{"author":null,"canonical_references":[],"database_sha256":"8cfbe7284c6936871d57c02dc6aa63ebbdfd4722422d539dd9f716e46e91112e","date_end":null,"date_start":null,"edition_year":null,"id":"sermonindex-ecf-906","native_reference":{"book_number":90,"chapter_from":1,"chapter_to":1,"system":"MyBible module coordinates (mapping unverified)","verse_from":22,"verse_to":22},"public_import_allowed":false,"record_kind":"verse-keyed-module-record","review_required":["English edition and exact text","author/work attribution","dating","verse mapping and citation kind","reuse and attribution","split author quotations and deduplicate"],"review_status":"unreviewed","source_html":"<p><b>Gregory the Dialogist</b>: 41. Infants are weaned when the little ones of Holy Church receive growth both in spiritual learning and in good conduct, and now seek not the plainer things of sacred speech but its deep mysteries. And the weaned infant is led to appear before the sight of the Lord when through the exhortation of preachers anyone who is subject and progressing well is adorned with good works. For he who is led to appear is brought not only to see but also to be seen. For since many will hear from the Lord at the end: \"I know you not\" (Matt. 25:12), Samuel is said to appear in the sight of the Lord because, being chosen and a humble subject, while he perfectly despises present things, he is in no way rejected when the final Judge arrives. But those whom the world holds fixed in love of itself do not appear in the sight of the Lord. For those who desire to be seen as more exalted in the honor of passing things accomplish this indeed by their pride: that they are never seen as honorable by Him by whom alone they ought to be seen. Hence even the chosen king, placed at the summit of affairs, begs not to be deceived by the flower of the world, saying: \"Cast me not away, O Lord, from Your face\" (Ps. 51:13). Therefore Anna promises both to wean her son and to lead him to appear before the sight of the Lord, because Holy Church teaches the chosen subjects whom she instructs to perfectly despise present things, and to do good, and to hasten through humility to eternal goods. And it should be noted that he who is said to need to appear in the sight of the Lord is declared to be led from the place of weaning, because clearly it is no small part of the spiritual journey when from what we learn from heavenly teaching we advance to the practice of perfect work. But since one must never cease from the pursuit of the same good work, there follows: (Verse 22) \"And that he may appear there continually.\"</p><p>42. For we continually appear there from where we never depart. Therefore to appear continually in the sight of the Lord is to obscure the beauty of good conduct with no shadows of life, because he who falls into no unlawful things never departs from the secret of the divine gaze; and divine goodness regards him as if placed in light, because it does not attend to those shadows of sins which it has condemned in the choice of its examination. Therefore Anna announces that she will not go up to offer the solemn sacrifice until the infant is weaned, because holy Church proposes to guard her children for as long as she is able to become secure about their perfection, so that they themselves do not afterward withdraw from the goodness they have received. However, the ascent of the solemn sacrifice can be referred to the height of holy preaching. For concerning the ascent of her husband it is written through the Prophet: \"He ascended above the cherubim, and flew upon the wings of the winds\" (Psalms 17:11). Indeed the Lord ascends above the cherubim, because he ascends in the sublime minds of his preachers and places the height of his knowledge there. And he flies upon the wings of the winds, because before their spiritual eyes he elevates himself to the height of wondrous understanding by the breathings of the Holy Spirit. \"And he made darkness his hiding place\" (Ibid., 12), because he hides the sublimity of his majesty from the reprobate. \"But around him is his tabernacle\" (Ibid.), because to those whom he elevates through sublime gifts, he also manifests the glory of his Majesty.<br/><i>— Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 1, Chapter 1</i></p>","source_html_sha256":"ed452d76e4d5a30e3b1a5af120b86faba6580700db2ecd208a659bd4ebcecd51","source_module":"ECF","source_row_id":906,"source_url":"https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/ecf/","text_sha256":"181e1a5e854e6e05e4c9b04e225d1025daa0ea7f89fc077e13c5b10024e100e7","translator":null,"work":null}