Office Of Readings | Week 4, Monday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Discourse Of Saint Hilary Of Poitiers On The Psalms | The Company Of Those Who Believed Were Of One Heart And Soul

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Office Of Readings | Week 4, Monday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Discourse Of Saint Hilary Of Poitiers On The Psalms | The Company Of Those Who Believed Were Of One Heart And Soul

‘The hearts and minds of all believers were one.’

In this reading from his commentary on the Psalms, Saint Hilary of Poitiers reflects on the meaning of unity within the Church, drawing from Psalm 133 (Vg. 132) and from the life of the early Christian community. Unity is presented not as uniformity, but as a shared purpose rooted in faith and love.

Hilary begins by explaining why it is both ‘good and pleasant’ for brothers to dwell in unity. Unity creates the Church as an assembly, not merely as a gathering of individuals. The word ‘brothers’ points to a relationship formed by common intention and affection, rather than by natural ties alone. The Church comes into being where hearts and minds are aligned in faith.

Hilary then recalls the description from the Acts of the Apostles, where the first believers were said to be of one heart and one mind. This becomes the model for the people of God. Hilary presents the Church as a family under one Father, animated by one Spirit, living together as members of one body. Unity is therefore theological before it is social: it arises from participation in the life of God.

To deepen this teaching, Hilary turns to the image of Aaron’s anointing. The oil poured on Aaron’s head symbolised priestly consecration and divine choice. Hilary understands this anointing as a figure pointing beyond itself, towards Christ and the Church. The oil is not political or worldly, like the oil used to anoint kings, but spiritual, described as the ‘oil of gladness’.

This anointing, Hilary explains, has different effects depending on how it is received. When it meets an unclean heart, it brings judgment; when it is received in love, it produces harmony and a pleasing fragrance. He links this to Paul’s image of Christians as the fragrance of Christ, suggesting that unity makes the life of the Church pleasing to God.

The final image concerns the oil flowing from Aaron’s head to his beard. Hilary interprets the beard as a sign of maturity. Unity in the Church requires growth beyond spiritual infancy. While Christians are called to innocence in relation to evil, they are also called to maturity in understanding and faith. Drawing again on Paul, Hilary warns against remaining dependent on ‘milk’ rather than progressing to solid food.

A Reading From The Discourse Of Saint Hilary Of Poitiers On The Psalms | The Company Of Those Who Believed Were Of One Heart And Soul

Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brothers to dwell in unity. It is good and pleasant for brothers to dwell in unity, because when they do so their association creates the assembly of the Church. The term ‘brothers’ describes the bond of affection arising from their singleness of purpose.

We read that when the apostles first preached, the chief instruction they gave lay in this saying: The hearts and minds of all believers were one. So it is fitting for the people of God to be brothers under one Father, to be united under one Spirit, to live in harmony under one roof, to be limbs of one body.

It is pleasant and good for brothers to dwell in unity. The prophet suggested a comparison for this good and pleasant activity when he said: It is like the ointment on the head which ran down over the beard of Aaron, down upon the collar of his garment. Aaron’s oil was made of the perfumes used to anoint a priest. It was God’s decision that his priest should have this consecration first, and that our Lord too should be anointed, but not visibly, by those who are joined with him. Aaron’s anointing did not belong to this world; it was not done with the horn used for kings, but with the oil of gladness. So afterward Aaron was called the anointed one as the Law prescribed.

When this oil is poured out upon men of unclean heart, it snuffs out their lives, but when it is received as an anointing of love, it exudes the sweet odor of harmony with God. As Paul says, we are the goodly fragrance of Christ. So just as it is pleasing to God when Aaron was anointed priest with this oil, so it is good and pleasant for brothers to dwell in unity.

Now the oil ran down from his head to his beard. A beard adorns a man of mature years. We must not be children before Christ except in the restricted scriptural sense of being children in wickedness but not in our way of thinking. Now Paul calls all who lack faith, children, because they are too weak to take solid food and still need milk. As he says: I fed you with milk rather than the solid food for which you were not yet ready; and you are still not ready.

Christian Prayer With Jesus Christ

God of unity and peace,
you call your people to be of one heart and one mind.
Pour out upon us the oil of gladness,
that we may live in harmony with you and with one another.

Cleanse our hearts from division and pride,
and deepen in us a shared love for your truth.
Help us to grow to maturity in faith,
no longer content with what is partial or shallow.

May your Spirit bind us together
as members of one body,
so that our life together
may be pleasing in your sight.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen

Glossary Of Christian Terms

Unity | Shared faith, purpose, and love within the Church
Brothers | Believers bound together by faith rather than by blood
Assembly of the Church | The gathered community of believers
One heart and mind | Complete agreement in faith and intention
Anointing | A sign of being chosen and consecrated by God
Oil of gladness | A symbol of spiritual joy and divine favour
Aaron | The first high priest of Israel
Fragrance of Christ | The spiritual witness of believers’ lives
Maturity | Growth in understanding and faith
Spiritual infancy | An early stage of faith needing further growth
Milk and solid food | Images used by Paul to describe stages of spiritual development
Harmony | Right relationship among believers and with God