Friday of the 5th
week of Ordinary Time – the Office of Readings |
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SERMON
27
Sermon 7 On the Feast of the Nativity |
. SERMO XXVII [Al.
XXVI]. In Nativitate
Domini VII. |
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I.
It is equally dangerous to deny the Godhead or the Manhood in Christ |
CAP. I.
I. Aequalis esse
periculi alterutram in Christo negare naturam |
HE
is a true and devout worshipper, dearly-beloved, of today’s festival
who thinks nothing that is either false about the Lord’s Incarnation
or unworthy about His Godhead. For it is an equally dangerous evil
to deny in Him the reality of our nature and the equality with the
Father in glory. When, therefore, we attempt to understand the
mystery of Christ’s nativity, wherein He was born of the
Virgin-mother, let all the clouds of earthly reasonings be driven
far away and the smoke of worldly wisdom be purged from the eyes of
illuminated faith: for the authority on which we trust is divine,
the teaching which we follow is divine. Inasmuch as whether it be
the testimony of the Law, or the oracles of the prophets, or the
trumpet of the gospel to which we apply our inward ear, that is true
which the blessed John full of the Holy Spirit uttered with his
voice of thunder: in the beginning was the Word: and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with
God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was nothing made.(Jn 1:13)
And similarly is it true what the same preacher added: the
Word became flesh and dwelt in us: and we beheld His glory, the
glory as of the only-begotten of the Father.
Therefore in both natures it is the same Son of God taking what is
ours and not losing what is His own; renewing man in His manhood,
but enduring unchangeable in Himself. For the Godhead which is His
in common with the Father underwent no loss of omnipotence, nor did
the form of a slave do despite to the form of God, because the
supreme and eternal Essence, which lowered Itself for the salvation
of mankind, transferred us into Its glory, but did not cease to be
what It was. And hence when the Only-begotten of God confesses
Himself less than the Father , and yet calls Himself equal with Him
, He demonstrates the reality of both forms in Himself: so that the
inequality proves the human nature, and the equality the Divine. |
Festivitatis hodiernae dilectissimi, verus venerator est et pius
cultor qui
92
nec de incarnatione Domini aliquid falsum, nec de Deitate aliquid
sentit indignum: paris enim periculi malum est, si illi aut naturae
nostrae veritas, aut paternae gloriae negatur aequalitas. Cum ergo
ad intelligendum sacramentum Nativitatis Christi, qua de matre
Virgine est ortus, accedimus, abigatur procul terrenarum caligo
rationum, et ab illuminatae fidei oculis mundanae sapientiae fumus
abscedat; divina est enim auctoritas cui credimus, divina est
doctrina quam sequimur. Quoniam sive legis testificationi, sive
oraculis prophetarum, sive evangelicae tubae interiorem
[0216D]
admoveamus auditum, verum est quod
[0217A]
beatus Joannes plenus Spiritu sancto intonuit:
In principio erat Verbum, et
Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum. Hoc erat in principio
apud Deum. Omnia per ipsum facta sunt, et sine ipso factum est,
nihil
(Joan. I, 1 3).
Et similiter verum est quod idem praedicator adjecit:
Verbum caro factum est et
habitavit in nobis; et vidimus gloriam ejus, gloriam quasi Unigeniti
a Patre
(Ibid., 14).
In utraque ergo natura idem est Dei Filius nostra suscipiens, et
propria non amittens; in homine hominem renovans, in se
incommutabilis perseverans. Deitas enim, quae illi cum Patre
communis est, nullum detrimentum omnipotentiae subiit, nec Dei
formam servi forma violavit, quia summa et sempiterna essentia, quae
se ad humani generis inclinavit salutem,
[0217B]
nos quidem in suam gloriam transtulit, sed quod erat esse non
destitit. Unde cum Unigenitus Dei minorem se Patre confitetur
(Joan. XIV, 28),
cui se dicit aequalem
(Joan. X, 30),
veritatem in se formae utriusque demonstrat: ut et humanam probet
imparilitas, et divinam declaret aequalitas. |
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II. The Incarnation has changed all the possibilities of man’s
existence |
CAP. II.
Verbum caro factum est,
quomodo intelligendum? Qui effectus?--- |
The bodily Nativity therefore of the Son of God took nothing from
and added nothing to His Majesty because His unchangeable substance
could be neither diminished nor increased. For that the Word became
flesh does not signify that the nature of God was changed into
flesh, but that the Word took the flesh into the unity of His
Person: and therein undoubtedly the whole man was received, with
which within the Virgin’s womb fecundated by the Holy Spirit, whose
virginity was destined never to be lost , the Son of God was so
inseparably united that He who was born without time of the Father’s
essence was Himself in time born of the Virgin’s womb. For we could
not otherwise be released from the chains of eternal death but by
Him becoming humble in our nature, Who remained Almighty in His own.
And so our Lord Jesus Christ, being at birth true man though He
never ceased to be true God, made in Himself the beginning of a new
creation, and in the form of His birth started the spiritual life of
mankind afresh, that to abolish the taint of our birth according to
the flesh there might be a possibility of regeneration without our
sinful seed for those of whom it is said, Who were born not of
blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
God
(Jn 1:13)
. What mind can grasp this mystery, what tongue can express this
gracious act? Sinfulness returns to guiltlessness and the old nature
becomes new; strangers receive adoption and outsiders enter upon an
inheritance. The ungodly begin to be righteous, the miserly
benevolent, the incontinent chaste, the earthly heavenly. And whence
comes this change, save by the right hand of the Most High? For the
Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil
(1 Jn 3:8), and has so united
Himself with us and us with Him that the descent of God to man’s
estate became the exaltation of man to God’s. |
Majestati igitur Filii Dei corporea nativitas nihil abstulit, nihil
contulit, quia substantia incommutabilis nec minui potuit, nec
augeri. Quod enim Verbum
caro factum est, non hoc significat, quod in carnem sit
Dei natura mutata, sed quod a Verbo in unitatem personae sit caro
suscepta; in cujus utique nomine homo totus accipitur, cum quo intra
Virginis viscera sancto Spiritu fecundata, et numquam virginitate
caritura, tam inseparabiliter
[0217C]
Dei Filius est unitus, ut qui erat intemporaliter de essentia Patris
genitus, ipse sit temporaliter de utero Virginis natus. Aliter enim
ab aeternae mortis vinculis non possemus absolvi, nisi in nostris
fieret humilis, qui omnipotens
93
permanebat in suis. Nascens itaque Dominus noster Jesus Christus
homo verus, qui numquam destitit esse Deus verus, novae creaturae in
se fecit exordium, et in ortus sui forma dedit humano generi
spiritale principium, ut ad carnalis generationis abolenda contagia,
esset regenerandis origo sine semine criminis, de quibus dicitur:
Qui non ex sanguinibus,
neque ex
voluntate carnis, neque ex voluntate viri, sed ex Deo nati sunt
(Joan. I, 13).
Quae hoc sacramentum mens comprehendere, quae hanc gratiam valeat
lingua narrare?
[0217D]
Redit in innocentiam iniquitas, et in novitatem vetustas;
[0218A]
in adoptionem veniunt alieni, et in haereditatem ingrediuntur
extranei. De impiis justi, de avaris benigni, de incontinentibus
casti, de terrenis incipiunt esse coelestes. Quae autem est ista
mutatio, nisi dexterae Excelsi? Quoniam venit Filius Dei dissolvere
opera diaboli
(I Joan, III, 8),
et ita se nobis, nosque inseruit sibi, ut Dei ad humana descensio,
fieret hominis ad divina provectio. |
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III. The Devil knows exactly what temptations to offer to each
person |
CAP. III.
Diabolum varie homines tentare pro variis eorum affectibus et
studiis |
But in this mercifulness of God, dearly beloved, the greatness of
which towards us we cannot explain, Christians must be extremely
careful lest they be caught again in the devil’s wiles and once more
entangled in the errors which they have renounced. For the old enemy
does not cease to transform himself into an angel of light
(2 Cor 11:14, and
spread everywhere the snares of his deceptions, and make every
effort to corrupt the faith of believers. He knows whom to ply with
the zest of greed, whom to assail with the allurements of the belly,
before whom to set the attractions of self-indulgence, in whom to
instil the poison of jealousy: he knows whom to overwhelm with
grief, whom to cheat with joy, whom to surprise with fear, whom to
bewilder with wonderment: there is no one whose habits he does not
sift, whose cares he does not winnow, whose affections he does not
pry into: and wherever he sees a man most absorbed in occupation,
there he seeks opportunity to injure him. Moreover he has many whom
he has bound still more tightly because they are suited for his
designs, that he may use their abilities and tongues to deceive
others. Through them are guaranteed the healing of sicknesses, the
prognosticating of future events, the appeasing of demons and the
driving away of apparitions. They also are to be added who falsely
allege that the entire condition of human life depends on the
influences of the stars, and that that which is really either the
divine will or ours rests with the unchangeable fates. And yet, in
order to do still greater harm, they promise that they can be
changed if supplication is made to those constellations which are
adverse. And thus their ungodly fabrications destroy themselves; for
if their predictions are not reliable, the fates are not to be
feared: if they are, the stars are not to be venerated. |
In hac autem, dilectissimi, misericordia Dei, cujus erga nos
magnitudinem explicare non possumus, multa sollicitudine
praecavendum est Christianis ne diabolicis iterum capiantur
insidiis, et eisdem rursus, quibus renuntiaverunt, erroribus
implicentur. Non enim desinit hostis antiquus, transfigurans se in
angelum lucis
(II Cor. XI, 14),
deceptionum
[0218B]
laqueos ubique praetendere, et ut quoquo modo fidem credentium
corrumpat, instare. Novit cui adhibeat aestus cupiditatis, cui
illecebras gulae ingerat, cui apponat
94
incitamenta luxuriae, cui infundat virus invidiae; novit quem
moerore conturbet, quem gaudio fallat, quem metu opprimat, quem
admiratione seducat; omnium discutit consuetudines, ventilat curas,
scrutatur affectus; et ibi causas quaerit nocendi, ubi quemque
viderit studiosius occupari. Habet etenim multos ex eis quos
tenacius obligavit, aptos artibus suis, quorum ad alios decipiendos
et ingeniis utatur et linguis. Per istos remedia aegritudinum,
indicia futurorum, placationes daemonum, et depulsiones promittuntur
umbrarum. Addunt se et illi, qui totam humanae vitae conditionem de
stellarum
[0218C]
pendere effectibus mentiuntur, et quod est aut divinae voluntatis,
aut nostrae, indeclinabilium dicunt esse fatorum. Quae tamen, ut
cumulatius noceant, spondent posse mutari, si illis quae adversantur
sideribus supplicetur. Unde commentum impium sua ratione destruitur,
quia si praedicta non permanent, non sunt fata metuenda; si
permanent, non sunt astra veneranda. |
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IV. The foolish practice of some who turn to the sun and bow to it
is reprehensible |
CAP. IV.
Quod soli orienti quidam Christiani se inclinant, ex superstitione
esse |
From such a system of teaching proceeds also the ungodly practice of
certain foolish folk who worship the sun as it rises at the
beginning of daylight from elevated positions: even some Christians
think it is so proper to do this that, before entering the blessed
Apostle Peter’s basilica, which is dedicated to the One Living and
true God, when they have mounted the steps which lead to the raised
platform , they turn round and bow themselves towards the rising sun
and with bent neck do homage to its brilliant orb. We are full of
grief and vexation that this should happen, which is partly due to
the fault of ignorance and partly to the spirit of heathenism:
because although some of them do perhaps worship the Creator of that
fair light rather than the Light itself, which is His creature, yet
we must abstain even from the appearance of this observance: for if
one who has abandoned the worship of gods, finds it in our own
worship, will he not hark back again to this fragment of his old
superstition, as if it were allowable, when he sees it to be common
both to Christians and to infidels? |
De talibus institutis etiam illa generatur impietas, ut sol in
inchoatione diurnae lucis exsurgens a quibusdam insipientioribus de
locis eminentioribus adoretur; quod nonnulli etiam Christiani adeo
se religiose facere putant, ut priusquam ad B. Petri apostoli
basilicam, quae uni Deo vivo et vero est dedicata, perveniant,
superatis gradibus
[0218D]
quibus ad suggestum areae superioris ascenditur,
[0219A]
converso corpore ad nascentem se solem reflectant, et curvatis
cervicibus, in honorem se splendidi orbis inclinent.
95
Quod fieri partim ignorantiae vitio, partim paganitatis spiritu,
multum tabescimus et dolemus: quia etsi quidam forte Creatorem
potius pulchri luminis quam ipsum lumen, quod est creatura,
venerantur, abstinendum tamen est ab ipsa specie hujus officii, quam
cum in nostris invenit, qui deorum cultum reliquit, nonne hanc secum
partem opinionis vetustae tamquam probabilem retentabit, quam
Christianis et impiis viderit esse communem? |
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V.
The sun and moon were created for use, not for worship |
CAP. V.
Coelestia corpora hominum utilitati servire.---
[0216C] |
This objectionable practice must be given up therefore by the
faithful, and the honour due to God alone must not be mixed up with
those men’s rites who serve their fellow-creatures. For the divine
Scripture says: You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only
shall you serve
(Mat 4:10)
. And the blessed Job, a man without complaint, as the Lord says,
and one that eschews every evil
(Job 1:8), said, Have I seen the sun when it shone or the
moon walking brightly, and my heart has rejoiced in secret, and I
have kissed my hand: what is my great iniquity and denial against
the most High God ?
(Job 31:26-28)
visible creation and material light: one of which is of
greater brightness and the other of lesser light? For as it is now
day time and now night time, so the Creator has constituted various
kinds of luminaries, although even before they were made there had
been days without the sun and nights without the moon. But these
were fashioned to serve in making man, that he who is an animal
endowed with reason might be sure of the distinction of the months,
the recurrence of the year, and the variety of the seasons, since
through the unequal length of the various periods, and the clear
indications given by the changes in its risings, the sun closes the
year and the moon renews the months. For on the fourth day, as we
read, God said: Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven,
and let them shine upon the earth, and let them divide between day
and night, and let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days
and years, and let them be in the firmament of heaven that they may
shine upon earth.
(Gen 1:14-15) |
Abjiciatur ergo a consuetudine fidelium damnanda perversitas, nec
honor uni Deo debitus, eorum ritibus qui creaturis deserviunt,
misceatur.
[0219B]
Dicit enim Scriptura divina:
Dominum Deum tuum adorabis,
et illi soli servies
(Matth. IV, 10).
Et beatus Job, homo sine
querela, ut ait Dominus,
et continens se ab omni re
mala
(Job. I, 8),
Numquid vidi,
inquit, solem cum
fulgeret, et lunam incedentem clare, et laetatum est cor meum in
abscondito, et osculatus sum manum meam: quae est iniquitas maxima,
et negatio contra Deum altissimum
(Job. XXXI, 26-28)?
Quid autem
[0220A]
est sol, vel quid est luna, nisi visibilis creaturae et corporeae
lucis elementa? quorum unum est majoris claritatis, et aliud minoris
est luminis. Sicut enim alia diurna, alia nocturna sunt tempora, ita
diversam in luminaribus qualitatem Creator instituit, cum tamen
priusquam haec fierent, et dies sine solis officio, et noctes sine
lunae ministerio praecessissent. Sed condebantur ista ad faciendi
hominis utilitatem, ut rationale animal nec in distinctione mensium,
nec in recursu annorum, nec in dinumeratione
96
temporum falleretur: cum per inaequalium horarum impares moras, et
dissimilium ortuum signa manifesta, et annos sol concluderet, et
menses luna renovaret. Quarto namque, ut legimus, die, dixit Deus:
Fiant luminaria in
firmamento coeli, et
[0220B]
luceant super terram, et dividant inter diem et noctem, et sint in
signa, et tempora, et dies, et annos, et sint in firmamento coeli,
ut luceant super terram
(Gen. I, 14, 15). |
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VI. Let us awake to the proper use of all our parts and facilities |
CAP. VI.
Quis rectus creaturarum usus. Homo ad praesentia natus, ad futura
renatus |
Awake, O man, and recognize the dignity of your nature. Recollect
you were made in the image of God, which although it was corrupted
in Adam, was yet re-fashioned in Christ. Use visible creatures as
they should be used, as you use earth, sea, sky, air, springs, and
rivers: and whatever in them is fair and wondrous, ascribe to the
praise and glory of the Maker. Be not subject to that light wherein
birds and serpents, beasts and cattle, flies and worms delight.
Confine the material light to your bodily senses, and with all your
mental powers embrace that true light which lights every man that
comes into this world
(Jn 1:9), and of which the prophet says, Come unto Him
and be enlightened, and your faces shall not blush. For if we are a
temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in
(1 Cor 3:16) us, what every one of the faithful
has in his own heart is more than what he wonders at in heaven. And
so, dearly beloved, we do not bid or advise you to despise God’s
works or to think there is anything opposed to your Faith in what
the good God has made good, but to use every kind of creature and
the whole furniture of this world reasonably and moderately: for as
the Apostle says, the things which are seen are temporal: but the
things which are not seen are eternal
(2 Cor 4:18)
. Hence because we are born for the present and reborn for the
future, let us not give ourselves up to temporal goods, but to
eternal: and in order that we may behold our hope nearer, let us
think on what the Divine Grace has bestowed on our nature on the
very occasion when we celebrate the mystery of the Lord’s birthday.
Let us hear the Apostle, saying: for you are dead, and your life is
hid with Christ in God. But when Christ, who is your life, shall
appear, then shall you also appear with Him in glory
(Col 3:3-4: who lives
and reigns with the Father and the Holy Ghost for ever and ever.
Amen. |
Expergiscere, o homo, et dignitatem tuae cognosce naturae. Recordare
te factum ad imaginem Dei
(Gen. I, 26);
quae, etsi in Adam corrupta; in Christo tamen est reformata. Utere
quomodo utendum
[0221A]
est visibilibus creaturis, sicut uteris terra, mari, coelo, aere,
fontibus atque fluminibus; et quidquid in eis pulchrum atque
mirabile est, refer ad laudem et gloriam Conditoris. Noli esse
deditus illi lumini quo volucres et serpentes, quo bestiae et
pecudes, quo muscae delectantur et vermes. Lucem corpoream sensu
tange corporeo, et toto mentis affectu illud verum lumen amplectere
quod illuminat omnem
hominem venientem in hunc mundum
(Joan. I, 9),
et de quo dicit propheta:
Accedite ad eum, et
illuminamini, et vultus vestri non erubescent
(Ps. XXXIII, 6).
Si enim templum Dei sumus, et Spiritus Dei habitat in nobis
(I Cor. III, 16),
PLUS EST quod fidelis quisque in suo habet animo, quam quod miratur
in coelo. Non itaque vobis, dilectissimi, hoc aut indicimus,
[0221B]
aut suademus, ut despiciatis opera Dei, aut contrarium aliquid fidei
vestrae, in iis quae Deus bonus bona condidit, aestimetis; sed ut
omni creaturarum specie,
97
et universo hujus mundi ornatu rationabiliter et temperanter
utamini: Quae enim
videntur, sicut ait Apostolus,
temporalia sunt; quae autem
non videntur aeterna sunt
(II Cor. IV, 18).
Unde quia AD PRAESENTIA sumus nati, ad futura autem renati, non
temporalibus bonis dediti, sed aeternis simus intenti; et ut spem
nostram possimus propius intueri, in ipso sacramento Natalis Domini
cogitemus quid naturae nostrae gratia divina contulerit. Audiamus
Apostolum dicentem:
Mortui enim estis, et vita vestra abscondita est cum Christo in Deo.
Cum autem Christus apparuerit vita vestra, tunc et vos apparebitis
[0221C]
cum ipso in gloria
(Coloss. III, 3, 4);
qui vivit et regnat cum Patre et Spiritu sancto per omnia saecula
saeculorum. Amen. |
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Sermon_95 |
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SERMON
95
of
LEO
!
A
Homily
on
the
Beatitudes, St.
Matthew 5:1-9
[SPLENDOR
is EITHER
JOY
or
PAIN]
see also Isaac of Ninevah:
The Scourge of Love |
66
SERMO XCV,
Sive homilia de gradibus ascensionis ad beatitudinem.
De eo quod
scriptum est: Videns Jesus turbas, ascendit in montem;
et cum sedisset, accesserunt ad eum discipuli ejus,
etc.
(Matth. V, 1
seqq.).
. |
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I. Introduction
of the subject |
CAP. I.
I. Christum
per exteriores medelas animos ad interiores praeparasse, quae per
lenitatem gratiae
[0460C]
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WHEN
our Lord Jesus Christ, beloved, was preaching the
gospel of the
Kingdom, and was healing various sicknesses through the whole
of Galilee, the fame of
His mighty works had spread into all
Syria: large crowds too from all parts of
Judæa were
flocking to the heavenly
Physician.
(Mat
4:23-24)
For as human
ignorance is slow
in believing
what it does not see, and in
hoping for what it
does not know, those who
were to be instructed in the divine lore
, needed to be aroused by bodily benefits and visible
miracles: so that they might have no
doubt as to the
wholesomeness of
His teaching when they actually experienced His benignant power. And
therefore that the Lord
might use outward healings as an introduction to inward
remedies, and after healing bodies might work cures in the
soul, He separated Himself from the surrounding crowd,
ascended into the
retirement of a neighbouring mountain, and called His
apostles to Him
there, that from the height of that
mystic seat He
might instruct them in the loftier
doctrines,
signifying from the very
nature of the
place and act
that He it was who had once
honoured Moses
by speaking to him: then indeed with a more terrifying
justice, but now with a
holier
mercifulness, that what had been promised might be fulfilled when
the Prophet Jeremiah
says: behold the
days come when I will complete a new
covenant for the
house of Israel
and for the house
of Judah. After those days, says the
Lord, I will put My
laws in their
minds , and in
their heart will
I write them. He
therefore who had spoken to
Moses, spoke also to the
apostles, and the swift hand of the
Word wrote and
deposited the secrets of the new covenant
in the disciples’
hearts: there were no thick clouds surrounding Him as of old,
nor were the people frightened off from approaching the mountain by
frightful sounds and
lightning , but quietly
and freely His discourse reached the ears of those who stood by:
that the harshness of the
law might give way before
the gentleness of grace,
and the
spirit of
adoption might
dispel the terrors of
bondage. |
Praedicante, dilectissimi, Domino nostro Jesu Christo Evangelium
regni, et diversos per totam Galilaeam curante languores, in omnem
se Syriam virtutum ejus fama diffuderat; et multae ex universa
Judaea turbae ad coelestem medicum confluebant. Quia enim tarda est
humanae ignorantiae fides ad credenda quae non videt, et speranda
quae nescit, oportebat divina eruditione firmandos corporeis
beneficiis et visibilibus miraculis incitari: ut cujus tam benignam
experiebantur potentiam,
367
non ambigerent salutarem esse doctrinam. Ut ergo exteriores medelas
Dominus ad remedia interiora transferret, et post sanitates corporum
curationes operaretur
[0461B]
animarum, segregatus a circumstantibus turbis, secessum vicini
montis ascendit, advocatis apostolis, quos sublimioribus institutis
ab edito mysticae, sedis imbueret, ex ipsa loci atque operis
qualitate significans se esse qui Mosen quondam suo fuisset dignatus
alloquio: illic quidem terribiliore justitia, hic autem sacratiore
clementia, ut impleretur quod fuerat, propheta Jeremia dicente,
promissum:
Ecce dies veniunt, dicit Dominus, et consummabo super domum Israel
et super domum Juda testamentum novum. Post dies illos, dicit
Dominus, dabo leges meas in sensu ipsorum, et in corde ipsorum
scribam eas
(Jerem. XXXI, 31; Hebr. VIII, 8).
Qui ergo locutus fuerat Mosi locutus est et apostolis, et in
cordibus discipulorum velox scribentis Verbi manus novi Testamenti
decreta condebat;
[0461C]
nulla ut quondam circumfusa nubium crassitudine, neque per
terribiles sonos atque fulgores populo ab accessu montis absterrito,
sed patente ad aures circumstantium tranquillitate colloquii: ut per
gratiae lenitatem removeretur legis asperitas, et spiritus
adoptionis auferret formidinem servitutis. |
|
|
II. The
blessedness of humility discussed |
CAP. II.
Humilitatem, quae omnium esse potest, primum esse gradum ad
beatitudinem |
The
nature then of
Christ’s teaching
is attested by His own
holy statements: that
they who wish to arrive at
eternal
blessedness may
understand the steps of ascent to that high
happiness.
Blessed, He says,
are the poor
in spirit, for
theirs is the kingdom of
heaven
(Mat 5:3)
. It would perhaps
be doubtful what poor
He was speaking of, if in saying
blessed are the
poor He had added nothing
which would explain the sort of
poor: and then that
poverty by itself
would appear sufficient to win the
kingdom of heaven
which many suffer from hard and heavy
necessity. But when He says
blessed are the
poor in
spirit,
He shows that the
kingdom of heaven must be
assigned to those who are recommended by the
humility of their
spirits rather
than by the smallness of their means. Yet it cannot be
doubted that this
possession of
humility is more
easily acquired by the
poor than the
rich: for submissiveness is the companion of those that want,
while loftiness of mind
dwells with
riches. Notwithstanding,
even in many of the rich
is found that
spirit which uses its
abundance not for the increasing of its
pride but on works
of kindness, and counts that for the greatest gain which it expends
in the relief of others’ hardships. It is given to every kind and
rank of men
to share in this
virtue, because men
may be equal in
will, though unequal in fortune: and it does not
matter how
different they are in earthly means, who are found equal in
spiritual
possessions. Blessed,
therefore, is poverty
which is not possessed with a
love of temporal
things, and does not seek to be increased with the
riches of the
world, but is eager to amass
heavenly
possessions. |
Qualis igitur doctrina sit Christi sacrae ipsius sententiae
protestantur: ut qui ad aeternam beatitudinem pervenire desiderant,
gradus felicissimae ascensionis agnoscant.
Beati,
inquit,
pauperes spiritu, quoniam ipsorum est regnum coelorum
(Matth. V, 3).
De quibus pauperibus Veritas loqueretur forte esset ambiguum, si
dicens, Beati
pauperes, nihil adderet de intelligenda pauperum
qualitate; et sufficere videretur ad promerendum regnum coelorum
[0461D]
ea sola inopia quam multi sub gravi et dura necessitate patiuntur.
Sed cum dicit,
Beati pauperes
spiritu, ostendit eis regnum coelorum tribuendum quos
humilitas commendat animorum magis quam indigentia
[0462A]
facultatum. Dubitari autem non potest quod humilitatis istius bonum
facilius pauperes quam divites assequantur: dum et illis in
tenuitate amica est mansuetudo, et istis in divitiis familiaris
elatio. Verumtamen et in plerisque divitibus invenitur hic animus
qui abundantia sua
368
non ad tumorem superbiae, sed ad opera benignitatis utatur, idque
pro lucris maximis numeret quod ad relevandam miseriam alieni
laboris impenderit. Omni generi atque ordini hominum datur in hac
virtute consortium, quia possunt esse proposito pares, et impares
censu; nec interest quantum sint in facultate terrena dissimiles,
qui in spiritalibus bonis inveniuntur aequales. Beata igitur illa
paupertas, quae rerum temporalium amore non capitur, nec mundi
opibus augeri appetit,
[0462B]
sed coelestibus bonis ditescere concupiscit. |
|
|
III. Scriptural
examples of humility
|
CAP. III.
Ditissimam potentissimamque apostolorum, Petrique in primis fuisse
paupertatem |
Of this high-souled
humility the
Apostles first
, after the Lord,
have given us example, who, leaving all that they had without
difference at the voice of the
heavenly Master,
were turned by a ready change from the catching of fish to be
fishers of men, and made
many like themselves through the imitation of their
faith, when with those
first-begotten
sons of the Church,
the heart of all was one, and the
spirit one, of
those that believed
(Acts 4:32):
for they, putting away the whole of their things and
possessions, enriched themselves with
eternal goods,
through the most devoted
poverty, and in accordance with the
Apostles’ preaching rejoiced to have nothing of the world and
possess all things with
Christ. Hence the blessed
Apostle Peter,
when he was going up into the
temple, and was asked for
alms by the lame
man, said, Silver and
gold is not mine, but what I have that I give you: in the Name of
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, arise and walk
(Acts 3:6)
. What more
sublime than this
humility? What richer than this
poverty? He has not stores of
money , but he has
gifts of
nature. He whom his mother had brought forth lame from the
womb, is made whole by
Peter with a word; and he
who gave not Cæsar’s
image in a coin, restored
Christ’s image on
the man. And by the
riches of this treasure
not he only was aided whose power of walking was restored, but 5,000
men also, who then
believed at the
Apostle’s
exhortation on account of the wonder of this cure. And that
poor man who had
not what to give to the
asker, bestowed so great a bounty of Divine
Grace, that, as he had set one man straight on his feet, so
he healed these many thousands of
believers in their
hearts, and made them
leap as an hart
in Christ
whom he had found limping in
Jewish unbelief. |
Hujus nobis magnanimae paupertatis exemplum primi post Dominum
apostoli praebuerunt, qui omnia sua sine differentia relinquentes,
ad vocem coelestis magistri, a captura piscium in piscatores hominum
alacri conversione mutati sunt
(Matth. IV,
19),
et multos sui similes fidei suae imitatione fecerunt, quando illis
primitivis Ecclesiae filiis unum cor omnium et anima erat una
credentium
(Act. IV, 32);
qui universis suis rebus possessionibusque distractis, per
devotissimam paupertatem bonis ditabantur aeternis, et ex apostolica
praedicatione gaudebant nihil habere de mundo, et omnia possidere
cum Christo. Hinc beatus Petrus apostolus, cum ascendens in templum
a claudo eleemosyna
[0462C]
posceretur,
Argentum, inquit,
et aurum non est
mihi, quod autem habeo, hoc tibi do: In nomine Jesu
Christi Nazareni surge et ambula
(Act. III, 6).
Quid hac humilitate sublimius? quid hac paupertate locupletius? Non
habet praesidia pecuniae, sed habet dona naturae. Quem debilem
edidit mater ex utero, sanum fecit Petrus ex verbo; et qui imaginem
Caesaris in nummo non dedit, imaginem Christi in homine reformavit.
Hujus autem thesauri opibus non solum ille adjutus est cui gressus
est redditus, sed etiam quinque millia virorum, qui tunc ad
exhortationem Apostoli ob ejusdem curationis miraculum crediderunt
(Act. IV, 4).
Et ille pauper qui non habebat quod petenti daret, tantam dedit
divinae gratiae largitatem, ut quemadmodum unum hominem
redintegrarat in
[0462D]
pedibus, sic tot millia credentium sanaret in cordibus, faceretque
eos in Christo alacres, quos in Judaica perfidia invenerat
claudicantes. |
|
|
IV. The
blessedness of mourning discussed
|
CAP. IV.
Quis luctus iter ad beatitudinem? |
After the assertion of this
most happy
humility, the Lord
has added, saying,
Blessed are they which mourn, for they shall be comforted
(Mat 5:4)
. This mourning,
beloved, to which eternal
comforting is promised, is not the same as the affliction of
this world: nor do those laments which are
poured out in the sorrowings of the whole
human race make
any one blessed. The
reason for holy
groanings, the
cause of
blessed tears, is
very different. Religious
grief mourns sin
either that of others’ or one’s own: nor does it mourn for
that which is wrought by
God’s justice, but it
laments over that which is committed by
man’s iniquity,
where he that does wrong is more to be deplored than he who suffers
it, because the unjust
man’s wrongdoing
plunges him into punishment, but the
just man’s
endurance leads him on to
glory. |
Post praedicationem hujus felicissimae
[0463A]
paupertatis,
369
addidit Dominus, dicens:
Beati qui lugent,
quoniam ipsi consolabuntur
(Matth. V, 5).
Luctus hic, dilectissimi, cui consolatio aeterna promittitur, non
est cum mundi hujus afflictione communis; nec beatum quemquam
faciunt ista lamenta quae totius humani generis deploratione
funduntur. Alia ratio est sanctorum gemituum, alia beatarum causa
lacrymarum. RELIGIOSA tristitia aut alienum peccatum luget aut
proprium; nec de hoc dolet quod divina justitia agitur, sed de eo
moeret quod humana iniquitate committitur; ubi magis plangendus est
faciens maligna quam patiens, quia injustum malitia sua demergit ad
poenam, justum autem tolerantia ducit ad gloriam. |
|
|
V. The
blessedness of the meek |
CAP. V.
Quaenam terra mitibus promissa?- |
Next the
Lord says:
blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the earth by
inheritance. To the meek
and gentle, to the humble
and modest, and to those who are prepared to endure all
injuries, the earth is promised for their
possession. And this is not to be reckoned a small or cheap
inheritance, as if it were distinct from our
heavenly dwelling,
since it is no other than these who are understood to enter the
kingdom of heaven. The earth, then, which is promised to the
meek, and is to be given to the gentle in
possession, is the flesh of the
saints, which in reward for their
humility will be
changed in a happy
resurrection, and clothed with the
glory of
immortality, in nothing now to
act contrary to
the spirit, and to be in
complete unity
and agreement with the
will of the
soul. For then the
outer man will be the peaceful and unblemished
possession of the
inner man: then the mind,
engrossed in beholding
God, will be hampered by no obstacles of
human weakness nor
will it any more have to be said
The body which is corrupted, weighs upon the
soul, and its earthly house presses down the sense which
thinks many things
(Wis 9:15):
for the earth will not struggle against its tenant, and will
not venture on any insubordination against the rule of its governor.
For the meek shall possess it in perpetual peace, and nothing shall
be taken from their
rights, when this
corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall
have put on immortality
(1 Cor
15:53):
that their danger may turn into reward, and what was a burden
become an honour. |
Deinde ait Dominus:
Beati mites,
quoniam
[0463B]
ipsi haereditate possidebunt terram
(Matth. V, 4).
Mitibus atque mansuetis, humilibus ac modestis, et ad omnium
injuriarum tolerantiam praeparatis possidenda terra promittitur. Nec
parva aestimanda est haec aut vilis haereditas, tamquam a coelesti
habitatione discreta sit, cum regnum coelorum non alii intelligantur
intrare. Terra ergo promissa mitibus, et in possessionem danda
mansuetis, caro sanctorum est, quae ob humilitatis meritum felici
resurrectione mutabitur et immortalitatis gloria vestietur, in nullo
jam spiritui futura contraria, et cum voluntate animi perfectae
unitatis habitura consensum. Tunc enim exterior homo interioris
hominis erit quieta et intemerata possessio; tunc mens videndo Deo
intenta nullis corporeae infirmitatis impedietur obstaculis,
[0463C]
nec jam dici necesse erit:
Corpus quod
corrumpitur aggravat animam, et terrena inhabitatio deprimit sensum
multa cogitantem
(Sap. IX, 15):
quoniam habitatori suo non reluctabitur terra, nec immoderatum
aliquid contra imperium sui rectoris audebit. Possidebunt enim illam
mites
370
pace perpetua, et nihil umquam de eorum jure minuetur,
cum corruptibile hoc induerit incorruptionem,
et mortale
hoc induerit
[0464A]
immortalitatem
(I Cor. XV, 53):
ut periculum vertatur in praemium, et quod fuit oneri sit honori. |
|
|
VI. The
blessedness of desiring righteousness |
CAP. VI.
Sitim justitiae aliud nihil esse quam Dei amorem. |
After this the
Lord goes on to
say: blessed are they who
hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be
satisfied
(Mat 5:6)
. It is nothing
bodily, nothing earthly, that this hunger, this thirst seeks for:
but it desires to be satiated with the
good food of
righteousness, and wants to be admitted to all the
deepest mysteries, and be filled with the
Lord Himself.
Happy the
mind that craves
this food and is eager for such drink: which it
certainly would
not seek for if it had never tasted of its sweetness. But hearing
the Prophet’s
spirit saying to
him: taste and see that
the Lord
is sweet
; it has received
some portion of sweetness from on high, and blazed out into
love of the purest
pleasure, so that spurning all things temporal, it is seized with
the utmost eagerness for eating and drinking righteousness, and
grasps the truth
of that first
commandment which says:
You shall love
the Lord
your God
out of all your heart, and out of all your
mind, and out of all your strength
: since to
love God
is nothing else but to
love
righteousness. In fine,
as in that passage the care for one’s neighbour is joined to the
love of
God, so, too, here the
virtue of mercy is
linked to the desire for righteousness, and it is said: |
Post haec addit Dominus et dicit:
Beati qui
esuriunt et sitiunt justitiam, quoniam ipsi saturabuntur
(Matth. V, 6).
Nihil haec esuritio corporeum, nihil expetit sitis ista terrenum;
sed justitiae bono desiderat saturari, et in omnium occultorum
introducta secretum, ipso Domino optat impleri. Felix mens quae hunc
concupiscit cibum, et ad talem aestuat potum; quem utique non
expeteret, si nihil de ejus suavitate gustasset. Audiens autem
dicentem sibi propheticum spiritum:
Gustate et
videte, quoniam suavis est Dominus
(Ps. XXXIII, 9),
accepit quamdam supernae dulcedinis portionem, et in amorem
castissimae voluptatis exarsit, ut spretis omnibus
[0464B]
temporalibus, ad edendam bibendamque justitiam toto accenderetur
affectu, et illius primi mandati apprehenderet veritatem dicentis:
Diliges
Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo, et ex tota mente tua, et ex
tota virtute tua
(Deut. VI, 5; Matth. XXII, 37; Marc. XII, 30;
Luc. X, 27):
quoniam nihil aliud est diligere Deum quam amare justitiam. Denique
sicut illi dilectioni Dei, proximi cura subjungitur, ita et huic
desiderio justitiae virtus misericordiae copulatur, et dicitur: |
|
|
VII. The
blessedness of the merciful |
CAP. VII.
Misericordia hominem Deo similem effici |
Blessed are the merciful, for
God shall have
mercy on them
(Mat 5:7)
.Recognize,
Christian, the worth of your wisdom, and understand to what rewards
you are called, and by what methods of
discipline you
must attain thereto. Mercy wishes you to be merciful, righteousness
to be righteous, that the
Creator may be seen in
His creature, and the image of
God may be
reflected in the mirror of the
human heart
expressed by the lines of imitation. The
faith of those who
do good
is free from anxiety: you shall have all your desires, and
shall obtain without end what you
love. And since through your
almsgiving all
things are pure to you, to that
blessedness also
you shall attain which is promised in consequence where the
Lord says: |
Beati misericordes, quoniam ipsorum miserebitur Deus
(Matth. V, 7).
Agnosce, Christiane, tuae sapientiae dignitatem, et qualium
disciplinarum artibus ad quae praemia voceris intellige.
Misericordem te misericordia, justum vult te esse justitia, ut
[0464C]
in creatura sua Creator appareat, et in speculo cordis humani per
lineas imitationis expressa Dei imago resplendeat. Secura est
operantium fides, aderunt tibi desideria tua, et iis quae amas sine
fine potieris. Et quoniam
371
tibi per eleemosynam omnia munda sunt, ad eam quoque beatitudinem,
quae consequenter est promissa, pervenies, dicente Domino: |
|
|
VIII. The
blessedness of a pure heart |
CAP. VIII.
[0465A]
Cordis oculum mundandum
[0461A]
esse, ut Deus videatur. |
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they shall see
God
(Mat 5:8)
. Great is the
happiness, beloved, of him for whom so great a reward is
prepared. What, then, is it to have the heart pure, but to strive
after those virtues
which are mentioned above? And how great the
blessedness of
seeing God, what
mind can conceive,
what tongue declare? And yet this shall ensue when
man’s nature
is transformed, so that no longer
in a mirror, nor
in a riddle, but
face to face (1 Cor
13:12)
it sees the very
Godhead as He is
(1 Jn 3:2),
which no man could
see ; and through the
unspeakable joy
of eternal
contemplation
obtains that which eye
has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has entered into the heart of
man. Rightly is
this blessedness
promised to purity of heart. |
Beati mundo corde, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt
(Matth. V, 8).
Magna felicitas, dilectissimi, cui tantum praemium praeparatur. Quid
ergo est habere cor mundum, nisi eis quae supra dictae sunt studere
virtutibus? Videre autem Deum quantae sit beatitudinis, quae mens
concipere, quae lingua valeat explicare? Et tamen hoc consequetur,
cum transformabitur humana natura, ut non jam per speculum, neque in
aenigmate, sed facie ad faciem
(I Cor. XIII, 12),
ipsam quam nullus hominum videre potuit
(Joan. I, 18; I Tim. VI,
16),
sicuti est, videat Deitatem: et
quod oculus non
vidit, nec auris audivit, nec in cor hominis ascendit
(Is. LXIV, 4; I Cor. II, 9),
per ineffabile gaudium aeternae contemplationis obtineat. Merito
haec beatitudo cordis promittitur puritati.
[0465B] |
For the brightness of the
true light will
not be able to be seen by the
unclean sight: and
that which will be
happiness to
minds that are
bright and clean, will be a punishment to those that are stained.
|
Splendorem enim veri luminis sordens acies videre non poterit; et
quod erit jucunditas mentibus nitidis, hoc erit poena maculosis. |
Therefore, let the mists of earth’s vanities be shunned, and your
inward eyes purged from all the filth of
wickedness, that the sight may be free to feed on this great
manifestation of God. For
to the attainment of this we understand what follows to lead. |
Declinentur igitur terrenarum caligines vanitatum, et ab omni
squalore iniquitatis oculi tergantur interiores, ut serenus intuitus
tanta Dei visione pascatur. Ad hoc enim promerendum illud
intelligimus pertinere quod sequitur: |
|
|
IX. The
blessedness of peace-making |
CAP. IX.
Quaenam sit vera pax quae hominem Dei fitium efficit. |
Blessed are the peace-makers,
for they shall be called the sons of
God
(Mat 5:9.
This blessedness,
beloved, belongs not to any and every kind of agreement and
harmony, but to that of which the
Apostle speaks:
have peace towards
God ;
and of which the
Prophet David
speaks: Much peace
have they that love
Your law, and they
have no cause
of offenses.
This peace even the
closest ties of
friendship and the
exactest likeness of
mind do not really
gain, if they do not agree with
God’s will.
Similarity of bad desires, leagues in crimes, associations of
vice, cannot merit
this peace. The
love of the world does
not consort with the love
of God, nor does
he enter the alliance of the sons of
God who will not
separate himself from the children of this generation.
Whereas they who are in
mind always with
God, giving
diligence to keep the
unity of the
Spirit in the bond
of peace (Eph 4:3),
never dissent from the
eternal law,
uttering that prayer
of faith,
Your will be done as in
heaven so on earth
(Mat 6:10)
. These are
the peacemakers,
these are thoroughly of one
mind, and fully harmonious, and are to be called sons
of God
and joint-heirs with
Christ (Rom 8:17),
because this shall be the record of the
love of
God and the
love of our
neighbour, that we shall suffer no calamities, be in
fear of no
offense, but all the strife of trial ended, rest in
God’s most
perfect peace,
through our Lord, Who,
with the Father and the
Holy Spirit, lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen. |
Beati pacifici, quoniam filii Dei vocabuntur
(Matth. V, 9).
Beatitudo ista, dilectissimi, non cujuslibet consensionis, nec
qualiscumque concordiae est, sed illius de qua dicit Apostolus:
Pacem habete ad
Deum
(Rom. V, 1; II Cor. XIII, 11):
et de qua dicit propheta David:
Pax multa
diligentibus legem tuam, et non est illis scandalum
(Ps. CXVIII,
[0465C]
16).
Hanc pacem etiam arctissima amicitiarum vincula, et indiscretae
similitudines animorum non veraciter sibi vindicant, si non cum Dei
voluntate concordant. Extra dignitatem hujus pacis sunt improbarum
parilitates cupiditatum, foedera scelerum et pacta vitiorum. Amor
mundi cum Dei amore non congruit, nec ad societatem filiorum Dei
pervenit, qui se a carnali generatione non dividit. Qui autem semper
cum Deo mente sunt
solliciti servare
unitatem spiritus in vinculo pacis
(Ephes. IV, 2),
372
numquam ab aeterna lege dissentiunt, fideli oratione dicentes:
Fiat voluntas tua
sicut in coelo et in terra
(Matth. VI, 10).
Hi sunt pacifici, hi bene unanimes,
[0465D]
sancteque concordes, vocandi aeterno nomine
filii Dei,
cohaeredes autem Christi
(Rom. VIII,
17):
quia
[0466A]
hoc merebitur dilectio Dei et dilectio proximi, ut nullas jam
adversitates sentiat, nulla scandala pertimescat; sed finito omnium
tentationum certamine, in tranquillissima Dei pace requiescat, per
Dominum nostrum, qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto vivit et regnat in
saecula saeculorum. Amen. |