Quld/ecerit Dominus Jesus ab anno duodecimo, usque ad pt-incipium anni trigesimi
The Hidden Years of Jesus
The silence of the Gospels regarding Jesus' youth is a profound mystery that reveals the virtue of his hidden life.
When the Lord Jesus returned from the Temple and Jerusalem to Nazareth with his parents, he was, as the text says, obedient to them. He lived there with them until the beginning of his thirtieth year; yet it is not found in the Scriptures that he did anything during all that time, which seems truly remarkable. What, then, are we to meditate on him having done? Was the Lord Jesus idle for so long a time, that he did nothing worthy of Scripture and record? For if he had, why, just as... ...would his other deeds not have been recorded? It seems like a complete mystery. Perhaps Scripture is silent for this reason: so that the actions of young people might not be too widely publicized. But pay close attention here, because you can clearly see that by doing nothing, He accomplished great things. Nothing in His actions is without mystery; just as He spoke and acted with virtue, so too did He remain silent and withdraw with virtue. We must believe, as the doctor Gregory says, that both before and after this time, He lived among people without showing any famous or public miracle, as if He were one of them, until He reached manhood. John the Baptist says of Him: 'There is one among you whom you do not know.' And Luke briefly summarized this whole period with these words: 'And He went down with them and was obedient to them.' Hence Thomas also says: 'During the intervening time, that is, from His birth until His Baptism, Christ performed no miracle, but lived in conformity with others, and His power remained unknown to everyone.' He did not perform miracles during that time so that the mystery of the Incarnation would not be thought a phantom, if He had not behaved like other children of His age; and so He delayed the demonstration of His knowledge and power until the time when other men are accustomed to flourish in knowledge and virtue. Thomas, this supreme Master, who would one day teach virtues and the way of life, began from His youth to perform virtuous works, but in a miraculous and hidden way, unheard of in past times—namely, by rendering Himself useless, abject, and foolish in the eyes of others, so that it may be devoutly thought upon and meditated without any rash assertion. And with this qualification, I affirm to you everything that isn't proven by the authority of Holy Scripture, just as is also recited above in the prologue. He therefore withdrew Himself from the company of men, avoided their tumult, and was intent upon frequent prayers.
The School of Humility
Jesus' life in Nazareth serves as the ultimate model of humility, teaching us that true greatness is found in being despised and serving others.
He would go to the synagogue—that is, the church—and stand there in prayer, placing himself in the most lowly and humble spot. He would return home and stand with his Mother and his foster father, and sometimes he would help them. He would walk back and forth among people as if he didn't even notice them. Everyone was amazed to see such a handsome young man doing nothing that seemed worthy of praise. They expected him to do great things and the works of an upright man. For while he was a boy, he was growing in age, wisdom, and grace before God and men. But look: as he grew and reached his twentieth year, and even his twenty-fifth and beyond, he did nothing that showed any sign of greatness or maturity. They were deeply astonished and mocked him, and he was generally considered by everyone to be worthless and cast aside. This was well spoken of him through the Prophet: 'I am a worm and not a man, the scorn of men and the outcast of the people. All who see me mock me; they speak with their lips and shake their heads.' He rendered himself worthless and cast aside to everyone. But does this seem like a small thing to you? He certainly did not need it, but in our own works, nothing is considered greater or more difficult; it seems to be the highest and most difficult level to reach, for anyone who attains this: to truly and sincerely conquer and master his own heart and spirit, and the proud arrogance of his own flesh, so that he does not consider himself to be of any importance, but rather wishes to be despised as worthless and cast aside. Until you reach this level, consider that you've done nothing. For since, according to the Lord's word, we are all useless even when we have done well, until we are at this level of abjection, we are not yet standing in the truth, but are still standing and walking in vanity. Therefore, let's not deceive ourselves, because as the Apostle says: 'If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.' In all the care you take for your own salvation, there is no duty or remedy more useful to you than to criticize and despise yourself. Whoever does this, therefore, is your helper; they are doing what you were doing, or what you ought to have been doing, so that you might be saved. Toward the one who has done you an injury, show yourself more private and approachable; toward the one to whom you have done an injury, be humble and ashamed. Consider your adversary, and anyone who causes you trouble, as a friend and helper; count the harm and insults brought upon you as your own gain and progress, and don't stop giving thanks to God and to those who inflict them upon you. For, according to one writer, the humble person rejoices when they are looked down upon, feels pain if they are honored, groans in prosperity, exults in adversity, is fearful in wealth, mourns in luxury, is tormented in abundance, and glories in poverty; they despise fleeting praise, consider themselves unworthy of any honor, abhor hypocrisy, know nothing of pretense, but love the truth; they forget temporal things and long for eternal ones; they know nothing of what is worldly, so that they may deserve what is heavenly; they are never accustomed to presume anything about themselves; they never attribute their own strengths or any graces they possess to themselves; they do not ascribe their merits to their own powers or their own judgment, but humbly recognize them as gifts of divine mercy. This same person desires to remain hidden, if it can be done without harm to their neighbor, so that they might not be stained by even the slightest vice of boasting or pride. Who is like this, and whom shall we praise? Hence Bernard says: To seek praise for humility is not a virtue, but a subversion. The truly humble person wants to be considered lowly, not to be praised as humble; they rejoice in being held in contempt, and the only thing the proud person truly despises is praise—this is what Bernard says. If, therefore, you ask why the Lord lived this way, I answer you: not because He had any need of it, but to instruct us. Therefore, if we don't learn from this, we are without excuse. It is truly abominable if a little worm—who will soon be food for worms—exalts itself, when the Lord of Majesty humbled Himself and emptied Himself. If, however, it seems absurd to anyone that He lived so uselessly, and that the Evangelists omitted so much of what He did, and if someone should perhaps say other similar things, it can be answered that it was not useless to act and provide such an exercise in virtue; rather, it was highly useful, and the right and stable foundation of all virtues. Bernard seems to share my view, as you can see for yourself later on in his treatise on the Baptism of the Lord, near the end. Regardless of the truth of the matter, it seems both pious and useful to meditate on it in this way. You see, then, how the Lord Jesus began by doing before he taught; for he was about to teach, "Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart." This, therefore, he wanted to do first, and he did it not in pretense, but from the heart, just as he was truly humble and gentle in heart. Pretense couldn't find a place in him; instead, he established and deepened his inner self in humility, lowliness, and rejection, and in this way he annihilated himself in the sight of all. Even after he began to preach, to speak of divine and most high things, and to perform magnificent miracles, they didn't respect him, but despised him, asking, "Who is this?" "Isn't this the carpenter's son?" And they said many other mocking and contemptuous things. The word of the Apostle is verified, then, according to this understanding: "He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant," and not just any servant through the Incarnation, but even a useless servant, through a humble and rejected way of life. Consider his every act: humility always shines through them. He therefore fashioned it himself—that is, he showed how it can be acquired—namely, through the vilification and rejection of himself in his own sight and in the sight of others, and through the continuous exercise of lowly and humble works. For if you wish to attain humility, it's necessary that humiliation and the exercise of humble works come first. Hence Bernard says: "Humility, to which humiliation certainly leads, is the foundation of the entire spiritual structure."
The Path of True Humility
Humility is not merely being humbled by others, but a deliberate interior state that merits divine grace and preserves the soul from vanity.
Humiliation is the path to humility, just as patience leads to peace, and reading leads to knowledge. If you desire the virtue of humility, don't run away from the path of humiliation. For if you cannot be humiliated, you cannot be advanced in humility; it is better for me that my foolishness be known and that I be justly humbled by those who know, than that I often happen to be unjustly praised by those who do not. It is a truly great danger to hear someone spoken of more highly than he feels himself to be. Who will grant me that I might be as justly humbled among men for the truth, as I have been unjustly exalted for what is false? I would rightly take up that prophetic voice: "I have been humbled and troubled after being exalted," and that other: "I will play, and I will become even more worthless; I will play," meaning that I might be mocked. A good game, at which Michal is angry, but God is delighted! A good game, which offers a ridiculous spectacle to people, but a most beautiful one to the angels! It's a good game, I say, that makes us an object of mockery to the prosperous and a source of contempt to the proud. The one who said, 'We have been made a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men,' played this chaste and religious game. Let us also play this game, so that we may be mocked, confounded, and humbled until He comes who casts down the powerful and exalts the humble—He who will make us joyful, glorify us, and exalt us forever. And again: 'It is necessary for anyone striving for higher things to think humbly of himself, lest while he is lifted above himself, he fall from himself, unless he is firmly established through true humility.' For great things aren't obtained except through the merit of humility. Therefore, he who is to be advanced is humbled by correction, and through humility he merits grace. So, when you see yourself being humbled, take it as a good sign. For it is entirely an argument of approaching grace; just as the spirit is exalted to its ruin, so it is humbled before exaltation. Sometimes, there is a curse from him and from a servant. But he didn't feel the injury, because he sensed grace beforehand. “What is it to me and to you, son of Sarvia?” he said. Oh, truly a man after God’s own heart, who thought it better to be angry with the one who was cursing him than with the one who was reproaching him! From this, he spoke with a secure conscience: “If I have returned evil to those who repaid me with evil, I will fall empty-handed before my enemies.” He forbade the cursing reviler from being stopped, considering the curses a test, and while the cursing tongue raged, he looked to what God was doing in secret. The voice of the one cursing was in his ears, but his soul inclined itself toward blessing. And therefore he says: “It is good for me that you have humbled me, so that I may learn your statutes.” See, humility justifies us. I have spoken of humility. And not humiliation.1 How many are humbled who are not humble? Some are humbled with bitterness; others patiently; others even gladly. The first are guilty; the next are harmless; the last are just. Although innocence is a part of justice, its perfection is found in the humble; God gives grace not to the humbled, but to the humble. Truly, a humble person is one who turns humiliation into humility, and such a person can say to God with David:2 “It is good for me that you have humbled me”—so says Bernard. There are many things that help foster humiliation and the practice of humility, about which Bernard says: "Five things can be useful for the practice of humility." The love of lowliness, so that a person may be in those things and in that place where they might seem to be an object of injury. The habit of subjection, so that one always wants to be with someone whom they revere and fear, so that they may learn to break their own will; third, in the practice of humility, there is the comparison with someone better, so that a person may always look to the one in whom they find the grace they lack, forgetting what lies behind and straining toward what lies ahead. The fourth is the constant meditation on one's own condition, so that at every movement of pride, this immediately comes to mind: 'Why are you proud, you dust and ashes?' The fifth is the consideration of the hidden Inspector. For just as someone who has often made a confession to a person about words they spoke arrogantly is greatly embarrassed if it happens that a child, speaking of something similar, sees them listening, so too, one who considers the hidden Inspector, to whom every thought is confessed, will not be able to avoid blushing if they meditate on anything arrogant; therefore, it is very useful for a person not only against pride but also against all vices to always see the One who sees them, and thus to attend to Him in their heart, and as if they had no other care but to contemplate in God what they are doing or how they are behaving; in this, Bernard says, humility is to be sought, without which you will not be able to progress or possess any virtue. Hence Bernard says again: 'Humility is so necessary among other virtues that without it, those virtues don't even seem to be virtues.' Indeed, for charity and every other virtue to be given, it is humility that merits it; for God gives grace to the humble. It preserves what has been received, because the Spirit doesn't rest except upon the quiet and the humble. It perfects virtue, for virtue is perfected in infirmity—that is, in humility—as Bernard says. Humility, therefore, merits first the infusion of grace; hence it is said in the Psalm: 'You send forth springs into the valleys,' which means you bestow your grace upon the humble. For there are two mountains, two kinds of pride: one born of temporal things, the other of spiritual things; and between these two mountains is the valley of humility, which does not decline toward any kind of pride, and in this middle ground, grace passes through. Secondly, humility merits the increase of grace; therefore, if you wish to receive more abundant grace from God, don't esteem yourself highly, but humble yourself. Now, there are three signs that a person isn't puffed up by the grace they have: first, if they don't wish, because of the grace or perfection they possess, to be shown greater favor than others; second, if they are prepared to endure contempt, hardship, and neglect just as others do; third, if, when they are treated unfairly, they believe that in this no injustice is being done to them, but rather justice. Thirdly, humility merits the increase and preservation of grace. For just as wood preserves fire, so humility preserves grace, which is spiritual fire. Fire is kept alive by adding wood; in the same way, grace is multiplied by an increase in good works. which is. like adding wood. Likewise, fire is kept alive by blowing on it; so, too, is grace kept alive by fervent meditation, which acts like a kind of breathing. Also, fire is kept alive. by protection against what is contrary to it. so, too, is grace kept alive by avoiding occasions of sin. and by avoiding bad company, which acts as a protection against what is contrary to it.
Living the Holy Life
By contemplating the daily life of the Holy Family, we are invited to embrace poverty, labor, and the sweetness of love for Jesus.
But let's return to our contemplation. Look at the actions and the life of the Lord Jesus—our mirror, and the primary focus of our purpose. Therefore, be present in all things, and consider that blessed, small family—so exalted, yet so poor and humble—that he led. Blessed Joseph sought what he could from his trade; but our Lady worked with wool and needle for a price, to earn their living. She provided for the Son and performed the many other chores of the house, because she didn't despise serving. Therefore, sympathize with him, for it's right to labor and work with your own hands. Sympathize also with the good Jesus, because he helps her faithfully and labors in those things that are necessary. For the Son of Man, as he himself says, didn't come to be served, but to serve. Therefore, learn to serve Him well, and perform the humble duties of the house. And nonetheless, look also at our Lady and Joseph the elder, working for the necessities of life. Hence Basil says: 'He Himself, even in the prime of His youth, was obedient to His parents, and He humbly endured the labor of the body.' He endured it with reverence. . For since these people were holy... ...they were just. Yet even so. And since they suffered from a lack of necessities—as the manger itself bears witness—it's clear that they worked hard with their own hands, earning what they needed for life; yet Jesus, by being obedient to them even in enduring such labor, showed his complete submission. So says Basil.3 Consider also the three beds in that small room—one for each of them—and picture the Lord Jesus settling down on his own each night after prayer, for such a long time, so humbly, so simply, and so persistently, just as any other poor person among the people would do. Every evening, as you lie in your own bed, you should look to him with compassion and humbly and devoutly entrust yourself to him. Yet in such great hardship and poverty, the holy Mother was filled with interior joy at the presence of such a Son. Hence Anselm says: "Who could grasp the joy that filled her whole being when she had with her the One she loved so deeply—the One she knew to be the Creator and Ruler of all things—living with her, eating with her, and teaching her with his sweet words whatever she wished to know?" However wondrous and ineffable the affection of love that can be imagined between such a Son of such a Mother, and such a Mother of such a Son, let those at least reflect on it in some way who often love one another with a single fervor of love—the Mother, that is, loving the Son... ...and the Son loving the Mother. And don't think that anyone could feel even a little bit indifferent regarding the affection of this Mother for her Son. For I could not believe in any way that someone who has merited to be brought to an understanding of Him could ever become entirely a stranger to the sweetness of His love. Whoever, however, passes into the sweetness of this love cannot be defended in any way from also passing into a share of His reward: so says Anselm. We must follow the example of Christ who humbled Himself. You've seen what poverty, lowliness, and hardship the King of kings and eternal Lord endured for us for such a long time, in His watching, sleeping, fasting, and in all His actions.
A Call to Spiritual Vigilance
The chapter concludes with an exhortation to reject worldly vanity, judge oneself rather than others, and persevere in prayerful humility.
Where, then, are those who seek ease and comfort, who seek what is superfluous and showy, who seek what is curious and vain? We haven't learned in the school of this Master to desire such things. But are we wiser than He? He Himself taught us, by word and example, humility, poverty, and the affliction of both body and labor. Let us follow, then, the supreme Master, who neither wants to deceive nor can be deceived. Let us be content with what we have—as the Apostle teaches—for our basic needs, not for excess. Let us continue to apply ourselves, as much as we are able, to other exercises of virtue and spiritual studies, constantly, unceasingly, and watchfully. From this act of the Lord, take this lesson: retreat into your own lowliness, humble yourself not only in your own eyes but also in the sight of others, and cast yourself down through the practice of lowly and humble works. Look constantly at your own failings and your own sins, and weigh them as heavily as you can. As for the failings of others, cast them behind your back and don't look at them. But if you do see them, lighten them, excuse them, and have compassion for them, helping them as much as you can, always thinking that you would do worse if Jesus Christ did not preserve you by His grace alone. Turn your eyes—both of your mind and your body—away from looking at others, so that you can see yourself in the light of God's face. You won't find anything more useful for humbling yourself than taking a good, hard look at who you are. As Bernard says: "I want the soul to know itself first of all, because such knowledge doesn't puff up, but humbles, and is a kind of preparation for building." For the spiritual building cannot stand at all unless it rests on the stable foundation of humility. Furthermore, the soul can find nothing more lively or fitting for its own humbling than to look at itself in the truth; provided it doesn't pretend, doesn't harbor deceit in its spirit, but stands before its own face and doesn't turn away from itself—this is Bernard. And so Augustine says that the knowledge of one's own unhappiness is no small step toward blessedness. Therefore, examine yourself without ceasing, and always judge yourself without pretense. In every act, word, and thought, rebuke yourself, and always strive to find in yourself reasons for compunction. Think that even the good things you do aren't fully refined, nor done with the fervor they should have, but are stained with many negligences, so that by right all your righteousness should be compared to a woman's menstrual cloth. Consider also with great care, and ruminate frequently with deep fear, that you don't possess any aptitude for good, nor any grace, nor any concern for acquiring virtues, from yourself; rather, Christ gave them to you by his mercy alone. If he had wanted to, he could have given them to any scoundrel, leaving you in the mud of filth and the pit of misery. For how could anyone claim anything as his own, as if it came from him, when he has experienced his own inability in every good work, great or small, so many times? He has known so often that he couldn't do it when he wanted to, and yet, when he didn't even want to—when he didn't care or even think about such things—he suddenly felt himself divinely stirred with a wonderful fervor to do the very works he couldn't accomplish before with all his own effort. God allows this inability to rule in a person for so long precisely so that he might learn to be humble and never boast in himself in vain, but rather attribute every good to God—not just out of habit or with his lips, but from the depths of his heart. Consider also that there is no scoundrel or sinner who wouldn't have responded better to God's grace than you, and who wouldn't have recognized God's benefits more than you, if he had received the graces you received—which you received by God's free goodness alone, not by your own merits. Because of this, you can judge yourself viler and lower than everyone else. You should fear, not without reason, that Christ might cast you out of his sight because of your ingratitude, and you should transform the sins of others into your own, rebuking yourself in your conscience: 'Look, he is a murderer, and I, a wretch, have killed my own soul many times. He is a fornicator and adulterer, and I commit fornication and adultery all day long by turning my eyes away from my God.' This section is too corrupt to translate reliably. This section is too corrupt to translate reliably. This section is too corrupt to translate reliably. This section is too corrupt to translate reliably. ! ... ... ... And that all who see you might be moved to wonder and turn to themselves, and that they might realize this cannot happen without God; then you must die to yourself entirely, and to all your own goods and your whole life, and turn yourself over completely and rest in the arms of Jesus Christ, who is most poor, most humble, mocked, despised, and dead for your sake, until you are dead to all your human feelings and Jesus Christ crucified lives in your heart and in your soul, and you are entirely transformed and changed and alive, and you feel this in your heart. So that you never see or hear anything except Jesus alone, standing on the cross, suspended and dead for your sake, following the example of the blessed Virgin, dead to the world and living in faith; and that in that faith your life may live until the resurrection, in which God will send joy. ... ... From these things mentioned, that virtue will be born in you which is the source and origin of all virtues: namely, humility, which clears the eyes. It leads you to see God and turns you away from human vanity. Cast off everything that is unnecessary. Keep your thoughts pure, for you have no other life left. Begin to despise yourself, detest your own weakness, and consider your own nothingness. Let this displeasure with yourself grow, and let your concerns be so occupied by it that no vanity can enter; in this way, you may govern all things. Reject other things you hear and see, and in time, reject your own faults. It brings about this edification, and you begin to hate yourself; you turn inward in a wonderful way, and thus you receive the original justice and heavenly purity to approach God; so, as you reflect upon yourself, your eye is cleared, and you raise a ladder within yourself, by which you may pass to God. Contemplate the divine and angelic spirit, and the divine itself. To this end, the soul must withdraw from all material things, just as one who wishes to gaze upon the sun must turn their eyes away from all other visible things. From such contemplation, the soul burns for heavenly goods, considers all temporal things as nothing, and despises them from afar. Through this, charity begins to burn in the mind, and it cleanses away all the rust of vice. Charity occupies the whole soul so completely that there’s no room for vanity to enter. Whatever you think, say, or do, it all comes from the root of charity. Therefore, persevere in the good, stand constantly in fear, and rely entirely on God. Acknowledge this, and ask Him for perseverance. If you don't want to fall, don't judge others, and don't let yourself be moved by a spirit of indignation if you see them failing in some way. Instead, sympathize with them from your heart, pray for them humbly, and as much as you can, excuse them in your own heart, keeping in mind that you can do nothing, nor can they, except to the extent that the grace of Christ reaches out its hand—He who gives not according to our merits, but according to the good pleasure of His own will. If you think on these things, you'll stay firm. For what is the cause that many sometimes begin! Many things in abstinence and in other practices, yet they don't persevere, as the body grows weak or the spirit grows cold—certainly there is no other cause than their pride and presumption, for while they presume upon themselves, they are in need of others. They judge others in their hearts, and... God withdraws His gift from them, and they become more flawed than the people they initially judged. It commonly happens that whoever judges another in some matter, God eventually allows him to fall into the same defect, or a greater one. Therefore, serve God in fear, and whenever you feel a certain exaltation from remembering the benefits the Most High gives you, grasp the discipline of rebuke and self-reproach, so that the Lord may not grow angry with you, and you perish from the just path and fall; and briefly follow the useful teaching of Anselm: "Examine everything," he says, "within your own heart, and look at what you are doing." And consider where everything you do is leading. I believe that unless you are insane, you will see the happiness and joy in these things; but if you abandon them, you will find only torment and sadness. O Jesus, model of meekness and true patience, and example of humility, drive far from me all impulses of pride, all appetites for empty glory, and every kind of such a plague and such malice. Let there be no pride, Lord, nor the appearance of it. May there be no sign of such great evil and such great destruction in your servant, nor... not in my habits, nor in my words, nor in my deeds, nor before you in my thoughts. Establish me in true and profound humility, so that no place in me may lie open to the snares of the enemy, and grant that I may be a little one in my own eyes, so that I may find full grace in the eyes of your majesty. Amen.
Read the original Latin
Reversus ergo Dominus Jesus a teraplo et Jerusalem cum parentibus suis in Nazareth,- erat, ut dictum est, subditus illis. Et ibidem cum eis usque ad principium anni trigesimi habitavit : nec in Scripturis reperitur quod in toto tempore isto aliquid fecerit ; quod valde videtur mirabile. Quid igitur meditabimur ipsum fecisse? Stetitne Dominus Jesus otiosus tanto tempore, ut nil faceret dignum scriptura et recitatione ? Si enim fecisset , cur , sicut . reliqua facta sua , non scriptum fuisset ? Omnino stupor videtur. Forte ideo Scriptura tacet, ne acta juniorum nimis se publicent.
Sed attende hic bene, quia patenter poteris videre, quod nihil faciendo fecit magnifica. Nihil enim de factis ejus a mysterio vacat ; sed sicut virtuose loquebatur et operabatur, sic virtuose tacebat et se subtrahebat. Credendum est enim, sicut dicit doctor Gregorius, quod ante et deinceps, absque ostensione alicujus famosi et publici miraculi taliter inter hoxnines conversatus fiierit, quasi imus cx illis, donec ad virilem pervenit aetatem. Un<le de ipso dicit Joannes Bapdsta : Medius autem vestrum sietit, quem vos nescitis, Et totum istud tempus breviter complexus est Lucas sub his verbis: Et descendit cum eis, et erat subditus iUis. Unde et Thomas : « Medio tempore, scilicet a nativitate usque ad Baptismum nuUum miraculum Christus operatus est, sed conformis conversationis aliis erat, et sua virtus ignota omnibus existebat. Ideo autem non fecit miracula medio tempore, ut non putaretur mysterium Incarnationis phantasma esse, si non se habuisset sicut alii setate infantes, et ideo demonstrationem scientiae et virtutis suae ad id distulit tempus , in quo alii homines scientia et virtute vigere consueverunt : » haec Thomas, Magister hic summus, aliquando docturus virtutes et viam vitae, ccepit a sua juventute opera virtuosa facere, sed modo mirabili et incognito ac retroactis temporibus inaudito, videlicet se in conspectu inutiiem et abjectum et insipientem reddendo, ut devote et sine omni temeraria assertione cogitari et meditari potest. Et cum hac modificatione omnia tibi affirmo, quffi per auctoritatem sacrae Scripturae non probantur, prout etiam supra in prologo recitatur. Subtrahebat ergo se a consortio hominum, et tumultus eorum devitabat, crebrisque orationibus intentus erat.
Ibat ad synagogam, id est ecclesiam, et stabat ibi mul ibo tum in oratione, ponens se in loco viliori et magis humili. Redibat domum, et cum Matre ac nutritio suo stabat, et aliquando hos adjuvabat. Pertransibat eundo et redeundo inter homines, ac si non inveniret homines.
' Mirabantur cuncti , cernentes Juvenem tam speciosum nihil facere, quantum apparebat, laude dignum. Expectabant quod faceret magnifica, et probi viri opera. Cum enim puer erat, prqficiebat cetate et sapientia et gratia apvd Deum et homines. Sed ecce crescens et perveniens usque ad vigesimum annum , et etiam usque ad vigesimum quintum et uhra, nulla faciebat opera, aliquam speciem probitatis et virilitatis praetendentia. Stupebant vehementer eum et deridebant, et apud omnes communiter vilis et abjectus reputabatur. Quod bene per Prophetam in persona ipsius dictum fuerat : Ego sum vermis et non homo, opprobrium hominum et abjectio plebis, Omnes videntes me deriserunt me, locuti sunt labiis, et moverunt caput, Reddebat se vilem omnibus et abjectum. Sed an tibi parum hoc videtur? Ipse quidem non indigebat, sed certe in operibus nostris nullum majus aut difficilius reputatur; ad ahissimum gradum pervenisse videtur ac difficillimum , qui ad hoc pervenit , ut corde et animo vere et non ficte ita se vincit ac dominatur animo suo , et superbo carnis suae supercilio, quod noUt alicujus momenti reputari , sed ut abjectus et vilis sperni.
Usquequo igitur ad hunc gradum perveneris , nihil tibi fecisse videaris. Nam cum in veritate, juxta verbum Domini, omnes sumus inutiles, etiam cum bene fecerimus, quousque in hoc abjectiohis gradu non sumus, nondum in veritate stamus, sed in vanitate consistimus et ambulamus. Unde non seducamus nosmetipsos, quia, secundum Apostolum : Qui se existimat aliquid esse cum nihil sit, ipse se seducit. In omni quidem cura quam pro salute tua geris, non est uUum officium vel medicamentum utiUus tibi quam teipsum vituperare atque contemi\ere. Quicumque ergo hoc facit, adjutor tuus est ; hoc enim agit quod tu agebas, aut agere debebas ut salvus fieres. Ad eum itaque qui injuriam tibi fecit, privatum magis te exhibe et afFabilem; ad eum vero cui tu fecisti, supplicem et erubescentem. Adversarium tuum et eum qui tibi molestiae aliquid irrogat , amicum et adjutorem aestima; damnum tibi illatum et contumeUas, lucrum et profectum tuum depula, et pro his gratias Deo et inferentibus referre non cessa.
Nam, secundum quemdam, humiUs gaudet cum despicitur, dolet si hono- « ratur, gemitin prosperis, exsultatin adversis , timet in divitiis , luget in deUciis, cruciatur in abundantia, et in penuria gioriatur, laudes contemnit transitorias, et omni honore aestimat se indignum , abhorret hypocrisim , nescit simulationem , sed diUgit veritatem, temporalia obUviscitur, et aeterna concupiscit ; nescit quae mupdi sunt , ut coelestia mereatur ; nunquam de se praesumere consuevit; vires suas vel gratias, si quas habet, nunquam sibi tribuit; merita sua non suis viribus vel suo sensui adscribit, sed divinae clementiae dona humiiiter recognoscit. Idem latere desiderat, si fieri possit sine damno proximi, ne possit vel modico jactantiae seu elationis vitio inquinari. Quis est lalis, et iauda^^ bimus eum? Unde Bernardus z a Appetere de humilitate laudem humilitatis, non est virtus, sed subversio. Verus humilis viUs vult reputari, non humilis praedicari; gaudet in contemptu sui , hoc soio sane superbus quod laudes contemnit : » haec Bernardus, Si ergo quaeras quare Dominus sic vivebat, respondeo tibi, non quia indigeret; sed ut nos instrueret. Unde si non discimus , inexcusabiles sumus. Abominabile est prorsus, si se erigit vermiculus, et vermium esca futurus, ubi se humilians abjecit Dominus majestatis. Si autem absurdum alicui videatur quod sic inutiliter staret, et quod Evangelistae multa de factis ejus omiserint, et alia similia forte dicat, responderi potest, quod non erat inutile facere et praebere tantae virtutis exercitium ; imo erat valde utile, et t)mnium virtutum rectum et stabile fundamentum.
Hoc autem quod dico videtur etiam Bernardus sentire, prout habes infra in tractatu de Baptismo Domini circa finem. Quoniodocumque autem se habet veritas rei , pium et utile videtur sic meditari.
Habes ergo quomodo Dominus Jesus ccepit prius facere quam docere, Docturus enim erat : Discite a me, quia mitis sum, et humilis corde, Hoc ergo primo facere voluit, et non ficte, sed ex corde faciebat, sicut vere, et ex corde humilis et mitis erat. Non poterat in eum simulatio cadere, sed potius intima fundavit et profundavit se in humilitate, vilitate et abjectione, et sic se in conspectu omnium annihiiavit; quod etiam postquam praedicare, ac divina et altissima loqui, miracula quoque magnifica opere facere coepit, non eum reputabant, sed vilipendebant, dicentes : Quis est hic ? Nonne hic est fabri filius ? Et muha alia derisoria et despectiva dicebant. Verificatum est ergo, secundum hunc intellectum, verbum Apostoli : Exinanivit semetipsum formam servi accipiens, et non solunl cujuscumque servi per Incarnationem , sed etiam inulilis servi, per humiiem et abjectam conversationem. 5 ^ — Considera singulos ejus actus : semper in eis relucet humilitas. Hic igitur ipsam fabricavit, id est, ostendit qualiter acquiri possit, Bcilicet per ivilificationem et abjectionem suiipsius in conspectu suo et aliorum, ac per continuum eXercitium operum viiium et humilium, Si enim vis adipisci humilitatem, oportet quod praecedat humiliatio, et exercitium operum humilium. Unde Bernardus : « Humilitas ad quam utique ducit humiliatio, totius est spiritualis fabricae fundamentum.
Siquidem humiliatio via est ad humilitatem, sicut patientia ad pacem, sicut lectio ad scientiam. Si virtutem appetis humilitatis , viam non refugias humiliationis. Nam si non poteris humiliari, non poteris ad humilitatem provehi, Prodest itaque mihi meam insipientiam sciri , et a scientibus jure confundi, cui saepe contingit a nescientibus injuste laudari. Grande revera periculum, audire quemquam de se, supra quam sentit in se. Quis dabit mihi apud homines tantum de veris digne humiliari , quantum yel de falsis datum est indigne exaltari? Illam vero vocem propheticam jure assumerem : Exaltatus autem humiliatus sum et conturbatus, Et illud : Ludam, et viliorfiam, Ludam, scilicet ut illudar. Bonus ludus quo Michoi irascitur, et Deus delectatur! Bonus ludus, qui hominibus quidem ridiculum, sed Angelis pulcherrimum spectaculum praebet !
Bonus, inquam, ludus, quo efficimur opprobrium abundantibus et despectio superbis, Hoc casto et religioso ludo ludebat, qui dicebat : Spectaculum facti sumus mundo, Angelis et hommbus, Hoc ludo et nos intenm ludamus, ut illudamur, ^onfundamur, humiiiemuTy donec yeniat qui deponit poteples, et exaltat humiles, qui nos Isetificet et glorificet, et in^ternum exaltet. » Et iterum : a Oportet namque huroiUter sentirs de se nitentem ad altiora, ne dum supra se attoUitur cadat a se« nisi firmiter per veram humilitatem fuerit solidatus. Mmma enim nisi humilitatis merito minime obtinentur. Propterea qui provehendus est, correptione humiliatur , humilitate gr^tiam meretur. Ju ergo, cum te humiliari videris» habeto id signum in bonum. , onmino est argumentum gratiae propinquantis '" nam sicut mU ruinam exaltatur spiritus, ita et ante exaltationem humiliatur. Sane utrumque legis : Deum scilicet et superbis resi^tere, ^t humilibus gratiam dare, ac parum est cum per seipsum humiiiat nos Deus, si t\inc libenter accipimus, jiisi et quando per aljum hoc facit, sapiamus similiter. Qji^mobrem accipe hujus rei mirabile documentum de sancto Pavid.
Aliquando maledictum est iili et a servo. At ille nec cumuiatw sensit injuriam , quia praesensit gratjam. Qjiid mihi, ait, et vobis, fiUi Sarvic^? O vere iiominem secundum cor Dei, qui se ulcip(penti potius quam exprobranti succensendum putavit ! Unde et secura conscientia loquebatur : Si reddidi retribuentibu^ mihi mala^ d^cidam mgrito ab inimicis meis inanis, Vetuit ergo prohiberi maledicum conviti^ntem, qu8e$tum aestimans maledicta, 3aeviebat lingua maledicta, et iile intendeb^t quid in occulto ager^t peus. Vox maledicentis in auribus, et animus inclinabat se ad benedi*ctionera. Etideo dicit : Bontm mihi, quia humiliasti me, ut discam justificationes tuas, Vide», quia humilitas justifiicat nos. Humilitas dixi.
et non humiliatio. Quanti humiliantur, qui humiles non suntl Alii cum rancore humiliantur; alii patienter; alii et hbenter. Primi rei' sunt; sequentes innoxii; ultimi justi. Quanquam et innocentia pars justitiae est, sed consummatio ejus apud humilem; non humiUatis, sed humilibus dai graUam, Est autem vere humilis, qui humiliationem convertit in humilitatem, et hic cum Davide potest dic^re Deo ? Bonum mihi, quia humiliasti me : » haec Bemardus.
Sunt autem plura quae ad humiliationem , et Jaumilitatisexercitium valent, de quibus ibidem Bemardus sic dipt : «l Ad exerci*tium humilitatis quinque prodesse possunt. Amor vilitatis, ut ea quae<^ rat homo in quibus et locus quidam videatur injuriae. Assiduitas subjectioAis, ut semper velit esse cumali^ quo, quem revereatur et timeat; ut discat frangere suam voluntatem» Tertio , in humilitatis exercitio est comparatip melioris, ut eum semper attendat homo, in quo inveniat gratiam quae ei desit, oblitus quae retro sunt^ et in ea quae ante sunt extentus. Quartum est assidua meditatio propriae conditionis, ut ad omnem ^aitionis motum sta* tim occurrat : Quid sujperbis, terra et cinis? Quintum est consideratio occulti inspectoris. Quomodo enim qui saepius confessionem fecerit fiicui de verbis quae arro-^ ganter dixerit, si forte contingat, ut parvus simile aliquid loquens illum videat audientem , valde confunditur, ita qui considerat occultum inspectorem , cui cogitatio omnis confitetur, non poterit non erubescere, si elatum quid meditetur ; pro* pterea non solum contra superbiam, sed et contra vitia universa vald^ utile est homini semper videre videntem se , et $ic attendere ocu006 ejuB hi cordeBuo, ac «i tisBC «ola cura sk Deo contemplari quid 'agat, aut quemadmodum -te habeat opse ; in faflec Bemardus, Mumilitatem igitur pro posae «ectare , «ine -qua non 'poteris proficet e, aut vir•tutem dliquam pofisidere. Unde iterum Bemardus : « HumilitaB ce^erisvirtutibus in tarttumtest neces5Baria, ut absque ista iltoe nec ease ^wtutes videantur. ^empe ut iJhaTitas srve queeque alia virtos detur, liumiUtas meretur; quoniam humi" libus Deus dat grdtiam.
Servat actccptas ; quia non requiescit Spintus nisi super quietum et humilem. ^rvatas consummat, nam virius in infirmitate, hoc est, in humilltate, perflcitur-: nhsec 'Bemardus, •7 TarA XIVSE lOERETUIt HUMILrrJW. — 'Hutnilitas «rgo meretur prrmo gratiae impltttionem ; unde in Psalmo : Qui emitiis fontes in * eonvtillibus, id est, gratiam tuam pmstas humiiibus, ^iVrfa* medimnmorttium yertransiburtt 'oquee. Duo enim montes sunt duee «pecies ^peH>ise, 'quarum una nascitur ex re temporali, alia ex re spirituali , et inter istos duos montes c«t ^llis himiilitatis , noti declinans «d Aliquam 'speciem supcrbitt, et in isto medio transeunt i»qu« gratianim. — Sencundo humiiltas tneretur implere ^tiae augmentatronem, ^ ideo voleits uheriorem gratiam recipere a Deo, non sestimet ftenaagnum; sed humiliet ^eipsam. Qtiod autemho•^mo non clevet «e de gratta qu«n habet, sunt tria srgna : prinfmm,<6i non vult tit 'proptcr gratkm vt\ perfectionem quam habet, exhibeatur sibi majus commodum quam alii ; sccundum, si paratus est contemptum , incommodum , et lateo'Tem pati sicut alii; tertium qwd 'fecto sibi tncommodo, credit in hoc Tion sibi fieri injuriam, sed justi^tiam. — T^ertio ' humilitas mcretar ^grati^ augmfcntate coRtcrvatioscBi. SicutBnim xtnis conservat ignem; sic hxmiilitafi :gzatiam, quse est ignjs :^>iiJtualis.
'Conaervatur etiam ignis 4>0r lignoimm appasitioaem ; sic uet ^ratia ipsr bonQrum [Operum mubiplicatLonein. , quae e&t . quasi lignocum xippoaitio. Item xonservatur ignis pfir insufiOationcm,; ^sic et gratia per fenrentem meditationem , quae ^t quasi queedam Insuffiatio. Item conservatur ignis . per praesewationem a contrario. ; sic xt gratiarper joccasionum. et societatum mdlarum deivitationem , quae est quasi qusdam a contrario preQservatio.
Sed redeamus ad intuendum. actus et vitam Domini Jesu speculi rnostri, quod est principale nostri propositi. Igitur in omnihus -cxhibeas te praesentem, et considera ilhun super omnes alias benedictam iBnniliam parvam, sed vaJde excelsam , pauperem , et humilem tvitem ducentem. Felix Joseph -sencx qu«rebat de arte li^iami-ois ^uad:poterat; Domina vero colo ,et acu pTO prctio labotabat, victum ^ponso. et Filio parabat,, et aHa expHBdientia domus obtequia , quae multa sunt, faciebat, quia servientem nonitabebat. Compatere igitur :sibi quam --sic oportet laborare, et suis manibus joperari. Compatere etiam Bosnino Jesu , quia eam adjuvat iideliter, ct laborat in his, quae ipotast i . FUius emm kominis, ut rpse ait, non venit ministravi, Md mtnistrar e.
lnXuere igitur bene :eum , huiDilia obsequia domus ia. cientem , et nihiloniinus intuere etiam JDomtnam et Joseph senem pro vitae necessariis laborantcs. Unde ^Basilius ; tcAb jpsa autem primaewa astate parentibus obeiieafi,, iquantum labocem corporexim Jiumilitier et . rcverenter sustianit. . Cuoi enim homines essent ^ioiiflstiy . -^ justi, . ^eni tameii.
et r64 necessariorum penuriam patientes, teste praesepi, manifestum est quod sudores corporeos frequentabant , necessaria vitae sibi inde quaerentes; Jesus autem obediens illis etiam in sustinendo labores subjectionem plenariam ostendebat : » haec Basilius, Conspice etiam qualiter ipsi tres comedunt ad unam mensam simul per singulos dies, non lautas et exquisitas, sed pauperes et sobrias coenas sumentes; et qualiter postea simul colloquuntur, non rnania et otiosa verba, sed plena Spiritu Sancto et sapientia , nec minus mente reficiuntur quam corpore et qualiter post aliqualem recreationem convertunt se in cubilibus suis ad orationem, non enim erat eis domus ampla, sed parva. Meditare etiam tria cubilia in aliqua camerula, scilicet unum pro quolibet eorum, et intuere Dominum Jesum super unum sero post orationem se componcre per singulas noctes , tam longissimi temporis spatio , sic humiliter , sic viliter, sic etiam perseveranter , ut faceret quicumque alius pauperculus de populo. Quolibet sero in hoc strato deberes sibi compatiendo eum aspicere, et te eidem humiliter, et devote recommendare.
In tanta tamen corporisafBictioneet penuria,pia Mater replebatur mentis laetitia de tanti Filii praesentia. Unde Anselmus : « Quo vel quali gaudio replebatur tota substantia ejus, quando eum quem tantoperc diligebat, quem Creatorem atque Dominatorem omnium rerum esse sciebat, secum degentem, secum edentem, seque quaecumque nosse volebat dulci affatu docentem haberet, quis capiet ? Quantumvis mirabilis itaque et ineffabilis amoris affectus considerari queat, inter hunc talem tantae Matris Filium, et hanc talem tanti Filii Matrem perpendant hi saltem quoquo modo, qui unico dilectionis fervore saepe altrinsecus amant, Mater scilicet Filium. etFiliusMatrem. Nec putetur ab aliquo', vel parum quid sentire in se quemlibet de affectu istius Matris in Filium suum. Nullo siquidem modo crediderim quod is qui ad eum intelligendum provehi meruerit ab amoris ipsius dulcedine extraneus usquequaque fieri possit. Qui autem in hujus dilectionis suavitatem transit, nullo pacto defendendum , quin et in retributionis ejus participium transiturus sit : » haec Anselmus, 10 Sequendum est Christi se HUMILIANTIS EXEMPLUM. — Vidisti quantam paupertatem, vilitatem et asperitatem, vigilando, dormiendo, abstinendo, et in omnibus suis actibus Rex regum, et Dominus aeternus per tam longissimi temporis spatia pro nobis sustinuit.
Ubi sunt ergo quaerentes otia et commoda, quaerentes superflua et ornata, quaerentes curiosa et vana? Non didicimus in scholis Magistri hujus, qui talia volumus. Sed numquid sapientiores eo sumus? Ipse nos docuit verbo et exemplo humilitatem, paupertatem, ac corporis et laboris afflictionem. Sequamur ergo summum Magistrum, qui nec fellere vult, nec falli potest, et habenies, juxta doctrinam Apostoli vicium, et quibus tegamur ad congruentem scilicet necessitatem, non superabundantiam , his contenti simus, Aliis etiam virtutum exercitiis et studiis spiritualibus, continue, indesinenter et vigilanter, pro posse , insistamus. Ex hoc ergo facto Domini, accipe doctrinam in tuam parvitatem resiliendo; ac teipsum non soium in tuo, sed etiam in aliorum conspectu vilificando et per exercitium vilium et humilium operum abjiciendo. Videas continue defectus tuos, et peccata tua, et ea aggrava quantum potes. Aliorum vero defectus post tergum projicias, et non videas ; quod si videris , allevies et excuses, et ipsis compatiaris et succurras pro viribus, cogitans semper quod tu faceres pejus, nisi sola sua gratia te conservaret Jesus Christus.
Averte oculos tuos et mentis et corporis ab aspectu aliorum, ut in lumine vultus Dei conspicere possis teipsum. Nihil enim ad te humiliandum utilius reperire poteris, quam si teipsum bene inspexeris. Unde Bernardus : « Volo proinde animam primo omnium scire seipsam, quia talis scientia non inflat, sed humiiiat, et est quaedam praeparatio ad aedificandum. Nisi enim super humilitatis stabile fundamentum spirituale aedificium stare minime potest. Porro ad se humiliandam nihil anima invenire vivacius seu accommodatius potest, quam si se in veritate perspexerit ; tantum non dissimulet, non sit in spiritu ejus dolus^ statuat se ante faciem suam, nec a se avertere abducatur : » haec Bernardus. Unde et Augustinus dicit, quod non est parvus ad beatitudinem accessus, cognitio infelicitatis suae. Teipsum ergo sine cessatione considera, et semper sine simulatione dijudica. In omni actu tuo, in omni locutione tua , et in omni cogitatione tua teipsum reprehende, et in te semper compunctionis materias studeas inyenire, cogitando quod etiam bona quae facis non sunt ad plenum excocta, nec illo fervore quo deberent facta, sed multis inquinata negligentiis, ut merito omnis justitia tua panno menstruatae comparari debeat mulieris.
Considera etiam diligenter , et cum magno pavore firequentissime rumina, quod omnem aptitudinem ad bonum , et ad omnem gratiam, seu quamcumque sollicitudinem circa virtutum acquisitionem, a teipso non habeas, sed Christus tibi dedit sola sua misericordia : qui si voluisset , potuisset ita con^rre cuicumque ribaldo, te in luto faecis et lacu miseriae derelicto. Quomodo enim sibi aliquid tanquam suum attribuet, ac si ab ipso proveniat, qui multoties suam impossibilitatem in quibuscumque bonis operibus magnis et parvis est expertus, qui toties cognovit se non posse dum voluit ; et quando, ut ita dicam, non vpluit , nec curavit , nec super talibus cogitavit, sensit se subito divinitus excitatum , •fervore mirabili ad illa opera facienda quae prius cum omni suo conatu implere non potuit ? Nam et talem impossibilitatem iidcirco Deus tam longo tempore dominari in homine permittit, ut discat humiliari , et nunquam in seipso inaniter glorietur; sed Deo omne bonum attribuat, non solum consuetudine quadam et labiis, sed potius ex intimo sui cordis. Cogita etiam quod non est ribaldus, vel quicumque peccator, qui non magis assisteret i>eo suo quam tu, et qui non magis recognosceret Dei beneficia quam tu, si recepisset gratias quas tu, sola Dei gratuita bonitate, et non propriis meritis, recepisti; propter quod potes teipsum viliorem et inferiorem omni homine judicare; et ne propter ingratitudinem tuam a suo conspectu te Christus foris abjiciat, non immerito formidare, et peccata aliorum in te sub quadam similitudine transformare, sic te in tua conscientia increpando : ecce ille est homicida , et ego miser multoties occidi animam meam; iste fornicator est et adulter, et ego tota die fornicor et adulteror, a Deo meo oculos meos avertendo, et dial GM»UT XVL boUcis su^estionikiis supponendo ; et sic de aliis »ia modo^ Debes^ etiam habere in proprio^ tuO' sendmento duo^ yidelicet quo«fc sentias de teipso sicut de una oocpoce mortuo fcetenti, pleno vermibus>, er male olenti, et sicut de uno cadavere quod homines: dedignantur yidere, imo daudunt nares propter ejus pessimum. fistacem, et ayertant fiicies ut ram videant: tdem ac tantam abominationem* Er quod. si quis de tuo' ooirpore justitiam. fece^ ret, scii#as quod justum^ esset ut tibii oGuksfr erueret, ac nasum^ aams, et 08^ absdnderelii, et sic de ailis. sensybus- et membFia^ corpoms ', qioia Deum offendisti cum cis, «t quod taBEtum de h»c gauderess ut nun»quam aiusd de te tanfum ^sidieTa^ res, aur veiles, et quod omnia vku^na, verecundias, et diffiimf^oxm» plusquai» posficnc inmgiina]?
! ,. vd eogitari, ut vinura b&eres,. m cmn summo' gaudio et Isetitia CKMdis revipere», imo in facie-ridenS) splen^ dfens, et aftecer appfflrere». Et quod omnes tte videntes fiiceres admirsHri, etfad' seipsos converti, et quod ev&dlsrent non posae sine Dieo hoc fieii, Deinde oportet quod di£&das de teipso totaliter, et de omnibus bonis tni^ et db tota vita tu», et convcrtasp tte' totum, et reclines super brachia Jfesui Chrretii pauperrhnr, ftumiifimi, improperari', despecti, et mortui propter te, usquequo tu sia mortuus in omnrbus tuis switimentis hnmanis, et quod Jesus Chrfetcw crudfixusrvivat in tuo c«rde, et in aniw ma tua, et totus tranaformatas et transfignratus et vivusj et haec cordialiter sexrtias in. te, in tantom ut nunquam videas vel audias nisi sohim Jesum stantem rn cruce suspensum , et mortuum propter te , ad exemplar beataer VTtginis mortows mundo et vivens in fide; et quad in illa fidc vivattatEt tua vita, usque ad resurrectiicmrera , in qtna Deus> mitlet gaudium. spiatuale etc donum Sancti Spiritaia, in anim». tua,et in illis^iM diligunt acbtenium L2.
Ex hift prasmisfiis g^nerabitur iui te virtusi illa^, quae est meJsQn et origo <mxi>-< nuim virtutum^ scilicat kijmrilitek&y» quee inteciQrea oculos. ^emt ad Deik conspecUim , coc humaoum. abj omiii superflua. cogitatione pur^anr dok, Namdumj homet m auam par^ vitaleni residut,. sr vili£candov se inccepandb „ se detestaEndo , saami mkilitatemi (Conaidfirandor ^ sibiipsii intienl! isftim« diapliceado;,, pec hsBC et suniita m tantufs dnza pcopriai ocaupatui7 ncgrMCia», quxxi omsixs ^ia iautailiaiCQgitalio; aii^cic, et sic dxnn omnia. alia audite, visa, et tempo^ nditec opecata a se repeliit,. et ta oiifiTvionem adducit, iaicipit adl se^somi oedise, et modo> mtfabilif inj seipsum cevolvitur, et sic ad onginalem} jostitiam et codestem^ qtB^aaimod«i puritatem sncipit pcoH pinquare; Sic^ dum in seipsuzn ceflectitur, <Dnliemplliidnais oculus dilbeajtcir, et in se scalam erigit, per quam transeat ad!
contempland^ina et angdicum spnritum, et divimmr. Ad quoif opDTtet uf anima materia>]«ar omnia ah oaxfis suis exehidac^ sicuti^uis vt>lens solem vrsibiifeni mtueri-, neeesw- es« ut ab omnibus aRis vssibrlfbus oculbs averfat. Ht , ex' tafi- coiTtemprflctiione anrnms' ad bona coelestia inardescit,, et onmia temporalTa tanqteam nihil et dls Tonge ppDSpidt. Per hoc iHap chari* tas in mente fervescere ntcipity ^tt^ velat ^nis omnem robig iiiem vitionim consasirf. Sic totami ani-<* mam in tantum occupat charitas, quod non: est qua intret vanftas. Jant quidquid cogrtat, quidquid lo-* quitur vel operatur, totum provenit ex rfictaraine charitatiis. Xft crgo rn bono fugiter perseveres, sta jugiter in timore, et a Deo totaliter . recognosce, et ab ipso perseverantiam pete.
Et si non vis corruere, noli alios judicare, nec contra> eos indignationis spiritu movearis, si eos vides in aliquibus deficere, . ct eis compatiaris ex corde, ac pro eis suppliciter ora, et eos m corde tuo,quantum potes, excusa, cogitando quod non potes aliquid, nec ipsi possunt, nisi quantuni Christi gratia manum suam porrigit, qui non pro meritis, sed pro suae voluntatis beneplacito tribuit. Si hiec cogitaveds, firmus eris. Nam quas est causa' quod multt quandoque incipiunt! multa in' ab^nentia, et in aiiis §&*-cefe, quj non pcrfleverawf, corpor© languente , vel apiritu friiigescente l Certe nulla alia causay msi pr^pter eorum elationemtet praesumpAonem,, dum de se praesumentes, aiiis indi^ ^antur,. et eos in cortdibus sutB ju^ <iicant, et. Deu&subtrahit ab eis d&^ num suum, efficiunturque defectuosi plus quam alii, quos primitus judicabant. Nam communiter istud accidi% quod quicumque alium in aliquo judicat, Deus tandem eum in eodem defectu , vel majori cadere permittit.
Ergo servias Deo in tiiflore, et & quando te sentias in exaltatione quadam ob memoriam beneficiorum quae tibi donat Altissimus, apprehende disciplinam increpationis et propriae reprehensionis, ne quando tibi irascatur Domi' uus, et pereas de via justa, et cadas, Et breviter sequere utilen A^selmi doctrinam :« Omnia,, inquit, inte-^ Fiora tua, et ea: quee agis inspicias,. et ad cpiem finem quaeque perven* tjura ant videas. Et credo, nisi in^ sanus si*v ea fades tuide feiicitateitt et gaudium recipies-; ea vero dimit tes, unde tormenta et tristkiam me^ Feftris : i> htfc. Anseknue^ ORATIO O Jesu, mitis er vetae patientiae fofma, et humiHtatis escemplutft, fepeHe a me omnes fa^tus superbiae, cunctosque appetitus inanis glbriae, otnnia sittiul genera tantae pestis, tantaeque malitias. Nort sit^ Domine, neque videri. possit ullum tanti maii, tanfaeque perditionis signum in servo tuo, neque . iti moribus meis, neque in verbis, lieqfue in factis, neque coram te in cogitationibus meis. Funda me in vera et profunda humilitate, ut nullus in me j>ateat locus inimicorum insidiis, et plraesta ut sim parvulusin oculismeis, ^uafenus plenam gratiam inveniam ini ocufis tuae majestatis.
Amen, m
Notes
- 1 ↩The Latin 'et non humiliatio' appears as a fragment, likely contrasting the mere experience of being humbled with the virtue of humility itself.
- 2 ↩The Latin text contains a likely typo 'humiUatis' (humiliation) and 'graUam' (grace). I have translated these as 'humiliation' and 'grace' respectively.
- 3 ↩The Latin 'r64' is a corrupt reading; the translation assumes the sense of 'rebus' or a similar term indicating the state of poverty.
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