De sanatione lunatici
The Healing of the Lunatic
Jesus heals a possessed boy, providing a moral allegory for the sinner's struggle and restoration.
It happened the next day that Jesus, returning from the mountain where he had been transfigured, came to the disciples he had left behind; and a large crowd that was around them met him. In the same way, if leaders were willing to descend to their subjects through humility, compassion, and approachability, a great crowd would come to meet them through repentance. But because they always stand on high through pride, ambition, or curiosity, few people meet them—that is, few come to them, and even fewer are healed by them. For it isn't written that the Lord healed anyone on the mountain. A man from the crowd approached him, asking him to have mercy on his son, who was a lunatic, suffering more during the new moon, and possessed by an unclean spirit that his disciples could not cast out. The spirit would seize the boy and throw him to the ground, rolling him about and tearing at his limbs; to show the violence of the suffering, the boy would foam at the mouth, grind his teeth, and waste away in his weakness. The spirit would hardly ever leave him, tearing him apart; it would often make him cry out in his torment and would throw him into fire or water, so that he would have perished long ago had Providence not preserved him. And when he was brought there at the Lord's command? The spirit immediately threw him into a fit; for seeing that it would soon be cast out, it did the worst it could to him. Then, rebuking the spirit, the Lord commanded it to come out of him and never enter him again. People called the boy deaf and mute because of the effect of the malice, for that is what the spirit had made him. And immediately the unclean spirit, crying out and tearing at him violently, came out of him, and he became as one dead; but Jesus, taking his hand, raised him up, and he stood up healthy, and He returned him to his father. This is similar to the lunatic. In a moral sense, this lunatic represents the sinner whom the devil: first, seizes through the pleasure of sin; second, makes cry out through the burning desire of sin; third, makes him mute regarding the confession of sin and divine praise; fourth, deaf to the warning of the Word through hardness of heart; fifth, a lunatic through instability of mind and constant shifting toward evil; sixth, throws him down and rolls him about through his precipitation into various sins; seventh, scatters him through a variety of diverse thoughts; eighth, makes him gnash his teeth through anger and indignation, and foam through gluttony and lust; ninth, casts him into the fire of luxury or pride, because fire tends upward and seeks high things, and also into the water of pleasures and desires; tenth, makes him dry through idleness or sloth and a lack of devotion; eleventh, barely departs through the habit of sin; twelfth, tears and lacerates him through the wounding of his nature. But when a child approaches God, he is troubled; because those who have turned to God after sin are often more fiercely attacked by the devil, so that he might drive them away through weariness of the virtues and the labors of penance, and lead them back to vices, or avenge himself for his own expulsion. Thus, in the primitive Church, He placed many heavy struggles upon those whom He wished to withdraw from his kingdom. However, it is not the child suffering violence who is rebuked, but the devil inflicting it; because he who wishes to heal the sinner ought to rebuke and drive away the vice by hating it, but cherish and comfort the person by loving him. Once the devil has departed from a person, he never returns if that person has kept his heart with the key of humility and love. As it's about to leave, the spirit tears at the person, for as it's driven from the heart, it stirs up even fiercer temptations. Once freed from the demon, the person seems like one dead, because whoever has subdued earthly desires extinguishes the life of carnal living within themselves and appears dead to the world. But the Savior raised up the one whom the enemy had left looking like a corpse by the touch of His holy hand, in which God's help is shown; and the person rose, in which human effort is demonstrated. For first God helps us, then it's required of us that we do what is good.
The Necessity of Fervent Faith
The disciples are instructed on the power of faith, likened to a mustard seed, and the importance of humility.
When he had gone into the house, his disciples asked Jesus privately, "Why couldn't we cast it out?" He said to them, "Because of your lack of faith." The disciples aren't called faithless because they lacked faith entirely, as the Jews were, but because their fervor had declined; their faith was diminished—not like a mustard seed—because they didn't believe with the required fervor they were specifically called to exercise. Nothing will be impossible to someone who has a fervent faith, working through love, and who is never satisfied with what they've already done well. After all, a mustard seed is small, hot, bitter, and a repellent of poison. By comparing faith to a mustard seed, he implies they ought to have a faith that is: small, through humility; fervent, through devotion; bitter, through the endurance of trials; and a repellent of the poison of error, through sincerity. According to Ambrose, a mustard seed is a simple thing, and if it's crushed, it releases its power; so faith appears simple, and if it's crushed by adversities, it pours out the grace of its virtue. Who is an unprofitable servant?
The Humility of the Unprofitable Servant
Believers are called to recognize their own imperfection and maintain humility even after fulfilling their duties.
Then he leads them back to humility, warning them not to boast of their works, but to humble themselves before God, to whom service is rightfully owed. He says: "When you have done everything you were commanded to do, say—not just with your lips, but with your heart, so that your humility isn't merely vocal but real—'We are useless servants; we have done what we were required to do.' Do not boast because you have served well; you have done nothing that you weren't already required to do." It's as if he's saying: "Admit that we haven't earned grace, but by paying the debt of service, we've avoided punishment." But, by contrast, the proud—since they don't do everything, but only a small part of what is commanded—not only presume immediately upon their own righteousness, but also despise everyone who is weak. We aren't our own, but servants, because we were bought at a great price. Therefore, we're bound to serve Christ, by whose price we were bought, and to omit nothing that we owe, nor to do anything that we ought not. Hence Seneca says: "A wise person does nothing that they ought not, and omits nothing that they ought." Servants who do the commands of God by right of debt aren't called useless because they fail to receive the fruit of the blessed life; rather, they're called useless because the Lord has no need of our goods, or because the sufferings of this present time aren't worth comparing to the future glory that will be revealed in us, or because everyone ought to consider themselves imperfect rather than having reached a state of perfection. Hence Bede says: "This, then, is the only perfection of faith in people: if, having fulfilled everything that was commanded, they know themselves to be imperfect, and as long as they are pilgrims away from the Lord, they always remember that there are evils within them to mourn, and that they lack the good things toward which they should progress with the help of His grace." And again: "Because apart from me you can do nothing, you ought not to measure the merits of your labors by the length of time, but by love and spontaneous service, always increasing what came before with new efforts." And it's well said: "We have done what we were bound to do." Bede says the same: "In truth, we were bound to do it, because He who came not to be served, but to serve, has made us His debtors; so that we might not trust in our own works, but always fear under His scrutiny, saying with the Prophet: 'What shall I return to the Lord for all that He has returned to me?'" That is what Bede says. Take note that a servant is considered useless if he does only what he is required to do. No matter what perfection you attain, you should always feel and say: "My Lord Jesus Christ, I am worth nothing, and I serve You poorly." We must never stop doing good works, and yet we must consider all our merit insufficient in light of the eternal reward. Hence the Psalmist says: "Who crowns you in mercy and compassion." He does not say, 'in your merits and in your works,' because we are prevented by His mercy so that we may humbly serve God; we are crowned by His gift so that we may be exalted to reign with Him. So, when we have done everything, we should consider that we have done little or nothing for the Lord, given the reward we expect from Him. This is why blessed Francis used to say, even after many great labors: "Brothers, let us begin to serve the Lord, for up to now we have made little progress." And if we ought to humble ourselves even when we have fulfilled the commandments, how much more so when we have neglected many of them? For if the servant who has done everything is still useless, what must be said of the one who has neglected to do those things? Hence Ambrose says: "Don't boast if you have served well, because you were only doing what you were supposed to do." The sun obeys, the moon complies, the angels serve. The chosen Vessel of the Gentiles said: "I am not worthy to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God." Then elsewhere, while showing himself conscious of no fault, he still adds: "But I am not justified by this." So let's not demand praise for ourselves, lest we snatch away God’s judgment and get ahead of the Judge’s sentence; rather, let's leave it to His own time and His own judgment—so says Ambrose.
The Vigilance of Grace
The soul must remain in holy fear and direct all actions toward the glory of God.
It is good, therefore, to always stand in fear and to presume nothing about yourself, because no matter how well someone has served, a person still does not know whether they are worthy of hatred or love. Bernard says: "In truth, I’ve learned that nothing is as effective for earning, keeping, and recovering grace as being found before God at all times not thinking highly of yourself, but fearing. Blessed is the person who is always fearful." If grace is present, fear that you might not act worthily because of it. If grace is withdrawn, fear, because your own strength and protection have left you. If grace has returned, fear that you might happen to suffer a relapse and that worse things might befall you—so says Bernard. The Apostle also urges us: "Do not receive the grace of God in vain." For someone receives the grace of God in vain if they do not exercise themselves in good works; therefore, if we want the grace of God not to remain empty within us, it is necessary that we nourish it with good works and virtuous exercises, and guard ourselves against vices. We must also pay attention to the commandments of God and all our works, not only to do them, but to direct them according to the will of God. Basil gives the example of a craftsman making an axe or something similar, who always remembers the one who assigned the work and keeps in his heart the size, quality, or shape that he was told to make it; always focusing on what he remembers was assigned to him by the master of the work, he directs the labor of his hands so that the form of the work matches the mind and will of the one who assigned it. In the same way, we should put all our effort and study into our own actions, directing our work according to the will of God, who assigned it to us; then we'll be able to fulfill the words of the Apostle Paul: "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God."
Fasting and Prayer as Spiritual Weapons
The chapter concludes with instructions on using fasting and prayer to overcome demonic influence and a final prayer for deliverance.
The Lord adds, showing how the devil's insolence is overcome, and says: This kind of demon, rooted in both spirit and flesh—as mentioned above—cannot be driven out by any power of human authority, that is, by any power of ministers, except through prayer, which heals the soul's plagues, and fasting, which heals the body's plagues; for this prayer and fasting are the effects of a fervent faith, formed and working through love. From this, it seems he may have contracted that illness from gluttony and drunkenness. There could also be another reason why the disciples were unable to cast him out. Demons aren't equal in natural power, and therefore one is more difficult to expel than another. To expel this one, however, required the subjection of the flesh to the spirit in the one casting it out, which is achieved through fasting, and the lifting of the spirit to God, which is achieved through prayer. These were not yet present in the Apostles, because at that time it wasn't appropriate for them to fast, given the presence of the Bridegroom, nor were they yet perfectly lifted up to God; for they were still unrefined and imperfect until, after the Passion, they received the fuller grace of the Holy Spirit. Alternatively, it isn't cast out by the power of ministers except through the prayer and fasting that have been enjoined; the Apostles neglected this, and so there was an error in applying the key to exclude the demon, just as many still err today because they don't use the keys according to the proper order of authority. For a minister to usurp divine and absolute power for himself, Jerome says, is a matter of Pharisaic arrogance and the pride of Lucifer, who, without merit, wanted his throne to be placed on high. According to Chrysostom, he says: This kind is not only for the lunatic, but universally for all demons; it isn't cast out except through prayer and fasting, because the devil always inhabits the sinner unless the sinner turns to the Lord through penance; and the longer it is delayed, the more difficult it is to expel. Regarding this, Jerome says: "While teaching the Apostles how the most wicked demon might be cast out, He instructs everyone in the way of life, so that we might know that all the more serious temptations—whether from unclean spirits or from men—are to be overcome by fasting and prayer; and that the anger of the Lord, when it has been kindled in vengeance for our sins, can be appeased by this singular remedy." For through fasting, as has been said, the plagues of the body are cured; and through prayer, the plagues of the mind; and thus every temptation is overcome with them. Or, through fasting, is understood the turning away from greater sins, and through prayer, the doing of good works. And thus fasting is taken here in a general sense, for abstinence not only from food, but from all temporal pleasures and vices. Hence Augustine says that a perfect and great fast is to abstain not only from food, but from all iniquities and illicit pleasures of the world. Hence Bernard: "If only the gluttony has sinned, let only it fast, and it is enough." If the other members have sinned, why shouldn't they also fast? Let the eye fast from curious sights and all petulance, so that it may be properly humbled and restrained in penance, having previously wandered too freely in guilt. Let the ear, which wickedly itches, fast from gossip and rumors, and from anything idle or irrelevant to salvation. Let the tongue fast from detraction and grumbling, from useless, varied, and scurrilous words; and sometimes, for the sake of the gravity of silence, let it fast even from things that might seem necessary. Let the hands fast from idle gestures and from all works that aren't commanded. But the soul itself must fast much more from vices and its own self-will; for without this fast, all other things are rejected by the Lord, as it is written: 'In the days of your fast, your own will is found.' Bernard says: 'We must fast not only from what is forbidden, but even from what is permitted, if we wish for those forbidden things we previously committed to be forgiven.' Bede adds: 'Just as a general fast is not only from food, but from all carnal enticements—indeed, from all the passions of vice—so a general prayer is not only in the words with which we invoke divine mercy, but also in everything we do in the service of our Creator with the devotion of faith, as the Apostle testifies when he says: "Pray without ceasing."' For we pray without ceasing when we do only those works that commend us to the piety of our Author. For the person who always does good and perseveres in what is right is always praying. PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, who taught us humility by your word and example, grant that I may never feel, speak, or show anything about myself that is high, but always what is humble. Rescue and guard me from evil spirits, and defend me from all enemies, both visible and invisible. Grant me, O my Savior and my God, that by being properly intent on fasting and prayer, I may, with your help, be able to overcome all the temptations of unclean spirits and wicked men. May I deserve, through your mercy, to be freed from the enemies of my mind and body, and to be saved forever. Amen.
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Factum est autem sequenti die, Jesus rediens de monte ubi transfiguratus fuerat, venit addiscipulos, quosinferius dimiserat; et occurrit ei turba multa , quae circa ipsos erat. Similiter, si praelati vellent ad subditos descendere per humilitatem, compassionem et affabihtatem, multa turba occurreret eis per poenitentiam. Sed, quia semper stant in alto per elationem, seu ambitionem, vel curiositatem, ideo pauci eis occurrunt,id est pauci ad eos accedunt, et pauciores ab eis sanantur. Nulhim enim legitur Dominus in monte sanasse. Et accessit ad eum quidam de turba, petens misereri anicofiho suo lunatico, secundum lunae in novationem magis patienti, et spiritum immundum habenti, quem ejicere non potuerunt ejus discipuU ; qui eum apprehendens ad terram alHdebat, et volutando per diversa membra vexans dissipabat, sicque ad ostendendum vehementiam passionis spumabat, ac dentibus stridebat, et languens arescebat, et vix discedebat dilanians eum ; qui etiam saepe eum vexando clamare faciebat, et nunc in ignem, nunc in aquam mittebat, ut ita dudum periisset, nisi Providentia eum conservasset. Et cum, jubente Domino, iste adductus es? et, statim spiritus conturbavit eum ; videns enim se cito ejiciendum, faciebat pejus quod poterat in eum. Deinde, increpans eum Dominus praecepit, ut exiret ab eo, et ne amplius in eum introiret, quem etiam ab effectu mahtiae, sive surdum et mutum vccabant, quia surdum et mutum eum fecerat.
Et statim spiritus immundus exclamans et multum discer^pens eum, exiit ah eo, et factus est sicut mortuus : Jesus autem tenens manum ejus^ elevavit illum, et surrexit sanus, et reddidit ilhim patri ejus. 2 lunatico siMiLis. — Morahtcr, iste lunaticus significat peccatorem, quem diabolus : primo apprehcndit per peccati delectationem ; secundo, plamare facit per peccati ardens desiderium ; tertio. mutum facit, ad peccati etdivinselaudisconfessionem; quarto, surdum, per obdurationem, ad verbi monitionem; quinto, lunaticuni, per mentis instabilitatem, et continuam in malum variationem ; sexto, ehdit et volutat, per ejus in diversa peccata praecipitationem ; septimo, dissipat, per diversarum cogitationum varietatem ; octavo, stridere facit dentibus, per iram et indignationem, ac spumare, per gastrimargiam et libidinem; nono, in ignem luxuriae mittit, vel etiam elationis, quia ignis sursum tendit et alta petit,nec non in aquam voluptatumetcupiditatumsubmer^it; decimo, aridum reddit, per otium, seu ignaviam et indevotionem; undecimo, vix discedit, per peccati consuetudinem; duodecimo, dilaniat et dilacerat, per naturahum vulnerationem. Dum autem puer ad Deum accedit, conturbatur; quia saepe post peccata ad Deum conversi magis a dsemonio impugnantur, ut vei per tsedium virtutum et labores poenitentiae excutiat, et ad vitia reducat, vel de sua expulsione se vindicet. Sic in primitiva Ecclesia multa gravia certamina ilhs apposuit, quos suo regno subtrahere voluit. Non aulem puer vim patiens, sed diabolus vim inferens, increpatur; quia, qui peccantem vult sanare, vitium odiendo debet arguere et depellere, sed hominem amando refovere et confortare. Exiens vero daemori ab homine numquam revertitur, si homo cor suum clave humilitatis et caritatis servaverit.
Exiturus autem discerpit eum, quia, dum de corde expellitur, acriores in 60 tentationes generat; et liberatus a dfemone velut mortuus videtur, qui enimterrena desideria subegit,vitam in se carnalis conversationis exstinguit, et mundo mortuus apparet. Quem autem hostis mortuo similem reddidit, hunc Salvator piae dexterae tactu elevavit, in quo ostenditur Dei auxilium; et surrexit, in quo monstratur hominis studiuni : primo enim Deus nos juvat, deinde a nobis requiritur ut bonum operemur.
Et, cumintroissetindomum, discipuli ejus secreto interrogabant Jesum : Quare tios non potuimus ejicere illum ? Et dixit illis : Propter incredulitatem vestram. Non dicuntur discipuli increduli propter defectum fidei, sicut Judaei, sed propter remissionem fervoris : nam fidem remissam habebant, non sicut granum sinapis, quia non cum debito fervore credebant, ut praecipue ipsi facere debebant. Nihil enim impossibile erit habenti ferventem fidem, et per dilectionem operantem, cui numquam sufficit quod bene gessit. Granum quippe sinapis est modicum, fervidum, amarum et veneni expulsivum. In hoc ergo quod hic comparat fidem grano sinapis, innuit quod debent habere fidera: modicam, per humilitateni ; fervidam, per devotionem ; amaram, per tribulationum perpessionem; veneni erroris expulsivam, per sinceritatem. Secundum Ambrosium, granum sinapis res est simpiex, et si teritur vim suam fundit; sic fides simpiex videtur, et si atteraturadversis, gratiamsuae virtutis effundit. /| Servus inutilis quis est.
— Deinde reducit eos ad humilitatem, monendo ne quis de operibus glorietur, sed humih'et se Deo, cui jure obsequium debetur , dicens : Cum feceritis omjiia, quse prxcepta sunt vQbi^^ 4icite, noa tantum ore, sed et corde, ne sit tantum vocalis humilitas, sed et realis : Serm inutiles sumus, quod debuimus facere fecimus; nec vos jactetis, quia bene servistis ; nihil enim fecistis quod non debuistis. Quasi diceret ; Dicite, gratiam non meruimus; scd, debitum servitium solvendo, poenas vitavimus. Sed, e contra, de superbis; cum nequaquam omnia, sed modicum quid eorum quae praecepta sunt faciunt,non solum mox de sua justilia prsesumunt, sed etiam infirmos quosque despiciunt. Nqii enim sumus nostri, sed servi, quia pretio magno empti ; et ergo Christo, cujus pretio empti sumus, servire tenemur, et nihil omittere quod debemus, nec ahquid facere quod non debemus. Unde Seneca : « Sapiens nihil facit quod non debet, nihil praetermittit quod debet. » Non dicuntur inutiles servi facientes jure debiti mandata Dei, quin fructum recipiant vitae beatae; sed dicuntur inutiles, quia Dominus bonorum nostrorum non indiget ; vel, quia, non sunt condignx passiones hujus temporis ad futuram gloriam, quse revelabitur in nobis ; vel, quia quisque magis debet se aestimare imperfectum, quam quod statum attigerit perfectionis. Unde Beda : « Haec est igitur in hominibus soia fidei perfectio, si omnibus quae praecepta sunt impletis, imperfectqs se esse noverint, et quamdiu peregrinantur a Domino, semper sibi inesse mala quae defleant, semper memiuerint deesse bona ad quae, gratia ejus juvante, proficiant. » Et iterum : « Quia sine me nihil potestis facere, non temporum Jongiludine laborum merita pensare debetis; sed amore et famulatu spontaneo novis semper studiis auget-e priora : » haec Beda.
Et bene dicit : Quod debuimus facere fecimus. Unde idem Beda : « Revera debuimus, quia, qui non venit ministrari, sed ministrare, debitores sibi nos fecit ; ne nostris videlicet operibus confideutes, sed de ejus semper examine paventes, cum Propheta dicamus ; Quid retribuemus Domino, pro omnibus quae retribuit nobis? » haec Beda. Attende hic bene quod servus inutilis reputatur, ((ui hoc, solum facit quod facere tenetur. Quantamcumque etiam perfectionem attingas, semper sentias et dicas : Domine meus, Jesu Christe, nihil valeo, et male tibi servio. Non debemus ergo umquam a bono opere cessare,et tamen totum meritum nostrum insufficiens, respectu mercedis aeternae, reputare. Unde Psalmista: Qui coronat te in misericordia et miserationibus. Non ait, in meritis et in operibus tiiis, quia, cujus misericordia praevenimur, ut humiliter Deo serviamus ; ejus munere coronamur, ut sublimiter cum iilo regncmus.
Et ideo cum omnia fecerimus, reputemus nos parum aut nihil fecisse Dumino, respectu mercedis, quam exspectamus ab eo. Unde dicebat beatus Franciscus, etiam post multos et magnos labores : « Fratres, incipiamus servire Domino, quia usque nunc parum profecimus. » Et si, praeceptis impletis, nos humiliare debemus, quanto mai^is cum de illis multa omiserimus? Si enim inutilis est servus, qui omnia perfecit, quid de ilio dicendum qui ea facere despexit? Unde Amhrosius : « Non te jactes, si bene servisti; quia facere debuisti. Obsequitur sol, obtemperat luna, serviunt Angeli. Vas Gentium electus a Domino : Non sum , inquit, dignus vocari Apostolus ; quia persecutus sum Ecclesiam Dei. Deinde alibi, nullius se oslendens conscium culpae, subjicit tamen : Sed non in hoc justiflcatus sum.
Et nos ergo non a nobis laudes exigamus , ne praeripiamus judicium Dei, et praeveniamus sententiam Judicis ; se;l suo tempore, suo judicio reservemus : » haec Ambrosius.
Bonum est itaque semper in timore stare, et nihil de se prsesumere ; quia quantumcumque bene quis servierit : Nescit tamen homo utrum odio, an amore dignussit. Unde Bernardus : a In veritate didici nihil aeque efficax esse ad gratiam promerendam, retinendam, recuperaiidam, quam si omni tempore coram Deo inveniaris non altum sapere , sed timere : Beatus homo, qui semper est pavidus. Si adest gratia, time ne non digne opereris ex ea. Si subtracta est gratia, time, quia reliquit te virtus tua et custodia. Si reversa est gratia, time, ne forte contiogat recidivum pati, et contingant tibi deteriora : » hsec Bernardus. Unde et Aposlolus hortatur nos : Ne in vacuum gratiam Dei recipiatis. IUe enim gratiam Dei in vacuum recipit, qui se in bonis operibus non exercet ; unde si volumus quod gratia Dei iu nobis non remaneat vacua, necesse est ut eam bonis operibus et virtuosis exercitiis nutriamus, et nos a vitiis custodiamus. Debemus etiam in praeceptis Dei, et in omnibus operibus nostris aitendere, non solum ut ea faciamus, sed etiam ut ea secundum voluntatem Dei dirigamus.
Unde Basilius ponit exemplum de fabro faciente securim, vel quiddam ahud, qui semper meminit ejus qui injunxit opus, et retinet in corde suo cujus magnitudinis, vel qualitatis, vel tormae iile injunxerit fieri securim ; et in ilJud semper intendens quod sibi meminit a domino operis injunctuni, ad hoc dirigit manuum ministerium, ut forma operis cum ejus qui injunxit animo et voluntate conveniat. Sic, et nos, omnem conatum et omne studium in actibus nostris habere debemus, ut secundum voluntatem Dei, qui opus injunxit, nostrum dirigamus opus; et tunc poterimus implere illud Pauli Apostoli : Sive manducatis, sive bibitis, sive aliud quid facitis, omnia in gloriam Dei facite.
Et subdit Dominus, ostendens quomodo protervitas diaboli superetur, et dicit : Uoc genus daemoniorum, ia spiritu et carne simul , secundum causam radicatam, quale supra dictum est, in nullo, potestatis remedio, id est in nuUa potestate , scilicet ministrorum, potest exire, ita quod non habeat potestatem in homine , nisi in oratione, quae curat pestes spiritus, et jejunio, quod curat pestes corporis; quae scilicet oratio et jejunium sunt effectus fidei ferventis, ac per caritatem formatae et operantis. Unde videtur quod ex crapula et ebrietate morbum illum incurrisset. DE SANATIOXE LlINATini Uxc etiam poterat esse alia causa, propter quam discipuli non potucrunt eum ejicere. Dicmones cnim non sunt ffquales in virtute naturali ; et ideo unus alio difficilius potest expelli. Ad expiilsioncm autem istius requirebatur in expellente subjectio carnis ad spiritum, quiB fit pcr jejuniuin; ct elevalio spiritus in Deum, quae fit per oralioneni : talia autem non erant adhuc in Apostolis, quia pro tempore illo non competebat eis jejunare propter proesentiam sponsi,nec erant adhuc in Deum perfecte elevati ; fuerunt enim rudes et imperfecti, usquequo post Passionem receperunt pleniorem Spiritus Sancti gratiam. Vel, non ejicitur ministrorum potestate, nisi in oratione injuncta, et jejunio injuncto : et hoc omiserunt Apostoli, et sic fuit error clavis adhibendce ad daemonem excludendum ; sicut adhuc multi errant, eo quod clavibus secundum debitum ordinem potestatis non uluntur. Quod enim minister usurpet sibi potestatem divinam et absolutam, hoc dicit Hieronymus esse de supercilio Pharisoeorum, et superbia Luciferi, qui sine merito suam sedem voluit collocari in summo. Secundum Chrysostomumy dicit : Hoc genus, non tantum lunaticorum, sed universaliter omnium daemoniorum, non ejicitur, nisi per orationem et jejunium, quia semper diabolus peccatorem inhabitat, nisi per poeniteiitiam ad Dominum peccator convertatur; et quantomagis differtur,tantodifficilius expelitur.
Girca autem prcemissa dicit Hieronymus : « Dum autem docet Apostolos quomodo nequissimum daemon possit expelli, omnes instituit ad vitam, ut scilicet noverirnus graviora quaeque, vel immundorum spirituum, vel hominum tentamenta jejuniis et orationibus esse superanda; iramque Domiiii, cuin in ultionem nostrorum scelerum fuerit accensa, hoc remedio singulari posse placari : » haec Hieronymus. Per jejunium enim. ut dictum est, curantur pestes corporis; et per orationem, pestes mentis ; ec sic quaeiibet tentatio superatur cum eis. Vel, per je. junium intelligitur declinatio maiorum ; et per orationem , operatio bonorum. Et sic accipitur jejunium hic generale, pro abstinentia, non solum ab escis, sed ab omnibus temporalibus delectationibus et vitiis. Unde dicit Augustinus quod perfectum et riiagnum jcjunium est non solum a cibo; sed ab omnibus iniquitatihus et illicitis voluptatibus seculi abstinere. Unde Bernardus : « Si sola gula peccavit, sola jejunet, et sufficit.
Si vero peccaverunt cetera membra, cur non jejunent et ipsa? Jejunet ergo oculus a curiosis aspe ctibus et omni petulantia, ut bene humiliiitus coerceatur in poenitentia, qui male liber vagabatur in culpa. Jejunet auris nequiter pruriens a fabulis et rumoribus, et quaecumque otiosa sunt, et ad salutem minime pertinentia. Jejunet lingua a detractione et murmuratione , ab inutilibus , et variis, et scurrilibus verbis ; interdum quoque, ob gravitatem silentii, ab ipsis, quae videri poterant necessaria. Jejunet manus ab otiosis signis, et operibus omnibus quaecumque non sunt imperata. Sed multo magis anima ipsa jejunet a vitiis,^ et propria voluntate sua ; etenim sine jejunio hoc, cetera a Domino reprobantur, sicut scriptum est : Quia in diebus jejunii vestri, invenitur voluntas vestra. Non solum autem ab illicitis, sed ab ipsis quoque licitis oportet nos jejunare, si ea nobis, quae prius commisimus illicita, volumus condonari : » haec Bernardus. Unde et Beda : « Sicut jejunium generale est non solum ab escis, sed a cunctis illecebris abstiut^re carnalibus, imo ab omnibus vitiorum passionibus ; sicet oratio jjeneralis non solum in verbis est, quibus divinam clementiam invocamus, verumetiam in omnibus,quae in obsequium nostri Conditoris, fldei devotione gerimus, teste Apostolo, qui ait : Sine intermissionej orate : » haec Beda.
Tunc quippe sine intermissione oramus, cum ea solum opera gerimus, quae nos pietati commendent Auctoris. Semper enimorat, qui semper bene facit, et in bono perseverat. ORATIO Domine Jesu Christe, qui nos humilitatem verbo et exemplo docuisti, da mihi ut numquam alta, sed semper humilia de me, corde sentiam, ore proferam, et opere ostendam. Eripe me et custodi a malignis spiritibus, et defende ab omnibus inimicis visibilibus et invisibilibus; et prsesta mihi, o Salvator meus et Deus meus, ut jejuniis et orationibus convenienter intentus, cunctas immundorum spirituum, et pravorum hominum tentationes valeam, te juvante, superare, et ab hostibus mentis et corporis merear, te miserante, liberari, et semper salvus esse. 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.
- One short, memorable prayer delivered daily — build your repertoire a card at a time
- Prayers matched to real situations: fear, gratitude, decisions, grief, sleep
- Save favourites into your personal pocket collection you can open anywhere