Sermon for the Third Sunday after Pentecost by St. Anthony of Padua.
Sermon for the Third Sunday after Pentecost by St. Anthony of Padua.
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(The Gospel for the third Sunday after Pentecost: The publicans drew near unto Jesus; which is divided into three clauses.)
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[PROLOGUE]
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(First, a sermon for the preacher or prelate of the Church, who should build the wall of the Church and kill the lion in the pit: Banaias the son of Joiada.)
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1. At that time: The publicans and sinners drew near unto Jesus to hear Him, etc. [Lk.15.1] It says in the second book of Kings that Banaias the son of Joiada went down and slew a lion in the midst of a pit, in the time of snow. [2Kg(Sm) 23.20] Banaias means ‘the Lord’s mason’, and he represents the preacher who, with the mortar of the divine word, joins together the living stones, the faithful of the Church, in the unity of the Spirit. Of this mason, the Lord says to Amos: What seest thou, Amos? And I said: A mason’s trowel. And the Lord said: Behold, I will lay down the trowel in the midst of my people. [Am 7.8] A trowel is a flat piece of iron, with which the walls are cemented, fixing the stones together with chalk or clay. This trowel is preaching, which the Lord lays down in the midst of the Christian people, so that it may be common to all; and so that it may spread itself widely over just and sinner alike, joining together those who believe in Christ with the cement of charity. The mason is ‘son of Joiada’, a name that means ‘one who knows or understands’.
The preacher must be a son of knowledge and learning. He must first know what, to whom, and when to preach; and then he must know in himself how to live in accordance with what he preaches. Balaam lacked this knowledge. He said of himself, in the book of Numbers: The man whose eye is stopped up hath said: The hearer of the words of God hath said, who knoweth the doctrine of the Highest, and seeth the visions of the Almighty, who falling hath his eyes opened. [Num 24.15-16]
This is how, in the perverse preacher, the eye of reason is stopped up. Even though by his knowledge he sees the doctrine of the Highest, and the visions of the Almighty, he does not know them by experience. He falls, lacking insight, even though his eyes are open in terms of knowledge. But Banaias the son of Joiada went down from the contemplation of God in order to
instruct his neighbour and kill the lion (the devil, or mortal sin) which is in the pit, the frozen soul of the sinner. He does this ‘in the time of snow’, when the cold of malice and wickedness freezes the minds of sinners, those who in today’s Gospel are spoken of as drawing near to Jesus.
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2. There are three things to note in this Gospel. First, the sinners drawing near to Jesus, while the Pharisees murmured. Second, the finding of the lost sheep. Third, the recovery of the lost coin. Note also that on this Sunday and next, we shall concord with the clauses of the Gospel some stories from the second book of Kings. In the Introit of the Mass we sing: Look upon me and have mercy, O Lord. The Epistle of St Peter is read: Be you humbled under the mighty hand of God; which we will divide into three parts and concord with the three clauses of the Gospel. The first part is: Be you humbled. The second is: Be sober. The third is: But the God of all grace.
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[FIRST CLAUSE]
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(A sermon on converted sinners: There gathered unto David; and on the nature of bees.)
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3. Let us say, then: The publicans and sinners drew near unto Jesus to hear him. And the pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying: This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. [Lk 15.1-2] Regarding this, it says in the first book of Kings that: All that were in distress and oppressed with debt, and under affliction of mind, gathered themselves unto David. And he became their prince. [1Kg(Sm) 22.2]
Note these three: in distress, oppressed with debt, under affliction of mind. David is Christ, to Whom sinners must draw near when they are in distress from the devil’s temptation or from carnal desire; or when they are oppressed by the debt of mortal sin they owe to the devil. When they are afflicted in mind, having bitter sorrow for their sins, Christ Himself will be their Prince. A prince is one who takes first place. Christ forestalls the devil in regard to the death of sinners, rescuing their souls and bearing them away to heaven. It is right, then, that publicans and sinners drew near unto Jesus . etc.
Note these four: ‘drew near’, ‘to hear’, ‘receiveth’, ‘eateth’. These refer, respectively, to contrition of heart, to full and entire confession and satisfaction, to the reconciliation of the sinner with the Divine Mercy, and to the refreshment of eternal glory. Someone draws near to Jesus when he is sorry for his sins; as Genesis says: Then Juda coming nearer said boldly: I beseech thee, my lord, let thy servant speak a word in thy ears, and be not angry with thy servant. [Gen 44.18] Juda (‘confessing’) stands for the penitent who draws near in contrition of heart, and trusting in the mercy of God confidently makes his confession into the ears of his confessor. He hears Jesus, when he tries in every way to make amends. Job says: With the hearing of the ear I have heard thee: but now my eye seeth thee. Therefore I reprehend myself, and do penance in dust and ashes. [Job 42.5-6]
Jesus receives sinners when He pours upon them the grace of reconciliation. Luke says: His father running to him fell upon his son’s neck and kissed him. [Lk 15.20] The father’s kiss signifies the grace of divine reconciliation. Again, Jesus eats with penitents, and He will satisfy them with his glory in rest and riches.
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4. There is a concordance to these four in the second book of Kings: Then came all the tribes of Israel to David in Hebron, saying: Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. [2Kg(Sm) 5.1]
‘Tribe’ suggests ‘tribute’, or it may derive from the fact that Romulus originally made a three-fold division of the people into senators, soldiers and common people. ‘All the tribes of Israel’
represent the gathering of all penitents, who every day offer the Lord their tribute of duty and service. They are divided into three classes: the ‘senators’ are the contemplatives; the ‘soldiers’ are the preachers; and the ‘common people’ are those who are active in the world. All these should turn with one mind to David, Jesus Christ, in Hebron (which means, ‘my marriage’); that is to say, in contrition of heart wherein the grace of the Holy Spirit is joined to the soul that is sorry for sin, as bridegroom to bride. From this marriage is born the heir of eternal life. Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh, they say. That is how penitents should speak to Christ: "Have mercy on us, forgive our sins, for we are Thy flesh and bone. It was for us men that Thou becamest man, to redeem us. Thou learnedst to be merciful by the things which Thou suffered [cf. Heb 5.8]. We cannot say to an angel, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh; only to Thee, O God, O Son of God, Who took not hold of angels, but of the seed of Abraham [Heb 2.16], can we say, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. Have mercy, then, upon your bone and your flesh.
Whoever hated his own flesh? [Eph 5.29]. Thou art our Brother and our flesh [Gen 37.27], and so Thou art bound to have pity, and feel for the miseries of Thy brothers. Thou and we have the
same Father, Thou by nature and we by grace. Thou Who art powerful in our Father’s house, do not deprive us of that holy heritage, because we are Thy bone and Thy flesh. The children of
Israel carried Joseph’s bones from Egypt into the land of promise [cf. Jos 24.32], so dost Thou carry us, Thy bones, from this Egyptian shadowland into the land of blessedness, for we are Thy
bone and Thy flesh." Good words, then: The publicans and sinners drew near unto Jesus. Penitents must behave like the bees. Natural History1 says that when their king flies out of the hive, the other bees accompany him with a great retinue, he in the middle and they all around. When their king cannot fly, the swarm of bees carries him; and when he dies, they die too. Jesus Christ our King flew from the hive, the Father’s side. Like good bees, we should follow Him, and fly with Him, and set Him in our midst; that is, we should have His faith in our hearts, and we should reinforce it with a great retinue of virtues. If, in any of His members, he falls into sin, we should raise him up again by prayer and preaching. We should die with Him Who died upon the cross, crucifying our flesh with its vices and concupiscences [cf. Gal 5.24]. It says rightly that the publicans and sinners drew near to Jesus.
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(A sermon on the Annunciation of holy Mary: King David arose and sat in the gate.)
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5. There follows: To hear him. There is a concordance to this in the second book of Kings, where it says that: King David arose and sat in the gate: and it was told to all the people that the king sat in the gate. And all the people came before the king. [2Kg(Sm) 19.8] Jesus Christ, the King of kings, our David, ‘arose’ when He went out from the Father’s side, and ‘sat in the gate’ when He humbled Himself in the blessed Virgin Mary. Of her Ezekiel says: This gate shall be shut. It shall not be opened and no one shall pass through it: because the Lord the God of Israel hath entered in by it; and it shall be shut for the prince. The Prince himself shall sit in it, to eat bread before the Lord. [Ezek 44.2-3] Note that it is shut for the prince; and the prince shall sit in it. She was closed to the prince of this world, the devil, because her mind was not open to any temptation of his; and only Christ the Prince sat in her, by His humility in taking her flesh, so as to eat bread before the Lord, that is, to do the Lord’s will: My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, He said [Jn 4.34]. And it was told to all the people by the apostles that the King sat in the gate, that is, that he had taken flesh of blessed Mary. And so the whole multitude of penitents and faithful comes before the King, ready to obey His commands in and through everything.
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(On the reconciliation of the sinner with God: Absalom was called for; and he went in to
the king.)
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6. There follows: And the pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, etc. They make two mistakes. They think themselves just, although they are proud; and they think others guilty, although they are already penitent. This man receiveth sinners. There is a concordance to this in the second book of Kings, where it says: And Absalom was called for; and he went in to the king, and prostrated himself on the ground before him: and the king kissed Absalom. [2Kg(Sm) 14.33] Absalom (‘the father’s peace’) stands in this passage for the penitent, who by penitence makes peace with God the Father, Whom he has offended by sinning. Called by contrition of heart, he goes in to the King by confession, and prostrates himself on the ground before Him by satisfaction, afflicting his mortal clay and reckoning himself vile and unworthy. He does this before the King, not before men; and so the King receives the penitent as his son, by the kiss of reconciliation. The converted sinner speaks of this reception in the Introit of today’s Mass:
Look thou upon me, O Lord, and have mercy on me: for I am alone and poor.
See my abjection and labour: and forgive me all my sins, O my God. [Ps 24.16,18]
Look upon me with the merciful Eye that looked on Peter; and have mercy on my by forgiving my
sins. I am alone, and Thou art my one and only Friend. I am poor and empty, that Thou mayest fill my emptiness. See my abjection in my confession, and my labour in satisfaction; and forgive all my
sins, my God.
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(On the same: Mephiboseth ate at David’s table.)
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7. There follows: And eateth with them. There is a concordance to this in the second book of Kings, where it says that: Mephiboseth ate at David’s table, as one of the sons of the king... and he dwelt in Jerusalem, because he ate always of the king’s table. [2Kg(Sm) 9.11,13] Mephiboseth means ‘man of shame’, and he here represents the penitent, who is ashamed of his sins. His shame brings him glory, since he will dwell in the heavenly Jerusalem and eat at the king’s table, as one of the holy apostles to whom the Lord says in the Gospel: I dispose to you, as my Father hath disposed to Me, a kingdom: that you may eat and drink at My table, in the kingdom of heaven. [Lk 22.29-30]
The first part of today’s Epistle is concordant to this clause of the holy Gospel, wherein Peter speaks to converted sinners: Be ye humbled under the mighty Hand of God, that He may exalt you in the time of visitation; casting all your care on Him, for He hath care for you. [1Pt 5.6-7] Humble yourselves under the mighty Hand of God, Who puts down the mighty and exalts the humble
[cf. Lk 1.52], so that He may exalt you to that heavenly table in the time of His visitation, that is, of death or of the final judgement. Cast all your care on Him, because He cares more about your salvation than you do yourself: He made us, and not we ourselves [Ps 99.3].
Let us ask, then, dearest brothers, our Lord Jesus Christ to make us sinners draw near to Him
and hear Him; graciously to receive us, and feed us with Him at the table of eternal life. May He
grant this, Who is blessed for ever and ever. Amen.
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[SECOND CLAUSE]
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(A sermon on baptismal innocence: What man of you.)
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8. There follows, secondly: And he spoke to them this parable, saying: What man of you that hath a hundred sheep, and if he shall lose one of them, doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the desert, and go after that which was lost, until he find it? etc. [Lk 15.3-4]
In the two parables of this Gospel, our Lord Jesus Christ taught the sinners who drew near him how what was lost might be restored, how what was restored might be kept safe, and how they might do penance for what they had done. We must now see what is the moral significance of the man, and the lost sheep carried upon the shoulders. The man represents any penitent who walks according to the new man, and who considers himself as dust. He has a hundred sheep, a hundred being the number of perfection. The hundred sheep stand for the gifts of grace and nature which perfect a man, to the measure of perfection this life allows. The gifts of grace and nature may well be called ‘sheep’, because just as sheep are simple, innocent and quiet animals, so the gifts of grace and nature make a man simple and straightforward towards his neighbour, innocent as regards himself, and quiet before God.
If he shall lose one of them, doth he not leave, etc. The lost sheep stands for a man’s first innocence, which was conferred in Baptism. This innocence is represented by the two things given to the baptized by the priest, the white robe and the lighted candle. The white robe stands for innocence, the light for the example of a good life. In these two, every man’s innocence consists; this is the simple, harmless sheep. A man loses this sheep when he soils his baptismal robe and blows out the light of his candle. A man should grieve greatly, then, when he loses this sheep.
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(On grief and sorrow for its loss and restoration: David made this lamentation.)
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9. There is a concordance to the loss of this sheep, and the sorrow for its loss, in the second
book of Kings: David made this kind of lamentation over Saul, and over Jonathan, his son:
Ye mountains of Gelboe, let neither dew, nor rain come upon you: neither be they fields of first-fruits. For there was cast away the shield of the valiant, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil. [2Kg(Sm) 1.17,21] Like the man, David stands for the penitent, who should weep for Saul and Jonathan, for the little lost sheep, for first innocence lost. Saul means ‘anointed’, and he represents baptismal innocence, given with the anointing with chrism. Jonathan means ‘gift of the dove’, and he stands for the grace of the Holy Spirit, conferred in Baptism. Because the man has lost these two, he should make this kind of lamentation: Ye mountains of Gelboe, etc. Gelboe means ‘fall,
or flood, of rain’, and it represents pride, which ‘falls’ because ‘pride has a fall’; and the flood of
riches which heap up like stones in God’s orchard. No dew, no rain, no first-fruits are found on
these mountains. Dew, rain and first-fruits stand for contrition, confession and satisfaction.
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(A sermon on contrition: If there be dew on the fleece only.)
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The dew of contrition is referred to in the book of Judges, where Gideon says: If there be dew on the fleece only, and it be dry on all the ground beside, I shall know that by my hand thou wilt deliver Israel. And it was so. And rising before day, wringing the fleece, he filled a vessel with the dew. [Jg 6.37-38]
It is a sign of Israel’s deliverance (our soul’s), if the dew (the grace of compunction) is on the
fleece (our heart); while on the ground beside (our body) there is a drying up of vices. We should rise up in the night of this our exile, spirit and body together, to do works of penance. We should wring out the fleece of our heart with love of glory and fear of hell, as with two hands, and fill the bowl of our eyes with the water of compunction, springing up to eternal life [cf. Jn 4.14].
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(On confession: I will give you rain.)
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The Lord speaks of the rain of confession in Leviticus: I will give you rain in due seasons, and the ground shall bring forth its increase: and the trees shall be filled with fruit. The threshing of your harvest shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time; and you shall eat your bread to the full.[Lev 26.3-5]
When the Lord gives the penitent rain, that is, a full confession, he will bring for an increase that
is his own, not another’s. This increase is the beginning of good works, which he brings forth by
the rain of confession. And the trees shall be filled with fruit. Strong and fruitful, the trees are the
minds of penitents, strong with the firm intention of not falling again. They are fertile and full of
virtues. The threshing of you harvest, when you afflict your flesh, shall reach unto the vintage,
heartfelt joy, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time, eternal life, in which we shall eat
bread to the full, according to the words: I shall be satisfied when thy glory shall appear [Ps16.15]. See how much good confession does!
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(On satisfaction: Abraham planted a grove.)
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Regarding the field of satisfaction, Genesis says: Abraham planted a grove in Bersabee, and there called upon the name of the Lord God eternal. And he was a sojourner in the land of the Philistines many days. [Gen 21.33-34]
Note these three things: he planted, he called, he sojourned. Abraham is the just man, who plants in his mind (Bersabee, ‘well of fullness’) the mysterious grove of charity, whereby we love God and our neighbour. The just man’s mind is called a ‘well’ on account of its humility, and ‘of fullness’ because of the sweetness of contemplation. And there he called upon the name of the Lord God eternal. The name of the eternal God is Jesus, which means ‘Saviour’. The just man calls on the name of the Saviour, that He may bestow salvation and keep it for ever. And he was a sojourner in the land of the Philistines. ‘Philistines’, as has often been said, means ‘falling from drink’. They stand for the five senses of the body which, when drunk with worldly vanity, fall into sin. The land of these Philistines is the body, which is ruled by the five senses. The just man must be a sojourner in this land, tilling it with vigils and fastings, with sorrow and labour, so that it produces the first-fruits. So these words are apt: Ye mountains of Gelboe, let neither dew, nor rain come upon you: neither be they fields of first-fruits. Upon the heights of pride, and in the abundance of temporal things, there is not found the dew of compunction, nor the rain of confession, nor the fields of first-fruits of satisfaction. Rather, there is cast away the shield of the mighty, the shield of Saul. The shield is faith, as the Apostle says:
Taking the shield of faith, wherewith you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most
wicked one.[Eph 6.16]
Faith casts away temporal things, because it utterly perishes in their abundance. Just men are always able to fight bravely with this shield; as it says in the book of Josue, where the Lord says to Josue:
Lift up the shield that is in thy hand towards the city of Hai, for I will deliver it to thee. And when
he had lifted up his shield towards the city, the ambush that lay hid rose up immediately, and
going to the city, took it and set it on fire. [Jos 8.18-19]
The shield in the hand is faith shown in deeds, and when we lift it up from earthly things, ‘Hai’
(‘heap of stones’, the abundance of temporal things) is taken and set on fire. It is taken, so as to be scattered to the poor; it is set on fire, when in fervour of spirit it is reckoned as dust and ashes. A man lifts up the shield in his hand against Hai, when he reinforces faith with deeds, whereby he destroys the pride and wealth of the world by despising them. So it is well said: For there was cast away the shield of the valiant, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil. The proud and the avaricious cast away the faith of Jesus Christ and the grace of Baptism, with which they have been anointed, onto the rubbish-tip of riches, as they seek those temporal things. It is well said: Doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the desert, and go after that which was lost, until he find it? He should leave everything, put away everything, weep over the mountains of Gelboe, lament the pride and wealth of temporal things, wherein he has lost his little sheep, stripped himself of the robe of innocence, put out the candle of good example; and he should persevere in tears, vigils and fasting until he find it.
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(A sermon on the penitent: Issachar shall be a strong ass.)
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10. And when he hath found it, [doth he not] lay it upon his shoulders, rejoicing, and coming home, call together his friends and neighbours, saying to them: Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost? [Lk 15.5-6]
Shoulders represent the labour of penance; as Genesis says: Issachar shall be a strong ass lying down in the borders. He saw rest that it was good: and the land that it was excellent. And he bowed his shoulder to carry. [Gen 49.14-15] Issachar means ‘reward’, the penitent who labours only for the wage of an eternal reward. He is called ‘a strong ass’, who bears great troubles for Christ, ‘lying down in the borders’. The two borders are the beginning and end of life, and the penitent lives between them as he attentively considers his beginning and his end. Carnal folk live not ‘in the borders’, but ‘between the borders’, of which Debora says in the book of Judges: Why dwellest thou between two borders, that thou mayest hear the bleatings of the flocks? [Jg 5.16]. He dwells ‘between the borders’ when he pays no attention to his unhappy beginning or his wretched end, but is a slave to the pleasures of his own body. In this way he ‘hears the bleatings of the flock’, the subtle and sweet
persuasion of the five senses. Sensuality seems to have the voice of the flock, though its suggestions are more like the hissing of serpents, pretending to the innocence of the flock, though they conceal the cunning of a wolf; and they inject the serpent’s poison into the soul. This Issachar sees, with the eye of faith and with the insight of contemplation, the rest of eternal blessedness that it is good, and the land of eternal fulfilment that it is excellent. And so, rejoicing, he bows his shoulder to carry the little sheep that he had lost. And coming home, to his own conscience, he calls together his friends and neighbours, the rational affections that are his true friends and neighbours, and rejoices with them, saying: Rejoice with me, etc. When innocence is re-established, grace is restored. No wonder there is joy between a man and his conscience, when there is joy among God and the angels of heaven!
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(On the joy of God and the angels over the converted sinner: I say to you that there is joy.)
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11. I say to you, that even so there shall be joy in heaven upon one sinner that doth penance, more than upon ninety-nine just who do not need penance. [Lk 15.7]
I, the Word of the Father, say to you that there is joy in heaven over one sinner doing penance and recovering his innocence. In the same Gospel the Lord says of this joy: Bring forth quickly the first robe and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet... It is fit that we should feast and make merry, because this my son was dead and is come to life again, was lost and is found. [Lk 15.22,24]
The ‘first robe’ is baptismal innocence, the ‘ring’ is a well-formed faith, the signet which enlightens the soul; the ‘shoes’ are mortification of the flesh, abhorrence of sin and contempt of the world. These are given to the penitent son, over whose repentance there is more joy in heaven than over ninety-nine just. This means luke-warm souls who think they are just; hence Ecclesiastes says: Be not over just [Eccles 7.17].
The second part of the Epistle is concordant to this second clause: Be sober and watch in prayer, because your adversary, etc. [1Pt 5.8] First he says, Be sober, and then, Watch. Be sober, without drunkenness, because if you are under its influence you cannot keep watch. Soberness and watchfulness are necessary, because our adversary the devil is like a lion going about looking for the little sheep, to eat it. We must resist him in the faith we have received in Baptism; and we must keep our innocence, so as to come with the truly penitent to the joy of the angels. May he grant this, who rescued that lost sheep Adam, with all his posterity, from the maw of that wolf the devil. He carried it home, rejoicing, on his own shoulders which were fastened to the cross, home to eternal bliss. Even the angels rejoiced over this recovery. They rejoice that man is reconciled with them. May that set us on fire for uprightness, so that we may do what pleases them, whose patronage we should desire and whom we should fear to offend. May he bring us to their fellowship, he to whom be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
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[THIRD CLAUSE]
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(A sermon on the penitent soul, her confession and mortification of the flesh: When the woman of Thecua was come in to the king.)
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12. There follows, thirdly: Or what woman having ten groats, if she lose one groat, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house and seek diligently until she find it? etc. [Lk 15.8]
A moral interpretation. This woman represents the soul, regarding which there is a concordance in the second book of Kings: When the woman of Thecua was come in to the king, she fell before him upon the ground, and worshipped, and said: Save me, O king. And the king said to her: What is the matter with thee? She answered: Alas, I am a widow woman; for my husband is dead. And thy handmaid had two sons: and they quarrelled with each other in the field, and there was none to part them. And the one struck the other, and slew him. And behold, the whole kindred rising against thy handmaid saith: Deliver him that hath slain his brother, that we may kill him for the life of his brother, whom he slew, and that we may destroy the heir. And they seek to quench my spark that is left.
[2Kg(Sm) 14.4-7]
Let us see what is meant by the king, the woman of Thecua and her husband, the two sons and their quarrel, the death of the one, the kindred and the spark. The king is Christ, the woman of Thecua is the soul, her dead husband is the world. The two sons are reason and sensuality, and the quarrel is the disharmony between them. The death of the one is the mortification of the carnal appetite, the kindred are the basic instincts, and the spark is the light of reason. So: When the woman of Thecua was come in to the king, she fell before him, etc. Thecua means ‘trumpet’. The Thecuite woman is the penitent soul, whose trumpet of confession sounds sweetly in her Creator’s ear. Note that in the Old Testament the trumpet sounds for three things: for battle, for banquets and for festivals [cf. Num 10.8-10]. The trumpet of confession summons us to do battle against the demons, for when the devil is despised in confession, he rises in rage. It calls us to the banquet of penance, and to the festival of glory.
Note these three: she went in to the king, she fell before him, and she worshipped. The king is Christ, Who rules the nations with a rod of iron [Ps 2.9], with inflexible justice. To him, the soul goes in by hope, falls before him by humility, and worships him by faith. She says, Save me, O king. Alas, I am a widow woman, etc. Note these three: Alas, woman, and widow. She says, ‘Alas!’ because she is sorry for sin; ‘woman’, because she is weak and frail; ‘widow’, because she is bereft of all human help; so she says, Save me, O king, sorrowful, frail and destitute. Save me, because I am your servant. Save me, because my husband is dead. The husband of the penitent soul was the world, which now was dead to her, as she was dead to the world. As the Apostle says: The world is dead to me, and I to the world [Gal 6.14].
There follows: And thy handmaid had two sons: and they quarrelled, etc. The two sons of the soul are its two parts, higher and lower, reason and sensuality, between which there is the greatest quarrel, since the spirit lusteth after the flesh, and the flesh against the spirit [Gal 5.17].
Regarding this quarrel, Moses says in Genesis: There arose a strife between the herdsmen of Abraham and Lot. Abraham therefore said to Lot: Let there be no quarrel, I beseech thee, between me and thee, and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen: for we are brethren. Behold, the whole land is before thee: depart from me I pray thee. If thou wilt go to the left hand, I will take the right: if thou choose the right hand, I will pass to the left. [Gen 13.7-9]
Abraham represents reason, and Lot sensuality. The herdsmen of the flocks are the affections and movements of each, between which there is daily strife. But Abraham said, Let there be no quarrel, I beseech thee, between me and thee. Thus does reason chastise sensuality, wanting to pacify it. It says, we are brethren, do not fight against me, do not pick a quarrel. Behold, the whole land is before thee, that you may live according to your need, not for the sake of pleasure. Use what is lawful; live discreetly, because the Lord has given the earth to the children of men [Ps 113.16], not to the offspring of beasts. But because I see that your imagination and thought are prone to evil from your youth [cf. Gen 8.21], therefore I pray you to depart from me, because two opposites cannot live together. What fellowship hath light with darkness? What part hath the faithful with the unbeliever? [2Cor 6.14,15]. Depart from me, then, I pray; because if you do not depart, I am afraid your company will shape my behaviour. "One grape can develop mould at the sight of another"; and, "A bad companion will pass on his scabs and sores to his innocent and simple friend," says the Philosopher2. Depart from me, then, I pray: If thou wilt go to the left hand, etc. Note that what is left to the flesh is right to the spirit, and what is right to the spirit is left to the flesh. This was signified in the disposition of Christ’s body on the cross. His right hand was towards the north, and his left towards the south, implying opposition. What we reckon on the left, was on the right to him; and temporal prosperity, signified by the south, and on the right for us, was on the left to him. So the words are apt: And thy handmaid had two sons: and they quarrelled with each other in the field, and there was none to part them. There follows: And the one struck the other, and slew him. If he had departed from his brother, he would not have been killed. In this way, the just man who uses his reason should reprehend and kill the carnal appetite. There is a concordance to this in the second book of Kings, where it says that David, calling one of his servants, said: Go near and fall upon him. And he struck him so that he died. And David said to him: Thy blood be upon thy own head. For thy own mouth hath spoken against thee, saying: I have slain the Lord’s anointed. [2Kg(Sm) 1.15-16]
David is the just man, and the just man’s servants are the pure affections of reason, by whose unity he should kill the carnal appetite which, a little earlier, had slain the Lord’s anointed: that is, the soul anointed with the blood of Jesus Christ.
There follows: And behold, the whole kindred rising, etc. The depraved and perverse kindred are the basic instincts which are joined by kinship of blood with the sensuality of the flesh. When they see their kinsman, carnal appetite, being mortified by reason with discreet severity, they rise up daily all together, wanting to avenge the injury to their kinsman, and put out the spark of reason. So the Thecuite woman cries to the king: Save me, O king, because they seek to quench my spark that is left. A spark is subtle, agile and burning. The spark is the reason, subtle in discernment, agile in forestalling the devil’s temptations, and setting the mind afire with divine love. The basic instincts, that stupid and foolish kindred, try to put out that spark with the water of carnal concupiscence. She says, that is left, because after all vices have been committed, there is always a spark of reason left to the soul, to sting it and reproach it for its sins.
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(On the drachma and its parts, and what they mean: If she shall lose one groat.)
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13. Let us say, then, of this woman: Or what woman having ten groats. The ‘groat’ is the drachma, which according to the Gloss was a coin of a certain value, having the king’s image on it. Now a ‘drachma’ is a quarter of a stater; whereas ‘drama’, without the ‘ch’, is a kind of song, as in the anthem which speaks of "sweet songs of drama."3 Alternatively, a ‘drachma’ is an eighth of an ounce. The ‘ounce’ is so called because ‘at once’ it embraces all coins. It consists of eight drachmas, or twenty-four scruples. This is held to be a lawful weight, because the number of scruples equals the number of hours in a day and a night. The scruple weighs six beans, that is to say, six bean-seeds. The bean holds four grains of barley; that is to say, each bean seed weighs the same as four grains of barley.
The ‘ounce’ stands for Jesus Christ, who, being one with the Father and the Holy Spirit, embraces the universe of all created things in his unity. All creatures are, as it were, the centre of a sphere, while he is the circumference which encloses and encircles all things. So Ecclesiasticus says: I alone have compassed the circuit of heaven. [Ecclus 24.8]
The drachma, the eighth part of an ounce, stands for blessed Mary, who already possesses, and to a far greater extent, both in body and in soul, that bliss which all the saints are to have in the Octave of the resurrection. The twenty-four scruples are the twelve apostles, of whom the Lord said: Are there not twelve hours of the day? [Jn 11.9]. The ‘day’ is Christ; the ‘twelve hours’ are the twelve apostles, who, on account of their perfection and their strengthening by the Holy Spirit, are given a double number. Like scruples, the least of all coins, they were despised in the world; and they do not cease from guarding the Church, which they founded with their blood, day and night, as if for twenty-four hours. The six beans represent all the martyrs and holy confessors, on account of the perfection of their good works (which we so signify not because of the beans, but of the number six, which is a perfect number). The four grains of barley, the food of cattle, stand for all the faithful of the Church, who like animals are fed with the teaching of the four Evangelists. See how exact is the order: The ounce contains drachmas and scruples; the scruples contain beans, and the beans contain grains of barley. So from Christ are descended blessed Mary and the apostles; from the apostles, the martyrs and confessors, and from them all the faithful of the Church. This word ‘drachma’ has chanced to lead us a little away from our point; so let us return to the matter in hand (from which we have not really digressed).
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(A sermon on how the devil kills in us charity towards God and neighbour: Joab the son of Sarvia.)
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14. Or what woman having ten groats? The ten groats stand for the ten precepts of the Law, which the woman (the soul) has received from the Lord to keep; and if she had kept them, they would indeed remain. Whence the Lord answered the man who asked what he should do to obtain eternal life: If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments [Mt 19.17]. Keeping the commandments is the way in to eternal life; but since charity has grown cold and iniquity has abounded [cf. Mt 24.12], there follows: if she lose one groat. She loses the groat by losing charity, in which is the image of the supreme king, and without which no one can attain the octave-day of bliss. As to how this groat may be lost, there is a concordance in the second book of Kings, where it tells how Abner the son of Sarvia killed two chiefs of the army of Israel, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Gether. This is how he killed Abner: Joab took him aside to the middle of the gate, to speak to him treacherously. And he stabbed him there in the groin, and he died... And when David heard of it... he said: Let there not fail from the house of Joab one that hath an issue of seed, or that is a leper, or that holdeth the distaff, or that falleth by the sword, or that wanteth bread. [2Kg(Sm) 3.27-29]
And this is how he killed Amasa: Joab had on a close coat of equal length with his habit; and over it was girded with a sword hanging down to his flank, in a scabbard, made in such a manner as to come out with the least motion and strike. And Joab said to Amasa: God save thee, my brother. And he took Amasa by the chin with his right hand to kiss him. But Amasa did not take notice of the sword, which Joab had: and he struck him in the side, and gave him not a second wound.[2Kg(Sm) 20.8-10]
These two chiefs, Abner and Amasa, stand for the two precepts of charity, towards God and towards our neighbour. Abner (‘lamp of the father’) stands for the love of God, by which we who sit in darkness are illuminated. Amasa (‘lifting up the people’) stand for love of neighbour, which lifts him up in his need. Joab (meaning ‘enemy’, the devil our adversary) kills in us these two precepts, like this: first the love of God, then the love of neighbour.
Joab took Abner aside to the middle of the gate, etc. Note these three: the middle of the gate, treacherously, in the groin. The devil, to kill the love of God in us, first takes us to the middle of the gate. The gate is the entrance and exit of our life, and its middle is the vanity of the world. The devil leads us not to the gate, but to the middle, because he blinds the sinner from considering the wretched beginning and end of his life, as he attends to false vanity. Here, speaking deceitfully to him by promising him temporal things, he strikes him in the groin, in the pleasure of the flesh; and so the soul dies and the love of God is lost.
Then he killed Amasa: Joab had on a close coat, etc. The devil’s close coat is all perverse folk with whom he clothes himself, binding them to him in equal measure to his garment, as he tries to make their malice equal to his own. The sword in the scabbard is the devil’s suggestion in the mind of the wicked. And because the devil is accustomed to kill love of neighbour by flattery and lies, there follows: Joab said to Amasa: God save thee, my brother. And he took him with his right hand, etc. The Gloss says, "To take the chin in the right hand is as it were to speak soft and fair; but to put the left hand on his sword is to strike secretly, from malice." Ecclesiasticus says: An enemy speaketh sweetly with his lips: but in his heart he lieth in wait to throw thee into a pit. [Ecclus 12.15]
To fall into a pit is the same as to lose the groat of charity; and it was this loss that prompted the curse: Let there not fail from the house of Joab one that hath an issue of seed, etc.
Note these five: the issue of seed, leprosy, holding the distaff, falling by the sword, and wanting bread. The devil’s household are all those wicked folk who have no love for God or neighbour. They always suffer an issue of seed, a flood of various desires and lust. They become lepers, disfigured by all kinds of error; they hold the distaff, an abundance of temporal things, and then they fall into hell, struck by the sword of divine vengeance, where they will be tortured eternally with hunger and thirst. That is how the coin of charity is lost; but let us see how it is found again.
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(On the four things that are in a lamp, and their meaning: Doth she not light.)
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15. There follows: Doth she not light a lamp? A lamp has four parts: the earthenware bowl, the coarse linen wick, the soothing oil and the fire that gives light. The earthenware is a reminder of our frailty, the rough wick is penitence, the oil is pity for our neighbour and the fire is the love of God. Blessed is that soul which prepares such a lamp for herself, to find the lost coin. With such a lamp she may turn out the corners of her conscience and diligently seek the lost coin of charity until she finds it.
The third part of the Epistle is concordant to this third clause: But the God of all grace, Who hath called us unto his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little, will Himself perfect you, and confirm you, and establish you. [1Pt 5.10] From God the Father comes down all the grace that works, co-operates and fulfils. Through Jesus Christ His Son, Who has diligently sought and found us, like a lost coin, with the clay of our humanity and the light of His divinity, He has called us to eternal glory. When we have suffered a little in this world, He will perfect us with the double glorification of soul and body, He will confirm us in the eternal vision of Him, and He will establish us in the blessed company of the Church Triumphant.
Let us then, dearest brothers, ask our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us, after the example of that holy woman, the penitent soul, to prepare a lamp by remembering our frailty, and with the wick of penance; to light the oil of mercy with the fire of divine charity, and with it turn out the corners of our conscience and diligently seek the long-lost coin of two-fold charity. When it is found, may we be found fit to come to Him who is charity. May He grant this, to Whom be honour and glory, dignity and power, for ever and ever. Let every created thing say: Amen. Alleluia.
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Notes.
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1 cf. ARISTOTLE, De historia animalium, IX,40, 624a26-33
2 JUVENAL, Satura 2,82; SENECA, Epistola 7
3 "Ante torum huius Virginis frequentate nobis dulcia cantica dramatis"; BREVIARIUM
ROMANUM, Commune Festorum b.M.V., ad Matutinum, I nocturno antiphona 3