Philippians 1:23 (WEB)
But I am hard pressed between the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.
Catechism · 4
"I Believe in the Resurrection of the Body"
“In that "departure" which is death the soul is separated from the body.” — Catechism footnote: Cf. Phil 1:23.
“Therefore the Christian can experience a desire for death like St. Paul's: "My desire is to depart and be with Christ. "” — Catechism footnote: Phil 1:23.
"I Believe in Life Everlasting"
“…cross to the good thief, as well as other New Testament texts speak of a final destiny of the soul -a destiny which can be different for some and for others.” — Catechism footnote: Cf. Lk 16:22; 23:43; Mt 16:26; 2 Cor 5:8; Phil 1:23; Heb 9:27; 12:23.
“To live in heaven is "to be with Christ." the elect live "in Christ,"” — Catechism footnote: Phil 1:23; cf. Jn 14:3; 1 Thess 4:17.
Fathers and councils · 48
Jerome
“When Theophrastus thus discourses, are there any of us, Christians, whose conversation is in heaven and who daily say “I long to be dissolved, and to be with Christ,” whom he does not put to the blush?” — editor's note: Phil. i. 23.
Read the whole comment“And “I have the desire to depart and be with Christ.”” — editor's note: Phil. i. 23.
Read the whole comment“He will hold out threats of death; but the reply will be: “I desire to depart and to be with Christ.”” — editor's note: Philip. i. 23.
Read the whole comment“Let your companions be women pale and thin with fasting, and approved by their years and conduct; such as daily sing in their hearts: “Tell me where thou feedest thy flock, where thou makest it to rest at noon,” and say, with true earnestness, “I have a desire to depart and to be with Christ.”” — editor's note: Phil. i. 23.
Read the whole comment“His apostle also, though he says: “I desire to depart and to be with Christ,” and elsewhere “to me to live is Christ and to die is gain,” thanks God that Epaphras (who had been “sick nigh unto death”) has been given back to him that he might not have sorrow upon sorrow.” — editor's note: Phi. i. 23.
Read the whole comment“She would frequently exclaim: “I am a stranger with thee and a sojourner as all my fathers were,” and again, I desire “to depart and to be with Christ.”” — editor's note: Phil. i. 23.
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Catena Aurea on Luke
- Ambrose of MilanCatena Aurea on Luke
“(Phil. 1:23.)” — the author cites it
Read the whole comment - Pseudo-ChrysostomCatena Aurea on Luke
“(Phil. 1:23.)” — the author cites it
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Eusebius of Caesarea
“But they, hastening on, obtained far better things, being carried to heaven and the paradise of divine pleasure.” — editor's note: Cf. Phil. i. 23
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John Cassian
- John Cassian, Conferences I–X I.14Conference I
“Wherefore also we strive, whether absent or present, to be pleasing to Him;” and he declares indeed that the continuance of the soul which is in the flesh is distance from the Lord, and absence from Christ, and trusts with entire faith that its separation and departure from this flesh involves presence with Christ.” — editor's note: Phil. i. 23; 2 Cor. v. 6.
Read the whole comment - John Cassian, Conferences XVIII–XXIV XXIII.5Conference XXIII
“For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, for it were much better: but to abide in the flesh is more necessary for your sakes.”” — editor's note: Phil. i. 22–24.
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Origen
“See also whether the following words of Paul can apply to those who, although not willingly, yet in accordance with the will of Him who subjected them, and in hope of the promises, were made subject to vanity, when he says, “For I could wish to be dissolved,” or “to return and be with Christ, which is far better.”” — editor's note: Phil. i. 23.
Read the whole comment- Origen, De Principiis II.11Book II
“…desire, I apprehend, was indicated by him who said, “I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better;” knowing that when he should have returned to Christ he would then know more clearly the reasons of all things which are done on earth, either respecting man,…” — editor's note: Phil. i. 23.
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Ambrose of Milan
“But it is better to be with Christ: “For to depart and be with Christ is far better.”” — editor's note: Phil. i. 23.
Read the whole comment“But he who loves me here, would show his love much more if he would suffer me to become Christ’s victim, for “to depart and be with Christ is much better, though to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.”” — editor's note: Phil. i. 23.
Read the whole comment“Though we are in the body, let us not follow the things which are of the body, let us not reject the rightful claims of nature, but desire before all the gifts of grace: “For to be dissolved and to be with Christ is far better; yet to abide in the flesh is more needful for your sakes.”” — editor's note: Phil. i. 23, 24.
Read the whole comment“Hear that what you are afraid to acknowledge of the Spirit, the Apostle did not fear to claim for himself; for he says: “To be dissolved and to be with Christ is much better.”” — editor's note: Phil. i. 23.
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Augustine of Hippo
“I have said there are two senses here: either, as saith the Apostle, “To be dissolved and to be with Christ, for it is by far the best thing.”…Even he that amended cannot be, is thine, either by the fellowship of the human race, or ofttimes by Church Communion; he is within, what wilt thou do? whither…” — editor's note: Philip. i. 23.
Read the whole comment“From these fetters the Apostle was longing to be unbound, and to be with Christ; but to abide in the flesh was necessary for their sakes unto whom he was ministering the Gospel.” — editor's note: Phil. i. 23.
Read the whole comment“For he wished to depart, and to be with Christ: but, since he must preach these things to his companions and his brethren, to abide in the flesh, he addeth, is more needful for you.” — editor's note: Philip. i. 21, 23, 24.
Read the whole comment“I wished to be dissolved, and to be with Christ; which is far better: nevertheless to abide in the flesh is needful for you.”” — editor's note: Phil. i. 21–24.
Read the whole comment“But when a man desires, as the apostle saith, “to be dissolved and to be with Christ,” that person, not patiently dies, but patiently lives, delightedly dies.” — editor's note: Phil. i. 23, 24.
Read the whole comment“For, as the wise and just man, who now desires to be dissolved and to be with Christ, and takes more pleasure in this, the best, now not from desire of living here, but from duty of being…” — editor's note: Phil. i. 23
Read the whole comment“…which is subject to corruption and presseth down the soul, and although he still saw only in part and in an enigma, wishing to depart and be with Christ, and groaning within himself, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of his body, yet was able to preach the Lord Jesus Christ significantly, in one…” — editor's note: Phil. i. 23
Read the whole comment“The apostle “desires to depart, and to be with Christ.”” — editor's note: Phil. i. 23.
Read the whole comment“…with them that rejoice, and weeping with them that weep; though hampered by fightings without and fears within; desiring to depart and to be with Christ; longing to see the Romans, that he might have some fruit among them as among other Gentiles; being jealous over the Corinthians, and fearing in that jealousy…” — editor's note: Phil. i. 23.
Read the whole comment“She says so even in the case of those who, purified from all dross, can say: “I desire to depart, and to be with Christ; nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.”” — editor's note: Phil. i. 23, 24.
Read the whole comment“For what comes of those words of the apostle, that he had a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, if the object of his desire can thus trouble him when it comes?” — editor's note: Phil. i. 23.
Read the whole comment“For the Apostle Paul also says that he had a desire to be dissolved, and to be with Christ, and yet he groans, being burdened, and wishes not to be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality may be swallowed up of life.” — editor's note: Phil. i. 23.
Read the whole comment“…the body itself, and vouchsafed to him what the Apostle Paul said that he desired, and committed to writing, namely, “to be let loose, and to be with Christ”?” — editor's note: Phil. i. 23.
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John Chrysostom
“For no child, be he never so virtuous, is so desirable and lovely to a father, as the having our portion in those good things, and “to depart and be with Christ.”” — editor's note: Phil. i. 23.
Read the whole comment“For both Stephen saith, “Receive my spirit;”and Paul, “To depart and to be with Christ is far better;”and of the patriarch too the Scripture saith, that “he was gathered unto his fathers, being cherished in a good old age.”” — editor's note: Phil. i. 23.
Read the whole comment“For the blessed Paul is at hand, giving his judgment, and saying, “To depart and to be with Christ is better, nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you;”even to his removal unto Christ did he prefer his neighbor’s edification.” — editor's note: Philip. i. 23, 24.
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Basil the Great
“Ah! how often, for I must accuse myself, was it my lot to feel indignation against him, because, wholly desiring to depart and be with Christ, he did not prefer for our sakes to remain in the flesh!” — editor's note: cf. Phil. i. 23, 24.
Read the whole comment“…Saints are with Christ, (if, as we know is the case, Paul, on becoming absent from the body, is present with the Lord, and, after departing, is with Christ) and, so far as lies in their power, to refuse to allow to the Spirit to be with Christ even to the same extent as men?” — editor's note: cf. Phil. i. 23.
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Tertullian
“And shall he thus have, as the first benefit (resulting therefrom), this, that he should desire longer life, when the apostle himself is in haste to be “with the Lord?”” — editor's note: Comp. Phil. i. 23.
Read the whole comment““I desire,” says the apostle, “to be now received, and to be with Christ.”” — editor's note: Phil. i. 23, again loosely rendered: e.g. ἀναλῦσαι ="to weigh anchor,” is rendered by Tertullian “recipi.”
Read the whole comment“For what is our wish but the apostle’s, to leave the world, and be taken up into the fellowship of our Lord?” — editor's note: Phil. i. 23.
Read the whole comment“…desirous as we are ourselves, too, to be taken out of this most wicked world, and received into the Lord’s presence, which was the desire even of an apostle?” — editor's note: Phil. i. 23; comp. de Pa., c. ix. ad fin.
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Gregory of Nyssa
- Gregory of Nyssa, On the Making of Man On the.27On the Making of Man
“…unworthy of God’s great power and authority, for the overthrow of the doctrine, arguing as though God were not able to restore to man his own, by return through the same ways.” — editor's note: ἀναλυσέως, in S. Gregory, seems to be frequently used in the sense of “return.” Cf. Phil. i. 23, εἰς τὸ ἀναλῦσαι, καὶ σὺν Χριστῳ εἶναι, where Tertullian…
Read the whole comment - Gregory of Nyssa, On Virginity On Virginity.3On Virginity
“…treasure because the Master always dwells there; in this case death does not bring separation, but union with Him Who is longed for; for when (a soul) departs, then it is with Christ, as the Apostle says.” — editor's note: ἀναλύσῃ: Philip. i. 23. Tertullian (De Patient. 9) translates, “Cupis recipi (i.e. to flit, depart) jam et esse cum Domino.” Beza, however, says that the…
Read the whole comment - Gregory of Nyssa, On Virginity On Virginity.12On Virginity
“Now if we are destined “to depart hence, and be with Christ,” we must begin at the end of the route of departure (which lies nearest to ourselves); just as those who have travelled far from their friends at home, when…” — editor's note: Philip. i. 23.
Read the whole comment “…both to be in it and arise out of it, so He too, Who has the universe at His sovereign disposal, immersed Himself in death, as we in the water, to return to His own blessedness.” — editor's note: ἀναλύειν. Cf. Philip. i. 23 (ἀναλῦσαι).
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Gregory of Nazianzus
“Now he is least of the apostles, now he offers a proof of Christ speaking in him; now he longs for departure and is being poured forth as a libation, now he thinks it more necessary for their sakes to abide in the flesh.” — editor's note: Phil. i. 23; ii. 17.
Read the whole comment“…and the house not made with hands, the one to be dissolved, the other laid up in heaven, alleging absence from the body to be presence with the Lord, and bewailing his life in it as an exile, and therefore longing for and hastening to his release.” — editor's note: 2 Cor. v. 1, 6; Phil. i. 23.
Read the whole comment“She longed for her dissolution, for indeed she had great boldness towards Him who called her, and preferred to be with Christ, beyond all things on earth.” — editor's note: Phil. i. 23.
Read the whole comment“But when, after he had finished his course, and kept the faith, he longed to depart, and the time for his crown was approaching, he did not hear the summons: “Get thee up into the mountain and die,” but “Die and come up to us.”” — editor's note: Phil. i. 23.
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Clement of Alexandria
“Si autem vivere in carne, et hoc quoque mihi fructus operis, quid eligam nescio, et coarctor ex duobus, cupiens resolvi, et esse cum Christo: multo enim melius: manere autem in carne, est magis necessarium propter vos.”” — editor's note: Phil. i. 20-24.
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Cross-references · 49
Cited together in Catechism §1025.
Cited together in Catechism §1021.
Cited together in Catechism §1021.
Cited together in The Great Catechism Chapter 37 and 1 other place.
Cited together in Catechism §1021.
Cited together in Catechism §1021.
Cited together in On Exhortation to Chastity Chapter 11.
Cited together in On Exhortation to Chastity Chapter 11.
Cited together in On Exhortation to Chastity Chapter 11.
Cited together in Catechism §1025.
Cited together in To His Wife I.5.
Cited together in Conferences XVIII–XXIV XXIII.5.
Cited together in Letters Letter 29.
Cited together in Church History X.1.
Cited together in Church History X.1.
Cited together in On Exhortation to Chastity Chapter 11.
Cited together in Church History X.1.
Cited together in Church History X.1.
Cited together in Church History X.1.
Cited together in Church History X.1.
Cited together in On Virginity On Virginity.12.
Cited together in On Virginity On Virginity.12.
Cited together in Conferences XVIII–XXIV XXIII.5.
Cited together in Catechism §1021.
Cited together in Pseudo-Chrysostom on Luke 16:1–7 (2) (Catena Aurea).
Cited together in Ambrose of Milan on Luke 2:28–32 (Catena Aurea).
Cited together in Ambrose of Milan on Luke 2:28–32 (Catena Aurea).
Cited together in Ambrose of Milan on Luke 2:28–32 (Catena Aurea).
Cited together in Ambrose of Milan on Luke 2:28–32 (Catena Aurea).
Cited together in Ambrose of Milan on Luke 2:28–32 (Catena Aurea).
Cited together in Pseudo-Chrysostom on Luke 16:1–7 (2) (Catena Aurea).
Cited together in Pseudo-Chrysostom on Luke 16:1–7 (2) (Catena Aurea).
Cited together in Pseudo-Chrysostom on Luke 16:1–7 (2) (Catena Aurea).
Cited together in Pseudo-Chrysostom on Luke 16:1–7 (2) (Catena Aurea).
Cited together in Pseudo-Chrysostom on Luke 16:1–7 (2) (Catena Aurea).
Cited together in Catechism §1021.
Cited together in To His Wife I.5.
Cited together in To His Wife I.5.
Cited together in Catechism §1021.
Cited together in Catechism §1011.
Cited together in The Great Catechism Chapter 37.
Cited together in Tractates on the Gospel of John Tractate 60.
Cited together in Tractates on the Gospel of John Tractate 60.
Cited together in Tractates on the Gospel of John Tractate 60.
Cited together in Tractates on the Gospel of John Tractate 60.
Cited together in Catechism §1025.
Cited together in The Shows, or De Spectaculis Chapter 28.
Cited together in Conferences XVIII–XXIV XXIII.5.
Cited together in Catechism §1005 and 1 other place.