De ambitione et quibusdam aliis clericorum et religiosorum defectibus
The Trap of the Accusers
The Scribes and Pharisees bring an adulterous woman to Jesus to test Him, but He responds with humble, discerning silence.
The next day at dawn, Jesus returned to the temple, where His zeal for souls was clear. All the people gathered around Him, showing their devotion as they listened, and He sat down to teach them about the salvation of souls. The Scribes? The Scribes, however, who had knowledge of the Scriptures, and the Pharisees, who seemed more religious than others, were envious and laid traps for Him. They knew He was accustomed to mercy and was a preacher of it, and because of this, He held the favor and grace of the people. They brought to Him a woman caught in adultery, who according to the Law was to be stoned, and they set her in the middle so that she might be condemned to death by the mouth of all. They were testing Him, waiting for Christ's judgment and seeking what should be done about her, so that if He judged that she should be stoned, they could mock Him as cruel and contrary to mercy—the very mercy He preached to the people and for which the people loved Him. If, however, He decided she should be released, they would judge Him as contrary to justice and a breaker of the Law, which commands that an adulteress be stoned, and they would judge Him guilty of death along with the adulteress herself. They thought God was either unmerciful in His judgment or unjust. They didn't care about doing justice; they only wanted to catch Christ in His speech. He, however, prudently avoided both traps, because He maintained justice in His judgment without turning away from mercy. He delivered a just judgment while preserving mercy, tempering His words so that He neither contradicted the Law nor lost His compassion. Yet He didn't judge immediately; instead, bowing down humbly away from the rigidity of justice, He wrote with His finger on the ground—signifying, according to Augustine, that such people should be written on the earth, not in heaven.
The Finger of Discernment
Christ teaches that true judgment requires self-examination and that only those without sin should cast the first stone.
According to Alcuin, the earth represents the human heart, which is accustomed to yielding the fruits of either good or evil actions; the finger, however, which is flexible due to the structure of its joints, expresses the loftiness of discernment. He instructs us, therefore, that when we hear of a neighbor's faults, we shouldn't immediately judge them rashly, but rather, having returned humbly to the conscience of our own heart, we should carefully examine them with the finger of discernment; we should even examine ourselves inwardly, if we are without sin. A judge, therefore, who hears accusers should not immediately pass sentence, but should deliberate; he ought to write in his heart what he hears—that is, to inquire with discernment—and see what must be done. The Lord was indeed writing on the ground with His finger, as if He were saying to them: 'You bring forward the testimonies of My Law and recite its words, yet you do not understand the Law itself.' This is that same finger that once wrote the Law itself on stone. For the Law commanded that a woman of this sort be stoned, but not in the way you understand it, nor by people such as you are; He wanted those who were transgressors of the Law to fulfill the Law. So, when they persisted in their rash questioning, He stood up to check their pushiness and set before them a sentence of justice, saying: “Whoever among you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” By “without sin,” He meant without crime; for someone can be without crime, but hardly anyone is without sin. It was as if He were saying: “Let everyone ascend the tribunal of his own mind, and he will find that he is a sinner.” “Either let her go, or take upon yourselves the penalty of the Law along with her. Let the sinner be punished, but not by sinners; let the Law you cite be fulfilled, but not by those who break the Law.” “First be just yourselves; then punish the guilty.” Behold the fullness of justice: that the just man should punish evil, not the guilty one. Augustine says on this: “He didn't say, ‘Let her not be stoned,’ so that He wouldn't seem to speak against the Law; but far be it from Him to say, ‘Let her be stoned,’ for He came not to destroy what He had found, but to seek what was lost.” If anyone, therefore, is in a state of mortal sin, he ought not to judge anyone; because whoever judges another for the same or a similar sin to which he himself is bound, condemns himself in this or shows that he is worthy of condemnation. Therefore, before we judge anyone, let us look at our own conscience and resolve matters through just examination. For the rigor of divine justice demands that no one should argue against, accuse, bear witness against, or judge another for a crime if they themselves are to be rebuked for the same or a greater one.
The Wisdom of the Judge
Various interpretations of Christ's writing are explored, emphasizing the necessity of humility and charity in correction.
But we soften this rigor too much, and we relax it more than is fair. Listen to what Seneca says: "First show yourself to be good, and only then look for someone else who is like you." Check if you are still evil, and spare those who are like you—that is what Seneca says. Did the Lord write on the earth?✦ It is uncertain in the literal sense what the Lord actually wrote on the ground.✦ Augustine, however, says that He wrote what He expressed with His voice and answered them, namely: "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first," and so on.✦ And so, in this way, He first wrote His judicial sentence, and then He spoke it. Jerome, however, in a certain letter, seems to suggest that He wrote: "Earth, earth, swallow up these abandoned men."✦ Or, as Ambrose says: "Earth, you accuse the earth!" Or, according to some, He bent down the first time and wrote these words: "Earth, earth, earth; Mine is equity, Mine is judgment, Mine it is to judge him or her"; then, bending down a second time, He wrote: "He who wears down the earth, accuses it; but Mine is judgment." Or, according to the Gloss, He was writing their sins to show them they were unfit to carry out this sentence, and those who read it left out of shame. And that writing had such power that each of them recognized his own sins in it. He did not write them out one by one, but by divine power He was able to make it so that in some figure drawn by Him, each of them saw his own sins, and not another's. And bending down again, He wrote the same things once more in the earth. It was as if to say: "If she is a sinner, you are sinners as well." Bending down again, He wrote the same thing to show the greater firmness of His judgment, and that they were unworthy in His sight. So, after striking them with the zeal of justice, he didn't deign to pay them any mind, but turned his gaze away. In this, he teaches us that just as we must examine ourselves humbly before correcting another, we must do so afterward as well, to ensure that the same fault or something similar isn't present in us. The kind Lord bowed down and turned his face away, even for the sake of his adversaries, as if pretending not to see, so that they might turn from their foolishness and so that, out of concern for their shame, he might give them the freedom to leave; he foresaw that they would leave sooner than they would ask more questions. For if he had looked them in the face, they would have been all the more embarrassed to leave; do the same, sympathize with the troubled, and don't look them in the face. Here we are instructed by Christ's action on how every faithful person ought to conduct themselves when judging the faults of their neighbors. To know this, a person must first write their own sins and faults before the eyes of their heart, so that they may judge themselves; and then they will be more worthy to judge others. Question: Can a sinner judge and rebuke others? To this it must be said that the one judging is either entangled only in common and light sins, and then they are not rendered unworthy to correct; or they are entangled in the same or a greater sin than the one for which they are rebuking another, and then either the sin of the one rebuking is manifest or it is hidden; if it is manifest, then they cannot correct because of the scandal to their neighbor; if it is hidden, they either repent, and then they can rebuke others with humility so that they too may repent of their own sins, or they do not repent, and then they are in no way worthy to rebuke others. This kind of correction doesn't come from charity or a hatred of vice, because otherwise you would hate it in yourself before you hated it in another; and you shouldn't love your neighbor more than yourself. In fact, in the very act of judging another, you condemn yourself. However, reflecting on your own defects gives birth to humility, and this humility is taught by the Lord’s bowing down to the ground. Second, before correcting someone else, you must examine two things with the greatest discretion: first, the person's disposition—whether they are actually in a state to be improved by it or not; second, the quality and circumstances of the act—whether the deed you're criticizing is evil in itself (in which case you should correct it), or whether it is something that could be interpreted in either way (in which case you should interpret it in the best possible light). Third, you must examine your own intention: whether you are moved to such a correction by charity, or by a desire to show off, or by passion, or by suspicion. Regarding such rash judgments, it is said elsewhere: "Do not judge, so that you may not be judged."
Mercy for the Misery
After the accusers depart, Jesus remains with the woman, offering her both the mercy of absolution and the command to sin no more.
But they all left one by one, because they all knew they were sinners—a fact they confessed by their very departure. They began with the elders, partly because they were caught up in more serious sins and crimes, and partly because they better understood the fairness of the sentence that had been pronounced, so their cleverness vanished. Jesus remained alone—that is, apart from those accusers—because the disciples and the crowd stayed with him, and the woman stood in the middle. Two were left behind: Jesus, who is mercy, and the woman, who is misery. It was fitting that mercy should remain with misery, because mercy is necessary for misery. Once the fear of justice was set aside, Christ consequently tempered it with the sweetness of mercy. For after the accusers had been silenced, Jesus stood up again and said, "Woman, where are those who were accusing you?" It was as if to say: those who had come to seek justice were driven away by the judgment of justice. But he who had repelled the accusers with the language of justice, lifting his eyes of gentleness toward her, asked, "Has no one condemned you?" She answered, "No one, Lord"; for they had already left, and each of them knew he was stained in the same way. Hence Augustine says: "The Lord set the sinner free for this reason: because there was no one who could justly cast a stone." "How could he cast a stone, who knew that he himself deserved to be stoned?"—so says Augustine. Because the terrified woman might have feared that He—who is without sin—would punish her, and because she was afraid to say to Him, "No one has condemned me; but You, who are without sin, if You wish, You can, because I have sinned against You alone," for this reason Christ’s absolution is added. We have heard the voice of justice above; now let us hear the voice of mercy. For Jesus said to her, "Neither will I condemn you—the One by whom you perhaps feared you would be condemned—because you have found no sin in Me; and it is no wonder, because I came to save sinners, not to condemn them." Do not be afraid, but be secure; only trust in My counsel. I don't cast away sinners, but I welcome those who repent. It is as if He were saying: "They left you uncondemned because of their own sins; but I absolve you out of My mercy."1 Go, absolved of both guilt and punishment, and sin no more—that is, don't want to sin; in other words, let there be no will in you to sin. The will to sin is, therefore, a great sin. Now that you're secure regarding the past, be on guard for the future; I've wiped away what you committed, but observe what I have commanded, so that you may find what I have promised. Therefore, the Lord did indeed condemn, but He condemned the sin, not the person; for by saving the nature, He condemned the guilt. Those, then, who love the Lord’s gentleness should also fear His truth, for the Lord is sweet and upright. Standing upright, He delivered a verdict of justice against her accusers, and then, standing upright again, He delivered a verdict of mercy for the accused; for it belongs to divine power to do both, and it is equally proper to God to punish and to spare, and it is just as righteous to uphold mercy as it is to uphold justice. He punishes justly, and He spares with compassion. And just as He first delivered a judgment of justice while preserving mercy, so He secondly delivered a judgment of mercy while preserving justice—that is, as a merciful One, He dismissed her past sins, and as a just One, He forbade her to sin again; for all the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth. Thus, she was freed from misery by the command of mercy. Although God is both just and merciful, it is said that it is more proper for Him to show mercy than to be just, because nothing is required to complete an act of mercy except His will alone; but to complete an act of justice, something is also required on the part of man—namely, the demand of merits. Hence Anselm says: 'Let that woman caught in adultery come to mind, and Jesus, who was asked to pass judgment; remember what He did and what He said.' He cast His eyes upon the ground, so that He might not, by looking at the accused, shame her too much. For when He wrote on the ground, He revealed them to be earthly, not heavenly, saying: 'Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.'
The Goodness of the Savior
A devotional reflection on Christ's ineffable goodness, the nature of sacramental authority, and a prayer for the soul's own absolution.
Oh, the wondrous and ineffable goodness of Christ! Notice how mercifully and carefully He set her free, even though He could have justly condemned her! For when He had terrified everyone with His judgment and driven them from the temple, imagine the merciful eyes with which He looked upon her, and the sweet, gentle voice with which He spoke the sentence of her absolution. Think of how He must have sighed, how He must have wept, when He said, "Has no one condemned you, woman?" Happy, if I may say so, is this woman, caught in adultery, who is absolved of her past and made secure about her future! O good Jesus! As You say, "Neither will I condemn you," who then shall condemn? It is God who justifies; who is there to condemn? Yet, let Your voice be heard regarding the rest: "Go, and from now on, do not sin anymore." So says Anselm. And although the Lord Jesus, by absolving the woman from her guilt and forbidding her to sin further, imposed no other penance or punishment upon her, this act of Christ should not be taken as a precedent or custom so that anyone, by the Lord's example, might absolve someone without confession and the infliction of penance; for Christ possessed an excellence in the sacraments and could confer the effect of a sacrament without the sacrament itself, which no mere human can do. On the contrary, priests in the forum of penance ought to impose penance according to the condition of the sinner and the sin, because they do not have such power to remit. Christ could have given that woman such compunction that it would have been enough to wipe away all her guilt and punishment, and He could have known that compunction; but another priest cannot do this, for he neither moves the heart nor sees it.2 In the same way, the Lord receives the adulteress every day, whenever through grace He welcomes a soul corrupted by the devil through sin. For the woman caught in adultery signifies any person betrothed to Christ through faith, but who has later committed adultery with the devil through mortal sin; the Scribes and Pharisees signify the demons, who are called Scribes here because they keep our sins in memory as if firmly written down, and they are rightly called Pharisees—which means 'divided'—because they are separated from Christ and the company of the saints. They bring the woman to judgment because they anxiously seek the condemnation of men. And because the Lord does not want the death of the sinner, but rather that he should turn back and live, He says to her: 'Go, and do not sin anymore,' because true repentance for the past and caution against falling back into sin for the future are enough for you. PRAYER: O merciful Jesus, who gently freed the woman caught in adultery from her accusers and mercifully sent her away in peace, uncondemned by You—my own soul, an adulteress, stands before You. It has turned away from You, its true Spouse, as often as it has consented to the suggestions of the adulterous enemy. My conscience accuses me; my deeds and wicked actions accuse me. Do not enter into judgment with Your servant, Lord, and do not remember its ancient iniquities. Free this sinner and guilty one from her accusers; dismiss her in peace, with her conscience absolved by Your awesome judgment, for it is Your nature always to have mercy and to spare, and there is no number to Your mercy. Amen.
Read the original Latin
Sequenti autem die, iterum diliculo venit Jesus in templum, in quo ostenditur in eo zelus animarum, et omnis populus venit ad eum, in quo patet devotio audientium ; et sedens, docebat eos de salute animarum. Scriba? vero, qui habebant notitiam Scripturarum, et Pharisaei, qui videbantur prae aliis religiosi invidentes et insidiantes ei, qui sciebant eum man* suetum et misericordiae praedicatorem, et ob hoc habere populi gratiam et favorem, adduxerunt ei mulierem in adulterio deprehensam, et ob hoc secundum Legem lapidandam ; et statuerunt eam in medio, ut omnium ore condemnaretur ad mortem; tentando, exspectantes Christi sententiam , et quaerentes quid de ipsa faciendum esset, ut si eam lapidari judicaret, quasi crudelem et contrarium misericordiae eum irriderent, et non habentem misericordiam quam populo praedicabat, propter quam etiam populus eum diligebat ; si autem dimitti decerneret, quasi contrarium justitiae et praevaricatorem Legis, quae adulteram lapidari praecipit, cum ipsa adultera reum mortis judicarent. Putabant Deum vel immisericordem esse in judicando, vel injustum. De justitia facienda non curabant; sed Christum in sermone capere yolebant. Ipse autem utramque caiumniam prudenter evitavit t quia et justitiam in judicio servavit, et a misericordia non declinavit. Protulit enim justum judicium, salva misericordia ; et sic suum sermonem temperavit, ut et Legi non contradiceret, et pietatem non amitteret. Non tamen statim jujdicavit ; sed prius inclinans se, humiliter a rigiditate justitiae, digito scribebat in terra, tanquam, secundum Augustinum, illos tales in terra scribendos significaret, non in coelo.
Secundum Alcuinum, per terram cor humanum ostenditur, quod bonarum vel malarum actionum solet reddere fructus ; per digitum autem qui articulorum compositione flexibilis est, sublimitas discretionis exprimitur. Nos ergo instruit ut, auditis malis proximi, non statim ea temere judicemus, sed prius ad conscientiam cordis humiliter reversi digito discretionis ea sollicite disquiramus ; nos etiam ipsos, si sine peccato sumus, intus discutiamus. Judex igitur qui audit accusantes, non debet statim dare sententiam, sed discutere ; et ea quae audit debet in corde scribere, id est discrete inquirere, et quae agenda sunt vidcre. Digito quidem Dominus in terra scribebat; ac si eis diceret : Vos Legis mei testimonia 74 8 affertis, et Legis verba narratis, qui Legem ipsam non intelligitis; hic est digitus ille qui quondani ipsam Legem scripsit in lapide, Prcecepit enim Lex mulierem hujusmodi lapidari; sed non sicut vos intelligitis, neque a talibus qualesvos estis; praevaricatores Legis Legem implere cupiebat.
Unde, cum in temeritate perseverarent interrogantes eum, erexit se, ad eorum importunitatem reprimendam ; et proposuit eis sententiam justitiae, dicens : Qui sine peccato esivestrum, primus in illam lapidem mittat ; sine peccato, id est sine crimine; potest enim aliquis sine crimine esse, sex vix sine peccato. Quasi diceret : Ascendat unusquisque tribunal mentis suae, et inveniet se peccatorem esse. Aut ergo istam dimittite, aut simul cum illa poenam Legis accipite; puniatur peccatrix, sed non a peccatoribus ; impleatur Lex quam allegatis, sed non a Legis prasvaricatoribus. Prius justi sitis; postea ream puniatis. Ecce plena justitia, ut justus mala puniat, non reus. Ubi Augustbtus : « Non dixit : Non lapidetur, ne contra Legem dicere videretur; absit autem ut diceret lapidetur, venit enim non perdere quocf invenerat, sed quaerere quod perierat : y> hsec Augustinus. Si quis ergo in mortali est, neminem judicare debet; quia qui alium judicafde itto vel consimili, quo ipse tenetur obnoxius, seipsum in hoc damnat, vel damnandum ostendit; ergo atntequam aliquem judicemus, conscientiam nostram videamus, et justa examinatfone dirimamus. Rigor enim divinae justitias exigit ut nemo alium de crimine arguat, accuset, testimonium ferat, judicet, si de pari vel de raajori redarguendus est.
Sed nos hunc rigorem nimis temperamus, et magis quam justum est relaxamus. Audi de hoc Senecam : « Te primum exhibe bonum, et sic quaere alterum similem tui. Vide si adhuc malus es, et similibus parce : » haec Seneca. 3 terra scripserit Dominus? — Quid autem Dominus in terra scripsit, ad litteram incertum est. Augustinus tamen dicit, quod scripsit illud quod voce expressit et eis respondit, scilicet quod qui sine peccato est vestrum, primus, etc. Et sic ipse, secundum modum, judicialem suam sententiam primo scripsit, et secundo protulit. Hieronymus autem, in quadam epistola, videtur velle eum scripsisse : Terra, terra, absorbe viros istos abdicatos.
Vel, se~ cundum Ambrosium : Terra, terram accusas! Vei, secundum quosdam, primo se inclinans, scripsit verba hxc : Terra, terra, terra, mea est aequitas, meum est judicium, meum est judlcare illum vel illam ; secundo vero se inclinans, scripsit : Terit terram accusat ; meum autem est judicium. Vel, secundum Glossam, scribebat peccata eorum, ut eos ostenderet ineptos ad hujus sententi^e executionem, quae illi legentes prae verecundia exierunt. Et erat illa scriptura tantae virtutis, quo4 quilibet eorum cognoscebat in ea peccata sua. Non scribebat per singula, sed potuit fecere virtute ctevina quod in aliqua figura ab eo protracta quilibet eorum videret sua propria peccata, et noti alia. Et iterwn se incUnans, scribebat, eadem denuo, in terru. Quasi diceret : Si ista est peccatrix, et vos samiliter estis peccatores. Eadem deauo inclinatus scripsit, ut ostenderet majorem sentefltiae suae firmitatem, et eos sua visione indignos esse.
Unde cum eos xelo justitiae percussisset, non est dagnatus eos attendere ; sed obtutum ab eis avertit. In qua docet nos, sicut prius ante correptionem alterius, ita et post nosipsos humiliter investigare, ne idem vel aliquid simile in nobis sit. Inclinavit se, et vultum alk) vertit benignus Dominus etiam pro aeroulre et adversariis suis, quasi dissimulans ut a stultitia sua declinarent, et ut eorum verecundiae consulens, liberam exeundi facultatem eis daret; quos citius exituros quam plura jnterrogaturos praevidebat. Si enim eos intu£fetur in facie, magis erubescerent exire ; fac simile, ac conftisis condole, et in faciem noli respicere. 4 -rr Hic instruimur ex Christi actione qualiter in judicandis proximorum defectibus fidelis quisque debeat se habere. Ad quod sciendum quod primo debet homo ante oculos cordis peccata et defectus proprios scribere, ut sic seipsum judicet; et tunc dignior sit aiios judicare. Quaestio : Utrum peccator possit judicare, et reprehendere alios? Ad quod dicendum quod judi^ans aut est irretitus solum communibus peccatis et levibus, et tunc ad corripiendum non redditur indigmrs; aut eodem peccato vel majori de quo corripit alium, et tunc aut peccatum corripientis est manifestum, aut occultum; si manifestum, tunc non potest corripere propter proximi scandalum ; si occultum, aut pcenitet, et tunc potest cum humilitate corripere alios, ut et ipsi de suis peccatis poeniteant ; aut non poenitet, et tunc nullo modo dignus est alios reprehendere.
Talis enim correctio non procedit ex caritate, vel vitii detestatione, quia alias prius detestaretur m se quam in alio, nec homo debet plus diligere proximum quam seipsum ; imo in hoc casu in quo ipse alium judicat, serpsum condemnat. Ex hac autem propriorum defectuum consideratione innascitur humilitas, et haec humilitas docetur in inclinatione Domini deorsum usque ad terram. — Secundo, debet etiam homo, antequam alium corripiat, cum summa discretione disquirere duo : primo, personae dispositionem, an scilicet sic sit dispositus ut ex hoc emendetur, aut non; secundo, facti qualitatem et circumstantiam, an scilicet factum quod reprehendit in alio, sit secundum se malum, et tunc debet corripere; aut ad utrumlibet, ut scilicet bene fieri possit et male, tunc est in meliorem partem interpretandum. — Tertio, debet disquirere propriam intentionem, an scilicet ex caritate moveatur ad talem correptionem, vel ex propria ostentatione, vel ex passione, vel suspicione ; de talibus judiciis temerariis dicitur alibi : Nolite judicare, ut non judicemini.
At ilH omnes unus post alium exibant, quia omnes peccatores se esse sciebant, quod et ipso abscessu de se confessi sunt; incipientes a senioribus, tum quia gravioribus implicati erant peccatis et criminibus, tum quia melius cognoscebant aequitatem sententiae praelatae, et evanuerunt eonim astutiae. Et remartsit Jesus solus, scilicet ab illis calumniatoribus, quia discipuli et multitudo populi manserunt cum eo; et mulier stans in medio. Relicti sunt duo, scilicet Jesus misericordia, et mulier miseria. Et merito remansit misericordia cum miseria, quia miseriae necessaria est misericordia. Posito ergo timore justitiae, consequenter Christus ipsum temperat dulcore misericordiae. Nam, confutatis calumniatoribus, erigens se iterum Jesus dixtt : Mulier, vbi sunt qui te accusabant ? Quasi diceret : Qui venerant ad queerendum justitiam, fugati sunt judicio justitiae. Ille autem qui adversarios repulerat lingua justitiae, levans in illam oculos mansuetudinis, interrogavit eam, dicens : Nemo te condemnavit?
Quce respondit : Nemo, Domine; jam enim recesserant, et quilibet eorum se similiter inquinatum sciebat. Unde Augustinus : « Ideo enim liberavit Dominus peccatricem, quia non erat qui juste mitteret lapidem. Quomodo lapidaret, qui se lapidandum cognosceret 1 » haec Augustinus. Et quia mulier territa poterat timere ne ipse, qui sine peccato est, eam puniret, et timens ei dicere : Nemo quippe me condemnavit; tu autem, qui sine peccato es, si vis, potes, quia tibi soli peccavi, ideo subditur Christi absolutio. Audivimus ergo supra vocem justitiae ; audiamus nunc vocem misericordiae. Nam dixit ei Jesus : Nec ego te condemnabo, a quo forte te damnari timuisti, quia in me peccatum non invenisti; nec mirum, quia veni peccatores salvare, non condemnare. Noli timere, sed secura sis, crede tantummodo meis consiliis; non abjicio peccatores, sed suscipio poenitentes. Quasi diceret : Illi dimiserunt te indamnatam propter peccata sua ; et ego te absolvo ex misericordia mc2L.
*Vade, absoluta a culpa et a pcena, et jam amplius no/i, id est non velis, peccare, hoc est non sit tibi voluntas peccandi. Magnum ergo peccatum est voluntas peccandi. Facta secura de praeterito, cave de futuro; delevi quod commisisti; observa quod praecepi, ut invenias quod promisi. Ergo et Dominus damnavit, sed peccatum, non hominem, salvando enim naturam, damnavit culpam; qui ergo amant in Domino mantuetudinem, timeant et veritatem : etenim dulcis et rectus est Dominus.
Erectus itaque dedit sententiam justitiae in accusantes, et iterum erectus sententiam misericordiae circa accusatam; quia hoc utrumque facere divinae est potentiae, et aeque utrumque proprium est Deo, punire scilicet et parcere; et aeque justum est servare misericordiam sicut justitiam. Punit juste, et parcit pie. Et sicut primo protulit judicium justitiae, salva misericordia ; sic secundo • protulit judicium misericordiae, salva justitia, scilicet, ut misericors, peccata praeterita dimittens, et, ut justus, ne amplius peccaret interdicens; nam universaf vias Domini misericordia et veritas. Sic ergo liberata est miseria, jubente misericordia. Licet autem Deus sit justus, sit et misericors, tamen dicitur ei proprium esse potius misereri, quam justum esse, quia nihil requiritur ad complendum opus misericordiae, nisi voluntas ejus tantum; sed ad complendum opus justitiae requiritur etiam aliquid ex parte hominis, scilicet exigentia meritorum. Unde Anselmus : « Occurrat jam nunc memoriae mulier illa in adulterio deprehensa, et Jesus rogatus sententiam ferre ; quid egerit, quod dixit recordare. In terram oculos jecit, ne forte accusatam respiciens nimis confunderet. Cum enim scribens in terra terrenos eos, non ccelestes, prodidisset : Qui sine peccato, inquit, est vestrum, primus in illam lapidem mittat.
O mira et ineffabilis Christi bonitas ! Quam condemnare juste potuit, adverte quam pie et quam caute liberavit! Cum enim omnes sententia terruisset et expulisset de templo, imaginare quam pios oculos in illam levaverit, quam dulci et suavi voce sententiam absolutionis ejus protulerit. Puta quod suspiraverit, quod lacrymatus fuerit, cum diceret : Nemo te condemnavit, mulier, etc> Felix, ut ita dicam, haec mulier, in adulterio deprehensa, quae de praeteritis absolvitur, secura efficitur de futuris! O bone Jesu ! te dicente : Nec ego te condemnabo, quis condemnabit t Deus est qui justificat, quis est qui condemnet ? Audiatur tamen de cetero vox tua : Vade, et jam amplius noli peccare : » haec Anselmus. Et quamvis Dominus Jesus mulierem a culpa absolvendo, et ne amplius peccaret interdicendo, nullam aliam injungeret ei pcenitentiam seu poenam; tamen hoc factum Christi non est trahendum ad consequentiam et in consuetudinem, ut, exemplo Domini, aliquis absque confessione et pcenae inflictione quemquam absolvat, quia Christus excellentiam in sacramentis habuit, et potuit conferre effectum sacramenti sine sacramento , quod nullus purus homo potest; imo debent sacerdotes in foro poenitentiaH imponere pcenitentiam , secundum conditionem peccantis , et peccati, quia non habent talem potestatem remittendi.
Poterat etiam Christus illi mulieri tantam contritionem dare, quod sufficeret ad deletionem totius culpae et poenae, et illam contritionem cognoscere; non sic autem alius sacerdos potest, qui nec movet cor, nec videt.
SimL" li modo quotidie Dominus recipit adulteram, cum per gratiam recipit quamlibet animam a diabolo corruptam per culpam. Per mulierem enim in adulterio deprehensam significatur quaelibet persona Christo per fidem desponsata, sed postea per mortale peccatum cum diabolo adulterata ; per Scribas vero et Pharisaeos significantur daemones qui dicuntur hic Scribae, quia peccata nostra retinent memoriter tanquam firmiter scripta ; et Pharisaei, id est divisi recte dicuntur, quia a Christo et Sanctorum consortio separantur. Hi mulierem ad judicium adducunt, quia damnationem hominum sollicite quaerunt. Et quia Dominus non vult mortem peccatoris, sed ut magis convertatur et vivat, ideo ei dicit : Vade, et amplius noli peccare, quia tibi sufficit vera pcenitentia de praeteritis, et cautela contra recidivam pro futuris. ORATIO O Jesu clemens, qui deprehensam in adulterio clementer ab accusatoribus liberasti, et a te incondemnatam in pace misericorditer dimisisti , stat coram te anima mea adulteratrix, quae toties a te vero Sponso recessit, quoties suggestionibus adulterantis inimici consensit; accusat conscientia, accusant opera et actio prava ; non intres, Domine, in judicium cum ea, ne memineris iniquitatum ejus antiquarum; libera ab accusatoribus peccatricem et ream; dimitte in pace sibi conscientiam a tuo tremendo judicio absolutam , quia tibi proprium est misereri semper et p&rcere , et non est numerus tuae misericordiae. Amen.
Scripture echoes
- ↩John.8.6 — They said this, testing him, so that they might have grounds to accuse him. But Jesus bent down and with his finger wrote on the ground.
- ↩John.8.6 — They said this, testing him, so that they might have grounds to accuse him. But Jesus bent down and with his finger wrote on the ground.
- ↩John.8.7 — As they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, 'Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.'
- ↩Jer.22.29 — O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.
Notes
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