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Honorius Augustodunensis
Sermon on Pentecost
from the Speculum Ecclesiae
By the word of the Lord the heavens were established; and all the power of them by the spirit of his mouth.[1] Through the Son, who is the Word of God, not only the heavens, but yea all things have been created from nothing, and, lest they descend once more into nothingness, they have been established by the same Word and all their power has been supplied by the spirit of his mouth. Those angels are also called Heavens who, when the others fell, were established in charity through the Word and abundantly furnished in every virtue through his Spirit. Hence it is written: God’s spirit hath made the heavens fair,[2] because he embellished these heavens with stars and the angels with virtues.
Verily, the angelic spirits are created through the Son, but given life through the Holy Spirit;[3] the substance of light began to glisten through the Son, but its splendor shone forth through the Holy Spirit;[4] the firmament is fashioned by the Son, but it turns in swift circular motion through the Holy Spirit; the sun, moon, and stars are set to preside over times through the Son, but the finishing touch is set through the Holy Spirit with the lustre of light; the rivers are poured out through the Son, their streaming course is assigned by the Holy Spirit; the earth is formed through the Son, it is strewn with fruits and flowers through the Holy Spirit; the v
arious kinds of animals are brought forth through the Son, they are imbued with the breath of life through the Holy Spirit, and through Him the birds are sustained in flight, the fish in swimming, and reptiles and serpents in their slithering; man is made in God’s image through the Son, but his soul is brought to life through the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit inspires divers talents and also bestows the divers crafts. Divers kinds of tongue[5] are given by the Holy Spirit, and through Him the manifold rivers of the Scriptures are brought out of the hidden treasuries of wisdom.[6] Through the Holy Spirit the patriarchs pointed out in figures the events that were to happen concerning Christ and the Church; through the same Spirit the Prophets spake, foretelling these same events through the Scriptures; through the same Spirit the Apostles were confirmed, and they spread the word that these events had come to pass in the world; through the same Spirit the doctors were inspired, and explained the Scriptures. Man was redeemed from death through the Son; through the Holy Spirit he was regenerated in baptism unto life.[7] Sins are remitted through the Holy Spirit, and through Him souls are raised to life from the death of transgressions. Through the Holy Spirit many abandoned the world and embraced the religious life; through Him many shone with signs and miracles. Through the Holy Spirit even today many are converted into the better life; through Him many are rapt into heaven in ecstasy.
Through the Son the dead are brought back to life; through the Holy Spirit they are changed to everlasting life. The world is judged through the Sun; through the Holy Spirit both sides are given their just deserts. Through the Son God the Father shall create a new heaven and a new earth, but through the Holy Spirit He shall transform all things into a new and better state. Heaven, forsooth, shall be clothed with the sun’s splendor through Him; through Him the sun shall be clad with seven-fold light; through Him the moon shall gleam with the sun’s brightness; through Him the earth shall come into bloom as lovely as paradise. Then the Son shall lead them out from the toil of earthly life and make them to sit down, whilst He shall come by to minister to them, for upon his return from the Judgement He shall make his elect rest in divers mansions according to their divers merits[8] and show them the glory of His divinity face to face. The Holy Spirit, withal, shall make them shine forth in full joy, radiant like the sun, with perfect knowledge of the Triune Unity.
We celebrate this feast for seven days, since we venerate the Holy Spirit in His seven gifts, as foretold by the prophet: the spirit of wisdom, and of understanding, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, and of godliness, the spirit of the fear of the Lord.[9] These are the seven women who took hold of one man,[10] since the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit laid hold of Christ’s body.[11] All who fear God scale the heavens by the gift of this Spirit. Indeed, through Him they are granted fear, which is of two kinds, for there is servile fear and filial fear. A servant, by troth, fears his lord lest he condemn him; a son fears his father lest he disinherit him. An adulterous woman fears lest her husband come; a chaste wife fears lest he depart. When the Holy Spirit, who is charity, shall have laid hold of the soul, He shall cast out servile fear;[12] but the fear of the Lord endureth for ever and ever.[13] For then he shall not fear hell as a servant, since he shall seek to commit no sin, but as a son, rather, he shall cling to God through love of virtue, and so lay hold of his inheritance. Let us obtain his grace by praying that we might dread the Lord our God, as servants, by avoiding evil, lest he inflict punishment on us for contemning His commandments, nay more, lest he punish us with everlasting torments as enemies rebelling against him. Let us beg that we might fear Him, as sons do a good father, by so acting that we might become co-heirs with his Son in the enjoyment of the Father’s face. After the fear of God, the Holy Spirit gives piety, in order that man might serve his maker with devotion, and to do for his neighbor what good acts are in his power. Then He inspires knowledge, so that man may know what he must do and what he must avoid. After knowledge He gives fortitude so that man may not be turned to vice by difficulties or pleasures. Then He supplies reason with the gift of counsel that he may choose what is expedient, and spurn what is harmful. Then He offers the gift of understanding so the soul can understand eternal things through the visible. Next He inspires wisdom, that the rational creature might disdain changing creatures, love his Creator who is the unchanging good, and hunger after the sole fount of wisdom, Christ, in the Holy Spirit.
Those who bloom in these virtues by the septiform Spirit’s aid shall obtain, through Him, seven gifts in body and seven gifts in soul when, in their fatherland, they shall come into possession of a two-fold inheritance, to wit, when they shall shine as the sun in body,[14] and be equal to the angels in soul.[15] Indeed their bodies shall shine seven times more brightly than the sun through Him whose beauty astounds the sun and moon. For Christ shall refashion our lowly bodies through the Holy Spirit, configuring them to the body of His glory,[16] a spiritual body, and He whose word runneth swiftly[17] shall endow them with such speed that their sight shall reach even unto heaven and their thoughts to the ends of the earth, so rapidly shall they be borne there by their bodies’ mobility. Yea verily, He who is the vigor of all things shall infuse our bodies with such strength that they shall easily overturn the masses of mountains with their foot. Moreover, the grace of liberty shall be given to them to such a degree by him who was free among the dead,[18] that they shall be able to penetrate any solid object. Upon glimpsing them, the angels shall be overcome with marvelous delight and all the saints shall be filled with intense pleasure. At His bidding they shall drink their fill from every river of joy, when in the joy of their lord they shall be placed over all his goods. [19] There they shall see the king of glory as he is, in his beauty,[20] upon whom they desire to look.[21] There they shall see the glory of all the angels and saints, and they shall behold all their limbs translucent inside and out. There they shall hear the saints’ organs and the angels’ symphony resound for ever after. There they shall be refreshed by the sweet smell of cinnamon and balsam[22] and shall feast and rejoice in God’s sight and be delighted in gladness,[23] and be inebriated with the plenty of God’s house, and drink of the torrent of His pleasure.[24] He who saves all things shall bestow on them such sound health that their bodies shall undergo no sufferings, like a sunbeam whose rays cannot be cut. He who is eternal life shall confirm them in such longness of life that death shall not undo them forever.
They shall have these seven bodily gifts through the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. They shall have the same number of gifts there, where they shall rejoice forever in the Lord’s goods. As a fountain of wisdom He flows into them, bestowing knowledge of all things. They are linked in ineffable friendship because they are loved by God as sons, and by the angels as brothers. Incomparable harmony binds them, because neither God nor any saint differs from their pleasure differs nothing from God or the saints. They are invested with inconceivable power, because they are made lords over the new heaven and the new earth. They are raised to untold honor, because they are revered by God himself and all the angels. They are supremely secure, because no one shall ever take these things from them. They shall have fullness of joy in these gifts without end, rejoicing that all of their friends, whom they love, also enjoy these good things forever.
These are the gifts that Christ, ascending on high, gave to men,[25] who had been captured by the devil. He led them out, captured out of the captivity of death, and as a glorious victor drove them to starry abodes. While on earth, too, he bestowed gifts on them, making them scintillate with miracles and new tongues through the charisms of the Holy Spirit. Yea, whosoever is found lacking the seven-fold gifts of the Holy Spirit shall suffer as many punishments as the good things those ones enjoy. These gifts were whilom prefigured in the Law; these gifts were foreannounced by the prophets. Soothly, seven lamps shine from the candlestick of the Law,[26] for the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit go forth to the Church from Christ. These are the seven columns that support the house of wisdom,[27] for the Church, which is the house of God, is marked by the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. These are the seven eyes the prophet beheld upon one stone,[28] for, verily, the rock that is Christ gave the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit to illuminate the souls of the faithful. These are the seven horns of the Lamb slain for us, that treads the seven heads of the red dragon underfoot.[29]
We read how the same Holy Spirit descended upon our Lord in the shape of a dove after He was baptized;[30] this is on account of the seven traits which are said to be in the dove.[31] The dove nests on rock, because the Holy Spirit lives bodily in Christ. It feeds others’ chicks when it brings back those who have strayed from God’s kingdom through penance. It chooses pure grains, because it separates the good from the evil, as grains from chaff. It has no bile, because it drains malice from those it possesses. It does no harm with its beak, because it is full of the Holy Spirit. It does not lie in ambush for its neighbor, and lives near water, because the Holy Spirit dwells in the wise. It flies in flocks, because the Holy Spirit gives His gifts to those who flock together in the Lord’s name.[32] Hence the Prophet says, “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell in unity. Like the precious ointment on the head, that ran down upon the beard, the beard of Aaron, which ran down to the skirt of his garment, as the dew of Hermon, which descendeth upon Mount Syon.”[33] Brethren dwelt pleasantly in unity when the multitude of believers had but one heart and one soul.[34] Oil ran down Aaron’s head to his beard because the Holy Spirit, who is spiritual unction,[35]came upon the Apostles from God, the head of all. Aaron, whose name means strong mountain, is Christ, by whom the faithful stand strong against the vices and go from virtue to virtue[36] into heaven. The apostles were his beard, when they stuck to Christ, the Father’s face, like a beard to a face. The oil flowed from the beard onto the garment when the Holy Spirit poured himself out on believers through the apostles’ laying on of hands. The dew of Hermon, which means anathema, came down on Mount Syon, which means watchtower, when heavenly grace went from the Synagogue to the Church. Mount Hermon is beside the Jordan, where Our Lord was baptized. Hermon’s dew is, therefore, the Holy Spirit, who descended on Our Lord in baptism near that mountain; today He descends upon believers, on Mount Syon where Jerusalem lies.
Holy Scripture tells us today how this happened. When fifty days had passed from Christ’s resurrection and His disciples tarried together in Jerusalem, as He had commended them when He ascended, there suddenly came a loud sound as of a mighty wind coming, which filled the whole house where they were sitting, and there appeared to them tongues of fire, and thus inflamed they began to speak the wonderful works of God in the tongues of all nations. Jews from every nation of the earth had gathered in Jerusalem for the feast, for they celebrated Pentecost every year as the day when they received the Law. When they heard the loud sound, they came together and they were amazed that every man heard them speak in his own mother tongue. To them Peter declared that the things foretold by the prophets had been fulfilled by Jesus, whom they had crucified. Thus moved to contrition, three thousand men were baptized and they too were filled with the Holy Spirit as the others had been.[37] On another day, after Peter and John had healed a lame man by the Holy Spirit,[38] five thousand were baptized,[39] all of whom received the Holy Spirit. Later, they received the Blood of Christ in great fear and trembling, for they had shed it in their fury. Very many of them went on to shed their own blood for Him. The apostles remained together in Jerusalem for twelve days after they had received the Holy Spirit, as He Himself had instructed them, and they converted many to the faith by miracles and wonders. All received the Holy Spirit when the apostles laid hands on them, and they declared God’s mighty deeds with new tongues. Forsooth, through the Holy Spirit the apostles restored sight to the blind, cleansed the leprous, expelled demons from the obsessed, loosed the tongue of the dumb, steadied the step of the lame, and raised the dead. They restored health to the infirm even by their staves, their garments, yea, some of them even by their shadow.
Later, the twelve spread out over the whole world, filled with the seven-fold gift of the Holy Spirit. The twelve did their work through the number seven when they brought the four regions of the world to faith in the Holy Trinity. For three added to four makes seven, and multiplied makes twelve. And verily, these goodly fishermen used the net of faith, and signs and miracles, to haul those fish predestined for life long ago from the ocean of this world to the shore of eternal life; they led the way, laying down their lives for their sheep as Christ had. In the beginning, after God had created all things in six days, he made the seventh holy, by resting from his work. Just so those who zealously strive to perform works with the gifts of the Holy Spirit throughout the six ages of the world shall rest through Him from every labor on the seventh day. So we too labor for six days during the week and rest on the seventh, because we press forward now in good works through the septiform Spirit, and in the future we rest from every labor in bliss, where he shall cause us to be at leisure and see Him as He is.[40]
During the Flood, a dove brought back an olive branch, announcing peace to those shut inside,[41] because through the anointing with chrism the Holy Spirit restored to souls shut up in the flesh the peace they had lost. He is called the finger of God’s right hand,[42] because as the hand works through the fingers, so Christ, the Father’s right hand, does all his works through the graces shared out by the Holy Spirit. Hence the magicians who could not withstand Moses proclaimed that the finger of God was at work,[43] for they saw plainly that the miracles had been worked through the Holy Spirit. This finger wrote the Law on two tablets,[44] because it is divided into the two precepts of charity by the Holy Spirit.[45] Our Lord cast out demons with this finger, because the works of the Son and the Spirit are inseparable.[46] Once upon a time the human race used only one language, but seventy-two giants built a tower to challenge God, who was offended by their deed. He confused their languages so that no one could understand another’s language,[47] and dispersed them throughout the globe. But today the Holy Spirit joins them all into the unity of the faith through the gift of tongues.
Further, the Hebrew people were liberated from slavery in Egypt on the Paschal night through the Paschal lamb. They were ferried through the Red Sea, and on the fiftieth day they came to Mount Synai, which was filled with smoke and fire, and in the midst of the fire the Lord gave them the Law of fear in written tablets. Thus the Christian people were delivered from the subjugation to the devil on the Paschal night and through the Paschal Lamb. Through baptism they were borne through the Red Sea, as it were, and on the fiftieth day, that is, today, they received the Law of life in fire, which the Lord commanded them to write in their hearts, so that what they used to do by force of fear they should thereafter do willingly for the love of God. Moreover, the Law prescribed that the fiftieth year should be called the Jubilee, that is, the year of remission, when no servile work should be performed, and that lost inheritances should be returned to the proper heirs.[48] This time prefigured the Holy Spirit, who wished His people to abstain from servile work, that is, from sin, and restored to them the lost inheritance of paradise. We read that the Holy Spirit was given twice: once on earth, and once from heaven.[49] The Spirit was given on earth for love of neighbor; the Spiritual was given from heaven for love of God. For he who loveth God shall keep His word, and the Father shall love him, and the Trinity shall come to him, make His abode with him.[50] And so, dearly beloved, let us love God by keeping his commandments, that He might love us and prepare an abode for Himself in us. Let us wipe away the dung of sins from the inn of our hearts through penance and confession, let us wash away its filth with tears, let us strive to adorn it with the flowers for good works, so that the Holy Spirit might vouchsafe to come and prepare a worthy habitation for Himself in us. He also descended over the Lord in the form of a dove, showing Him to be immune from sins. He descended over the disciples in fire since, by burning away their sins, he blotted out the writing of sin. Hence he went before the children of Israel in fire, guiding their way to their fatherland, since the fire of the preceded the disciples and showed them the way to the fatherland of paradise through the Scriptures. Therefore baptisms are held now, since original sin is remitted through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, too, we observe a fast this week, that we might merit to receive the remission of our sins. He who should blaspheme against the Holy Spirit shall not have his sins remitted, neither in this world nor the next.[51] Remission of sins is given through the Holy Spirit. He who despairs of His forgiveness is the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, and commits the unpardonable sin.
My best beloved, you know Our Lord’s nativity is a high feast; good Christians honor today’s solemn feast as well, because just as God visited mankind at Christmas when he came in the flesh, so God came in fire to purify men from their sins today, and gave them divers charismatic gifts. These feasts, held in such high regard by men and angels, are honored by our God as well. For at Christmas the Lord of majesty rose from His glorious throne, donned His battle gear, and went down into exile to fight for us. Good Friday was the day of His battle and victory, when the strong and mighty in battle conquered the devil, prince of this world, him and all his band, and won a mighty victory. On the day of His resurrection, the war finished, He laid waste the tyrant’s kingdom, and rounded up the captives the devil had taken. On Ascension Day the Lord of hosts returned in solemn procession and held a triumph; welcomed by angelic strains, He raised our flesh above the airs. But today is the day He shared out his spoils among the soldiers, granting the faithful the gifts of the Holy Spirit. There is yet a day to come when He shall lead his spouse out of this Babylon, when he shall place the Church in the heavenly Jerusalem on the Last Day. Lo! the Holy Spirit sang of these days throughout the whole Psalter. Nay more, the Law and every prophet resounded these events with one harmonious voice.
My best beloved, let us now, therefore, appear before His face in justice, so that when His glory shall appear,[52] we may be able to feast to our content at his wedding party, that we may see the good of His chosen, that we may rejoice in the joy of His nation in the fullness of all good things,[53] which eye hath not seen &c.[54]
Notes
[1] Psalm 32:6
[2] Job 26:13.
[3] The whole paragraph is a whirlwind tour through salvation history, beginning with the days of Genesis.
[4] This passage resonates with the collect for the Vigil of Pentecost, which alludes to the Holy Spirit as the “light of [Christ’s] light” and “splendor” of his “brightness”: Præsta, quaesumus, omnipotens Deus: ut claritatis tuæ super nos splendor effulgeat; et lux tuæ lucis corda eorum, qui per gratiam tuam renati sunt, Sancti Spíritus illustratione confirmet. Cf. also Ambrose’s hymn Splendor paternae gloriae.
[5] 1 Corinthians 12:10.
[6] Cf. Job 28:18.
[7] Baptism was administered during the Vigil of Pentecost, and the newly baptized are mentioned each day of the Octave in the proper Hanc igitur. References to baptism abound in the Mass texts.
[8] Cf. John 14:2.
[9] Isaias 11:2.
[10] Isaias 4:1, read at the Vigil Mass of Pentecost.
[11] Cf. Isaias 11.
[12] 1 John 4:18.
[13] Psalm 18:10.
[14] Matthew 13:43.
[15] Luke 20:36.
[16] Philippians 3:21.
[17] Psalm 14:4.
[18] Psalm 87:6.
[19] Matthew 24:47 and 25:21.
[20] Isaiah 33:17.
[21] 1 Peter 1:12.
[22] Ecclesiasticus 24:20.
[23] Psalm 67:4.
[24] Psalm 35:9.
[25] Ephesians 4:8.
[26] Cf. Exodus 25 and Gemma animae 1.11.
[27] Cf. Proverbs 9.
[28] Cf. Zacharias 4.
[29] Cf. Apocalypse 5, 6.
[30] Cf. Matthew 3
[31] Honorius mentions the septem naturae of the dove in his Expositio in Cantica Canticorum (PL 172.411B), as does Anselm of Laon (Enarrationes in Cantica canticorum, PL 162.1195C). Haymo of Halberstadt menons it in a sermon (PL 118.0115B).
[32] This notion of gathering up appears in the first antiphon at Vespers, Dum santificatus.
[33] Psalm 132:1-3
[34] Acts of the Apostles 4:32.
[35] Hymn Veni Creator Spiritus, second stanza.
[36] Psalm 83:8.
[37] Cf. Acts of the Apostles 2.
[38] Cf. Acts of the Apostles 3.
[39] Cf. Acts of the Apostles 4.
[40] 1 John 3:2.
[41] Cf. Genesis 8
[42] In the hymn Veni, sancte Spiritus. The expression “finger of God” is found only three times in the Old Testament, all mentioned here. In the Bible the term is used in a figurative sense, “denoting power, direction, or immediate agency.” Cf. Jewish Encyclopedia, “Finger.”
[43] Cf. Exodus 8
[44] Cf. Exodus 31
[45] I.e., love of God and love of neighbor.
[46] Cf. Luke 11:20.
[47] Cf. Genesis 9. Honorius elaborates on the Tower of Babel story in several places.
[48] Cf. Leviticus 25.
[49] First by our Lord on earth after the Resurrection (John 20:22), second after the Ascension when the Spirit descended from heaven (Acts 2:1–4), as Saint Gregory the Great discusses in sermon 36 (PL 110:177).
[50] John 14:23.
[51] Luke 12.
[52] Psalm 16:15.
[53] Psalm 105:5.
[54] 1 Corinthians 2
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