De suscitatione filii viduce Naim
The Miracle at Naim
Jesus encounters a grieving widow and restores her only son to life, demonstrating His divine power and compassion.
The raising of the son. Afterward, Jesus went with his disciples and a large crowd—drawn by the novelty of his works, the sweetness of his teaching, and the devotion inspired by his holiness—into a Galilean city called Naim, located two miles from Mount Tabor. Above Naim is Mount Endor, at the foot of which the brook Kishon flows. Before the gate of this city, where there was a larger gathering of people, the Lord met a crowd of men carrying out—that is, bearing away—the dead only son of a widow to be buried, because in ancient times burial places were outside cities and human dwellings so that the locations and the people would not be defiled by corpses. This happened so the miracle would be more clearly evident, having been performed before many people, and so there would be many witnesses to such a great miracle. And because they were occupied with the work of mercy in following the funeral and comforting the widow, who had been robbed of her motherly joy, they deserved to see the miracle itself. Gregory of Nyssa explained the weight of this sorrow in a few words: "The mother was a widow who had no hope of bearing more children; she had no one else to look to in place of the one who had died, because he was her only son, the only one she had nursed." He alone was the cause of cheer in her home; whatever was sweet and precious to the mother, he alone had been that. And Cyril says: 'A pitiful suffering, and one capable of provoking tears and weeping!' When the Lord saw her so sad and afflicted, He was moved by mercy and compassion—as a man—toward her, both because she was a widow and because she had no other son by whom she could be supported in her old age; and He said to her, with a sweet and consoling word: 'Do not weep.' It was as if He were saying: 'You'll soon be comforted; stop weeping for the dead man whom you'll shortly see alive again.' God, the consoler of those who mourn, looks especially upon the tears of those who weep for the miseries and sins of others. According to Bede, the Lord was moved by mercy so that He might show us an example of compassion to be imitated. And so Chrysostom says: 'He who consoles the sorrowful commands us to cease from tears, and urges us to receive consolation regarding the departed, hoping for the resurrection.' Pagans and Gentiles have reason to mourn the dead because they don't know of the resurrection; but Christians believe in it, and therefore have no reason to mourn. He approached and touched the bier—that is, the coffin—so that the effect of salvation might come through the touch of His body, and to show that His body, united to the Godhead, was the instrument of the Godhead in performing miracles. A 'loculus' is a diminutive term for the place where the dead lie; for a living person, great palaces and spacious houses were not enough to serve as a home, but for one who is dying, a small space is enough for a coffin. Hence, when Alexander was dead, a certain philosopher said: 'He whom the whole world could not contain, a small chest contains today.' But those carrying him stopped, not daring to go any further. He said, 'Young man, I tell you, get up,' and in this way, as God, He raised him. The one who had been dead sat up—rising to a sitting position in the coffin where he had been lying—and began to speak, so it would be clear he was truly alive and not just appearing to be raised; perhaps his first words were words of thanksgiving. He gave him back to his mother; he had risen not by his own merit, but by hers, so that she who had been sad because of him might be comforted in him. Fear seized everyone because of such a great miracle—a fear not of evil, but of reverence for His power and goodness. They were magnifying—that is, praising—God and proclaiming Him great, because the more serious the fall, the more welcome is the mercy of the One who raises us up, and the more certain the hope of salvation for those who repent. They were saying, 'A great prophet has risen among us, promised in the Law and by the prophets—indeed, someone more than a prophet.' They said this because God has visited His people by sending them a Savior to redeem them, just as a physician visits a sick person to heal him.
The Mystical Meaning of Death
The funeral procession and the dead man are interpreted as symbols of the soul lost in mortal sin and the senses that lead to spiritual death.
2. In a mystical sense, this dead man is someone who has died through mortal sin. His mother is the Church, which is the entire body of believers, whose children are the individual faithful. A sinner is called the only son of his mother—the Church—because she mourns for each one when they fall into sin, just as a mother mourns for her only son when he dies. The Church is also called a widow because she was redeemed by the death of her Bridegroom, or because now, as long as she is a pilgrim away from the Lord, she is deprived of her Bridegroom's embraces; it is of this widow that the Psalm says: "I will abundantly bless her widow." The dead man is carried out when the inner sense goes out into action. The four bearers of this dead man are the four affections of our heart: joy and sadness, hope and fear. For these four carry the dead man through abuse. Regarding these, Bernard says: They love what they shouldn't, they fear what they shouldn't, they grieve in vain, and they rejoice even more vainly. Alternatively, these four bearers are the love of sin, the fear of penance, the hope of amendment, and the presumption of God's mercy. Or, the four bearers are the four things that cause the soul to persist in sin: namely, the confidence of a longer life, which often deceives a person; the consideration of another's fault, by which a person avoids their own correction; the foolish hope of repenting in the future; and the confidence in forgiveness that a person conceives from the great mercy of God, along with the impunity of the sinner, by which they are rendered more prone to sin. These bearers can also be understood as carnal desires, or the flatteries of those who praise us, or the soothing—not stinging—words of mercenary superiors, and anyone who, by word or deed, encourages a person in sin. The gate through which the dead man is carried out, or exits, is one of the five bodily senses that reveals sin. For whoever sees, hears, or speaks what is not permitted is a dead man being carried out through the gate of sight, hearing, or speech; it's the same in its own way with the others, and therefore, guard must be kept at these gates. Hence Bede says: 'I think the gate of the city through which the dead man was being carried out is one of the bodily senses.' For whoever sows discord among brothers, or speaks iniquity on high, is carried out as a dead man through the gate of the mouth. Anyone who looks at a woman with the intent to lust after her is, through the gate of the eyes, bringing forth the signs of his own death. Whoever willingly listens to idle tales, obscene songs, or gossip makes that a gate of death for their soul; and by failing to guard their other senses, they provide an entry for death. As Bede says: 'The bier is the conscience of the sinner, in which he rests as if in a bed of bad conscience.'
Signs of Resurrection
The chapter outlines the signs of spiritual death and the corresponding steps of resurrection through compunction, confession, and satisfaction.
Someone dead through mortal sin is raised up by God through the prayers of the Church. But how this is represented in a figure is taught here. Just as there are three signs of spiritual death, there are three signs of spiritual resurrection. The sign of spiritual death is understood according to the sign of physical death. Physical death has three signs: the first is a lack of action. Therefore, the inability to do good is a sign of spiritual death; as it says in Exodus, 'Let them be as still as a stone.' The second is a lack of feeling, when someone is struck but doesn't feel it. So, when a person doesn't feel spiritual blows and warnings, it's a sign they are spiritually dead; as it says in Proverbs, 'They struck me, but I didn't feel it; they dragged me, but I didn't sense it.' The third is rigidity. When a person has a heart so rigid that it cannot be moved by compassion for a neighbor or by obedience to God, it's a sign of spiritual death; as it is said in the Book of Kings that the hand of Jeroboam, which he stretched out toward the altar, withered. Thus, there are three signs of spiritual death: pride indeed takes away the ability to do good, lust takes away feeling, and greed causes rigidity. Conversely, there are three signs of spiritual resurrection, suggested by the fact that he sat up, began to speak, and was given back to his mother. By 'he sat up,' we understand compunction, because in compunction a person settles down and recoils from sin; by 'began to speak,' we understand confession, where a person speaks by accusing himself; and by 'he gave him back to his mother,' we understand satisfaction. When a person is released and satisfaction is enjoined upon them, they are restored to their mother—that is, to the Church—and to the communion of the faithful through spiritual incorporation. This satisfaction is accomplished through three things: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. But this mode of resurrection is touched upon when it is said: 'He came up and touched the bier.' The Savior approaches the one who is spiritually dead and draws near when He grants them some grace that goes before, or a desire for their own salvation. He touches the bier when He softens the conscience and the hardened heart of the sinner toward repentance, brings the sinner back to self-knowledge, and then the one dead in sin rises again. And you should know that the Holy Spirit willed for sin to be signified by death, to show how much sin is to be avoided, and how much one ought to grieve over it once it has been committed. Sin is to be avoided like death, and one ought to grieve over it just as one grieves over death; anyone who sees their friend in mortal sin ought to grieve as if they were seeing them dead—indeed, they ought to grieve even more. And because the dead man here represents the sinner, just as his resurrection represents the sinner's conversion, it follows that just as sin is greatly to be feared and one ought to grieve much over it once committed, so the sinner's conversion is greatly to be desired, and one ought to rejoice much over it once it has been accomplished. Therefore, O sinner, beg the Lord to raise you from the death of sin and restore you to His holy Church, for the praise and glory of His name. And, as Ambrose says: 'If the sin is so grave that you cannot wash it away yourself with the tears of your repentance, Mother Church weeps for you; she intervenes as a widowed mother for each one as if for an only son, and she suffers with you in a certain spiritual way, grieving by nature when she sees her children being driven to death by deadly vices.' For we are members of His own body.1
The Threefold Death and Habit
Christ's power is shown over different degrees of spiritual death, emphasizing the danger of long-standing sinful habits.
As Augustine says: the widowed mother rejoiced over that young man who was raised to life; Mother Church rejoices over those who are raised to life in the spirit every day. The one was dead in body, but the others are dead in mind. The Lord raised three dead people. Morally speaking, Christ raised three: the girl inside the house—that is, the person dead through the consent of wicked desire, still hidden in thought or will; the young man at the gate—that is, the person dead through the act of sin in word, gesture, or deed; and Lazarus in the tomb—that is, the person dead under the stone, weighed down by the mass of a wicked habit of sinning, smelling bad, and corrupting others by their reputation. The Lord raises and heals all of these when they return to him in true repentance, and the less someone has been deadened by sin, the more easily they are raised to life by grace. Thus, the Lord raises the girl before a few people quite easily, saying to her, 'Get up.' He raises the young man before many people, and as if with more difficulty, touching the bier and saying, 'Young man, I tell you, get up.' He raises Lazarus with the greatest difficulty, because he does so with tears, with a groan, with his own distress, and with a loud voice, saying, 'Lazarus, come out,' and as if with the help and testimony of those present, saying, 'Untie him and let him go.' It isn't that raising Lazarus wasn't as easy for the Lord as raising the girl, since, as Augustine says, no one wakes someone up in bed as easily as Christ wakes someone in the tomb; rather, the Lord's deeds are examples of other things. For someone weighed down by a long habit is raised only with difficulty, and as if with labor. The person who forces the Lord to weep and cry out in order to be raised—and for this reason, although we ought to flee every sin, we must especially flee the habit of sinning, because it is healed with more difficulty. As Ambrose says: "Every sin loses its sting through habit and becomes as nothing to a person; and conversely, every good virtue becomes established and easy through habit, because it makes no difference whether you get used to one thing or the other." There is, therefore, a threefold death of guilt signified in the death of those three: the sin of the heart, the sin of the act, and the sin of habit. In the raising of these three dead, it is shown that the Savior has power over a threefold death—namely, of nature, of guilt, and of hell—and over a threefold life: of nature, of grace, and of glory. When a disciple brought up a fourth dead man, he heard him, but refused to go to him—that is, to the one dead in obstinacy, despair, or the flimsy excuse of sin—of whom he said: "Let the dead bury their own dead."
The Urgency of Repentance
A final exhortation to repent immediately, warning that external works are insufficient without the inner cleansing of the soul.
Those who are standing should hear this and not be arrogant, but stay cautious so they don't fall; and those who have fallen should not despair, but be diligent in rising again. Augustine says: "We have heard this, my friends, so that those who are alive may keep living, and those who are dead may come back to life." Even if the sin conceived in your heart hasn't yet turned into an act, you should repent, correct your thinking, and let the dead man within the house of your conscience rise again. Or if you have already committed what you thought of, don't despair even then; if the dead man hasn't risen inside, let him rise now, repent of what was done, and quickly come back to life, so he doesn't go into the depths of the grave or take on the heavy burden of habit. But perhaps I am speaking to someone who is already weighed down by the hard stone of his own mass, who is already pressed by the burden of habit, who is already rotting like a man four days dead; even he should not despair, for though he is deeply dead, Christ is higher, and even such people can practice repentance. For when Lazarus was raised after four days, no trace of decay remained in the living man; therefore, let those who are alive keep living, and those who are dead—in whichever of these three deaths they find themselves—should repent, hurry, and rise again now. Chrysostom adds: "Let us not hear this and remain standing, but say to ourselves: 'Whoever thinks he is standing, let him watch that he does not fall.' Let us not despair if we have fallen, but say to ourselves: 'Shall he who falls not rise again?'" For many who were ascending to the very peak of heaven and showing every patience have fallen a little, and have come to the very abyss of malice. Others, however, have ascended from there to heaven, and having moved from the stage and buffoonery to angelic refinement, they showed such virtue that they drove away demons and performed many other signs; the Scriptures are full of these, and life is full of examples for us. Just as doctors record more difficult illnesses in books and teach the method of this recovery—that is, the doctrine—so that those trained in greater things may easily overcome lesser ones, so too has God brought great sins into the open, so that those who have committed small ones might find an easy recovery from them through those examples. For if greater sins have found healing, how much more so the lesser ones. Therefore, let us arm ourselves with good works, and if some sin should occur, let us be washed clean so that we may be made worthy to live the present life in the glory of God and enjoy the life to come. Chrysostom says this: 'Consider here the widow weeping over the death of her son, and in the same way, putting all else aside, mourn and weep over the death of your own soul, so that you may deserve to be raised from that very death of the soul through the touch of divine mercy.' Refrain from laughter and loud joking, thinking that you will have to give an account for all your actions at the judgment. Hence Chrysostom says: 'Nothing indeed binds one to God as much as those tears which both the sorrow of sin and the love of virtue pour forth, whether one is lamenting one's own sins or even the sins of others.' Why do you relax into laughter and lose yourself, when you have voluntarily become the cause of such great sorrows, and are about to stand before that terrible tribunal of Christ, and will have to give an account for all your actions with the strictest examination? So says Chrysostom. It is, however, extremely dangerous for a sinner to remain in the filth of their sins and the death of the soul, without caring to cleanse themselves through repentance and rise again. For if you were to speak in the tongues of men and of angels, and if through your teaching you were to convert as many people as have existed since the beginning of the world, or as many as there are stars in the sky, yet you did not cleanse yourself through repentance, you would be like a sounding gong or a clanging cymbal; for a bell, while serving the needs of others, wears itself out by ringing. And if you possessed all knowledge, and if through your knowledge and your wise counsel all the kings or princes of the world—indeed, the whole world—were guided in peace, yet you did not correct yourself through repentance, you would gain nothing. And if you had all faith, such that you brought all Jews, heretics, and pagans to the faith, but you were in a state of mortal sin, it would profit you nothing for the salvation of eternal life. Likewise, if you were to build a thousand monasteries and a thousand hospitals with your own hands, and in them feed all the poor of the world with your own goods, as long as you persist in mortal sin, you are not in a state of salvation. Likewise, if you were to give your body to be burned like Lawrence, or to be flayed like Bartholomew, or if you were to be crucified like Christ, and yet died in a single mortal sin, you would never be saved. Likewise, if a million masses were said for you, if all the saints in heaven with all the angels prostrated themselves before God and shed bloody tears, praying for you until the day of judgment, they would not move the mercy of God to have pity on you if you died in mortal sin; and therefore, for a sinner lying in the death of the soul, one good confession would be worth more than all the aforementioned good works done by them or offered for them. PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, come to Naim, to my soul, which is tossed by temptations. Draw near to the gate, holding it back so that they do not reach their effect through the senses. Approach through grace, touch my heart through correction, and let the bearers—the occasions and opportunities for sinning—stand still. Say to my soul, lying in sins, that it should sit up through a good will, begin to speak through confession, and rise through good works. Restore it to its mother, the nurse of grace, so that it may stand through stability; and thus may your truth visit your people—the powers of my soul, my affections, and my thoughts—through knowledge, may your virtue visit them through action, and may your goodness visit them through preservation. Amen.
Read the original Latin
DUJS susciTANTis. — Et deinceps, ibai Jesus cum disdpulis^ et turba copiosa, quse eum sequebatur, novitate operum, suavitate doctrin», et ex sanctitatis ejus devotione» iu dviiatem Galilaes quce vocatur Naim, Secundo milUario a monte Thabor est civitas Naim . et supra Naim mons Endor» ad cujus radicem fluit torrens C^rson. Ante hu^us civitatis portam^ ubi erat ma)or coacursus populi,obviavitDominus xnultitudini hominum efferentium, id est extra portantium» defunctum filium unicum viduae ad sepeliendum, quia antiquitusloca sepultur» erant extra civitates et hominum habitationesy ne cadaveribus inficerentur loca et homines. Hoc autem sic factum est, ut evidentius esset miraculum coram multis factum, et muhi essent testes tanti miraculi. Et quia vacabant ad pietatis opus prosequendo funus, et consolando viduam et orbatam matrero, meruerunt ipsum videre miraculum. Ubi Gregarius Nyssenus, serumnae molem » brevibus verbis explicuit : tt Mater vidua erat, quae non sperabat ulterius iilios procreare ; non habebat in quem dirigeret aspectum vice defuncti, quiaunicus erat, hunc solum lactaverat. Hic solus aderat alacritatis causa in domo, quidquid matri dulce ac pretiosum, hic solus exstiterat.
» Unde et Cyrillus : a Miseranda passio, et ad fletum et ad lacrymas potens provocare ! » Quam cum vidisset Dominus sic tristem et afflictam , misericordia et pietate motuSt secundum quod homo, super eam : tum quia vidua erat, tum quia non habebat alium filium a quo in senectute sustentari posset quam ab ipso, dixit illi, verbo consolatorio et dulci : Nolijlere. Quasi diceret : Cito consolata eris, desiste quasi mortuum flere quem mox vivum resucgere videbis. Moerentium consolator Deus, illorum maxime lacrymas intuetur, qui aliorum miserias et peccata deflent. Secundum Bedam, Dominus misericordia motus est, ut nobis exemplum imitandae pietatis ostenderet. Unde et Chrysostomus : « Jubens ergo cessare a lacrymis qui consolatur moestos, monet nos de praesentibus defunctis consolationem recipere , resurrectionem sperantes. Pagani et Gentiles causam habentplangendi defunctos, quia resurrectionem nesciunt; sedChristiani eamcredunt, et ideo causam plangendi non habent. nEt accessit, et tetigit loculum, id est feretrum; ut effectus salutis tactu corporis sui deveniret, et ostenderet quod corpus suum deitati unitum erat instrumentum deitatis in miraculis faciendis.
Loculus diminutive est mortui locus inquojacet; cui enim viventi magna palatia, et amplae domus non sufficiebant pro loco, ei morienti parYum spatium sufficit pro loculo. Unde, mortuo Alexandro, dixit quidam philosophus, quem totus mundus non capiebat, hodie parva continet arca. Hi autem qui portabant, steterunt, nec ultra progredi ausi sunt. Et ait : Adolescens, surge, et sic eum, secundum quod Deus, suscitavit. Et resedit qui erat mortuus, quia surgens sedit in loculo in quo jacuerat prius; et cospit loqui, ut manifeste appareret quod erat vere et non apparentei; suscitatus ; et forte verba ipsius fuerunt gratiarum actiones. Et dedit illum matri suce; quia non suo merito, sed matris resurrexerat, ut quae de ipso tristis fuerat, in ipso consolaretur. Accepit autem omnes timor ex stu pore tanti miraculi, qui timor non fuit alicujus mali, sed reverentiae de potentia et bonitate ; et magnificabant, id est iaudabant , Deum , et magnum praedicabant, quia quanto gravior est casus , tanto pietas erigentis est gratior, et spes salutis poenitentibus est certior. Et dicC" bant : Quia Propheta magnus, scilicetinLege, et Prophetispromissus, surrexit in nobis; imo plus quam Propheta : et quia Deus visitavit plebem suam, mittendo eis Salvatorem , ut eos redimeret, sicut medicus visitat inflrmum , ut eum sanet.
2 , ? — Mystice iste defunctus est homo per peccatum mortale mortuus. Ejus mater est Ecclesia, quae est universitas credentium, et cujus filii sunt credentes singuli. Peccator autem dicitur fllius unicus matris suce, scilicet Ecclesiae, quia quemlibet ita deflet quando in peccatum cadit , sicut mater unicum filium quando decedit. Ecclesia quoque dicitur vidua, quia Sponsi sui morte redempta , vel quia nunc quandiu peregrinatur a Domino, est ab amplexibus Sponsi sui privata, de qua vidua dicitur in Psalmo : Viduam ejus benedicens, benedicam. EfPertur defimctus, cum sensus interior exiit in opus. Quatuor portitores hujus defuncti sunt quatuor affectiones cordis nostri, scilicet : gaudium et tristitia, spes et timor. Ista enim quatuor portant mortuum per abusum.
De quibus dicit Bernardus : a Amant quod non decet, timent quod non oportet , dolent vane, et gaudent vanius. Vel isti quatuor portitores sunt amor peccati, timor poenitentiae spes emendae, et praesumptio de Dei misericordia. Vel quatuor portitores sunt quatuor quae animam in peccato perseverare faciunt, scilicet : tiducia longioris vitae , quae tamen iiominem saepe decipit; consideratio culpae alienae , qua homo correctionem propriam devitat ; stulta spes poenitendi in futuro, et fiducia de venia quam homo concipit ex magnaDei misericordia; impunitas peccatoris, qua redditur ad peccata magis proclivus. Possunt etiam intelligi isti portitores carnalia desideria, vel adulatorum et benedicentium blandimenta, vel praelatorum mercenariorum verba ungentia, non pungentia, et quicunque verbo vel facto foventes hominem in peccato. Porta per quam eflFertur seu egreditur mortuus , est aliquis de quinque corporis sensibus peccati manifestativus. Nam qui videt, vel audit, vel loquitur quod non licet , mortuus extrahitur per portam visus, vel auditus, vel oris, etsic suo modo de aliis, et ideo custodiae ad istas portas sunt adhibenda. » Unde Beda : « Portam civitatis qua defunctus efferebatur, puto aliquem de sensibus esse corporis. Qui enim seminat inter fratres discordias, qui iniquitatem in excelsum loquitur , per oris pprtam extrahitur mortuus.
Qui viderit mulierem ad concupiscendum eam, per oculorum portam suae mortis indicia profert. Qui fabulis otiosis, obscenisve carminibus vel detractionibus aurem libenter aperit, hanc animae suae portam mortis efficit , ceterosque qui non servat sensus, mortis sibi ipse reddit aditum : » haec Beda, Loculus est conscientia peccatoris, in quo tanquam in lecto malae conscientiae requiescit.
Talis autem mortuus per peccatum mortale suscitatur a Deo per preces Ecdesiae. Sed quomodo resuscitatur in figura, hic docetur. Sicut enim tria sunt signa mortis spiritualis, sic tria sunt signa resuscitationis spiritualis. Signum mortis spiritualis accipitur, secundum signum mortis corporalis. Signum autem mortis corporalis triplex est Primum est carentia operationis, sic carentia ad bene operandum est signum mortis spiritualis; unde in Exodo : Fiant immobiles quasi lapid^. — Secundum est carentia sensus, quando percutitur et non sentit, sic quando homo non sentit percussiones et admonitiones spirituales, signum est quod ipse spiritualiter est mortuus ; unde in Proverbiis : Verberaverunt me, sed traxerunt me, et non dolui; non sensi. — Tertium est rigor, sic homo quando habet coj" ita rigidum, quod flecti non potest per compassionem ad proximum, nec per obedientiam ad Deum, signum est mortis spiritualis; unde in libro Regum dicitur quod manus Jeroboam, *quam extendit ad altare, exaruit. Sic ergo tria sunt signa mortis spiritualis : bene quippe operari tollit superbia, sensum aufert luxuria, et rigorem facit avaritia.
Et e contra sunt tria signa resuscitationis spiritualis, quae tangunt in hoc quod resedit, et ccepit loqui, et dedit illum matri suce, Per hoc quod dicit : resedit, intelligitur contritio, in contritione enim homo residet et resilit a peccato; per hoc quod dicit : ccepit loqui, intelligitur confessio, in qua homo loquitur se accusando; per hoc quod dicitur : dedit illum matri suce, intelligitur satisfactio. Per hoc enim quod homo solvitur et injungitur ei satisfactio, restituitur matri suae, id est Ecclesiae, et communioni fidelium per spiritualem incorporationem, quse tjuidem satisfactio fit per tria, scilicet : per orationem , jejunium, et eleemosynam.
Sed moduS iste resuscitationis tangitur cum dicitur : Accessit et tetigit loculum, Ad mortuum spiritualiter Salvator accedit, et appropinquat, cum aliquam gratiam praevenientem, vel desiderium propriae salutis ei donat. Loculum tangit, quando conscientiam et cor durum peccatoris ad poenitentiam emollit, et peccatorem ad sui cognitionem reducit, et tunc mortuus a peccato resurgit. Et sciendum quod Spiritus Sanctus peccatum per mortem voluit designari, ad ostendendum quantum peccatum sit fugiendum, et quantum de eo sit dolendum, quando est commissum. Peccatum fugiendum est ut mors, et de eo dolendum est tanquam de morte, sic dolere debet qui amicum suum in peccato mortali videt, ac si eum mortuum videret; imo etiam eum plus dolere debet. Et quia sicut mortuus istc iigurat peccatorem, sic ejus suscitatio figurat peccatoris conversionem; ideo sicut multum timendum cst peccatum, et multum dolendum de eo commisso, sic multum desideranda est peccatoris conversio, et multum gaudendum de ipsa jam fecta. Obsecra ergo, o peccator, Dominum ut resuscitet te a morte peccati, et restituat te sanctae Ecclesiae suae, in laudem et gloriam nominis sui. Et, ut ait Ambrosius : « Si grave peccatum est quod poenitentiae tuae lacrymis ipse lavare non possis, flet pro te mater Ecclesia, quae pro singulis tanquam pro unicis filiis vidua mater intervenit, compatitur quodam modo spirituali dolere naturae, cum suos iiberos letalibus vitiis ad mortem cernit urgeri. Viscera enim sumus de visceribusejus.
» Undeet AugusUnus: o De juvene illo resuscitato gafvisa est mater vidua ; de hominibus in spiritu quotidie suscitatis gaudet mater Ecclesia. Ille quidem mortuus erat corpore, illi autem mente. » 5 MoRTUos TRES suscrrAvrT DoMINUS, > — Moraliter tres mortuos Christus suscitavit : puellam in domo clausam, id est mortuum per consensum delectationis pravae, in cogitatione seu voluntate adhuc tectum; juvenem in porta, id est, mortuum per actum peccati in verbo, nutu, vel opere; Lazarum in sepulchro, id est mortuum lapide, mole scilicet pravae consuetadinis peccandi pressum, male olentem, et alios fama corrumpentem. Omnes istos suscitat et sanat Dominus, cum ad ipsum redeunt veraciter poenitendo, et tanto levius resuscitatur quisque per gratiam, quantominus mortificatus est per culpam. Unde Dominus puellam coram paucis de facili suscitat, puellae dicens : Surge; juvenem coram pluribus, et quasi difficilius, tangens feretrum, et dicens : Adolescens, tibi dico, surge; Lazarum difficillime, quia cum lacrymis, cum, fremitu, cum sui pcrturbatione, cum magna voce, dicens : La^are, veni foras, et quasi cum auxilio et testimonio praesentium, dicens : Solvite, et sinite abire. Non quod Domino tam facilis non fiierit resuscitatio Lazari sicut puellae, cum, ut ait Augustinus, nemo tam facile excitat in lecto, quam Chrirstus in sepulchro ; sed Domini fecta aliarum rerum sunt exempla. Longa enim consuetudine pressus, vix et quasi cum labore suscitatur. Qui, ut suscitetur, Dominum cogit laciymari et ejulare; et ideo, licet omne peccatum, maxime tamen peccandi consuetudinem fugere debemus , quia haec sanatur difficilius.
Unde Ambrosius : « Omne peccatum consuetudine vilescit, et fit homini quasi nullum sit ; sic et e converso, omnis virtus bona consuetudine fit ^rata et facilis, quia nihil differt assuesci sic, vel sic. » Triplex est ergo mors culpae designata in praedictorum trium morte, scilicet : peccatum cordis, peccatum operis, et peccatum consuetudinis. In suscitatione vero horum trium mortuorum ostensum est, quod Salvator potestatem habet super triplicem mortem, scilicet : naturae, culpae et gehennae; super triplicem vitam, scilicet : naturae, gratiae, gloriae. Quartum mortuum, insinuante discipulo, audivit, sed ad eum ire noluit, id est ad mortuum in obstinatione, vel desperatione, seu prava peccati excusatione; de quo dixit : Dimitte mortuos sepelire mortuos suos.
HaeC igitur audientes, qui stant, non praesumant, sed cauti sint, ne cadant; et qui ceciderunt, non desperent, sedsolliciti sint, ut resurgant. Unde Augustinus : « Haec ergo, charissimi, audivimus, ut qui vivunt vivant, qui mortui sunt reviviscant. Sive adhuc peccatum in corde conceptum non processit in factum, poeniteat, corrigatur cogitatio, resurgat mortuus intra domum conscientiae. Sive jam quod excogitavit admissit, nec sic desperetur; non surrexit mortuus intus, surgat elatus, poeniteat facti, de proximo reviviscat, non eat in profimda sepulturae, non accipiat desuper consuetudinis molem. Sed forte jam illi loquor, qui jam duro sui molis lapide premitur, qui jam urgetur consuetudinis pondere, qui jam quatriduanus putet; nec ipse desperet, profunde mortuus est, sed altius est Christus, agunt etiam tales poenitentiam. Neque enim Lazaro resuscitato post quatriduum ullus putor in vivente remanserat; ergo qui vivunt, vivant, qui autem mortui sunt, in quacunque harum trium morte se invenerint, poenitentiam agant, accelerent, jam resurgant. » Unde et Chrysostomus : a Ne audiamus qui stamus, sed dicamus nobis ipsis : Qui se cexisti' matstare, videat necadat; ne desperemus si cecidimus, sed dicamus nobis : Nunquid quicadit non resurget? Etenim multi in ipsum coeli verticem ascendentes et omnem patientiam demonstrantes, parum lapsi sunt, et ad ipsum venerunt malitiae barathrum.
Alii autem rursus ad coelum inde ascenderunt, et a scena ct scurrilitate, ad Angelicam suint translati urbanitatem, et tantam ostenderunt virtutem, ut daemones abegerint, et multa signa alia operati fuerint, et horum quidem plenae sunt Scripturae, et plena vita exemplis nobis. Quemadmodum ehim medici difl&ciliores aegritudines libris inscribunt, et hujus emendationis methodum, id est doctrinam docent, ut in majoribus exercitati facile minora superant; ita utique et Deus magna peccata in medium adduxit, ut qui parva deliquerunt, per illa facilem horum emandationem inveniant. Si enim majora habuerunt sanationem, multo magis minora. Igitur armemus nosmetipsos bonis operationibus, et si advenerit aliquod delictum, abluamur, ut digni elSiciamur in gloriam Dei viventes praesentem vitam, futura frui vita : » haec Chrysostomus, 7 MORS KmUJE — Considera hic viduam de morte filii flentem, et ita tu omnibus postpositis de morte animae tuae luge et lacrymare, ut merearis ab ipsa morte animae per tactum divinae miserationis rcsuscitari. Abstine a risu et cachinno, cogitans quia de cunctis actibus tuis redditunis es rationem in judicio. Unde Chrysostomus : « Nihil quippe ita conglutinat Deo, ut lacrymae illae, quas et peccati dolor et amor virtutis effundit, sive propria peccata quis, sive etiam lamentetur aliena. Cujus enim rei gratia in cachinnum laxaris ac diffluis qui tantorum sponte factus es causa moerorum, ante terribiie illud Christi staturus tribunal, et summa cum examinatione rationem pro cunctis actibus redditurus? » haec Chrysostomus.
Valde autem periculosum est, quod peccator in sordibus peccatorum, et in morte animae jacet, non curans se per poenitentiam purgare et resurgere. Si enim linguis hominum loquereris et Angelorum, et si tot per tuam doctrinam converteres homl^es quot fuerunt homines ab initio mundi, vel quot sunt stellae coeli, et teipsum per poenitentiam non mundaveris, factus es velut ces sonans, aut cymbalum tinniens ; campana enim ad utilitatem hominum serviens, pulsando seipsam consumit. Et si habueris omnem scientiam, et si per tuam scientiam, et tuis discretis consiliis omnes reges mundi vel principes, imo totus mundus pacifice dirigerentur ; et teipsum per poenitentiam non correxeris, nihil proficies. Et si habueris omnem fidem, ita quod trahas ad fidem omnes Judaeos, haereticos et paganos; et si in peccato mortali es, nihil tibi proderit ad vitae aeternae salutem. Item si mille claustra faceres, et mille hospitalia manu propria aedificares, et in illis omnes mundi pauperes bonis tuis pasceres; quandiu in peccato mortali persistis, in statu salvandorum non es. item si corpus tuum ad cremandum dares ut Laurentius, ad excoriandum ut Bartholomaeus , si crucifigereris ut Christus ; et sic cum unico peccato mortali morereris, nunquam salvareris. Item si miile millia missarum pro te dicerentur, si omnes Sancti in coelo cum omnibus Angelis prostrati ante Deum sanguineas funderent lacrymas, usque in diem novissimum orantes pro te , non flecterent misericordiam Dei ad miserendum tui, si decederes in peccato mortali : et ideo peccatori in morte animae jacente plus valeret una cdnfessio bona, quam omnia beneficia praedicta per eum facta, vel sibi impensa. ORATIO Domine Jesu Christe, veni in Naim, animam meam fluctuantem tentationibus; appropinqua portae cohibendo, ne per sensus veniantad effectus; accede per gratiam, tange cor per correctionem, stent portitores occasiones peccandi et opportunitates ; dic animae jacenti in peccatis, ut residat per bonam voluntatem, incipiat loqui per confessionem, surgat per bonam operationem ; redde matri suae, gratiae nutrici, ut stet per stabilitatem ; et sic plebem tuam, vires animae, afFectiones, et cogitationes visitet tua veritas per cognitionem, virtus per operationem, et bonitas per conservationem.
Amen.
Notes
- 1 ↩The Latin 'Viscera enim sumus de visceribus ejus' literally translates to 'For we are bowels/inward parts of His bowels/inward parts,' a common patristic idiom for being of the same substance or members of the same body.
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