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On the Sacraments
St Ambrose of Milan, tr. Thompson, 1919
Book 5, 2. The Blessings of the Sacrament Illustrated from Canticles
Thou hast come to the altar, the Lord Jesus calls thee or thy soul or the church and says, Let her kiss me with the kisses of her mouth.1 Wouldst thou apply it to Christ? Nothing sweeter. Wouldst thou apply it to thy soul? Nothing pleasanter.
Let her kiss me. He sees that thou art clean from all sin because thy sins are purged away. Therefore he judges thee worthy of the heavenly sacrament and therefore he invites thee to a heavenly banquet. Let her kiss me with the kisses of her mouth.
Yet on account of what follows it is thy soul or human nature or the Church which, seeing itself cleansed from all sins, and worthy to be able to approach the altar of Christ (for what is the altar but the type of the body of Christ?),2 has seen the wondrous sacraments and says, Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, that is, let Christ imprint a kiss on me.
Why? Because thy breasts are better than wine.3 That is, the sensations which thou suppliest are better—thy sacraments are better than wine:—than that wine which, though it hath sweetness, joy, agreeableness, yet therein is worldly joy, while in thee is spiritual pleasure. Even in those days Solomon represents the marriage of Christ and the Church or of the spirit and flesh and soul.
And we have further: Thy name is an ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.4 Who are those virgins but the souls of individuals which have put off the old age of this body, being renewed through the Holy Spirit?
Draw us; we will run after the fragrance of thy ointments.5 See what he says. Thou canst not follow Christ unless he himself draws thee. Therefore, that thou mayest know this: When I am lifted up, he says, I will draw all unto me.6
The king hath brought me into his chamber.7 The Greek text has “into his storehouse8 and into his cellar,” where are good draughts, pleasant savours, sweet honey, divers fruits, varied foods, that thy banquets may be seasoned with numerous dishes.
Notes
- Cant. i. 1. In §§ 5-7 the author interprets this in two ways. As the subject of osculetur (‘let . . . kiss’) is not expressed in the Latin, it may be interpreted either of Christ as the speaker, or of the Church (or individual soul, or mankind) as addressing Christ. In § 6 he takes Christ as the speaker. In § 7 he says that propter sequentia, “to suit the words which follow,” it is better to take the soul (or human nature, or the Church) as the speaker. For the application of the imagery of Canticles to the Church or to the individual soul cf. de Myst. vii. 37 (note).
- Cf. iv. 2. 7 (note).
- Cant. i. 1.
- Cant. i. 2. Cf. de Myst. vi. 29.
- Cant. i. 3. Cf. de Myst. vi. 29.
- Jn. xii. 32.
- Cant. i. 3.
- The LXX has ταμεῖον, which the author renders by the two words promptuarium and cellarium.