In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

SERMON 142 on the Annunciation of the Lord 1 ou have heard today, brothers, an angel having a discussion with a woman concerning the repair of the human being. You have heard that the purpose was for the human being to return to life by the same course by which he had fallen to his death.2 An angel has dealings, yes, has dealings with Mary concerning salvation, because an angel had had dealings with Eve concerning destruction.3 You have heard about an angel constructing from the mud of our flesh a temple of divine majesty with ineffable skill. You have heard that in a mystery that exceeds our understanding God was placed on earth, and the human being was placed in heaven. You have heard that in an unheard-of manner God and man were mingled4 in one body. You have heard that the frail nature of our flesh was strengthened by the angel’s exhortation to bear God in all his glory. 229 1. (Angle brackets here indicate an addition to the title in Olivar’s CCL text.) This sermon was preached shortly before Christmas and is a continuation of another which is probably not among those that are extant and which concluded by commenting on Lk 1.30. See F. Sottocornola, L’anno liturgico, 115 and 119, and A. Olivar, Los sermones, 273. 2. On this notion of “recapitulation” in Chrysologus and other Latin Christian authors, see Sermon 77.7 and n. 11. 3. See Gn 3.1–5. On Mary as “new Eve” in Chrysologus’s preaching, see also Sermons 74.3, 140.4, 148.5 (FOTC 17.124–25, 228, 251), 64.2 (FOTC 109.255), 77.4, and 99.5. 4. The Latin is misceri. Although after the Council of Chalcedon in 451 this term was deemed to be imprecise and tending toward a monophysite view of Christ, Chrysologus did not use it with the latter intention. Leo the Great in Sermon 23.1 (preached in 442) used the same term to indicate the union of the divine and human in Christ (see CCL 138.103; FOTC 93.88, where it is translated as “connected”). Mixtio is virtually equivalent to commercium, meaning “mutual interpenetration.” See M. Herz, Sacrum Commercium (Munich: Karl Zink, 1958), 121–22 and 139; and R. Benericetti, Il Cristo, 99–103. 2. And so, in order that the fine sand of our body in Mary not give way under the excessive weight of the construction from heaven, and that in the Virgin the thin twig5 not be broken which was about to bear fruit for the benefit of the whole human race, the voice of the angel spoke out right away so as to banish fear with these words: Do not be afraid, Mary (Lk 1.30). Before the matter at hand, the Virgin’s dignity is made known from her name, for Mary in the Hebrew language is translated “Lady.” Therefore, the angel calls her “Lady,” so that any trepidation coming from being a servant may depart from the Lord’s mother, since the very authority of her offspring caused and mandated that she be born and called a Lady.6 3. Do not be afraid, Mary: you have found grace (v.30).7 It is true: the one who has found grace knows no fear. You have found grace. Before whom? Before God (v.30). Blessed is she who alone among human beings has been counted worthy to hear these words as applied to her ahead of everyone else: You have found grace. How much? As much as he had said just previously: the full amount.8 And it truly is the full amount which rains down and over all creation in a drenching shower.9 4. You have found grace before God. When he says this, even the angel himself is amazed either that the woman has found so much, or that all human beings have found life through the woman. The angel marvels that God has come in his entirety 230 ST. PETER CHRYSOLOGUS 5. Chrysologus engages in wordplay here: in virgine .l.l. virga. 6. There is some question about the accuracy of this etymology from Hebrew , although the Hebrew mar does mean “lord.” “Lady” is the feminine equivalent of “Lord” as the Latin makes clear: domina and dominus. See also Jerome, Liber Interpretationis Hebraicorum Nominum 62.19–20 (CCL 72.137), where Jerome states that “Mary” means domina in the Syrian language. Regarding...

Share