Cânticos 1
Ambrose of Milan · Comentário Patrístico (catena)
Cânticos 1:2
Having embraced the Word of God, [the soul] desires him above every beauty; she loves him above every joy; she is delighted with him above every perfume; she wishes often to see, often to gaze, often to be drawn to him that she may follow. "Your name," she says, "is as oil poured out," and that is why we maidens love you and vie with one another but cannot attain to you. Draw us that we may run after you, that from the odor of ointments we may receive the power to follow you. — LETTER 79, TO LAYMEN
Cânticos 1:2
But why do we doubt? The church has believed in his goodness all these ages and has confessed its faith in the saying, "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth; for your breasts are better than wine," and again, "And your throat is like the goodliest wine." Of his goodness, therefore, he nourishes us with the breasts of the law and grace, soothing our sorrows by telling of heavenly things. And do we then deny his goodness, when he is the manifestation of goodness, expressing in his person the likeness of the eternal bounty, even as we showed above that it was written, that he is the spotless reflection and counterpart of that bounty? — Exposition of the Christian Faith 2.2.32
Cânticos 1:2
"You gave me no kiss, but she, from the moment she entered, has not ceased to kiss my feet." A kiss is a mark of love. How, then, can a Jew have a kiss, who has not known peace, who has not received peace from Christ when he said, "My peace I give you, my peace I leave unto you"? The synagogue has no kiss, but the church has, for she waited and loved and said, "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth." She wished with his kiss to quench gradually the burning of the long desire that had grown with longing for the Lord's coming; she wished to satisfy her thirst with this boon. — LETTER 62, TO HIS SISTER
Cânticos 1:2
But the church does not cease to kiss Christ's feet, and she demands not one but many kisses in the Song of Solomon, since like blessed Mary she listens to his every saying, she receives his every word, when the gospel or prophets are read, and she keeps all these words in her heart. — LETTER 62, TO HIS SISTER
Cânticos 1:2
Therefore, this soul also desires many kisses from the Word, in order to be illuminated by the light of divine knowledge. For this is indeed the kiss of the Word, namely, the light of sacred knowledge. For God the Word kisses us when he illuminates our heart, the very core of our spiritual being, with the light of divine knowledge, by which the soul, endowed with the pledge of marital charity, joyfully and exultantly declares: "I have opened my mouth and breathed." For the kiss is the means by which lovers cling to each other and enjoy the sweetness of inner grace. Through this kiss the soul is united to God the Word, by which the spirit of the one who kisses is poured into himself: just as those who kiss each other are not satisfied with a mere touching of lips, but seem to pour their own spirit into each other. Therefore, showing not only the appearance of the Word and a certain countenance, but also loving all its inner depths, he adds to the grace of kisses: "For your breasts are better than wine, and the scent of your ointments is above all aromatic spices." She asked for a kiss: God the Word poured himself out to her entirely, and revealed his breasts to her, that is, his doctrines, and the teachings of his inner wisdom, and he filled the air with the sweet fragrance of his ointments. He says that, once captured, there is a more abundant delight in divine knowledge than in the joy of all bodily pleasure. — On Isaac and the Soul
Cânticos 1:3
After this, you went up to the priest. Consider what followed. Was it not that of which David speaks: "Like the ointment upon the head, which went down to the beard, even Aaron's beard"? This is the ointment of which Solomon, too, says, "Your name is ointment poured out, therefore have the maidens loved you and drawn you." How many souls regenerated this day have loved you, Lord Jesus, and have said, "Draw us after you, we are running after the odor of your garments," that they might drink in the odor of your resurrection.Consider now why this is done, for "the eyes of a wise man are in his head." Therefore the ointment flows down to the beard, that is to say, to the beauty of youth; and therefore, Aaron's beard, that we, too, may become a chosen race, priestly and precious, for we are all anointed with spiritual grace for a share in the kingdom of God and in the priesthood. — On the Mysteries 6:29-30
Cânticos 1:5
The church, having put on these garments through the laver of regeneration, says in the Song of Songs, "I am black and comely, O daughters of Jerusalem." Black through the frailty of its human condition, comely through the sacrament of faith. And the daughters of Jerusalem beholding these garments say in amazement, "Who is this that comes up made white?" She was black; how is she now suddenly made white? — On the Mysteries 7:35
Cânticos 1:5
It is written, "Ethiopia shall stretch out her hand unto God." In this is signified the appearance of holy church, who says in the Song of Solomon, "I am black and comely, O daughters of Jerusalem": black through sin, comely through grace; black by natural condition, comely through redemption, or certainly, black with the dust of her labors. So it is black while fighting but comely when it is crowned with the ornaments of victory. — On the Holy Spirit 2.10.112
Cânticos 1:17
The cedar is suitable for hanging roofs, because this type of wood is tall and spacious, but not burdensome to the walls. The cypress is also suitable for ceilings and gables. Hence, the Church says in the Canticles: "The beams of our houses are made of cedar, our ceilings of cypress," explaining that the decorations of its structure are in these, as if the beams sustain the crown of the Church with their own strength and adorn its peak. — The Six Days of Creation