That the Father and the Son are One Thing Together
May 6, 2022 • 4 min
#BibleCommentary #DoctorsOfTheChurch #Doctrine #WhatTheSaintsSay #Unity
From The Dialogue of St. Catherine of Siena, page 148
By St. Catherine of Siena
Why Christ did not say “I will manifest My Father” but “I will manifest Myself”
Thou seest now how truly My Word spoke, when He said: “He who loves Me shall be one thing with Me.” Because, by following His doctrine with the affection of love, you are united with Him, and, being united with Him, you are united with Me, because We are one thing together.
And so it is that I manifest Myself to you, because We are one and the same thing together. Wherefore if My Truth said, “I will manifest Myself to you,” He said the truth, because, in manifesting Himself, He manifested Me, and, in manifesting Me, He manifested Himself.
But why did He not say, “I will manifest My Father to you”? For three reasons in particular.
First, because He wished to show that He and I are not separate from each other, on which account He also made the following reply to S. Philip, when he said to Him, “show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” My Word said, “Who sees Me sees the Father, and who sees the Father sees Me.”
This He said because He was one thing with Me, and that which He had, He had from Me, I having nothing from Him; wherefore, again, He said to Judas, “My doctrine is not Mine, but My Father’s who sent Me,” because My Son proceeds from Me, not I from Him, though I with Him and He with Me are but one thing. For this reason He did not say “I will manifest the Father,” but “I will manifest Myself,” being one thing with the Father.
The second reason was because, in manifesting Himself to you, He did not present to you anything He had not received from Me, the Father. These words, then, mean, the Father has manifested Himself to Me, because I am one thing with Him, and I will manifest to you, by means of Myself, Me and Him.
The third reason was, because I, being invisible, could not be seen by you, until you should be separated from your bodies. Then, indeed, will you see Me, your God, and My Son, the Word, face to face.
From now until after the general Resurrection, when your humanity will be conformed with the humanity of the Eternal Word, according to what I told thee in the treatise of the Resurrection, you can see Me, with the eye of the intellect alone, for, as I am, you cannot see Me now.
Wherefore I veiled the Divine nature with your humanity, so that you might see Me through that medium. I, the Invisible, made Myself, as it were, visible by sending you the Word, My Son, veiled in the flesh of your humanity.
He manifested Me to you. Therefore it was that He did not say “I will manifest the Father to you,” but rather, “I will manifest Myself to you,” as if He should say, “According as My Father manifests Himself to Me, will I manifest Myself to you, for, in this manifestation of Himself He manifests Me.”
Now therefore thou understandest why He did not say “I will manifest the Father to you.” Both, because such a vision is impossible for you, while yet in the mortal body, and because He is one thing with Me.
Latest book snippets
Search | Random | 906 total | 49h 58m
May 24, 2022
Mary’s love was greater than any angel’s or saint’s as much as the moon is bigger and brighter than any star
1 min — The Month of Mary According to the Spirit of St. Francis De SalesMary only slept in order to love and serve God better
2 min — The Month of Mary According to the Spirit of St. Francis De Sales
May 17, 2022
May 17th: Mary not only practiced perfect obedience, but recommended it to all in the Gospel
2 min — The Month of Mary According to the Spirit of St. Francis De Sales
May 15, 2022
May 15th: The union of Humility and Charity in the Blessed Virgin Mary
4 min — The Month of Mary According to the Spirit of St. Francis De SalesMay 15th: The three Unions that occurred at the Incarnation
2 min — The Month of Mary According to the Spirit of St. Francis De Sales
May 13, 2022
By humility and a desire to love God, we begin to pray, which is so effective against the devil that he tries to convince us not to
2 min — The Dialogue of St. Catherine of Siena
May 12, 2022
However perfectly we love God will be shown in how selflessly we love our neighbor
4 min — The Dialogue of St. Catherine of Siena
May 11, 2022
When God withdraws good feelings of devotion, it’s only to free us closer to Him through our humility
4 min — The Dialogue of St. Catherine of Siena
May 10, 2022
Progressing from fear of God to a selfish love of God
4 min — The Dialogue of St. Catherine of Siena