Forty Homilies on the Gospels
Forty Homilies on the Gospels
continued
Homily 9
Delivered to the people in the basilica of Saint Sylvester, on the day of his birth.
Reading from the Holy Gospel According to Matthew
At that time, Jesus told his disciples this parable: A certain man going on a journey called his servants and handed over his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability, and he departed immediately. Now he who had received five talents went and worked with them, and gained another five. Likewise he who had received two gained another two. But he who had received one went away and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. Now after a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received five talents came forward and offered another five talents, saying: Lord, you handed over five talents to me; behold, I have gained five more. His lord said to him: Well done, good and faithful servant; because you have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things; enter into the joy of your lord. And he who had received two talents came forward and said: Lord, you handed over two talents to me; behold, I have gained two more. His lord said to him: Well done, good and faithful servant; because you have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things; enter into the joy of your lord. And he who had received one talent came forward and said:
Lord, I know that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter; and being afraid I went away and hid your talent in the ground; behold, you have what is yours. But his lord answered and said to him: Wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter; therefore you ought to have given my money to the bankers, and when I came I would have received what is mine with interest. Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken away. And cast the useless servant into the outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The reading of the holy Gospel, dearest brothers, urges us to consider carefully, lest we who appear to have received something more than others in this world from the Author of the world be judged more severely on that account. For when gifts are increased, the accounts of those gifts also grow. Therefore, everyone ought to be more humble and more ready to serve in proportion to their gift, the more they see themselves obligated in rendering an account. Behold, a man going on a journey calls his servants and distributes talents to them for business.
After a long time he returns to settle accounts, rewards those who worked well for the profit they brought, but condemns the servant who was idle from good work. Who then is this man who goes on a journey, if not our Redeemer, who departed into heaven in the flesh which he had assumed? For the proper place of flesh is earth, which is led as if to foreign lands when it is placed in heaven through our Redeemer. But this man going abroad handed over his goods to his servants, because he granted spiritual gifts to his faithful ones. And to one indeed he entrusted five talents, to another two, and to another one. For there are five senses of the body, namely sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. By five talents, therefore, is expressed the gift of the five senses, that is, knowledge of external things. By two is designated understanding and action. By the term of one talent is designated understanding alone. But he who had received five talents gained another five, because there are some who, although they do not know how to penetrate internal and mystical things, nevertheless for the sake of their intention toward the heavenly homeland teach right things to those they can from those very external things they have received; and while they guard themselves from the wantonness of the flesh and from the pursuit of earthly things and from the pleasure of visible things, they also restrain others from these by admonishing them.
And there are some who, as if enriched with two talents, receive understanding and action, understand subtle things about internal matters, work wonders in external things; and when by both understanding and working they preach to others, they bring back, as it were, a doubled profit from their business. Moreover, it is rightly reported that another five or another two came as profit, because when preaching is expended on both sexes, the talents received are, as it were, doubled. But he who had received one talent went away, dug in the earth, and hid his lord's money. To hide the talent in the earth is to involve the received ability in earthly activities, not to seek spiritual profit, never to lift the heart from earthly thoughts. For there are some who have received the gift of understanding, but nevertheless think only of the things of the flesh. Of whom it is said through the prophet: They are wise to do evil, but they do not know how to do good. But the Lord who conferred the talents returns to settle accounts, because he who now piously grants spiritual gifts strictly examines merits in judgment, considers what each one received, and weighs what profit one brings back from what was received. The servant who returned the doubled talents is praised by the master and led to eternal reward, when it is said to him by the Lord's voice: "Well done, good and faithful servant; because you have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things;
enter into the joy of your lord. For all the goods of the present life are few things, however many they may seem, in comparison with the eternal reward. But then the faithful servant is set over many things when, having overcome all the trouble of corruption, he is glorified in that heavenly seat with eternal joys. Then he is perfectly admitted into the joy of his lord, when, taken up into that eternal homeland and mingled with the company of angels, he so rejoices inwardly at the gift that there is no longer anything to grieve him outwardly from corruption. The servant, however, who refused to work with his talent, returns to his master with words of excuse, saying: "Lord, I know that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter; and being afraid, I went away and hid your talent in the ground; behold, you have what is yours. It should be noted that the useless servant calls his master hard, yet pretends not to serve him for gain, and says he was afraid to spend the talent for profit, when he should have feared only this: that he might return it to his master without profit. For there are many within the holy Church, whose image this servant represents, who fear to undertake the ways of a better life, and yet do not fear to lie in the sloth of their torpor;
and when they consider themselves sinners, they tremble to seize upon the ways of holiness, yet do not dread remaining in their iniquities. Peter, while still placed in weakness, well represents the likeness of these when, upon seeing the miracle of the fish, he said: "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man. On the contrary, if you consider yourself a sinner, you ought not to repel the Lord from yourself. But those who refuse to grasp the ways of a better habit and the citadel of a more upright life because they perceive themselves to be weak, as it were both confess themselves sinners and repel the Lord, and flee from Him whom they ought to have sanctified in themselves; and as if having no counsel in their confusion, they die while fearing life. Hence this servant is immediately answered: "Wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter; therefore you ought to have given my money to the bankers, and upon my coming I would have received what is mine with interest. The servant is bound by his own words when the master says: "I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter. As if he were openly saying: If according to your judgment I even demand what I did not give, how much more do I demand from you what I gave to be distributed;
therefore you ought to have given my money to the bankers, and upon my coming I would have received what is mine with interest. To give money to the bankers is to impart the knowledge of preaching to those who are able to exercise it. But just as you see our peril if we withhold the Lord's money, so carefully consider your own peril, dearest brothers, because what you hear is demanded back from you with interest. For in usury, money is received back even though it was not given. For when that which was received is returned, something additional is paid beyond what was received. Consider therefore, dearest brothers, that you will pay interest on this money of the word you have received, and take care that from what you hear you also strive to understand other things which you do not hear, so that by gathering some things from others, you may also learn to do from yourselves those things which you have not yet learned from the mouth of the preacher. But let us hear with what sentence he strikes the lazy servant: Take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. It seemed very fitting that when the one talent is taken from the wicked servant, it should be given rather to the one who had received two talents than to the one who had received five. For it ought to have been given to the one who had less rather than to the one who had more.
But, as we said above, by the five talents is signified knowledge of external things, that is, the five senses; while by the two talents are expressed understanding and action. Therefore the one who had received two talents had more than the one who had received five, because he who through the five talents merited the administration of external things was still empty of understanding of internal things. Therefore the one talent, which we said signifies understanding, ought to have been given to the one who had well administered the external things he had received. This we see daily in the holy Church, because many, while they well administer the external things they receive, are led through added grace also to mystical understanding, so that those who faithfully administer external things also excel in internal understanding. A general statement is also immediately added, in which it is said: "For to everyone who has, it shall be given, and he shall abound; but from him who has not, even what he seems to have shall be taken away from him. For to him who has it shall be given, and he shall abound, because whoever has charity also receives other gifts. Whoever does not have charity loses even the gifts he seemed to have received. Therefore it is necessary, my brothers, that in everything you do, you watch over the keeping of charity. True charity is to love a friend in God, and to love an enemy for the sake of God.
Whoever does not have this loses every good thing he has, is deprived of the talent he had received, and according to the Lord's sentence is cast into the outer darkness. For through punishment he falls into the outer darkness who through his own fault willingly fell into inner darkness; and there he suffers unwillingly the darkness of vengeance, who here willingly endured the darkness of pleasure. It must be known that no lazy person is secure from this receiving of the talent. For there is no one who can truly say: "I have received no talent at all, there is nothing for which I can be compelled to give account. For by the name of talent, even this very thing will be reckoned to any poor person—that he received even the least thing. For one person received understanding; he owes the ministry of preaching from his talent. Another received earthly substance; he owes the distribution of his talent from his possessions. Another received neither understanding of interior things nor abundance of possessions, but nevertheless learned an art by which he is fed; that very art is reckoned to him as the receiving of a talent. Another has attained none of these things, but nevertheless has perhaps earned a place of familiarity with a rich person; he has certainly received the talent of familiarity. If therefore he says nothing to him on behalf of the needy, he is condemned for retaining his talent. Therefore let him who has understanding take care by all means not to be silent;
let him who has abundance of possessions watch lest he grow sluggish in the generosity of mercy; let him who has an art by which he is governed strive greatly to share its use and benefit with his neighbor; let him who has a place of speaking with a rich person fear condemnation for the retained talent if, when he is able, he does not intercede with him on behalf of the poor. For the coming Judge will require from each one of us as much as He gave. Therefore, that each person may be secure concerning the accounts of his talent when the Lord returns, let him consider daily with trembling what he has received. For behold, He who departed on a journey is now near to returning. For He went as if on a journey when He departed far from this earth on which He was born; but He certainly returns to settle accounts for the talents, because if we grow sluggish from good action, He judges us more strictly concerning those very gifts which He bestowed. Let us therefore consider what we have received, and let us be vigilant in their distribution. Let no earthly care impede us from spiritual work, lest if the talent is hidden in the earth, the lord of the talent be provoked to anger.
For the lazy servant lifts the talent from the earth when the Judge is now examining his faults, because there are many who only withdraw themselves from earthly desires or works when they are already being dragged to eternal punishment by the judgment of the Judge. Let us therefore be vigilant beforehand concerning the account to be rendered for our talent, so that when the Judge now looms to strike, the profit we have made may excuse us. May God, who lives, etc., grant this to us.
Homily 10
Delivered to the people in the basilica of Saint Peter the Apostle, on the day of Epiphany.
Reading from the Holy Gospel According to Matthew
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi came from the East to Jerusalem, saying: Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and we have come to worship him. But when King Herod heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ would be born. And they said to him: In Bethlehem of Judea. For thus it is written through the prophet: And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for from you shall come forth a leader who will rule my people Israel. Then Herod, secretly calling the magi, carefully learned from them the time of the star which had appeared to them. And sending them to Bethlehem, he said: Go and inquire carefully about the child, and when you have found him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship him. When they had heard the king, they departed. And behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, until it came and stood over where the child was. And seeing the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And entering the house, they found the child with Mary his mother; and falling down, they worshiped him.
And opening their treasures, they offered him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having received a warning in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another way. As you heard in the Gospel reading, dearest brothers, when the King of heaven was born, the king of earth was troubled, because earthly height is confounded when heavenly height is revealed. But we must ask why, when the Redeemer was born, an angel appeared to the shepherds in Judea, while a star, not an angel, led the Magi from the East to worship him. The reason is that for the Jews, as those who use reason, a rational creature—that is, an angel—was the proper herald; but the Gentiles, because they did not know how to use reason, were led to know the Lord not through a voice but through signs. Hence Paul also says: Prophecies were given to believers, not to unbelievers; but signs to unbelievers, not to believers; because prophecies were given to the former as believers, not unbelievers, and signs to the latter as unbelievers, not believers. And it should be noted that when our Redeemer was already of mature age, the apostles preached him to those same Gentiles, but when he was an infant, not yet speaking through the function of a human body, a star announced him to the Gentiles, because the order of reason demanded that speaking preachers should make known to us the Lord who now spoke, while mute elements should proclaim him who did not yet speak.
But in all the signs which were shown either at the Lord's birth or at His death, we must consider how great was the hardness in the hearts of certain Jews, which recognized Him neither through the gift of prophecy nor through miracles. For all the elements testified that their Author had come. To speak of them somewhat in human terms: the heavens recognized that He was God, because they immediately sent forth a star. The sea recognized Him, because it offered itself to be walked upon beneath His feet. The earth recognized Him, because it trembled when He died. The sun recognized Him, because it hid the rays of its light. The rocks and walls recognized Him, because at the time of His death they were split apart. Hell recognized Him, because it gave back the dead whom it held. And yet Him whom all the insensible elements perceived as Lord, the hearts of unbelieving Jews still do not at all recognize as God, and, harder than rocks, they refuse to be split open for repentance, and they deny to confess Him whom the elements, as we said, proclaimed as God either by signs or by being rent asunder. Moreover, to add to the measure of their damnation, Him whom they despise now that He is born, they knew long beforehand would be born. And they knew not only that He would be born, but also where He would be born.
For when questioned by Herod, they specify the place of His birth, which they had learned by the authority of Scripture. And they bring forth the testimony by which Bethlehem is shown to be honored by the birth of a new ruler, so that their very knowledge might become both a testimony of damnation for them and an aid to belief for us. Isaac indeed aptly prefigured them when he blessed his son Jacob; for with eyes grown dim yet prophesying, he did not see his son present before him, to whom he foresaw so many things in the future, because indeed the Jewish people, filled with the spirit of prophecy yet blind, did not recognize in His present coming the One about whom they had foretold so many things concerning the future. But when the birth of our King became known, Herod turned to cunning schemes, lest he be deprived of his earthly kingdom. He requests that it be reported back to him where the child might be found; he pretends that he wishes to adore him, so that he might destroy him (as if he could find him). But how great is human malice against the counsel of divinity? For it is written: There is no wisdom, there is no prudence, there is no counsel against the Lord. For the star which appeared led the Magi onward; they find the newborn King, they offer gifts, and they are warned in dreams not to return to Herod;
and so it happens that Herod cannot find the Jesus whom he seeks. By his character, who else is signified but hypocrites, who, while they seek falsely, never deserve to find the Lord? But amid these matters it should be known that the Priscillianist heretics believe that each person is born under the configurations of the stars; and they take this in support of their error, that a new star appeared when the Lord appeared in the flesh, and they believe that the star which appeared was his fate. But if we consider the words of the Gospel, where it is said of the same star: "Until it came and stood over where the child was," since the child did not run to the star, but the star ran to the child, if it may be said, the star was not the fate of the child, but the child who appeared was the fate of the star. But far be it from the hearts of the faithful to say that fate is anything real. For the Creator alone who made this life of men governs it. For man was not made for the sake of the stars, but the stars were made for the sake of man. And if a star is called the fate of a man, man is declared to be subject to its own ministrations.
Certainly when Jacob, coming forth from the womb, held the heel of his elder brother with his hand, the first could by no means come forth completely unless the second had also begun; and yet although their mother brought forth both at one time and at the same moment, the quality of each one's life was not the same. But the astrologers are accustomed to respond to this by saying that the power of a constellation is in the instant of a moment. To them we say in reply that the duration of birth is considerable. If therefore a constellation changes in the instant of a moment, it will now be necessary for them to declare as many fates as there are limbs of those being born. The astrologers are also accustomed to affirm that whoever is born under the sign of Aquarius will obtain the occupation of a fisherman in this life. But Getulia, as it is said, has no fishermen. Who then would say that no one is born there under the star of Aquarius, where there is absolutely no fisherman? Again, those whom they assert are born under the sign of Libra, they say will become money-changers; and the provinces of many nations know nothing of money-changers. Therefore they must confess either that this sign is absent among them, or that it has no fated effect whatsoever. In the land of the Persians and Franks, kings come forth from their lineage;
and when these are born, who would estimate how many are born at the same moments of hours and times from a servile condition? And yet the sons of kings, born under one and the same star with slaves, advance to the kingdom, while the slaves who were born with them die in servitude. We have spoken briefly about the star, lest we seem to have passed over the foolishness of the astrologers without examination. But the Magi bring gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gold indeed befits a king, frankincense was placed in sacrifice to God, and with myrrh the bodies of the dead are preserved. Therefore the Magi proclaim through mystical gifts the one whom they adore: by gold a king, by frankincense God, by myrrh a mortal. But there are certain heretics who believe him to be God, but do not believe that he reigns everywhere. These indeed offer him frankincense, but refuse to offer gold as well. And there are some who consider him a king, but deny he is God. These offer him gold, but refuse to offer frankincense. And there are some who confess him to be both God and king, but deny that he assumed mortal flesh. These offer him gold and frankincense, but refuse to offer myrrh of assumed mortality. Let us therefore offer gold to the newborn Lord, that we may confess he reigns everywhere; let us offer frankincense, that we may believe that he who appeared in time existed as God before time;
let us offer myrrh, that we may believe him whom we believe to be impassible in his divinity to have also been mortal in our flesh. Although in gold, frankincense, and myrrh something else can also be understood. For by gold wisdom is designated, as Solomon attests, who says: A desirable treasure rests in the mouth of the wise. By frankincense, which is burned to God, the power of prayer is expressed, as the Psalmist testifies, who says: Let my prayer be directed as incense in your sight. By myrrh the mortification of our flesh is figured; hence the holy Church says of her workers who strive for God even unto death: My hands have dripped with myrrh. Therefore we offer gold to the newborn King if we shine in his sight with the brightness of heavenly wisdom. We offer frankincense if we burn the thoughts of the flesh on the altar of the heart through holy devotion to prayer, that we may be able to give forth a sweet fragrance to God through heavenly desire. We offer myrrh if we mortify the vices of the flesh through abstinence. For by myrrh, as we said, dead flesh is prevented from putrefying. But for dead flesh to putrefy is for this mortal body to serve the flow of lust, as is said of certain people through the prophet: The beasts of burden have rotted in their dung. For beasts of burden to rot in their dung is for carnal men to end their lives in the stench of lust.
Therefore we offer myrrh to God when we preserve this mortal body from the putrefaction of lust through the seasoning of continence. The magi hint at something great for us by the fact that they return to their own country by another way. For in doing what they were warned to do, they surely suggest to us what we should do. Our country is paradise, to which, once we have come to know Jesus, we are forbidden to return by the way we came. For we departed from our country by being proud, by being disobedient, by following visible things, by tasting the forbidden food; but we must return to it by weeping, by obeying, by despising visible things, and by restraining the appetite of the flesh. Therefore we go back to our country by another way, because we who departed from the joys of paradise through pleasures are called back to them through lamentations. Hence it is necessary, dearest brothers, that we, always fearful and always watchful, set before the eyes of our heart on one side the sins of our deeds, on the other the judgment of final severity. Let us consider how severe the judge comes who threatens judgment yet remains hidden; who holds out terrors to sinners and yet still forbears; and therefore delays coming sooner so that he may find fewer to condemn. Let us punish our sins with weeping, and with the voice of the Psalmist let us come before his face in confession.
Therefore let no deceit of pleasures deceive us, let no vain joy seduce us. For near is the judge who said: "Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. For hence Solomon says: "Laughter shall be mingled with sorrow, and mourning takes hold of the end of joy. Hence he says again: "I counted laughter an error, and to joy I said: Why are you vainly deceived? Hence again he says: "The heart of the wise is where sadness is, and the heart of fools is where gladness is. Let us therefore fear the precepts of God, if we truly celebrate the solemnity of God. For a sacrifice pleasing to God is affliction against sin, as the Psalmist testifies who says: "A sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit. Our past sins were forgiven in the receiving of baptism, and yet after baptism we have committed many sins, but we cannot be washed again by the water of baptism. Since therefore we have defiled our life even after baptism, let us baptize our conscience with tears, so that, seeking our country again by another way, we who departed from it delighted by good things may return to it embittered by evils, through the grace of our Lord, etc.
Homily 11
Delivered to the people in the basilica of Saint Agnes, on her birthday.
Reading of the Holy Gospel According to Matthew
At that time, Jesus told his disciples this parable: The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid, and out of joy over it he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls; and finding one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net cast into the sea, gathering fish of every kind. When it was full, they drew it out and, sitting on the shore, sorted the good into vessels but threw the bad away. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from among the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Have you understood all these things? They said to him: Yes, Lord. He said to them: Therefore every scribe learned in the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.
The kingdom of heaven, dearest brothers, is said to be like earthly things so that from those things which the mind knows it may rise to things unknown, that by the example of visible things it may carry itself off to invisible things, and through those things which it has learned by experience, being as it were rubbed together, it may grow warm, so that through knowing how to love what is known, it may learn to love also things unknown. For behold, the kingdom of heaven is compared to a treasure hidden in a field, which when a man finds, he hides, and for joy of it goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. In this matter it should also be noted that the found treasure is hidden so that it may be kept safe, because the pursuit of heavenly desire is not sufficient to guard from malign spirits if one does not hide it from human praises. For in the present life we are as it were on a road by which we journey to our homeland. But malign spirits beset our journey like certain robbers. Therefore he who carries treasure openly on the road desires to be plundered. But I say this not so that our neighbors may not see our good works, since it is written: Let them see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven, but so that through what we do we may not seek praises from without.
Let the work be in public in such a way that the intention remains in secret, so that we may both offer an example to our neighbors from our good work, and yet through the intention by which we seek to please God alone, we may always desire secrecy. The treasure is heavenly desire, and the field in which the treasure is hidden is the discipline of heavenly pursuit. This field indeed one purchases by selling all things, who, renouncing the pleasures of the flesh, tramples all his earthly desires through the guardianship of heavenly discipline, so that nothing which the flesh flatters may please him, nothing which kills the carnal life may the spirit dread. Again the kingdom of heaven is said to be like a merchant man seeking good pearls, but he finds one precious pearl, which indeed once found, he buys by selling all things, because whoever has perfectly known the sweetness of the heavenly life, insofar as possibility allows, willingly abandons all things that he loved on earth; in comparison with it all things become worthless, he forsakes what he possessed, he scatters what he had gathered, his soul burns with desire for heavenly things, nothing on earth pleases him, whatever pleased him about the appearance of earthly things is seen as ugly, because the brightness of the precious pearl alone shines in his mind. Concerning the love of which it is rightly said through Solomon:
Love is strong as death, because indeed just as death kills the body, so the love of eternal life slays attachment to bodily things. For whomever it has perfectly absorbed, it renders outwardly insensible to earthly desires. For indeed this holy woman, whose birthday we celebrate today, could not have died for God in body, if she had not first died to earthly desires in mind. For her soul, raised to the height of virtue, despised torments and trampled upon rewards. Led before armed kings and governors, she stood firmer than those who struck her, more exalted than those who judged her. What do we bearded yet feeble men say amid these things, we who see girls going to the heavenly kingdoms through the sword, while anger overcomes us, pride puffs us up, ambition disturbs us, and lust defiles us? If we cannot attain the heavenly kingdoms through the wars of persecution, let this itself be a shame to us: that we are unwilling to follow God even in peace. Behold, at this time God says to none of us: Die for me, but only: Kill the unlawful desires within you. We who in peace are unwilling to subdue the desires of the flesh—when would we give up that very flesh for the Lord in battle? Again, the kingdom of heaven is said to be like a net cast into the sea, gathering fish of every kind, which when filled is drawn to shore, and the good fish are selected into vessels, while the bad are thrown away.
The Holy Church is compared to a net, because it has been entrusted to fishermen, and through it each person is drawn from the waves of the present age to the eternal kingdom, lest they be plunged into the depths of eternal death. It gathers fish of every kind, because it calls to the forgiveness of sins the wise and the foolish, the free and the enslaved, the rich and the poor, the strong and the weak. Hence it is said to God through the Psalmist: To you all flesh shall come. This net, namely, is universally filled when at its end the sum total of the human race is enclosed. They draw it out and sit beside the shore, because just as the sea signifies the world, so the shore of the sea signifies the end of the world. At which end, namely, good fish are selected into vessels, while the bad are thrown away, because each of the elect is received into eternal tabernacles, and having lost the light of the inner kingdom, the reprobate are dragged away to outer darkness. For now the net of faith holds us together, both good and bad, as if we were fish mixed together, but the shore reveals what the net, that is, the Holy Church, was dragging. And indeed fish that have been caught cannot be changed; but we are caught as evil, yet we are transformed into goodness. Let us therefore think about our capture, lest we be divided at the shore.
Behold how pleasing today's solemnity is to you, so that it would be no small loss if anyone happened to be absent from this assembly of yours. What then will he do on that day, who is seized from the sight of the Judge, separated from the company of the elect, who is darkened from the light, tortured by eternal burning? Hence the Lord also explains this same comparison briefly when he adds: So it will be at the end of the world. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from among the righteous, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. This, dearest brothers, is to be feared rather than expounded. For the torments of sinners have been spoken in plain words, lest anyone resort to the excuse of ignorance if something about eternal punishment were spoken obscurely. Hence it is also added: Have you understood all these things? They say to him: Yes, Lord. And in the conclusion it is added: "Therefore every scribe instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like a householder bringing forth from his treasure things new and old. If by the new and old that is spoken of we understand both Testaments, we deny that Abraham was instructed, who although he knew the deeds of the New and Old Testament, by no means proclaimed their words. Nor can we compare Moses to the instructed householder, who although he taught the Old Testament, nevertheless did not bring forth the sayings of the New.
Since therefore we are excluded from this interpretation, we are called to another. But in what the Truth says: "Every scribe instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like a householder," it can be understood that He was speaking not of those who had existed, but of those who could exist in the Church. They bring forth new and old things when they speak the proclamations of both Testaments by their words and their conduct. Yet this can also be understood in another way. For it was ancient for the human race to descend to the prison of hell, to endure eternal punishments for their sins. To this, through the coming of the Mediator, something new was added, so that if one rightly strives to live here, he may be able to enter the kingdom of heaven: and man, born on earth, may die from a corruptible life, to be placed in heaven. And so it is old that the human race should perish in eternal punishment for its guilt; and it is new that, being converted, it should live in the kingdom. What therefore the Lord added in the conclusion of His discourse is certainly what He had stated beforehand. For first He brought forth the treasure found and the good pearl concerning the likeness of the kingdom, but afterward He narrated the punishments of hell concerning the burning of the wicked, and in conclusion He adds: "Therefore every scribe instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like a householder bringing forth from his treasure things new and old.
As if it were openly said: That preacher is instructed in the holy Church who knows both how to bring forth new things concerning the sweetness of the kingdom, and to speak old things concerning the terror of punishment, so that at least punishments may terrify those whom rewards do not attract. Let each one hear of the kingdom that he may love, let him hear of punishment that he may fear, so that if love does not draw the sluggish soul clinging vehemently to the earth toward the kingdom, at least fear may drive it. For behold, concerning the description of hell it is said: "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. But because present joys are followed by perpetual lamentations, here, dearest brothers, flee vain joy if you dread weeping there. For no one can both rejoice here with the world and reign there with the Lord. Therefore restrain the fleeting pleasures of temporal joy, subdue the lusts of the flesh. Whatever in the soul smiles upon you from the present age, let it become bitter from the consideration of eternal fire. Whatever rejoices in the mind in a childish manner, let the censure of youthful discipline restrain it, so that while you willingly flee temporal things, you may seize eternal joys without labor, through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, etc.
Homily 12
Delivered to the people in the basilica of Saint Agnes, on the day of her birthday.
Reading from the Holy Gospel According to Matthew
At that time, Jesus told his disciples this parable: The kingdom of heaven is like ten virgins who, taking their lamps, went out to meet the bridegroom and the bride. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. But the five foolish ones, having taken their lamps, did not take oil with them; the wise ones, however, took oil in their vessels along with their lamps. And as the bridegroom was delayed, they all grew drowsy and fell asleep. But at midnight a cry arose: Behold, the bridegroom comes, go out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise: Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out. The wise answered, saying: Lest perhaps there not be enough for us and for you, go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves. But while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready entered with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut. Finally the other virgins also come, saying: Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answering said: Amen I say to you, I do not know you. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. Often, most beloved brethren, I admonish you to flee wicked works and to avoid the defilements of this world;
but by today's reading of the holy Gospel I am compelled to say that you should also fear with great caution even the good things you do, lest through what is rightly done by you, human favor or gratitude be sought, lest the desire for praise creep in, and what is shown outwardly be emptied of its reward inwardly. For behold, by the voice of the Redeemer ten virgins are mentioned, and all are called virgins, yet not all were received within the door of blessedness, because some of them, while seeking outward glory from their virginity, were unwilling to have oil in their vessels. But first we must ask what the kingdom of heaven is, or why it is compared to ten virgins, and why they are called wise and foolish virgins. For since it is certain that no reprobate enters the kingdom of heaven, why is it said to be like even the foolish virgins? But we should know that often in sacred speech the kingdom of heaven refers to the Church of the present time. Concerning this the Lord says in another place: The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all scandals. For in that kingdom of blessedness, where there is supreme peace, no scandals could be found to be gathered. And from which again it is said: Whoever therefore breaks one of these least commandments and teaches men so, he shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven.
But whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For one breaks a commandment and teaches it when someone proclaims by voice what he does not fulfill by living. But one who is unwilling to fulfill by work what he teaches cannot attain to the kingdom of eternal blessedness. How then shall he be called least in it who is in no way permitted to enter it? What therefore does this statement mean except that the present Church is called the kingdom of heaven? In which a teacher who breaks a commandment is called least, because when someone's life is despised, it follows that his preaching is also condemned. Now each person exists in five bodily senses, and five doubled makes ten. And because the multitude of the faithful is gathered from both sexes, the holy Church is declared to be like ten virgins. In this Church, because the bad are mixed with the good and the reprobate with the elect, it is rightly said to be like both wise and foolish virgins. For there are many continent persons who guard themselves from outward desire, and are carried by hope toward inner things, who mortify the flesh, and pant with all longing for the heavenly homeland, who seek eternal rewards and are unwilling to receive human praises for their labors. These indeed do not place their glory on the lips of men, but conceal it within their conscience.
And there are many who afflict the body through abstinence, but from that very abstinence seek human favor, who devote themselves to teaching and give much to the needy. But these are certainly foolish virgins, because they seek only the recompense of passing praise. Hence it is aptly added: Five were foolish, and having taken their lamps, did not take oil with them; but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. For by oil the splendor of glory is signified; and our vessels are our hearts, in which we carry all that we think. The wise therefore have oil in their vessels, because they retain the splendor of glory within their conscience, as Paul attests when he says: Our glory is this, the testimony of our conscience. But the foolish virgins do not take oil with them, because they do not have glory within their conscience, since they seek it from the lips of their neighbors. But it should be noted that all have lamps, yet not all have oil, because often the reprobate display good works in themselves along with the elect, but only those come to the bridegroom with oil who seek glory inwardly for what they have done outwardly. Hence through the Psalmist also it is said of the holy Church of the elect: All the glory of the king's daughter is from within.
While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept, because while the Judge delays His coming to the final judgment, both the elect and the reprobate are lulled in the sleep of death. For to sleep is to die. But to slumber before sleep is to languish from health before death, because through the weight of illness one arrives at the sleep of death. And at midnight a cry was made: Behold, the bridegroom comes, go out to meet him. The cry concerning the arrival of the bridegroom happens at midnight, because the day of judgment creeps up in such a way that it cannot be foreseen when it comes. Hence it is written: The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. Then all the virgins rise, because both the elect and the reprobate are awakened from the sleep of their death. They trim their lamps, because they count up their works with them, for which they expect to receive eternal blessedness. But the lamps of the foolish virgins are extinguished, because their works, which had appeared outwardly bright to men, are inwardly darkened at the coming of the judge. And they find no recompense from God, because for those works they received from men the praises which they loved. But what does it mean that they then seek oil from the wise, except that at the coming of the judge, when they find themselves empty within, they seek testimony from without? As if, deceived by their own confidence, they say to their neighbors:
Since you see us being rejected as if without works, tell us what you saw of our works. But the wise virgins answer, saying: Lest perhaps there be not enough for us and for you. For on that day (though I speak of certain ones resting in the peace of the Church) the testimony of each one barely suffices for oneself; how much less for both oneself and one's neighbor? Hence they also immediately add by way of rebuke: Go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves. For the sellers of oil are flatterers. For those who, when any grace has been received, offer the brightness of glory through their vain praises, as it were sell oil. Concerning this oil indeed the Psalmist says: But let not the oil of the sinner anoint my head. For our principal part is the head. And by the term "head" is meant the mind which rules the body. Therefore the oil of the sinner fattens the head when the favor of the flatterer soothes the mind. But while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, because while they seek testimony of their life from their neighbors, the judge comes, who is witness not only of works but also of hearts. And those who were ready entered with him to the wedding, and the door was shut. Oh, if wisdom in the palate of the heart could taste what wonder lies in the words: The bridegroom comes! What sweetness in: They entered with him to the wedding feast! What bitterness in:
And the door was shut! For he comes whose arrival shakes the elements, at whose presence heaven and earth tremble. Whence also through the prophet he says: Yet once more, and I will shake not only the earth, but also heaven. Before his judgment all the human race is brought. To him for the punishment of the wicked and the reward of the good, angels, archangels, thrones, principalities, and dominions render service. Consider, dearest brothers, before the presence of so great a judge what terror there will be on that day when there will be no remedy in punishment, what confusion will befall the one whom his own guilt compels to blush with shame in the assembly of all the angels and men, what dread to see him angry whom the human mind cannot comprehend even when he is calm. Gazing upon this day, the prophet rightly says: A day of wrath, that day, a day of tribulation and distress, a day of calamity and misery, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of cloud and whirlwind, a day of trumpet and clamor. Consider therefore, dearest brothers, with what harshness the prophet saw the last day of judgment embitter the hearts of the reprobate, which he cannot express with so many names. But how great will be the joy of the elect, who merit to rejoice in the sight of him at whose presence they see all the elements tremble, to enter with him together to the wedding feast!
They both rejoice at the wedding of the bridegroom and yet are themselves the bride, because in that bridal chamber of the eternal kingdom God is joined to our sight. This vision will never again be torn from the embraces of its love for all eternity. Then the door of the kingdom will be closed to those who mourn, which now is opened daily to the penitent. For there will be repentance then too, but it will no longer bear fruit, because he who now wastes the time fit for pardon will by no means find forgiveness then. Hence Paul says: Behold, now is the acceptable time, behold, now is the day of salvation. Hence the prophet says: Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near. Therefore the Lord does not hear those same foolish virgins when they call upon Him, because with the door of the kingdom closed, He who could have been near will no longer be near. For it is added: "At last the other virgins come, saying: Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answering, said: Amen I say to you, I know you not. There one who refused to hear what He commanded here can no longer obtain from God what he asks; one who lost the time for fitting repentance comes in vain before the door of the kingdom with prayers. For this is why the Lord says through Solomon: "I called, and you refused;
I stretched out my hand, and there was no one who paid attention; you despised all my counsel, and neglected my reproofs. I also will laugh at your destruction, and will mock when what you feared comes upon you. When sudden calamity rushes in, and destruction presses on like a storm, when tribulation and anguish come upon you, then they will call upon me, and I will not hear; they will rise early, and they will not find me. Behold, they cry out to be opened to, and, compelled by the pain of their rejection, they double the title of Lord, saying: "Lord, Lord, open to us. They offer prayers, but they are not known, because the Lord then abandons as if unknown those whom He now does not recognize as His own through the merit of their life. Wherefore also a general exhortation to the disciples is fittingly added, when it is said: Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour. Because God accepts repentance after sins, if anyone knew at what time he would depart from this present world, he could have devoted one time to pleasures and another to repentance. But He who promised pardon to the penitent did not promise tomorrow to the sinner. Therefore we ought always to fear the last day, which we can never foresee. Behold, this very day in which we speak we have received as a respite for conversion, and yet we refuse to weep for the evils we have done.
Not only do we not lament what we have committed, but we even increase the things that should be wept over. But if some sickness seizes us, if signs of illness announce approaching death, we seek a respite for living that we may weep for our sins, and we seek with great fervor of desire those respites which, when we have received them, we now consider as nothing. 7. I relate a matter, dearest brethren, which if your charity wishes to hear attentively, you will be greatly instructed by considering it. There was a certain nobleman in the province of Valeria named Chrysaorius, whom the common people in rustic speech called Chryserius: a very capable man, but as full of vices as of possessions; swollen with pride, subject to the pleasures of his flesh, inflamed with the torches of avarice in acquiring things. But when the Lord had decreed to put an end to so many evils, as I learned from a certain religious man who still survives, a relative of his, he was struck with bodily illness. When he came to his end, at the very hour when he was about to depart from the body, with open eyes he saw foul and utterly black spirits standing before him, and vehemently pressing upon him to drag him away to the prison of hell.
He began to tremble, to grow pale, to sweat, and with loud cries to beg for a respite, and to call his son named Maximus, whom I myself, now a monk, saw as a monk, with excessive and agitated shouts, saying: Maximus, run, I have never done you any harm, receive me into your protection. Maximus, disturbed, was present at once; the household gathered, weeping and making noise. But those malign spirits whom he so grievously endured pressing upon him they could not see, but they saw their presence in the confusion, in the pallor and trembling of him who was being dragged away. From fear of their hideous appearance he was turning this way and that on his bed; he lay on his left side, he could not bear the sight of them; he turned toward the wall, there they were. And when, exceedingly constrained, he despaired of being able to be released, he began to cry out with loud voice, saying: A respite at least until morning, a respite at least until morning. But while he was crying out these things, in the midst of his very cries he was torn from the dwelling of his flesh. From which it is certainly clear that he saw these things for us, not for himself, so that his vision might profit us whom divine patience still waits for with longsuffering.
For what did it profit him to have seen the foul spirits before death and to have begged for a respite, when he did not receive the very respite he begged for? Let us therefore, dearest brethren, now carefully consider these things, lest our time pass away in vain, and then we seek to live for doing good when we are already being compelled to depart from the body. Remember what the Truth says: Pray that your flight be not in winter or on the Sabbath. For by the commandment of the law it is not permitted to walk far on the Sabbath; winter also is a hindrance to walking, because the numbness of cold restrains the steps of those who walk. He says therefore: Pray that your flight be not in winter or on the Sabbath. As if He were to say openly: See that you do not seek to flee your sins when it is no longer permitted to walk. That time therefore when flight is not permitted ought to be thought about now while it is permitted. That hour of our departure is always to be kept in view, this admonition of our Redeemer is always to be placed before the eyes of our mind, wherein He says: Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour.
Homily 13
Delivered to the people in the basilica of blessed Felix the confessor, on the day of his nativity.
Reading of the Holy Gospel According to Luke
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning in your hands. And you yourselves be like men waiting for their lord, when he shall return from the wedding, so that when he comes and knocks, they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the lord, when he comes, shall find watching. Amen I say to you, that he will gird himself and make them recline at table, and passing by will minister to them. And if he comes in the second watch, and if he comes in the third watch, and finds them so, blessed are those servants. But know this, that if the master of the house knew at what hour the thief would come, he would surely watch and not allow his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, because at an hour you do not expect, the Son of man will come. The reading of the Holy Gospel, dearest brothers, has been recited openly to you. But lest its very plainness perhaps seem profound to some, let us run through it briefly, so that its exposition may become known to the ignorant without being burdensome to those who already know. That lust resides in the loins in men and in the navel in women, the Lord testifies when speaking of the devil to blessed Job, saying: "His strength is in his loins, and his power is in the navel of his belly.
Therefore, by the principal sex, lust is designated by the name of loins, when the Lord says: "Let your loins be girded. For we gird our loins when we restrain the lust of the flesh through continence. But because it is not enough to refrain from evil unless one also strives to labor in good works, it is immediately added: "And have burning lamps in your hands. For we hold burning lamps in our hands when through good works we show examples of light to our neighbors. Concerning these works the Lord indeed says: "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Now two things are commanded: both to restrain the loins and to hold lamps, so that there may be both the purity of chastity in the body and the light of truth in action. For one without the other can in no way please our Redeemer, whether he who does good has not yet abandoned the defilements of lust, or he who excels in chastity does not yet exercise himself in good works. Neither is chastity great without good work, nor is any work good without chastity. But even if both are practiced, it remains that whoever he is should reach toward the heavenly homeland by hope, and should not restrain himself from vices merely for the sake of this world's respectability.
For even if he sometimes begins certain good things for the sake of respectability, he ought not to remain in that intention, nor seek the glory of the present world through good works, but should place all his hope in the coming of his Redeemer. Hence it is immediately added: "And be like men waiting for their lord, when he returns from the wedding. For the Lord went to the wedding because, rising from the dead and ascending into heaven, the new man joined to himself the heavenly multitude of angels. He returns when he is manifested to us through judgment. And well is it added concerning the waiting servants: "That when he comes and knocks, they may open to him immediately. For the Lord comes when he hastens to judgment; he knocks when through the troubles of illness he indicates that death is near. We open to him immediately if we receive him with love. For he who trembles to depart from the body does not wish to open to the judge who knocks, and fears to see as judge him whom he remembers having despised. But he who is confident in his hope and work opens immediately to the one who knocks, because he awaits the judge joyfully; and when he recognizes that the time of approaching death has come, he rejoices in the glory of recompense. Hence it is immediately added: "Blessed are those servants whom the lord, when he comes, shall find watching.
He watches who keeps the eyes of his mind open to behold the true light; he watches who preserves in action what he believes; he watches who repels from himself the darkness of torpor and negligence. Hence Paul says: "Awake, you righteous, and do not sin. Hence again he says: "It is now the hour for us to rise from sleep. But let us hear what the coming Lord shows to his watchful servants: "Amen I say to you, that he will gird himself, and make them recline, and passing by will minister to them. He will gird himself, that is, he will prepare himself for recompense; and he will make them recline, that is, to be refreshed in eternal rest. For our reclining in the kingdom is to rest. Whence again the Lord says: "They will come and recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But the Lord passing by ministers, because he satisfies us with the illumination of his light. And it is said "passing," when he returns from judgment to the kingdom. Or certainly the Lord passes by for us after the judgment, because he raises us from the form of humanity to the contemplation of his divinity. And his passing is to lead us into the vision of his glory, when him whom we perceive in humanity at the judgment, we also see in divinity after the judgment. For coming to judgment, he appears to all in the form of a servant, because it is written: "They will look upon him whom they pierced.
But when the reprobate fall into punishment, the just are drawn to the glory of his brightness, as it is written: "Let the impious one be taken away, lest he see the glory of God. But what if servants are negligent in the first watch? For the first watch is the guarding of the first age. But even so, one should not despair or cease from good work. For the Lord, suggesting the patience of his long-suffering, adds: "And if he comes in the second watch, and if he comes in the third watch, and finds them so, blessed are those servants. For the first watch is the earliest time, that is, childhood. The second is adolescence or youth, which according to the authority of sacred Scripture are one, as Solomon says: "Rejoice, young man, in your adolescence. The third, however, is understood as old age. Therefore, he who was unwilling to keep watch in the first watch should guard at least the second, so that he who neglected to turn from his wickedness in childhood may awaken to the ways of life at least in the time of youth. And he who was unwilling to watch in the second watch should not lose the remedies of the third watch, so that he who did not awaken to the ways of life in youth may at least come to his senses in old age. Consider, dearest brothers, that the mercy of God has enclosed our hardness. There is nothing left for a person to find as an excuse.
God is despised, and he waits; he sees himself scorned, and he calls back; he receives injury from contempt of himself, and yet he still promises rewards to those who eventually return. But let no one neglect this long-suffering of his, because he will demand justice at the judgment all the more strictly, the longer the patience he extended before the judgment. For Paul says about this: "Do you not know that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But according to your hardness and impenitent heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and revelation of the just judgment of God. About this the Psalmist says: "God is a just judge, strong and long-suffering. For about to call him long-suffering, he first said just, so that you may know that he whom you see patiently bearing the sins of transgressors for a long time will also at some point judge strictly. About this it is said through a certain wise man: "For the Most High is a patient rewarder. He is called a patient rewarder because he both endures and repays the sins of men. For those whom he tolerates for a long time so that they may convert, if they do not convert, he condemns more harshly. But to shake off the sloth of our mind, even external losses are brought forward through a comparison, so that through these the soul may be roused to guard itself. For it is said:
"Know this, that if the master of the house knew at what hour the thief was coming, he would certainly watch and would not allow his house to be broken into. From this comparison set forth, an exhortation is also added, when it is said: "And you, be ready, because at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come. For while the master of the house is unaware, the thief breaks into the house, because while the spirit sleeps from guarding itself, unforeseen death coming bursts into the dwelling of our flesh, and slays as if sleeping the one it found as master of the house, because when the spirit fails to foresee the coming losses, death snatches him unknowing to punishment. But he would resist the thief if he were watching, because being on guard against the coming of the judge who secretly seizes the soul, he would meet him by repenting, lest he perish impenitent. Our Lord willed that the final hour be unknown to us so that it might always be regarded with suspicion, so that since we cannot foresee it, we might prepare ourselves for it without ceasing. Therefore, my brothers, fix the eyes of your mind upon the condition of your mortality; prepare yourselves for the coming Judge through daily weeping and lamentation. And since certain death awaits all, do not think about the uncertain provision of temporal life. Let not the care of earthly things weigh you down.
For however great the masses of gold and silver that surround the flesh, however precious the garments in which it is clothed, what is it other than flesh? Therefore do not consider what you have, but what you are. Do you wish to hear what you are? The prophet declares, saying: "Truly the people are grass. For if the people are not grass, where are those who celebrated with us the feast of blessed Felix's birthday a year ago, which we celebrate today? O how many and how great were the thoughts they had about provision for the present life, but when the moment of death crept upon them, they were suddenly found in those circumstances they had been unwilling to foresee, and they lost all the temporal things at once which, having been gathered together, they seemed to hold securely. If therefore the multitude of the human race that has passed flourished in the flesh through birth and withered to dust through death, it was evidently grass. Since therefore the hours flee with their moments, act, dearest brothers, so that they may be retained in the reward of good work. Hear what the wise Solomon says: "Whatever your hand is able to do, work at it earnestly, for there will be neither work, nor knowledge, nor reason, nor wisdom in the underworld, to which you are hastening. Since therefore we do not know the time of coming death, and after death we cannot work, it remains that before death we seize the time that has been granted.
For thus, yes thus, death itself when it comes will be conquered, if before it comes it is always feared.
Homily 14
Delivered to the people in the basilica of the blessed apostle Peter, on the second Sunday after Easter.
A Reading from the Holy Gospel According to John
At that time, Jesus said to the Pharisees: I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. But the hireling, who is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and abandons the sheep and flees; and the wolf seizes and scatters the sheep. The hireling flees because he is a hireling, and the sheep are not his concern. I am the good shepherd, and I know my sheep, and my sheep know me. As the Father knows me, and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for my sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold, and I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one fold and one shepherd. 1. You have heard, dearest brothers, from the Gospel reading your instruction; you have heard also our peril. For behold, he who is good not by an accidental gift but essentially, says: I am the good shepherd. And he adds the pattern of that same goodness for us to imitate, saying: The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. He did what he taught; he showed what he commanded. The good shepherd laid down his life for his sheep, so that in our sacrament he might transform his body and blood, and satisfy with the nourishment of his flesh the sheep he had redeemed.
The way has been shown to us through contempt of death that we should follow; the pattern has been set before us upon which we should be formed. First it is ours to mercifully spend our external goods on his sheep; but finally, if necessary, even to offer our death for those same sheep. From that first and lesser thing one arrives at the final and greater. But since the soul by which we live is incomparably far better than the earthly substance we possess externally, when will someone who does not give his substance for his sheep give his life for them? And there are some who, because they love earthly substance more than the sheep, deservedly lose the name of shepherd. Of whom it is immediately added: But the hireling, who is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and abandons the sheep and flees. He is called not a shepherd but a hireling who feeds the Lord's sheep not out of heartfelt love but for temporal wages. Indeed, a hireling is one who holds the position of shepherd but does not seek the profit of souls; he gapes after earthly advantages, rejoices in the honor of his office, feeds on temporal gains, and delights in the reverence shown him by men. For these are the wages of the hireling: that for the very labor he performs in governance, he finds here what he seeks, and remains a stranger to the inheritance of the flock hereafter.
But whether one is truly a shepherd or a hireling cannot be known with certainty if no occasion of necessity arises. In times of tranquility, the hireling often stands guard over the flock just as the true shepherd does; but when the wolf comes, it reveals with what spirit each one was standing guard over the flock. For the wolf comes upon the sheep when any unjust man and plunderer oppresses the faithful and humble. But he who appeared to be a shepherd and was not abandons the sheep and flees, because while he fears danger to himself from the wolf, he does not presume to resist his injustice. He flees not by changing his location but by withdrawing his support. He flees because he saw injustice and remained silent. He flees because he hid himself in silence. To such men it is rightly said through the prophet: "You have not gone up against the enemy, nor have you set up a wall for the house of Israel, to stand in battle on the day of the Lord. To go up against the enemy is to oppose with the free voice of reason any powers that act wickedly. And we stand in battle on the day of the Lord for the house of Israel and set up a wall if we defend the faithful and innocent against the injustice of the perverse with the authority of justice. Because the hireling does not do this, when he sees the wolf coming, he flees.
But there is another wolf who without ceasing daily tears apart not bodies, but minds, namely the malignant spirit, who prowling around lies in wait for the sheepfolds of the faithful and seeks the deaths of souls. Concerning this wolf it is soon added: "And the wolf seizes and scatters the sheep. The wolf comes and the hireling flees, because the malignant spirit tears apart the minds of the faithful in temptation, and he who holds the place of pastor has no care of solicitude. Souls perish, and he himself rejoices in earthly advantages. The wolf seizes and scatters the sheep when he drags one person into lust, inflames another with avarice, raises another up in pride, divides another through wrath, goads this one with envy, trips up that one in deceit. The devil, as it were, scatters the flock like a wolf when he slays the faithful people through temptations. But against these things the hireling is kindled by no zeal, aroused by no fervor of love: because while he seeks only external advantages, he negligently permits the internal losses of the flock. Hence it is soon added: "But the hireling flees, because he is a hireling, and the sheep do not pertain to him. For the sole reason why the hireling flees is because he is a hireling. As if it were said openly: He who in presiding over the sheep does not love the sheep but seeks earthly gain cannot stand firm in danger to the sheep.
For while he embraces honor, while he rejoices in temporal advantages, he trembles to oppose himself against danger, lest he lose what he loves. But because our Redeemer made known the faults of the false pastor, He again shows the form upon which we ought to be imprinted, saying: "I am the good Shepherd. And He adds: "And I know my sheep," that is, I love them, "and my sheep know me. As if He were saying openly: Those who love follow in obedience. For he who does not love the truth has not yet come to know it at all. Of which sheep indeed he says again: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give them eternal life. Of which he also says a little earlier: "If anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out, and will find pastures. For he will go in to faith, but will go out from faith to sight, from belief to contemplation, and will find pastures in eternal refreshment. His sheep therefore find pastures, because whoever follows him with a simple heart is nourished by the food of eternal greenness. But what are the pastures of these sheep, if not the inner joys of ever-verdant paradise? For the pastures of the elect are the present countenance of God, which when it is beheld without failing, the mind is satisfied without end by the food of life.
In these pastures those have rejoiced in the fullness of eternity who have already escaped the snares of pleasurable temporality. There are the hymn-singing choirs of angels, there is the fellowship of the heavenly citizens. There is the sweet solemnity of those returning from the sad labor of this pilgrimage. There are the foreseeing choirs of prophets, there is the judging number of apostles, there is the victorious army of innumerable martyrs, the more joyful there as they were more harshly afflicted here; there is the constancy of confessors, consoled by the reception of their reward; there are faithful men whom the pleasure of the world could not soften from the strength of their manliness; there are holy women who conquered both the world and their sex; there are children who here transcended their years by their conduct; there are the elderly whom age rendered weak here, yet the power of good works did not abandon. Since, therefore, you have heard, most beloved brethren, our peril, consider in the Lord's words also your own peril. See whether you are his sheep, see whether you know him, see whether you know the light of truth. But I say "know" not through faith, but through love. I say "know" not from belief, but from action. For the same John the Evangelist who speaks these things testifies, saying: "He who says that he knows God, and does not keep his commandments, is a liar. Hence in this passage the Lord immediately adds:
"As the Father knows me, and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for my sheep. As if he were openly saying: In this it is established that I both know the Father and am known by the Father, because I lay down my life for my sheep; that is, by that charity with which I die for the sheep, I show how much I love the Father. But because he had come to redeem not only Judea but also the Gentiles, he adds: "And I have other sheep which are not of this fold, and those I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. The Lord was looking upon our redemption, we who come from the Gentile people, when he said he would bring other sheep also. This you see happening daily, brethren; this you see accomplished today with the reconciled Gentiles. For he makes one fold, as it were, from two flocks, because he unites the Jewish and Gentile peoples in his faith, as Paul attests, who says: "He is our peace, who has made both one. For while he chooses the simple from both nations for eternal life, he leads his sheep to their proper fold. Let us seek, therefore, dearly beloved brethren, these pastures, in which we may rejoice with the solemnity of so many fellow citizens. Let the very festivity of those who rejoice invite us.
Surely if the people were celebrating a market somewhere, if they were gathering at the dedication of some church with a proclaimed solemnity, we would all hasten to be found there together, and each one would be eager to be present, and would consider himself afflicted with grave loss if he did not witness the solemnity of common joy. Behold, in the heavens the joy of the elect citizens is celebrated, all rejoice together over one another in their assembly, and yet we, lukewarm in our love of eternity, burn with no desire, we do not seek to be present at so great a solemnity, we are deprived of joys, and yet we are happy. Let us therefore kindle our spirit, brethren, let faith grow warm again in what it has believed, let our desires burn toward heavenly things, and thus to love is already to go. Let no adversity call us back from the joy of the inner solemnity, because even if someone desires to go to an intended place, no roughness of the road changes his desire. Let no flattering prosperity seduce us, because he is a foolish traveler who, seeing pleasant meadows along the way, forgets to go where he was heading.
Therefore let the soul yearn with all desire for the heavenly homeland, let it seek nothing in this world, which it knows it will soon leave behind, so that if we are truly sheep of the heavenly Shepherd, because we are not fixed on the delight of the way, we may be satisfied with eternal pastures upon arrival.