Psalms 147:16

Who gives snow like wool, who scatters mist like ashes. He sends his crystal like morsels. See how great is the difficulty, how obscure are the things that are said. Before the face of his cold, who shall stand? Whose? Nothing is said. Let us see, then, from the beginning what is said. And he fills you with the fat of the wheat: he sends forth his word to the earth, swiftly runs his word. Suddenly, what follows? Who gives snow like wool. The word of the Lord, which runs swiftly, is given as it were like snow, and that snow is as it were like wool. See the mercy of the Lord. The food of the Lord is turned for us into a garment. John had said of the Lord the Savior: Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. And in another place Isaiah: Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter. Of this lamb, then, and of this sheep, this wool is as it were like snow. Isaiah says: If your sins be like scarlet, they shall be made white like snow. You shall sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: you shall wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. Who gives snow like wool. Take away, O Lord, my filth, take away whatever vice there is. Grant your snow and your purity to Christian minds. Unless you give us the snow of your cleansings, we cannot have your garment. Christ is our garment. If we wish to have the garment of Christ, let us be clean like snow. He scatters mist like ashes. The Latin translated badly, "mist": for what is called ὁμίχλη in Greek, in Hebrew has "hoarfrost." And so it follows thus: He scatters hoarfrost like ashes. He teaches us, and makes for us a garment like snow; and when he has clothed us with his garment, then he grants us nourishment. He scatters hoarfrost like ashes. See what he says, like ashes. Do you wish to be clean? Do penance. I ate my bread like ashes, and mingled my drink with weeping. Do you not see how he scatters his hoarfrost like ashes? A great change of things: out of ashes snow is made, out of penance one is made clean.

We then are burdened by the sluggishness of this cold body, and the bonds of this earthly and corruptible life; have we no hope of receiving "the Word," which "runneth even unto swiftness"? or hath abandoned us, though by the body we are depressed to the lowest depths? Did not He predestinate us, before we were born in this mortal and sluggish body? He then, who predestinated us, gave snow to the earth, even ourselves. For now let us come to those somewhat obscure verses of the Psalm, let those entanglements begin to be unrolled. Behold, we are sluggish on this earth, and are as it were frozen here. And just as happens to the flakes of snow, for they freeze above, then fall down; so as love groweth cold, human nature falleth down to this earth, and involved in a sluggish body becometh like snow. But in that snow are predestined sons of God. For, "He giveth snow like wool." What is "like wool"? It meaneth, of the snow which He hath given, of these, who are as yet slow in spirit and cold, whom He hath predestinated, He is about to make somewhat. For wool is the material of a garment: when we see wool, we look on it as a sort of preparation for a garment. Therefore since He hath predestinated these, who at present are cold and creep on earth, and as yet glow not with the spirit of love (for as yet He speaketh of predestination), God hath given these as a sort of wool: He is about to make of them a garment. Rightly did the "raiment" of Christ "shine" on the mountain, "like snow." The raiment of Christ did shine like snow, as though of that snow a garment had already been made: of which wool, that is, of the snow which He gave like wool, they being as yet predestined, were sluggish: but wait, see what followeth. Since He gave them as wool, a garment is made of them. For as the Church is called the Body of Christ, so is the Church also called the garment of Christ: hence cometh that which is said by the Apostle, "that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle." Let Him then present unto Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle; let Him make Himself a garment of that wool, which He had predestinated in the snow. While men are yet unbelieving, and cold, and sluggish, let Him make a garment of this wool. That it may be washed from spots, let it be cleansed by faith: that it may have no wrinkle, let it be stretched out…