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Chapter 11ViaRegia.1.11

De misericordia

The Royal Duty of Mercy

The king is called to defend and provide for the vulnerable as a sacred duty, recognizing that almsgiving serves as a powerful spiritual shield.

For anyone who, with the Lord's help, devoutly wants to defend the poor and widows, strangers and orphans, ought—if he can—mercifully to wipe away their need with his own goods, and ought often to shore up their destitution with alms. As it is written: Son, do not withhold alms from the poor, and don't turn your eyes away from the poor person. Do not despise a hungry soul, and do not embitter the poor person in his need.1 Do not crush the heart of the needy, and don't put off the gift for the one in distress. Do not cast aside the plea of the deeply troubled, and don't turn your face away from the destitute. Do not turn your eyes away from the poor. Incline your ear to the poor without a heavy heart, and pay what you owe, and answer him with peaceful words in gentleness.2 For the sake of the commandment, take the poor person under your care, and because of his need do not send him away empty-handed. Store alms deep in the poor person's heart, and that gift will plead for you against every evil.3 It will fight for you better than a warrior's shield and better than a spear against your enemy.4

Scriptural Models of Compassion

Solomon, David, and Job provide historical and royal precedents for the necessity of mercy and the rejection of indifference toward the needy.

King Solomon shows in Proverbs that this is a royal virtue; he says: Mercy and truth guard the king, and his throne is strengthened by clemency.✦ David, speaking of himself and all who mercifully give alms, also says: Blessed is the man who takes thought for the needy and the poor; in the evil day the Lord will deliver him.✦ Job, too—simple, upright, and God-fearing—offering true testimony about himself, says with confidence: If I denied the poor what they wanted, and made the widow's eyes wait,✦5 If I ate my morsel alone, and the orphan did not eat of it.✦ (For from my childhood compassion grew up with me, and from my mother's womb it went out with me.)✦ If I despised anyone perishing because he had no clothing, and a poor man without covering,✦ If his sides have not blessed me, and he has not been warmed with the fleeces of my sheep,✦6 If I raised my hand against the orphan, even when I saw that I had the upper hand at the gate—let my shoulder fall from its joint, and let my arm be broken with its bones.✦7

The Joy of Giving to Christ

Almsgiving should be performed with gladness, as the Lord identifies himself directly with the poor, promising a reward at the final judgment.

Anyone who hopes to joyfully store up treasure in heaven through alms must not give them lukewarmly, slowly, or out of fear. We ought to give alms to the poor with great gladness of heart, since whatever is cheerfully given to the poor is, without a doubt, given to the Lord himself.✦ For at the judgment, the Lord himself will say to those on his right hand: Come, you who are blessed by my Father; possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; naked, and you clothed me; sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me. But when they asked him, wanting to know when they had done these things, the Lord answered: When you did it for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.

The Eternal Reward of Charity

The king is encouraged to view almsgiving as an investment in eternal life, noting that mercy is a prerequisite for receiving God's own compassion.

So, King, so that you may receive the kingdom prepared from the beginning of the world, you must often give alms to the poor for Christ's sake. You'll know him forever as the one who repays you if, for his sake, you cheerfully offer bread to the poor; from him you'll gain eternal mercy if, for his sake, you open a generous hand to the poor.8 No one can earn God's mercy who hasn't been merciful himself; nor will anyone obtain anything through prayer from divine compassion who hasn't been kind to the poor man's plea.9 So the Spirit of truth says through Solomon: Whoever shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will himself cry out and not be heard. The angel Raphael also urges us to give alms freely and generously, saying: Prayer with fasting is good, and almsgiving is better than storing up treasures of gold, because almsgiving delivers from death; it is what purges sins, and it makes one find mercy and eternal life. The angel reveals and affirms that by alms our petitions become effective, by alms life is redeemed from dangers, and by alms souls are set free from death. How good it will be for you, O most noble King—how sweet and pleasant—when your own Creator, Redeemer, and Ruler, before all the angels and archangels, the patriarchs, prophets, and apostles, and with the host of the whole world—that is, of heaven and earth—gathered together, and you mercifully set at his right hand, addresses you along with the others in this way: Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

A Call to Heavenly Stewardship

The king is urged to partner with Christ in his earthly possessions, exchanging temporal wealth for an eternal inheritance.

So then, most gentle and illustrious king, with full faith, a devoted mind, and constant works, prepare your service for the Lord your God: clothe Christ on earth, so that you may receive a heavenly garment from him; provide food and drink, so that you may deserve to join Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the eternal banquet. What eternal joy that will be for you—how great and supreme the glory—when the Lord begins to repay you with heavenly things for earthly, everlasting for temporal, great things for small, lasting things for things that pass away, enduring things for things that are only for show, the firmest for the fragile, and what remains for what is only passing!✦1011 So then, king, set aside a portion of your revenues for your Lord; make Christ a partner with you in your earthly possessions, so that he in turn may make you a co-heir of the heavenly kingdoms.✦ For he has granted you everything you have, and—so that he may later repay you a hundredfold for what he asks from you—he asks for alms in the poor.12 He wants to exalt you forever by honoring you, and in the poor he asks from you only a little honor.✦

Read the original Latin

Qui enim, Domino adjuvante, pie cupit pauperes et viduas, advenas et pupillos defendere, misericorditer, si valet, eorum inopiam bonis suis debet abstergere, et mendicitatem eorum eleemosynis frequenter debet fulcire. Sicut scriptum est: Fili, eleemosynam pauperis ne defraudes, et oculos tuos ne transvertas a paupere. Animam esurientem ne despexeris, et non exasperes pauperem in inopia sua. Cor inopis ne afflixeris, et non protrahas datum angustianti: rogationem contribulati ne abjicias: et non avertas faciam tuam ab egeno: ab inope ne avertas oculos tuos. Declina pauperi sine tristitia aurem tuam, et redde debitum tuum, et responde illi pacifica in mansuetudine. Propter mandatum assume pauperem: et propter inopiam ejus ne dimittes eum vacuum. Conclude eleemosynam in cor pauperis, et haec pro te exorabit ab omni malo. Super scutum potentis, et super lanceam adversus inimicum tuum purgabit.

Sed et quod ista virtus sit regia, rex Salomon in Proverbiis indicat; ait enim: Misericordia et veritas custodiunt regem, et roboratur clementia thronus ejus. David quoque tam de se quam et de omnibus eleemosynas misericorditer facientibus ait: Beatus vir qui intelligit super egenum et pauperem: in die mala liberabit eum Dominus. Job quoque simplex et rectus ac timens Deum, de se verax proferens testimonium, fiducialiter ait: Si negavi quod volebant, pauperibus, et oculos viduae exspectare feci. Si comedi buccellam meam solus, et non comedit pupillus ex ea. (Quia ab infantia mea crevit mecum miseratio, et de utero matris meae egressa est mecum.) Si despexi pereuntem, eo quod non habuerit indumentum, et absque operimento pauperem. Si non benedixerunt mihi latera ejus, et de velleribus ovium mearum calefactus est. Si levavi super pupillum manum meam, etiam cum viderem me in porta superiorem: humerus meus a junctura sua cadat, et brachium meum cum suis ossibus confringatur.

Non enim tepide aut tarde nec formidando eleemosynas erogare debet, qui ex illis feliciter thesaurisare sperat in coelo. Cum magna mentis hilaritate pauperibus debemus eleemosynas dare, quando ipsi Domino sine dubio datur, quod pauperibus hilariter erogatur. Ipse namque Dominus in judicio his, qui a dextris ejus erunt dicturus est: Venite, benedicti Patris mei, possidete paratum vobis regnum a constitutione mundi. Esurivi enim, et dedistis mihi manducare; sitivi, et dedistis bibere; hospes eram, et collegistis me; nudus, et cooperuistis me; infirmus, et visitastis me; in carcere eram, et venistis ad me. Illis autem interrogantibus, et quando haec fecissent scire volentibus, respondens Dominus ait: Quando fecistis uni ex his fratribus meis minimis, mihi fecistis.

Ergo, rex, ut ab origine mundi praeparatum percipias regnum, debes pauperibus eleemosynas frequenter porrigere propter Christum. Illum enim in aeternum senties retributorem, si pro illo pauperibus hilariter porrexeris panem; ab illo aeternam consequeris misericordiam, si pro illo plenam pauperibus porrexeris dexteram. Neque enim mereri Dei misericordiam poterit, qui misericors et ipse non fuerit; aut impetrabit de divina pietate aliquid precibus, qui ad precem pauperis non fuerit humanus. Sic Spiritus veritatis per Salomonem dicit: Qui obturat aurem suam ad clamorem pauperis, et ipse clamabit et non exaudietur. Raphael quoque angelus ut eleemosyna libenter ac largiter fiat hortatur nos, dicens: Bona est oratio cum jejunio, et eleemosyna magis quam thesauros auri recondere, quoniam eleemosyna a morte liberat, et ipsa est quae purgat peccata, et facit invenire misericordiam et vitam aeternam. Revelat angelus et affirmat eleemosynis petitiones nostras efficaces fieri, eleemosynis vitam de periculis redimi, eleemosynis a morte animas liberari. Quam bonum tibi erit, o nobilissime rex, quam dulce et suave, quando ipse creator, redemptor et gubernator tuus coram omnibus angelis et archangelis, patriarchis, prophetis, et apostolis, totiusque mundi, videlicet coeli et terrae exercitu congregato, tibi ad dexteram suam misericorditer constituto taliter fuerit cum caeteris allocutus: Venite, benedicti Patris mei, possidete paratum vobis regnum a constitutione mundi.

Ergo, mitissime atque clarissime rex, fide plena, mente devota, operatione continua, Domino Deo tuo obsequium praepara: da Christo in terra vestimentum, ut ab illo coeleste recipias indumentum; da cibum et potum, ut cum Abraham, Isaac et Jacob ad convivium merearis pervenire aeternum. Quae illa erit tibi aeterna laetitia; quam grandis et summa gloria, quando tibi coeperit Dominus retribuere pro terrenis coelestia, pro temporalibus sempiterna, pro modicis magna, pro caducis permanentia, pro fucatis permanentia, pro fragilibus firmissima, pro transeuntibus permansura! Ergo, rex, de reditibus tuis portionem fac Domino tuo, possessionum terrestrium fac tibi participem Christum, ut et ille cohaeredem te faciat regnorum coelestium. Ille etenim tibi omnia quae habes concessit, et a te quam tibi centupliciter postmodum reddat, in pauperibus eleemosynam rogat. Ille te facere vult in aeternum honorificando sublimem, et in pauperibus a te parvum expetit honorem.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Prov.20.28 — Steadfast love and faithfulness guard the king, and by steadfast love his throne is upheld.
  2. ↩Ps.41.2;Ps.42.1 — Blessed is the one who has regard for the poor; in the day of trouble, the LORD delivers him. Ps.42.1 — To the choirmaskil. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah.
  3. ↩Job.31.16 — If I have withheld what the poor desired, or let the widow's eyes grow dim,
  4. ↩Job.31.17 — and I ate my bread alone, and the orphan did not eat from it
  5. ↩Job.31.18 — For from my youth he raised me as a father, and from my mother's womb he guided me.
  6. ↩Job.31.19 — If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, or a poor person with no covering,
  7. ↩Job.31.20 — If his loins have not blessed me, and if the fleece of my sheep has not warmed him,
  8. ↩Job.31.21-Job.31.22 — If I have raised my hand against the orphan, because I saw my help was in the gate, Job.31.22 — then let my shoulder fall from the blade, and my arm be broken from the bone.
  9. ↩2Cor.9.7 — Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
  10. ↩2Cor.4.17-2Cor.4.18 — For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, 2Cor.4.18 — So we do not focus on the things that are seen, but on the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
  11. ↩Rom.8.17;Gal.4.7 — And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. Gal.4.7 — So you are no longer a slave but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.
  12. ↩Prov.14.31 — Whoever oppresses the poor insults their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors him.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩exasperes can mean provoke, embitter, or harass; rendered as 'embitter' to keep both emotional wounding and harsh treatment in view.
  2. 2 ↩sine tristitia is literally 'without sadness'; rendered 'without a heavy heart' to capture ungrudging readiness rather than mere emotional cheerfulness.
  3. 3 ↩Conclude eleemosynam in cor is a biblical idiom of enclosing/storing alms in the poor person's heart so the gift itself becomes intercession; rendered 'store...deep' rather than literal 'shut/enclose'.
  4. 4 ↩Source reading purgabit ('will cleanse/clear') is awkward in the military simile; translated as the near-certain intended pugnabit sense ('will fight'), common in the Sirach parallel. Flagged for review.
  5. 5 ↩Source has a comma after volebant before pauperibus; sense taken as quod volebant pauperibus ('what the poor wanted'), the usual Job 31:16 construction.
  6. 6 ↩Latin places non only with benedixerunt; the second negative follows the usual sense of Job's oath of innocence (if he was not warmed so that his sides would bless me).
  7. 7 ↩in porta superiorem: superior/stronger in the city gate (public judgment seat); rendered as having the upper hand at the gate.
  8. 8 ↩plenam... dexteram: rendered as an open, generous hand rather than a merely 'full' right hand; the image is free-handed giving.
  9. 9 ↩divina pietate rendered as divine compassion (medieval pietas as pity/tender mercy), not modern 'piety' as religious practice.
  10. 10 ↩fucatis: painted/counterfeit show, not genuine substance; rendered as 'things that are only show'.
  11. 11 ↩pro caducis permanentia and pro fucatis permanentia both use permanentia in the supplied Latin; translated as given, but the double permanentia may be a transmission issue.
  12. 12 ↩et a te quam tibi centupliciter postmodum reddat read as purpose/result relative to the alms he requests: what he asks from you he will repay a hundredfold.

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