XXXVIII. De tribus viis justitiae in tribus ordinibus beaiorum

XXXVIII. De tribus viis justitiae in tribus ordinibus beaiorum

From this same trumpet, when the same man gives a blast, he sends forth three winds, because God, passing through secret inquiry, made three paths of justice to proceed in the three orders of the blessed, of which one has a fiery cloud, one a turbulent cloud, and one a clear cloud above it, so that the same winds sustain the same clouds: for one path of justice carries the glory of the angels, who burn in the love of God, and nothing else but what God wills for those who wish, like a fiery cloud; and another path, the works of men, which are turbulent and varied in many straits and tribulations, is like a turbulent cloud; and the last, in the incarnation of the Lord, contains a pure and unblemished virginity, like a clear cloud above it, because justice is the foundation of these things and sustains them in blessedness. For God, arranging all things in the secret of His will and making everything proceed, sustained the spirits of the citizens of heaven in righteousness; He also upheld man, who was falling into turbulent works, so that he would not perish entirely; and through the immaculate incarnation and the light of virginity, He drove away the works of darkness and revealed what is right. Angels remained in the love of God; and man, having turned away from God, was restored to his former glory through holy works, because those works in perfect holiness made him a saint. But the saints now work in the labor of the flesh; after the final day, they will rejoice in harmony and in all praises. For the flesh now constrains the spirit, but later the spirit will subject the flesh to itself, and thus the whole person will be holy.