De curatione paralyticL per tectwn dimssi
The Lord's Return to Capharnaum
Jesus returns to Capharnaum, the city of his ministry, to continue his work of salvation.
Then the Lord Jesus boarded a boat to return from the land of the Gerasenes to Galilee, the place he had come from. According to Chrysostom, he crossed by boat even though he could have walked across; he didn't always want to show his power through miracles, so as not to detract from the mystery of the Incarnation. By contrast, if people in this world have any power, they always want to use it more than they want to use the truth of justice. He chose to cross by boat for this reason too: to teach us to use the boat and the help of penance on the sea of this world, so that we might reach the heavenly city; for this ship of penance leads us to the heavenly city. And so it follows: And he came into his own city, that is, Capharnaum, where he was accustomed to spend time and perform miracles. According to the same Chrysostom, he calls Capharnaum his city here, which he made his own not by birth, but by illuminating it with miracles. One city brought him forth—that is, led him into the light—like Bethlehem; another nourished him, like Nazareth; and another had him as a long-term resident, like Capharnaum. He frequented this city more in his daily life and in the performance of miracles because, according to Augustine, it was like a metropolis and the most distinguished city of Galilee, where his faith and teaching could be more clearly seen through the gathering of many people and, confirmed by miracles, could reach many for their salvation. Alternatively, as mentioned above, Capharnaum is interpreted as a village of beauty, fatness, and consolation—which are occasions of sin for many—and therefore it needed more miracles for its conversion. Or, just as we call our own city the metropolis of a region even though we are from a city subject to it, so Capharnaum, the metropolis of Nazareth in Galilee, situated between Nazareth and the lake, is called the city of the Lord, who was conceived and nourished in Nazareth.
The Faith of the Paralytic
Jesus demonstrates his divine authority by forgiving the sins of the paralyzed man brought to him.
While he was teaching the crowds in the house, four men carrying a paralyzed man on a bed found the door blocked by the crowd. Unable to enter or bring him in because of the throng, they climbed onto the roof, uncovered it, and lowered him on his bed through the tiles into the middle before Jesus; this was a great sign of their faith. In response to their faith, the Lord showed an act of divine power over both the soul and the body itself. This was done in three ways: first, in the forgiveness of sin; second, in the knowledge of thoughts—and these two pertain to the soul; third, in the sudden healing of bodily sickness. For Jesus, seeing the faith of those who were offering him, and also of the paralyzed man who was brought—for he would not have endured being carried and lowered through the roof if he had not possessed faith in his healing—forgave him his sins, saying: "Take heart, son, your sins are forgiven you." He does not say "I forgive," but "they are forgiven," to suggest humility and piety. From this it is clear that the faith of the paralyzed man was present; for although bodily health or something of that kind may be given to someone because of the faith of others, the forgiveness of sins is not given to any adult without their own faith, and therefore he rightly calls him "son," because he was already believing. As Jerome says: "Oh, what wonderful humility!" He calls him "son"—this despised and weak man, broken in all the joints of his limbs—whom the priests did not even deign to touch! Or perhaps he calls him "son" because his sins are forgiven.
The Scribes' Doubt and Christ's Authority
Jesus refutes the scribes' accusations of blasphemy by revealing their thoughts and healing the man's body.
Then some of the scribes—the experts in the law—said among themselves (or rather, they were thinking it, for they didn't dare say it out loud because of the crowd, since an internal word is a thought of the mind): "He is blaspheming," meaning he is claiming for himself what belongs to God. For blasphemy is doing an injury to God, which happens in three ways: when something not fitting is attributed to God; when something that does fit him is removed from him; or when a person claims for himself what is proper to God. In this third way, they judged him to be blaspheming, because they thought he was only a man and not God; yet forgiving sins belongs to God alone. But Christ fittingly refuted them, showing in two ways that he is God. First, because he responds to their thoughts—which only God can know with certainty—saying: "Why do you think evil in your hearts?" They were falsely accusing me of blasphemy, claiming that I cannot forgive sins and that I am usurping what belongs to God. It is as if he were saying: "Because I see your thoughts by my own power, I can also forgive sins, since thoughts are the source of good and the origin of evil." Therefore, when our Savior saw the evil thoughts of the scribes, so that they would not progress into something worse, he immediately refuted them, saying: "Why do you think evil in your hearts?" He gives us this teaching: as soon as we realize we are being struck by an evil thought, we should immediately rebuke ourselves, as if these words of Christ were being spoken to us: "Why do you think evil in your hearts?" Next, he showed this again by healing the paralyzed man with a command, as if by his own power, which is a matter of the same authority as forgiving sins. While paralysis might sometimes be cured by natural means, it isn't cured suddenly, nor so perfectly that a man can immediately carry the bed he's lying on, as is said to have happened here. So he adds: "Which is easier, between these two: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk?'" In other words, is it easier to accomplish by a word alone that sins are forgiven, or to accomplish by a word that a paralyzed man gets up healthy and walks? As if to say: If this seems clearer and greater to you—namely, the sudden healing of bodies rather than souls—and I can do the first, then I can do the rest, because both are of equal power and both are of infinite virtue. From this he concludes the power of his divinity through the deed, saying: "But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins," he then says to the paralyzed man—a word inserted by the Evangelist—"Get up," meaning healthy from the bed, "pick up your bed, in which you have lain for so long while sick," so that what was a testimony of infirmity might be a proof of health, "and go to your house," no longer needing a carrier as you did before. And he did so, magnifying God, who healed him. It is a great power when healing follows a command without delay, so that no one would doubt he had forgiven the paralyzed man his sins, since he commanded the same man to walk while carrying his mat.
The Meaning of Sickness and Healing
The crowds glorify God, and the author reflects on the spiritual causes of bodily illness and the necessity of repentance.
And so, those who were present were deservedly struck with awe and wonder; they abandoned their blasphemies and turned to praise such great majesty. This is why the text continues: 'The crowds, seeing the miracle performed on the paralytic, were filled with fear,' revering and admiring him, 'and they glorified God,' praising the One who gave such power—that is, the power to forgive sins and to heal the sick with a single word—to men, for their salvation; or, according to the Gloss, to the Man who was working so powerfully among men. The Father gave this power to Christ as the source, but to men as recipients. Christ performed miracles for three reasons: first, for the benefit of those upon whom he performed them, because he healed them in both body and soul; second, for the conversion of others, because many who saw those miracles were converted; third, for the glory and honor of God. This threefold reason is touched upon here. Yet from the fact that it says, 'The crowds, seeing this, were filled with fear,' it seems they did not have a full understanding of Christ, because they believed he was merely a man, and that he possessed this power from God. Hence the Gloss says: 'The unbelieving watch him rise, they follow him as he goes away, and they prefer to fear the miracles of a divine work rather than to believe; for if they believed, they wouldn't fear, but would love. For perfect love casts out fear.' Consider here that the Lord, in healing the paralytic, begins with the spiritual sickness, which was the cause and root of the bodily sickness, because he first forgave his sins, which were the cause of the sickness—much like a good doctor who first removes the cause of the sickness and only then proceeds with the cure. This sickness, however, had been inflicted upon the paralytic because of his sins, so that they might be purged; and therefore the Lord first removed the cause, because when the cause ceases, the effect introduced by that cause also ceases. For no adversity will harm you if no iniquity dominates you. According to the Gloss, sicknesses happen in five ways: either so that the merits of the just may be increased through patience, as happened to Job; or to guard virtues, so that pride does not tempt, as with Paul; or to correct sins, as with the leprosy of Mary and as with this paralytic; or for the glory of God, as with the man born blind and Lazarus; or as the beginning of punishment, as with Herod, so that here it might be seen what follows in hell. Here, then, according to Jerome, we are given to understand that most bodily weaknesses occur because of sins. And so, sins are forgiven first, so that once the causes of the weakness are removed, health may be restored; and a visible sign is made, so that the invisible may be proven. Hence Bede says: 'The Lord, about to heal the man of his paralysis, first dissolved the bonds of his sins, to show that he had been condemned by the dissolution of his limbs because of the knots of his faults; and that he could not be healed by the recovery of his limbs unless these were first relaxed.' But, alas! we, conversely, are more concerned with the healing of the body than of the soul, and so we are often left wanting in both. Hence Chrysostom says: 'We, however, if we suffer bodily, are eager to cast off what is harmful; but when it is a sickness of the soul, we delay, and so we are not even healed of the harmful things of the body.' Let us cut off the source of evils, and the flow of sicknesses will cease: these are the words of Chrysostom. Since it's clear that a person sometimes falls ill because of sin, a doctor visiting a sick patient should first urge them toward repentance and confession; otherwise, it's like trying to apply a bandage to a wound while the iron that caused it is still inside. Doctors are therefore at fault when they treat only the body without first addressing the soul, ignoring the true cause of the illness—namely, that the body has been afflicted because of the soul's sin.
The Allegory of the Paralytic
The paralytic is interpreted as a figure for the sinner, illustrating the journey from habitual sin to reconciliation.
But because these very deeds of the Lord contain, as Chrysostom said, a spiritual meaning, we must pay attention to what this paralytic represents. For we recognize in him a figure of the Gentile people, who, having lost their way in their souls through grave sins and being struck by a kind of incurable infirmity, lay as if on a bed in the four corners of this world. In that paralytic of the Gospel whose sins were forgiven, it is shown that the Gentile people, who were laboring under the heavy sickness of sin, received the gift of forgiveness through a heavenly medicine—a complete and perfect healing of both body and soul, and of eternal salvation. To him, not without reason, after the forgiveness of his sins and the restoration of his health, it is said: 'Get up, or return to your home'—that is, to the home of Paradise, from which Adam had long ago been cast out, he who had been the author of this infirmity. And it follows rightly: 'Seeing this, the crowds were afraid and glorified God, who gave such power to men.' God is glorified because He granted to His Apostles the power to forgive sins, or because He granted such grace to men that, after the forgiveness of sins through the merit of faith and justice, they might receive the power to return to Paradise. Where Hilary also says: 'Seeing this, the crowd was afraid; for it is a matter of great fear to be dissolved into death without one's sins being forgiven by Christ, because there is no return to the eternal home if one has not been granted the pardon of sins; but when fear ceases, honor is rendered to God,' because the power given to men in this life is accomplished through His Word—both the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of bodies, and the return to heaven: so says Hilary. Morally speaking, the paralytic who has lost the use of his limbs represents the sinner, who is stripped of meritorious works and languishing in shameful idleness. Such a person is deprived of the stride of meritorious affection, the touch of good works, the taste of heavenly sweetness, the sight of divine contemplation, the hearing of the divine word, and the scent of divine consolation. He lies in bed when an encroaching, habitual sin takes hold of him; for in this context, the bed can be called habit. Sin itself, like paralysis, makes a person tremble through the love of evil, renders them insensitive through stubbornness, and hinders their speech through despair. Here it should be known and considered that, just as the Lord is recorded to have raised three dead people—even though there were many more—so He is recorded to have cured three paralytics, even though there were more: the paralytic in the house, the paralytic by the pool, and the paralytic in bed, as we are discussing. And because the paralytic, as has been said, signifies the sinner, it should be noted that there are three types of sinners: the secret sinner, the public sinner, and the habitual sinner. The paralytic in the house is the secret sinner; the paralytic by the pool is the public sinner; but the paralytic in bed is the habitual sinner. Because a sin that has become a habit is difficult to abandon, the paralytic is said to lie in bed, meaning he continues in his sin. Four things carry these sinners out beyond the home of their own conscience, and even beyond the Church, both militant and triumphant: first is lukewarmness in good—for when a person begins out of laziness to grow tepid in a good work they've started, they let go of God and, consequently, are let go by God; second is the delight in evil, which joins itself to them like a companion—for when God is abandoned, the soul is immediately cast down into evil, and these two companions go first; third is the practice of evil, when that delight is turned into action; fourth is the habit of evil work, when the evil itself is repeated—and these two follow, carrying the sinner outside the prayers of the Church, of which they are deprived. There are, however, four things that bring them back and reconcile them: first is the brevity of life, so that a person considers how short and uncertain this present life is; second is the fear of hellish punishment, so that a person considers its bitterness, diversity, and eternity; third is the consideration of guilt, so that a person considers what weight, what filth, and what malice is in their sins; fourth is the hope of forgiveness, so that even if we have offended in many things, we may nonetheless hope for mercy. Whoever holds these four before God will be carried back and will obtain mercy. The bearers who bring them to be healed by Christ are the four stewards of their salvation: the one who warns in secret, the one who preaches in public, the one who prays for them, and the one who invites by example. They offer them to Christ, interceding on their behalf, and the sinner is offered when they conform to these by consenting and by not placing an obstacle in the way of their merits. Christ, however, looks upon the faith of these bearers when He hears their prayers; and the paralytic is healed when their sin is forgiven and grace is given to them, by which they are restored to meritorious acts. Then they take up their bed of evil habit when they withdraw from it through the exercise of good work. Thus, proceeding from virtue to virtue, they go into their own home when they hasten toward the heavenly homeland through good acts; and the people glorify God for such a change, since this is the change of the right hand of the Most High. Those, however, who grumble at this represent the demons, who are deeply grieved by it.
The Four Commands of Penance
Christ's commands to the paralytic serve as a guide for the penitent's return to God through grace and virtue.
Christ, however, gives the penitent four commands as He heals him. First and foremost, he must trust and hope to receive forgiveness, for Christ already calls him an adopted son. Then, in His desire to heal him, He commands him, second, to rise; third, to take up his bed; and fourth, to go into his house. By rising, I mean rising from sin and from a dejected state of mind. When a sinner indulges in sinful pleasure, they rest as if in a bed, and their mind is so cast down by sin that it can never be joyful, because it is always burdened by a fierce, troubled conscience; but they rise when they abandon that state. Taking up the bed and carrying it means that the sin which was once a source of rest and pleasure should now become a burden and a sorrow. Going into his house means he should proceed toward heaven in meditation, or examine his own conscience—which is the house of the soul—and if he finds anything unclean there, he should cast it out through his mouth, as if through a door, by confessing it; for a person is so alienated from this house by a multitude of sins that they almost lose it and no longer know themselves. The paralyzed man—that is, one weakened and numbed by the softness and allurements of the flesh or by the pleasures of the world, and unable to see God because of a crowd of worldly thoughts and concerns—sees God and truly returns to the knowledge of God once he has climbed above the roof of the flesh so that the spirit may rule over the flesh. And then God heals him through grace of everything he did wrong, calls him a son by adoption, and commands him to rise from the numbness of negligence and to lift himself up from carnal desires through penance; he commands him to lift up the body—in whose desires he once lay—to the pleasure of the spirit, to master the flesh through self-control, and to go and press forward through good works and an honest way of life into his own home, which is paradise, the first home of man, meaning his eternal dwelling or a good conscience, separated from earthly things and guarding that home, or so that he doesn't sin again, for the sake of his own inner protection. Bede says: To rise spiritually from the bed is for the soul to withdraw itself from the carnal desires where it once lay sick. To take up the bed is to deprive the flesh itself—once reined in by the restraints of self-control—of earthly pleasures through the hope of heavenly rewards; for the bed that is washed by David every night is the one that is chastened by a worthy stream of penance for the stains of every single sin. Once the bed is taken up, to go home is to return to paradise; it is the true home that first received man, lost not by right but by fraud, and finally restored through Him who owed nothing to the deceitful enemy. And Anselm adds: But you won't pass by that home where the paralytic is lowered through the roof before His feet, where mercy and power have met each other. Son, He says, your sins are forgiven. O wonderful mercy! O unspeakable mercy! The blessed man received the forgiveness of his sins—a forgiveness he didn't ask for, which no confession had preceded, which no satisfaction had earned, and which no contrition had demanded! He sought the health of his body, not his soul; yet he received the health of both body and soul. Truly, Lord, life is in your will; if you decide to save us, no one can stop you; if you decide otherwise, there is no one who would dare to ask: Why do you do this? Pharisee, why do you grumble? Is your eye evil because he is good? Certainly, he shows mercy to whomever he wills; let us weep and pray that he may be willing. May our prayer be enriched by good works, may our devotion increase, may our love be stirred, and may pure hands be lifted in prayer—hands that the blood of impurity has not stained, that illicit touch has not defiled, and that greed has not embittered. Let the heart also be lifted, free from anger and dispute—a heart that tranquility has calmed, peace has composed, and the purity of conscience has washed. But that paralytic is not recorded as having done any of these things, yet he is recorded as having earned the forgiveness of all his sins. This, however, is the ineffable power of his mercy; just as it is blasphemous to speak against it, so it is most foolish to presume it for oneself. He can effectively say to whomever he wills what he said to the paralytic: Your sins are forgiven you. But whoever expects this for himself without his own labor, or contrition, or confession, or even prayer, will never have his sins forgiven. Anselm says this: 'Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, who in your Passion boarded the little boat of the cross, sailed across in your Resurrection, and came into your city in your Ascension; behold, fear of sins, of the wrath of God, of the danger of approaching infirmity, and of the uncertainty of death offers to you a soul dissolved by the disease of sin.' Tell the person who is silent in their sins to trust in the grace of forgiveness, to rise up through compunction and confession, to take up their bed through satisfaction, and to walk forward through the progress of virtues into their home of eternal beatitude; so that the crowd of the faithful may see, fear, and glorify God, who has given such power for the benefit of humanity. Amen. • TITLES
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Et tunc Dominus Jesus ascendit in naviculam, ut de terra Gerasenorum rediret in Galilaeam, unde illuc iverat. Secundum Chrysostomum , navigio transierat qui poterat pede pertransire; non semper enim voluit potentiam ostendere in mirabilibus, ne Incarnationis noceret mysterio. At contra, homines hujus mundi si ullam habent potentiam , semper volunt ea uti magis quam veritate justitiae. Ideo etiam vehiculo navis transire voluit, ut nos doceret navi et suflFragio poenitentiae uti in mari seculi hujus, ut in civitatem coelestem perveniamus; haec enim navis poenitentiae in civitatem coelestem deducit. Ideo sequitur : Et venit in civitatem suam, scilicet Capharnaum, in qua frequentibus conversari solebat et miracula operari. Secundum eumdem Chrysostomum, civitaiem suam hic dicit Capharnaum, quam, non nascendo, sed miraculis iliustrando, suam ipse fecerat. Alia quidem eum extulit, id est extra in lucem duxit, ut Bethlehem ; alia autem nutrivit, ut Nazareth ; alia autem diu inhabitantem habuit, ut Capharnaum. Hanc enim civitatem magis frequentavit conversatione, et in miraculorum operatione , quia, secundum Augusiinum, erat quasi metropolis et insignior civitas Galilacae , ubi plurimorum concursu fides et doctrina ejus clarius pateret, et miraculis confirmata ad multos salubriter perveniret; vel quia, ut supra dictum est, Capharnaum interpretatur villa pulchritudinis, expinguedinis, et consolationis , quae sunt occasio peccandi multis, ideo ad sui conversionem pluribus indigebat miraculis ; vel sicut metropolim regionis aiicujus civitatem nostram dicimus, existentes tamen de civitate subjecta illi : ita et Capharnaum metropolis Nazareth Galilaeae, sita inter Nazareth et stagnum, dicitur civitas Domini, in Nazareth concepti et nutriti.
Et cum in domo doceret turbas, viri quatuor poriantes in lecto paralyticum, invenientesque multitudine januam obturatam, et non valentes introire per eam, et illum inferre prae turba, ascenderunt supra tectum, et nudantes illud, per tegulas, submiserunt illum cum lecto in medium anie Jesum; et hoc fuit signum magnum fidei ipsorum. Unde post fidem eorum ostendit Dominus divinaepotestatis actum, et super animam, et super corpus ipsum. Et hoc tripliciter : primo, in remissione criminis ; secundo, in cognitione cogitationis , et haec duo pertinent ad animam; tertio, in subita curatione aegritudinis corporalis. Nam videns Jesusfldem illorum, scilicet offerentium, etetiam paralytici oblati; non enim se portari, et per tectum submitti sustinuisset , nisi curationis fidem habuisset, dimisit ei peccata, dicens : Conflde^ flli, remittuniur tibi peccata tua, et non dicit remitto, sed remittuntur, causa humilitatis et pietatis insinuandae. Ex hoc patet, quod fides paralytici aderat; quia licet sanitas corporalis, vel aliquid hujusmodi detur alicui propter tidem alienam, remissio tamen peccatorum non datur alicui adulto sine fidc propria, et ideo bene filium vocat, quia jam credebat. Ubi Hieronymus ; a O mira humilitas! despectum et debilem , totisque membrorum compagibus dissolutum fiiium vocat, quem sacerdotes non dignabantur attingere! Aut certe ideo filium, quia dimittuntur ei peccata sua.
» Ei ecce quidam de Scribis, id est legis peritis, dixeruni intra se, id est cogitabant, quia extra dicere propter populum non audebant, verbum enim intrinsecum est cogitatio mentis : Hic blasphemai, id est quod Dei est sibi usurpat. Est enim blasphemare, Deo injuriam irrogare, quod fit tripliciter : vel cum Deo attribuitur quod ei non convenit ; vel ab eo removetur quod ei convenit; vel cum homo sibi quod proprium est Dei, tribuit , et hoc modo tertio judicabant eum blasphemare, quia ipsum putabant hominem tantum, et non Deum esse ; dimittere autem peccata soii Deo convenit. Sed Christus convenienter eos redarguit, ostendens se esse Deum dupliciter. Primo, quia respondet eorum cogitationibus, quas cognoscere per certitudinem soli Deo proprium est, dicens : Utquid cogitatis mala in cordibus vestris ? imponcndo mihi falso blasphemiam , scilicet me non posse peccata dimittere; et quod Dei est , usurpare. Quasi diceret : Quia potestate cogitationes vestras video, etiam peccata dimittere possum, quia cogitationes sunt fons boni et origo mali. Ideo Salvator noster cum vidisset malas Scribarum cogitationes, ne ulterius prodirent in pejus, statim redarguit eos, dicens : Utquid cogitatis mala in cordibus vestris? dans nobis doctrinam, ut quam cito perpenderimus nos maia cogitatione pulsari, statim debeamus nosmetipsos reprehendere; quasi dicerentur nobisipsis haec Christi verba : Uiquid cogitatis mala in cordibus vestris?
Deinde hoc etiam ostendit sanando paralyticum perimperium tanquam propria virtute, quod est ejusdem potestatis, sicut et peccata dimittere. Licetenim paralysis virtute naturae «iliquando possit curari, non tamen subito, nec ita perfecte ut statim homo possit lectum in quo jacet portare, ut hic dicitur factum esse. Unde subjungit : Quid estfacilius, inter duo ista, scilicet, dicere : Dimittuntur tibi peccata tua; aut dicere : Surge et ambula ? hoc est solo verbo efl&cere ut dimittantur peccata, an verbo efficere ut paralyticus surgat sanus, et ambulet? Quasi diceret : Si vobis hoc manifestius et majus videtur, scilicet subita curatio corporum quam animarum; et possum honim primum, ergo et reliquum, quia aequalis potestatis est utrumque, et utnimque est virtutis infinitae. Unde ex hoc concludit virtutcm divinitatis suae, per factum, dicens : Ut autem sciatis, quia Filius hominis habet potestatem in terra dimittendi peccata, iunc ait paralytico, quod verbum interponitur ab Evangelista : Surge, scilicet sanus a lecto, tolle lectum tuum, in quo diu decubueras infirmando , ut quod fuit testimonium infirmitatis sit probatio sanitatis; et vade in domum tuam, per te non indigens ut prius portitore. Et fecit sic, magnificans Deum, qui sanavit eum. Magna virtus, ubi sine mora salus imperium comitatur, ut nemo jam dubitaret eum paralytico dimisisse peccata, qui eumdem sublato grabato ambulare praecepit.
Unde merito qui aderant stupentes et mirantes, relictis blasphemiis, ad laudem convertuntur tantae majestatis ; propter quod sequitur : Videntes autem turbce, scilicet miraculum factum in paralytico, timuerunt, rcverendo et admirando, et gloriflcaverunt, laudando Deum, qui deditpotestatem talem, scilicet dimittendi peccata, et curandi solo verbo infirmos, hominibus, ad eorum scilicet salutem ; vel, secundum Glossam, hominem tam potenter inter homines operantem. Et hanc potestatem dedit Pater Christo causative, hominibus autem receptive. Christus quippe tribus de causis miracula faciebat : primo, propter illorum circa quos haec faciebat utilitatem , quia eos in corpore et in anima curabat; secundo, propter aliorum conversionem, quia multi videntes ea miracula convertebantur; tertio, propter Dei gloriam et honorem : et ista triplex causa hic tangitur. Ex hoc tamen quod dicitur : Videntes autem turbce timuerunt, videtur quod nec de Christo plenam cognitionem habebant, quia purum hominem esse, et posse, et hanc potestatem a Deo credebant. Unde Glossa : <c Spectant surgentem increduli, imitantur abeuntem, et divini operis miracula malunt timere quam credere ; nam si crederent, non timerent, sed diligerent ; Perfecta enim caritas foras mittit timorem, » 4 ? — Considera hic quod Dominus curando paralyticum, incipit a morbo spirituali, qui erat causa et radix morbi corporaiis, quia primo remisit pecr cata ejus quae fuerunt causa morbi ; ad modum boni medici, qui primo removet causam morbi, ettunc postmodum intendit curationem. Infirmitas autem haec fuerat inflicta paralytico propter peccata sua, ut purgarentur; et ideo Dominus primo removit causam quia, cessante causa , cessat et effectus introductus ob illam causam. Nulla enim nocebit adversitas, si nulla dominetur iniquitas.
Unde; secundum Glossam , quinque modis infirmitates contingunt : vel ut justis merita, per patientiam, augeantur, ut Job accidit; vel ad custodiam virtutum, ne superbia tentet, ut Paulo; vel ad corrigendum peccata, ut Mariae lepra, et sicut huic paralytico ; vel ad gloriam Dei, ut caeco nato, et Lazaro ; vel ad initium poenae, ut Herodi, quatenus hic videatur quid in inferno sequatur. Hic ergo, secundum Hieronymum, datur intelligi plerasque corporum debilitates evenire propter peccata. Et ideo prius peccata dimittuntur, ut causis dcbilitatis ablatis, sanitas restituatur, et fit visibile signum, ut invisibile probetur. Unde et Beda : « Curaturus autem hominem a paralysi Dominus primo peccatorum vincula dissolvit, ut ostenderet eum, ob nexus culparum , artuum dissolutione fuisse damnatum; nec, nisi his relaxatis, membrorum posse recuperatione sanari. Sed, heu ! nos e converso magis satagimus de curatione corporis, quam animtt, ideo saepe destituimur utrobique. i> Unde et Chrysostomus : « Nos autem, si corporaliter patiamur, satagimus nocivum abjicere; cum vero malc sit animae, difTerimus, atque ideo nec a -corporis nocivis curamur. Abscindamus ergo fontem malorum, et cessabunt aegritudinum fluxus : » haec Ckrysostonms.
Ergo quia constatquod propter peccata quandoque homo segrotat, medicus aegrum visitans, primo eum ad poeaitentiam et confessionem monere debet; ne peccato, tanquam ferro manente in vuhiere, fhistra sit empiastrum apponere. Unde peccant medici, qui curam materialem adhibent corpori, prius quam cura spiritualis sit adliibita ' aninue , ignoraAtes causam morbi, videlicet quod pro peccato iuiimae, inflictus sit corpori.
Sed quia haec ipsa Domini gesta, ut didt Chrysostomus , spiritualium in se rerum continent rationem, cujos typum paralyticus iste gerat, debemus advertere. Figuram namque in eo populi Gentilium praeostensam esse cognoscimus, qui peccatis gravibus animo dissolutus, quasi quadam insanabili infirmitate plagatus, in quatuor angulis mundi istius, veiut in lecto jacebat. Unde et in eo paralytico Evangelii, cui remissa sunt peccata, id ostensum est, quia populus Grentium, qui gravi valetudine peccatorum laborabat, data sibi remissione, per medicinam coelestem integram et perfectam sanitstem, secundum corpus et animam, aeternae salutis acceperit. Cui non immerito, post remissionem pecoitorum, reddita salute, jam dicitur : Vade, vel redi in domum tuam^ id est in domum Paradisi, de qua Adam jam dudum expulsus fuerat ; qui hujus infirmitatis auctorexstiterat. Et merito sequitur : Hoc videntes turbce timueruut, et magnificaverunt Deum qui tantam potestatem dedit homimbus. Magnificatur enim Deus qui vel ApostoUs suis potestatem dimittendi peccata donavit, vel hominibus tantam gratiam concessit, ut post remissionem peccaiorum per meritum fidei atque justitiae, potestatem accipiant adParadisum redeundi. Ubi et Hilarius : « Kidentes autem turba, timuerunt; magni enim timoris res est non dimissis peccatis a Christo in mortem resolvi, quia nuUus est in doauim aeternam reditns, si cui indulta non fiierit venia delictorum; cessanto autem timore, honor Deo redditur» quia potestas hominibus hsc vita data, fit per Terbum ejus, et remissionis peccatorum^ et corporum tcsunectionis, et reversionis in ca^ lum : » hssc Hilarius.
Moraliter autem per paralyticuoiy qoi pnTatus est usu membrorum corporaiium , significatur homo peccator, operibus meritoriis privatus, et turpi marcens otio. Talis enim privatur gressu meritoriae affectionis, et tactu bonae operationis, et gustu suavitatis coelestis, et visu divinae contemplationis, et auditu divini sermonis, et odoratu divinse consolationis. Et tunc jacet in lecto, quando superveniens, tenet eum prava consuetudo ; haec enim lectus dici potest hoc loco. Ipsum quoque peccatum, more paralysis, facit tremulum , per mali dilectionem ; reddit insensibilem, per obstinationem ; impedit (loquelam, per desperationem. Ubi sciendum et considerandum est quod sicut Dominus legitur resuscitasse tres mortuos, quamvis multo plures sint; sic legitur curasse tres paralyticos, licet etiam piures sint, scilicet : paralyticum in domo paralyticum juxta probaticam piscinam , paralyticum in lecto, ut in proposito. Et quia paralyticus , ut dictum est, peccatorem signat, ideo notandum quod tria sunt genera peccatorum , scilicet : pcccator occultus, publicus, et consuetudinarius. Paralyticus in domo est peccator occultus; paralyticus juxta piscinam est peccator manifestus; paraly ticus vero in lecto est peccator consuetudinarius ; et hoc peccatum in consuetudine ductum difficulter relinquitur, ideo paralyticus hic in lecto jacere dicitur, id est peccatum continuare dicitur.
Praedictos peccatores quatuor exportant extra domum propriae conscientiae, et etiam extra Ecciesiam, tam militantem, quam triumphantem : primum est tepiditas boni : quando enim homo incipit ex desidia tepescere in bono inchoato, talis dimittit Deum, et per consequens dimittitur a Deo ; secundum est delectatio mali, quod conjungitur quasi socius ejus ; cum enim Deus derelinquitur , statim anima in malo deiectatur, et hi duo socii praecedunt; tertium est mali operatio, cum delectatio ad opus ducitur; quartum est maii operis consuetudo, cum ipsum malum frequentatur : et hi duo sequuntur portantes peccatorem extra sufifragia Ecclesiae, quibus ipse privatur. — Sunt autem quatuor, quae ipsum reportant et reconciliant : primum est vitae brevitas, ut homo consideret quam brevis sit vita praesens, et incerta; secundum est timor poenae gehennalis, ut homo consideret ejus acerbitatem, diversitatem, et aeternitatem ; tertium est consideratio culpae , ut homo consideret quid gravedinis, quid immunditiae, quid maiitiae sit in peccatis ; quartum est spes vcniae, ut quamvis in multis offenderimus , nihilominus tamen veniam speremus. Qui haec quatuor habuerit, ante Deum portaIjitur, et misericordiam consequetur. Vei portitores ejus, ut sanetur a Christo, sunt quatuor suae salutis procuratores, sciiicet : monens secrete, praedicans publice , orans pro eo, et invitans exemplo ; et sic isti offerunt eum Christo, soliicitantes pro ipso, et ipse offertur, quando eis conformatur consentiendo, et meritis eorum obicem non ponendo. Christus autem fidem iilorum inspicit, cum preces eorum exaudit; et paralyticus curatur, quando peccatum sibi dimittitur , et donatur sibi gratia , per quam ad actus meritorios restituitur. Et tunc suum malae consuetudinis lectum toliit, quando ab ea per exercitium boni operis recedit ; et sic procedens de virtute in virtutem , vadit in domum suam , quando bonis actibus ad coelestem festinat patriam ; et populus eum A glorificat de mutatione tali, quoniam hcec est mutatio dexterce Excelsi. Illi vero qui inde murmurant, signant daemones, qui inde valde dolent.
Chrislus vero curans quatuor imperat poenitenti. Primo , ante omnia, ut confidat, et spem de venia consequenda habeat, quem ctiam jam filium per adoptionem vocat. Deinde volens eum sanare, jubet eum secundo surgere, tertio lectum tollere, et quarto in domum suam abire. Surgere , inquam, a peccato et mentis dejectione. In peccato enim male delectando, peccator quasi in lecto quiescit, et ex peccato ita mens dejicitur, ut nunquam possit esse laeta, quia semper praesumit saeva perturbata conscientia; tunc autem surgit, quando ista deserit. Tollere vero lectum, et portare, est ut peccatum quod erat sibi quieti et delectationi, incipiat sibi esse oneri et dolori. Abire quoque in domum suam, ut in coelum meditatione pergat, vel conscientiam suam, quae domus animae est, discutiat, et si quid ibi immundum invenerit, per os, quasi per ostium, confitendo projiciat; a qua homo per muhitudinem peccatorum ita alienatur, quod quasi ipsam perdat et seipsum non cognoscat. Homo ergo paralyticus, hoc est mollitie et illecebris carnis , vel voluptate seculi resolutus, et torpens, ac prae turba cogitationum et causarum seculi videre Deum non valens, postquam supra tectum carnis ascendcrit, ut spiritus dominetur carni, videt Deum, et ad cognitionem Dei vere redit.
Et tunc Deus eum sanat per gratiam ab omni quod deliquit, et vocat filium per adoptionem, et jubet surgere de torpore negligentiae , et se erigere a carnalibus desideriis per poenitentiam ; et corpus in cujus desideriis jacuit, ad voluptatem spiritus attollere, ac carni dominari per continentiam; et ire ac tendere per bonam operationem, et honestam conversationem , in domum suam, scilicet paradisum, quae prima fiiit hominis domus, hoc est in habitationem aeternam, vel in bonam conscientiam, segregatus a terrenis et custodiens illam, vel ne iterum peccet ad internam sui custodiam. Ubi Beda : a Spiritualiter de lecto surgere est animam se a carnalibus desideriis , ubi aegra quiescebat , abstrahere. Lectum vero tollere est ipsam quoque carnem per continentiae frena correptam spe coelestium praemiorum, deiiciis privare terrenis; est enim lectus, qui per singulas noctes lavatur a David, id est pro uniuscujusque noxae maculis digno poenitentiae fiumine castigatur. Sublato autem lecto, domum ire, ad paradisum redire est; ipse est enim vera domus, quae hominem prima suscepit, non jure amissa, sed fraude, tandemque restituta per eum, qui fraudulento hosti nihil debuit. » Ubi et Anselmus : « Sed et domum illam non praeteribis, ubi per tegulas paralyticus , ante pedes ejus submittitur, ubi pietas et potestas obviaverunt sibi. Fili, inquit, remittuniur tibi peccata tua. O mira clementia! o indicibilis miscricordia!
Acccpit felix remissionem peccatorum suorum , quam non petebat, quam non praecesserat confessio, non merueral satisfactio, non exigebat contritio ! Corporis salutem petebat, non animae; et salutem corporis et animae recepit. V«re, Domine, vita in voluntate tua ; si decreveris salvare nos, nemo poterit prohibere ; si aliud decreveris, non est qui audeat dicere : Cur ita facis? Pharisaee, quid murmuras^ An oculus tuus nequam est, quia ipse bonus est ? Certe miseretur cui ipse voluerit; ploremus et oremus ut velit ; bonis etiam operibus pinguescat oratio, augeatur devotio, excitetur dilectio , leventur purae xnanus in oratione, quas non sanguis immunditiae maculavit, tactus illicitus non fcedavit, avaritia non exasperavit; levetur et cor sine ira et disceptatione, quod tranquillitas sedavit, pax composuit, puritas conscientiae lavit. Sed nihil horum paralyticus ille legitur praemisisse, qui tamen legitur remis^ionem omnium peccatorum meruisse. Haec est autem ineffabilis misericordiae ejus virtus, cui sicut blasphemum est derogare, ita et hoc sibi praesumere stuUissimum. Potest cuicunque vult, et hoc ipsum efficaciter dicere, quod dixit paralytico : Dimittuntur tibi peccata tua; sed quicunque sine suo labore, vel contritione, vel confessione , vel etiam oratione sibi hoc dicendo exspectat, nunquam ei remittuntur peccata : » haec Anselmus, ORATIO Domine Jesu Christe, qiii in Passione tua naviculam crucis ascendisti, in Resurrectione transfretasti, et in Ascensione in civitatem tuam venisti ; ecce timor de peccatis, de ira Dei, de periculo supervenientis infirmitatis, et de incertitudine mortis offert tibi animam peccati morbo dissolutam.
Dic tacenti in peccatis, ut confidat de gratia remissionis, resurgat per contritionem et confessionem, tollat lectum suum per satisfaciionem, ambuiet per profectum virtutum in domum suam aeternam beatitudinem; ut turbae fidelium videant, timeant, et glorificent Deum, qui talem potestatem dedit, ad hominum utilitatem. Amen. • TITULI
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