enough for St. Ambrose to make his point.) How her parents loved her, strangers praised her. How worthy she was that the Son of God should be born of her! She, when the angel entered, was found at home in privacy, without a companion, that no one might interrupt her attention or disturb her; and she did not desire any women as companions, who had the companionship of good thoughts. Moreover, she seemed to herself to be less alone when she was alone. For how should she be alone, who had with her so many books, so many archangels, so many prophets? (Apocryphal details aside, I appreciate the way St. Ambrose describes the spirituality of solitude.)

11. And so, too, when Gabriel visited her (Luke 1:28) did he find her, and Mary trembled, being disturbed, as though at the form of a man, but on hearing his name recognized him as one not unknown to her. And so she was a stranger as to men, but not as to the angel; that we might know that her ears were modest and her eyes bashful. Then when saluted she kept silence, and when addressed she answered, and she whose feelings were first troubled afterwards promised obedience.

12. And holy Scripture points out how modest she was towards her neighbors. For she became more humble when she knew herself to be chosen of God, and went immediately to her kinswoman in the hill country, not in order to gain belief by anything external, for she had believed the word of God. “Blessed,” she (the kinswoman St. Elizabeth) said, “are you who believed.” (Luke 1:56) And she abode with her three months. Now in such an interval of time it is not that faith is being sought for, but kindness which is being shown. And this was after that the child, leaping in his mother's womb, had saluted the mother of the Lord, attaining to reason before birth.

13. And then, in the many subsequent wonders, when the barren bore a son, the virgin conceived, the dumb spoke, the wise men worshipped, Simeon waited, the stars gave notice. Mary, who was moved by the angel’s entrance, was unmoved by the miracles (i.e., because she already had an abundance of faith). Mary, it is said, kept all these things in her heart. (Luke 2:19) Though she was the mother of the Lord, yet she desired to learn the precepts of the Lord, and she who brought forth God, yet desired to know God.

14. And then, how she also went every year to Jerusalem at the solemn day of the Passover, and went with Joseph. Everywhere is modesty the companion of her singular virtues in the Virgin. This, without which virginity cannot exist, must be the inseparable companion of virginity. And so Mary did not go even to the temple without the guardianship of her modesty. (Although I generally think that we should, for the most part, take the Church Fathers “at their word,” I think that this constant need for a chaperone is probably something that was strongly tied to a particular time and culture. That is, I think that a contemporary American woman can live a life of exemplary modesty while regularly traveling or leaving the house by herself. However, common-sense, practical aspect of personal safety should be kept in mind, as well.)

15. This is the likeness of virginity. For Mary was such that her example alone is a lesson for all. If, then, the author displeases us not, let us make trial of the production, that whoever desires its reward for herself may imitate the pattern. How many kinds of virtues shine forth in one Virgin! The secret of modesty, the banner of faith, the service of devotion, the Virgin within the house, the companion for the ministry, the mother at the temple.

16. Oh! How many virgins shall she meet, how many shall she embrace and bring to the Lord, and say: “She has been faithful to her espousal, to my Son; she has kept her bridal couch with spotless modesty.” (My goal is to be one of these virgins!) How shall the Lord Himself commend them to His Father, repeating again those words of His: Holy Father, these are they whom I have kept for You, on whom the Son of Man leant His head and rested; I ask that where I am there they may be with Me. (John 17:24) And if they ought to benefit not themselves only, who lived not for themselves alone, one virgin may redeem her parents, another her brothers. Holy Father, the world has not known Me, but these have known Me, and have willed not to know the world. (John 17:25)

17. What a procession shall that be, what joy of applauding angels when she is found worthy of dwelling in heaven who lived on earth a heavenly life! Then too Mary, taking her timbrel, shall stir up the choirs of virgins, singing to the Lord because they have passed through the sea of this world without suffering from the waves of this world. (Exodus 15:20) Then each shall rejoice, saying: I will go to the altar of God; to God Who makes my youth glad; (I know this is a quotation from the psalms, but I’m wondering if this isn’t also an indication that the Rite of Consecration was bestowed primarily upon younger women in fourth-century Milan.) and, I will offer unto God thanksgiving, and pay my vows unto the Most High.

18. Nor would I hesitate to admit you to the altars of God, whose souls I would without hesitation call altars, on which Christ is daily offered for the redemption of the body. For if the virgin’s body be a temple of God, what is her soul, which, the ashes, as it were, of the body being shaken off, once more uncovered by the hand of the Eternal Priest, exhales the vapor of the divine fire. Blessed virgins, who emit a fragrance through divine grace as gardens do through flowers, temples through religion, altars through the priest.

—St. Ambrose, De Virginibus; Book II, chapter 2

St. Ambrose on Parents and Discernment

In Book I, chapter 12 of De Virginibus, St. Ambrose, writing in the fourth century A.D., discusses the problems some young women of his time faced when deciding to become consecrated virgins—namely, the objections of their parents.

Reading this passage, it struck me that some things never change. Concerns about their parents’ reaction STILL present one of the most difficult subjective obstacles for young people in embracing a celibate vocation. Although St. Ambrose here is talking specifically about consecrated virgins, I think his writing on this topic would be equally applicable to a young woman discerning religious life today. (And possibly also to discerning young men—though I think that dealing with parents’ possibly negative reactions presents an especially poignant challenge for women.)

In a nutshell, St. Ambrose’s advice to aspiring consecrated virgins is to be bold in accepting their vocation in the face of parental disapproval, even when this disapproval would have serious negative practical consequences. He points out that, ultimately, a spousal relationship with Christ would more than outweigh the tribulations incurred in even the most catastrophic of parental rejections. He also describes the importance of a consecrated virgin having a truly undivided heart; that is, a consecrated virgin’s affections and resolve should be so totally focused on Christ that nothing—not even her closeness to her parents—should be able to dissuade her from offering herself completely to her Beloved.

Although this line of reasoning may seem a bit extreme or at least one-sided to modern readers, the message St. Ambrose is trying to convey is still valid and important in today’s world. In keeping with the fourth commandment, it has always been important to love, honor, and respect one’s parents. However, St. Ambrose may not have felt the need to emphasize this to his original audience, since the concept of filial reverence was probably more prominent in his native cultural than it is in ours.

And while St. Ambrose may seem to write as if the appropriate level of spiritual detachment from one’s parents is to be expected as a matter of course, I think his writings also reveal an understanding that such a detachment is not easy to achieve. He describes it as a struggle, but makes it clear that a victory in this area is well worth the pain and effort it entails.

To read more of this blog’s commentary on De Virginibus, see here, here, and here. To read De Virginibus in its entirety, go to this page on NewAdvent.org. I have made some slight grammatical changes in the interest of clarity. Emphases, in bold, and commentary, in red, are mine.

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It is very desirable that parents should encourage the desire for the virgin life, but more praiseworthy when the love of God draws a maiden even against their will. The violence of parents and the loss of property are not to be feared, and an instance of this is related by St. Ambrose.

62. It is a good thing, then, that the zeal of parents, like favoring gales, should aid a virgin; (I think this even more true after a woman is consecrated than it is while she is still discerning, even though “discernment” seems to be what St. Ambrose is addressing here.) but it is more glorious if the fire of tender age, even without the incitement of those older, bursts forth of its own self into the flame of chastity. Parents will refuse a dowry, but you have a wealthy Spouse, satisfied with Whose treasures you will not miss the revenues of a father’s inheritance. How much are poverty and chastity superior to bridal gifts!

63. And yet of whom have you heard as ever, because of her desire for chastity, having been deprived of her lawful inheritance? Parents speak against her, but are willing to be overcome. (Apparently, then as now, most parents tended eventually to “come around” in accepting their daughter’s vocation.) They resist at first because they are afraid to believe; they often are angry that one may learn to overcome; they threaten to disinherit to try whether one is able not to fear temporal loss; they caress with exquisite allurements to see if one cannot be softened by the inducement of various pleasures. (When St. Ambrose here describes the reasons for parental opposition to a young woman’s choice of a life of consecrated virginity, it occurs to me that noting much has really changed over the centuries—these descriptions could fit many of today’s parents equally well. But I do think that the last two reasons, which involve parents testing their daughter’s resolve, are interesting, since they seem to arise from genuine parental concern for the daughter’s well-being rather than from fear.) You are being exercised, O virgin, while you are being urged. And the anxious entreaties of your parents are your first battles. Conquer your affection first, O maiden. If you conquer your home, you conquer the world.

64. But suppose that the loss of your patrimony awaits you; are not the future realms of heaven a compensation for perishable and frail possessions? (Here I have to point out the seriousness of a loss of patrimony for young women in St. Ambrose’s time; unlike today, women generally depended on their husbands or male relatives for support. Without a patrimony, a consecrated virgin faced the very real threat of grinding poverty. So it seems that St. Ambrose is urging consecrated virgins to a truly heroic level of trust in Providence and hope in the life to come.) For if we believe the heavenly message, there is no one who has forsaken house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, who shall not receive sevenfold more in this present time, and in the world to come shall have everlasting life. (Luke 18:29-30) Entrust your faith to God; you who would entrust your money to man, lend it to Christ. The faithful keeper of the deposit of your hope pays the talent of your faith with manifold interest. The Truth does not deceive, Justice does not circumvent, Virtue does not deceive. But if you believe not God's word, at least believe instances.

65. Within my memory a girl once noble in the world, now more noble in the sight of God, being urged to a marriage by her parents and kinsfolk, took refuge at the holy altar. To where could a virgin better flee, than to there where the Virgin Sacrifice is offered? Nor was even that the limit of her boldness. She, the oblation of modesty, the victim (i.e., sacrificial offering) of chastity, was standing at the altar of God, now placing upon her head the right hand of the priest, asking his prayers, and now impatient at the righteous delay, placing the top of her head under the altar. (You have to admire this young woman’s nerve!) “Can any better veil,” she said, “cover me better than the altar which consecrates the veils themselves?” Of her, such a bridal veil is most suitable on which Christ, the Head of all, is daily consecrated. (It doesn’t seem that the events narrated in this episode describe the actual reception of the Rite of Consecration by this young woman. While the Rite of Consecration certainly did exist in at least some form by this point in history, I think that this woman’s actions were instead a dramatic but non-liturgical expression of her resolve to receive formal consecration.) “What are you doing, my kinsfolk? Why do you still trouble my mind with seeking marriage? I have long since provided for that. Do you offer me a bridegroom? I have found a better one. Make the most you can of my wealth, boast of his (i.e., the mortal suitor’s) nobility, extol his power, I have Him with Whom no one can compare himself, rich in the world, powerful in empire, noble in heaven. If you have such a one, I do not reject the choice; if you do not find such, you do me not a kindness, my relatives, but an injury.” (The wording in this translation is a bit hard to follow here; but rest assured, the original Latin is probably worse! My thought is that the phrase ending with “…I do not reject the choice” is the young woman trying to express how she wouldn’t deny the natural desirability or good qualities of the potential earthly husband in question. Her objection is not that the marriage planned for her would be something bad, but rather that Christ greatly surpasses even the best of mortal spouses. “If you do not find such…” might mean something like: “If you don’t understand the absolute primacy of Christ the way I do…”)

66. When the others were silent, one burst forth somewhat roughly: “If,” he said, “your father were alive, would he suffer you to remain unmarried?” Then she replied with more religion and more restrained piety: “And perchance he is gone (A clearer translation might read: “And it’s a good think that he is gone…”) that no one may be able to hinder me.” Which answer concerning her father, but warning as to himself (i.e., the one asking her the question), he made good by his own speedy death. (Yikes!) So the others, each of them, fearing the same for himself, began to assist and not to hinder her as before, and her virginity involved not the loss of the property due to her, but also received the reward of her integrity. You see, maidens, the reward of devotion; and do you, parents, be warned by the example of transgression. (For those of you who are young women discerning a vocation against the wishes of your parents: Don’t try this at home! Loudly speculating about how much easier it would be to follow your call if your parents were dead is NOT the way to win them over to your side. St. Ambrose may have meant this story as a cautionary tale of literal dangers, but I think he may have also meant in the subtler sense of an illustration of the gravity of the consequences resulting from a desire to interfere with God’s will for another soul.)

—St. Ambrose, De Virginibus; Book I, chapter 12

Easter Bees

In this, my blog’s latest installment of commentary on De Virginibus, St. Ambrose compares consecrated virgins to bees, taking his inspiration from the honeycomb mentioned in the Song of Songs 5:1.* (For previous entries from this blog on De Virginibus, see here, here, and here. To read Book I of De Virginibus in its entirety, click here.)

At first, I thought that this seemed like a weird metaphor—I for one would not have thought to compare consecrated virgins to insects!—and saying that it was implied by the honeycomb in the Song of Songs seemed like a bit of a “stretch.” But in some ways this particular section seemed very appropriate to post while we’re still in the remainder of the Easter season. Specifically, because bees also find their way into the Exultet, perhaps the most magnificent and moving of the Church’s Easter hymns, which is sung in conjunction with the lighting of the Pascal candle.

The Easter bees are unfortunately lost in translation right now, (though this might change when the new English translation of the Liturgy comes out) so you probably didn’t hear about them when you went to the Easter Vigil this year. However, here is an English translation of their mention in the Latin Exultet:

Therefore, in this night of grace,
accept, O Holy Father, the evening sacrifice of this praise,
which Holy Church renders to You
in the solemn offering of this waxen candle
by the hands of Your ministers from the work of bees.

We are knowing now the proclamations of this column,
which glowing fire kindles in honor of God.
Which fire, although it is divided into parts,
is knowing no loss from its light being lent out.
For it is nourished by the melting streams of wax,
which the mother bee produced for the substance of this precious torch.**

Here, bees are beautiful because they are fruitful, and their fruitfulness comes to serve an exceptionally noble purpose—namely, the praise of God. Thus in this section of De Virginibus, St. Ambrose describes consecrated virgins as being like these “Easter bees” in their life of prayer. Emphases, in bold, and comments, in red, are mine.

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Taking the passage concerning the honeycomb in the Song of Songs, he expounds it, comparing the sacred virgins to bees.

40. Let, then, your work be as it were a honeycomb, for virginity is fit to be compared to bees, so laborious is it, so modest, so continent. The bee feeds on dew, it knows no marriage couch, it makes honey. The virgin’s dew is the divine word, for the words of God descend like the dew. The virgin’s modesty is unstained nature. The virgin’s produce is the fruit of the lips, (i.e., prayer) without bitterness, abounding in sweetness. They work in common, and their fruit is in common. (Although some consecrated virgins of St. Ambrose’s time did live together in sort of proto-convents, they do not seem to have had the emphasis on the “common life” the same way that later, truly monastic religious Orders like the Benedictines would. So I think that the common “work” and “fruit” mentioned here probably represent the prayer of consecrated virgins. If consecrated virgins were charged with liturgical prayer in St. Ambrose’s day as they are now, then this common work and fruit could refer to the unity of the voice of the Church at prayer.)

41. How I wish you, my daughter, to be an imitator of these bees, whose food is flowers, (“Food” here probably means the contemplative reading of Scripture) whose offspring is collected and brought together by the mouth. Do imitate her, my daughter. Let no veil of deceit be spread over your words; let them have no covering of guile, that they may be pure, and full of gravity.

42. And let an eternal succession of merits be brought forth by your mouth. Gather not for yourself alone (for how do you know when your soul shall be required of you?), lest leaving your granaries heaped full with corn, which will be a help neither to your life nor to your merits, you be hurried thither where you cannot take your treasure with you. Be rich then, but towards the poor, that as they share in your nature they may also share your goods. (Here is a call for consecrated virgins to live a life of generosity. I think that modern consecrated virgins—even when they are full-time graduate students and therefore somewhat materially poor!—can still be generous with their time, prayers, concern for other, and friendship. In my own life, I find that it’s important for me to renew my decision to “give of myself” every day.)

43. And I also point out to you what flower is to be culled, that one it is Who said: I am the Flower of the field, and the Lily of the valleys, as a lily among thorns, (This seems like an allusion to the Eucharist) which is a plain declaration that virtues are surrounded by the thorns of spiritual wickedness, so that no one can gather the fruit who does not approach with caution. (I’m very glad that St. Ambrose makes this last point. I think you could read this line as a reference to the persecution from “the world” that those truly striving for holiness will inevitable face at some time. But my though is that St. Ambrose is actually trying to draw our attention to the fact that attempting to scale the heights of virtue leaves one with the danger of potentially having farther to fall. My thought is that this is partially why consecrated virginity requires a very solid “human formation.” That is, if a person is not well-balanced on a natural level, then the practice of the supernatural virtue of virginity is likely to exacerbate that person’s emotional, human problems.)

—St. Ambrose, De Virginibus; Book I, chapter 8

* I’m linking to New Advent’s copy of the Douay-Rheims version, instead of my typical practice of referencing the USCCB’s New American Bible, because the N.A.B. for some reason doesn’t include the word “honeycomb” in its translation!
** From “What Does the Prayer Really Say?”

St. Ambrose Writes On Marriage And Virginity

(About the image: This is a late Medieval/early Renaissance painting of St. Ambrose (c. 340 - 397 A.D.) preaching to St. Monica—a married woman of renowned holiness—and her son, St. Augustine.)

In continuing with my project to present and discuss more of the Church Fathers’ writings on consecrated virginity, here is Book I, chapter 6 of St. Ambrose’s De Virginibus, or “Concerning Virgins.” (For more sections of De Virginibus from this blog, see here and here. To read the work in its entirety, click here.)

I decided to post these “highlight” passages of De Virginibus in the order that they appear in the original work, which is why this particular passage is presented here now. However, I was a little uncomfortable posting it, because this particular selection seems to be a classic example of what it is that upsets people when they complain of the Church Fathers’ excessively “negative” views on marriage, or even of their alleged disparaging of the sacrament of matrimony in order to prove the superiority of consecrated celibacy.

But, I think that it is unfair to write off the opinions of the Church Fathers on this topic based on the viewpoints and pastoral needs of our contemporary Catholicism. True, in enumerating the trials of marriage and motherhood it would seem that St. Ambrose is trying to make consecrated virginity look like it’s the only truly virtuous and reasonable thing to do with one’s life. And this sort of theme is common in many of the Church Fathers’ writings.

However, while we should listen to what the Fathers actually said, I don’t think that we should necessarily take our negative initial impressions at their face value. First of all, St. Ambrose would not have praised consecrated virginity as that which “makes martyrs” (see this previous post) if he had seen this vocation as an “easy way out,” or even something which could be understood as valuable through a merely human wisdom.

Also, in speaking of the heartache inherent in marriage and family life (as well as speaking of particular character weaknesses frequently found among married women), St. Ambrose is not trying to depict marriage as something intrinsically bad. In fact, as a pastor he probably presumes that the joys and virtues of marital fidelity and fruitfulness are already self-evident to his audience; my thought is that the Catholics of his time did not need to be reminded of the worth and goodness of “settling down” into the permanent commitment of marriage in quite the same way as today’s Catholics often do. Rather, I think St. Ambrose is trying to present a sort of momento mori in order to highlight one of the unique beauties of consecrated virginity—namely, that the passing nature of this world does not affect a consecrated virgin in the same way as it does a married woman, since consecrated virgins already have their hearts firmly set in Eternity.

I have made some very minor editorial changes from the version posted on NewAdvent.org, in the interest of grammatical clarity for American readers. Emphases, in bold, and commentary, in (red) are mine.

***

St. Ambrose explains that he is not speaking against marriage, and proceeds to compare the advantages and disadvantages of the single and married state.

24. I am not indeed discouraging marriage, but am enlarging upon the benefits of virginity. He who is weak, says the Apostle, eats herbs. (Romans 14:2) I consider one thing necessary, I admire another. Are you bound to a wife? Seek not to be loosed. Are you free from a wife? Seek not a wife. (1 Corinthians 7:27) This is the command to those who are. But what does he say concerning virgins? He who gives his virgin in marriage does well, and he who gives her not does better. (1 Corinthians 7:38) The one sins not if she marries, the other, if she marries not, it is for eternity. In the former is the remedy for weakness, in the latter the glory of chastity. The former is not reproved, the latter is praised.

25. Let us compare, if it pleases you, the advantages of married women with that which awaits virgins. Though the noble woman boasts of her abundant offspring, yet the more she bears the more she endures. Let her count up the comforts of her children, but let her likewise count up the troubles. (By “troubles” here, I think St. Ambrose is talking more about maternal worry and heartbreak common in an age of high infant mortality rates—and NOT so about the personal inconveniences and sacrifices which childrearing demands.) She marries and weeps. How many vows does she make with tears? She conceives, and her fruitfulness brings her trouble before offspring. She brings forth and is ill. How sweet a pledge which begins with danger and ends in danger, which will cause pain before pleasure! (It was also, of course, common for women to die in childbirth in St. Ambrose’s day.) It is purchased by perils, and is not possessed at her own will.

26. Why speak of the troubles of nursing, training, and marrying? These are the miseries of those who are fortunate. A mother has heirs, but it increases her sorrows. For we must not speak of adversity, lest the minds of the holiest parents tremble. Consider, my sister, how hard it must be to bear what one must not speak of. (I.e., losing a child.) And this is in this present age. But the days shall come when they shall say: Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore. (Luke 23:29) (I think St. Ambrose is using this reference to illustrate how consecrated virginity anticipates the Last Judgment and the Second coming of Christ.) For the daughters of this age are conceived, and conceive; but the daughter of the kingdom refrains from wedded pleasure, and the pleasure of the flesh, that she may be holy in body and in spirit. (The last part of this phrase is used in an antiphon in the Rite of Consecration.)

27. Why should I further speak of the painful ministrations and services due to their husbands from wives, to whom before slaves God gave the command to serve? (Genesis 3:16) And I mention these things that they may comply more willingly, whose reward, if approved, is love; if not approved, punishment for the fault. (It seems that St. Ambrose here is speaking about marriage in the ways in which it is marred by original sin—and NOT of the sacramental ideal of marriage as it was proposed in Pope John Paul II’s writings on the “Theology of the Body.”)

28. And in this position spring up those incentives to vice, in that they paint their faces with various colors, fearing not to please their husbands; and from staining their faces, come to think of staining their chastity. What madness is here, to change the fashion of nature and seek a painting, and while fearing a husband’s judgment to give up their own. For she is the first to speak against herself who wishes to change that which is natural to her. (In another context, this line could be useful in explaining to women the Church’s teaching on contraception.) So, while studying to please others, she displeases herself. What truer witness to your unsightliness do we require, O woman, than yourself who art afraid to be seen? If you are beautiful, why hide you yourself? If unsightly, why do you falsely pretend to beauty, so as to have neither the satisfaction of your own conscience, nor of the error of another? For he loves another, you desire to please another. And are you angry if he love another, who is taught to do so in your own person? You are an evil teacher of your own injury. (I certainly don’t think that this would apply to modest women today who wear natural-looking make-up to look professional or simply “polished.” But beyond that, I think that St. Ambrose still makes some interesting points here.)

29. And next, what expense is necessary that even a beautiful wife may not fail to please? Costly necklaces on the one hand hang on her neck, on the other a robe woven with gold is dragged along the ground. Is this display purchased, or is it a real possession? And what varied enticements of perfumes are made use of! The ears are weighed down with gems; a different color from nature is dropped into the eyes. What is there left which is her own, when so much is changed? The married woman loves her own perceptions, and does she think that this is to live?

30. But you, O happy virgins, who know not such torments, rather than ornaments, whose holy modesty, beaming in your bashful cheeks, and sweet chastity are a beauty, you do not, intent upon the eyes of men, consider as merits what is gained by the errors of others. (On a purely practical note, I think that this line—as well as the many similar thoughts expressed throughout the writings of the Fathers—might be a good argument for modern consecrated virgins to adopt sort of a “dress code” of not wearing make-up or jewelry beyond perhaps a very simple cross or religious medal—and a consecration ring, of course!) You, too, have indeed your own beauty, furnished by the comeliness of virtue, not of the body, to which age puts not an end, which death cannot take away, nor any sickness injure. Let God alone be sought as the judge of loveliness, Who loves even in less beautiful bodies the more beautiful souls. You know nothing of the burden and pain of childbearing, but more are the offspring of a pious soul, which esteems all as its children, which is rich in successors, barren of all bereavements, which knows no deaths, but has many heirs. (I think this is a beautiful tribute to spiritual motherhood.)

31. So the holy Church, ignorant of wedlock, but fertile in bearing, is in chastity a virgin, yet a mother in offspring. She, a virgin, bears us her children, not by a human father, but by the Spirit. She bears us not with pain, but with the rejoicings of the angels. She, a virgin, feeds us, not with the milk of the body, but with that of the Apostle, wherewith he fed the tender age of the people who were still children. (1 Corinthians 3:2) For what bride has more children than holy Church, who is a virgin in her sacraments and a mother to her people, whose fertility even holy Scripture attests, saying, For many more are the children of the desolate than of her that has an husband? She has not an husband, but she has a Bridegroom, inasmuch as she, whether as the Church among nations, or as the soul in individuals, without any loss of modesty, she weds the Word of God as her eternal Spouse, free from all injury, full of reason.

—St. Ambrose, De Virginibus; Book I, chapter 6

St. Ambrose on Consecrated Virginity

(This is a mosaic of St. Ambrose from the crypt in St. Peter’s basilica. Even though our saint looks sort of cranky in this depiction, his letters to the consecrated virgins of his era show him to be a warm and caring pastor.)

One common misconception about consecrated virgins is that we don't have our own spiritual heritage. It’s even been suggested that therefore we should all individually “borrow” the spirituality of whatever major religious Order most appeals to us.

However, so much as a cursory knowledge of the Patristic writers would reveal that we actually have one of the richest spiritual patrimonies in the entire Church! The Church Fathers (such as Sts. Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome, and so on) wrote beautiful and profound treatises on the nature of consecrated virginity. And while these of course can apply to women in a variety of forms of consecrated life today and throughout history, they were written specifically for and about consecrated virgins—women who had exactly the same vocation as my own.

Because extensive reading of the Church Fathers can sometimes seem daunting, I have decided to start regularly sharing and discussing various selections pertaining to consecrated virginity here on my blog, hopefully in a “user-friendly” format. But for more Patristic writings, check out the section labeled “Fathers” on the “New Advent” website.

This first section is from book I, chapter 3 of St. Ambrose’s treatise “On Virginity.” It was written to his sister Marcellina, who herself was a consecrated virgin. As a side note, this chapter is immediately preceded by an essay in praise of St. Agnes, which is now used in the Office of Readings on her feast.

(emphases, in bold, and comments in red, are mine)

***

Virginity is praised on many grounds, but chiefly because it brought down the Word from heaven, and hence its pursuit, which existed in but few under the old covenant, has spread to countless numbers.

“And now the love of purity draws me on, and you, my holy sister, even though not speaking in your silent habit, to say something about virginity, lest that which is a principal virtue should seem to be passed by with only a slight reference. For virginity is not praiseworthy because it is found in martyrs, but because itself makes martyrs.” (This thought-provoking quote is one of my favorite Patristic references to consecrated virginity. I find it significant that St. Ambrose could say this not too long after the initial widespread persecutions of the early Church by the Roman Empire.)

“But who can comprehend that by human understanding which not even nature has included in her laws? Or who can explain in ordinary language that which is above the course of nature? Virginity has brought from heaven that which it may imitate on earth. And not unfittingly has she sought her manner of life from heaven, who has found for herself a Spouse in heaven. She, passing beyond the clouds, air, angels, and stars, has found the Word of God in the very bosom of the Father, and has drawn Him into herself with her whole heart. For who having found so great a Good would forsake it? For Your Name is as ointment poured out, therefore have the maidens loved You, and drawn You. And indeed what I have said is not my own, since they who marry not nor are given in marriage are as the angels in heaven. Let us not, then, be surprised if they are compared to the angels who are joined to the Lord of angels. Who, then, can deny that this mode of life has its source in heaven, which we don’t easily find on earth, except since God came down into the members of an earthly body? Then a Virgin conceived, and the Word became flesh that flesh might become God.” (I like the way St. Ambrose is able to articulate the connection between consecrated virginity and the mystery of the Incarnation. While I had initially seen consecrated virginity primarily as a reflection of and participation in the Paschal mystery—which it of course is as well—I am happy to have grow in my understanding of the consecrated virginity’s deep relationship to the two “poles” of our Christian faith.)

“But some one will say: But Elijah is seen to have had nothing to do with the embraces of bodily love. And therefore was he carried by a chariot into heaven, therefore he appeared glorified with the Lord, (Matthew 17:3) and therefore he is to come as the forerunner of the Lord’s advent. (Malachi 4:5) And Miriam taking the timbrel led the dances with maidenly modesty. (Exodus 15:20) But consider whom she was then representing. Was she not a type of the Church, who as a virgin with unstained spirit joins together the religious gatherings of the people to sing divine songs? For we read that there were virgins appointed also in the temple at Jerusalem. But what says the Apostle? These things happened to them in a figure, that they might be signs of what was to come. (1 Corinthians 10:11) For the figure is shown in few, the life exists in many.” (In this discussion of how the Old Testament is fulfilled in the New, St. Ambrose also alludes to the theology which would describe a consecrated virgin as an icon of the Church.)

“But in truth after that the Lord, coming in our flesh, joined together the Godhead and flesh without any confusion or mixture, then the practice of the life of heaven spreading throughout the whole world was implanted in human bodies. This is that which angels ministering on earth signified should come to pass, (Matthew 4:11) which ministry should be offered to the Lord with the service of an unstained body. This is that heavenly service which the host of rejoicing angels spoke of for the earth. (Luke 2:13-14) We have, then, the authority of antiquity from of old, the fullness of the setting forth from Christ Himself.”