Works › Sermons for the Seasons of the Year
Volume 13 · pp. 127–130
Sermon XXVIII. On the Sunday of Lent
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Sermo XXVIII.
In Dominica Quadragesimae.
Cum jejunasset Jesus quadraginta diebus, et quadraginta noctibus, postea esuriit. Matth. iv, 2.
In verbis praedictis de duobus edocemur:
I. Quid sit agendum? II. Quid sit credendum?
Primum notatur ibi: Cum jejunasset. Glossa: "Quia jejunavit, exemplum nobis jejunandi dedit." Gregorius: "Omnis Christi actio nostra est instructio."
Secundum, scilicet quid sit credendum, notat ibi: Quadraginta diebus, et quadraginta noctibus. Et nota, quod duo credenda sunt de Christo: scilicet, 1. Potentia divinitatis, quae notatur ibi: quadraginta diebus, et quadraginta noctibus, quod tantum jejunavit, divinae potentiae fuit. 2. Infirmitas nostrae carnis, quae notatur ibi: Postea esuriit. Glossa: "Esuries signum est infirmitatis, et nostrae humilitatis, et sic instrumentum in moribus, et in fide." Dicit ergo: Cum jejunavit quadraginta diebus, et quadraginta noctibus, postea esuriit.
I.
Primo edocemur, quid sit agendum. Notandum, quod tribus de causis ad jejunium nos invitavit. Propter opportunitatem, propter eruditionem, propter utilitatem.
1. Propter opportunitatem. Conveniebat enim refraenare gulam, scilicet jejunando, per quam victus fuit primus homo in paradiso: portae enim et fenestrae, per quas solitus est latro intrare, clauduntur, id est, loca infirma per quae aliquando patuit aditus adversariis, muniuntur. Ps. lxviii, 11: Operui in jejunio animam meam, ne hostes inveniant aditum intrandi ad eam.
2. Propter eruditionem. Dicit enim Glossa: "Jejunat ut tentetur: et quia jejunat, tentatur:" et ideo docet nos, ut qui aliqua bona incipiunt, ut jejunium, et caetera hujusmodi, statim a diabolo impugnantur. Unde Tob. xii, 8: Bona est oratio cum jejunio, et eleemosyna magis quam thesauros auri recondere. Bene dicit: Bona est oratio cum jejunio et eleemosyna, quia jejunium sine oratione et eleemosyna non est in tuto loco: peregrinus enim non tute vadit solus per talia loca, ubi scit esse latrones: daemones enim impugnant jejunantem, vel ut superbiat per vanam gloriam, vel ut avaritia incendat, ut quae sibi subtrahit, in bursam ponat, et ideo bona est oratio cum jejunio, quae vetat pestes mentis, et eleemosyna pestes cupiditatis.
Quod autem diabolus impugnet jejunantes, patet ex hoc, quod Christum statim post jejunium impugnavit. Unde sicut qui habet inimicitias, et induciae ruptae sunt inter ipsum et adversarium ejus, sollicite se custodit, auxilium ab amicis suis quaerit: sic diabolus inducias habet cum discipulis, et aliquantulam pacem, quasi confoederatis suis: sed cum quis peccatum dimittere, et bona facere incipit, tunc ruptae sunt induciae, et ex tunc potest se habere pro diffidato. Unde Gen. iii, 15: Inimicitias ponam inter te et mulierem, tu insidiaberis calcaneo ejus, id est, si bonum incipiat, insidiaberis, ne ad finem perducat: calcaneum enim finis hominis est, et significat finem bonae operationis et perfectionis, ideo debet se bonis operibus munire, orationibus auxilium Sanctorum implorare, ne ex aliqua parte ruat in peccatum.
Sermon XXVIII.
On the Sunday of Lent.
When Jesus had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward he hungered. Matthew 4:2.
In the aforesaid words we are taught concerning two things:
I. What is to be done? II. What is to be believed?
The first is marked there: When he had fasted. The Gloss says: "Because he fasted, he gave us an example of fasting." Gregory says: "Every action of Christ is our instruction."
The second, namely what is to be believed, is marked there: forty days and forty nights. And note that two things are to be believed about Christ: namely, first, the power of his divinity, which is marked there, forty days and forty nights, because that he fasted so long belonged to divine power; second, the infirmity of our flesh, which is marked there, afterward he hungered. The Gloss says: "Hunger is a sign of infirmity and of our humility, and thus an instrument in morals and in faith." Therefore he says: When he had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward he hungered.
I.
First we are taught what is to be done. It must be noted that he invited us to fasting for three causes: because of opportunity, because of instruction, because of utility.
1. Because of opportunity. For it was fitting to restrain gluttony, namely by fasting, through which the first human being was conquered in paradise. For the doors and windows through which the thief was accustomed to enter are closed, that is, the weak places through which at some time access lay open to adversaries are fortified. Psalm 68:11: I covered my soul in fasting, lest enemies find an entrance for entering it.
2. Because of instruction. For the Gloss says: "He fasts so that he may be tempted, and because he fasts, he is tempted." And therefore he teaches us that those who begin certain good things, such as fasting and other things of this sort, are immediately attacked by the devil. Hence Tobit 12:8 says: Prayer with fasting and alms is better than storing up treasures of gold. He says well, prayer with fasting and alms, because fasting without prayer and alms is not in a safe place. For a traveler does not safely go alone through such places where he knows there are thieves. For demons attack the one fasting, either so that he become proud through vainglory, or so that avarice inflame him, so that what he subtracts from himself he may put into a purse. And therefore prayer with fasting is good, which forbids the plagues of the mind, and alms, which forbids the plagues of cupidity.
But that the devil attacks those who fast is clear from this, that he attacked Christ immediately after the fast. Hence just as one who has enmities, and truces have been broken between him and his adversary, carefully guards himself and seeks help from his friends, so the devil has truces with disciples, and a little peace, as if with his confederates. But when someone begins to abandon sin and to do good things, then the truces have been broken, and from then on he can regard himself as one challenged. Hence Genesis 3:15: I will put enmities between you and the woman; you will lie in wait for her heel, that is, if she begins good, you will lie in wait lest she bring it to completion. For the heel is the end of a human being, and signifies the end of good operation and perfection; therefore he ought to fortify himself with good works and to implore the help of the Saints by prayers, lest from some side he fall into sin.
3. Propter utilitatem, quae est adversarii expulsivum, et Dei reconciliativum. Primo enim est daemonis expulsivum, maxime illius qui tentat de luxuria; sicut fames, quae ejicit lupum de silva. Matth. xvii, 20: Hoc genus daemoniorum non ejicitur, nisi per orationem, et jejunium. Hospes enim delicatus non diu moratur in hospitio, ubi non recipitur jucunde, imo scienter non ingreditur. Luxuria vero delicata est, et ideo odit hospitium et societatem jejunantium. Matth. xii, 43: Cum immundus spiritus exierit ab homine, ambulat per diversa loca, quaerens requiem, et non invenit. Sicut enim pisces in arido cito moriuntur, sic etiam luxuria in austeritate vitae et jejunio moritur. Isa. l, 2: Computrescent pisces sine aqua, et morientur in siti. Terentius: Sine Cerere et Baccho friget Venus.
Secundo est Dei reconciliativum: qui enim alium offendit, si emendam solvit delicti, pacem habet. Jejunium autem, quia poenale est, satisfacit de peccato. Joan. iii, 4 et seq.: Comminatus est Dominus Ninivitis, dicens: Adhuc quadraginta dies, et Ninive subvertetur. Et crediderunt viri Ninivitae in Deum: et praedicaverunt jejunium. Et postea sequitur: Vidit Deus opera eorum... et misertus est, etc. Et nota quod dicit: conversi sunt a via sua mala. Jejunium in peccatis non placet Deo, nec ferculum lutosum oblatum principi. Isa. lviii, 3: Quare jejunavimus, et non adspexisti? etc. Respondet: Ecce in die jejunii vestri invenitur voluntas vestra, etc. Diabolus non comedit, sed semper jejunat, et a peccatis non cessat: jejuna igitur sine peccatis, vel sicut diabolus jejunabis. Isidorus: "Qui se a cibis abstinet et mala agit, daemones imitatur." Melius est abstinere a peccatis quam a pane, et comedere in quadragesima: jejunant a pane, et carnes serpentes comedunt, id est, peccatum, quia veneno delectationis animam occidunt. Luc. xviii, 12: Jejuno bis in sabbato, dicebat Pharisaeus, qui superbiam et indignationem respectu aliorum habebat: unde justificatus in domum suam non descendit. Isa. lviii, 4: Nolite jejunare sicut usque ad hanc diem.
3. Because of utility, which is expulsive of the adversary and reconciling of God. First, it is expulsive of the demon, especially of that one who tempts concerning luxury, just as hunger drives the wolf from the forest. Matthew 17:20: This kind of demons is not cast out except through prayer and fasting. For a delicate guest does not remain long in a lodging where he is not received pleasantly; indeed, knowingly he does not enter. But luxury is delicate, and therefore it hates the lodging and society of those who fast. Matthew 12:43: When the unclean spirit has gone out from a human being, it walks through diverse places seeking rest and does not find it. For just as fish quickly die on dry land, so also luxury dies in austerity of life and fasting. Isaiah 50:2: The fish will rot without water and will die in thirst. Terence says: Without Ceres and Bacchus, Venus grows cold.
Secondly, it is reconciling of God. For one who has offended another, if he pays the amends for the fault, has peace. But fasting, because it is penal, satisfies for sin. Jonah 3:4 and following: The Lord threatened the Ninevites, saying: Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown. And the men of Nineveh believed in God and proclaimed a fast. And afterward it follows: God saw their works, and he had mercy, etc. And note that it says: they were converted from their evil way. Fasting in sins does not please God, nor does a muddy dish offered to a prince. Isaiah 58:3: Why have we fasted and you have not looked? etc. He answers: Behold, on the day of your fast your own will is found, etc. The devil does not eat, but always fasts, and does not cease from sins; therefore fast without sins, or you will fast like the devil. Isidore says: "He who abstains from foods and does evil imitates demons." It is better to abstain from sins than from bread and to eat in Lent; people fast from bread and eat the flesh of serpents, that is, sin, because they kill the soul with the poison of delight. Luke 18:12: I fast twice on the Sabbath, said the Pharisee, who had pride and indignation with respect to others; hence he did not descend justified into his house. Isaiah 58:4: Do not fast as up to this day.
Et nota, quod non sufficit debili et infirmo dietam medicinae per diem et horam servare, et postea cuilibet se exponere: sic in quadragesima jejunare, et post Pascha peccatis obedire. Eccli. xxxiv, 31: Homo qui jejunat in peccatis suis, et iterum eadem faciens, quid proficit humiliando? orationem illius quis exaudiet? Ideo Dominus, Joel. ii, 15: Sanctificate jejunium. Et post sequitur, 19: Et mittam vobis frumentum, et vinum, et oleum, et replebimini eis. Terra enim otiosa spinas et tribulos profert, laboriose vero exculta fructum bonum. Eccli. xx, 30: Qui operatur terram suam, inaltabit acervum frugum, etc. Sic caro: Subige tuam ipse carnem, quae exactor pessimus, hominis inimicus, facit sibi spiritum alioquin ad libitum subjugari: sicut equus lascivus, et bene habitus recalcitrat, et domino suo ascendenti contradicit: afflictus vero labore et jejunio pacifice se habet, et ad libitum domini sui duci et onerari permittit. Psal. xxxiv, 13: Cum mihi molesti essent, scilicet motus carnales, induebar cilicio, ut contra tela adversarii resisterem: humiliabam in jejunio animam meam.
Quadriga enim non onerata facilius ab equo trahitur, et navis levigata citius a vento et remigio ducitur; sic caro jejunio attenuata in suis actibus expeditur. Elias jejunavit quadraginta diebus, et quadraginta noctibus, et ivit ad montem Dei Horeb 1. Castellanus enim fame subactus, castrum tradit ad libitum impugnantis: sic luxuria per famem domita, corpus ad libitum hominis et rationis tradit. Luxuriosus, qui a patre superbe recessit, fame et jejunio afflictus ad patrem humiliter est reversus 2. Magna ergo est utilitas jejunii, quod haec facit. Magnum enim commodum infert homini, qui de domo sua expellit hominem homicidam, vel latronem; et qui amicum optimum sibi iratum reconciliaret, et qui terram suam sterilem fecundatam sibi faceret; et ideo Christus merito exemplo suo ad jejunium nos vocavit.
II.
Sequitur: Postea esuriit. Legimus Christum tripliciter esuriisse, scilicet reputatione, nuncupatione, affectione.
1. Reputative, ut in pauperibus, quia quidquid pauperibus impenditur, Christo fieri reputatur. Matth. xxv, 35 et 40: Esurivi, et dedistis mihi manducare. Sequitur: Quamdiu fecistis uni ex his fratribus meis minimis, mihi fecistis. Et ideo non sunt contemnendi pauperes. Si quis enim ita familiaris esset Regi, ut quidquid sibi fieret, Rex sibi fieri reputaret, et talis ad domum tuam veniret, honorifice reciperes, et eum non despiceres. Ideo Eccli. iv, 2: Animam esurientem ne despexeris. Quasi dicat: Ne vilipendas, quia pauper est. Saepe enim in vili sacco reconditur bonum frumentum, et in concha fragili lapis pretiosus, et e converso sub auro fulgenti lignum putridum; sic sub paupere habitu anima pretiosa.
And note that it is not enough for the weak and sick person to keep the diet of medicine for a day and an hour, and afterward to expose himself to anything; so too, to fast in Lent and after Easter to obey sins is not enough. Ecclesiasticus 34:31: A human being who fasts in his sins and again does the same things, what does he profit by humbling himself? Who will hear his prayer? Therefore the Lord says in Joel 2:15: Sanctify a fast. And afterward, in verse 19, it follows: And I will send you grain and wine and oil, and you will be filled with them. For idle earth brings forth thorns and thistles, but earth laboriously cultivated brings good fruit. Ecclesiasticus 20:30: He who works his land will raise up a heap of fruits, etc. So the flesh: Subdue your flesh yourself, which, as a very wicked exactor and the enemy of the human being, otherwise makes the spirit be subjected to itself at will; just as a lascivious and well-fed horse kicks back and resists its lord when he mounts, but when worn down by labor and fasting it behaves peacefully and permits itself to be led and loaded at its lord's will. Psalm 34:13: When they were troublesome to me, namely carnal motions, I was clothed with haircloth, so that I might resist the weapons of the adversary; I humbled my soul in fasting.
For an unloaded cart is more easily drawn by a horse, and a ship made light is more quickly led by wind and oar; so flesh attenuated by fasting is made ready in its acts. Elijah fasted forty days and forty nights and went to the mountain of God, Horeb 1. For the keeper of a castle, subdued by hunger, hands over the castle at the will of the attacker; so luxury, tamed by hunger, hands over the body at the will of the human being and of reason. The luxurious son, who proudly withdrew from his father, afflicted by hunger and fasting, returned humbly to the father 2. Therefore the utility of fasting is great, because it does these things. A human being receives a great advantage if he drives from his house a murderous man or thief, and if he reconciles to himself a best friend angry at him, and if he makes his sterile land fertile for himself; and therefore Christ rightly called us to fasting by his example.
II.
It follows: Afterward he hungered. We read that Christ hungered in three ways, namely reputatively, nuncupatively, and affectively.
1. Reputatively, as in the poor, because whatever is bestowed on the poor is reckoned to be done to Christ. Matthew 25:35 and 40: I was hungry and you gave me to eat. It follows: As long as you did it to one of these least brothers of mine, you did it to me. And therefore the poor are not to be despised. For if someone were so familiar to the king that whatever was done to him the king reckoned as done to himself, and such a person came to your house, you would receive him honorably and would not despise him. Therefore Ecclesiasticus 4:2 says: Do not despise the hungry soul. As if he were saying: Do not cheapen him because he is poor. For often good grain is stored in a vile sack and a precious stone in a fragile shell; and conversely, under shining gold there is rotten wood; so under a poor habit there is a precious soul.
2. Nuncupative, ut dicitur in Psal. xlix, 12 et 13: Si esuriero, non dicam tibi. Et sequitur: Numquid manducabo carnes taurorum? Quasi diceret: Cibus Christi non est, nisi conversio peccatorum. Joan. iv, 31 et 32: Rogabant discipuli eum, ut manducaret: ille autem dixit: Ego cibum habeo manducare, quem vos nescitis. Quasi diceret: Non quaero cibum materialem, sed spiritualem, scilicet animas: et ideo, si tu vis Christum ad hospitium cordis invitare, et gratanter reficere, conversionem tuam et aliorum diligenter studeas procurare. Genes. xxvii, 9 et 10: Dixit Rebecca filio suo Jacob: Affer mihi duos haedos optimos, ut faciam ex eis escas patri tuo, quibus libenter vescitur: quos cum intuleris, et comederit, benedicat tibi priusquam moriatur. Haedi, qui foetent, sunt peccatores: sed optimi sunt, quando in igne contritionis et paenitentiae parati sunt, et sic faciens obtinuit benedictionem.
3. Legimus Christum etiam esuriisse affective, salutem scilicet animarum. Matth. xxi, 18 et 19: Esuriit. Et videns fici arborem secus viam, venit ad eam, quaerens fructum: et nihil invenit in ea, nisi folia. Esuriit, scilicet, animarum salutem ardenter appetivit. Sicut enim ardenter esuriens nullum genus panis respuit: sic Christus nullum juvenem, senem, homicidam, latronem. Act. x, 10, et seq.: Cum esuriret Petrus, cecidit super eum mentis excessus, et vidit caelum apertum, et descendens vas quoddam, velut linteum magnum..., in quo erant omnia quadrupedia, et serpentia terrae, et volatilia caeli. Et facta est vox ad eum dicens: Surge Petre, occide et manduca. Quasi nullam differentiam faciendo Dominus ad modum quaerentis panem ostiatim, stat ad ostium, et pulsat 3, quoniam multi eum abire jejunum permittunt. Psalm. lxviii, 11: Operui in jejunio animam meam. Glossa exponit de Christo, etc.
Rogate ergo Dominum, charissimi, ut sic a vitiis jejunemus, etc. Quod nobis, etc.
2. Nuncupatively, as is said in Psalm 49:12 and 13: If I hunger, I will not tell you. And it follows: Will I eat the flesh of bulls? As if he were saying: The food of Christ is nothing except the conversion of sinners. John 4:31 and 32: The disciples asked him to eat, but he said: I have food to eat that you do not know. As if he were saying: I do not seek material food, but spiritual food, namely souls. And therefore, if you wish to invite Christ into the lodging of the heart and to refresh him gratefully, you should diligently strive to procure your conversion and that of others. Genesis 27:9 and 10: Rebecca said to her son Jacob: Bring me two best kids, so that I may make from them foods for your father that he gladly eats; and when you have brought them in and he has eaten, he may bless you before he dies. The kids, which stink, are sinners; but they are best when they are prepared in the fire of contrition and penance, and one doing thus has obtained a blessing.
3. We also read that Christ hungered affectively, namely for the salvation of souls. Matthew 21:18 and 19: He hungered. And seeing a fig tree beside the road, he came to it, seeking fruit, and found nothing on it except leaves. He hungered, namely, he ardently desired the salvation of souls. For just as one ardently hungry rejects no kind of bread, so Christ rejects no youth, old person, murderer, or thief. Acts 10 and following: When Peter was hungry, an ecstasy of mind fell upon him, and he saw heaven opened and a certain vessel descending, like a great linen cloth, in which were all quadrupeds and serpents of the earth and birds of heaven. And a voice was made to him saying: Rise, Peter, kill and eat. As if making no difference, the Lord, in the manner of one seeking bread door to door, stands at the door and knocks 3, because many permit him to go away hungry. Psalm 68:11: I covered my soul in fasting. The Gloss explains this of Christ, etc.
Therefore pray to the Lord, dearly beloved, that we may so fast from vices, etc. May he grant this to us, etc.
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