De homine sauciato et vulnerata a latronibus
The Parable of the Fallen Man
The chapter opens by examining the lawyer's self-justification and the allegorical meaning of the man who fell among robbers.
He, however, wanting to justify himself—that is, to appear righteous on the surface, thinking he stood before a man who only sees the outside, and not before God who sees the inside—said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" In this, he showed himself empty of love for his neighbor, because he did not know who his neighbor was. Perhaps he thought that Christ would say, "A Jew is your neighbor," and then he would reply, "I love God and the Jew," and thus appear righteous. But Jesus, looking up—that is, looking toward things above—proposed to him a parable about a man who, descending from Jerusalem to Jericho, fell among robbers. He looked up because he was about to speak of great matters, namely, the state from which the human race descended when it fell through sin. Some consider this a parable, while others see it as a historical event, because there was a wilderness between Jerusalem and Jericho where travelers were frequently robbed and killed by the bandits who lived in that desert. Allegorically, this man signifies the human race, which in our first parents descended from Jerusalem—which is called the vision of peace, that is, from paradise and the peace and vision of heavenly and celestial beatitude—into Jericho, which is interpreted as the moon and signifies mutability, that is, into the defect and misery of this mutable and erroneous life, because through sin it fell from the heavenly contemplation and peaceful life it would have had in paradise, into the mutability of this exile and earthly misery. And he fell among robbers—that is, into the powers of demons, or into diabolical or even human temptations—into which he would not have fallen had he not first feared within himself; for the saying is true: "Before ruin, the heart is lifted up"; and they also stripped him, taking away the garment of innocence and immutability, or immortality, through deceit. Having lost the robe of innocence—the first stole—he realized he was naked; and having lost the glory of immortality, he took on a garment of skin, that is, a mortal one. This is why God clothed our first parents in tunics of skin, which are made from dead animals, as a sign of mortality. And having been struck and wounded by the blows of sin—that is, having had their natural faculties wounded and weakened by sin—they went away, not by ceasing their traps, but by hiding them. For at first, the devil deceived them openly in the form of a serpent, but afterward, he tempted them secretly and invisibly. He left them half-dead, because although immortality can be taken away, the eye of reason remains in humans, by which God can be known. Hence Bede says: "They left him half-dead, because they were able to strip away the blessedness of immortal life, but they were not able to abolish the sense of reason." For in the part where a human can know and understand God, he is alive; but in the part where he wastes away through sins and fails through misery, he is dead, stained by a lethal wound. Hence Theophilus also says: "A human is called half-dead after sin because the soul is immortal, but the body is mortal; so that one half of the human succumbs." Hence Augustine also says: "The half-dead man still has vital movement, that is, a wounded free will, by which he was not sufficient to return to the eternal life he had lost; and therefore he lay there, because his own strength was not enough to rise up, so that he might seek a physician—that is, God—to heal him." Or they left him half-dead, with the life of nature remaining, but not the life of grace, according to that of the Apostle: 'I live, yet not I'—that is, I live by the life of nature, but not by the life of sin; 'but Christ lives in me'—that is, by the life of grace. For God had created man in His own image, according to reason, and in His likeness, according to love, so that by both he might cling to God, and by clinging to Him, be blessed. But the devil, envious of human happiness, inflicted two major evils upon man in his original state, directly opposing the two goods mentioned above. For in that he was made in the image of God—that is, according to reason—he wounded him through ignorance of the good; and in that he was made in the likeness of God—that is, according to love—he wounded him through the desire for evil. Man, therefore, was left wounded and half-dead, because while the divine likeness, which consists in love, can be utterly corrupted in human nature, the divine image, which consists in reason, cannot be entirely destroyed. For although he can be affected by such great sickness that he does no good, his ignorance cannot be so darkened that he knows no truth. The priest and the Levite, traveling the same path, saw the man stripped and wounded and passed by; they walked past the state of the present life by living holily, but they did not heal the human race wounded by sin, because the priesthood of the Law and its ministry did not cure sins, but only pointed them out. It was impossible for the sins of men to be taken away by the blood of calves, lambs, and goats. Alternatively, the priest and the Levite are understood as the Law and the Prophets, which did not heal man, but pointed out and rebuked sins. What is meant by the Samaritan who comes to help?
The Mercy of the Samaritan
Christ is revealed as the true Samaritan who heals the wounded soul with the oil of mercy and the wine of justice.
The Samaritan, however, who is on a journey—that is, Christ, who guards souls through His humanity, running through the moments of this life, for He became man in the world for our sake—came upon him, that is, the wounded man, because He was made in the likeness of men and found in appearance as a man; and seeing him, He was moved with mercy by the eye of clemency, out of compassion. And approaching the wounded man, by the exhibition of mercy, He bound up his wounds, because by rebuking sins He restrained them; and He bound them with the bonds of grace, pouring in oil, which is soothing, by promising the hope of forgiveness to those who repent, and wine, which is stinging, by striking terror of punishment into those who sin. He binds the wounds, therefore, when He commands: 'Repent'; He pours in oil when He adds: 'For the kingdom of heaven is at hand'; He pours in wine when He says: 'Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire and will burn.' In this, the Lord taught us how we ought to heal the infirm and those coming to repentance. For we bind wounds when we command the sinner to cease from sin; we pour in oil when we mercifully and gently console the sinner by promising him indulgence; furthermore, we also pour in wine when we harshly and austerely rebuke him, commanding him to fast and macerate his flesh. Let there not be oil, therefore, without wine, nor wine without oil. Whence Gregory says: 'Gentleness must therefore be mixed with severity, and a certain temperament must be made from both, so that subjects are neither ulcerated by too much harshness nor dissolved by too much kindness.' Whence also Bernard says: 'To always punish is a sign of ferocity; to always spare is a sign of pusillanimity; to have neither this nor that of equity, and to have more bitterness than sweetness, is damnable; conversely, it is commendable, and both are tolerable.' He lifted him up and placed him on his own beast, and leading him to an inn, he took care of him; by this beast, we mean the flesh of Christ, in which He deigned to come to us. He placed the wounded man on this beast by inspiring faith in the Incarnation; He carried our sins in His own body upon the wood; and, according to another parable, He found the sheep that had wandered off, placed it on His shoulders, and carried it back to the flock. He led him to the inn—meaning he placed him within the holy Church of this present age—where the weary traveler, having set down the burden of his sins, is refreshed and restored by wholesome pasture. He calls it an inn rather than a home; by this name, he signifies the corruption and misery of this life, so that a person might not rejoice in this place as if it were their true homeland. He should not rejoice in exile as if it were his true home. Like a good and necessary physician, he cared for him as long as he was with him in this life, because he was concerned for the sick man. And on the next day, after the ministry of redemption was completed—that is, after the Lord's resurrection—which shines more brightly than the preceding time. For the first day was a day of mortality and passibility; the second day was one of immortality and impassibility, when the splendor of the eternal Light shone more brightly. He brought forth two denarii—that is, the two Testaments—in which the name and image of the eternal King are contained, and by whose price our wounds are healed. He gave them to the innkeeper, because he distributed the knowledge of both Testaments and the grace of preaching to the Apostles, whose understanding he opened so that they might understand the Scriptures, and to the prelates and all who ought to govern the Church, so that they might take care of the sick man and provide for him. He also ought to go beyond what is required in this care, striving to preach not only what is contained in the two Testaments, but also laboring to manifest many other things to others through preaching, according to what is written. He also goes beyond what is required who, following the example of the Apostle, preaches without charge and accepts no payment from those to whom he preaches. Furthermore, a person goes beyond what is required when they don't just fulfill the commandments, but also live out or preach the counsels. On the day of judgment, however, when the Lord returns, He will pay back everything He promised, just as a debtor would, and He will say to the faithful servant: 'Because you have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many; enter into the joy of your Lord.'
The Moral Duty of the Neighbor
The parable is applied to the life of the believer, emphasizing that mercy, not kinship, defines the true neighbor.
By this traveler, we mystically picture any sinner who, by sinning mortally, turns away from God—who is our peace—as if turning away from Jerusalem, and turns instead toward Jericho, that is, toward a culpable defect; and so, he descends from the unchangeable Good to a changeable good. Now that a man has fallen among robbers, been stripped, wounded, and left half-dead by the side of the road, what else is there to do but beg that the Samaritan—that is, the Guardian of souls, Jesus Christ—might make the journey of His mercy through us, put the robbers to flight, restore those stripped of grace, bind up our wounds, restore the half-dead to wholeness, and finally lead us into the heavenly Jerusalem? Morally, Jerusalem signifies the state of virtue. And so, by the man descending from Jerusalem to Jericho, we signify the sinner descending from a state of justice into mortal sin; falling among robbers—that is, demons—he is stripped by them of gratuitous gifts, wounded in his natural faculties, and left half-dead, because the life of grace is taken from him, while the life of nature remains. The priest and the Levite passing by are the bad ministers of the Church; the Samaritan is the confessor and preacher, moved by charity, binding the wounds of the injured with sound counsel, pouring in the oil of mercy and the wine of justice; and he places him on his own beast, because he provides help not only in mind, but also, as far as he can, in body—which is the beast of the soul; and he leads him to the inn and house of the Church, where the food of the Word of God and the Sacrament of the Eucharist is given; and on the next day, after he had led him into the inn, he brought out two denarii, by which grace in the present and glory in the future are signified; and he gave them to the innkeeper—that is, he declared they should be given to the good pastor who performs his duty toward the sinner committed to him; and he entrusted the care of the sinner to him, saying: 'Take care of him, exercising your duty, and whatever you spend beyond this—doing some good beyond your duty, to which you are not bound—I will repay you,' that is, I declare it shall be repaid, promising him eternal life as his reward. Lo? When the expert in the law was asked by the Lord which of those mentioned had been a neighbor to the one who fell among robbers, he answered, 'The one who showed mercy to him.' Where Cyril says: 'For neither the priest nor the Levite became a neighbor to the sufferer; but the one who had mercy on him.' The dignity of the priesthood and knowledge of the law are useless unless they are confirmed by good works. Hence Bede says: 'Taken literally, the Lord's meaning is clear: no one is more our neighbor than the one who shows mercy.' So, for this citizen of Jerusalem, it wasn't the priest or the Levite—even though they were of the same people and were born and raised in the same city—who became his neighbor; rather, it was the foreigner from another land, because he was the one who showed mercy. Then the Lord, drawing from the lawyer's own answer and admission, showed that everyone who acts with mercy is a neighbor—especially the Son of God himself—and concluded by saying: 'Go'—that is, go from virtue to virtue—'and do the same for your neighbor, just as the Samaritan did for the Jew.' This means you should regard every person, even an enemy, as your neighbor, and show them mercy in your feelings, your words, and your actions, relieving their needs so that you may show yourself to be a neighbor who loves others as yourself. Hence Chrysostom says: 'It is as if he were saying: If you see someone oppressed, don't say, "He's a wicked person." Instead, whether they are a Gentile or a Jew, if they are in need of help, don't make excuses; anyone who has suffered harm has a right to your help.' From the lawyer's own response, the Lord rightly concludes that it's not kinship that makes someone a neighbor, but the act of mercy shown to them. It's as if He were saying to him: 'You, then, love Me; and in Me, strive to fulfill both commandments of the Law, because I am God and I am that neighbor of yours. Whatever you can do to relieve a neighbor's need—whether physical or spiritual—do it with devotion, so that you may show yourself to be a neighbor.' Hence Bernard says: 'I hold to both loves, of God and of neighbor, when I love You, Lord Jesus, for You are my neighbor, since You are human and have shown mercy to me.' From both of the Lord's conclusions, then, the lawyer is convicted; for he did not love Christ, who is God and man, as his neighbor—Christ, who by taking on our flesh through His humanity became our neighbor and performed so many works of mercy, for which He deserves to be loved. .
Bearing Burdens in the Body of Christ
Believers are called to bear one another's burdens as members of the same body, imitating the humility of Christ.
Nothing is as effective for stirring up, nourishing, and increasing the love of God within us as a frequent and diligent consideration of His benefits. Great, therefore, is the mercy that makes us neighbors to those who are unknown and strangers to us; great is the mercy through which eternal life is possessed! That person is truly your neighbor to whom you draw near by showing mercy; but whoever shows mercy to no one has no neighbor. In the commandment, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself,' the Lord understands 'neighbor' to be every human being; but here, He means the one who fulfills the natural law, as someone who does for another what he wants done for himself. As Ambrose says: 'Therefore, since no one is more a neighbor than the one who has healed our wounds, let us love Him as our Lord; let us also love him as a neighbor, for nothing is so close as the head is to the members; let us also love him who is an imitator of Christ; let us love him who sympathizes with the need of another through the unity of the body.' Ambrose says, 'Kinship does not make a neighbor, but mercy does; because mercy is according to nature, for nothing is so according to nature as to help one who shares that same nature.' Augustine also encourages us to do this, saying: 'Now, while we are in this life—that is, in this way—let us bear one another's burdens, so that we may be able to arrive at that life which is free from every burden.' The duty of love is to bear one another's burdens; for nothing proves a friend so much as the bearing of a friend's burden. Nothing makes us so willing to take on the demanding work of carrying others' burdens as thinking about how much the Lord endured for us. The Apostle warns us of this, saying: 'Have this same mindset in you that was also in Christ Jesus.' To this thought, we must add another: that we are human, and that any sickness of mind or body we see in another person is something we could have had ourselves, or might yet have. Therefore, let us show the person whose weakness we want to carry whatever we would want shown to us if we were in their position and they were not. This is what the Apostle means when he says: 'I have become all things to all people, so that I might save everyone'—meaning he considered that he could have been in the very same vice from which he desired to free another. Furthermore, you must consider that there is no person who might not possess some good that you don't have, even if it is hidden; in that regard, they could undoubtedly be your superior. Hence the Apostle says: 'Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility of mind, consider others better than yourselves.' These thoughts, by crushing the pride of the mind and sharpening our charity, make us bear the burdens of our brothers and sisters not only with a calm spirit but even most willingly. Hence Gregory also says: 'If everyone considers their own shortcomings, which are borne by others, they will bear what they endure from others more lightly.' And again: Because that inner vision of peace is built from the gathering of holy citizens, so that the heavenly Jerusalem may be built as a city. Yet in this land of pilgrimage, while it's struck by lashes and beaten by tribulations, its stones are squared daily. Which? Namely, the city already has its great building here in the movements of the saints. In the building, indeed, stone carries stone, and whoever carries another is carried by another. So now in the holy Church, everyone both carries another and is carried by another. For neighbors tolerate one another in turn, so that the building of charity may rise through them. But the foundation carries the whole weight of the structure, because our Redeemer—of whom the Apostle Paul says, 'No one can lay any foundation other than the one that is laid, which is Jesus Christ'—tolerates all our burdens; yet in Him there was no evil that needed to be tolerated. — Thus Gregory. From these words of Gregory, we gather that the more a person bears for God's sake, the closer they'll be to the foundation itself—that is, Christ Jesus; and the less they bear, the further they'll be from that same foundation. Consider all these things well, and bear and endure the infirmities, failings, and burdens of your neighbors not only patiently, but even willingly for God's sake. Hence Anselm says: "Whoever smiles upon the good in another agrees with the Saints; whoever envies it, agrees with the devils." Indeed, I think the salvation of someone who does little good but favors the deeds of others is more to be hoped for than that of someone who does much but envies them. And again: "Charity, which gathers and gives life to all the members of the Church, when it sees us rejoicing in the misfortune of another, immediately cuts us off from the body." Perhaps, then, we don't grieve over the ruin of our neighbors because we've been cut off from the body; for if we were still in it, we'd undoubtedly grieve, because a member hurts as long as it's contained within the body, but if it has been severed, it can't feel pain, nor sense anything. From this, therefore, a person can weigh whether they're a member of Christ. And just as has been said regarding compassion and congratulation, so too understand it regarding communication.
Unity and Prayer
The chapter concludes with a reflection on the harmony of the Church and a prayer for divine protection and healing.
Just as one part of the human body shares its function and the nourishment it receives with another that is in need, so in the Body of Christ, which is the Church, everyone ought to share with others the grace given to them by God, along with food and all other earthly things received from Him. Understand this in the same way regarding consideration: just as the members are joined together in such harmony of love that they can in no way disagree with one another for any reason, so it should be among you. Understand this likewise regarding support: just as one member supports another and sustains injury for the sake of the other's healing or protection—and even if it is harmed by another, it sustains the injury without seeking revenge—so it ought to be in us; this is what Anselm says. PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, guard us as we descend from contemplation to action, so that we don't fall among the thieves of sensory appetite, nor be stripped of our graces, nor be wounded in our natural faculties. Let the priest and the Levite—the higher and lower portions of our reason—not descend by the same path by consenting to sin, but rather ascend upward. May the Samaritan, by the grace of predestination, draw near to us, bind up the wounds of our sins, pouring in oil—the hope of forgiveness—and wine—the fear of justice. May He place us upon His mount, ordering reason above sensuality, and lead us into the inn of the consideration of our sins, so that on the second day of the Resurrection He may give us the two denarii: the robe of the soul and of the body. Amen.
Read the original Latin
Ille autem volens justificare seipsum, id est justum ostendere secundum apparentiam , putans se esse ante hominem qui tantum videt exterius, et non ante Deum qui videt interius, dixit ad Jesum ; Et quis est meus p-oximus ? In quo a dilectione proximi vacuum se ostendit, quia proximum non novit. Forsitan putabat quod Christus diceret : Judaeus est proximus tuus, et tunc responderet : Deum et Judaeum diligo, et sic appareret justus. Suspiciens autem Jesus, id est sursum aspiciens Jesus, proposuit ei parabolam de homine qui * descendens ab Jerusalem in Jericho incidit in latrones. Ideo sursum aspexit, quia de rebus magnis locuturus crat , unde scilicet humanum genus descenderat, dum per peccatum cecidit. Secundum aliquos est hic parabola, secundum alios est res gesta : quia inter Jerusalem et Jericho erat quaedam solitudo , ubi frequenter homines transeuntes spoliabantur et occidebantur a latronibus desertum illud inhabitantibus. Allegorice , Homo iste designat genus humanum : qui in primis parentibus descendebat ab Jerusalem quae visio pacis dicitur, id est a paradiso et supernae ac coelestis beatitudinis pace et visione, in Jericho quae luna interpretatur et mutabilitatem significat, id est in defectum et miseriam hujus vitae mutabilis et erroneae, quia a contemplatione superna et vita pacifica, quam in paradiso habuisset, ad mutabilitatem hujus exsilii et terrenae miseriae per culpam cormit. 5 — Et incidit in latrones, id est in potestates daemqnum, seu in diaboiicas vel etiam humanas tentationes, in quos non incidisset, nisi prius intus timuisset; vera est enim sententia, dicens : Ante ruinam exaltatur cor; — qui etiam despoliaverunt eum, vestem innocentiae et immutabilitatis seu immortalitatis, per fraudulentiam auferendo.
Veste innocentiae seu stola prima amissa, cognovit se esse nudum; gloriaque immortalitatis perdita pelliceum, hoc est mortale sumpsit indumentum; unde in signum mortalitatis induit Deus primos parentes tunicas polliceas, quae de mortuis fiunt animalibus. Et plagis peccatorum impositis et illatis, id est naturalibus per peccatum vulneratis et debilitatis, abierunt, non ab insidiis cessando, sed eas occultando; primo enim sensibiliter in specie serpentis diabolus decepit, sed post occulte et invisibiliter tentavit; semivivo relicto, quia etsi immortalitas potest auferri, oculus tamen rationis remanet hominum, quo Deus potest cognosci. Unde Beda : « Semivivum reliquerunt, quia beatitudinem vitae immortalis exuere, sed noa sensum rationis abolere valuerunt. Ex qua enim parte sapere et cognoscere Deumpotest, vivus est homo; ex qua vero peccatis contabescit, et miseria deficit, mortuus idem letiferoque est vulnere foedatus. » Unde et Theophilus : « Ac semivivus dicitur homo post peccatum, quia anima immortalis est, corpus vero mortale; ita ut medietas hominis succumbat. » Unde etiam Augusttnus : « Semivivus enim habet vitalem motum, id est liberum arbitrium vulneratum, quo ad aeternam, quam perdiderat, redire non sufficiebat; et ideo jacebat, quia vires ei propriae ad surgendum non sufficiebant, ut ad se sanandum medicum, id est Deum requireret. » Vel semivivum reliquerunt, remanente vita naturae, non vita gratiae, juxta illud Apostoli : Vivo autem^ scilicet vita naturae; jam non ego, scilicet vita culpae ; vivit vero in me Christus, scilicet vita gratiae. Fe» cerat enim Deus hominem ad imaginem suam , secundum rationem; ad similitudinem, secundum dilectionem, ut per utrumque Deo adhaereret, et inhaerendo beatus esset.
Sed diabolus humanae beatitudini invidens, contra duo bona praedicta, duo homini in originali intulk principalia mala. In eo namque quod factus erat ad imaginem, seu secundum rationem , vulneravit eum per ignorantiam boni; in eo vero quod factus est ad similitudinem Dei, secundum dilectionem, vulneravit eum per concupiscentiam mali. Homo ergo vulneratus semivivus relictus est, quia etsi in humana natura possit divina simiHtudo, quae in dilectione est, penitus corrumpi ; divina taraen imago, quae in ratione est, non potest penitus dcleri. Quamvis enim tanta malatia possit affici, ut nil diKgat boni; non tamen ignorantia tanta cxcsecari potest, ut nil cognoscat veri. 6 i — Sacerdos autera et levita descendentes eadem via, viso spoliato et vulnerato prafterierunt, et vitae praesentis statum tunc sancte vivendo pertransierunt; sed humanum genus per culpam vulneratum roinime sanaverunt, quia sacerdotium Legis et ejus ministerium peccata non curaverunt , sed solum ostenderunt. Impossibile enim erat sanguine vitulorum, et agnorum, et hircorum, auferri peccata hominum. Vel sacerdos et levita intelliguntur Lex et Propheta, quae hominem non sanaverunt, sed peccata ostenderunt et reprehenderunt. 7 Quld per Samaritanum suocurrentem.
~- Samariianus vero iter faciens, id est Christus qui animas custodit per humanitatem, momenta vitae hujus currens, pro nobis enim factus est homo in mundo, venit secus eum, id est vulneratum, quia in similitudinem hominum /actus, et habitu inventus est ut homo; — et videns eum, oculo clementiae , misericordia motus est, ex compassione. Et appropians homini vulnerato , miserationis exhibitione, alligavit vulnera ejus, quia redarguens peccata cohibuit; et vincuiis gratia* ligavit, infundens oUum , mitigativum , spem veniae pcenitentibus promittendo, et vinum pungitivum, terrorem pcenae peccantibus incutiendo. Alligat ergo vulnera, dum praecipit : Pcenitentiam agite; infundit oleum, dum addit : Appropinquabit enim regnum ccelorum; infundit vinum, cum dicit : Omnis arbor quce non facit fructum bonum excidetur, et in ignem mittetur, et ardebit. Qua in re docuit nos Dominus, qualiter infirmis et ad poenitentiam venientibus mederi debeamus. Vulnera enim ligamus, quando pec catorem a peccato cessare jubemus; oleum autem infundimus, quando misericorditer et blande consolando indulgentiam peccatori promittimus ; insuper et vinum infundimus, quando aspere et austere increpando jejunare et carnem macerare jubemus. Non sit igitur oleum sine vino, neque vinum sine oleo. Unde Gregorius : a Miscenda ergo est lenitas cum severitate, faciendum est quoddam ex utroque temperamentum , ut neque multa asperitate exulcerentur subditi , neque nimia benignitate solvantur. » Unde et Bernardus : « Semper punire ferocitatis est, semper parcere pusillanimitatis est; nec hoc nec illud aequitatis habere, plus amaritudinis , quam suavitatis , damnabile est ; e converso commendabile, utrumque tolerabile.
» Et ievans, illum in jumentum suum imposuit, ac ducens in stabulum, curam ejus egiU Jumentum dicitur hic caro Christi, in qua ad nos venire dignatus est. Huic jumento sauciatum imposuit, fidem Incarnationis inspirando; et peccata nostra, in corpore suo, super lignum portando; et juxta aliam parabolam, inventam quae erraverat ovem, humeris suis impositam ad gregem reportando.
Et duxit tfl stabulum, id est intra sanctam praesentem Ecclesiam collocavit , ubi deposito onere peccatomm, viator lassus reficitur ; et refectus salubri pascua reparatur. Non domum, sed stabulum vocat; quo nomine, foetores et miserias hujus praesentis vitae significat, ne homo in hoc 5 4 2 PRIMjE partis caput lix. exsilio, tanquam in patria gaudeat. Et, ut bonus medicus et necessarius, curam ejus egit, quandiu in hac vita cum eo fuit , quia circa aegrotum sollicitus fuit. Et altera die, post peractum ministerium redemptionis, scilicet post Domini resurrectionem , quae magis splendet quam tempus praecedens. Prima enim dies, fuit dies mortalitatis et passibilitatis ; altera dies fuit immortalitatis et impassibilitatis , quando splendor Iucis aeternae magis effulsit, protulit duos denarios, scilicet duo Testamenta : in quibus et nomen et imago Regis aeterni continentur, et quorum pretio vulnera nostra curantur; et dedit stabulario, quia distribuit utriusque Testamenti scientiam et praedicandi gratiam Apostolis, quibus sensum aperuit, ut Scripturas intelligerent, ac praelatis et omnibus qui Ecclesiam gubernare debent, ut curam aegroti agerent et haberent. Qui etiam debet in hac cura aliquid supererogare, ut non solum ea quae in duobus Testamentis continentur studeant praedicare ; sed et alia multa, secundum ea quae scripta sunt, iaborent aliis praedicatione manifestare. Supererogat etiam, qui sine sumptibus, exemplo Apostoli, praedicat; et ab eis quibus praedicat, sumptus non accipit.
Item supererogat, qui non solum praecepta, sed etiam consilia implet vel praedicat. In die autem judicii , cum Dominus redierit totum quod promiserat, tanquam debitor reddet, cum fideli servo dicet : Quia super pauca fuistifidelis, super multa te constituam; intra in gaudium Domini tui.
Per hunc autem viatorem figuratur mystice quilibet peccator, qui peccando mortaliter, a Deo, qui est pax nostra, tanquam ab Jerusalem se avertit, et ad Jericho, id est ad culpabilem defectum se convertit; et sic a bono incommutabili, ad bonum commutabile descendit. Homine autem sic lapso in latrones, et spoliato, ac vulnerato, et secus viam - semivivo relicto, quid aliud restat nisi flagitare, ut Samaritanus ille, id est custosanimarum Jesus Christus, iter miserationis suae per nos faciat, latrones fugitet, spoliatos gratia restituat, et vulnera nostra liget , semivivos in integrum habilitet, et sic demum in coelestem Jerusalem nos perducat? Moraliter per Jerusalem status virtutis designatur. Et ideo per hominem descendentem ab Jerusalem in Jericho , designatur peccator descendens a statu justitiae in peccatum mortale; qui incidens in latrones, id est daemones, dispoliatur per eos gratuitis, et vulneratur in naturalibus, ac relinquitur semivivus, quia toliitur ab eo vita gratiae, remanente vita naturae. Sacerdos et levita transeuntes, sunt mali ministri Ecclesiae; Samaritanus est confessor et praedicator, motus ex caritate, alligans vulnera sauciati per sanum consilium , infundens oleum misericordiae et vinum justitiae ; et imponit illum in jumentum, quia non solum mente praebet auxiiium, sed etiam, prout potest corpore, quod est animae jumentum; et ducit in stabulum et domum Ecclesiae, ubi datur pabulum verbi Dei et sacramenti Eucharistiae; et altera die, postquam duxit in stabulum, protulit duos denarios, per quos designatur gratia in^praesenti, et gloria in futuro; et dedit stabulario, id est dandos denuntiavit bono curato, facienti debitum suum erga peccatorem sibi subditum; et ei curam peccatoris commendavit dicens : Curam illius habe, debitum tuum exercendo, et quodcunque supererogaveris, faciendo citra debitum aliquod bonum, ad quod non teneris, reddam tibi, id est reddendum denuntio, promittens ei vitam aeternam pro salario. lO ? — Et interrogatus Legisperitus a Domino, quis praedictorum proximus fuisset ei qui incidit in latrones, respondit : Qui fecit misericordiam in i7lum. Ubi Cyrillus : « Neque enim sacerdos, neque levita factus fuit proximus patientis; sed ille qui est ejus misertus.
Inutilis est enim sacerdotii dignitas et legis scientia, nisi per bona opera confirmetur. » Unde ait Beda : « Juxta litteram, manifesta est Domini sententia; nullum nobis amplius, quam qui miseretur esse proximum. Sic huic civi Jerosolymitae , non sacerdos, non levita, licet ex eadem gente, imo in eadem urbe nati et nutriti ; sed externae gentis accola, quia magis misertus est, factus est proximus. » Deinde Dominus, ex Legisperiti responsione et confessione, ostendens omnem hominem misericordiam facientem esse proximum, et specialiter ipsum Dei Filium, conclusit dicens : Vade, scilicet de virtute in virtutem, et tu fac similiter proximo, sicut Samaritanus fecit Judaeo; quod scilicet omnem hominem, etiam inimicum proximum reputes, et ei misericordiam affectu, affatu et effectu impendendo necessitates ejus, subleves, ut te proximum diligere sicut teipsum manifestes. Unde Chrysostomus : « Quasi dicat : Si quem vides oppressum, non dicas, utique nequam est, sed sive sit Gentilis, sive Judaeus, et ope indiget, non cavilleris ; jus habet auxilium, quicunque mala fuerit passus : » haec Chrysostomus.
Ex responsione quoque Legisperiti, Dominus recte concludit quod propinquitas generis non facit proximum, sed opus misericordiae impensum. Ac si dicat ei : Tu ergo me dilige; et in me utrumque mandatum legis implere stude; quia sum Deus et sum ille tuus proximus; et quidquid vales in proximi necessitate subievanda, vel corporali, vel spirituali devotus operare, ut manifesteris proximus esse. Unde dicit Bernardus : « Utramque teneo dilcctionem Dei et proximi, cum te amo, Domine Jesu, qui meus proximus es, quoniam homo es, et fecisti mecum misericordiam : » haec Bernardus. Ex utraque ergo Domini conclusionc Legisperitus convincitur ; quia Christum Deum et hominem proximum non dilexit, qui suscipiens carnem nostram per humanitatem factus est nobis proximus; et tot misericordiae opera impendit, unde merito diligi debet. .
Ad Dei enim dilectionem in nobis excitandam, nutriendam et augendam, nihil ita valet sicut beneficiorum ejus frequens et diligens consideratio. Magna est igitur misericordia, quae ignotis et extraneis nos proximos facit; magna est misericordia, per quam vita possidetur aeterna ! Iile quippe est proximus tibi, cui miserendo appropinquas ; qui vero nulli miseretur, nullum proximum habet. In illo ergo mandato : Diliges proximum tuum sicut teipsium, Dominus proximum intelligit omnem hominem; hic autem eum qui implet legem naturalem, ut qui facit alii quae sibi fieri vult. Ubi Ambrosius : « Ergo quoniam nemo magis proximus, quam qui vulnera nostra curavit, diligamus eum quasi Dominum; diligamus et eum quasi proximum, nihil enim est tam proximum, quam caput membris; diligamus etiam eum, qui imitator est Christi; diligamus eum, qui inopiae alterius corporis unitate compatitur. Neque enim cognatio facit proximum, sed misericordia ; quia misericordia secundum naturam est, nihil enim tam secundum naturam quam juvare consortem naturae : » haec Ambrosius. Ad hoc quoque faciendum hortatur nos Augustinus dicens : « Nunc cum in hac vita, id est in hac via sumus, invicem onera nostra portemus : ut ad eam vitam quae caret omni onere, pervenire possimus. Dilectionis officium est invicem onera nostra portare; nihil enim sic probat amicum, quemadmodum oneris amici portatio.
Neque ulla res officiosum istum laborem, ad portandum onera aliorum, facit libenter impendi, nisi cogitemus quanta pro nobis pertulit Dominus. Hinc admonens, ait Apostolus : Hoc sentite in vobis, quod et in Christo Jesu. Huic cogitationi accedit etiam illa, quia homines sumus ; et quod aegritudinem sive animi, sive corporis, quam in homine alio videmus, etiam nos habere potuimus , aut possumus. Hoc ergo exhibeamus ei, cujus inrirmitatem portare volumus, quod ab illo vellemus nobis exhiberi, si forte nos in eo essemus, et ipse non esset. Ad hoc pertinet quod Apostolus ait : Omnibus omniafactus sum, ut omnes lucriflcarem, cogitando scilicet in eo vitio se esse potuisse, unde cupiebat alium liberare. Deinde etiam illud cogitandum , nullum esse hominem , qui non possit habere aliquod bonum, quod tu non habes, etiam si lateat; in quo sine dubio possit te esse superior. Unde Apostolus : Nihil per contentionem , neque fer inanem gloriam, sed in humihtate mentis, alter alterum existimantes superiorem sibi; istae cogitationes deprimentes mentis superbiam, et acuentes caritatem, faciunt onera fraterna invicem non solum aequo animo, sed etiam libentissime sustineri ; » haec Augustinus. Unde et Gregorius : « Si quisque sua incommoda, quae ab aliis portantur, considerat; ea quse ab aliis sustinet, levius portat.
Et iterum : Quia illa interna pacis visio, ex Sanctorum civium congregatione construitur, Jerusalem coelestis ut adiflcatur civitas. Quae tamen in hac perigrinationis terra, dum flagellis percu titur, tribulationibus tunditur, ejus lapides quotidie quadrantur. Qua? vidclicet civitas habet hic in Sanctorum motibus, magnum jam aedificium suum. In aedincio quippe lapis lapidem portat, et qui portat alterum, portatur ab altero. Sic nunc in sancta Ecdesia unusquisque et portat alterum, et portatar ab altero. Nam vicissim se proximi tolerant, ut per eos aedificium caritatis surgat. Omne autem pondus fabricae fundamenrum portat, quia Redemptor noster, de quo Paulus Apostolus ait iFundamentum aliud nemo ponere potest , praeter id quod est positum, quod est Christus Jesus, omnia nostra tolerat ; sed in ipso malum non fuit, quod tolerari debuisset : » haec Gregorius.
Ex his verbis Gregorii colligitur, quod quanto plura quis pro Deo portaverit, tanto erit ipsi fundamento, scilicet Christo Jesu, propinquior; et quanto pauciora portaverit, tanto erit ab ipso fundamento remotior. l3 — Haec igitur omnia bene considera, et proximorum infirmitates, ac defectus et onera, non solum pa~ tienter, sed etiam libenter pro Deo porta et tolera. Unde Anselmus : « Qui bonis alterius arridet, Sanctis consentit; qui vero invidet, diabolis. Siquidem magis puto salvationem ejus sperandam esse, qui parum boni facit et factis aliorum favet, quam efus qui multa, et invidet. » Et itemm : « Caritas quae colligit et vivificat omnia membra Ecclesiae, cum nos viderit de alterius mina gaudere, statim nos praecidit de corpore. Forte igitur non doiemus de ruina prozimorum no strorum, quia praecisi sumus a corpore; si enim ibi essemus, sine dubto doleremus , quia tandiu dolet membrum , quandiu in corpore continetur , sin autem abscissum fuerit, non dolere poterit, nec senure. Ex his ergo homo potest perpendere, si est membrum Christi. Et sicut dictum est de compassione et congratulatione; ita inteUige de communicatione.
Quia sicut in corpore humano, unum membrum communicat alteri indigenti suum officium , et cibum quem recipit; ita in corpore Ghristi, quod est Ecclesia, quilibet debet alteri communicare gratiam sibi divinitus datam ac cibum et etiam temporalia omnia a Deo recepta. Similiter intellige de consideratione, ut sicut membra inter se adunantur tanta amoris concordia, ut nulla ratione inter se valeantdissentire occasione aliqua; ita etiam sit inter vos. Similiter inteliige et de supportatione, ut sicut unum membrorum supportat alterum et sustinet lsesionem pro curatione sive protectione alterius , etsi laeditur ab alio, sine ultione sustinet laesionem; sic debet esse in nobis : » haec Ansdmus. ORATIO Domine Jesu Christe, custodi nos descendentes de contemplatione ad actionem, ne incidamus in latrones sensuum appetitus, nec spoliemur gratuitis, nec vulneremur in naturalibus; sacerdos et levita, superior et inferior portio rationis non descendant eadem via consentiendo in peccatum, sed potius ascendant sursum. Samaritanus vero gratia praedestinationis, secus nos appropiet, nobis vulnera peccatorum liget, infundens oleum spem veniae,et vinum timorem justitiae; imponat in jumentum, ordinando rationem supra sensualitatem; ducat in stabulum in consideratione peccatorum; altera die resurrecUonis det duos denarios, stolam animae et corporis. 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
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