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← Meditationes Vitae Christi (Pseudo-Bonaventure), Castilian court context/Book 1 · Meditationes Vitae Christi
Chapter 47MedVC.1.47

De oratione; item, septem quae praecedunt bonum doctorem

Obedience Before Contemplation

True contemplative rest is granted only through obedience, not through self-will or idle leisure.

Surely you want to sleep in enough peace and quiet, if you're not trying to rest without effort, and if, having set aside the fruitfulness of Leah, you prefer to delight only in the embrace of Rachel. But the order of things is backwards if you demand a reward before earning it, and try to take food before the labor, when the Apostle says: 'Whoever does not work shall not eat.'✦ I have understood from your commands, he says, that you should know that the taste of contemplation is owed to no one except by reason of the command of obedience. Therefore, do not think that any harm is to be done to the quiet life out of your own preference, to the practices of holy obedience, or to the traditions of the elders. Otherwise, the bridegroom will not rest with you in your bed — especially the one for whom, instead of the flowers of obedience, you have strewn hemlock and the nettles of disobedience, and who, because of this, will not hear your prayers, and though called, will not come. For so great a lover of obedience will not give access to himself to a disobedient person — one who would rather die than disobey.✦ But neither does he approve the empty leisure of your contemplation, the one who says through the Prophet: 'I have labored in endurance, marking the time when I am an exile from heaven and from the homeland of highest peace, and have worked salvation in the midst of the earth.' And a little later: 'I am greatly astonished at the shamelessness of some who are among us, and who, when they have troubled us all with their self-will, provoked us with their impatience, and stained us with their disobedience, nevertheless dare to call upon the Lord from so foul a bed of their own desire, with every prayer stripped of all purity.'

A Foul Bed for the King of Glory

God rejects stained and divided prayer when the conscience is disturbed by anger, disobedience, and self-will.

"But when you stretch out your hands before my eyes," he says, "and when you multiply your prayer—✦ I will not hear you."✦ Why not? Your little bed is not flowery—it is rather foul and rotten; and yet you drag the King of glory down into it! Is this what you do to rest—or to make excuses? "And further: 'Go on, then—you who spend all day stretching out your hands to God, when all day you trouble your brothers, attack their unity of spirit, and separate yourself from their fellowship. "And what do you want me to do?" he says to Proteus. "First, cleanse your conscience from every stain of anger, of quarreling, of grumbling, and of envy—and from whatever else is known to be opposed either to the peace of the brothers or to obedience." "Beru."

Gathering the Flowers of Virtue

Before daring to rest in God, the soul must gather virtues and purify conscience through obedience and good works.

doesn't want to labor over these things. unless for the obedience of the one journeying. — ('.') That. uon. with one. so that. you hasten to rush out from the dwelling of the heart. Then, too, gather around yourself the flowers of good and praiseworthy deeds and the fragrant offerings of virtues — that is to say, whatever is true, whatever is just, whatever is holy, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, any virtue there is, any praise of discipline — think on these things, and take care to train yourself in them.✦ You will confidently call Him your Spouse, because, when you have brought Him in, you yourself will be able to say in truth: 'Our bed is fragrant — but with conscience, yet with piety, yet with peace, yet with gentleness, yet with justice, yet with obedience, yet with gladness, yet with humility.'✦ "These things [says] Bernard."

Stewardship of Gifts and the Curse of Silence

The active life must precede contemplation, and spiritual gifts must be shared, not hoarded out of fear or sloth.

From what has been said, it is clear how the active life, which he called the first, precedes the contemplative. On prayer; likewise, the seven [qualities] that make a good teacher. Next, we must see how the contemplative life precedes the active life in the second part of the subject, and so the contemplative stands in the middle between the two parts of the active life. Therefore Bernard says: 'Indeed, we must be careful either to give what we have received, or to keep what we have received to be given away.' You hold on to what belongs to Christ for your own sake if — to give an example — though you are full of virtues on the inside, and outwardly adorned with the gifts of knowledge and eloquence, you nevertheless bind up the good word that could benefit many people, out of fear perhaps, or laziness, or insufficiently humble discretion, in useless, harmful silence. Truly you are cursed, because you have withheld grain from the people.✦ Again, what is yours you scatter and lose; if before you are filled yourself, you — still only half-full — hasten to pour out, contrary to the law, plowing with the firstborn ox and shearing the firstborn sheep.✦ Surely in life and in salvation — the very things you give to another — you defraud yourself: harsh, savage, empty in purpose, you are inflated by the wind of vain glory, or you are infected by the poison of earthly desire, and swelling with a deadly abscess, you perish. Therefore, if you are wise, you will present a shell, and not a channel. The former indeed receives and pours back almost at the same time; the latter, however, until it is filled — (Suppl.) a. through their own stubbornness and rebellion they have despised. Id. of conscience. — (/) turn over, likewise Ed. Mah. does not have s^d. — the crops will be cursed among the peoples. You will not work. You will not shear the firstborn of the sheep. It waits, and so shares what overflows, without its own loss — knowing the curse of the one who made his own share worse.

Measured Love and Ordered Charity

Love must be ordered, equal, and prudent, avoiding both timid deficiency and reckless excess.

"And further down: "But you, brother, for whom your own salvation is not yet sufficient — for whom love is still either nonexistent, or so tender, or so fragile that it believes every wind, trusts every spirit, and is carried about by every blast of teaching — or again, for whom love is so great that beyond the commandment you actually love your neighbor more than yourself, and yet so small that against the commandment it melts away through favoritism, gives way through fear, is disturbed by sadness, is shriveled by greed, is dragged out by ambitions, is troubled by suspicion, is harassed by reproaches, is torn apart by anxieties, swells with honors, wastes away with envy — you, I say, aware of yourself in your own affairs, with what madness, I ask, do you care for the affairs of others, or seek them, or go along with them?" But listen to what cautious and watchful love advises: not that forgiveness should come to others, it says, while tribulation comes to you, but out of a level ground of equality. Don't be too just. It's enough that you love your neighbor as yourself — that, truly, is what it means to act from equality. And below this: Fill up first, and then take care to pour out. Kind and prudent love is accustomed to flow in gently, not to overflow. My son, do not overflow, says Solomon. And the Apostle: For this reason, he says, we ought to pay attention to these things that are said, lest perhaps we overflow. What then?

The Wounded Soul and the Ointment of Devotion

Before pouring out to others, the soul must be healed through compunction, devotion, and grace.

Then — holier than Paul, wiser than Solomon? And a little later: But now listen — what things, and how great, are truly necessary for salvation, and what things, and how great, must be poured in before we presume to pour out. And later: The physician comes to the wounded, the spirit to the soul. For whom would he not find wounded by the devil's sword? And below: What does he need first? Truly, just as an inflammation or an ulcer that has perhaps overgrown in the wound can hinder healing, it must be cut away before all else. So let the ulcer of long-standing habit be cut away with the sharp blade of compunction.1 But the pain is harsh; so let it be soothed with the ointment of devotion, which is nothing other than exultation born from the hope of mercy. This produces the power to restrain and victory over sin; now it gives thanks and says: You have burst — and —

Food, Drink, and Rest in Contemplation

The soul is nourished by penitential work, prayer, and contemplative rest, burning with jealous love for God.

Following the Septuagint, lest these things pour forth — " Tob. , iv, 12. v. G. —!' Matt. , xxiv, 45.✦ — He, 2 Corinthians. … my chains. To you I will offer a sacrifice of praise.✦ Next the remedy of penitence is applied — a healing poultice of fasts, vigils, and prayers, and whatever other exercises of penitents there may be. The one who labors and is to be fed must be sustained with the food of good work, so that he doesn't give out. That work is food, you are taught from this: 'My food,' he says, 'is to do the will of my Father.'✦ Therefore let the labors of penitence be accompanied by works of devotion, which strengthen and encourage. Almsgiving, he says, provides great confidence.✦ Food stirs up thirst — so drink is needed. Let him approach with the food of good work; let the drink of prayer, composing in the stomach of conscience what has been well done, commend it to God. Through prayer the wine that gladdens the human heart is drunk — the wine of the Spirit, which intoxicates and pours in forgetfulness of carnal pleasures, moistens the inner parts of a parched conscience, digests the food of good deeds, and carries it through certain members of the soul — strengthening faith, comforting hope, quickening and ordering love, and enriching our character.✦✦ Once food and drink have been taken, what remains except that the sick one should rest and, after the sweat of action, lean into the stillness of contemplation? Sleeping in contemplation, one dreams of the Lord — through a mirror, in an enigma, to be sure, and not yet face to face, but meanwhile one beholds.✦ When one thus burns with love — having glimpsed not so much the one beheld as the one conjectured, and that swiftly, as if under a certain flash of a passing spark, barely and scarcely touched — the soul says: My soul desired you in the night, and my spirit within my heart.✦✦ Such love is jealous; this is what befits a friend, or a lover of the Bridegroom.✦ Hence it is necessary that the faithful and wise servant burn — the one the Lord has appointed over his household. This one is filled, this one keeps watch, this one exults; now secure, he pours himself out, overflowing and bursting forth, and says: Who is weak, and I am not weak?✦✦ Who is led into sin, and I am not burned?✦

The Fullness of Love

Perfect love excludes vanity, fulfills the law, and is God’s own gift, to be pursued with earnest ambition.

Let him preach, bear fruit, renew signs, and work wonders; there's no room for vanity to intrude where love holds everything. Indeed, the fullness of the law and the heart is love — provided, that is, it is complete.2 In the end, love is God's own gift, and there is nothing in all creation that can fulfill the creature made in God's image — except love, which is God alone, who alone is greater than that image.3 Let him pursue it with ambition. Earnestly. For what, then? There will be great confidence before the Most High God, in the spirit's repose.4 It is.

Seven Rivers of Grace Before Overflow

Seven interior gifts—compunction, devotion, penitence, piety, prayer, contemplation, and love—must be poured in before we pour out.

edit. love; cdil. Each of the two is lacking. — \k) love. Someone who has not yet attained it is advanced most dangerously, no matter how strongly he may appear to others to excel in virtues. If someone had all knowledge, if he gave all his possessions to the poor, if he handed over his own body so that he might burn — without love, he is empty, Paul says.✦5 See how great the things that must first be poured in, so that we may dare to pour them out: first, compunction; second, devotion; third, the labor of penitence; fourth, the work of piety; fifth, the zeal of prayer; sixth, the rest of contemplation; seventh, the fullness of love.6 All these things are worked by one and the same Spirit, according to the operation that is called an infusion — insofar as that which is called, as it were, an outpouring — purely, and because of this, may it now be safely administered, to the praise and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.✦7

Holy Restlessness Between Action and Contemplation

The contemplative soul is torn between zeal for others and love of stillness, healed by continual prayer.

True and chaste contemplation has this effect: the mind that has been powerfully kindled by divine fire is at times so filled with zeal and desire to gain God — who likewise loves that person — that it will most willingly interrupt the leisure of contemplation for the work of preaching. And then, having gained some ground through prayer in that area, it returns to contemplation all the more ardently the more fruitfully it remembers having stepped away. And once more, having tasted contemplation again, it eagerly returns with greater strength to the gains it habitually seeks. But between these shifts of focus, it's all too common that a person clings too tightly to one or the other — pulled this way and that by their own attachments — and so strays ever so slightly, on one side or the other, from the divine will. And perhaps holy Job was suffering something like this when he said: If I fall asleep, I say: When shall I rise? And again I shall wait until evening.✦ m? That is: both at rest — because of work left undone — and busy — because of disturbed quiet — I accuse myself. You see the holy man torn between the fruit of work and the sleep of contemplation — deeply tormented even while always dwelling in good things, yet always acting as though he needs greater penitence, and inquiring into God's will with groaning at every moment. Indeed, prayer is a helpful remedy and refuge in situations like this, because our frequent groaning before God — so that he may deign to show us constantly what we should do, when, and to what extent. Thus far Bernard.

The Two Parts of the Active Life

The active life has two parts, and the chief aim should be moral purification in order to be free for contemplation.

It's clear, then, from what's been said, that the active life has two parts, and Bernard distinguishes between them. [Greek text untranslatable — the source appears to contain a Greek quotation or gloss, possibly from the Septuagint, with Latin transliteration. The surrounding context suggests a scriptural citation related to the seventy (LXX).] The other of these two is the contemplative life, so it follows that we should speak about the manner and order of each. It remains for us to examine each of them individually. But I don't intend to treat the third point — that is, the second part of the active life, and how one should go out for the gain of souls and the good of one's neighbor — because the present situation doesn't require it. It's enough for you to place all your effort into this: that with vices corrected and virtues instilled through the first part of the active life, you may be free to devote yourself to God through contemplation.

Read the original Latin

Alioquin delicalo satis otio dormitare voles, si non exercitatus quiescere appetas, et Liae foecunditate neglecta, solis cupias Rachel amplexibus oblectari. Sed et pneposterus ordo est ante meritum exigere praemium, et aute laborem sumere cibum, cum dicat Apostolus ': Qui non laborat, non manducet. A mand-itis tuis intellexi, inquit, ut scias nisi propter obedientiae mandatum contemplationis gustum penitus nemini deberi. Nou igitur putes de propricE amore quietis, sanetas obedientiffi actibus, seniorumve traditionibus prfejudicium ullatenus faciendum. Alioquin non dormiet tecum sponsus in lectulo tuo: illo preesertim, quem tibi pro obedientiae floribus, cicutis ac urticis inobedientice aspersisti, propter quod non exaudiet orationes tuas, vocatusque non veniet. Nec enim dabit inobedienti copiam sui tantus obedientiaeamator, qui mori quamnon obedire maluerit. Sed neque approbat tuae contemplationis inane otium, qui dicit per Prophetam -: Laboravi sustinens, signans tempus quo exul coelo et patria summee quietis, ^ operatus est salutem in medio terrce. " Et paulo post *: " Miror valde impudentiam aliquorum, qui inter nos sunt, et qui cum omnes nos sua singularitate turbaverint, sua impatientia irritaverint, sua inobedientia coinquinaverint audent nihilominus ad tam foedum concupiscentiae suae lectulum, omni orationum inslantia tolius puritatis Dominum invocare.

At^ cum exlenderitis, ait, manus vestras ante oculos meos, et cum multiplicaveritis orationem. , non exaudiam. Quid enim? lectulus non est floridus, magis autem et putidus est; et tu illuc regem gloriae trahis! Ad pausandum hoc facis, an ad causandum? " Et inira: " Perge ergo tu tota die expandere ad Deum tuum manus tuas, qui fratres tota die molestas, unanimitatem impugnas, ab unitate te separas. * Et quid vis me facere, inquit Protecto ut primo quidem emundes conscientiam ab omni inqiiinamento irae, et disceptationis, et murmuris, et livoris; et quidquid omnino adversari cognoscitur, aut paci fratrum, aut obedientiae senioLxx:ii, 12. " Beru.

, super non vult operari. nisi obedienliae uiandatoruiD. — ('.) Id. uon. uno. ut. rum, de cordis habitaculo ehminare festines.

Deinde etiara circumdare tihi flores bonorum quoruracamf]ue actuum et lauUabilium studiorum, atque odoramenta virtutum, id cst "^ qucecumque sunt vera, qucBcumque justa, qucecumque sancta, qucecumque amalilia, qucecumque bonoe famae, si qua virtus, si qua laus disciplince, hcec cogitare, in his te exercere curato. Ad istiusmodi secure vocabis sponsum, quoniam, cum introduxeris eum, veraciler dicere poteris et tu, quia lectulus noster sed redolente nimirum conscientia pietatem, sed pacem, sed mansuetudinem, sed justitiam, sed obedientiam, sed hilaritatera, sed humilitatem. " Haec Bernardus. Ex praedictis apparet, quomodo pars activae, quam vocavit primam, praecedit contemplativam. De oratione; item, septem quoe prcecedunt bonum doctorem. Sequitur videre, quaUter contemplativa praecedit activam in secunda parte ipsius, et sic contemplativa stat in medio inter ipsas duas partes activae. Dicit igitur Bernardus *: " Sane cavendum est, aut dare quod nobis accepinms, aut quod erogandum accepimus, retinere. Rem profecto Christi retines tibi, si, verbi causa, plenus virtutibus cum sis, forisque nihilominus donis scientiae et eloquentiae adornatus, metu forte, aut segnitie, aut minus discreta humilitate verbum bonum, quod posset prodesse raultis, inutili, irao daranabili ligas siientio: certe ' maledictas, quod frumenta abscoiidis in populis.

Rursum quod tuum est, spargis et perdis, si priusquam infundaris, tu totus semiplenus festinas elTundere, contra legem "> arans inprimogenito bovis, et ovis primogenitum tondens. Nimirura vita atque salute, quara alteri das, te fraudas, dura saua vacuus intentione, gIori" inanis vento inflaris, aut terrena3 cupiditatis veneno inficeris, et lethali apostemate turgens, interis." Quamobrem, si sapis, conchamle exhibebis, etnon canalera. Hic siquidem pene simul recepit et refundit; illa vero, douec impleatur, ((/) Suppl. a. sua conliimacia et rebellioue contempserint. Id. conscienliae.

— (,/) uvertam, itemque Ed. Mah. non hahet s^d. — frumenta rnaledicetur in populis. Non opcraheris. Non tondehis primo(jeniiu ovium. expectat, et sic quod superabundat, sine suo damno communicat, sciens maledictum, qui partem suam fecit deteriorem. " Et infra *: " Caeterum tu, frater, cui firraa satis propria salus nondum est, cui charitas adhuc aut nulla est, aut adeo tenera, aut arundinea, quod omni flatui omni credat spiritui, omni circumferatur doctrinee vento; imo cui tanta est charitas, ut ^ ultra mandatum quidem diligas proximum tuum plus quam teipsum; et rursum tantilla, ut contra mandatum favore liquescat, pavore deficiat, perturbetur tristitia, avaritia contrahatur, protrahatur ambilionibus, suspicione inquietetur, convitiis exagitetur, curis evisceretur, honoribus tumeat, livore tabescat: tu, inquam, in propriis teipsum sentiens, quanam dementia, quaeso, aliena curare, aut ambis, aut acquiescis?

Sed audi quid consulat cauta vigilque charitas: Non ut aliis, inquit ^, sit remissio, vobis autem tribulaiio, sed ex cequali' tate. * Noli nimium essejustus. Sufficit ut diligas proximum tuum tanquam teipsum: hoc quippe est ex cequalitate. " Et infra: " Implere prius, et sic curato effundere. Benigna prudensque charitas afiluere consuevit, non affluere. Fili mi, ne percffluas, ait Salomon ^. Et Apostolus *; Propterea, inquit, debemus intendere his, quce dicuntur, ne forte pereffluamus. Quid enim?

tune Paulo sanctior, sapientior Salomone?" Et post pauca "^: " Sed jam audite, quae et quanta saluti propriee sint necessaria, quae et quanta infundi oporteat, priusquam effundere praesumamus, " Et post: " Accedit medicus ad vulneratum, spiritus ad animam. Quam enim non reperiat gladio diaboli vulneratam? " Et infra: " Quid ei primo opus est? Revera ut lumor vel ulcus, quod forte supercrevit in vulnere, et potest impedire sanitatem, ante omnia amputetur. Abscindatur itaque ferro acuto compunctionis ulcus inveteratae consuetudinis. Sed est acerbus dolor: leniatur proinde unguento devotionis; quod non est aliud, nisi concepta de spe indulgentiae exultatio. Hanc continendi parit facultas et victoria de peccato, Jam gratias agit, et dicit *: Dirupisti et.

jiixta LXX, ne effluant hcec. " Tob. , iv, 12. u. G. —!' > Mntth. , xxiv, 45.

— is II Cor. , vincula mea, tibi sacrificabo hostiam laudis. Deinde apponitur medicamentum poenitentiae, malagma jejuniorum, vigiUarum, orationum, et si qua sunt alia poenitentium exercitia. In labore cibandus est cibo boni operis, ne deficiat. Quod opus sit cibus, inde doceris *: Meus, inquit, cibus est, ut faciam voluntatem patris mei. Itaque comitentur poenitentiae labores pietatis opera, quae confortant. Magnam, ait '", fiduciam proestat eleemosyna. Cibus sitim excitat; potandus est.

Accedat cibo boni operis, orationis potus, componens in stomacho conscientiae quod bene gestum est, et commendans Deo. Orando bibitur vinum laetificans cor hominis, vinum spiritus quod inebriat, et carnalium voluptatum infundit obUvionem, humectat interiora arentis conscientiae, escas bonorum actuum digerit, et deducit per quaedam animae membra, fidem roborans, spem confortans, vegetans ordinansque charitatem, et impinguans mores. ^^ Sumpto cibo potuque, quid restat, nisi ut pauset aegrotus, et quieti contemplationis post sudorem actionis incumbat? Dormiens in contemplatione somniat Dominum: pcr speculum siquidem ^^ in cenigmate, non autem facie ad faciem interim intuetur. Cum sic non tam spectati quam conjectati, idque raptim, et quasisub quodam coruscamine scintillae transeuntis, tenuiter vix attacti inardescit amore, ait ^*: Anima mea desideravit te in nocte, sed et spiritus meus in prcecordiis meis. Talis amor zelat; hic decet amicum, vel amatorem sponsi. Hinc necesse est, quod ardeat ^* fidelis servus et prudens, quem constituit Dominus super familiam suam; hic repletur hic servet, hic ebultit, hic jam securus eftundit exundans, et erumpens, et dicens ^^: Quis infirrnatur, et ego non infirmor? Quis scandalizatur, et ego non uror?

Prasdicet, fructificet, innovet signa, et immutet mirabilia; non est quo se immisceat vanitas, ubi totum occupat charitas. Siquidem ^^ pknitudo legis et cordis est charitas si tamen plena. Deiis denique charitas est ", et nihil est in rebus, quod possit replere creaturam factam ad imaginem Dei, nisi charitas Deus, qui solus major est illa. Eam ambitioDibus. multum. Quid enim tunc. Fiducia magna erit coram summo Deo, spiritn riieo. Cwt.

edit. amorem; cdil. desst utrumquc. — \k) dilectio. nondum adeptus, periculosissime promovetnr, quantumlibet videatur aliis pollere virtutibus. Si habuerit omnem scientiam, si dederit omiiem siibstantiam suam pauperibus, si tradiderit corpus suurn, itaut ardeat, absque charilatc vacuus est, ait Paulus '. En quanta prius infundenda sunt, ut efTundere audeamus I Primo quidem compunctio; secundo devotio; tertio poenitentiae labor; quarto pietatis opus; quinto orationis studium; sexto contemplationis otium; septimo plenitudo dilectionis. Hcec omnia operaiur unvs atque idem Spiritus *, secundum operationem quae infusio appellatur, quatenus illa, qase effusio dicta est, pure, et ob hoc tute jam administretur, ad laudem et gloriam Domini nostri Jesu Christi.

" Idem ^: " Hoc siquidem vera et casta contemplatio habet, ut mentem, quam divino igne veheraenter succenderit, tanto interdum repleat zelo et desiderio acquirendi Deo, qui eum similiter diligat, ut otium contemplationis pro studio praedicationis libentissime intermittat; et rursum potita votis aliquatenus in hac parte, tanto ardentius redeat in idipsum, quanto se fructuosius intermisisse meminerit; et iterum sumpto contemplationis gustu, valentius ad conquirenda lucra solita alacriter recurrat. Caeterum inter has vicissitudines plerumque ne forte alteri horum, dum suis affectionibus hinc inde distrahitur, plus justo inhaereat, et sic in utrolibet vel modicum a divina deviet volunlate. Et fortassis aliquid tale sanctus Job patiebatur, cum diceret *: Si dormiero, dico: Quando consurgam, et rursum expectabo vespero. m? hoc est: et quietus, neglecti operis; et occupalus, perturbatae nihilominus quietis me arguo. Vides virum sanctum inter fructum operis, et somnum contemplationis, graviter aestuare, et in bonis licet semper conversantem, semper tamen quasi de mahs pcenitentiam agere, et Dei cum gemitu momentis singulis inquirere voluntatem. IJnicum quippe in hujusmodi remedium seu refugium oratio est, quia frequens gemitus ad Deum, ut quid, quando, et quatenus nos facere veht, assidue nobis demoustrare dignetur. " Hucusque Bernardus.

Patet igitur ex praedictis, quomodo duae sunt partes activae vitae, et quomodo inter Bernard. , super LXX, SnEipaTe iauTOtc ei; 6ixato<nivr)v, -rpuYVitjaTe ei? xapTriv eas est contemplativa, et per consequens de modo et ordine ipsarum. Restat, ut de ipsis singulariter inspiciamus. Sed de tertio membro, id cst, de secunda parte activae, qualiter ad lucrum animarum, et ad utilitatem proximi sit exeundum, non intendo tractare, quia tiius status hoc non requirit. SufFicit libi in hoc totum sludium tuum ponere, ut vitiis emendata ac virtutibus imbula per primam partem activae, Deo tuo vacare possis per contemplationem

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩2Thess.3.10 — For even when we were with you, this we commanded you: if anyone is not willing to work, neither let him eat.
  2. ↩Phil.2.8 — And he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
  3. ↩Isa.1.15 — And when you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen—your hands are full of blood.
  4. ↩Isa.1.15 — And when you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen—your hands are full of blood.
  5. ↩Phil.4.8 — Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise—think on these things.
  6. ↩Song.1.12 — While the king was at his table, my nard gave forth its fragrance.
  7. ↩Matt.25.14-Matt.25.30 — For it is like a man going on a journey, who called his own servants and entrusted his property to them. Matt.25.15 — And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, each according to his own ability, and he went away immediately. Matt.25.16 — The one who had received the five talents went and traded with them and gained five more. Matt.25.17 — In the same way, the one who had received two talents gained two more. Matt.25.18 — But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug in the ground and hid his master's silver. Matt.25.19 — After a long time the master of those servants comes and settles accounts with them. Matt.25.20 — And the one who had received the five talents came and brought five more, saying, 'Lord, you entrusted five talents to me; see, I have gained five more talents.' Matt.25.21 — His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You were faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' Matt.25.22 — The one who had received the two talents also came forward and said, 'Lord, you entrusted two talents to me; see, I have gained two more.' Matt.25.23 — His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' Matt.25.24 — Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward and said, 'Lord, I knew you that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you did not scatter seed.' Matt.25.25 — And being afraid, I went and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours. Matt.25.26 — But his master answered him, 'You wicked and lazy slave! You knew that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter seed. Matt.25.27 — Then you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back what was mine with interest. Matt.25.28 — So take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. Matt.25.29 — For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Matt.25.30 — And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
  8. ↩Deut.21.4 — And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer to a perennial wadi, which has not been worked and which has not been sown, and they shall break the heifer's neck there in the wadi.
  9. ↩Matt.24.45 — Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has appointed over his household, to give them their food at the proper time?
  10. ↩Ps.115.17 — The dead do not praise the LORD, nor do any who descend into silence.
  11. ↩John.4.34 — Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work.
  12. ↩Dan.4.24 — Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor — perhaps there will be a lengthening of your prosperity.
  13. ↩Ps.103.15 — As for mortals, their days are like grass; like a flower of the field, so they blossom.
  14. ↩Eph.5.18 — And do not get drunk with wine, in which there is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.
  15. ↩1Cor.13.12 — For now we see in a mirror, dimly; but then face to face. Now I know in part; but then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
  16. ↩Isa.26.9 — My soul has desired you in the night; even my spirit within me seeks you diligently. For when your judgments are upon the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
  17. ↩Song.3.1-Song.3.2 — On my bed, night after night, I sought the one my soul loves; I sought him, but I did not find him. Song.3.2 — I will rise now and go about the city, through the streets and through the squares; I will seek the one my soul loves. I sought him, but I did not find him.
  18. ↩Song.8.6 — Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death, passion is fierce as Sheol. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a flame of Yah.
  19. ↩Matt.24.45 — Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has appointed over his household, to give them their food at the proper time?
  20. ↩2Cor.11.29 — Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?
  21. ↩2Cor.11.29 — Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?
  22. ↩1Cor.13.1-1Cor.13.3 — If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 1Cor.13.2 — And if I have prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 1Cor.13.3 — And if I give away all I possess, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
  23. ↩1Cor.12.11 — But the one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as he wills.
  24. ↩Job.7.4 — When I lie down, I say, 'When shall I rise?' But the evening drags on, and I am filled with tossing until dawn." "Drags on" is clearer and more oral than "stretches on.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩compunctio retained as a devotional term: sorrow pierced by grace, not mere guilt or shame.
  2. 2 ↩The source reading 'pknitudo' is a normalized form of plenitudo; the gloss confirms 'fullness.' The phrase echoes the traditional pairing of law and heart in Christian moral theology.
  3. 3 ↩The source reading 'Deiis' is treated as a normalized form of Dei est ('is God's / belongs to God'). The phrase 'charitas Deus' identifies love itself with God, a classic move in Christian theological ethics. The claim that God alone is 'greater than that image' refers to the image of God in the creature.
  4. 4 ↩The source readings 'spiritn riieo' are normalized forms of spiritu requies ('the repose/rest of the spirit'). The phrase may refer either to the soul's rest in God or to the Holy Spirit's dwelling peace; the translation preserves both possibilities.
  5. 5 ↩The Latin 'charilatc' is a scribal error for 'caritate'. The reference is to 1 Corinthians 13:1–3, where Paul insists that without love (caritas), all gifts are nothing. The rendering 'empty' captures 'vacuus' in that Pauline sense.
  6. 6 ↩The image of 'pouring in' (infundenda) before 'pouring out' (effundere) reflects the contemplative tradition that interior grace must be received before it can be shared with others. The sevenfold list moves from initial conversion (compunction) through active virtues to the summit of love.
  7. 7 ↩The passage draws on Pauline pneumatology (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:11: 'all these are worked by one and the same Spirit'). The distinction between 'infusio' (infusion, receiving grace) and 'effusio' (outpouring, sharing it) frames the entire spiritual life as gift before it becomes mission.

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