Maximus of Turin

In his own words on Isaiah

• Isaiah 6:9-10

  But he appeared not so much for the eyes of human beings as for their salvation, for even though he was first seen by fleshly eyes when he was born of the virgin, still he did not appear because the eye of faith did not as yet recognize his power. Hence it is said to the Jews by the prophet: "Seeing you will see and will not see"; that is, the Savior whom they discerned with their fleshly eyes they did not see in a spiritual light.

  SERMON 101:2

• Isaiah 7:14

  The manner of his birth proves the truth about the Lord: a virgin conceived without knowing a man; her belly was filled, having been touched by no embrace; and her chaste womb received the Holy Spirit, whom her pure members preserved and her unsullied body carried. Behold the miracle of the mother of the Lord! She is a virgin when she conceives, a virgin when she brings forth, a virgin after birth. What glorious virginity! What splendid fruitfulness! The world's goodness is born, and there is no pain of childbirth. The womb is emptied, a child is brought forth, and still virginity is not violated. For it was fitting that when God was born, the value of chastity should increase, and that one who was untouched should not be violated by his coming—he who came to heal what was injured—and that bodily purity should not be harmed by him who bestows virginity on those who have been baptized and had formerly been unchaste. The child who has been born, then, is placed in a crib. This is God's first dwelling place, and the ruler of heaven does not disdain these straitened circumstances—he whose home was the virginal womb. Clearly Mary was a fit habitation for Christ not because of the nature of her body but because of the grace of her virginity.

  SERMON 61B.2

• Isaiah 9:6

  For this reason the apostles are told, "unless you change and become like this child." He does not say "like these children" but "like this child." He chooses one; he proposes one. Let us see, then, who he might be, who is proposed to the disciples to be imitated. I do not think that he is from the people, nor from the ordinary crowd, nor from the vast multitude—this one who was given, through the apostles, as an example of holiness to the entire world. I do not think, I say, that he is from the ordinary crowd but from heaven. For he is the child from heaven about whom the prophet Isaiah says, "A child is born to us, a son is given to us." Clearly he is the child who, like an innocent, did not curse when he was cursed, did not strike back when he was struck, but rather in his very suffering prayed for his enemies, saying, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Thus simplicity, which nature has given to infants, the Lord augmented with the virtue of mercy.

  SERMON 54:2

• Isaiah 29:13

  Suppose someone says, "We are Christians too; we believe in the Lord, the Savior." But it is necessary to believe in deed and not in word, not with the tongue but with the heart, lest it also be said to us, "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me."

  SERMON 102:3

• Isaiah 54:1

  The church, then, is that sterile city which, because of the bad condition of the waters before the coming of Christ (that is to say, because of the sacrilege of the Gentile peoples), was unable to conceive children for God in its sterility. But when Christ came, taking on a human body like a clay vessel, he cleansed the bad condition of the waters; that is to say, he cut off the sacrileges of the peoples, and immediately the church, which used to be sterile, began to be fruitful.

  SERMON 84:4

• Isaiah 58:1

  We are commanded then to cry out and to cry forcefully and not to spare our voice, lest we lose our salvation. "And do not be sparing," he says. That is, do not pass over the sinner's wickedness by keeping silent and by being considerate of his shame but inconsiderate of his well-being, for by keeping silent you have made worse the wounds that you ought to have healed by crying out.… We know that a trumpet is usually not so much heard as dreaded; it is not so much accustomed to bring pleasure as to inspire fear. A trumpet is necessary for sinners; it not only penetrates their ears but should strike their heart as well; it should not delight with its melody but chastise when it has been heard; it should encourage the bravehearted to righteousness, while it should turn the cowardly from their crimes.

  SERMON 93:1