De traditionibus Pharisceorum, etiam contra Dei mandatum
The Hypocrisy of Human Traditions
Jesus confronts the Pharisees for prioritizing their man-made traditions and greed over the divine commandment to honor one's parents.
Because the scribes, who thought they possessed the perfection of knowledge, and the Pharisees, who pretended to possess the perfection of life, could not criticize the Lord Jesus in the temple, they followed him as he came from Jerusalem into Galilee. In this their excessive malice is apparent, for they left Jerusalem, the holy city, and abandoned the temple to follow him; and because they were elders of the people and teachers of the Law, they had come not to learn, but to criticize the Lord, watching and lying in wait to catch him in his speech or actions. So, in order to argue that the Master was a despiser of the elders' teaching—at least through his disciples—and thus make him hateful to the people, they saw his disciples eating with unwashed hands; for the Jews considered what was common to the Gentiles to be unclean, and they said to him, "Why do your disciples break the traditions of the elders?" For they don't wash their hands when they eat bread. On this, Bede says: "They took the spiritual words of the prophets in a carnal sense—words which the prophets had commanded regarding the discipline of the heart and action, saying, 'Wash yourselves, be clean,' and 'Be clean, you who carry the vessels of the Lord'—but these men observed it only by washing their bodies." Bede continues: "The superstitious tradition of men commands frequent washing for the sake of eating bread; but it is necessary for those who desire to partake of the bread that comes down from heaven to cleanse their works frequently with alms, tears, and other fruits of justice." These people represent those who are more zealous for the breaking of human traditions than of divine commandments, more for decretals than for the Gospels, and more for customs than for what is truly useful. Through these people—who are very concerned with exterior cleanliness but little with interior—hypocrites and pretenders are signified; they criticize others for minor things, while they themselves are infected with grave ones, seeing the speck in another's eye but not the log in their own. Many people are just like them: they want to have a beautiful exterior, but their interior is rotten. But the Lord’s disciples, instructed to focus only on what is virtuous, ate without washing their hands because they understood that this had nothing to do with the truth of one's life. Chrysostom says: “The disciples didn't wash their hands before eating because they had already learned to despise what is superfluous, focusing only on what is necessary; they didn't consider washing or not washing to be a law, but simply did either as it happened.” For if they even disregarded the food itself as a necessity, how could they have been concerned about this ritual? And because this tradition—the command to wash hands—was not contrary to the Law, the Lord brought forward a different tradition that actually did contradict the Law; driving a nail with a nail, as it were, he pointed out their failure, because they were causing people to break God’s command for the sake of human tradition. This was wrong, because according to Bernard, nothing you offer to God is pleasing if you neglect what you are actually obligated to do. And so, in response, He said to them: "Why do you also break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?" It is as if to say, according to the Gloss: "If you disregard the commandments of God for the sake of human traditions, why do you criticize My disciples, who set aside human traditions to keep the commandments of God?" The Lord didn't actually condemn physical cleanliness; rather, He condemned the fact that, having abandoned interior purity, they thought external cleanliness alone was enough. Then, proving what He had said, He added: "For God said: 'Honor'—that is, by providing what is necessary and showing reverence (for this honor is understood not only as reverence, but also as the provision of necessities)—'your father and mother,' in whom any neighbor is also understood, though those to whom we are obligated are specifically named; and: 'Whoever curses father or mother, not so much by word or sign as by deed, let him die the death.'" For the Lord, out of concern for the weakness and poverty of parents, commanded this through Moses; and therefore, woe to those who despise their weak or poor parents and defraud them of the required service—namely, reverence and the provision of necessities! The greedy Pharisees, however, subverting this Law through their false teaching in order to serve their own avarice and introduce impiety under the name of piety, taught the children of parents and said that it was better to favor and offer to God the goods that should have been used to support their parents; they argued this both because the Father is principal and spiritual, and because, even if the parents suffered physical loss through such an offering, they would still obtain a spiritual good, insofar as what was meant to be used for their needs was offered to God, so that they could deny their parents the necessities they demanded, and the wealthy would offer more frequently; as a result, parents became destitute, and the children's offering, under the pretext of religious life, went into the pockets of the priests. Thus, they instructed children on how to respond to their needy parents, and this is what the Savior says: "You, however"—speaking adversatively—"say" (meaning, in your tradition you instruct others falsely by explaining the commandment of God for your own gain): "'Whoever says'—that is, whoever is able to say—'to father or mother, "O father and mother, you who are in need and ask for a gift from me, the gift that is from me"'—that is, from my own devotion, consecrated and offered to God—"'will benefit you'"—that is, for the benefit of the soul—"'more than if I were to give it to you,'" because then it would benefit only the body. Alternatively, it can be read as a question: "Will the gift that is from me—that is, from my own belongings already devoted to God—benefit you?" It's as if he were saying: Do you want to use for yourself what I have vowed to God, and have it benefit you? God forbid; you would be committing sacrilege if you accepted it. They spoke to their parents this way so that the parents, fearing to accept what they saw had been dedicated to God and fearing to incur the crime of sacrilege, would choose to live in poverty rather than eat what was consecrated. There is a grammatical defect here. The meaning is: 'Whoever says, etc.'—that is, lawfully; he can well say that, and he fulfills the divine commandment and the Law, and is worthy of eternal life and the kingdom of heaven; yet this is false, because in truth he is a transgressor of the commandment. And this is what is added: 'And so by your persuasions the son will not later honor his father and mother,' by withholding what was owed to them, 'and thus you have made void the commandment of God'—that is, regarding honoring and supporting parents—'for the sake of your tradition, which serves your greed.' It's as if he were saying: You abandon the commandment of piety for the sake of the greed of impiety. But see that you don't misuse this authority, Chapter 88. Don't abuse this, as many do, by using the resources of the Church and the poor to support your own parents. To understand this better, you must consider that a father is personally obligated to provide for his children. They are the cause of his existence, and therefore he owes them both sustenance and instruction. A child, however, is only obligated to provide for parents in cases of necessity—that is, if they are in need and the child has the means. Therefore, if a father is already in need, the assets from which a child could provide are already owed to him; but no one can offer a sacrifice to God from what belongs to another, and so it isn't lawful to offer such things, because that would be to transgress the commandment regarding the honor of parents. It is different, however, if a child had already vowed his own assets before the parents were in need, because then it would not be lawful to use them to provide for the parents.
True Purity of Heart
Jesus teaches the crowd and his disciples that spiritual defilement comes from the heart's evil intentions rather than external rituals.
Then, rebuking them for their pretense of holiness, he adds: "Hypocrites, Isaiah prophesied well about you, saying: 'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart...' ...is far from me; for they showed holiness in their words and outward conduct, while they were actually corrupted by an evil intention." This can be said of those who teach well but live badly; for to honor God with the lips and not with the heart is to speak well and live badly. "They worship me in vain and to no purpose, having no fruit from it; for just as medicine is said to be given in vain if it brings no health, so is divine worship that does not lead to happiness; they teach the doctrines and commandments of men, and through these they transgress the commandment of God for the sake of greed and profit." And having refuted the proud and superstitious Scribes and Pharisees—who seemed to think that what was said was directed against the disciples—he turned to the humble and simple crowd, wishing to call them back from the false doctrine of the Pharisees; and having called them together, he said: "Listen with the outer ear of the body, and understand with the inner ear of the mind; hear the voice, and understand its power." It isn't what enters the mouth—that is, physical food—that defiles a person spiritually, in the soul and before God, unless someone is wrongly affected toward the food by desire, or if it were otherwise forbidden to him; for it doesn't enter into his heart, that is, into the soul, which is the source of all spiritual uncleanness. Therefore, physical dirt doesn't defile one spiritually, and so it doesn't matter whether one eats physical food with washed or unwashed hands; but what proceeds from the mouth of the heart and from the inner root of the will, this defiles a person—namely, words of evil thought, which are signs of inner malice—because there is no guilt in food itself, but in those things that proceed from the mouth of the heart and body; and therefore the mouth itself must be carefully guarded. And because human guarding isn't enough, divine guarding is needed; just as the Prophet prayed, saying: "Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth," and so on. Then, when they heard that their religious practice was being set aside, the disciples approached, moved by simplicity, and said to him: "Do you know that the Pharisees, whose religious practice in food is great, were scandalized—that is, indignant or offended—when they heard this word, which sets aside the discernment of foods and the tradition of the elders?" This wasn't an active scandal, because it didn't arise from any act or incorrect word; rather, it was a passive one, because they were scandalized upon hearing the word of truth, piety, and justice, just as light is hateful to diseased eyes. That’s why they don’t say, "You caused the scandal," but rather, "They were scandalized." And because of such a scandal caused by others, the truth of life, justice, and doctrine shouldn't be abandoned, because it proceeds from the malice of the one who is scandalized. Hence Gregory says: "If a scandal arises from the truth, it is better to allow the scandal to arise than to abandon the truth." Therefore, the Lord responds: "Every planting of human traditions—that is, any doctrine invented by man that isn't in harmony with the Law of God, which my heavenly Father hasn't planted, but which carnal lukewarmness has instead devised—will be uprooted, along with those who planted it. This happens from the foundation of Christ, through rejection; from the faithful, through separation; and from the land of the living, through privation, because it lacks a firm foundation and root." Let them go into the pit of damnation, and avoid their doctrine. They are blind, lacking in themselves the true understanding of the Law, and they are blind guides. They are blind in their governance of others, because they blind others with their own error and lead them to the pit. If a blind man leads another blind man, both fall into the pit, just as a crooked line comes from a crooked ruler. Hence Gregory says: 'When a pastor walks along the steep paths of vice, it follows that the flock is led into the abyss.' And Bernard adds: 'It is ridiculous...' ...or rather, a more dangerous one: a blind scout, an ignorant teacher, a lame forerunner, a negligent prelate, a mute herald. But, alas! For just as the lame want to lead the way, so the foolish want to be in charge. Sins are born in the heart. Then, at Peter's insistence, He explained the aforementioned parable to the disciples: because everything that enters the mouth—that is, any part of everything that enters the mouth—is sent into the stomach and cast out through evacuation as something superfluous, while the other part is retained as necessary; and neither of these things defiles a person spiritually. This way of speaking is common in Scripture, as in Micah: 'All lie in wait for blood,' which means that many—not all—do so; and there are other similar examples. But the things that come from the mouth are born within and emerge from the heart—that is, from the heart's impurity, just as smoke comes from fire and a stench from a latrine. These things defile a person who is already stained by wicked thoughts; they defile him even more through filthy speech, because such words are products of the mind and signs of a corrupt thought. For evil words and evil deeds come from evil thoughts; the guilt lies primarily in the interior act, of which the things that appear outwardly are merely the evidence. He adds: 'From the heart'—where the soul has its seat—'and from free will, evil thoughts go forth,' as the roots of malice. From these evil thoughts, evil acts and words proceed further, namely: murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, and blasphemy. And, as Mark says, greed—insofar as things are held back unjustly; wickedness—when we desire evil but cannot fulfill it; deceit—which consists in the deception of one's neighbor; impurity—in thoughts, words, looks, touches, and in any corruption of mind or body; an evil eye—that is, hatred and flattery (for he who hates has an envious and evil eye toward the one he hates, and the flatterer, not seeing his neighbor with a straight eye, leads him into evil); pride—in words, deeds, or signs; and foolishness—when one knows what is evil and does not guard against it, or when one does not think rightly about God, for this is contrary to wisdom, which is the knowledge of divine things. All these evils and similar transgressions of God's commandments are generated in the heart and proceed from within, from a corrupt will, and they spiritually defile a person, that is, they render him unclean and impure. For this is what is imputed to a person as guilt, because it exists within his own power; such are the things that proceed from the interior will, through which a person is master of his own acts. Therefore, the cause of spiritual impurity is nothing other than an evil will. Therefore, the cursed words of the Scribes and Pharisees, which proceed from an iniquitous will against Christ and his disciples, are what defile them. Eating with unwashed hands, and similar transgressions of superstitious traditions, do not defile a person with spiritual impurity, nor do they make him unclean. It's as if he were saying: since no food spiritually defiles a person, it follows all the more that eating with unwashed hands doesn't defile them; in this way, he shows that spiritual matters shouldn't be understood literally. Therefore, when washing is commanded in Scripture without qualification, it's to be understood more in a spiritual sense than a physical one. But, as Chrysostom says: 'We see many who, as they enter the church, wash their hands and face; yet they take no care at all about how they offer a clean soul.' Mark uses 'common' for 'unwashed,' and 'to communicate' for 'to defile,' according to the Hebrew idiom, in which they called what was 'common' 'unclean.' For the Jews, boasting that they were God's own portion, called 'common' those foods used by all people; and because these were forbidden in the Law, they judged them to be unclean. Therefore, they call 'unclean' anything that is common—that is, accessible to other people and, as it were, not part of God's portion.
Guarding the Inner Life
Practical instruction on how to discern and resist evil thoughts by replacing them with good intentions and clinging to God.
Based on the statement that "evil thoughts come from the heart," and so on, we can conclude that although the devil sometimes puts the thought of evil into a person, he cannot put in an evil thought that becomes evil only through the consent that exists in the heart. Therefore, when it is said, "When the devil had put it into the heart of Judas..." and in the Psalmist, "He let loose upon them the fury of his wrath," the term 'let loose' is understood to mean a suggestion; otherwise, it could not be 'let loose' into the soul. On this, Jerome says: "Those who think that thoughts are put into us by the devil, and do not arise from our own will, must be corrected." The devil can be a helper and an inciter of evil thoughts, but he cannot be their author. If, however, he is always setting traps and using his own fuel to ignite the slightest spark of our thoughts, we shouldn't assume he can also search the hidden depths of the heart; rather, he judges what we are doing inside by our outward behavior and gestures. For example, if he sees us looking at a beautiful woman repeatedly, he understands that the heart has been wounded by the arrow of love. Hence, Augustine also says: "We are certain that the devil does not see the inner thoughts of the soul; but we have learned by experience that he gathers them from the movements of the body and the signs of our affections." Augustine adds, "But the secrets of the heart are known only to Him of whom it is said: 'You alone know the hearts of the children of men.'" The devil is accustomed, before he arrives, to send a forerunner ahead of his coming—namely, a thought of evil; if anyone receives it into their heart and nurtures it, the devil has prepared a dwelling place within their heart. And although the devil sometimes helps or provides the occasion for evil thoughts, he isn't the cause of all of them, because sometimes they come from us alone. Hence, Augustine says: "Not all our evil thoughts are stirred up by the devil's prompting; sometimes they emerge from the movement of our own will. Good thoughts, however, are always from God." —and how to resist. Anselm teaches how one must resist evil thoughts, saying: "Understand and hold fast to this small piece of advice I give you on how to exclude a perverse will or an evil thought from yourselves." Don't argue with perverse thoughts or a perverse will; when they trouble you, occupy your mind firmly with some useful thought and intention until they vanish. For a thought or desire is never cast out unless it is replaced by another thought or desire that doesn't agree with it. So, handle useless thoughts by focusing your mind with all your effort on useful ones, until your mind disdains even to remember or look at the others. But when you want to pray or focus on some good meditation, if you're troubled by thoughts you shouldn't entertain, never let the annoyance of those thoughts make you abandon the good you've begun; don't let the devil, who instigates them, rejoice that he's made you fail in your purpose. Instead, overcome them by the method I mentioned—by despising them. Don't be grieved or saddened by their harassment as long as you, by despising them as I said, offer them no consent, lest they return to your memory because of your sadness and revive their annoyance. For the human mind has this habit: it returns more often to what it finds delightful or distressing than to what it feels should be ignored or thought through. A person should behave similarly when they are determined to address any indecent movement in body or soul, such as the impulse of the flesh, anger, envy, or vainglory. That is when they're most easily extinguished. When we disdain to feel them, or to think about them, or to do anything at their suggestion, don't fear that such movements or thoughts will be held against you as sin, provided your will doesn't associate itself with them; for there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who don't walk according to the flesh. For to walk according to the flesh is to agree with the will of the flesh. The Apostle calls 'flesh' every sinful impulse in the soul or in the body, when he says: 'The flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh.' It's easy enough to extinguish such suggestions if we crush their beginning, according to the advice already given; but it's difficult once we let their head into our mind, as Anselm says. Hence Jerome also says: 'You'll never reach the sin that is committed in deed if you immediately kill the incentives of vice in your mind, and dash the little ones of Babylon against the rock, where the serpent's tracks are not found; and finally you promise God: "If they have not ruled over me, then I shall be blameless."' To avoid even evil thoughts, it's very helpful to have a heart united with God, because this is what He especially asks of us. Hence Hugo says: 'In every creature that is occupied under heaven with human vanities, nothing is found more sublime, nothing more noble, and nothing more like God than the human heart; for He seeks nothing else from you but your heart.' And generally, in every temptation, the healthy remedy is to cling to God; hence Augustine also says: 'When I have clung to You, I unburden myself, and nowhere at all will there be labor or pain for me.'
Summary and Prayer
A concluding moral synthesis of the chapter followed by a prayer for divine protection over the heart and mouth.
Morally speaking, the Lord uses this Gospel passage to rebuke the Pharisees in some respects and to instruct his disciples in others. He rebukes the Pharisees primarily for three things: first, for their impiety, when he says, 'Why do you also break the commandment?'; second, for their hypocrisy, when he adds, 'Hypocrites, Isaiah prophesied well about you'; and third, for their superstition, when he continues, 'And having called the crowds together.' In the first, he exposes tyrants who make wicked laws; in the second, false brothers who pretend outwardly to be what they are not inwardly; in the third, heretics who forbid people from foods that God created, yet do not abstain from the false doctrines by which they corrupt themselves and others. Regarding the second, he provides a threefold instruction: one for the destruction of gluttony, when he says, 'Not what goes into the mouth'; another for the restraint of the mouth, when he adds, 'But what comes out of the mouth'; and a third for the guarding of the heart, when he continues, 'For out of the heart come,' etc. PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, grant that I may keep the commandments of God without transgression, so that I may prefer them above all else and never turn away from them for any reason. Grant also that I may resist gluttony in everything that enters the mouth of the body, that I may focus especially on the interior purity of the heart, and that I may diligently guard the mouth of both heart and body. And because human guarding isn't enough unless divine help is present, I humbly ask you, Lord: place your own guard over both my mouth and my heart, so that nothing may enter or proceed from them that could spiritually stain my soul in your sight.1 Amen.
Read the original Latin
Quia vero Scribae qui putabant se habere perfectionem scientiae, et Pharisaei qui simulabant se habere perfectionem vitae, Dominum Jesum in templo reprehendere non potuerunt, venientes ab Jerosolymis in Galilaeam eum insequuntur. In quo nimia apparet malitia eorum, quia descendentes ab Jerusalem civitate sgncta, relinquentes templum, sequebantur eum ; et quia seniores populi et Legis doctores erant, et non ad sciendum, sed ad reprehendendum Dominum venerant, observando et insidiando ut eum caperent in sermone vel facto. Unde ut saltem ex discipulis Magistrum tanquam contemptorem doctrinae seniorum arguant, et sic eum populo odiosum reddant, videntes discipulos ejus communia Gentilibus , non iotis manibus manducare; quia Judaei communia Gentilibus immunda reputabant, ei dicebant : Quare discipuli tui transgrediuntur traditiones seniorum ? Non enim lavant manus, cum panem manducant. Ubi Beda : « Spiritualia enim Prophetarum verba carnaliter accipientes, quae illi de cordis et operis castigatione praecipiebant dicentes : Lavamini, mundi estote; et : Mundamini, qui fertis vasa Domini ; isti de solo corpore lavando servabant. Superstitiosa ergo hominum traditio ob manducandum panem praecipit crebrius lavare ; sed necessarium est eos qui panem de coelo descendentem participare desiderant, crebro eleemosynis, lacrymis, et aliis justitiae fructibus sua opera purgare : » haec Beda. Isti gerunt typum eorum qui plus zelant transgressionem humanarum traditionum quam divinorum praeceptorum, plus decretalium quam Evangeliorum, plus consuetudinum quam utilitatum. Per istos etiam multum sollicitos de munditia exteriori et modicum de interiori, signantur hypocritae et simulati; arguentes alios de levibus, cum tamen sint infecti gravibus, videntes festucam in alterius oculo, et non trabem in suo.
His quoque similes sunt multi, qui volunt habere exteriora pulchra, interiora autem habent foetida. Discipuli autem Domini instructi ea quae virtutis tantum sunt operari, non lotis manibus manducabant, quia hoc non pertinere ad veritatem vitae intelligebant. Unde Chrysostomus : « Ideo autem discipuli non lotis manibus manducabant, quia jam superflua despiciebant, ea solum quae sunt necessaria attendentes; et neque lavari neque non lavari pro lege habentes, sed ut contingebat alterutrum facientes. Qui enim et ipsum necessarium cibum contemnebant, qualiter circa hoc studium haberent? » Et quia haec traditio, scilicet jubere manus lavari, non erat contraria Legi ; ideo Dominus aliam traditionem Legi contrariam ducit in medium; et quasi clavum clavo retundens, dicit eos deficere, quia faciebant transgredi mandatum Domini propter mandatum hominum ; quod non erat faciendum , quia, secundum Bernardum, nihil placet Deo quodcunque ei obtuleris, neglecto eo quod teneris.
Unde, respondens ait illis : Quare et vos transgredimini mandatum Dei, propter traditionem vestram? Quasi diceret, secundum Glossam : Si vos contemnitis mandata Dei pro traditionibus hominum, quare arguitis discipulos meos, qui mandata hominum dimittunt ut praecepta Dei custodiant? Et Dominus quidem non reprehendit munditiam corporaiem; sed hoc reprehendit, quod relicta munditia interiori, putabant sufficere tantum exteriorem. Deinde hoc quod dixit probando, subdit : Nam Deus dixit : Honora, scilicet necessaria dando, et reverentiam exhibendo, nam honor iste non solum intelligitur reverentia, sed etiam necessariorum jadministratio, patrem et matrem, in quibus etiam proximus quilibet intelligitur, sed illi nominantur quibus obligamur; et : Qui maledixerit patri vel matri, non tam verbo vel signo, quam facto, morte moriatur. Dominus enim imbecillitati et penuriae parentum consulens, hoc per Moysen praecepit, et ideo vae illis qui parentes debiles vel pauperes contemnunt, et debitis obsequiis, scilicet reverentia et necessariorum exhibitione defraudant ! Hanc autem Legem Pharisaei cupidi per suam doctrinam falsam subvertentes,ut suae avaritiae consulerent, et sub nomine pietatis impietatem inducerent, docebant filios parentum, et dicebant quod melius erat bona parentibus administrando Deo favere et ofFerre; tum quia est pater principalis et spiritualis, tum quia, licet per talem oblationem parentes sustinerent detrimentum corporale, consequebantur tamen bonum spirituale , in quantum illud quod erat in eorum necessitatem convertendum , Deo offerebatur, ut ita parentibus suis ab eis necessaria exigentibus ea negare possent, et ditiores frequentius offerrent ; ex quo parentes egeni fiebant, et oblatio filiorum sub praetextu religionis in lucra sacerdotum cedebat. Unde instruebant filios quid egenis parentibus responderent, et hoc est quod Salvator dicit : Vos autem, scilicet adversative, dicitis, id est in traditione vestra alios instruitis, falso scilicet exponendo mandatum Dei pro lurcro vestro : Quicunque dixerit, id est dicere poterit, patri vel matri, o pater et mater, qui indiges et petis munus a me, munus quodcunque est ex me, id est ex mea devotione Deo scilicet consecratum et oblatum, tibi proderit, scilicet ad utilitatem animae, magis quam si darem tibi , quia tunc prodesset soli corpori. Vel, potest legi interrogative sic, munus quodcunque est ex me, id est ex meis rebus jam devotum Deo, tibi proderit?
Quasi dicat : Quod vovi Deo vis tuis usibus applicare, et tibi prodesse? Absit, quia sacrilegium faceres, si acciperes. Sic dicebant parentibus, ut illi timentes accipere quod Deo videbant mancipatum, et sacrilegii crimen incurrere , inopem magis vellent vitam ducere quam de sacramentis comedere. Et est hic constructio defectiva. Unde est sensus : Quicunque dixerit, etc, scilicet licite ; et bene potest dicere illud, et implet praeceptum divinum et Legem, et est dignus vita aeterna et regno ccelorum; quod tamen est falsum, quia secundum veritatem est transgressor praecepti. Et hoc est quod subditur : Et sic per vestras suasiones filius postea non honorificabit patrem suum et matrem, illud quod erat sibi debitum subtrahendo, et, ita irritum fecistis mandatum Dei, de parentibus scilicet honorandis et sustentandis , propter traditionem vestram, quae vestrae servit avaritiae. Quasi diceret : Mandatum pietatis deseritis propter cupiditatem xmpietatis. Sed vide ne hac auctoCAPUT LXXXVIII.
ritate, ut plurimi faciunt, abutaris supra modum de rebus Eccksiae et pauperum erogans parentibus. Ad majorem autem intellectum est considerandum, quod pater per se tenetur filiis providere; quia eat . causa eorum quantum ad esse, et ideo debet eis nutrimentum et documentum. Filius autem tenetur providere parentibus, de neceasariis per accidens, scilicet si illi indigeant, et ipse sit potens. Et ideo si pater jam necessitatem incunreret, bona de quibus lilius poteskei administrare, jam sibi debita sunt* De' alieno autem nullus potest Deo facere sacrificium, et ideo talia< offerre non est licitum, quia hoc est transgredi praeceptum de honore parentum; secus autem si filius bona sua vovisset antequam parentes in necessitate positi essent, quia tunc non esset licitum de eis protvidere parentibus.
Deinde redarguens eos de sanctitatis simuiatione, subdit : Hypocrita», bene prophetifavit de vobis Isaias, dicens : Populus hic labiis me hanorat, cor autem. eorum longe est a me; quia ostendebant sanctitatem in verbis et exteriori conversatione, cum tamen corrupti essent mala intentione. Hoc potest dici de illis qui bene docent,, et male vivunt ; labiis enim et non corde Deum honorare, est hene loqui et male vivere. Sine camsa, et frustra, coluntme, non habentes fructum inde ; sicut enim medicina dicitur frustra et sine causa propinari, quae non confert sanitatem^ sic cultus divinus qui non dncit ad felicitatem; docentes doctrinas et manddta hominum, et per haec transgredi Dei mandatum, propter avaritiam et lucrum. Et confutatis superbis et superstitiosis Scribis et Pharisaeis, qui ad partem videntur sibi praedicta contra disci+ /89, pulos dixisse, convertit se ad turbam humilem et simplicem, volens eos a falsa doctrina Pharisaeorum revocare ; etconvocatis eis dixit : Audiie, exterius aure corporis, et intelligite , interius aure mentis; audite vocem, et intelligite virtutem. Non quod intrat in os corporis , scilicet cibus corporalis, coinquinat hominem spiritualiter-, scilicet in anima et apud Deum, nisi in quantum per delectationem male afficitur quis ad cibum, vel alias esset sibi prohibitum, quia non intrat in cot ejus, hoc est in animam, quae causa est omnis immunditiae spiritualis; unde corporales sordes non coinquinant spiritualiter, et ideo non est curandum utrum lotis vel non lotis manibus, corporalis accipiatur cibus ; sed quod procedit ex ore cordis, et ab interiori radice voluntatis, hoc coin» quinat hominem, scilicet verba ma3ae cogitationis, quae sunt malitiae interioris significativa, quia ex cibo secundum se non est culpa, sed ex hts quae procedunt ex ore cordis et corporis; et ideo os ipsum est diligenter custodiendum. Et quia non ■sufficit custodia humana, potenda est custodia divina; sicut petebat Propheta, dicens : Pone, Domine, custodiam ori meo, etc 4 DE CjECO ducatum cbco prjestante. — Tunc, scilicet, quando audierunt illorum religionem evacuari, accesserunt dxscipuli, simplicitate moti, et dixerunt ei : Scis quia PharisaH, quorum magna est religio in cibis, audito hac verbo, quod scilicet evacuat discretionem ciborum, et traditionem seniorum, scandalifati sunt, id est indignati, vel offensi.
Istud non erat scandalum activum, quia neque ex facto, neque ex dicto minus recto; sed potius passivum, quia audrto verbo veritatis, pietatis et aequitatis scandalizati sunt, quia oculis aegris odiosa est lux. Unde non dicunt* tu scandalizasti, sed scandali^ati sunt. Et propter tale scandalum aliorum, veritas vitae, justitias, et doctrinae non est dimittenda; quia procedit ex ipsius scandalizati malitia. Unde Gregorius : « Si de veritate scandalum oritur, rectius oriri permittitur quam quod veritas re* linquatur. » Ideo Dominus respondens, ait : Omnis plantatio, traditionum humanarum, id est doctrina ab homine inventa, quae Legi Dei non est consona, quam non plantavit Pater meus coslestis, imo consuluit tepiditas carnalis, eradicabitur, cum plantatoribus suis; et hoc a fundamento Christo, per reprobationem; a fidelibus, per separationem ; a terra viventium, per privationem, quia non habet firmum fundamentum et radicem. Sinite illos, in praecipitium damnationis ire, et doctrinam illorum evitate; ca? ci sunt, in se carentes vero intellectu Legis, et duces ca? corum, in regimine aliorum, quia alios suo errore excaecant, et eos ad praecipitium ducunt.
Catcus autem, ut praelatus, 51 caeco, ut subdito, ducatum pra*stet, ambo in foveam cadunt, sicut obliquitas lineae procedit ex obliquitate regulae. Unde idem Gregorius : a Cum pastor per abrupta vitiorum graditur, consequens est ut grex in praecipitium ducatur. » Et Bernardus : « Ridiculosa res est,. imo magis periculosa, speculator caecus, doctor inscius, praecursor claudus, praelatus negligens, praeco mutus. Sed, heu ! quia sicut claudi volunt praeire, ita fatui praeesse. » 5 Peccata in corde gencrantur. — Deinde, Petro exigente, exposuit discipulis parabolam praedictam : Quia> omne quod in os intrat, id est aliqua pars de omni quod intrat in osj in secessum, per evacuationem tanquam supcrfluum emitti79° tur; et aliud tanquam necessarium retinetur, et neutrum istorum coinquinat hominem spiritualiter.
Et iste modus loquendi frequens est in Scriptura, ut in Michaea : Omnes sanguini insidiantur, id est de omnibus multi ; et similia. Qua> autem procedunt de ore, intus nascuntur, et de corde exeunt, id est de cordis immunditia, sicut fumus de igne, et foetor de latrina; et ea hominem, jam inquinatum cogitatione prava, coinquinant, id est simul et magis inquinant locutione sordida, quia sunt conceptus mentis, et malae cogitationis significativa. Ex cogitationibus enim malis proveniunt et mala verba, et mala facta ; et in actu interiori principaliter est culpa, cujus ea quae extra apparent sunt testimonia. Unde subjungit : De corde enim, in quo est sedes animae, et de libero arbitrio, exeunt cogitationes mala>, sicut principia malitiae; et ex cogitationibus malis mali actus et verba procedunt ulterius, scilicet : homicidia, adulteria, foruicationes, furta, falsa testimonia, blasphemia>, et, ut ait Marcus, avaritia, in quantum aliqua injuste detinentur; nequitia, cum malum affectamus, et implere non possumus; dolus, qui consistit in deceptione proximi ; impudicitia, in cogitationibus , in verbis, in aspectu, in tactu, et quantum ad quamlibet corruptionem mentis et corporis ; oculus malus, id est odium et adulatio; nam qui odit, oculum invidum et malum habet ad eum quem odit, et adulator non recto oculo videns quae sunt proximi, ad malum ipsum deducit; superbia, in verbis, factis, vel signis; stultitia, cum scit malum, et non cavet, vel stultitia est cum non recte sentitur deDeo; contrariatur enim sapientiae, quae est divinarum rerum cognitio. Omnia h&c mala, et hujusmodi transgressiones praeceptorum Dei, in corde generantur, et ab intus a corrupta voluntate procedunt, ac spiritualiter coinquinant hominem, id est immundum et impurum reddunt. Hoc enim in culpam homini imputatur, quod in sua potestate existit ; talia autem sunt quae procedunt ab interiori voluntate, per quam homo est actuum suorum dominus; et ideo causa immunditiae spiritualis non est nisi mala voluntas. Igitur Scribarum et Pharisaeorum verba maledicta, quae ex iniqua voluntate contra Christum et discipulos ejus procedunt, illa eos coinquinant. Non lotis autem manibus manducare, et hujusmodi transgressiones superstitiosarum traditionum, non coinquinant hominem immunditia spirituali, nec faciunt impurum.
Quasi diceret : Ex quo nullus cibus coinquinat spiritualiter hominem, ergo a minori non lotis manibus manducare non coinquinat eum; et sic ostendit quod spiritualia litteraliter intelligi non debent. Unde quando praecipitur in Scriptura lotio absolute, magis de spirituali quam de corporali intelligendum est lotione. Sed, ut dicit Chrysostomus : <c Videmus multos ut intrant Ecclesiam lavantes manus et os; qualiter autem mundam offerant animam, curam nullam facientes. » Marcus pro non lotis, ponit communibus ; et pro coinquinat, ponit communicat, juxta Hebraeorum idioma, qui commune immundum dicebant. Judaei enim partem se Dei esse jactitantes, communes cibos vocant quibus omnes utuntur homines , quos ideo quia in Lege prohibiti erant, immundos ^udicabant ; commune ergo quod ceteris hominibus patet, et quasi de parte Dei non est, immundum appellant.
Ex eo autem quod dictum est : Dz corde exeunt co79 1 gitationes malce, etc. , colligitur quod etsi diabolus quandoque immittit homini cogitationem mali, cogitationem tamen malam non potest immittere, quae mala fit tantum per consensum qui est in corde. Unde, quando dicitur : Cum misisset diabolus in cor Juda? ; et in Psalmista : Immissiones per Angelos malos, immissio accipitur pro suggestione; aliter enim non potest filabi animae. Ubi Hieronymus : « Ex hac sententia arguendi sunt, qui cogitationes a diabolo immitti putant; et non ex propria nasci voluntate. Diabolus adjutor et incensor malarum cogitationum esse potest, auctor esse non potest. Si autem semper, insidiis positis, levem cogitationum nostrarum scintillam suis fomitibus inflammat, non debemus opinari eum cordis quoque occulta rimari ; sed ex corporis habitu et gestibus aestimare, quid versemus intrinsecus. » Si, verbi gratia, pulchram mulierem nos crebro viderit aspicere ; intelligit cor amoris jaculo vulneratum.
Unde et Augustinus : « Internas animae cogitationes diabolum non videre certi sumus; sed motibus eas corporis et affectionum indiciis, ab illo colligi experimento didicimus. Secreta autem cordis solus novit ille ad quem dicitur : Tu solus nosti corda filiorum hominum : » haec Augustinus. Solet quippe diabolus, antequam veniat, praemittere sui adventus praecursorem, scilicet mali cogitationem ; quam si quis in corde susceptam nutrierit, diabolus in corde suo habitaculum praeparavit. Et quamvis diabolus quandoque sit adjutor et occasio malarum cogitationum, non tamen omnium, quia quandoque procedunt ex nobis tantum. Unde idem Augustinus : « Non omnes malae cogitationes nostrae a diaboli instinctu excitantur, sed aliquoties ex nostri arbitrii motu emergunt; bonae autem cogitationes semper a Deo sunt. » 7 resistendum. — Qualiter autem cogitationibus malis resistendum sit, docet Anselmus, dicens : « Quomodo autem pravam voluntatem, aut malam cogitationem a vobis excludatis, hoc parvum consilium quod vobis do, intelligite et tenete. Nolite litigare cum perversis cogitationibus, vel perversa voluntate; sed cum vobis infestae sunt, aliqua utili cogitatione et voluntate mentem vestram, donecillae evanescant, fortiter occupate.
Nunquam enim expellitur cogitatio vel voluntas, nisi alia cogitatione vel voluntate» quae non concordat 'illi. Sic ergo vos habete ad inutiles cogitationes , ut toto nisu intendendo ad utiles mens vestra dedignetur eas saltem recordari, vel aspicere. Cum autem vultis orare, aut in aliquam bonam meditationem intendere, si vobis tunc importunae sunt cogitationes quas non debetis suscipere, nunquam propter illarum importunitatem , bonum quod incepistis velitis dimittere; ne instigator earum diabolus gaudeat, quia vos ab incepto facit deficere; sed eo quem dixi modo illas contemnendo, eas superate ; neque doleatis, nec tristemini de illarum infestatione , quandiu illas, sicut dixi, contemnendo nullum eis assensum praebetis, ne occasione tristitiae, iterum redeant ad memoriam, ut suam importunitatem resuscitent. Hanc enim habet mens hominis consuetudinem, ut hoc unde delectatur aut contristatur saepius ad memoriam redeat, quam hoc quod negligendum sentit aut cogitat. Similiter se debet habere persona in facto proposito studiosa in quolibet motu indecenti in corpore vel anima, sicuti est stimulus carnis, irae, invidiae, vel inanis gloriae. Tunc enim facillime exstinPRIMjE partis caput lxxxviii. guuntur, cum et lllos velle sentire, aut de illis cogitare, vel quid eorum suasione facere dedignamur ; neque timeatis quod hujusmodi motus, ▼el cogitationes vobis ad peccatum imputentur, si nullatenus voluntas vestra se illis associat; quoniam : *Nihil damnationis est his qui suttt iu Christo Jesu, qui non secundum camem ambulant. Secundum carnem enim ambulare est carnis voluntati concordare.
Carnem autem vocat Apostolus omnem vitiosum motum in anima, vel in corpore, cum dicit : Caro concupiscit adversus spiritum, et spiritus adversus carnem. Facile quippe hujusmodi suggestiones exstinguimus , si principium earum, secundum praedictum consilium, conterimus; difl&cile vero, postquam caput earum intra mentem admittimus : » naec Anselmus. Unde et Hieronymus : a Ad peccatum quod opere perpetratur nunquam pervenies, si mcentiva vitiorum statim in mente jugulabis, et parvulos Babylonis ad petram allides, in quaserpentisvestigia non reperiuntur, et tandem Deo promittis : Si mei non fuerint dominati, tunc immaculatus ero : » haec Hiei*onymus. Ad vitandum etiam cogitationes malas, multum habere valet cor unitum cum Deo; quia hoc ipse a nobis praecipue requirit. Unde Hugo : « In omni creatura quae sub coelo vanitatibus humanis occupatur, nihil humano corde sublimius , nihil nobilius, nihilque Deo«imilius reperitur; quaTe nihll aliud quaerit a te nisi cor tuum. Et universaliter in omni tentatione remedium salubre est Deo inheererc» Unde et Augustinus : « Gum inhaesero tibi exonero me, et omnino nusquam erit mihi iabor dolor.
Moraliter autem in hoc Evangelso ponit Dominus quaedam ad increpationem Phariseorum, quaedam ad instructionem discipulorum. Increpat vero Pharisaeos de tribus principaliter : primo, de impietate, cum dicitur : Quare et vos transgredimini; secundo, de simulatione, cum subditur : Hypocritce, bene prophetavit de vobis Isaias; tertio, de superstitione, cum subjungitur : Et convocatis turbis. In primo suggillantur tyranni, qui mala statuta faciunt ; in secundo falsi fratres, qui simulant exterius quod intus non sunt ; in tertio haeretici, qui prohibent homines a cibis quos Deus creavit, et non abstinent a Falsisdoctrinis, quibus se et alios corrumpunt. — Circa secundum ponit triplicem instructionem : unam in destructionem gulositatis, cum dicit : Omne quod in os intrat; aliam in refrenationem oris, cum subdit : Qua* autem procedunt de ore ; tertiam in custodiam cordis, cum subjungit : De corde enim exeunt, ^etc. ORATIO Domine Jesu Ghriste, da mihi sic mandata Dei sine transgressione servare, ut ea omnibus et singulis praeferam, et ab eis quacunque occasion e non recedam. Da etiam mihi in omni quod in os corporis intrat gulositati resistere, ac interiori cordis munditiae praecipue intendere, et os cordis ac corporis diligenter custodire. Et quia non sufficit custodia humana, nisi adsit divina, ideo te, Domine, suppliciter peto ; pone tu custodiam ipsi utrique ori meo, ne aliquid in illud intret vel inde procedat, quod me spiritualiter in anima etapud te maculare valeat. Amen.
Notes
- 1 ↩The Latin 'etapud' is treated as 'et apud' (and in your sight).
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