Far be this from the Christian people, who in the time of fasting knows nothing else but mercy, by which it has itself been saved. And therefore, because the time of fasting is at hand, let us come to the table of the Lord, and be refreshed at the banquet of Christ, that, even as Elijah did, in the strength of that food we may be able to bear long fasts. 2. The sinful woman, the Church. You have heard in the Gospel that, when the Lord reclined in the house of the Pharisee, 'a woman came who was a sinner in the city, bringing with her an alabaster box of ointment; and standing behind at His feet, she began with her tears to bathe His feet, and wiped them with the hairs of her head, and anointed them with ointment.' Let not this mystery be a small matter. We perceive that in the house of the Pharisee, that is, in the Synagogue, the Lord reclined;
He did not rest. But how could He rest in the Synagogue, in which He could find no one humble and quiet, upon whom He might rest? Behold, a sinful woman. Who is this woman, but the Church from among the Gentiles, who was a sinner as long as the remission of sins had not come? But when the Lord came, she drew near to Baptism; and she was made without spot, without wrinkle. For by following the immaculate Lamb she laid aside all the stains of her sins. The sinful woman drew near to the feet of Christ. The sinner draws near to the feet; the just to the head: the sinner with tears washes the feet of the Lord; but the just pours precious ointment over His whole body.
But the Pharisee, ignorant of the mystery, said within himself: 'This man, if he were a prophet, would surely know who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him.' Wickedly did this unbeliever suppose that the Lord ought to drive sinners away from Himself: for He who had come not to call the just, but sinners, how could He shun the company of sinners? He is not defiled by sinners, who by the touch of His body cleanses sinners. The eternal Fountain cannot be soiled, but by its flooding washes all men. 3. The mouth, hands, shoulders, and feet of Christ. Therefore, turning to the woman, He said to Simon: 'Seest thou this woman? I entered into thy house: thou gavest me no water for my feet; but she with her tears hath bathed my feet, and with her hair hath wiped them.'
'Thou gavest me no kiss; but she, since the time she came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. Wherefore I say to thee, many sins are forgiven her, because she hath loved much.' The Lord, entering the house of the Pharisee, sought no water for His feet; because He was reserving them for the tears of sinners: He did not desire the kiss of the Pharisee; because He judged the kiss of sinners more worthy: nay, He would not have His head anointed with ointment, lest it be fattened with the oil of a sinner. For we are all one body in Christ, but different members, some weaker, some stronger (Rom. 12:4-5). His mouth was the blessed Apostle Paul, who said: 'Do you seek a proof of Him that speaketh in me, Christ?' (2 Cor. 13:3).
His hands are the venerable Apostles, through whom He wrought many healings and countless marvels. His shoulders are the holy martyrs, on which He was scourged by divers persecutors; whence through the prophet He says: 'I gave my shoulders to the scourges' (Isa. 50:6, according to the LXX). For if His higher members are the saints, whom else can we reckon the feet of the Lord to be but the sinners, whom the holy Church wipes with her tears and cherishes with the precious ointment of mercy? Do not despise these sinners, because they are the feet of Christ; but seek them out diligently, seek them in the prison, seek them in the wards, seek out the poor and the needy;
and when you have found them, offer them the oil of mercy, pour ointment upon the feet of Christ: that of you also it may be said, 'Her many sins are forgiven, because she hath loved much'; for to whom less is forgiven, the same loveth less. And therefore, brethren, let us love more; because more has been forgiven us, and let us bestow more, being about to obtain mercy from the Lord, to whom is glory for ever and ever. Amen. SERMON 84. On the words of the Gospel of Luke, chapter 11:1-4, 'Lord, teach us to pray,' etc., with an exposition of the Lord's Prayer. 1. God is the special Father of Christ, ours in common. Heaven, where guilt is absent. The holy Apostles said to the Lord Jesus, 'Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.'
Then the Lord spoke the prayer: 'Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. And suffer us not to be led into temptation, which we are not able to bear: but deliver us from evil.' Do you see how short the prayer, and full of all virtues? The first word — of how great grace! O man, you did not dare to lift up your face to heaven, you turned your eyes to the ground; and suddenly you have received the grace of Christ, all your sins are forgiven you: from an evil servant, you are made a good son:
therefore presume not upon your own working, but upon the grace of Christ; for 'By grace you are saved' (Eph. 2:8), says the Apostle. This, then, is not arrogance here, but faith: to proclaim what you have received is not pride, but devotion. Therefore lift up your eyes to the Father, who begot you through the laver; to the Father who redeemed you through the Son, and say, 'Our Father.' A good presumption, but a moderate one. You say 'Father,' because you are a son; but claim nothing specially for yourself. Of Christ alone is He the special Father, to us all in common He is Father: because Him alone He begot, us He created. Say therefore, you too by grace, 'Our Father,' that you may deserve to be a son; commend yourself in regard and consideration of the Church.
'Our Father, who art in heaven.' What is 'in heaven'? Hear the Scripture saying: 'The Lord is high above all nations' (Ps. 112:4). And everywhere you have that the Lord is above the heavens of heavens: as though the Angels were not in the heavens, as though the Dominions were not in the heavens; but in those heavens of which it is said, 'The heavens declare the glory of God' (Ps. 18:2). Heaven is there, where guilt has ceased. Heaven is there, where there are no shameful deeds. Heaven is there, where there is no wound of death. 2. The kingdom of God is grace. — 'Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy holy name in us.' What is 'hallowed be'? As though we should wish that He be hallowed who says, 'Be holy, for I also am holy' (Lev. 19:2):
as though something of sanctification should accrue to Him from our prayer? No: but let it be hallowed in us, that His sanctification may be able to reach unto us. 'Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy holy name in us. Thy kingdom come.' As though the kingdom of God were not everlasting. The Lord Himself says, 'For this was I born' (John 18:37); and you say, 'Father, let thy kingdom come': as though it had not come? But then the kingdom of God comes, when you have obtained His grace: for He Himself says, 'The kingdom of God is within you' (Luke 17:21). 'Let thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Give us this day our daily bread.'
By the blood of Christ all things have been made peaceful, whether in heaven or on earth (Col. 1:20); heaven has been sanctified, the devil has been cast down. He dwells there where also is the man whom he deceived. 'Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth': that is, let there be peace on earth as in heaven. 3. The consecration of the body of Christ. Among the Greeks communion is rare. Daily communion is urged. — 'Give us this day our daily bread.' I remember my sermon, when I treated of the Sacraments: I told you that before the words of Christ, what is offered is called bread; when the words of Christ have been uttered, it is no longer called bread, but is named body. Why then in the Lord's Prayer, which follows afterward, does He say, 'Our bread'?
He said bread indeed, but He said ἐπιούσιον, that is, supersubstantial. Not this bread which goes into the body, but that bread of eternal life which sustains the substance of our soul. Therefore in Greek it is called ἐπιούσιον: but the Latin called this bread 'daily': because the Greeks say 'of the coming day.' Therefore what the Latin said and the Greek, both seem useful: the Greek signified both by one word; the Latin said 'daily.' If the bread is daily, why do you take it after a year, as the Greeks in the East are accustomed to do? Receive daily what daily profits you: so live, that you may deserve to receive daily. He who does not deserve to receive daily, does not deserve to receive after a year.
Just as holy Job offered sacrifice daily for his sons, lest perchance they had sinned in something, whether in heart or in speech. Therefore you hear that, as often as the sacrifice is offered, the death of the Lord, the resurrection of the Lord, the ascension of the Lord are signified, and the remission of sins is wrought — and do you not take this daily bread of our life? He who has a wound requires medicine. It is a wound, because we are under sin: the medicine is the heavenly and venerable Sacrament. 'Give us this day our daily bread.' If you receive daily, every day is today for you. For you Christ is today, for you daily He rises again. How? 'Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee' (Ps. 2:7). It is today, when Christ rises again.
"He is the same yesterday and today" (Heb. xiii, 8), says Paul the Apostle. And elsewhere he says, "The night is far spent, and the day is at hand" (Rom. xiii, 12). Yesterday's night is past, today's day is at hand. 4. We must forgive others, that God may forgive us. He who commits himself to God does not fear the devil in temptations. There follows, "And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors." What is a debt, if not sin? Therefore, if you had not received the money of another's loan, you would not be in want; and for this reason sin is imputed to you. You had money with which you were born rich. You were rich, made after the image and likeness of God; you lost what you had, that is, humility.
While you sought to avenge your pride, you lost your money. Like Adam, you were made naked; you received from the devil a debt that was not necessary, and therefore, though you were free in Christ, you became a debtor to the devil. The enemy held the bond against you; but the Lord crucified it and blotted it out with His own blood. He took away your debt and restored your liberty. Well, then, does the prayer say, 'Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.' Consider what you are saying. As I forgive, so do you forgive me. If you have forgiven, it is fitting that you be forgiven; but if you do not forgive, how do you agree with the terms? And do not suffer us to be led into a temptation we cannot bear, but deliver us from evil.
See what He says: 'which we cannot bear.' He does not say, 'Do not lead us into temptation,' but, like an athlete, He wills such a temptation as the human condition can bear, and that each one may be delivered from evil, that is, from the enemy, and from sin. Now the Lord, who took away your sin and pardoned your offenses, is able to protect and guard you against the snares of the assailing devil, so that the enemy who is wont to breed guilt may not creep in upon you. But he who commits himself to God does not fear the devil; for if God be for us, who is against us (Rom. VIII, 31)? To Him, then, be praise and glory from the ages, both now and always, and unto all ages of ages. Amen. SERMON LXXXV. On the words of the Gospel of Luke, chapter
chapter XI, 'Which of you shall have a friend,' etc.; and on John, chapter XVI, 'Hitherto you have asked nothing,' etc. 1. Incentives to prayer to God. God is loving and rich. Easy is the access. The angels are prompt to announce to the Lord who has knocked at the door. Let prayer be urgent and persevering. The Lord is sweet and gentle, most beloved brethren; He has the door of mercy, nor does He turn away those who knock there, but rather He blames the negligent. For nothing is asked which He does not possess, so that, when He has not given it, He should blush. He is rich and loving, abounding and kind; He gives and does not reproach; nay, the treasures of His house suffer sorrow when the delightful pressing of petitions is lacking. The Lord Himself says, 'Hitherto you have asked nothing.'
'Ask, and you shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened to you.' I am the entrance and the door. Why does your hand tremble in knocking, and your conscience slumber in its beggary? I am the door of life; I do not shudder at the filthy one who knocks, I do not repel the poor petitioner: only let no one neglect his own poverty. Knock, and it shall be opened. The angels stand at the door to lead in, not to repel; to prompt, not to terrify. There is no pomp at my door. I am the door, I who endured the shame of the cross. Why should petitioners fear their want, when He has never denied mercy to anyone? Who has hoped in the Lord and been confounded?
If those who desire chastity knock, He at once gives them grace and holiness, and says to them: 'Do not walk defiled, do not go about spotted with stains. Be holy, for I am holy' (Lev. XIX, 2). If an orphan comes with his little hand to knock at his Father's door, the angels announce him to the Lord: 'The orphan knocks, he awaits the mercy of protection; answer him, Lord: for to Thee the poor man is left; Thou wilt be a helper to the orphan' (Ps. X, 14, according to the Hebrew). He answers him who is rich, full of mercy, who is a father to the wretched: 'I am the judge of widows and the father of orphans. Let no one harm those whom I receive, let no one despoil those whom I defend.'
And those who approach that same door, although they utter their prayers in different voices, nevertheless all receive mercy from the house of the one rich Father of the family. This the door of the Savior loves: that it may always be abundant to those who knock at fitting and even unfitting times. Therefore the Lord Himself, seeing His door fall silent from the voice of petitioners and the cry of those who knock, invites all to prayer, ready to grant mercy to all. Ask; and if you do not receive, ask still, and persevere in knocking. Do not grow faint; for God does not slay with hunger the soul of the just. Yet whoever wishes to be sweetly humble and kind stands secure as in a most safe harbor. 2. The mystery of the Trinity.
He therefore sets forth a parable of a certain man to whom an unexpected guest came, and the host received the guest; he felt shame, and went at once to the great house of a rich man; not without a sacred meaning he asks for three loaves: because there was one guest, the grace of loving-kindness, yet the substance of the Trinity. Was there not one guest in three who came to father Abraham? A guest and a friend, one who dined and one who lodged; and all the courtesies of humanity were shown to him in trinity, because the glory of the Trinity shines forth. The father brought a threefold calf, the mother-to-be kneaded three measures of fine flour, she who was to bear a son for whom the Father would slay the Lamb; and she had already made the body of Christ, the sacrament in trinity. So too this friend, when the guest came,
goes to the rich man's house and pleads the need of three loaves; he knocks, and none of the doorkeepers answers, because sleep had held them all: not the angels, not the archangels, not the prophets, not the ministers. And that man knocks, though no one answers. 3. One must sometimes knock even to importunity, that the Father of the family may open. At length the Father of the family answers him from His inner sanctuary, from the throne of rest, because of the importunity of the one knocking: 'Why do you knock out of season, you who were slothful in season? It was day, and you did not walk in the light; night came on, and you began to knock.' The time excuses what a shameless desire seeks: 'The children are now at rest, and it is not right that they should suffer harm on your account;'
'before you came, they kept watch for a long time; now for a season they have rested, and there is no one who can give you an answer.' And that man says: 'Lord, of Thee I ask, to Thee I knock, upon Thee I knock: Thou art the door; do Thou arise, give me mercy, Thou who didst not disdain to form my inward parts from the mud of clay. Thou hast no need of a minister, for Thou canst do all things. But if Thy children sleep, Thou dost not sleep, who keepest Israel. Freely I ask, under grace I beg; I do not presume under the Law. For though the Law and the Prophets were until John, yet Thy grace has no end. Whither Thy children, Thy prophets, have departed, I too know; but Thou, O Lord, art the beginning and the end,'
'and also the last' (Rev. XXII, 13); 'do not weary of me, who ask in the very last hour of the night, who in the middle of the night led captivity captive.' What shall the Father of the family do, bound by such a voice of the persevering one? He does not rouse a prophet, He does not send an angel or an archangel: He Himself will arise and give him as much as he desires. Well did that persistent petitioner and nightly beggar return to his own guest; made rich, he refreshed him; nor did the guest depart unrefreshed from his host. 4. The guest in the night, grace in ignorance. The guest from heaven, a good thought. Christ. Who is this guest, I ask you, brethren, who comes in the night and finds an unprepared host?
Indeed for this reason the guest comes at night, in perpetual and failing poverty. The guest comes in the night, grace in the greatest ignorance, in great want: he brings sorrow, when the nocturnal petitioner says, 'In tribulation I called upon the Lord, and He heard me in a broad place' (Ps. CXVII, 5); and again, 'Many are the tribulations of the just, and out of them all the Lord has delivered them' (Ps. XXXIII, 20), for He is near. Therefore the guest arrives unforeseen and suddenly, when someone is afflicted by the weariness of oppressions. There comes upon him the desire to pray, seizing him with the vow of weeping. In that hour the guest comes, grace, to prick the conscience, lest it die in its own want;
but let him go and ask of the rich One, not by his own merits, but by the merits of the guest who has come, and let him receive three loaves, that in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit he too may be able to feed the other needy ones. Whatever good a man conceives, suddenly struck in his heart, let him know that that guest has come from heaven. And well does He come who comes in the night: He comes to your aid in tribulation, bringing not weariness but affection. And because the Lord Christ came to His disciples with the doors shut, in tribulation, not hoped for but longed for, He greeted them in peace, and the guest refreshed His guests in peace (John XX, 19): is not this the guest who says, 'Behold, I stand and knock; if anyone opens to me, I will come in and sup with him, I and my Father' (Rev.
III, 20)? How good is the house where the Father and the Son enter as a friendly guest, who is also the Holy Spirit! There He sets out in the house of the poor man, in the lodging of purity, diverse dishes for the Lord's Supper. What are these dishes? Joy, longsuffering, self-control, faith, chastity. Only let it not be irksome to receive the Lord as guest: He carries with Him the sweetnesses of delights, that He may there feed the rejoicing armies of angels. With that guest there is peace and gladness: He who comes to His host does so not to torment but to feed; not to despoil but to clothe; not to strike but to heal.
Let us always receive that same guest with the doors of our heart open, and let the enemy tyrant never lord it over us, and in all things, by Christ's gift, let us keep His commandments. SERMON LXXXVI. On the words of the Gospel of Luke, chapter XII, 16 and following: 'The land of a certain rich man brought forth plentiful fruits,' etc. 1. The blindness of the greedy. — 'The land of a certain rich man brought forth plentiful fruits, and he thought within himself, saying: What shall I do, since I have no place to store my fruits? And he said: This I will do; I will pull down my barns and storehouses, and I will build greater ones: that there I may gather all my fruits; and I will say to my soul, You have many goods laid up, be glad and rejoice. But God said to him:'
'Fool, this night your soul is required of you: those things which you have gathered, whose shall they be?' O blindness of the greedy man, most beloved brethren! His harvest overflowed for him, and he was busy with the increase of many years. He rejoiced, because he saw much springing up for himself; and he did not know that he would take nothing with him, but would leave everything here. The night was putting his life to flight, and he was thinking of the morrow. What he looked for in others, he did not expect for himself. Surely he too had seen men dying, he had seen men possessing; he had seen no one carry off the earth with him. How many there are even now who speak thus: 'So much I have, so much I do, so much I am worth!' To whom it must be answered: 'Fool, this night your soul is taken from you: what you have gathered, whose shall it be?'
The foolish rich man rejoices, though he is to die in the night. However far greed may stretch out its roots everywhere, however much it may seize, it must in a single hour leave it all behind. The greedy man does not love his children; the future of children is to be entrusted to God. But you will say: 'I have children for whom I labor, whom I would provide for, for whom I bear the greatest care.' What care do you bear for your children, when you would overwhelm them with the tears of the wretched? This is not to love your children, but rather to slay them. Do you not know that a tree is recognized by its fruit? Do you not know that what is hidden in the root is displayed in the branches, and what lies hidden in the leaves shines forth in the fruit? I would not have your children feel you to be such a father: I would not have you provide in such a way that you rather begrudge.
O how many are born poor and afterward become rich! How many, to whom a great inheritance is left, and afterward are reduced to want! If, then, it belongs to God to make poor, and belongs to God to enrich, why do you play the provider for your children? Why do you seize things which you do not know whether they will remain after you; and nourish for yourself an everlasting punishment, and leave grief to your children? For that most wise Solomon says: 'He who gathers what belongs to others, leaves grief to his children' (Sir. XIV, 15). And again it is said in the Psalms: 'Yet man walks in an image of God, he is vainly disquieted. He heaps up treasure, and knows not for whom he gathers it' (Ps. XXXVIII, 7). Why do you treasure up, greedy one, what you do not know? Why do you delight in the weight of gold and silver, and hoard it?
Why do you keep the king's image carved upon coins, and yet abhor the image of the Creator in men? 3. The tithes and alms are to be given generously. The excuse from almsgiving on account of children. — 'Render,' it is said, 'to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's' (Matt. XXII, 21). Our forefathers therefore abounded in all resources, because they gave tithes to God and paid tribute to Caesar. But now, because devotion to God has departed, the levy of the treasury has come in. We were unwilling to share our tithes with the Lord; but now the whole is taken away. The treasury takes what Christ does not receive: that is given the more, which is not paid out to the poor. 'Do not,' says Solomon, 'spare your treasures' (Sir. XXIX, 13).
Alms are to be given according to measure and quantity, as it is written: 'As you have, my son, give alms; if you have little, out of that little share with the hungry' (Tob. IV, 8 and 9). 'Hide alms in the bosom of the poor, and this shall pray for you before the Lord' (Sir. XXIX, 15). But you have said: 'I have those to whom I may leave it.' Perhaps your sons will have what you leave; you yourself will have nothing, because you have sent nothing ahead of you: you have taken care for your children, but you have refused to profit yourself. Behold, after you, strangers pass on, and these too; you have run in vain, since the Apostle says: 'We brought nothing into this world, and truly we can carry nothing out' (1 Tim. VI, 7); for 'the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof' (Ps. XXIII, 1).
You hear, 'Lift up your hearts'; and you take care to say, 'We have them lifted up to the Lord.' If you have sent anything up there, you have what you may seek there: if you have sent nothing up, you have nothing to seek there. Where you have laid it up, on earth, there seek it: for it is written, 'Where your treasure is, there is your heart also' (Matt. VI, 21). 4. Lawful lending. Debtors are not to be pressed too hard. And listen, you there, to what He says. What? Do you wish to lend at interest, to give less and receive more? Behold, lend to me, says the Lord: I receive less, and I will give more. When you seek that your money grow to your profit, you seek a man who, when he receives, rejoices; when he repays, laments: that he may receive, he prays; that he may not repay, he brings false charges. Give indeed to a man, and do not turn your face away from him who asks a loan;
but receive back as much as you gave: for you have lost even the kindness, if this very thing which you were going to give be exacted back. Perhaps he does not have at hand the means to repay: you offered to the one who asked, wait for the one who does not have. Do not cry out and say, 'Am I seeking interest? I ask only as much as I gave; this I shall get back.' You have not lied, you speak the truth, you are no usurer; and yet you wish the one to whom you gave to seek a moneylender, so as to repay you. But if for this reason you do not exact interest, that God may not judge you a usurer, and yet you press, you choke, you exact: if you exact only as much as you gave, yet by choking and holding him in straits, you have not conferred a kindness, but have brought upon him greater straits. But perhaps you say, 'He has the means to repay: he has a possession.'
'Let him sell it: he has a house; let him sell it: he has a household; let him sell it.' When your brother asked of you, he asked you for this very purpose, that he might not have to sell; therefore let him not sell, because you came to his aid so that it should not come to that. This God wills, this God commands. But if you are greedy, hear now what the Lord Himself says in the Gospel: 'Fool, this night your soul is demanded of you: those things which you have prepared, whose shall they be?' So is everyone who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. SERMON LXXXVII. On the words of the Gospel of Luke, chapter XIII, 18-19: 'To what is the kingdom of God like?' etc. 1. The mustard seed, great in power. The Christian faith, small in appearance but great in power. The Lord says in the Gospel: 'To what is the kingdom of God like? and to what shall I compare it?'