Therefore with joy shall you draw water out of the wells of salvation.
All Commentaries on Isaiah 12:3 Go To Isaiah 12
Ambrose of Milan
AD 397
Although my mind would fail if you were to ask how Christ is rich in poverty, the well of divine Scripture does not fail, for the apostle said, “The Lord Jesus was made poor when he was rich, that by his poverty you might become rich.” But what is that poverty which makes rich? Let’s consider the matter by focusing on the venerable sacrament itself. What can be purer or simpler than it? No one is soaked in the blood of a bull, as the sacred rites of the Gentiles are said to have, nor is any sinner washed with the blood of goats and rams, for these acts cleanse only the flesh but do not absolve sins. Rather, “water will spring up with delight from the fountains of salvation,” and “a heavenly table will be prepared in your presence and a glorious, intoxicating cup.” These are the things of rich simplicity in which Christ’s precious poverty consists. Because poverty is also good with respect to morals, the Lord said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” and we find in the psalms, “For the Lord will save the humble of spirit.” I believe that poverty also abounds in gathering together, if faith abounds. For this reason, the apostle said, “Their great poverty abounds in the riches of their simplicity.”
