Defratre petente dividi hereditatem, et de diirite volente korrea ampliare
The Rejection of Earthly Judgment
Christ refuses to arbitrate a worldly inheritance dispute, teaching that his mission is to gather souls into spiritual unity rather than settle temporal affairs.
Christ, to instruct the preachers of the Gospel. He refused to act as a judge in disputes. But someone from the crowd, knowing that Jesus was just, said to him, 'Master, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.' That man hadn't experienced how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to live together in unity. His request was inappropriate, however, because it was neither the right time nor the right place; Christ wasn't concerned with temporal things, but rather taught that they should be despised, for he had come only to gather and not to scatter. And so he answered, saying: 'Man'—that is, the carnal and earthly man, who thinks only of the earth and walks according to the flesh—'who made me a judge'—that is, of disputes—'or a divider'—that is, of property—'over you'—that is, you who are brothers, among whom there should be not a judge, but love as the mediator? It was as if to say: 'I wasn't sent or appointed to judge earthly possessions, but heavenly ones.' I am not a God of dissension, but of gathering, peace, and unity, who came to reconcile humanity with God and the angels, and so that many might have one heart and one soul: not that they should be divided by worldly things, but that they should be gathered together and hold all things in common; and that there should be no one in need among them, but that it should be distributed to each as anyone has need. Anyone who doesn't gather with me is a divider of brotherhood and an author of discord. Bede says: "Whoever wants to bring the annoyance of earthly division to the Master who is commending the joys of heavenly peace is rightly called a 'man,' according to the saying: 'When there is jealousy and contention among you, are you not of the flesh?'" Ambrose says: "He rightly turns away from earthly things, for he had descended for the sake of divine things." He doesn't deign to be a judge of lawsuits or an arbiter of property, for he holds the judgment and the arbitration of merits for both the living and the dead. Therefore, you must consider not only what you ask for, but from whom you ask it. And don't think that because your mind is intent on greater things, you should be bothered by lesser ones. So it's not without reason that this brother is rebuked, for he was eager to occupy the dispenser of heavenly things with corruptible ones—so says Ambrose. By refusing to involve himself in the division of an earthly inheritance, Christ shows that preachers of the Gospel, and those dedicated to spiritual things, shouldn't involve themselves in secular business, because of which they might become less concerned with spiritual things. In the same way, the Apostles set aside the care of temporal things so they could be free for the Word of God, saying: "It isn't right for us to neglect the Word of God to serve at tables." But, alas! Today, churchmen are so occupied with lawsuits and disputes that they seem to have time only for these things, putting aside more useful matters and the Law of God, drawn and enticed into this by greed. At first, the Church flourished in the slaughter of martyrs; secondly, it grew during the persecution of heretics; but now, it doesn't stop growing through the corruption of false brothers, their lawsuits, and their useless affairs. Although the Lord could have divided the inheritance, He refused to do so, lest He interrupt spiritual matters for the sake of temporal ones—as many do—and lest He seem to favor the greedy desire of the petitioner, who was asking for this to cheat his brother, and who was driven not so much by justice as by the thing itself and a love of possessing; he was a man who savored earthly things rather than heavenly ones, just like the worldly people among whom such zeal and contention over dividing an inheritance is common.
The Warning Against Greed
Christ warns the crowd and his disciples against the plague of greed, noting that true life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.
Consequently, He immediately rebuked them and taught them to beware of greed, which separates a person from God, telling both the crowds and the disciples that greed is a common vice among clergy and laity, religious and secular, the lowly and the great, because everyone is prone to it. Therefore, according to Bede, He used this foolish petitioner as an opportunity to fortify them against the plague of greed—the root of all evil—with both precepts and examples, saying: "Beware of all greed." He meant both interior and exterior greed, which consists of the covetous seeking of temporal things and the stubborn refusal to let them go. Hence the same Bede says: "He says 'of all' because some things appear to be done simply by people, but the interior Judge discerns and judges the intention behind them." Or, according to Cyril, He says "of all," meaning both great and small: "For a person's life does not consist in the abundance of their wealth," that is, the spiritual life by which one is joined to God—because man does not live by bread alone—nor even the bodily life, because temporal life is not extended by a multitude of riches; rather, it is frequently diminished by the anxieties of the soul and the delights of the body. A man's temporal life does not consist in the abundance of things, because it is sometimes more diminished and shortened in prosperity than in adversity. Even the spiritual life doesn't consist in abundance; instead, it is frequently in danger. Hence Chrysostom says: "Delights are harmful not only to the soul but to the body itself, in that the strong becomes weak, the healthy becomes sickly, the agile becomes sluggish, the beautiful becomes deformed, and the young becomes old." In summary. And Seneca says: "Our foresight can extend the life of this little body, if we can govern and restrain the pleasures by which most of it perishes." Death is also greatly accelerated by an abundance and excess of food and drink. After all, more people die from overindulgence than from deprivation. That is why Hippocrates says that all kinds of illnesses are generated from fullness. No one lays traps for the lives of the poor; but the rich fear them everywhere, in their food and in their drink. Hence Theophilus says: "The Lord says this, refuting the intentions of the greedy who seem to hoard riches as if they were going to live forever." But does wealth really make you long-lived? Why then do you clearly endure the evils of such uncertain peace? For it is doubtful that you will reach the old age for whose sake you are hoarding. It is the likeness of the rich man who wants to tear down his barns.
The Parable of the Foolish Rich Man
Through the parable of the man who builds larger barns, Christ illustrates the folly of hoarding wealth while neglecting the soul's eternal state.
And to condemn greed and to clarify his point, he introduces a parable. Hence, the same Theophilus says: 'I say that human life is not prolonged by an abundance of wealth,' and he adds this parable: 'A certain rich man’s land brought forth abundant fruits—that is, more than he had anticipated in his anxious pursuit. And he thought about it with worry, because an abundance of wealth brings worry and, consequently, anxiety of soul, since it does not satisfy true need.' He was thinking, I say, within himself, not speaking out loud, so that he wouldn't be heard; for the greedy rich man fears everyone. For, according to Augustine, he sees a rich man and thinks him a robber; he sees a poor man and suspects him of being a thief. 'What shall I do, since I have nowhere to store my fruits?' This rich man was distressed by his wealth, unhappy in his present goods, and even more unhappy in his future ones; for his land brought him not so much income as heavy groans. Excessive worry grew in him from greed, and distress from his satiety. 'I will tear down my barns and build larger ones.' He didn't need to expand his barns; they were already well-prepared—namely, the poor and hungry. But he didn't remember our common nature, nor did he know how to think of anything but earthly gathering, not heavenly, whose barns are the poor of Christ. 'And there,' he says, 'I will gather,' when he should have said the opposite: 'I will distribute to the poor what has been born to me'—that is, for me alone or by my own labor—'and my goods.' In this he lies, because it is said out of iniquity that something is 'mine' and 'yours,' when all things by nature should be common. He considers his goods to be temporal, when nevertheless, as a human being, a person's goods should be spiritual and not earthly. Hence Gregory says: 'The possession of earthly things is not for a human being, but for the heavenly.' Ambrose says, "What a person cannot take with them is not truly their own; only mercy is a companion to the dead." For this reason, a philosopher who had escaped a fire said, "I have lost nothing; my goods are with me, for I cannot carry those things in my soul." Our true goods are our internal goods. Hence Seneca: "A wise person will limit every good within themselves." Seneca also says that when his country was captured and his children lost, he still emerged blessed from the public fire; when a conqueror asked if he had lost anything, he said, "I have lost nothing; my goods are with me." And shall I say 'soul'? That is, to my own soul, or to myself, based on the fact that the whole person is named after their more noble part. "My soul, you have many goods"—or rather, they were held by them, placed, that is, stored up and gathered to be kept greedily, not to be given away freely, for many years. The rich man, therefore, does not prepare lasting barns but perishable ones; and, what is more foolish, he marks out the length of his life for himself. But, O rich man, you indeed have fruits in your barns, but where will you be able to obtain many years? Here is condemned the reprehensible greed of those who have sufficient income for themselves, and the collection of more than a year's worth of those things which return and are renewed every year. He adds: 'Rest,' meaning from labor, where he links the plague of sloth to the plague of greed, so that he doesn't even call upon God for temporal things. 'Take your ease'—that's sloth. 'Eat'—that's gluttony. 'Drink'—that's drunkenness. 'Feast in splendor and pride with a great display of luxuries'—where he adds lechery and lust to the aforementioned evils—'that's the celebration of a banquet.' Here, then, are expressed the four evils that usually arise from an abundance of riches. This was the iniquity of Sodom: pride in feasting, fullness of bread in eating, abundance in drunkenness, and idleness in... rest. Where Bede says: 'Similar to this is what is read in Ecclesiasticus: "There is one who grows rich by being stingy, and this is the portion of his reward in that he says: I have found rest for myself, and now I will eat of my goods alone"; and he does not know that time will pass, and he will leave everything to others.' According to the same Bede, this rich man isn't condemned because he gathered the harvest and wanted to store the fruit, but because he placed all his trust in his abundance, counting his harvest and his goods as his own, and giving nothing to the poor. He should have established it according to the command of the Lord, who says: 'What is left over, give as alms,' but instead he was eager to reserve it for his own future almsgiving. But, as Basil says, while he speaks in secret, his words are examined, and from this his answers are brought forth. For it follows: "God said to him"—that is, He did the opposite of what he was thinking, for God’s saying is doing, according to that Psalm: "He spoke, and they were made." "You fool, you who do not think of God’s providence and justice." Where the same Basil says: "Listen to the name of foolishness that fits you, which no human imposes on you, but God Himself: 'This night they will demand'—that is, the exactors and demons—'your soul from you,' as if it were their own, sold and bound to them through sin, so that you have no more time to amend and redeem yourself." Hence in Ecclesiastes: "Nothing is more wicked than to love money, for this person has put his own soul up for sale." Where Bede says: "You who promised yourself many times of pleasure, snatched away by death this very night, you will leave behind what you have gathered for others." For God to do this to people is to curb their wicked schemes with sudden judgment. For the day of departure catches them like a thief in the night, when it casts out the souls of fools who do not meditate on the future. Hence Gregory says: "He was taken away in the same night for which he had waited so much, so that he who was looking to provide for himself by gathering resources for the long term would not see even one day following." In the night, however, the soul was taken away, torn out in the darkness of the heart. It was taken away in the night because it did not want to have the light of consideration, so that it might foresee what it could suffer: thus Gregory. But what you have prepared, whose will it be? It's as if he were saying: They won't be yours, because you won't take them with you; for a person carries only the riches of virtue with them. Hence Chrysostom says: 'For he abandons them, not only gaining no benefit from them, but even carrying the burden of his sins on his own shoulders; and what you have gathered will mostly fall into the hands of your enemies, while you will have to give an account for them.' Ambrose also says: 'In vain does he gather wealth who doesn't know how he will use it; for what we cannot take with us is not ours.' Ambrose says: 'Virtue alone is the companion of the dead; mercy alone follows us, which gains eternal dwellings for the departed.' This question—'What you have prepared, whose will it be?'— This applies most strongly to those in the religious life, who cannot leave the goods of the Church to their own heirs. Hence it says in Ecclesiastes: 'There is one, and he has no second, no son, no brother; yet he never stops working, and his eyes are never satisfied.' with his riches.
Rich in God, Poor in Spirit
The text contrasts the person who hoards for private gain with the one who is rich in God, urging detachment from transient things.
Applying this to our point, he adds: It's the same for the fool, who is headed for a similar end and will be snatched away by divine judgment in the night, unexpectedly. He's the one who hoards for himself—that is, for his own private benefit—by not distributing his worldly goods to the poor so that he might be welcomed by them into eternal dwellings. Such a person will be utterly destitute at death, because he hoards and doesn't know for whom he is gathering it: whether for the moth that destroys, the thief who digs in, the enemy who plunders, or the fire that consumes. He isn't rich in God, because he is empty of spiritual goods and lacks the treasure of merits; his hope isn't in the Lord, and his substance isn't with God. For a person is rich in God who, despising transient things, gives to the poor; whose hope is the Lord, and whose substance—that is, his conscience, faith, and the possession by which he is sustained and fed—is with God, not in the purses and lower things of this earth. But, as Gregory says, the less a person grieves that eternal things are missing, the more he rejoices that temporal things are present. Bede says: "If someone who hoards for himself isn't rich in God, he's a fool and will be snatched away in the night. Therefore, whoever wants to be rich in God shouldn't hoard for himself, but distribute what he possesses to the poor; for in this way he'll deserve to be wise and a child of light." The Psalmist also speaks well on this, having first spoken of any greedy rich man: 'But he is troubled in vain; he hoards and does not know for whom he will gather it.' Soon after he had placed the treasure of his heart, he opened it, saying: 'And now, what is my hope?' Isn't it the Lord? 'And my substance is with You.' So says Bede. By this rich man, therefore, we understand every person who gathers and keeps worldly goods in order to live idly and luxuriously; and it often happens that such people die suddenly, and are thus cheated of their purpose. Many people today say to themselves, just like that rich man: "Feast, be happy, relax, you're full of good things; enjoy yourself, you'll be glad." They don't care what times come after them, as long as there's peace and plenty in their own days. But such people should be afraid that demons, those exactors, might snatch their souls away suddenly and without warning. Augustine speaks well of such people and those like them: "A fish rejoices when it swallows the bait without seeing the hook; but when the fisherman begins to pull it in, its insides are first twisted, and then, because of the very bait it enjoyed, it is dragged to its destruction, stripped of all its joy." That is how it is with everyone who thinks they are blessed because of their worldly goods. "They have taken the hook and are wandering around with it; the time will come when they will feel the torments they swallowed with such greed." — Augustine. Who, understanding this, would place their hope in riches, when wealth is so easily lost and a person can die so suddenly? For anyone who carefully considered these things would easily guard against greed. For, as Jerome says: "Anyone who thinks about the fact that they are going to die will easily despise everything." If riches flow in, don't set your heart on them; and if they don't, don't be anxious about them, lest you be stained by the foul plague of greed. For, as Ambrose says, all who are covetous, all who are greedy, possess the leprosy of Gehazi along with their riches; and as Chrysostom says, whoever serves greed is both bound by present shackles and prepared for future fires. It is said that the great evil in hell is that they are always thirsty and never satisfied; and the greedy already endure this punishment, for they have such a desire to acquire wealth that they are never satisfied in any way. Hence Basil says of this rich man that while his barns were bursting with the abundance of his stores, his greedy soul was not filled at all. What is this greed of men, when they have no limit like the beasts themselves? For beasts seize their prey when they are hungry, but they spare it when they feel satisfied. The greed of men is insatiable; it's always seizing and never satisfied. It fears neither God nor respects man; it spares neither father nor recognizes mother; it obeys no brother and keeps no faith with a friend; it oppresses the widow and invades the orphan. What insanity is this: to acquire gold and lose heaven? But as Peter Damian says, greed is like a two-headed snake; it's accustomed to bite with both mouths and to inject its pestilent venom with both, while it either seeks what belongs to others or, according to Gregory, is proven to be a thief by holding onto more than it needs.1
The Stewardship of Mercy
The chapter concludes by framing wealth as a stewardship for the poor and offering a prayer for repentance and eternal inheritance.
So Basil asks here: "Is God unjust to distribute things among us unequally?" Why do you have plenty while another begs, if not so that you might earn the merit of good stewardship, and he might be adorned with the prize of patience? But aren't you a thief, treating as your own what you received only to distribute? The bread you hold belongs to the hungry; the tunic you keep in your closet belongs to the naked; the shoe that rots away in your possession belongs to the barefoot; the money you hoard belongs to the needy—therefore, you commit as many injustices as you have the power to give. So Bernard also cries out: "The naked cry out, the hungry cry out; they complain and say to the rich: 'While we suffer miserably from hunger and cold, what good are all those changes of clothes, whether spread out on racks or folded away in chests?'" What you waste is ours; what you spend on vanity is cruelly taken from us. For we, too, are God’s creation, redeemed by the blood of Christ. We are your brothers, therefore; look at what it means to feast your eyes on a brother's portion, while our life is surrendered to you in the form of your superfluous wealth. Whatever goes toward your vanities is taken away from our needs. In short, two evils spring from the one root of greed: while you perish by living in vanity, you destroy us by robbing us. Chrysostom also says: 'Everything God gives us, He gives through us to others, so that we might share what we have received with the needy.' PRAYER: Do not take me away, Lord, in the middle of my days, and do not let me perish by an unexpected death; rather, grant me time for a true, fruitful, and pleasing repentance, so that I may be able to despise passing things and wipe away my sins through worthy satisfaction in this life, so that after this life I may deserve to see You without hindrance and reach You, whole and secure.2 For You are my hope, Lord, and my substance is with You; You are the portion of my inheritance, who will restore my inheritance to me, where I will rest, feast, and rejoice in Your sight forever with my brothers, Your chosen ones. Amen.
Read the original Latin
1 Christus, ad erudiendos Evangelii pr. edicatores, litium judex esse noluit. — Quidam autem de turba cognoscens Jesum esse justum, ait ei : Magister, dic fratri meo, ut mecum dividat hereditatem. Non fuit iste expertus quam bonum et quam jucundum, habitare fratres in unum. Inconvenienter autem petebat, quia nec tempus, nec locus erat; et Christus temporalibus non intendebat, imo ea contemnere docebat, qui etiam tantum colligere et non dispergere venerat. Et ideo respondit, dicens : Homo, scilicet carnalis etterrenus, humum sapiens, et secundum hominem ambulans, quis me constituit judicem, scittcet litium, aut divisorem, scilicet facultatum, super vos, scilicet qui fratres estis, inter quos non judex, sed pietas debet esse sequestra ? Quasi diceret : Non sum missus, sive constitutus ad judicium terrenarum possessionum, sed ccelestium. Non sum dissensionis Deus, sed collectionis, et pacis, et unitatis, qui veni homines pacificare cum Deo et Angelis, et ut multi cor unum et animam unam habeant : non ut dividantur per diversa, sed ut colligantur et habeant omnia communia; nec sit aliquis egens inter illos, sed dividatur singulis, prout unicuique opus fuerit.
Ille qui non colligit mecum, est fraternitatis divisor et dissensionis auctor. Ubi Beda ; « Qui Magistro supernae pacis gaudia commendanti terrenae divisionis vult ingerere molestiam, merito homo vocatur, secundum illud : Cum sit inter vos \elus et contentio : nonne homines estis? » Ubi Ambrosius : « Bene ergo terrena declinat, qui propter divina descenderat. Nec judex dignatur esse litium et arbiter facultatum, vivorum habens mortuorumque judiciiim et arbitrium meritorum. Non solum ergo quid petas, sed a quo postules intuendum est. Nec majoribus intento animo, putes minoribus obstrependum. Unde non immerito refutatur hic frater , qui dispensatorem coelestium gestiebat corruptibilibus occupare : » haec Ambrosius. Per hoc quod Christus noluit se intromittere de divisione hereditatis terrenae , ostendit quod predicatores Evangelii, et spiritualibus dediti, non debent se intromittere de negotiis secularibus, ob quae minus solliciti sint de spiritualibus.
Sic et Apostoli ut possent vacare verbo Dei, curam temporalium a se abjecerunt, dicentes : Non est cequum nos derelinquere verbum Dei, et ministrare mensis. Sed, heu ! hodie personae ecclesiasticee litibus et causis eousque occupantur, ut his solummodo vacare videantur; utiliora postponentes, et Legem Dei, avaritia ad hoc tracti et invitati. Primo quidem floruit Ecclesia in strage martyrum; secundo, crevit in persecutione haereticorum ; nunc autem corruptione falsorum fratrum litibus et inutilibus crescere non desinit. Quamvis ergo Dominus poterat , tamen dividere nolebat; ne, sicut multi faciunt, spiritualia propter temporalia intermitteret , et ne favere videretur avarae cupiditati petentis, qui ad circumveniendum fratrem hoc petebat, et quem non tam jus, quam res et amor habendi trahebat; quique terrena et non ccelestia sapiebat, sicut terreni, inter quos hujusmodi zelus, et contentio dividendae hereditatis esse solet.
Unde et ex hoc consequenter avaritiam quae a Deo separat, statim reprehendit, et cavere docuit, dicens, tam ad turbas quam ad discipulos, quia avaritia commune vitium est tam clericorum quam laicorum; tam religiosorum, quam secularium; tam minorum, quam majorum , quia omnes avaritiae student. Unde eos, secundum Bedam, occasione hujus stulti petitoris adversus avaritiae pestem, quae radix omnium malorum est, praeceptis pariter et exemplis munire satagit, dicens : Cavete ab omni avaritia , scilicet tam interiori quam exteriori, quae consistit in cupida requisitione temporalium , et tenaci retentione eorum. Unde idem Beda : « Dicit autem, ab omni, quia nonnulla simpliciter ab hominibus geri videntur; sed internus arbiter qua intentione fiant, quia cernit, dijudicat. » Vel, secundum Cyrillum, dicit ab omni, scilicet magna et parva : Quia non in abundantia divitiarum cujusquam vita ejus est, scilicet spiritualis, per quam conjungitur Deo, quia non in solo pane vivit homo, nec etiam corporalis, quia temporalis vita divitiarum multitudine non protenditur, imo frequenter ex sollicitudinibus animarum, et deliciis corporum, minuitur. Vita hominis temporalis non consistit in abundantia rerum, quia quandoque plus minuitur et abbreviatur in prosperitate, quam in adversitate. Vita etiam spiritualis non consistitin abundantia; imo frequenter periclitatur. Unde Chrysostomus : « Neque enim animae soli, sed ipsi corpori sunt nocivae deliciae : eo quod ex forti fit debile, et ex sano aegrotivum, ex agili grave, ex formoso deforme, ex juvene veternoPRIMjE partls caput LXXVH. sum.
» Unde et Seneca : <i Potest nostra providentia longiorem prorogare huic corpusculo moram, si voluptates quibus major pars perit, poterimus regere, et coercere i » haec Seneca. Propter abundantiam quoque et superfluitatem ciborum et potuum, mors plurimum acceleratur. Plures enim ex repletione quam ex attenuatione moriuntur. Unde dicit Hippocrates, quod ex plenitudine, quaecunque aegritudines generantur. Vitae etiam pauperum nullus struit insidias; divites autem in omni loco, cibo et potu timent eas. Unde Theophilus : <c Hoc dicit Dominus refellens avarorum intentiones , qui videntur coacervare divitias, quasi diuvicturi. Sed numquid te opulentia longaevum emciet > Quid igitur manifeste sustines mala tam incertae quietis i Nam dubium est andebeaaattingeire senium, cujus gratia thesaurizas. » 3 SlMILTTUDO DIVITIS BOftREA DEstruere volentis.
— Et ad d*»testandum avaritiam, et ad suum propositum declarandum 9 inducit simiiitudinem. Unde idem Theophilus : « Dico quod ex amuentia opum non protelatur vita humana, ad hujus fidera parabolam subdit : Hominis cujusdam divitis> uberes fructus ager aUulit, id est abundantes et multo plures quam sollieito cursu contuevit ; et cogitabat prae soilicitudine, quda abundantia divitiarum inducit sollicitudinem, et per consequens animi anxietatem, quia non suppient indigentiam. » Cogitabat, inquam, intra se dicens, non extra se proferens, ncaudiretur;, dives enim avaruaormnem hominem timet, Nam, secun4tum Augustinum ^ videt divitem, et aestinaat praedonem; videt pauperem, et suspicatur furem. Quid faciam y quia non habebo quo congregem fructus meos? Angustiabatur iste dives ex opulentia, infeUx in praesentibus bonis, infelicior in futucis; ager enim ei non tam redditus, quam gemitus attulit gravio res; et soliicitudo nimia crevit ei ex avaritia, et angustia ex satictate. Destruam horrea mea et majora faciam. Non oportebat eum horrea dilatare, bene erant horrea parata, scilicet pauperum esurientium vei^tres; sed nan meminit communis naturae, nec sciebat cogitare r nioi de congregatione temporaii, non de coelesti, cufus horrea sunt pauperes Chiristi, Et illuc, inquit, congregabo, cum e contrario deberet dicere dispergam paaiperibus, onada quat nata smnt mihi, id est propter me solura, vel meo laboce, et bona mea T in quo dicit mendacium, quia ex iniquitate dictum est meum et tuum, cum omnia juxe naturae es*•ent communia. Bona sua reputanfi temporalm, cum tamen hominis, ut homo est, sint bona spiritualia* et raon terrena, Unde Gregorius i « Non est hominis terrena posses— sio, sed cmiestis.
w Et Ambrosius : <t Non sunt bo»a hominisy quae secmm ferre non poteat; sokv miserkoifdia est coimes defuncto^ nfnsn, » Unde* daxit quidam philo~ sophus, qui de ineendio evaserat : Ego nihil perdidi, bona; mea me> cum sunt; animo enim illa portov non hunieri», Bona nostra, bona interna sunt. Unde Seneca : « Sapiens intra se omne bonum termi— nabit. » Et dicit kiem Seneca, quod quidaray capta patria et liberis amiasis, cum ex incendio publico soiua, et taraen beatus, exiret ; interroganti victori num aliquid perdidisset-Nihdl, inquk, perdidi; bona mea mecum sunt. Et dicam anima? meat 9 id est animilitati meae, vel mihimctipsi, secunxium quod totus ho w mo denominatur a parte digniori z Amma mea, habes muUa bona, imo hafoebatux ab eis, posita^ id tsM reposita et congregata ad observandum avare, non ad erogandum fibere, in annos plurimos* Ubi Cyrillus : «. Dives igitur non parat permanentia horrea* sed caduca; et, quod stultius est, vitae sibi taxat longitudinem. Sed, o dives, fructus quidem habes in horreis, sed annos plurimos unde poteris obtinere? » Hk arguitur habentium redditus sibi sufficientes reprehenaibilis deteatoo, et coUectio supra annum eorum, quae singulis annia redeunt et innovantur» 4 QUATUOa LkRUM ABUNBANTIA.
— Et Subjungit - Reqidesce, scilicet s labore ubi pesti avaritiae pestem }ungit deaidiae; ut nec pro temporalibus Deum interpellet, ecce otio&ctas ; comede, ecce gulositas; bibe, ecce ebrietas;, epulare, splendide et supexbe magno deliciarum apparatu, ubi praedictis malis etiam lasciviam et voiuptatem addit, ecce comessationis celebritas. Hic ergo exprimuntur quatuor mala quae evenire solent ex divitiarum abundantia. Haic fuit iniquitas Sodonux, superbia, in epulatioae, saiuriias panis, in comestione, et abundantia, in ebrietate, et otium, in. requie. Ubi Beda ; a Cui simile est quod in Ecclesiastko Iegitur : Est qui locupletatur parce agendo, et hcec est pars mercedis iltius in eo quod dicit : Inveui requiem mihi, et nunc man d ucabo de bonis meis solus; et nescit quod tempus prceteriet, et reUnquat omnia aliis. » Secundum eumdem Bedam, non reprehenditur iste dives in eo, quod terram coUierit et fructus servare volueritj sed quod omnem vitae su« fiduciam in sua abundantia posuerit; fructusque natos fmctus suos et sua bona computansy nikii paupexibus erogare. constituerit, juxta imperium Dominiy dkentis ; Quod superest date elee^nosynam^ sed suae in futurum eleemosynae reservare studuerit. Sed, ut dicit Basilius, dum in abscondito loquitur, eloquia ejus examinantur, unde sibi responsa proveniunt.
Sequitur enim : Dixit autem illi Deus, id est contrarium suae cogitationi fecit, dicere enim Dei, facere est, secundum illud Psaimi : Ipse dixii et facta sunU — Stulte, qui non cogitas de Dei Providentia et justitia, Ubi idem Basilius : u Audi conveniens tibi stultitiae nomen, quod tibi nullus imponit hominum, sed ipse Deus, hac nocte repetent, scilicet exactores et daemones, a te anrmam tuam, tanquam suam et sibi per peccatum venditam et obligatam, ut de cetero tempus oon habeas emendandi et te redimendi. Unde in Ecclesiastko : Nihil iniquius quam amare pecumam, kic envm animam suam venalem habeU » Ubi Beda : « Qui multa tibi delkiarum tempora promittebas, proxima hac nocte morte praereptus aliis congregav ta relinques. Haeca Deo ad homines dacere est pravas ejus machinationes subita animadversione compescere. Dies enim exitus tanquam fur in nocte comprehendit, quando stultorum animas futura non prasHmeditantes ejicit. » Unde et Gregorius : « Eadem enim est nocte subJatus, qtri muha fuerat praestolatus, ut scilicet qui in lomjum sibi subsidia colligendo prospiceret, subsequentem diem vel unum minime videret. In nocte autem ablata est anima, quae in obscuritate cordis est evulsa. In nocte ablata est y quat consideratiosris lucem habere noluit, ut quod pati poterat praeviderret : » haec Gregorius. Qwz autem parasti cujus erunt?
Quasi dicex ret : Non erunt tua, quda non portabis ea tecum, solas enim divitias virtutum portat homo secum. Unde Ckrysostomus : « Hk enim ea deserea, non soium nuikim inde pex cipiens commodum, sed etiam sarcinam peccatorum portans super humeros proprios, et quae quidem a te congesta sunt plerumque in manus inimicorum pervenient; a te vero super his ratio requiretur. » Unde et Ambrosius : « Frustra enim congregat opes, qui se his nescit usurum ; neque enim nostra sunt, quae non possumus auferre nobiscum. Sola virtus comes est defunctorum; sola nos sequitur misericordia, quae tabernacula defunctis acquirit aeterna : » haec Ambrosius. Haec quaestio, scilicety^w^ parasti cujus erunt? potissime potest fieri personis ecclesiasticis, quae non possunt relinquere bona Ecclesiae heredibus suis. Unde in Ecclesiaste : Unus est', et secundum non habet, non filium, non fratrem; et tamen laborare non cessat et non satiantur oculi. ejus divitiis.
Et applicando ad propositum, subjungit : Sic est, videlicet similiter stultus, et ad similem finem venturus, ac in nocte et improvise a divinis judiciis rapiendus, qui sibi, id est utilitati privata, ihesauriqat, scilicet bona temporalia non distribuens pauperibus, ut ab eis recipiatur in aeterna tabernacula; talis enim in morte pauperrimus erit; quia thesauri^at, et ignorat cui congregabit ea, an tineae demolienti, an furi effodienti, an hosti diripienti, an igni devoranti ; et non est in Deum dives, quia vacuus bonis spiritualibus, et sine thesauro meritorum, cujus exspectatio non est Dominus, nec apud Deum est substantia ejus. In Deum namque dives est, qui transitoria contemnens pauperibus tribuit; cujus exspectatio est Dominus, cujus substantia, id est conscientia fides, et possessio qua sustentatur et pascitur, est apud Deum non in sacculis et inferioribus terrae hujus. Sed, ut dicit Gregorius, tanto quisque minus dolet, quod desunt aeterna; quanto magis gaudet, quod adsunt temporalia. Ubi Beda : « Si is qui sibi thesaurizat, et non est in Deum dives, stultus est et in nocte rapiendus ; ergo qui vult esse in Deum dives, non sibi thesaurizet, sed possessa pauperibus distribuat; sic enim sapiens et filius lucis esse merebitur. Unde bene et Psalmista, cum de avaro quolibet divite praemisisset : Sed et frustra conturbatur, thesaurifat et ignorat cui congregabit ea; mox ubi cordis sui thesaurum locasset aperuit, dicens : Et nunc quce est exspectatio mea ? nonne Dominus? et substantia mea apud te est : » haec Btda. 6 — Per istum ergo divitem intelligitur omnis homo congregans et conservans bona temporalia, ut inde otiose et deliciose vivat; et frequenter contingit quod tales subito moriuntur, et sic a proposito suo defraudantur.
Cum isto enim divite et multi hodie dicunt apud se : Epulare, laetare, quiesce, plenus ex bonis, utere, laetus eris; non curo qualia sint post me tempora, fiat tantum pax et fertilitas in diebus meis. Sed timeant tales ne subito et improvise animam ab eis rapiant daemones exactores. Unde bene de talibus et similibus, sic dicit Augustinus : « Gaudet piscis, quando hamum non videns, escam devorat; sed cum piscator eum adducere cceperit, viscera ejus torquentur primo, deinde ab omni laetitia sua per ipsam escam de qua laetatus est, ad consumptionem trahitur. Sic sunt omnes qui de bonis temporalibus beatos se putant. Hamum enim acceperunt et cum illo vagantur, veniet tempus ut sentiant quanta tormenta cum aviditate devoraverunt : » haec Augustinus. Quis intelligens haec in divitiis spem suam ponet, cum et divitiae tam facile amiitantur> et homo tam subito moriatur? Qui enim ista bene attenderet, de facili ab avaritia caveret. Nam, ut ait Hieronymus : « Facile contemnit omnia, qui se cogitat moriturum.
Divitice ergo si affluant, noli cor apponere; et si non affluant, noli sollicitus pro eis esse, ne immunda peste maculeris avaritiae. » Nam, ut ait Ambrosius, omnes cupidi, omnes avari, Giezi lepram cum divitiis suis possident; et, ut dicit Chrysostomus, qui avaritiae servit, et praesentibus compedibus constringitur, et futuris incendiis praeparatur. Dicitur tantum malum esse in inferno quod semper sitiant, et nunquam satientur; et hanc poenam avari jam sustinent, qui tantam cupiditatem acquirendi divitias habent, ut nullo modo satientur. Unde dicit Basilius de isto divite, quod horrea quidem crepabant prae copia conditorum; avarus tamen animus nequaquam implebatur. Quae est ista aviditas hominum, cum ipsius belluae modum non habeant? Tunc enim belluae rapiunt, quando esuriunt; parcunt vero praedae, cum saturitatem sentiunt. Inexplebilis est avaritia hominum, semper rapit, et nunquam satiatur; nec Deum timet, nec hominem reveretur, nec patri parcit, nec matrem agnoscit, non fratri obtemperat, non fidem amico servat, viduam opprimit, pupillum invadit. Quae est insania haec, acquirere aurum, et perdere coelumr Ut autem dicit Petrus Damianus, avaritia quasi biceps est coluber ; utroque consuevit ore mordere, utroque pestiferum virus influere, dum aut aliena res quaeritur; aut, secundum Gregorium, rapere convincitur, qui ultra sibi necessaria retinere probatur.
Unde dicit hic Basilius : « An injustus est Deus inaequaliter res nobis distribuens? Cur tu abundas, ille vero mendicat, nisi ut tu bonae dispensationis merita consequaris, ille vero patientiae braviis decoretur? At tu nonne spoliator es, quae dispensanda suscepisti, propria reputando? Est panis famelici quem tu tenes; nudi tunica, quam in conclavi conservas; discalceati calceus qui penes te marcessit; indigentis argentum quod possides; quocirca tot injuriaris, quot dare valeres. » Unde et Bernardus : « Clamant nudi, clamant famelici; conqueruntur, et dicunt divitibus : Nobis fame et frigore miserabiliter laborantibus, quid conferunt tot mutatoria, vel extensa in perticis, vel plicata in fnanticis? Nostrum est quod effunditis, nobis crudeliter subtrahitur, quod inaniter expenditis. Et nos enim Dei plasmatio, Christi nos sanguine redempti sumus. Nos igitur fratres vestri; videte quale sit de fraterna portione pascere oculos vestros, vita nostra cedit vobis in superfluas copias.
Nostris necessitatibus detrahitur, quidquid accedit vanitatibus vestris. Duo denique mala de una prodeunt radice cupiditatis : dum et vos vanitando peritis, et nos spoliando perimitis. » Unde et Chrysostomus : « Omnia quae nobis Deus dat, per nos aliis dat, ut de eo quod accepimus, partem impotentibus faciamus. » ORATIO Ne revoces me, Domine, in dimidio dierum meorum, ne morte improvisa me perire permittas ; sed spatium verae et fructuosae et tibi gratae poenitentiae mihi concedas, ut sic valeam transitoFia contenmere, et digna satisfactione in hac vica peccata delere, quatenus po«t hanc vitam meiear sine impedimento te videre, et ad te tetus ac securus pervenire. Tu es enim, Domine, exspectatio mea, et apud te est mea substantia : tu es pars kereditatis mece, qui restitues hereditatem meam mihi, ubi cum fratribus meis electis tuis quiescam, epuler, et jucunder in conspectu tuo, in aeternum. Amen.
Notes
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