For in his lifetime his soul will be blessed; and he will
praise thee when thou shalt do well to him (Ps. xlviii. i9).
In his lifetime his soul will be blessed. Let your Charity reflect
on these words: In his lifetime his soul will be blessed. As long
as he lived he did well for himself. This all men say, but they speak falsely.
It is blessing that comes from the desire of the one blessing, not from
Truth Itself. For what is it you are saying? Because he ate and drank,
because he did what he wished, and because he feasted splendidly every
day, he therefore did well for himself. But I say he did badly for himself.
It is not I who say this, but Christ. He did evil to himself. For Dives,
when he feasted sumptuously every day (Lk. xvi. 19), thought he
did well for himself. But when he began to burn in hell, then what he thought
good was found to be evil. For what he had eaten among the living, he digested
in hell. I speak here of evil-doing, brethren, on which he was wont to
feast.
He ate rich banquets with the mouth of his body; with the mouth of his
heart he ate injustice. What he ate among the living with the mouth of
his heart; it was this he digested in hell amid torments. He had indeed
eaten well in time; he digested unhappily in eternity. Do we then eat evil-doing?
Someone will say: what is he saying? Do we eat evil? It is not I who say
this; listen to the Scriptures: As a sour grape is an affliction to
the teeth, and smoke to the eyes, so is evil doing to them that indulge
in it (Prov. x. 26, Sept.). For he who has eaten iniquity that is,
he who has freely indulged in evil-doing, is unable to eat justice. For
justice is bread. What bread? I am the living bread which came down
from heaven (Jn. vi. 51). He is Himself the Bread of our heart. Just
as he who eats sour grapes with the mouth of his body, has his teeth set
on edge and is unable to eat bread; and must continue to praise what he
sees, while unable to eat it; so he who indulges in iniquity, and eats
sin in his heart, begins to be unable to cat bread; he praises the word
of God, but does not do it.
Why is it he does not do it? Because when he begins to do it, he labours;
just as we when we have eaten sour grapes feel our teeth labouring when
we try to eat bread. But what do they do whose teeth are on edge? They
restrain themselves for a time from sour grapes, till their teeth become
firm, and then apply themselves to the bread. So also do we praise justice.
But if we would eat justice, let us restrain ourselves from evil doing;
and there will be born in our heart, not alone the delight of praising
justice, but also the power to eat it. For if the Christian says: ‘God
knows that my delight is in this, but I am unable to fulfil it’; his teeth
are weakened, because he has long eaten of iniquity. Is justice therefore
also eaten? If it were not eaten, the Lord would not have said: Blessed
are they that hunger and thirst after justice (Mt. v. 6). Therefore
since in his lifetime his soul will be blessed: in life it shall
be blessed, but in death it shall be tormented.
He will praise thee, when thou shalt do well to him. Apply your
minds to this and be fed. Keep it close within your hearts. Eat, reflect
upon such persons; and be not such as they are. Beware of these words:
He will praise thee, when thou shalt do well to him. How many are
the Christians, brethren, who give thanks to God when they gain something!
This is the meaning of: he will praise thee, when thou shalt do well
to him. He will praise Thee, and he will say: Thou art truly my God.
He has delivered me from prison; I will praise Him. Wealth comes his way;
he praises God. He receives an inheritance; he praises God. He suffers
loss; he curses Him. What kind of son are you, who when the Father corrects
you, He then becomes hateful to you? Would he have corrected you, unless
you had displeased Him? Or had you so displeased Him that He hated you,
would He have corrected you? Then give thanks to your Corrector, that you
may receive an inheritance from God Who corrects you. For when you are
being corrected, you are being taught. And He corrects you often; for great
is that which you are to receive. For if you weigh your correction against
what you are to receive, you will find that being corrected is as nothing.
The Apostle Paul says this: For that which is at present momentary and
light of our tribulation, worketh for us above measure exceedingly an eternal
weight of glory. But when? While we look not, he says, at the things
which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which
are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal
(II Cor. iv. 17, 18). And again: The sufferings of this time, are not
worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in
us (Rom. viii. i8).
What therefore do you suffer? But, you say, you are suffering all the
time. I agree. Suppose that from the moment of your birth, through all
the years of your life till extreme age, and until you died, you suffered
what Job suffered; what he suffered for a few days, another may suffer
from infancy. What you suffer passes, comes to an end; what you are to
receive, shall never end. I would not have you weigh your suffering against
your reward. But weigh, if you can, the things of time against eternity.
He will praise thee, when thou shalt do well to him.
Brethren: Do not be like such persons. Understand that it is for this
we are saying these things, it is for this we forewarn you, it is for this
we treat of these things, it is for this we sweat and toil: Be not guilty
of such things. Your daily tasks are a trial to you. Sometimes in your
dealings you hear the Truth, and you blaspheme, you speak evil against
the Church. Why? Because you are good Christians? If that be so, I’ll join
the Donatists. I’ll become a pagan. Why then? Because you have bitten bread,
and your teeth pain you. When you first saw this same bread, you used to
praise it. You began to eat it, and your teeth hurt you: that is, when
you began to hear the word of God, you were full of praise of it. But when
you were told, do this, you speak evil of it.
You must not think or speak like this. Say this: This is good bread,
but I am unable to eat it. Now, if you see it with your eyes, you praise
it; but when you begin to put your teeth in it, you say: This is bad bread,
and what sort of a man made it? And so it is you praise God, when God does
well by you. And therefore you lie, when you sing: I will bless the
Lord at all times: his praise shall be always in my mouth (Ps. xxxiii.
2). The song of your lips comes to an end in your heart. In the Church
you sang: I will bless the Lord at all times. What do you mean by,
at all times? If I make a profit at all times, He will be praised
at all times. If now and then there is loss, He will not be blessed, He
will be cursed. Certainly you bless the Lord at all times, and no doubt
His praise is always in your mouth? But it will be the kind of blessing
and praise just now described: He will praise thee, when thou shalt
do well to him.
Turning then to the Lord God, the Father Almighty, let us, from a pure
heart, and as far as our littleness can, offer Him fullest, overflowing
thanks; with our whole soul beseeching His singular mildness, that in His
good pleasure He will deign to hear our prayers, and by His power drive
what is evil from our thoughts and actions, that He may increase our faith,
guide our minds, grant us His holy inspirations and lead us to His own
blessedness through Jesus Christ His Son. Amen.
