De fletu Domini super Jerusalem et ingressu in eam
The Tears of the Savior
Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, revealing the necessity of tempering worldly joy with the remembrance of future judgment.
The Lord mingled tears with that joy, and he didn't let his mercy be forgotten; even while the crowd was singing his praises, he began to lament over the city's destruction. He felt pity for them—he who wills that all men be saved—a fact that wouldn't have been clear to us had it not been made evident by some human sign. Tears shed freely are a sign of sadness, which is why this Gospel is read in the month of August; for it is found that the city of Jerusalem was destroyed in this month, first by Nebuchadnezzar and later by the Romans. He wept, choosing to mingle tears with the great honor shown to him, to show that human joy is quickly turned into weeping, and that all the joys and honors of the world are mixed with tears and sorrows. In heaven, all things are pure; in the world, all things are mixed; in hell, all things are gloomy—that is, full of weeping. Or muddy—that is, full of filth, sordid, or foul. Likewise, to give an example to prelates: when they are raised to honors for the care of the people, they ought to weep for their own imperfection and the people's failings rather than rejoice in their worldly advancement. Likewise, we should temper worldly joy with wholesome sadness; for worldly joy is like pure wine, which quickly intoxicates unless it is tempered by the meditation of death or the remembrance of future adversity—as it says in Ecclesiasticus: 'In the day of honors, do not be unmindful of evils.' So when He approached Jerusalem—not just by the movement of His body, but with the deep feeling of compassion—He saw the city where divine worship had long flourished. He saw it not only with His physical eyes and its outward beauty, but also with the eye of His divinity, seeing the city itself as ungodly and conspiring toward His own death. Foreseeing its fall and destruction, He wept—not for His own death, which they were plotting, but for its ruin and loss. He wept with a compassion for the city, both because of the evils of sin that had multiplied there and because of the evils of punishment that were looming over the city and its people, saying: "If you had known, that is, if you had known what I know is coming upon you, and you, too, had wept with Me over your ruin, you who now exult." "Just as I weep," He says, "I who see all things and know what is to come, so you, too, would weep if you could see what is coming, you who now exult because you don't know what is hanging over you." Because He was the fountain of mercy, He couldn't hold back His tears; He didn't lament the buildings of stone, but the destruction of souls. Why it exults now is shown when it is added: "And indeed in this your day," that is, in this your brightness of prosperity and this brief time of success, in which you do your own will, "the things that make for your peace are present to you," not of the heart, nor of eternity, but only of time, and lasting for but a short while. And so you rejoice now because you don't see what is looming. For when it gave itself over to the pleasures of the flesh and didn't look toward what was coming, it had, in its own day, the things that could have made for its peace. For there is a worldly peace that the ungodly love, so that they may sin without fear and freely indulge in their pleasures; of this it is said in political writings that they gather rust like iron, while pursuing peace. And note that the time of prosperity is signified here by the singular term "day," but later the "days" of adversity are used in the plural, because the prosperity was small in comparison to the adversity. Why Jerusalem had good things present for its peace is made clear when it is added: "Now, however, as if in this brief present time of prosperity and peace, they are hidden from your eyes," both bodily and spiritual—namely, the evils that are coming upon you. For present prosperity prevents the looming adversity from being considered and guarded against; yet it will be made manifest quickly and in a short time, because the joy of the hypocrite is like a point. If the looming evils hadn't been hidden from the eyes of its heart, it wouldn't have been so joyful in its present prosperity.
The Prophecy of Ruin
The Lord foretells the destruction of Jerusalem as a warning for the soul to recognize the time of its visitation.
3 The Lord prophesies the ruin of Jerusalem. The punishment looming from the Roman leaders is added when it is said: 'For the days of tribulation will come upon you,' that is, against you; 'and they will surround you with enemies,' namely the Roman leaders, 'with a rampart and a circuit,' that is, a barricade made of beams and stakes. This was done in vengeance, because the Jews surrounded the head of Christ with a crown of thorns. And 'they will surround you' with their physical power; this was in vengeance, because the Jews surrounded Christ in the garden with swords and clubs. They will hem you in on every side, closing you off and blocking your entrance and exit so there is no way of escape. The distress of the city was so great that they ate the flesh of their own children; this was in vengeance, because the Jews gave vinegar to the thirsty Christ on the cross. And they will cast you to the ground by tearing down your towers and stronger fortifications, leveling all your buildings; this was in vengeance, because the dead body of Christ had to be buried in the earth. And they will cast your children to the ground—that is, the Jews born in you, or your inhabitants—by killing some and taking others captive; this was in vengeance, because they persecuted the Apostles, the children of Christ. And they will not leave in you one stone upon another, by utterly overturning everything. After all this, they are dispersed forever, because they refused to be gathered under the wings of Christ, in the faith of the Church. It is also added for what fault the punishment was brought: 'Because you did not recognize'—because malice and envy blinded you, and you refused to recognize 'the time of your visitation,' that is, my coming in the flesh. I came to see and to save you; if you had recognized this, you would have been at peace with the Romans and rescued from all dangers. For if the Jews had recognized the time of grace in the coming of Christ, they would have believed in Christ and would not have suffered the aforementioned calamities; just as all who believed in Christ at that time escaped them. In an allegorical sense, this city is the Church, which during the time of the Antichrist will be so distressed and cast down that few will dare to confess themselves Christians. Christ visits this Church whenever He stirs it toward the good, but for the most part, the Church doesn't effectively recognize this; because of this, the persecution of the Antichrist comes upon it, for the purging of the elect and the condemnation of the reprobate. In a moral sense, however, this city is the soul of the sinner, over which Christ weeps with the tears of compassion. If the soul were to consider the state of its own guilt and the state of the punishments it awaits in the future, it would weep for itself along with Christ. But the delight of sin takes away the consideration of death, the fear of strict judgment, and the anxiety of the punishments of hell. It is walled in by death and will be distressed by evil spirits so that it cannot find a way to escape; its children—that is, the thoughts by which it promised itself a long life, honors, riches, and the like—are frustrated, and not one stone will be left upon another in it, because all the construction of its thoughts will be dissipated, since it did not recognize the time of its visitation when the Lord invited it to the amendment of life. Therefore, according to Gregory, what the Lord did once in history, He does daily through His elect in the Church: He strikes the reprobate who don't know why they are struck, but they exult and rejoice in their evils; if they were to foresee their own condemnation, which hangs over them, they would weep for themselves with the tears of the elect, who in their perversity have their day here in peace, because they rejoice in transitory things in time and aren't terrified by the fear of future punishment. The punishments that follow, however, are now hidden from their eyes because they are future; they refuse to foresee what disturbs their temporal joy. Therefore, even if there is any joy in the present time, it should be managed in such a way that the bitterness of the coming judgment never leaves your memory. The day will come when they will be led to vengeance and punishment, because they did not recognize the time of their visitation. For God visits the perverse soul daily—sometimes by command, sometimes by the lash, and sometimes by a miracle—so that it may hear the truths it did not know, and, pierced by sorrow, may return, or, overcome by kindness, may blush for the evil it has done. But because the proud soul scorns this and doesn't recognize the time of its visitation, it is handed over at the end of life to those enemies with whom it will be bound in the eternal judgment of everlasting damnation. Therefore, we must think deeply about how terrible the hour of our passing will be for us: what a dread for the mind! How great, then, will be the memory of all evils! What an oblivion of past happiness! What fear and consideration of the Judge! What, then, should we find delightful in the present, when everything is passing away and we can't escape what's coming? When what we love is completely finished, and that other state begins where pain never ends? Beyond this opinion of Gregory, these points can be understood in another way; for, morally speaking, a sinner in their guilt is: first, besieged by the enemy's outward suggestion; second, surrounded by the inward impulse of the flesh; third, constricted by the heat of desire; fourth, cast to the ground by inward consent; fifth, their children are killed by the mortification of good works; and sixth, they are completely torn down by the outward commission of sin. In punishment, however: first, they are besieged by outward tribulation; second, surrounded by the infirmity of their own body; third, constricted by the anxiety of mind and conscience; fourth, cast to the ground by the despair of salvation; fifth, their children are killed by the grief and desolation of their loved ones; and sixth, they are totally overturned by death. In death, too, they are besieged and surrounded by demons, and constricted by sins; for demons call back to their memory every sin—not only of deed, but also of word and thought—to drag them into despair. Then, they are cast to the ground because the body is reduced to ashes and the soul is thrust into hell; and their children... —that is, their works or their imitators—are likewise cast down, so that they are inwardly in punishment just as they were in guilt. And not one stone is left upon another—that is, no thought upon thought that isn't brought up against them—because, according to Gregory, every structure of thoughts is dissipated by a perverse soul. For then, as it is said in the Psalm: "All the thoughts of the wicked will perish, and all their schemes will cease."
The Four Rivers of Compunction
The four instances of Christ's weeping serve as a model for the believer's own life of penance and compassion.
The good Lord Jesus wept; and to reveal the sweetness of his supreme compassion, he himself—the fountain of all mercy—wept not just once, but many times, pouring out streams of tears in great abundance from those most loving eyes for the atonement of everyone's sins. It is written that the Lord Jesus wept on four occasions: first, out of the necessity of being a little child at his birth, according to the saying of Wisdom: 'I uttered my first cry, weeping like everyone else,' which is why the Church sings: 'The infant cries, placed amidst the narrow manger.' Second, the Lord wept out of immense love at the raising of Lazarus. Third, out of deep compassion during this solemn procession. Fourth, out of intimate sorrow during his Passion, offering prayers to God with tears. These are the four rivers flowing from paradise, for the cleansing, cooling, quenching, and fruitfulness of the whole world. These four tears of the Savior can be related to four types of weeping, which, like four rivers of paradise, irrigate and make the soul fruitful: the first is the weeping for our dwelling in this present misery; the second is the weeping of compunction; the third is the weeping of compassion; the fourth is for the delay of our true homeland. The first type of weeping signifies the tears of the Savior's infancy. As Augustine says: 'A child who is born begins with a cry; tears are the witnesses of misery. He does not yet speak, and already he prophesies.' Weeping on the cross signifies the weeping of compunction, which those who are on the cross of penance ought to have. Hence the same Augustine says: 'Let him know that he is culpably hard-hearted who weeps for the death of a friend or the loss of temporal goods, yet does not show sorrow for sin in tears.' Weeping over the destruction of the city represents the weeping we should have for the calamities of the miserable and the ruin of souls. That’s why Job says: 'I wept for him who was afflicted,' and so on. The weeping over Lazarus, who was to be called back to life and whose glory was to be delayed, signifies weeping for the delay of our heavenly home. This is why the Psalmist says: 'Woe is me, that my sojourning is prolonged.' In the Lord's weeping, it is shown how much those who sin ought to weep, since He who never sinned wept in this way. Hence Cassiodorus says: 'Where the prince was weeping with such great affliction, who would not weep when he was weeping?' Who, when he was groaning, wouldn't groan? Thus Cassiodorus. It's worth noting that there are seven evils that are, as it were, coming for the sinner, and if he were to think on them, he could be moved to tears: first is the stripping away of everything, which happens to him at death, from which he will carry nothing with him; second is the encounter with enemies who will seize him in the midst of his distress; third is the loss of the opportunity to repent and to obtain mercy; fourth is great confusion, the cause of which could be the laying bare of his deeds, or the reproach of Christ's benefits, or the mockery of God and the Saints; fifth is the separation of the reprobate from the elect; sixth is exclusion from glory; seventh is the misery of hellish punishment. And one must weep deeply for sins, because of the many evils that sins bring upon those who commit them. Through sin, a person offends God, loses the fellowship of the Saints and Angels, forfeits the prayers of the Church, kills his own soul, subjects himself to the devil, and plunges himself into hell. Look closely, then, at the Lord Jesus weeping now, and if you can, weep with Him; for He weeps abundantly and deeply, because He was grieving for them not in pretense, but in truth. He was grieving and weeping bitterly over their eternal danger and their temporal destruction, because they didn't recognize the time of their visitation, when the Dawn from on high visited them through the mystery of the Incarnation, so that they might receive the Lord Himself and His preaching; yet they pursued Him even to death. O heart so hard, so senseless and wicked, and so cut off from the life of God—you are truly to be mourned! Why, like a madman, do you laugh and take pleasure in such miseries, while the Wisdom of the Father is weeping over you? Consider your Physician weeping, and as you would for the mourning of the Only-Begotten, make your own lamentation bitter: let your tears flow like a river day and night; give yourself no rest, and don't let the apple of your eye be silent. Look also at the disciples. See how willingly and diligently they always walk beside Him, yet with fear and reverence. They are His barons and knights, His companions, attendants, and squires. Don't think that others could hold back their tears when the Lord himself was weeping. For us, brothers, these tears of the Lord serve to make us imitate our Master, and to learn from such a great teacher how we ought to act when our enemies face death and ruin. This is why he says: "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who persecute and slander you." The Lord Jesus wept not only for the walls of the city that were about to fall, but also for the ruin and destruction of souls; in doing so, he gave us an example of what we should do when we see someone rushing toward eternal damnation. For in following the example of our Lord Jesus Christ, we too must weep, and weep all the more because he himself does not know how to weep for his own state. For if he understood his own weaknesses and knew the calamities that were about to come upon him, he would certainly weep more than others for himself. This weeping of the Lord, out of compassion for the city because of the misery soon to fall upon it, was prefigured long ago in the Lamentations of Jeremiah, who wept over the future desolation of that same city by the Romans. So too, we must weep out of compassion for the affliction of our neighbors, and even of our enemies, following the example of Christ, who had compassion on his enemies. It is worth more to have compassion on the afflicted than to give away worldly goods; and it is impossible for someone not to merit grace and mercy if he knows how to have compassion on the afflicted and to weep for their sins.
The Triumphal Entry
Christ enters Jerusalem to fulfill prophecy, while the crowds and leaders react with confusion and wonder.
So the Lord Jesus entered Jerusalem, amidst the triumph and honor of the crowds, through the Golden Gate at the foot of the temple, on the side of the Valley of Josaphat. According to Chrysostom, He did this not to put on a show, but to fulfill the prophecy and to comfort His disciples, who were saddened by His death. He was comforting them and showing them that He was willing to suffer this. As Uahanus says: "This entry of His into Jerusalem took place five days before the Passover; here we should note the harmony, not only in events, but also in the timing of the Old and New Testaments." For on the tenth day of the first month, the lamb that was to be sacrificed at the Passover was ordered to be brought into the house; because the Lord, too, was to enter the city where He would suffer on the tenth day of that same month, which is five days before the Passover. And when Jesus had entered Jerusalem to offer salvation, the whole city was stirred, asking: "Who is this?" This signified that, as Jesus enters the heavenly Jerusalem, the angels will say: "Who is this King of glory?" Hence Origen says: "But also when Jesus entered the true Jerusalem, the heavenly Virtues, in wonder, said: 'Who is this King of glory?'" That is what Origen says. They were asking, "Who is this?" It was as if to say, "He isn't someone so great that he deserves such honors." The crowds were amazed at the sheer number of people, not knowing the truth about the one they were meeting with such praise. Chrysostom says, "They were right to be stirred, seeing such a marvelous thing." A man was being praised as if he were God, but it was God being praised in the man. I suspect that even those who were praising him didn't know what they were praising; rather, the Spirit suddenly entered into them, and without their souls realizing it, poured out words of truth—or so says Chrysostom. The chief priests and the elders were indignant at the reverence shown to Christ; and because of this, the whole city is said to have been stirred, since the action of the leaders is said to be the action of the entire city, or of any other community. The common people, however—the simple and ordinary ones—as if offering a reason for the contrary, were saying, "This is Jesus, the Prophet from Nazareth in Galilee." In truth, he is the Lord of the Prophets, and for that reason, he certainly deserves to be honored. Look, the confession of God begins with the lowly, so that it may reach the great. As Jerome says: "While others were crowding around or asking questions, the lowly common people confessed: 'This is Jesus, the Prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.'" They begin with the lowly so that they may reach the greater things; for they call him the Prophet whom Moses had said would come, similar to himself, and from Nazareth in Galilee because he had been raised there, so that the flower of the field might be nourished in the flower of virtues—so says Jerome. And after the Lord... ...had entered Jerusalem, he sent the animals back to their place. The Church commemorates this procession of the Lord on that day. For the faithful go out with branches, as if to meet the Lord, beyond the walls or enclosures; some go as far as the cross, where they also fasten and lay down the branches they carry in their hands, as if the Church were saying: 'May it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.' Sometimes, however, they go for this reason, even as far as the cross, as if to show them that one should not hope in any glory of the world, because sorrow occupies the extremes of joy, and then they return into the city with the cross.
The Two Processions
The Church contrasts the glory of the Palm Sunday procession with the ignominy of the Passion, teaching the believer to find endurance in the cross.
For the same reason, the Gospel of the Lord’s Passion follows the joy of the procession on that day, perhaps because the Lord mingled lamentation with exultation; and we follow the procession with the Passion, because the Passion was the cause of the destruction for which He wept. The Lord came to the ungodly city and to the place of the contest, about to wage war in the near future and to triumph over His enemies with glory and honor; and, certain of victory before the battle—which is not the usual way—He accepted a triumph. This is why the palm branches, with which He was gloriously received, signify the victory that was soon to come over the prince of this world. Today, therefore, Mother Church commemorates two processions. The first occurred because the Jews accompanied Christ from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem with branches of olive and palm and with great songs; this procession was one of great reverence and honor, and the Church represents this in today’s Gospel. The second occurred because the Jews led Christ from Jerusalem to the Mount of Calvary with great insults and mockery; this procession was one of great ignominy and sorrow, and the Church represents this in today’s Passion. These processions show the great fickleness of the Jews’ will: in the first, they placed Him upon a donkey with great reverence and devotion, but in the second, they hung Him on a cross with great ignominy; in the first, they spread their garments on the road, but in the second, they stripped Christ of His own clothes; in the first, they carried branches of olive and palm to meet Him, but in the second, they fixed sharp thorns to His head; in the first, they called Him King, but in the second, they denied Him, saying, 'We have no king but Caesar'; in the first, they called Him the Savior of the world, saying, 'Hosanna'—that is, 'Save us, I pray'—but in the second, they denied the Savior Himself. They said that He could not save Himself; in the first, they said He was blessed and had come into the world in the name of the Lord—that is, the Father—but in the second, they said He was a criminal and that for this reason they had handed Him over. And to be fixed to the gibbet of the cross. Look at how much instability was in them, because they treated the one they honored so much with such shame after only a little while. But because of the procession of glory, it had a greater confusion resulting from the subsequent disgrace. Hence Bernard asks: "Why did He want to have a procession, when He knew the Passion was coming so soon?" The procession is rightly represented today, because it happened today. But why was the Passion added, when it is known to have followed on Friday? Perhaps it was so that the Passion might be more bitter than the procession that had preceded it. And again: "It is not without cause that such a new procession is added to the Passion by a certain wonderful connection." For the procession has applause; the Passion, however, has lamentation. Let's see what this combination offers. Certainly, so that we might learn that we should never place our trust in anything of this world. Joy often ends in sorrow; but in the midst of good things, let's not be unmindful of the bad. For this present life is mixed for everyone—not just for worldly people, but even for those who are spiritual. Therefore, He who began by doing before He taught—showing us not only in words but also by His example that all flesh is grass and all its glory is like the flower of the field—willed that the glory of the procession be exalted when He knew the day of His most ignominious Passion was drawing near. Yet spiritual things are compared to spiritual things; in the procession, we represent the glory of the heavenly homeland, but in the Passion, we show the way. In the procession, we will be caught up in the clouds to meet Christ in the air, when Christ the Lord is received into the heavenly Jerusalem, with the peoples of both Testaments applauding and shouting from every side, just like those who went before and those who followed: 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.' In the procession, you have considered where you must hasten; learn in the Passion where you must go. Tribulation is the path of life, the path of glory, and the path of the heavenly kingdom. The glory of the procession makes the labor of the Passion endurable, for to one who loves, nothing is difficult—so says Bernard. PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, who by word and example have taught us to weep rather than to laugh, I beg you by your most blessed tears and all your mercies: teach me to always see and know my sins and the dangers that threaten me, so that the enemies of my soul—that is, the suggestions of demons and the beauty of worldly things—may not...
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Immiscuit autem Dominus cum praedicta laetitia et fletum, nec suae miserationis obiitus, cum turba depromeret canticum, ipse super excidium civitatis assumpsit lamentum ; miserebatur enim eorum, qui omnes homines salvari vult, quod nobis non patuisset, nisi per aliquod humanum signum evidens fieret. Effusse enim lacrymae sunt signum tristitise, unde istud Evangelium in mense Augusto decantatur ; quia civitas Jerusalem in isto mense prius a Nabuchodonosor, deinde a Romanis destructa fuisse invenitur. Flevit etiam, et tanto honore sibi exhibito lacrymas voluit commiscere, ut ostenderet, quia humana ia^titia cito in fletum convertitur ; et , quod omnia gaudia et honores mundi lacrymis, et doloribus sunt admixta. In coelo quidem sunt omnia pura ; in mundo omni i mixta ; in inferno omnia lu^ubria, id est flebilia. vel lutulenta, id est iuto plena, surdida, vel foetida. Item, ad dandum exemplum prselatis, quod, quando assumuntur ad honores, pro cura populi potius debent flere suam imperfectionem , et populi defectionem, quam gaudere de sublimatione temporali. Item, ut Isetitiam mundanam, salubri tristitia, temperemus ; est enim mundana ]«titia, sicut vinum purum, quod cito inebriat,nisi temperetur meditatione mortis, vel recordatione adversi futuri ; unde in Ecclesiastico : In die honorum^ ne immemor sis malorum.
Ut ergo appropinquavit, non solum corporis gressu, sed etiam compassionis affectu, Jerusalem, in qua diu viguerat cuitus divinus, videns non tantum oculo corporis civitatem, et exteriorem ejus pulchritudinem, sed etiam oculo divinitatis ipsam impiam civitatem in suam necem conspirantem, praevidens ejus casum et subversionem ; non de sua morte, quam ilii machinabantur, sed de illius ruina et perditione flevit ^scilicei fletu compassionis super illam : tum propter mala culpae , quae ibi multiph'cata fuerant, tum propter mala poenai, quae super civitatem et populum futura imminebant, sic dicens : Quia, si cognovisses, scilicet ea quae ego super te ventura cognosco, et tu, sciJicet fleres mecum ruinam tuam, quoe modo exsultas. Sicut- ergo, inquit, fleo, ego qui omnia video et futura cognosco; sic, et tu, fleres, si nunc ventura videres, quae modo, quoniam nescis quod imminet, exultas ; fons enim pietatis erat, et ideo lacrymas continere non poterat, nec aedificia planxit parietum, sed subversionem animarum. Cur vero modo exsultat, ostenditur, cum subditur : Et quidem in hac die tua, id est in hac tua prosperitatis claritate, et in hoc modico tempore tibi prospero, in quo facies voluntatem tuam, adsunt tibi ea quae ad pacem tibi sunt, non pectoris, nec aeternitatis, sed temporis solum, et modico tempore duraturam ; et ideo nunc gaudes, quia imminentia non vides Cum enim se carnis voluptatibus daret, et ventura non prospiceret, in die sua, quae ad pacem ei esse poterant, habebant. Est namque mundana pax, quam diligunt impii, ut sine timore peccent, et libere suis voluptatibus vacent ; de qua in politicis dicitur, quod rubiginem contrahunt sicut ferrura, pacem ducentes. Et attende quia tempus prosperitatis significat hic nomine diei singulariter; postea vero dies adversitatis pluraliter, quia modica fuit prospentas in comparatione adversitatis. Cur autem bona praesentia Jerosolyma ad pacem habuerit, manifestatur, cum subditur : Nunc autem quasi modico praesenti tempore prosperitatis et pacis abscondita sunt ab oculis tuis, tam corporalibus quam spiritualibus, scilicet mala, quae ventura sunt tibi; praesens enim prosperitas facit ne consideretur et praecaveatur fulura adversitas, cito autem manifestabuntur et in brevi, quia gaudium hypocritae instar est puncti. Si enira a cordis ejus oculis mala imminentia abscondita non essent, sic laeta in praesentibus prosperis non fuisset. 3 Prophetat Dominus ruinam JeRusALEM.
Cujus poena, quae de Romanis principibus imminebat, adjuncta est, cum dicitur: Quia venient dies^ tribulationum, m te, id est contra te; et circumdabunt te inimicitui, scilicet principes Romani, vallo et circuitu, scilicet concatenatura de ligais et palis facta ; et hoc factum fuit in vindictam, quia caput Cliristi Juda^i circumdederunt spineacorona. Et circumdabunt te, sua potentia corporali ; et hoc in vindictam, quia Judaii circumdederunt Christuin in horto, cum gladiis ct fustibus. JE^ coangustabunt te undique, sciiicet concludendo, et prohibendo introitum atque exitum, ita ut nulla sit evasionis via, tanta autem fuit civitatis angustia, ut carnes fiiiorum manducarent ; et Jioc in vindiclam, qnoniam Judaei sitienti Christo acetum in cruce dederunt. Et ad terramprosternent te turres et loca munitiora diruendo, et cuncta sedificia ad terram dejiciendo; et hoc in vindictam, quoniam corpus Christi mortuum oportuit sepeliri in terra. Et filios tuoSj id est Judaeos, qui in te sunt geiiiti, seu habitatores tuos, prosternent ad terram, aliquos occidcndo, ahquos captivando; et hoc in vindictam, quia Christi filios Apostolos persecuti sunt. Et non relinquent in te lapidem super lapidem, scilicet funditus evertendo, et post omnia in perpetuum simt dispersi,quia noluerunt sub aiis Christi, in fide Ecclesiae, congregari. Cui etiam ex qua culpa fuerit poena allata, subjungitur : Eo quod non cognoveris, quia malitia et invidia excsecante , cognoscere noluisti ; iempus visita^ tionis tuse, id est mei adventus in carnem ; veni enim visurus et salvaturus te, quod si cognosceres, esses pacata Romanis, et ab omnibus erepta periculis. Si enim tempus gratiae, in adventu Christi, Judaei cognovissent, Christo credidissent, nec supradictas calamitates sustinuissent ; sicut omnes, qui ia Christum crediderunt, tunc evaserunt.
Socuudum seasum allegoricum, civitas haec est Ecclesia, quae tempore Aatichristi, sic angustiabitur et prosternetur, quod pauci audebunt se Christianos confiteri. Quam EcclesiamChristusvisitat, quandocumque ad boaum eam excitat, sed Ecclesia pro majori parte non cogaoscit hoc cum effectu : propter quod Antichristi persecutio super eam veait, ad purgationem electorum, et damaatioaem reproboruai. Secuadum vero seasum moralem, ista civiias estanima peccatoris, super quam flet Christus fletu com-' passionis. Si vero consideraret anima statum suai culpae, et quem statum poeaarum ia futuro exspectet, ipsa cum Christo semetipsam plaageret. Sed peccati delectatio tollit mortis repeatiaae coasideratioaem, districti judicii timorem, et poeaarum iaferni aaxietatcm. Quae vallatur ia morte, et aagustiabitur a spiritibus maligais, ut evadendi aditum invenire non possit ; et ejus filii prosterneatur, id est cogitatioaes quibus promittebaat sibi loagam vitam, hoaores, divitias, et hujuscemodi frustrantur ; et noa reliaquetur in ea lapis super lapidem, quia omais ab illa cogitatioaum suarum coastructio dissipabitur, eo quod non cognovit tempus visitationis suae, cum Dominus eam invitaret ad emendationem vitae. Unde, secundum Gregorium, quod juxta historiam Dominus semel egit, hoc quotidie per electos suos in Ecclesia agit : plaagit eaim reprobos qui aesciuat cur plaagaatur, sed ia malis exsultant et laetaatur; qui si damnatioaem suam, quae eis immiaet, praevidereat, semetipsos cum lacrymis electorumplangerent, qui in perversitate sua diem suam hic habent cum pace, quia transitorio gaudent in tempore, et aulla veaturae poeaae terreatur formidine. Supplicia autem sequentia, nunc ad oculoseorumabscondita sunt, quoaiam futura ; quae temporalemla^titiamperturbaat, praevidere refugiuat.
Unde, et si qua est praeseatis temporis, ita est ageada laetitia, ut numquam amaritudo sequentis judicii recedat a memoria. Veaieut autem dies, quando ad ultioaem et supplicia ducentur, quia non cognoverunt tempus visitationis suae. Perversam enim animam Deus visitat quotidie praecepto, aliquando flagello, aliquando vero miraculo ; ut et vera quae nesciebat, audiat, et aut dolore compuacta redeat, aut beueficiis devicta, malum quod fecit erubescat. Sed, quia superbiens contemnit, et visitationis suse tempus non cognoscit, illis in extremo Yitae inimieis traditur, cum quibus in aeterno judicio damnationis perpetuse societate colligatur. Unde nobis cogitandum Yalde est, quantum erit nobis terribilis hora nostrse resolutionis : qui pavor mentis ! quanta tunc omnium malorum memoria ! quse obliviotransactge felicitatis ! quae formido et consideratio Judicis!
Quid ergo esse nobis de praesentibus ad deiectationem debet, quando simul cunctis transeuntibus non valet transire quod imminet, quando et hoc funditus finitur, quod diligitur, et illud incipitur, ubi dolor nuniquam finitur? Praeter hanc sententiam Grcgorii, possunt praedicta et aliter accipi, nam moraliter in culpa peccator : primo, vallatur, per hostis suggestionem exteriorem ; secundo, circumdatur, per interiorem carnis impulsionem ; tertio, coangustatur, per delectatiouis inflammationem ; quarto, ad terram prosternitur, per consensum interiorem; quinto, filii ejus occiduntur,per operum bonorum mortificationem; sexto, diruitur omnino, per peccati perpetrationem exteriorem. In poena vero : primo, vallatur,per exteriorem tribulationem ; secundo, circumdatur, per proprii corporis infirmitatem; tertio, angustiatur, per animi et conscientiae anxietatem; quarto, ad terram prosternitur, per salutis desperationem; quinto, filii ejus occiduntur, per propinquorum dolorem et desolationem; sexto, totaliter evertitur, per mortem. In morte quoque vallaturet circumdatur a dsemonibus, coangustatur a peccatis ; daemones etenim omnia peccata non solum operis, verumetiam locutionis et cogitationis ad memoriam sibi revocant, ut ad desperationem trahant ; tunc etiam ad terram prosternitur, quia corpus incineratur, et anima in infernum detruditur; et filii. id est opera vel imitatores ejus, similiter prosternuntur, utsintsecum inpoena, sicut fuerunt in culpa ; et lapis super lapidem non relinquitur,id est cogitatio super cogitationem, quae contra eum non adducatur,quia,secundum Gre^onwm, ab anima perversa omnis constructio cogitationum dissipatur, tunc enim, ut in Psalmo dicitur : Omnes cogitationes impiorum peribunt, et omnes machinationes cessabunt.
Flevit ergo nunc bonus Dominus Jesus; sed et pro summae pietatis dulcedine reseranda, ipse fons totius misericordiae non solum semel, sed pluries flevit et ex illis piissimis oculis ad omnium expiationem peccatorum lacrymarum fluenta uberrime manando effudit. Legitur enim Dominum Jesum quatuor vicibus flevisse : primo ex infantuli necessitate, in nativilate, secundum illud Sapientiae : Primam vocem similcm omnibus emisi plorans, unde cantat Ecclesia : Vagit infans inter arcta Positus praesepia; secundo flevit Dominus, ex immenso amore, in Lazari suscitatione ; tertio, ex nimia compassione, in hac solemni processione; quarto, ex intimo dolore, in sua Passione, preces cum lacrymis offerens ad Deum. Jlaec sunt quatuor flumina de paradiso egredientia, ad totius mundi ablutionem, refrigerationem, potationem, et foecunditatem. Hi quatuor fletus Salvatoris pussunt referii ad quatuor species fletus, quae quasi quatuor fluvii paradisi animam irrigant et foecundant : primus estfletus, pro incolatu praeseatis miseriae ; secundus est fletiis compunctionis; tertius , est tletus comi)assiouis ; quartus, pro dilationepatriae. Primam fletus speciem significat fletus infantiae Salvatoris. U iide Augustinus : « Puer qui nascitur incipit a ploratu, lacrymae sunt testes miseriae; nondum loquitur , et jam prophetizat. » Fletus in cruce signat fletum compunctionis, quem debent habere illi, qui sunt in cruce poenitentiae. Unde ait idem Augustinus : « Sciat se culpabiliter durum, qui deflet mortem amici, vel damna rei temporalis, et dolorem peccati non ostendit in lacryrais.
» Fletus super destructione civitatis signat fletum, quo flere debemus super miserorum calamitatibus, et animarum ruiniset D;e FLETU DOMINl perditionibus. Unde in Job : Flebam siiper eo, qui afflictus erat, etc. Fletus vero super Lazarum, qui ad vitam erat revocandtis, et cui gloria erat differenda, signat fletum pro dilatione patria3. Undc in Psalmisla : Heu mihi, quia incolatusmeusprolongatus estl In fletu autem Domini,ostenditur quantum flere debeant qni peccant, quando sic flevit qui numquam peccavit. Unde ail Cassiodorus : u Ubi princeps tanta afflictiune plaiigcbat, quis, illo flente, non fleret? Quis, eo gemente, non gemeret? » liaec Cassiodorus.
Et notandum quod septem mala quasi ventura sunt peccatori, per quoe, si ea cogitaret, ad fletum incitari posset : primum est spoliatio omnium, quae fit ei in morte, de quibus nihil secum feret ; secundum est occursus inimicorum, qui approhendent eum inter angustias ; tertium est amissio status poenitendi, et misericordiam consequendi ; quartum est magna confusio, cujus confusionis causa poterit esse operum denudatio, vel beneficiorum (^hristi exprobratio, vel Dei et Sanctorum derisio; quintum est separatio reproborum ab electis ; sextum est exclusio a gloria; septimum est gehennalis poeniB miseria. Et valde flendum est pro peccatis, propter multa mala, quae peccata inducunt peccantibus. Per peccata enim homo Deum offendit, consortium Sanctorum et Angelorum amittit, suffragia Ecclesiae perdit, animam iaterficit, diabolo se subjicit, et in infernum se demergit.
Couspice igitur bene ipsuui Dominum Jesum nunc flentem, et si pjtes, fleas cum eo ; flet enim largiter et furtiter, quia non simulate, sed vere de ipsis dolebat. Gonle enimamaro dolebat et flebat ihorum periculum eeternale et excidium temporale, quia non cognoverunt tempus visitationis suae, quando per Incarnationis mysterium visitavit eos oriens exalto, ut ipsum Dominum ac praedicationem ejus reciperent; sed magis usque ad mortem cum persecuti sunt. 0 cor durum, vesanum et impium, et tam(|uam vtM'a vita privatum, omnino plangendum ! Cur, more phrenetici, flciite super te Sipientia Patris, in tautis miseriis bnetaris et rides? Considcra lacrymantem medicum tuuni, et ut luctum Unigeniti fac tilii planctum amarum : Deduc quasi torrentem larrymas per dlem et noctem ; non des requiem tibi, nec taceat pupilla oculi tui. Cunspiceetiam disc. ipulos, quam libonter et diligenter vadunt semper juxta eum, cum timore tamen et reverentia. Ipsi sui barunes et miUtes, comites, domicelli, et dexteratores.
Nec debes credere quod, ipso flente, alii se potuerint a lacrymis contmere. Nobis, fratres, istae lacrymoe Domini fiunt, ut Magistrum imitemur, et ab hoc tanto praeceptore nostro discamus quid in nustrorum inimicorum murte, et in ruina agere debeamus. Unde et ipse ait : Diligite iniraicos vestros, benefacite his qui oderunt vos^ et orate pro persequeniibus vos, et calumniantibus vos. Non tantum muros civitatis perituriB, sed et animarum ruinam et perditionem flebat Dominus Jesus, nubisque exemplum dabat quid in taU negotio facere debeamus, cum peccatorem aliquem in aeternam damnationem ruere videmus ; de tali enim Dumini nostri Jesu Christi exempla sequentes, nos quoque flere debemus, et tanto amplius flere, quanto ipse de seipso flere ignorat. Si enimsuas inflrmitatesiatelligeret, et calamitates quae ei superveaturae sunt cogausceret, utique et ipse plus aUis de semetipso fleret. Iste fletus Domini cumpatieatis civitati de miseria, quae ilU mox iinminebat, praefiguratus fuit olim in lamentationibus Jeremiae, qui desolationem ejusdem civitatis per Romanos futuram deflebat ; sic et nos in afflictione proximorum, quin etiam inimicorum, ex compassione fleredebemus, exemplo Christi, qui compassus est suis inimicis. Plusestcompati atflictis quam bona temporaUa erogare ; et irnpossibile est illum gratiam et misericordiam non mereri, qui scit afflictis compati, et eorum peccata deflere.
• Intravit ergo Dominus Jesus Jerosolymam, cum isto triumpho et honore turbarum , per supradictam portamauream, quae est ad pedes templi, a parte vallis Josaphat. Hoc, secundum Chrysostomum, ipse faciebat, non pompam quamdam ostendens,sedetprophelianiimplens, et discipulos, propter mortem contristatos. consolans, et monstrans quoniam hoc pati volebat. Ubi ait Uahanus : « Hic introitus ejus in Jerusalem fuit ante quinque dies Paschcne ; ubi notanda est conconlia, nun solum in rebus, sed etiam in temporibus Veteris et Novi Testamenti. De~ cima enim die mensis primi, agnus qui in Pascha immolaretur, domum introduci jussus est ; quia et Dominus decima die ejusdem mensis, hoc est ante quiuque dies Paschae, civitatem, in qua pateretur, erat ingressurus. )) Et cum intrasset Jesus Jerosolymam^ ut exhiberet salutem, commota est universa civitas, dicens : Quis est hic? Per hoc significatum fuit quod, intrante Jesu in Jerusalem coelestem, Angeli dicturi evdiwi: Quis est iste Rex glorix'! Unde ait Origenes : « Sed et quando intravit Jesus Jerosolymam veram, admirantes Virtutescoelestes, dicebant: Quis est iste Hex gloride'?)
^ haec Origenes. Dicebantergo, quis est hic? Quasi dicerent : Iste non esttalis ac tantus quod taha deberent sibi exhiberi. Mirabantur enim turbae frequentiam, nescientes de eo veritatem,cui obviam cum Jaudibus occurrunt. Unde Chrysostomus : a Merito commovebantur, videntes rem mirabiiem. Homo laudabatur quasi Deus, sed Deus laudahatur in homine; puto autem quod nec ipsi qui laudabant sciebant quid laudabant, sed Spiritus subito ingressus in eos, nesciente anima, veritatis verba fundebat : )) hsdc Chrysostomus. Principes itaque sacerdotum, et majores indignabantur de reverentia Ghristo exhibita ; et ob hoc universacivitas dicitur esse commota, quia factum majorum dicitur esse factum totius civitatis , vel alterius communitatis. Populi autem, id est simplices et vulgares, quasi rationem de contrario reddentes, dicebant : Hicest Jesus Propheta a Nazareth Galilsede; imo Dominus Prophetarum et ideo scilicet, meritodebet honorari.
Ecce confessio Dei a minoribus incipit, ut ad majores perveniat. Ubi Ilieronymus : « Aliis autem ambij^entibus vel interr()gantibus,vilis plebecula confitetur : Quia hic est Jesus Propheta a Nazareth Galilseae. A minoribus incipiunt, ut ad majora perveniant ; Prophetam enim eum dicunt, quem Moyses sui similem dixerat esse venturum, a Nazareth autem Galilaeae, quia ibi educatus fuerat, ut flos campi nutriretur in flore viriutum ; » haec Hieronymus. Et, postquam Dominus in. gressus est Jerusalem,remisit animalia ad locum suum. 9 — McmOriam hujus processionis Dominicae recolit Ecclesia illa die. Egrediuntur enim fideles cum ramis, quasi obviamDomino,extra muros vel septa; usque ad crucem aliqui vadunt, in qua et ramos quos manibus gestant affigentes deponunt, quasi diceret Ecclesia ; Mihi autcm absit gloriari, nisi in cruce Bomini nostri Jesu Christi. Quandoque autem ideo eunt, et usque ad crucem, quasi sic ostendatur eis non esse sperandum in quantalibet gloria mundi, quia extrema gaudii luctus occupat, et deinde cum cruce in civitatem regrediuntur.
Pro eadem significatione illa die, gaudio processionis subditur EvangehumDominicae Passionis, forte quoniam et Dominus exsultationiinseruit lamentum; et nos processioni Passionem, quia Passio fuit causa eversionis, pro qua flevit. In proximo ergo belJa acturus, et de hostibus triumphaturus, cum triumpho et gloria, et ad impiam civitalem, et ad Jocum certaminis Dominus venit; et certus de victoria ante bellum, quod fieri non solet, triumphum suscepit, unde et rami palmarum, cum quibus gloriose susceptus est, propinquam victoriam super principem mundi signant. Hodie ergo mater Ecclesia duasrecolitprocessiones. Prima fuit, quia Judsei Ghristum a monte Oliveti usque Jerusalem, cum ramis olivaruni ct palmarum,et maguis canlicis associaverunt ; et ista processio magiia3 revercnliai et honoris fuit, et hanc Kcclesia in Evangeiio liodierno reprssental. Secunda est, quia Judiei Cliristum a Jerusalem ad moiitcm Calvariae, cum maj^nis opprobriis et irrisiuniljus deduxerunt ; ct i>ta processio fuit magna; ignomiiiia^ Ci doloris, et hanc reprajsentat Ecclesia in Passione hodierna. In islis processionibus ostenditur magna in Juda^is multiplicitas voluntatis : nam in prima cum magna reverentia et devotione ipsumsupra asellumposueinint, in secunda ip>um cum magiia ignominia in patibulo suspenderunt ; in prima, vestimenta sua iii via straverunt, in secunda, Chnstum suis vestibus exspoliaverunt; inprima ramos olivarum et palmarum sibi obviam poitaverunt, in secunda spinas aculissimas ejus capiti affixcrunt; in prima appellaverunt eum, Regem, in secunda negaverunt eum, dicentes ; Non habemus regem, nisi Csesarem; in prima appellaverunt eum mundi Salvatorem, dicentes : Hosanna^ id est salca, obsecro, in secunda ne^averunt ipsum Salvatorem. qui dixerunt quod seipsum salvare non poterat ; in prima dixerunt ij^sum esse benedictum, et in nomine Dumini, scilicet Patris venisse in mundum , in secunda dixerunt ipsum esse malefactorem, el ideo se tradidisse eum. et crucis patibulo affigendum.
Ecce quanta instabilitasin istis fuitl quia quem tantum h(nioraverunt, pust modicum, ignomiuiuse tractavcrunt. Sed propter gloriae processiunem, majorcm hat)uit ex consequenti vituperio confusionem. Unde liernardus : « Quid fuit quod processioneni habere voluit, qui mox futuram noverat Passionem ? Processio quidem merito repricscntalur hodie, quia hodic facla fuit. Passio vero cur addita est, quam scxta feria constat esse secutam ? Fortasse, utamarior esset Passio, quam processio priccessisset. » Et iterum : « Non sine causa tam nova processio mira quadam conjunctione additur Passiuni. Namprocessio plausum habet ; Passiu vero planctum.
Videamus quid conferat ista conjunclio. Utique ut discamusin nulla umquam hujus ? ecuH Jaetitia habere fiduciam, scientes quoniam extrema gaudii luctus occupat ; sed iu dic bonorum, non immemores simus malorum. His enim mixtum est praisens seculum, non secuiaribus tantum, sed etiam spiritualibus viris. Ideo, qui coepit prius facere quam docere, non modo verhis, sed etiam exemplis ostendens, quia omnis caro fcnnum el omnis gloria ejus quasi flos fceni, processionis voluit gJoria sublimari, quando sibi imminere cognovit diem ignominiosissimai passionis. Spirilualibus autem spiritualia comparantur ; in processione quidemcoelestis patriae repra^sentamus gluriam ; in Passione vero, monstramus viam. In processione rapiemur in nubibus obviam Christo in aera, quando suscipietur in coelesti Jerusalem Christus Dominus, applaudentibus et acclamantibus undique populis utriusque Testamenti, quasi qui praecedebant et qui sequcbantur ; Benedictiis qui venit in nomine Domini. In processione considerasti quo properandum sit, disce in Passione quo eundum sit.
Tribulatio enim prae-ens via vitae est, via gluriae, via regni coelestis. Tolerabiiem proinde laborem Pas sionisreddit gloria processionis, quoniam amanti nihil estdifficile: )> haec Bernardus. ORATIO _ Domine Jesu Christe, qui verbo et exemplo magis docuisti nos flere quam ridere, obsecro te per beatissimas lacrymas, et omnes miserationes tua^ doce me ut peccata mea et pericula imminentia semper videam et cognoscam; ne inimici mei, scilicet dsemonum suggestiones, temporalium rerum pulchritu-
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