De Scriba doloso, et duobus aliis Christum sequi volentibus
The Call to Interior Seclusion
Jesus leads his disciples away from the distraction of the crowds to teach the necessity of interior detachment.
Seeing the large crowds around him and following him, Jesus ordered his disciples to go across the strait—that is, to the other side of the Sea of Galilee—to a secluded place; and he went with them to cross over, so he could separate them from the crowds. He also teaches the preacher of the Gospel, and everyone else, to turn away from public applause and to do nothing just for show. By this he also suggests that the cares of the world must be avoided, because the many crowds are many cares that disturb the soul from every side; that is why he says, 'around him.' For they hinder us from behind, so that we don't reflect on the past; from in front, so that we don't reach out toward better things; from the right, so that we don't desire eternal things; from the left, so that we don't fear punishment; or from behind, so that we don't regret the failings of our past life; from in front, so that we don't consider the dangers in a state of prosperity; from the left, so that we don't consider the dangers in a state of adversity. For just as a farrier, when he wants to bleed a horse, covers its eyes and then strikes where he wants, so the devil, wanting to strike a person, covers their eyes with cares and anxieties, then wounds them through sin and drains away the blood of their virtues; and for this reason, one should turn away from this crowd. This is the crowd that hindered Zacchaeus from seeing Jesus.
The Scribe's False Ambition
Jesus exposes the pride and greed of a scribe who seeks to follow him for temporal gain rather than spiritual transformation.
Approaching him on the road—physically, but not spiritually—a certain Scribe (an expert in the Law or a man of letters) said to him, "Master," not calling him "Lord," because he came to learn, not to serve; he wasn't seeking the Master, but rather profit from the Master, saying, "I will follow you wherever you go." He wanted to follow Christ for two reasons: greed and temporal profit, and arrogance and vainglory. Moved by the number and magnitude of the signs he had seen, he wanted to follow the Lord so he might learn to perform signs to acquire profit or gain vainglory; he was hoping to obtain from the Lord the very thing that Simon Magus wanted to buy from Peter. Jesus, however, seeing his heart, didn't answer his words alone, but answered his heart, saying: "Foxes have dens to rest and hide in, and birds of the sky have nests to which they ascend and take refuge; but the Son of Man—the Son of the Virgin—behold, he identifies his lineage from the lower part, against those who boast of their own lineage and claim that what is most important is that they have their own home where they may lay their head to rest." It was as if to say: "Brute animals have their lairs and places where they can hide and rest; but I am so poor that I don't have a little home of my own where I might lay my head to find rest, and therefore you come to me in vain for the sake of temporal profit." Hence Chrysostom says: "Look at how he demonstrates the poverty that the Lord had taught through his deeds: he had no table, no lampstand, no house, nor anything of the sort." He did indeed have the Virgin’s womb as a little home; he had a manger as a resting place, though not his own; and he had the wood of the cross and a tomb, but they belonged to others. Here, therefore, the greed for earthly things is removed from those who wish to follow Christ. Once he heard about Christ’s poverty, he no longer insisted on following him. Chrysostom says: “He doesn’t answer, ‘I will follow you, poor man,’ for the Lord might perhaps have granted that.” Here, the fox represents deceit and pretense, while the birds represent empty boasting and pride. It is as if the Lord were saying: “Deceit and pride lie hidden in your heart, because you want to follow me for the sake of greed and vainglory, and so I do not accept you into my company; for the Son of Man, who is simple against deceit and humble against pride, has nowhere in you to rest his head.” For God is the head of Christ, and God dwells in the humble, the simple, and the one who trembles at his words; the very reclining of the head—not the lifting of it—is the teacher of humility, which has no place in him. In three things, therefore, he is rebuked by the Lord: in deceit, because he wanted to follow with a feigned and not a simple heart; in greed, because he intended to follow him for the sake of profit; and in pride, because he desired to cling to him for the sake of vainglory—just as the fox is a deceitful animal, intent on traps and full of plunder; and the bird... ...is truly seeking high things and ascending upward. He wanted to follow the Master, therefore, not to learn virtues, not to imitate the Master’s poverty and humility, but as a feigned disciple to deceive, and under the Master of humility and poverty, to seek after the dignities of honors and gather riches. Ambitious and greedy people in the Church imitate this man; they long to be raised to high positions, seeking what is their own rather than what belongs to Jesus Christ, not to serve but to be served, and so they are rightly compared to the cunning fox and the bird in flight. This also points to those who seek to enter religious life or a monastery, not out of devotion, but to become rich from being poor, and to be honored when they were once held in contempt. Therefore, it is said to such people: "Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky have nests," meaning that cunning and proud demons have a dwelling place within you, but Christ does not. It can also be said that "foxes have dens" because the cunning have their own schemes to which they retreat so they won't be caught in their own malice; and "birds of the sky have nests" because the proud seek to be lifted up on high. But the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head in such people—that is, the one who lives according to the dictates of reason does not seek such things. So, as Chrysostom said, this scribe didn't approach the Lord with a mind to believe, but with a feigned heart; therefore God, who searches the heart and knows all secrets, rightly rejected him, since he was testing Him rather than wanting to follow Him truly and faithfully. For, as Augustine says: "He saw that he was darkened by cunning pretense and tossed about by windy pride, and that he had no place of humility where he could receive the Teacher who humbled Himself, because in the discipleship of Christ he was not seeking His grace, but his own glory."
The Priority of the Kingdom
Jesus calls a second man to follow him, emphasizing that the proclamation of the Gospel takes precedence over natural family obligations.
Regarding the other man, who—before Christ... The Lord said to the other, whose father He already knew was dead: "Follow me." He replied: "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father," which is a matter of reverence and obedience. For it is said of His future disciples, even if it wasn't yet the case, that they should first go and bury their father, which is a work of mercy. Where Rabanus says: "He didn't reject the discipleship, but having first fulfilled the piety of a father's funeral, he desires to follow Him more freely, just as Elisha, when Elijah called him, said: 'Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.'" Jesus, however, corrected him by saying, "Follow me, and don't let your father's funeral stand in your way." It is as if he were saying, "It isn't in the order of charity to put a lesser good before a greater one. Leave the dead—that is, those dead by the death of sin—to bury the dead, those dead by the death of nature, who are bound to them by the ties of kinship and natural affection." By saying "their own," he showed that this dead man was not his, but one of the unbelievers, whose own burial he intended to be understood as a burial of the dead in soul through the infidelity of their impiety. Unbelievers are called dead because they lack faith, which is the life of the soul, according to the saying, "The just shall live by faith." Here, then, carnal attachment to relatives is removed; for by saying to him, "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead," he showed that carnal affection must be completely abandoned by those who follow Christ. This is an argument against those who excuse themselves from entering the religious life because of the care of their parents, and also against those who procrastinate; for if he didn't want to be delayed for a funeral, he would be much less willing to be delayed for a long-term undertaking. Hence Chrysostom says, "Another said with a feigned intention, 'I will follow you'; yet even this man, seeking a holy thing, is not permitted to leave, because there were others who could bury the dead, and it wasn't fitting for him to turn away from more necessary things." So says Chrysostom. See how he rejected the first man, who was deceitful and proud and had approached with a feigned and simulated mind, but drew the second man to follow him—the one who was simple and devout, and who sought him with a true and simple mind and a pure heart—commanding him to follow without delay and not even permitting him to bury his father, whom he might perhaps have forbidden from burial had there not been others to do it. It is as if he were saying to him, "You have come to life; do you wish to return to death?" "I am life, I am your Father and Creator. Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead; but you, go and announce the kingdom of God—not fables, not curiosities, or anything of that sort." I don't deny that burial is one of the works of mercy, nor do I say that works of mercy toward one's neighbor shouldn't be performed, but rather that they should be postponed for greater things. Proclaim the kingdom of God; raise the dead to life in their souls. We are taught here to set aside a lesser good for a greater one. While it may be a meritorious act to bury a parent, it is more worthy to teach the words of life. What he wanted to do was certainly pious, but the Master taught what should be given priority: it is greater to raise the souls of the dead to life through preaching than to hide a dead body in the earth. It is greater to bring even one soul to life through preaching than to bury all the dead. Ambrose says, "Since we have received the religious duty of burying a human body, how can this..." ...be forbidden? Unless you understand that human affairs must be set aside for divine ones—a good pursuit, but a greater obstacle. Whoever divides his focus dissipates his affection; whoever divides his care delays his progress. Therefore, the greatest things must be held first. How, then, can the dead bury the dead, unless you understand a twofold death here: one of nature, the other of guilt? There is also a third death, in which we die to sin and live to God. Therefore, the burial of a father's body is not forbidden, but the devotion of divine religious life is preferred over the ties of kinship. The former is left to others; the latter is commanded to the elect. Chrysostom also says, "It was inappropriate for someone who, having once believed in the Son of God, had already begun to have the living and heavenly God as his Father, to be thinking about a dead father. And so the Lord shows that faith and the knowledge of Christ are to be preferred over such duties of piety, for whose sake we are commanded to leave even our living parents." Jesus, therefore, restrained him—not by commanding him to despise the honor due to those who gave him life, but by showing that nothing is more necessary for us than heavenly business; and that we must join ourselves to these things with a disdain for all else, and without any delay, even if the things that pull at us are very pressing and persuasive. For it is much better to spread the kingdom and pull others from death than to bury a dead person who, in any case, gains no benefit from it—especially when there are others who can take care of all these things. We learn nothing else here but that we must not waste any time that comes our way, even if ten thousand things call out to us, and that we must put spiritual matters before all else, even the most necessary things: so says Chrysostom. In a moral sense, the dead bury the dead when sinners, by mutually indulging one another in their sins, hide and cover themselves up. Hence, according to Gregory, by the dead we can understand flatterers who indulge sinners in their sins and bury them even deeper by heaping earth—that is, worldly flattery—over their heads, so that they are exercised in vices and have their feet bound with chains, lest they walk in the ways of God.
The Danger of Looking Back
Using the metaphor of the plow, Jesus warns against the hesitation and spiritual apostasy that come from clinging to one's past life.
5. Concerning the third point: the desire to say goodbye to those at home. And another said to Jesus: 'I will follow you, Lord; but first let me say goodbye to those at my home.' He wanted to say goodbye to his parents, lest they—as is often the way—try to hold him back, and so he would have to take his leave of them, say farewell, and settle his family affairs. In the same way, Elisha, when asked to follow Elijah, said, 'I pray you, let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.' Many today do the same, uselessly delaying their entry into the religious life or the pursuit of a better way of life, saying, 'I will first settle my affairs with my friends or my property, and then I will enter the religious life or amend my life.' Jerome discouraged a man from this, pulling him back from such a dangerous delay by saying: "It's better to cut the rope of a boat stuck in the surf than to untie it." " Chrysostom also says: "Lest I say I will settle my affairs, this hesitation is the very beginning of laziness." Because the devil presses hard to gain an entry that God is willing to accept, and if he catches even a small call or delay, he works great sluggishness; for this reason, someone warns: 'Do not put off from day to day.' This is also reinforced by a fitting example when it is added: Jesus said to him, 'No one who puts his hand to the plow'—that is, the plow of repentance by which the heart is turned over so that it may be sown with virtues—'no one, I say, who is repenting and proposing to follow Christ, and who looks back—either in deed or in intention, by returning to a former state—is fit for the kingdom of God, whether in attaining it or in preaching it.' Hence Paul, who was to possess the kingdom of God and preach it to others, says: 'Forgetting what lies behind.' It is as if the Lord were saying to him: 'The East calls you, and you look toward the West.' Here, therefore, useless delay is removed, because when the intention to change one's life is revealed to parents, it is sometimes revoked by God. For a plowman who looks back makes a crooked and useless furrow; so, one who accepts a better life but still has an attachment to returning to a former state is unfit for attaining the kingdom of God. Such is the religious person who has left the world but returns to it in his mind, revolving in his heart now these things, now those, or things previously held or done, and turning his love or delight toward such things. Hence Bishop Maximus says: 'Anyone plowing who looks back either makes a crooked and useless furrow, or will wound the tracks of his own oxen.' In the same way, anyone who moves toward the kingdom of God, cutting through worldly vices with a straight path and a spiritual plow, will wound their own yoke—that is, their body and soul—and fall into a very dangerous error on this excellent journey if they turn their gaze toward things that are ungodly and vain. Hence Augustine says: 'They put their hand to the plow who are eager to follow, yet they look back if they seek a delay, using the excuse of returning home and consulting with friends.' Hence Bernard also says: 'If a disciple who is about to follow the Lord is criticized for even wanting to renounce their home, what will become of those who, without any benefit or reason to build up the faith, are not afraid to visit the homes of their own people whom they left in the world?' This applies to monks who live in the homes of their parents and worldly people. Hence Chrysostom also shows that anyone who desires to follow the Lord—who puts their hand to the plow, that is, who is founded in the evangelical faith in the hope of Christ's cross and renounces the world—should not look back, that is, should not return to the things of the world, lest they become unworthy of the kingdom of God through such empty worldly care and vain desire. Therefore, it's not without reason that the Apostle warns us not to return to the weak and beggarly elements of the world. Hence Bernard says again: 'And this is something to be feared above all, that someone might become an apostate in heart alone, or even in body.' For we read of the children of Israel that they returned to Egypt in their hearts. For the Red Sea blocked them from returning in the body, just as it had closed off the path behind their heels. This is what I fear, brothers: that there might be some who, if shame prevents them from an apostasy of the body, let lukewarmness cause an apostasy of the heart—so that, while wearing the habit of religious life, they carry a worldly heart and gladly accept whatever worldly comfort they can find. So says Bernard. And, as Isidore says, those who have scorned to fulfill in deed what they promised by their profession are to be judged severely in the scrutiny of divine judgment. Therefore, we must be cautious, lest we be seduced by the world pulling at us from every side and clamoring for us to look back, and so look back like Lot’s wife, who was turned into a pillar of salt. Note, then, that a statue has a human form, but it doesn't feel or move. Likewise, those who have left the world but still keep their hearts set on worldly business have no sense or movement toward any good work. Also, ground where salt is sown becomes barren; in the same way, such people make the community they are in barren. Salt provides flavor to others, yet only by consuming itself. In the same way, such people are consumed in religious life without any benefit to themselves, and they give others an example of preservation. According to Bede, a person also puts his hand to the plow who, by the instrument of compunction—that is, by the wood and iron of the Lord’s Passion—softens the hardness of his heart and turns it toward repentance. Thus, he opens the soil of his heart with the plowshare of repentance to bear good fruit, as he reflects on the Lord’s Passion. If anyone is carried away by desire for the vices he has left behind, he is cast out from the kingdom of God along with Lot’s wife. For the saints, forgetting what lies behind, always reach out to what lies ahead. They don't loosen their own yokes—that is, their body and soul, which are joined to God’s yoke—but always bow their necks, so that they may bring forth more fruit.
A Prayer for Faithful Discipleship
The chapter concludes with a summary of the lessons learned and a prayer for the grace to follow Christ with a pure and undivided heart.
You should understand that while burying a father or renouncing goods or friends doesn't in itself prevent someone from reaching perfection and the kingdom of God, there is still an unexpected danger for those who turn back from God's way. When people delay in fulfilling their purpose, they can easily be swayed from their intentions by the influence of those they left behind, or called back by the persuasion of parents or others they have abandoned. But as Augustine says in this chapter—and we say the same—the Lord chose those He willed: one offered to follow Him and was rejected; another didn't dare, yet was called. The third delayed and was blamed. Don't be deceitful or proud, therefore, lest you be rejected like the first; instead, be simple and devout, like the other two. May you deserve to be chosen among others. PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, good Master, inspector of hearts and knower of secrets, cast out and remove from me all deceit and emulation, and make me your true and faithful disciple, that I may follow you, the truthful Master, without pretense. Grant also that I may not delay in following you because of any fleshly attachment to anyone, and that I may not prefer a lesser good to a greater one. Grant me, Lord my God, that when I have set my hand to the plow of repentance and have proposed to follow you through a state of better life, I may not look back, either in deed or in purpose, by returning to my former state, so that I may not become unfit for attaining the kingdom of God. Amen.
Read the original Latin
Videns autem Jesus turbas multas circum se, et se sequentes : jussii discipulos ire trans freium, id est ultra mare Galilaeae, in locum secretum ; et ivit ut cum eis transfretaret, et eos a turbis sequestraret. Docens etiam praedicatorem Evangelii et omnes applausum populi declinare, et nihil ad ostentationem facere. Per hoc etiam innuit, quod curae mundi sunt fugiendae, quia turbae multae sunt multae curae, quae turbant animam ex omni parte, ideo dicit, circum se. Nam impediunt a posteriori, ne posteriora recolat; ab anteriori, ne se ad meliora extendat; a dextris, ne desideret aeterna; a sinistris, ne timeat supplicia; vel a posteriori, ne desiderentur defectus vitae praeteritae; ab anteriori, ne considerentur pericula in statu prosperitatis; a sinistris, ne considerentur pericula in statu adversitatis. Sicut enim faber, quando vult sanguinem minuere equo, cooperit sibi oculos, et tunc percutit ubi vult : sic diabolus volens hominem percutere, operit sibi oculos per curas et sollicitudines, tunc vulnerat per peccatum, et extrahit sanguinem virtutum; et ideo ab hac turba esset declinandum. Haec est turba quae impediebat Zachaeum, in videndo Jesum.
Et iu via accedens corporaliter, non spiritualiter, U7tus Scriba, id est legis peritus, seu litteratus, ait illi : Magister, non dicit Domine, quia causa discendi, non serviendi, venit; nec quaerens Magistrum, sed ex Magistro lucrum, sequar te quocunque ieris. Iste duplici de causa volebat sequi Christum, scilicet : causa cupiditatis, et lucri temporalis, ac jactantiae, et vanae gloriae. Multitudine enim et magnitudine signorum visorum motus, volebat sequi Dominum, ut disceret signa facere propter lucrum acquirendum vel propter vanam gloriam consequendam ; hoc idem considerans consequi a Domino quod Simon Magus volebat emere a Petro. Jesus autem videns ejus animum, non respondit ad ejus verbum tantum, sed ad ejus animum, dicens : Vulpes foveas habent, ad quiescendum et latitandum, et volucres cceli nidos habent ad quos ascendunt et confugiunt, Filius autem hominis, id est Virginis, ecce a parte inferiori denominat genus suum, contra gloriantes et genere suo et allegantes quod est in eo praecipuum, 710« habet domicilium proprium, ubi caput suum reclinet ad pausandum. Quasi diceret : Bruta habent sua latibula et loca ubi possunt latere et quiescere; ego autem sum ita pauper quod non habeo hospitiolum proprium, ubi percipiendo quietem caput reclinem, et ideo frustra venis ad me propter lucrum temporale. Unde Chrysostomus : « Aspice qualiter paupertatem, quam Dominus docuerat, per opera demonstrat : non erat ei mensa, non candelabrum, nec domus, nec quidquam talium : » haec Chry^ostomus. Hospitiolum quidem habuit Virginis uterum, reciinatorium habuit, praesepium non proprium, et crucis patibulum , sepulchrum habuit, sed alienum. Hic ergo removetur cupiditas terrenorum a volentibus sequi Christum.
Audita autem Christi paupertate non institit amplius ut sequeretur. Unde Chrysostomus : a Non autem respondet , sequar te pauperem, hoc enim Dominus forsitan concessisset. » Hic per vulpes, dolositas et simulatio; per volucres, inanis jactantia et elatio signatur. Quasi diceret Dominus : Dolositas et elatio latent in corde tuo, quia scilicet causa cupiditatis et vanae gloriae vis me sequi, et ideo te in societatem meam non recipio; quia Filius hominis simplex contra dolositatem , humilis contra superbiam, non habet in te ubi caput reciinet. Caput enim Christi Deus est, Deus autem habitat in humili et simplici et tremente sermones ejus , et ipsa reclinatio capitis, non erectio humilitatis magistra cst, quae in illo locum non habent. In tribus ergo iste reprehenditur a Domino, scilicet : in dolositate, quia ficto animo et non simplici sequi volebat; et in cupiditate, quia eum pro quacstus sequi intendebat; €t in elatione , quia propter inanem gloriam ei adhaerere cupiebat : sicut vulpes est animal fallax , insidiis intentum, et rapinis plenum; avis . vero alta petens et ascendens sursum. Hic ergo sequi volebat Magistrum, non ut virtutes disceret, non ut paupertatem et humilitatem Magistri imitaretur, sed ut fictus discipulus deciperet, et sub Magistro humilitatis, et paupertatis', honorum dignitates ambiret et divitias congregaret.
Et hunc ambitiosi et simoniaci in Ecclesia imitantur, qui cupiunt ad alta subvehi, qucerentes quce sua sunt, non quce Jesu Christi, non ut ministrent, sed ut ministrentur, et ideo vulpi dolosae, et volanti avi merito comparantur. Per hunc etiam significantur quaerentes intrare religionem, vel monasterium divitias habentium , nori ex devotione, sed ut cx pauperibus divites, et ei contemptibilibus honorati fiant. Ideo talibus dicitur : Vulpes foveas habent, et volucres cceli nidos, id est daemones dolosi et superbi habent in vobis habitaculum , sed non Christus. Potest insuper dici, quod vulpes foveas habent, id est dolosi habent cautelas, ad quas refiigiunt, ne in suis capiantur maiitiis; et volucres coeli nidos, id est superbi quaerunt elevari in aitis; PVlius autem hominis non habet ubi caput suum reclinet, in talibus, id est ille qui secundum dictamen rationis vivit, talia non quaerit. Ut ergo didt Chrysostomus, Scriba hic, non animo credendi, sed simulata mente accessit ad Dominiim, unde inspector cordium et secretonim cognitor Deus, tentantem se potius, quam vere ac fideliter sequi Yolentem, non immerito refutavit. Nam, ut ait Augustinus : a Videbat eum dolosa simulatione tenebrosum , et ventosa elatione jactatum, non habere locum humilitatis, ubi doctorem se inclinantem exciperet, quia in discipulatu Christi non illius gratiam, sed suam gloriam requirebat. » 4 De altero, qui antequam ChriLIRE ; i — DiXlt autem Dominus alteri, cujus patrem jam moxtuum sciebat : Sequere me, Qui respondit : Domine, quod est reverentiae, permitte me, quod est obedientiae, quia de discipulis suis scilicet futuris dicitur, ctsi nondum erat, primum ire et sepelire patrem meum, quod est opus misericordiae. Ubi Rabanus : <i Non discipulatum respuit, sed expleta primum paterni fiineris pietate, liberior hunc sequi desiderat, sicut Elisaeus, vocante se Elia : Osculer, inquit, orate, patrem meum et matrem meam, et sic ^equar te.
» Jesus autem ait illi, animo corripiendi : Sequere me, non obstante patris tui funere. Quasi dicat : Non est de caritatis ordine minus bonum majori praeponere : et dimitte mortuos, scilicet morte culpae, sepelire mortuos, morte naturx, suos, scilicet sibi adstrictos vinculo propinquitatis vci naturae ; dicens autem suos , monstrabat quoniam hic mortuus non ejus , sed aliquis infidelium erat, cujus et sepultores per infidelitatem impietatis in anima mortuos intelligi volebat. Infideles dicuntur mortui , quia fide carent, quae vita animae cst, secundum iliud : Justus ex fide vivit, hic ergo romovetur carnalitas propinquarum ; per hoc cnim quod dixit ei : Sequere me, €t dimitte mortuos sepelire mortuos suos , ostendit quod carnalis aficctus a sequentibus Christum est totaliter dimittendus. Et est hoc argumentum contra excusantes se de ingressu religionis, propter curam parentum; item contra pro•crastinantes, si enim noluit retardari pro sepultura, multo minus pro expeditione diuturna. Unde Chrysostomus : a Alius intentione ficta dixit, sequar te ; hic etiam sanctam rem petens non sinitur recedere, quia alii erant qui sepelirent, et hunc a magis necessariis recedere non oportebat : » haec Chrysosto^ mms, Et vide quomodo primum dolosum et superbum , qui ficte et simulata mente accesserat, respuit ; secundum simplicem et xlevotum , qui vere et simplici mente et puro corde quaerebat, ad sui sequelam traxit, et absque dilatione se sequi jubens nec patrem scpelire permisit, quem forte a sepultura prohibuissct, si alii qui sepelirent non fiiissent. Ac si ei diceret : Venisti ad vitam, vis redire ad mortem ? Ego sum vita, ego sum Pater, et Creator tuus : Sequere me, ei dimitte mortuos sepelire mortuos Sttos; tu autem, vade, et annuntia regnum Dei , non fabulas, non curiositates, vel aliquid hujusmodi. Non nego sepulturam esse de operibus misericordiae , nec dico opera ejus proximo non csse impendenda , sed pro majoribus esse postponenda.
Annuntia regnum Dei, suscita mortuos in anima. Instruimur ergo hic ut pro majori bono minus bonum deseramus; nam si meritorium sit parentem scpelire, dignius cst tamen verba vitae docere , pium quippe crat quod volebat facere , sed docuit Magister quid debcret praeponere : majus enim est animas mortuorum praedicando ad vitam resuscitare, quam corpus mortui in terra abscondere; majus cst praedicando unum saltem vivificare , quam omnes mortuos scpelire. Unde Ambrosius : « Cum religiosum humani corporis sepelicndi acceperimus officium, quomodo hic patemi quoque Rmcris sepulturr. prohibetur? Nisi ut intelligas humana posthabcnda divinis, bonum studium, sed majus impedimentum; nam qui partitur studium, dirivat afFectum, qui dividit curam, difiert profectum; ergo prius sunt habcnda quae maxima« Quomodo ergo mortui sepelire mortuos possunt, nisi geminam hic intelligas mortem : unam naturae, alteram culpae ? Est etiam mors tertia , in qua peccato morimur, Deo vivimus; non ergo paterni funeris sepultura prohibetur, sed necessitudini generis divinae religionis pietas antefertur. Illud consortibus relinquitur, hoc mandatur electis. » Unde et Chrysostomus : « Inconveniens enim erat , ut qui semel Filio Dei credens, vivum et coelestem Deum patrem habere jam coeperat, de patre mortuo cogitaret ; et ideo Dominus ostendit praeferendam esse fidem et cognitionem Christi hujusmodi pietatis officiis, propter quem viventes parentes jubemur relinquere.
Jesus ergo prohibuit eum non jubens contemnere honorem, qui est ad eos qui progenuerunt, sed monstrans quoniam nihil coelestibus negotiis magis nobis necessarium esse oportet; et quoniam cum fastidio universorum his jungi oportet, et neque parum tardare, etsi valde inevitabilia et incitantia fuerint quae attrahunt. Etenim multo melius est regnum divulgare, et alios evellere a morte, qua mortuum, qui in nuUo inde utilitatem habet, sepelire, et maxime cum fuerint qui haec universa complent. Nihil igitur aliud hic discimus , quam quoniam neque contingens tempus perdere oportet, etsi decem millia quae provocant fuerint, atque omnibus ^et maxime necessariis ipsis spiritualia praeponere : » haec Chrysostomus. Moraliter mortui sepeliunt mortuos, quando peccatores in peccatis suis mutuo fovendo celant, et operiunt semetipsos. Unde, secundum Gregorium, per mortuos intelligi possunt adulatores, qui peccatores fovent in peccatis, eosque amplius sepeliunt promendo terram, et terrenam adulationem super caput ipsorum, ut exerceantur in vitiis, institis ligantes pedes eorum, ne in viis Dei ambulent. 5 De tertio renuntiari his qui domi erant volentl". , antequam Christum FiGURA } —Et ait alter, ad Jesum : Sequar te, Domine; sed primum permitte me renuntiare his quce domi sunt ; volebat renuntiare parentibus, ne forte quomodo fieri solet quaererent eum, licentiando se ab eis, et dicturus valete, ac dispositurus familiae. Sic Elisaeus requisitus Eliam sequi dixit : Oro te ut osculer primumpatrem meum, et matrem meam, et sic sequar te; sic hodiemulti faciunt quiinutiliter ingressum religionis, vel executionem melioris vitae differunt et dicunt, disponam prius de amicis, vel de rebus meis, et postea religionem intrabo, seu vitam emendabo.
Quod Hieronymus dissuasit cuidam, eumque ab hac periculosa dilatione revocavit, dicens : tt Naviculae haerentis in salo funem potius praescinde , quam solve. » . Unde et Chrysostomus ; « Ne dicam dissolvam negotia mea, primum principium desidiae haec tardatio est. Quoniam vehementer instat diabolus ingressum quem Deus volens accipere, et si parvam vocationem et tardationem apprehenderit, magnam operatur pigritationem ; propter hoc admonet quidam : Et ne differas de die in diem,^^ Quod etiam romovetur convenienti exemplo, cum subditur : Ait, enim illi Jesus : Nemo mittens manum suam ad aratrum, scilicet poenitentiae qua cor evertitur, ut virtutibus seminetur, mittens, inquam, poenitendo, et Christum sequi proponendo; et respiciens retro, facto vel proposito, ad statum pristinum redeundo, aptus est regno Dei, consequendo vel praedicando. Unde Paulus, regnum Dei habiturus et ipsumaliis praedicaturus, ait : Qwb retro sunt obliviscens, quasi Dominus dicat ei : Vocat te Oriens, et tu attendis ad Occidenteml Hic ergo removetur inutilis dilatio, quia cum propositum mutandi vitam parentibus revelatur, quandoque ab ds revocatur. Arator quippe retro aspiciens facit sulcum tortuosum et ineptum ; sic accipiens melioris vitae statum, et habens affectum redeundi ad statum pristinum, ineptus est ad regnum Dei adipiscendum. Talis est religiosus qui mundum reliquit , sed ad mundum mente recurrit, nunc hos, nunc illos, seu prius habita vel facta in corde revolvendo, et amorem seu delectationem ad hujusmodi flectando. Unde Maximus Episcopus : ccpmnis enim arans si retroaspicit, aut tortuosum et inutilem facit sulcum , aut aratrum boum suorum vestigia vulnerabit.
Ita et qui directo tramite ac spirituali vomere vitia mundana persulcans incedit ad regnum Dei, si aspectum suum ad impia et vana converterit ; et juges suos, hoc est corpus atque animam vulnerabit et optimi itineris periculosum nimis incurrit errorem. » Unde Augustinus : cc Apponit manum aratro, qui afifectuosus est ad sequendum ; retro tamen respicit, qui dilationem petit, occasione redeundi ad domum et cum amicis conferendi. » Unde et Bernardus : cc Si autem secuturus Dominum discipulus, qui vel domui renuntiare velit arguitur : quid fiet illis qui nuUa utilitatis, nulla fidei aedificandae gratia saepius suorum quos in mundo relinquere domos revisere non timent? Hoc facit contra monachos in domibus parentum et secularium conviventes. » Unde etiam Chrysostomus : a Ostendit quod qui sequi Dominum desiderat, qui manum in aratro ponit, id est qui in spe crucis Christi Evangelica fide fundatus, seculo renuntiat , respicere retro non debeat, id est rursus ad ea quae seculi sunt redire, ne per hujusmodi inanem seculi curam et vanam cupiditatem regno Dei efficiatur indignus. Unde non immerito Apostolus admonet ne ad infirma et egena mundi revertamur.» Unde iterum Bernardus : cc Et hoc omnino timendum est, ne quis aut corde solo, aut etiam corpore fiat apostata. Legimus enim de filiis Israel, quia corde redierunt in iEgyptum.
Nam corpore reverti clausum post eorum talos rubrum mare vetabat; hoc est, quod ego vereor, fratres, ne forte sint aliqui quibus si pudor negat apostasiam corporis, tepor faciat apostasiam cordis, ut videiicet in habitu religionis cor seculare gerant , et quidquid secularis consolationis invenire potuerint, laeti suscipiant : » haec Bernardus, Qui ergo seculo renuntiavit , nullatenus retro respiciat, quia, ut ait Gregorius, nil Angelis carius , nil Deo acceptius, nil homini fructuosius, quam in suscepta religione persistere, juraque obedientiae observare et complere. Et, ut ait /s/dorus, atrociter in discussione divini judicii arguendi sunt, qui quod professione spoponderunt, opere implere contempserunt ; et ideo cauti esse debemus ne mundo undique retrahente, et post dorsum ut retro respiciamus strepente, seducamur, et retro cum uxore Loth, quae in statuam salis versa est, respiciamus. Unde nota, quod statua h^abet figuram humanam, sed non sentit nec movetur ; sic personae quae exierunt mundum, habentes cor adhuc ad negotia mundi, non habent sensum vel motum alicujus boni operis. Item terra ubi sal seminatur, efficitur sterilis; sic tales reddunt societatem, in qua sunt, sterilem. Item sal praebet saporem aliis, tamen per consumptionem sui; sic tales consumuntur in religione sine propna utilitate , et dant aUis exemplum conservationis. Secundum Bedam, etiam manum ad aratrum mittit, qui quasi quodam instrumento compunctionis , scilicet ligno et ferro Dominice PassioniSy duritiam cordis*sui emollit et evertit ad poenitentiam ; sicque ad bonos fructus ferendos terram cordis vomere poenitentiae aperit, recolens Dominicam Passionem. Qui si ad relicta vitia desiderio rapitur, a regno Dei cum uxore Loth exduditur. Sancti enim posteriorum obliti semper in anteriora se extendunt : juges suos, id est corpus et animam, quasi boves jugo Dei conjunctos, a jugo ejus non relaxantes, sed semper colla subdentes, ut fnictum plus afferant.
£t sciendum quod quamvis sepelire patrem, et renuntiare bonis vel amicis, per le non impediant homi* nem a per£ectione et regno Dei ; per accidens tamen et propter aliqua supervenientia imminet periculum retrocedenti a via Dei, quia. dum dififert implere propositum , potest faciliter immutari ab eo quod proposuit propter intuitum earum que dimisit, vel revocari a proposito propter suasum parentum, seu aliorum quos reliquit. Ut autem dicit Augustiftus, in hoc capitulo et nos dicimus, quia quos voluit Dominus, hos elegit : obtulit se imus ut eum sequeretur, et reprobatus est; alius non audebat, citatus est;. tertius differebat, culpatus est : non sis ergo dolosus et superbus, ne cum primo reproberis, sed magis si& simplex et devotus, ut cum duobus. aliis eligi merearis. ORATIO Domine Jesu Christe, Magisler bone, inspector cordium, et cognitor secretonim, exchide et remove a me omnem dolositatem et ^mulationem, et fac me venim et fidelem tuum discipulum; et sine fictione sequi te veracem Magistrum. Da etiam mihi ut propter camalem quorumcunque affectum te sequi non difiEeram, et minus bonum majori non praeferam. Praesta mihi, Domine Deus meus, ne ad aratrum poenitentiae manum mittens, et te sequi per melioris vitae statum proponens, respidam retro, facto vel proposito, ad statum pristinum redeundo, ut non efi&ciar ineptus regna Dei consequendo.
Amen.
The Life of Christ (Vita Christi) companion
A prayer for every moment, already on your phone
Chosen Portion puts a curated historic prayer in front of you each day — so the words are there before the moment arrives.
Chosen Portion is the digital descendant of the carried prayer book: the short daily prayers this collection preserves, delivered one a day to your pocket.
- One short, memorable prayer delivered daily — build your repertoire a card at a time
- Prayers matched to real situations: fear, gratitude, decisions, grief, sleep
- Save favourites into your personal pocket collection you can open anywhere