Ezekiel — Chapter 44
The east gate is to remain shut because the Lord God of Israel entered by it: Lapide develops his celebrated Mariological interpretation — the 'shut gate' (porta clausa) is the Virgin Mary, whose perpetual virginity is symbolized by the gate that remains closed even after the divine passage through it. He cites Ambrose, Jerome, and Augustine as unanimous in this reading.
Verse 2
'Porta haec clausa erit, non aperietur' — this gate shall remain shut and shall not be opened: Lapide's Mariological exegesis is one of his most famous contributions. The Blessed Virgin is the porta clausa per quam solus Deus transivit (the closed gate through which God alone passed), her virginity preserved before, during, and after the divine birth. He cites the Canticle's 'hortus conclusus' and 'fons signatus' (Sg. 4:12) as parallel figures.
Verse 4
The glory of the Lord filled the Temple: as in chapter 43, the return of the divine Shekinah. Lapide reads this second mention as emphasis and confirmation — the divine presence is now permanently established in the Church-Temple. He connects to Christ's presence in the tabernacle as the permanent sacramental Shekinah of the New Covenant.
Verse 15
The sons of Zadok who kept the charge of the sanctuary: Lapide reads these faithful Levitical priests as types of the Catholic clergy who remain faithful to the apostolic tradition during periods of widespread apostasy. He contrasts them with the Levites who strayed (vv. 10-14), who type apostate clergy and schismatics.
Verse 28
'I am their inheritance; and you shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession' — the Lord is the priests' portion: Lapide's fullest treatment of priestly poverty and detachment. The Levitical prohibition on territorial inheritance images the Christian priest's reliance on God alone, renouncing earthly security. He cites Jerome's letters on clerical poverty and Thomas Aquinas on the poverty of the religious life.