De decem leprosis a Domino curatis
The Lord Sets His Face Toward Jerusalem
Jesus resolves to fulfill his Passion with firm intent and divine virtue, setting an example for his followers.
It happened that when the days of his assumption were being fulfilled and drawing near—that is, the Lord Jesus’ departure from this world to the Father through his Passion and death—he did not turn away, but set his face, which is to say, his will (for by the face the will of the soul is signified), toward the place of his Passion, and to go to Jerusalem, because it was necessary for the true Lamb to be sacrificed there, where the symbolic lamb was accustomed to be offered. Luke spoke of the assumption of Jesus not only regarding the time when he was to be assumed through his Passion from this world to the Father—because it was necessary for Christ to suffer and thus enter into his glory—but also regarding the commandment of the paschal lamb, which was taken from the flock on the tenth day of the first month, brought into the house, and kept until the evening of the fourteenth day, when it was sacrificed. In this way, on the tenth day—Palm Sunday—Christ came to the place of his Passion, Jerusalem, where he was to be sacrificed for us as the true Lamb; he remained there and in the surrounding area until he suffered, so that the truth might correspond to the figure. From this it is clear that as God, he foresaw the time of his Passion, and that he didn't suffer by compulsion; rather, he 'set his face'—meaning he didn't choose it lightly, but firmly and constantly resolved to go to Jerusalem to endure death, so that he might show he would suffer of his own free will and, by his own example, encourage his disciples toward the Passion. So you, too, must undertake every good work firmly and steadily, and not abandon it because of temptations. As the time of the Passion drew near, when he was about to pass from this world to the Father, he turned his back on Galilee and set his face toward Jerusalem, and with a firm and fearless mind, he sought the place where he had decided to suffer. He didn't wander here and there, but kept his course toward Jerusalem. Therefore, he who had previously encouraged and exhorted his disciples and others to martyrdom and to follow him by word, now does the same by deed, leading them as a Master and guide, and as if by his own action, saying: 'If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.' As the time of His Passion drew near, the Lord Jesus, who had often withdrawn, began to return. Just as He had used prudence earlier for our instruction—showing that we ought to cautiously avoid the fury of those who persecute us, depending on the time and place—so now He uses... ...because the appointed time was approaching, He returned of His own accord to offer Himself to the Passion and to be handed over into the hands of those who persecuted Him. He had used temperance at other times, when He fled from honor because the crowds wanted to make Him king. Yet, conversely, He used justice when He wanted to be honored as king, when the people met Him with palm branches; still, He wanted that honor to be modest, and for that reason, He rode on a donkey's colt. The Lord of virtues used these four virtues for our instruction; from them all other moral virtues descend and are derived, which is why they are called cardinal and principal. Therefore, He should not be thought to have been inconsistent or fickle, just as no one else is who exercises himself in different virtues according to different circumstances.
The Ten Lepers and the Call to Gratitude
Ten lepers are healed, but only one, a Samaritan, returns to give thanks, prefiguring the faith of the Gentiles.
It happened that, as he was traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, he passed through the middle of Samaria and Galilee. Samaria was the land of the Gentiles, and Galilee the land of the Jews; and so Christ, as he went toward his Passion, passed through both Gentiles and Jews, giving us to understand that the fruit of his Passion was to be for everyone, and that faith in his name was destined to make both Jews and Gentiles into one people after his death. Because there was discord between the Jews and the Samaritans, he passed between them and through the middle of both their lands, so that, as a mediator, he might bring peace to those he had come to save—both Gentiles and Jews. And as he was entering a certain village, ten lepers met him within the borders of Samaria, because they had heard the report of Christ's miracles. They met him at the entrance to the town, yet still outside it, because by the ritual of the Mosaic Law they were considered unclean, excluded from cities and towns, and unable to live among others. They associated with one another, however, because their shared suffering had made them of one mind, and they waited together in anxiety for Jesus to pass by, until they could see him coming. They stood at a distance, both out of reverence for Christ and because they weren't permitted to approach. They stood near to people, so they wouldn't infect them; for the Law of the Jews judged leprosy to be unclean and not to be touched, but the Gospel law affirms that it's not external leprosy, but internal, that is unclean. And, according to Theophylact, they stood at a distance, as if shrinking back because of their uncleanness, for they feared that Christ would find them repulsive, just as others did. They kept their distance, yet they drew close through prayer; for it is written: The Lord is near to all who call on him in truth. It is added: They raised their voices out of the depth of their distress and a great longing for health, crying out, 'Jesus, Master, have mercy on us,' because by your word and command alone you can heal us. If he is Jesus, he is willing; if he is Master, he is able; if they invoke his mercy, they show themselves to be wretched and in need. Their petition was worthy: both on the part of those asking, because they were to be pitied, and on the part of him from whom it was asked, because Jesus is a willing and powerful Master. According to Titus, they speak the name of Jesus and gain what they seek. Jesus, of course, is interpreted as Savior, from which it follows: when he saw them with eyes of kindness, compassion, and mercy, he said, 'Go, show yourselves to the priests.' The Law commanded that those cleansed of leprosy present themselves to the priests—not so the priests could cleanse them, but so they could judge them to be clean, and so that, once cleansed, they could offer the sacrifice required by the Law for their cleansing. And it happened that, while they were on their way to show themselves to the priests, they were cleansed through their faith and obedience toward Christ—fittingly, in terms of merit, but effectively by divine power. They were cleansed before they reached the priests for four reasons: first, because Christ knew the pride of the priests—for they would have disdained to look at them, and so, to prevent them from being scandalized, He forestalled them by healing them; second, the merit of their obedience earned this; third, their faith and fervent prayer also earned this; fourth, the Lord wanted to show that they were not cleansed by the power of the Mosaic Law or the Jewish priests, but by the command of God. In the Samaritan who alone returns to give thanks, the rejection of the Jews and the calling of the Gentiles is prefigured. But one of them, a Samaritan and a Gentile, saw that he was cleansed and attributed his healing to the power of Christ. Out of the greatness of his faith and devotion, he returned with a loud voice, magnifying God. As one grateful, recognizing the benefit, he fell in humility on his face before the feet of Jesus, showing reverence through his devotion, and worshiped Him, giving thanks for the benefit he had received. Here his faith, devotion, benevolence, and great affection are expressed. Yet the cleansing already received gave him the confidence to approach the Lord. The others, however, who were Jews, remained ungrateful and didn't return to give thanks. Deceived by the priests to whom they had presented themselves, and disparaging the teaching and miracles of Christ, they attributed their healing—according to the priests' instruction—to the observance of the Mosaic Law when they showed themselves to the priests, and not to the power of Christ, even though they had initially asked Him faithfully and devoutly to be healed. Jesus answered, "Weren't ten made clean?" And where are the nine? The Lord doesn't ask as if He doesn't know; rather, He seeks the ungrateful as if He were unaware, grieving over their ingratitude. By searching for them, He shows that they are unknown to Him—that is, rejected. For just as the ungrateful person doesn't acknowledge God's gift, so God doesn't acknowledge that person with the recognition of approval; yet He does acknowledge the one who acknowledges Him. Hence Bede says: "And the Savior rightly searches for them as if they were unknown, asking where they are." For to know, in God's sense, is to choose; not to know is to reject." So says Bede. However, we should grieve more over the person who incurs the guilt of ingratitude than over a lost benefit. And so, it is added as if in lament: "There was no one found to return and give glory to God, except this foreigner, of another nation, who was not among the Jews." This was said either by Christ—in which case the words were those of someone lamenting—or by the Evangelist to shame the Jews who didn't return to Christ. Note that the fact that this foreigner returned, while the others—who were Israelites—neglected to, prefigured the calling and faith of the Gentiles, who would come to the faith of Christ with devotion, as well as the rejection and faithlessness of the Jews, who would remain in their error. The Lord, however, healed both in body and in soul all those he healed; but after they were healed in body and justified in soul, and had become good, they later fell away from grace and became evil and ungrateful. He then refutes their ingratitude all the more by praising the foreigner who had returned; for because he humbly acknowledged his infirmity before God, the Lord, comforting him, said: 'Rise'—that is, cease from the sin in which you were lying—'and go from strength to strength,' making progress in the conversion you have begun; 'for your faith,' by which you submitted your intellect to God, 'has made you whole' and brought you to the salvation not only of the body but also of the soul; for it is the beginning of justification and gives confidence in the heavenly kingdom. Bede says on this: 'If faith made him whole who bowed down to give thanks to the Savior, then faithlessness destroyed those who neglected to give glory to God for the benefits they received.'
The Leprosy of Sin and the Necessity of Confession
The physical condition of leprosy is used as a mystical allegory for mortal sin and the necessity of sacramental confession.
In a mystical sense, leprosy—the corruption of the flesh—represents mortal sin, which is the corruption of the soul. First, just as leprosy typically weakens the voice, so too is the sinner’s voice weak; we know that God doesn't listen to sinners, and even when they multiply their prayers, He doesn't hear them. Second, because in a leprous body many small, hard, and round sores grow; so in the heart of the sinner, many compunctions and anxieties arising from various sins and their circumstances grow, always diminishing a person's affection for God and rendering the person hard and rebellious toward God and His commands, and through this, the hearts of sinful people become round and ductile—that is, toward the will of the devil. the will of the devil. Third, because their breath is corrupted and others are often infected by their stench, the work and conversation of a sinner are so corrupted that those who associate with them are weakened by their vicious company. Fourth, because the more diligently leprosy is suppressed, the more foully it breaks out afterward; so the more sin is hidden, the more strongly it grows, and therefore it will appear all the more foul. The number ten signifies the universality of lepers, for the numbers following up to one hundred are replications of it and its parts; thus, the ten lepers meeting Christ signify the universality of penitent sinners. Alternatively, the lepers signify those who sin against the ten commandments of the Decalogue, distinguished and covered by the variety of their sins as if by the spots of leprosy. The leprosy of the soul is far worse than the leprosy of the body, because the corruption of the spirit is worse than that of the flesh. A sinner who wants to be healed and cleansed from the leprosy of sin must conduct himself just as those lepers did: first, he must approach Jesus through faith, for the compassionate Lord does not shrink from looking upon the stain of our leprosy, He who for your sake was considered a leper on the cross. By the fact that the Lord, seeing the lepers, said to them, 'Go, show yourselves to the priests,' confession is clearly commanded by the Lord Jesus, through which the interior leprosy is revealed for the sake of salvation. It's as if He were saying to them: 'Go, from contrition to confession; show yourselves to the priests.' For although sins are forgiven in contrition—as the Prophet says, 'I said,' that is, I firmly resolved, 'I will confess,' and You forgave me—yet a person is still bound to confess them. So, while they were going, they were cleansed on the way, because God cleanses the sinner interiorly by the power of contrition before he is absolved exteriorly by the priest. And yet they still showed themselves to the priests; so you too, if you have the stain of leprosy from some sin, while you go to show yourself to the priest through the confession of your voice—with the Lord watching you with eyes of mercy—salvation itself meets you, and you will be healed from the leprosy of past iniquity. Do not, however, omit offering yourself to those by whose judgment you are considered clean; otherwise, through contempt and negligence, you will remain unclean.
The Virtue of Thanksgiving and the Danger of Ingratitude
The author reflects on the spiritual importance of gratitude and the destructive nature of ingratitude in the life of the believer.
The one leper who returned represents the unity of the universal Church, or those who are within the unity of the Church, by which grace is given for a benefit. He doesn't stop offering thanks; but the nine who stayed behind represent those who are outside, or those who, after receiving forgiveness for their sins, fail by falling away from the perfection of the Decalogue through a broken unity, and scorn offering thanks for the grace they received. Ten are cleansed, but only one returns to give thanks, because many are cleansed in confession, but not all praise the Lord. For those who return to their vomit like dogs are the nine who didn't praise the Lord after they had gained their health. And because there are relatively few who are grateful for the benefits of divine generosity and remain in their restored health, only one returns to give glory to God. For to give glory to God is to persevere in good works once the healing of one's sin has been received. And this is the Samaritan, which is interpreted as 'guardian'; for those who are grateful to God are those who guard themselves against the relapse of sin. And he is a foreigner, saying with the Apostle: 'We don't have a lasting city here, but we seek the one that is to come.' From this it is gathered that those who ought to be more grateful to the Lord and closer to Him—such as the learned, the prelates, and the wealthy, to whom He has given knowledge—are often more ungrateful to Him, distancing themselves from Him and failing to return thanks to Him as the simple and poor do, to whom He has not granted so many gifts. It is as if they were saying: 'Our lips and our riches are from ourselves; who is our Lord?' But that one man fell on his face to give thanks, because only the unity of the Church falls on its face in adoration. From this, it should be noted that we sometimes pray while prostrate, where we show four things: the weakness of the body, because we were taken from dust; the weakness of the soul, because we have our fall from ourselves, but our rising not from ourselves, but from God; shame for our sins, because we do not dare to lift our eyes to heaven due to the multitude of our sins; and prudence, because we fall on our faces and see where we fall—that is, that we are attached to earthly things. Sometimes, however, we pray with bended knees, like Solomon, but with head erect and face lifted, as if saying for the desire of our homeland: 'Draw me after you.' Sometimes, however, we pray standing, signifying that our hope is in heavenly things, as if saying: "Our citizenship is in heaven," and that other verse: "We will go rejoicing into the house of the Lord." In the first, therefore, we express our condition; in the second, our desire; in the third, our hope. Also, in memory of the Lord's Resurrection during the Easter season and on Sundays, we pray with faces bowed to the ground, following the example of the holy women, recalling that we are earth and dust, as Abraham did. One man, therefore, returned and fell on his face at the feet of Jesus, showing us an example of humility and repentance. As Bede says, anyone who feels shame for the evils they have committed falls on their face. That is where a person falls, and that is where they are humbled. Someone who falls on their face sees where they are falling, but someone who falls backward doesn't see their own fall. Good people, therefore, fall on their faces because they humble themselves in these visible things, so that they may be raised up to the invisible. Evil people fall backward, because they fall into invisible things where they cannot currently see what will follow them. He also falls at the feet of Jesus and gives thanks who humbles himself to receive the benefits of God, who attributes no virtue to himself, and who understands that whatever good he has, he has from the mercy of God. And, according to the same Bede, he who has fallen devoutly before the Lord is commanded to rise and go, because he who, acknowledging his own weakness, lies humbly in the consolation of the divine word, is commanded to rise to stronger works and, with merits increasing daily, to progress steadily toward perfection. Faith makes a person whole because it moves them to give thanks; conversely, faithlessness condemns those who are ungrateful for the benefits they've received and neglect to give glory to God. In this chapter, therefore, those who are ungrateful for benefits are rebuked by the Lord. Gratitude is a highly praiseworthy virtue; giving thanks is very acceptable to God, while ingratitude is a detestable vice. As Augustine says: "What better thing can we hold in our heart, speak with our mouth, or express with our pen, than to give thanks to God?" This cannot be said more briefly, nor can it be done more fruitfully. And again: "I know that ingratitude displeases you, for it is the root of all spiritual evil—a wind that burns and dries up every good thing, blocking the fountain of divine mercy over a person, so that dead evils rise up again and they cannot attain further goods." Bernard also says: "It is always fitting to give thanks, because God never ceases to do good." And again: "Learn not to be slow or sluggish in returning thanks; learn to give thanks for every single gift." "Diligently," Proverbs says, "pay attention to what has been placed before you, so that no gifts of God may be frustrated by a lack of due thanksgiving—not the great ones, not the middling ones, not the small ones." Finally, we are told to gather up the fragments so that nothing is lost—meaning we shouldn't overlook even the smallest blessings. Doesn't everything given to an ungrateful person go to waste? Ingratitude is the enemy of the soul; it empties out merits, dissipates virtues, scatters good things, and loses blessings. Ingratitude is a burning wind that dries up the fountain of devotion, the dew of mercy, and the streams of grace. Bernard teaches us what our thanksgiving should look like: 'Let us not show ourselves grateful only in word and tongue, but in deed and in truth.' For the Lord our God demands from us not just the utterance of thanks, but the actual action of thanksgiving. Chrysostom also says: 'Let us therefore give thanks to God, and let us fulfill this not only with our words, but even with our deeds—and indeed, primarily with our deeds.' Let us give thanks not only for our own blessings, but even for the blessings of others. In this way, we'll be able to extinguish envy and nourish love. And you won't be able to envy those anymore whose blessings you rejoice in by giving thanks to God. What great thing, then, does He ask of us, who has commanded that we be grateful to Him simply for the generosity He shows us? The vice of ingratitude is usually born from arrogance, when someone considers themselves worthy of blessings. But the person who is humbled and contrite will offer thanks to God not only for good things, but also for those considered contrary; whatever they suffer, they'll consider themselves worthy of nothing more—or so says Chrysostom. And this is the great reason why we don't love God: because we don't recognize His blessings. Hence Jerome says: Do you want to know why you don't love God? It's because you don't recognize His blessings.
A Prayer for Healing and Thanksgiving
The chapter concludes with a devotional prayer seeking healing from sin and the grace of constant thanksgiving.
The more you rise in his goodness, the more you burn with love for him—so says Jerome. PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, trusting in your mercy, I flee to you as a loving physician, though I am like a leper, covered in the variety of my sins; I run to the fountain of mercies, unclean with the stains of my vices, and I humbly beg you to deign to heal my infirmity, wash away my filth, and guide me to salvation. Grant that I may always keep your benefits in my heart and give you thanks for them all; but because I am a mortal man, dust and ashes, and cannot offer even one thanks for every thousand, may the Virgin Mary and all the heavenly citizens, and every creature that is a subject for divine praise, offer you thanks on my behalf. Amen.
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fttctum est aiitem, dum complcrentur et appropinquarent dies assumptionis ejus Domini Jesu, id es\ a mundo ad Patrem, per Passionem et mortem, non diverlit, sed firmavit ipse faciem suam, id est voluntatem : nam per faciem designatur animi voluntas, in locum Passionis, et ut iret in Jerusalem, quoniam ibioportebat verum Agnum immolari, ubi figuralis agnus solebat offerri. Assumptionem Jesu, dixit Lucas, non solum secundum tempus quo assumi debebat per Passionem, de hoc raundo ad Patrem, quia oportuit pati Christum, et ita intrare in gloriam suam ; sed etiam secundum praeceptum de agno paschaii, qui decimo die mensis primi assumebatur de grege, et ad domum inferebatur et servabatur usque ad vesperam quartidecimi diei ; et tunc immolabatur. In hunc modum Christus docima die, id est ramis Palmarum, venit ad locum Passionis, scihcet in Jerusalem, ubi tamquam verus Agnus erat pro nobis immolandus; mansitque it)i et circa, usquedum passus est, ut sic veritas figurae responderet. Ex quo patet quod tempus suae Passionis praevidit quasi Deus, et quod spontanee non coacle est passus; unde firmavit, id est non leviter voluit, sed firmiter et constanter disposuit, ut iret in Jerusalem, ad sustinendum mortem, ut ostenderet se sponte passurum et suo exemplo discipulos animaret ad Passionem. Sic et tu, omne opus bonum firmus et stabilis debes assumere, nec propter tentationes ab eo dimittere. Instanteergotempore Passionis, quo transmigraturus erat de mundo ad Patrem, praestat dorsum Galilaeae, et faciem in Jerusalem convertit, ac firmata, et imperterrita mente, locum quo pati decreveratpetit. Nonhucetiliuc ibat, sediterversus Jerusalem tenebat. Unde, qui superius pluries excitavit, et hortatus est discipulos et ahos ad martyrium, et ad sui sequelam, verbo ; hic hoc idem facit facto, eos tamquam Magister et ductor praecedens, et quasi facto suo, dicens : Si quis vult post me venire, abneget semetipsum ; et tollat crucem suam, et sequatur me.
Appropinquante ergo tempore Passionis suae, Dominus Jesus, qui pluries fugerat, incipit reverti. Sicut enim in superioribus ad nostram instructionem usus est prudentia, ostendens quod pro loco et temporc furorem persequentium caute debemus dcclinare ; ita nunc utitur forX \)E DEUEM LEIMIOSIS A DOMIXU CUKATIS. titudiue, quouiam debito lenipore immiuente, sponte rediit, ut se Passioiii oITerret, et in in manibus persequcntium traderet. Sic alias fuit usus temperantia, cum fugithonorem quando turbai voluerunt eum facere. regem ; et c contrario fuit usus justitia, cuni voluit tamquam rex honorari, quando populus cum ramis arborumoccurrit eidem ; satistamen modeste cumdem honorem voluit, et ideo pullum asina} asccndit. Istis igitur quatuor virtutibus usus est Dominus virtutum, propter nostram instructionem, quibus omuesaliae virtutes morales descendunt et derivantur, propterquod cardinales, ac principales csse dicuntur. Non orgo «stimandus est fuisse inconstans vel varius; sicut nec aliquis alius, qui secundum diversos casus, in diversis se exercet virtutibus.
Et factum est^ dum Pascha celebralurus iret in Jerusalem, transibat per mediam Samariam et (jalilseam. Samaria erat terra Gcntium, Galilaea Juda^orum ; et ideo Christusvadens ad Passionem, transiit per Gentes et Judaeos, dans intelUgere quod fructus sua^ Passionis in omnes erat futurus ; atque fides nominis ejus post mortem et Judaeos el Gentiles unum debebat efficere populum. Quoniam ergo erat discordia inter Judceos et Samaritanos, ipse inter utrosqueet per medium utriusque terrae transiit, uttamquammediator eos pacificaret, qui ad salvandos Gentiies et Judaeos venerat. Et, cum ingrederetur quoddam castellum. in terminis Samarise, occurrerunt ei decem viri leprosi, quia audierant famam de mirabilibus Christi. In inj,'ressu urbis, et tamen ante ingressum occurrerunt ei, quia ritu Legis Mosaicae, quasi immundi erant, ab urbibus et oppidis exclusi, nec poterant cum aliis commorari. Conversabantur autem ad invicem, quia communitas passionis fecerat eos unanimes, et praestolahantur simul transitum Jesu solliciti, donec advenientem eumviderent. Qui steterunt a longe, tum propterChristi reverentiam, tum quia non debebant apVlT.
propiuquarc hominibus, ne eos inficerent ; eo quod Lex Judaiorum iepram immundam et non tangendam Judicat, lcx vero Evangelica lcprain non externam, sed internam, essc immundam affirmat. Et, secuudum Theophilum, a longe stant, quasi \crecundantes de immunditia, pulabant enim quod Christus eos quemadmodum alii fastidiret. Sic ergo abstiterunt loco, sed facti suntproximi deprecando ; scriptum est emm :Prope est Dominus omnibus invocantibus eum, in veritate. Subjungilur autem : Et levaverunt vocem suam ex magnitudine aflectionis, et magno desiderio sanitatis, et clamaverunt, dicentes : Jesu prxceptor^ miserere nostri^ quia solo praecepto et verbo potes nos curare. Si Jesus, ergo vult ; si praeceptor, ergo potest ; si misericordiam invocant, ergo se miseros et indigenles ostendunt. Et sic petitio fuit digna : et ex parte petentium, quia miserandi ; et ex parte ejus, a quo petebatur, quia Jesus volens, et praeceptor potens. Secundum Titum, dicunt nomen Jesu, et lucrifaciunt rem. Jesus nempe interpretatur Salvator, unde sequitur : Quos ut vidit benignitatis et compassionis et misericordiae oculis, dixit: Ite, ostendite vos sacerdotibus.
Lex enim praecepit, ut emundati a lepra sacerdotibus se praesentarent, non ut sacerdotes eos mundarent, sed ut eos mundos esse judicarent, et ut mundati pro sua emundatione sacrificiumin Lege determinatumofferrent. Etfactumest,dumirent, ut sacerdotibus se demonstrarent, mundati sunt ex fide et obedientia ad Christum, meritorie de congruo, sed divina virtute efTective. Quatuor ex causis mundati sunt, antequam ad sacerdotes pervenirent : primo, quia Christus noverat sacerdotum superbiam, contempsissent enim eos aspicere, ne ergo scandalizarentur, praevenit eos sanare ; secundo, bonum obedientiaj eorumhoc meruit; tertio, hoc meruit et eorum fides fervidaque deprecatio; quarto, voluit Dominus ostendere quod non virtute Legis Mosaicae , aut sacerdotum Judaeorum erant mundati, sed Dei imperio. 5 In Samaritano, qui solus gratias acturus revertitur, reprobatio juDiEORUM ET GeNTILIUM VOCATIO PR^FIGURATUR. -~ Unus autem ex illis, qiii Samaritanus et Gentiiis erat, ut vidit quia mundatus est, suam sanationem virtuti Cliristi deputans, regressus estj cum magna voce^ ex fidei et devotionis magnitudine, magniflcans I)eum\ et tamquam gratus beneficium recognoscens, cecidit per humilitatem in faciem, ante pedes ejus Jesu, per devotionemei reverentiam exhibens, et adoravit eum, gratias pro beneficio accepto sibi agens. Ubi exprimitur fides ejus et devotio, ac benevolentia, et grandis affectio. Dedit autem ei fiduciam appropinquandi Domino, jam suscepta purgatio. Ceteri vero, qui Judsei erant, permanserunt ingrati, nec ad agendum gratias sunt reversi, qui decepti a sacerdotibus quibus se reprsesentaverant, quique doctrinae Christi et miracuhs detrahebant, secundum eorum informationem attribuerunt suam sanationem observantise Legis Mosaicae, cum se sacerdotibus ostendebant, et non virtuti Christi, hcet a principio fidehter et devote petivissent ab eo sanari.
Respondens autem Jesus dixit : Nonne decem mundoM sunt? Et novem uhi sunt ? Non interrogat Dominus quasi nesciens, sed ingratos quaerit quasi ignorans, et de eorum ingratitudine dolens; et eos requirendo ostendit sibi ignotos, id est reprobatos. Sicut enim ingratus non recognoscit Dei beneficium, ita nec Deus notitia approbationis recognoscit ipsum ; recognoscentem vero se recognoscit et ipse. Unde ait Beda : « Et merito eos Salvator, quasi ignotos ubi sunt inquirit. Scire enim Dei, eligere; nescire, i-eprobare est ; » haec Beda. Magis autem dolendum est de eo, qui aliquam incurrit ingratitudinis culpam, quam de beneficio perdito. Et ideo, quasi plangendo subditur : Non est inventus, qui rediret et daret gloriam Beo, nisi hic alienigena, alterius scilicet gentis, qui non erat de Judagis.
Et hoc dictum est : vel a Chrislo, et tunc erant verba quasi lamentantis ; vel dictum est ab Evangelista in confusionem Judaeorum , qui non sunt reversi adChristum. Et nota quod in hoc quod iste alienigena rediit, et alii, qui erant Israelitae, reditum neglexerunt, praefigurata fuit vocatio et fides Gentilium, qui venturi devote erant ad fidem Christi ; ac repudiatio et perfidia Judaeorum, qui in suo errore erant remansuri. Duminus autem et in his et in omnibus quos sanavit in corpore, sanavit et in anima; sed hi postquam fuerunt sanati in corpore, et justificati in anima, ac boni facti, postea corruerunt a gratia, et facti sunt mali et ingrati. Deinde eorum ingratitudinem magis confutat, dum alienigenam, qui redierat, laudando commendat ; quia enim humiliter ante Deum infirmitatem suam cognovit, ideo Dominus consolans eum, ait illi : Surge, scilicet a peccato, in quo jacuisti, cessando, et vade de virtute in virtutem, inconversione quam incepisti proficiendo, quia fides tua^ qua intellectum Deo subdidisti, te salvum fecit, et ad salutem non solum corporis, sed et animse reduxit ; ipsa est enim initium justificationis, et dat fiduciam regni coelestis. Ubi Beda : « Si autem fides salvum fecit eum qui se ad agendas Salvatori gratias inclinavit ; ergo perfidia perdidit eos qui de acceptis beneficiis Deo gloriam dare neglexerunt : » hadcBeda.
Mystice, per lepram, quse est corruptio carnis, signatur peccatum mortale, quod est corruptio animae. — Primo, quia communiter in lepra vox eflicitur invalida; sicin peccatore vox est invahda , scimus quia 'peccatores Deus non audit, et cum mulliplicant orationem non exaudit. — Secundo, quia in leproso corpore multa ulcera minuta, dura et rotundacrescunt; sic in corde peccatoris multae compunctiones et anxietates diversorum peccatorum et circumstantiarum consurgunt,minuunt semper affectionem hominis ad Deura, et reddunt horninem durum et rcbellem Deo et ejus mandatis, el per hoc fiunt corda hominum peccatorum rotunda et ductilia, scilicet ad A DOMINO CUUATIS. voluntatem diaboli. — Tcrtio, quia eoruni anliclitus coiTumpitur et cjus roetore saepius alii inficiuntur ; sic operatio ct convcrsatio peccatoris ita est corrupta, quod conversantes infirmantur ex vitioso eorum convictu. — Quarto, quia lepra quanto studiosius reprimitur, tanto plus turpior postca ebullit ; sic pcccatum quanto plus occultatur, tanto fortius crescit, et ideo turpius apparebit. Pcr denarium vero numerum leprosorum universitas significatur, numeri namque sequentcs usque ad centum sunt ipsius et partium ejus replicationes, ct sic consequenter per decem leprosos occurrentes Christo, significatur universitas peccatorum poenitentium. Vel, leprosi signant eos, qui peccant contra decem praecepta Decalogi, varieta te peccatorum , quasi maculis leprse distincti et respersi.
Valde autem deterior est lepra animfle, quam lepra corporis, quia pcjor cst corruptio spiritus, quam carnis.
Debct autcm peccator volens sanari, et a peccatorum lepra curari, eo modo se habere quo se habuerunt illi leprosi : primo itaque debet Jesu occurrere per fidem, non enim abhorret pius Dominus aspicere maculam leprae nostrae, qui pro uobis in cruce velut leprosus reputatus est ; secundo, debet stare, surgcndo a peccatis, et cessando ab eis ; tertio, debet stare a longe, suam vilitatem humiliterconsiderando, et valde erubescendo; quarto, debet levare vocem, scilicet de profundo corde in contritionis verba prorumpendo, et peccata sua, non aliena, confitendo; quinto, debct dicere : Jesu, prseccptor, Dei misericordiam implorando, qu3B maximc est peccatoribus opportuna. In hoc autem quod Dominus videns lcprosos dixit eis : ItCy ostendite vos sacerdotibuSj manifeste a Domino Jesu confessio prsecipitur, per quam lepra interior saluti ostenditur. Ac si cis diceret ; Ite, a contritione ad confcssionem, ostendite vos sacerdotibus. Quia licet pcccata remittantur in contritione, dicente Propheta : Dixi, id est tirmiter statui, confUebor, ct lu remisisti mihi ; tamcn tenetur homo ca confileri. Undo dum ircnt, mundati suiit in via, quia Deus virtute contritionispeccatoreni mundat interius, priusquam a sacerdote absolvatur exterius. Et nihilominus se sacerdotibus ostendcrunt ; sic et tu, si habes maculani Iepr«, ex aliquo crimine, dum,vidente teDomino oculis misericordioe , vadis ostendere te sacerdoti pcr confcssionem vocis , obviat ipsa salus, et sanaberis a lepra trausactae iniquitatis. Non tamen ideirco omittas te offerre illis, quorum judicio mundus haberis, alioquin ex contemptu et negligentia, immundus remanebis.
Unus autem Ieprosus,qui rediit, universalis Ecclesiae unitatem, seu illos qui in unitate Ecclesiae sunt designat, qua3 pro beneficio gratia? , grates referrc non cessat; novem vero qui remanserunt, illos, qui extra sunt, exprimunt, seu qui post acceptam remissionem criminum a perfectione Decalogi, per unitatem subtractam deficicndo, grates pro gratia reddere contemnunt. Decem igitur mundantur, sed unus gratias refert, quia multi in confessione mundantur, sed non omnes Dominum laudant. Qui enim tamquam canes revertuntur ad vomitum, hi sunt novem qui post adeptam sanitatem, non laudabant Dominum. Et quia pauci sunt respective, qui grati sunt de beneficiis largitatis divinae, et remanent in reparata saiiitate ; ideo tantum unus revertitur dans gloriam Deo. Deo enim gloriam dare est, percepta pec* cati sui curatione, in bonis operibus perseverare. Et hic est Samaritanus, qui interpretatur custos; nam illi sunt grati Deo, C|ui se custodiunt a peccati recidiva. Et est alienigena, dicens cum Apostolo : Non habemus hic manentem civitatcm, sed futuram inquirimus .
Wixid coIIigitur,(iuia hi,qui dcbcrent csse magis grati Doniino cl familiares, ut litterali, prajlati et divites, quibusscientiam dedit velopes, magis sunt ei ingrati, seseque elongant ab eo, uec referunt sibi gratias sicut simplices et pauperes, quibus tot bona non contulit. Quasi dicerent : Labia nostra et di^itiae a nobis sunt, quis noster Dominus est? Ipse autem unus gratias agendo in faciem cecidit, quia sola unitas Ecclesise cadit in faciem adorans. Inde notandum est quod quandoque prostrati oramus, ubi quatuor prsetendimus : infirmitatem corporis, quia de pulvere sumpti sumus; infirmitatem animi, quia casum ex nobis, non erectionem a nobis, sed a Deo habemus; erubescentiam de malis, quia prae multitudine peccatorum oculos ad coelum levare uon audemus ; prudentiam, quia in faciem cadimus et videmus ubi cadimus, id est quod in terrenis affigimur. Quandoque vero,flexisgenibus, ut Saiomon, sed erecto capite et elevata facie oramus; quasi dicentes pro desiderio patriae : Trahe me post te. Quandoque autem stantesoramus, nos spem in coelestibus habere designantes, et quasi dicentes^ : Nostra conversatio in ccelis est ; et ilJud : In domum Domini laetantes ibimus. In primo ergo exprimimus conditionem nostram; insecundo, desiderium; in tertio, spem. In memoriam quoque resurrectionis Dominicae temporePaschali et diebus dominicis, exemplo sanctarum muherum , inclinatis in terram vultibus, oramus, nos terram et pulverem esse cum Abraham recolentes.
Unus ergo reyersus in faciem ad pedes Jesu cecidit, ac nobis humilitatis et poenitentiae exemplum ostendit. Unde, secundum Bedam, in faciem cadit, qui de perpetratis mahs erubescit. Ibi enimhomo cadit, ibi confunditur. Qui in faciem cadit, videt quo cadat, qui retro, lapsum suum non videt. Boni ergo in faciem cadunt, quia humihant se in his visibilibus, ut ad iuvisibilia erigantur. MaH retro cadunt; quia cadunt in invisil»ilibus, ubi modo non vident, quid eos tunc sequatur. Ad pedes etiam Jesu cadit, et gratias agit, qui se ad percipienda Dei beneficia humihat, qui nihil sibi virtutis attribuit, qui bona quijc habet, de misericordia Dei se haberc intelhgit. Et, secundum eumdem Bedam, qui devotus ante Dominum cecidit, surgere et ire prsecipitur, quia qui infirmitatem suam agnoscens humiliter jacet per divini verbi consolationem , surgere ad fortia opera et, crescentibus quotidie meritis, ad perfectionem passim proficere jubetur.
Hunc autem fides salvum facit, quem ad gratias agendas inchnat, et e contra, perfidia illos damnat, qui de acceptis beneficiis ingrati sunt, et Deo dare gloriam neghgunt.
In hoc ergo capitulo ingrati de beneficiis reprehenduntur a Domino. Multum est laudabihs virtus gratitudo, et valde acceptabilis Deo gratiarum actio, ac detestabile vitium ingratitudo. Unde Augustinus : « Quid melius animo geramus, aut ore promamus, aut calamo exprimamus, quam ut Deo gratias agamus? Hoc nec dici brevius, nec agi fructuosius potest. » Et iterum : « Scio quod ingratitudo dis ■ pliceat tibi, quae radix est totius mali spirituahs, et ventus urens et exsiccansomne bonum, obstruens fontem divinge misericordiae super hominem, quoet mala mortua jam reoriuntur, ne ultra bona adipiscantur. » Unde et Bernardus : « Dignum est semper gratias agere, quia Deus numquam cessat benefacere. » Et iterum : a Disce in referendo gratiam non esse tardus aut segnis; disce ad singula dona gratias agere. Diligenter, inquit in Proverbiis, attende qu% apposita sunt tibi, ut nulla videlicet Dei dona debita gratiarum actione frustrentur, non grandia, non mediocria, non pusilla.
Denique jubemur colligere fragmenta ne pereant, id est nec minima beneficia oblivisci. Numquid non perit quod donatur ingrato ? Ingratitudo inimica est animae, exinanitio meritorum, virtutum dissipatio, bonorum dispersio, beneficiorum perditio. Ingratitudo est ventus urens et siccans sibi fontem pietatis, rorem rnisericordiae , fluenta gratiae. » Qualis vero debeat esse gratiarum actio, docet idem Bernardus, dicens : « Non tantum verbo et lingua, sed opere et veritate exhibeamus nosmetipsos graDE SAMARIT. VNIS nOSIMTKIM DOMIXO NRGANTIBUS, tos ; non enim gTatiariim dictionem, sed gratiarum actionem exigit a nobis Dominus Deus noster. » Unde ait ctiam Chrysostomus : « Agamus igitur Deojugesgratias ; etnon modo verbis hoc nostris, verum etiam operibus nostris, imo ipsius priucipaliter impleamus. Agamus vcro gratias non de propriis taatum, verum etiam de alienis bouis.
Ita enim et invidiam poterimus exstinguere, et alere caritatem. Neque jam illis poteris invidere, de quorum bonis gratias Deo referendo laetaris. Quid igitur magnum reposcit, qui pro liberalitate in nos sua, solummodo gratos sibi esse nosmetipsos prsecepit? Ingratitudinis autcm vitium ex arrogantia potissimum gigni solet, cum se aliquis dignum esse bencliciis aestimat. Humiliatus vero alque contritus, non pro bonis solum, sed pro his quae contraria aistimantur esse, gratiarum actiones mittet Deu, et quodcumque patietiir, nihil se dignum a^stimabit passum esse : » hajc Chrysostomus. Et hoec est magnacausaquare Deum non diligimus, quia ejus beneficia non recognoscimus. Unde ait Hieronymus : t Vis scire quare Deum non diligis? Quia ejus beneficia non recognoscis.
Quanto magis in bonitate ejus ascendis, tanto plus in amore ejus inardescis : » haec Hieronymus. ORATIO Domine Jesu Christe, de tua pietate confisus, ad te pium medicum, ego quasi leprosus, varietate peccatorum respersus, confugio ; ad fontem misericordiarum,ego immundus maculis vitiorum curro, et supplex te exoro, quatenus digneris meam sanare infirmitatem, lavare foeditatem, et me dirigere ad salutem. Da mihi, ut semper beneficia tua in corde habeam, et de universis gratias tibi agam; sed quia homo mortalis, cinis et pulvis, nec unum pro mille gratias referre sufficit, referant tibi grates pro me Virgo Maria et omnes cives supercoelestes, atque omnis creatura, quae divinae laudis sit materia. Amen.
The Life of Christ (Vita Christi) companion
A prayer for every moment, already on your phone
Chosen Portion puts a curated historic prayer in front of you each day — so the words are there before the moment arrives.
Chosen Portion is the digital descendant of the carried prayer book: the short daily prayers this collection preserves, delivered one a day to your pocket.
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