Works › Sermons for the Seasons of the Year
Volume 13 · pp. 134–136
Sermon XXX. On the Second Sunday of Lent
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SERMO XXX. IN DOMINICA II QUADRAGESIMÆ.
Miserere mei Domine fili David: filia mea male a dæmonio vexatur. Matth. xv, 22.
Quatuor possunt hic notari: I. Quid per mulierem Chananæam intelligatur? II. Quid per filiam ejus exprimatur? III. Quare Dominum filium David nominet? IV. Quam misericordiam ab eo expostulet?
I. De primo nota, quod per mulierem Chananæam intelligitur anima cujuslibet peccatoris, quæ tamen se in malo statu esse recognoscit, et propter hoc Dei misericordiam implorat. Hanc mulierem Chananæam appellat Marc. vii, 25: Syrophænissam. Syrophænissa interpretatur alte conversa mulier, unde signat animam ad Deum converti desiderantem. Chananæa etiam interpretatur æmulatrix, et exprimit animam quæ Dominum per patientiam æmulatur, id est, sequitur.
II. De secundo nota, quod per filiam mulieris exprimitur cujuslibet animæ peccatricis conscientia. Et certe, quamdiu anima peccatis est subdita, male a dæmonio vexatur conscientia. Et nota, quod filia, id est, conscientia eorum, qui in peccatis sunt, male vexatur per spinosam criminum remorsionem: sed si in peccatis decesserint, vexabuntur pejus et pessime: pejus in amara carnis ac animæ separatione, pessime in vermis et ignis sævissima contritione. Igitur quælibet peccatrix anima, quæ filiam, id est, conscientiam suam per aculeum peccatorum vexari sentit a dæmone, per pium salvationis desiderium currere debet post Dominum, eique debet magno contritionis clamore supplicare, ut velit conscientiam suam a vexatione dæmonis liberare.
III. De tertio nota, quod ideo Dominum filium David appellat, quia eum de genere David descendisse recognoscit. Unde in Psal. cxxxi, 11, promissum fuerat ei: De fructu ventris tui pones super sedem tuam. Dixerat etiam Luc. i, 31, Gabriel ad Mariam: Ecce concipies in utero, et paries filium, et vocabis nomen ejus Jesum, etc.
IV. De quarto nota, quam misericordiam ab eo expostulet: recognovit eum esse filium David, et petivit ut misereretur sui, velut David quondam Saulis fuit misertus, quando tactu citharæ dæmonium ab eo expulit. Legitur I Reg. xvi, 23, quod cum spiritus Dei recessisset a Saul, et spiritus nequam exagitaret eum, ad consilium servorum Saul vocatus fuit David, qui sciebat psallere in cithara. Igitur quandocumque spiritus Domini malus arripiebat Saul, David tollebat citharam, et percutiebat manu sua, et refocillabatur Saul, et levius habebat: recedebat enim ab eo spiritus malus.
SERMON XXX. ON THE SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT.
Have mercy on me, Lord, son of David: my daughter is badly vexed by a demon. Matthew 15:22.
Four things can be noted here: I. What is understood by the Canaanite woman? II. What is expressed by her daughter? III. Why does she name the Lord son of David? IV. What mercy does she ask from him?
I. On the first, note that by the Canaanite woman is understood the soul of any sinner, which nevertheless recognizes that it is in an evil state, and on account of this implores the mercy of God. Mark 7:25 calls this woman, the Canaanite woman, a Syrophoenician. Syrophoenician is interpreted as a woman turned on high; hence it signifies the soul desiring to be converted to God. Canaanite also is interpreted an emulator, and it expresses the soul that emulates the Lord through patience, that is, follows him.
II. On the second, note that by the woman's daughter is expressed the conscience of any sinful soul. And certainly, as long as the soul is subject to sins, its conscience is badly vexed by a demon. And note that the daughter, that is, the conscience of those who are in sins, is badly vexed by the thorny remorse of crimes; but if they die in sins, they will be vexed more badly and most badly: more badly in the bitter separation of flesh and soul, most badly in the very savage crushing of worm and fire. Therefore any sinful soul that feels its daughter, that is, its conscience, vexed by a demon through the sting of sins, ought through a pious desire for salvation to run after the Lord, and ought to supplicate him with a great cry of contrition, that he may be willing to free its conscience from the vexation of the demon.
III. On the third, note that she therefore calls the Lord son of David, because she recognizes that he descended from the stock of David. Hence in Psalm 131:11 it had been promised to him: Of the fruit of your womb I will set one upon your throne. Gabriel also had said to Mary in Luke 1:31: Behold, you will conceive in the womb, and you will bear a son, and you will call his name Jesus, and so forth.
IV. On the fourth, note what mercy she asks from him: she recognized him to be son of David, and she asked that he should have mercy on her, just as David once had mercy on Saul, when by the touch of the harp he drove the demon from him. It is read in 1 Kings 16:23 that, when the Spirit of God had withdrawn from Saul and a wicked spirit was troubling him, by the counsel of Saul's servants David was called, who knew how to sing psalms on the harp. Therefore whenever the evil spirit of the Lord seized Saul, David took the harp and struck it with his hand, and Saul was refreshed and felt better; for the evil spirit withdrew from him.
Nota, quod mathematici dicunt, secundum quod testatur Magister in Historiis, quod quidam dæmones odiunt et fugiunt harmoniam citharæ. Unde dicit etiam Glossa super locum prædictum, quod «refert Boetius Philosophum quemdam tactu citharæ dæmonium ab obsesso corpore depulisse.» Igitur notandum est, quod sicut David vocatus fuit ut a Saul tactu citharæ dæmonium expelleret, ita et Christus venas et arterias venerabilis corporis sui extendi permisit in ligno crucis, ut ab humano genere, imo a quolibet peccatore dulci harmonia septem verborum, quæ protulit in cruce, septiforme dæmonium quod suggerit septem principalia crimina, potenter ejiceret. Unde Isa. xvi, 1: Venter meus ad Moab quasi cithara sonabit. Moab interpretatur de patre, vel ex patre. Ergo per Moab universum genus humanum, vel quilibet homo significatur, qui ex primo patre Adam descendit.
Et nota, quanto fortius chorda extenditur, tanto dulcius resonat; sic et Christus usque ad dinumerationem omnium ossium extensus fuit in cruce, ut dulcius resonaret.
Prima igitur vox hujus citharæ fuerunt verba Domini, Luc. xxiii, 34: Pater dimitte illis, etc. Hæc harmonia expellit dæmonium iræ. Ira enim non dimittit injuriam; sed potius vindictam expetit. Admonet nos igitur hæc cithara, ut omni iræ ex corde renuntiemus, et debitoribus nostris dimittamus. Unde Matth. vi, 15: Si non dimiseritis hominibus, nec Pater vester dimittet vobis peccata vestra.
Secunda vox hujus citharæ fuit verbum Dei, Luc. xxiii, 43: Amen dico tibi: Hodie mecum eris in paradiso. Hæc harmonia expellit dæmonium invidiæ. Invidia enim nulli communicat sua. Unde docet nos Dominus per hoc quod latroni paradisum communicavit et dedit, ut invidiam ab hospitio cordis nostri expellamus: omnia enim bona opera per invidiam putrefiunt. Proverb. xiv, 30: Putredo ossium invidia.
Tertia vox citharæ fuerunt verba Domini, Joan. xix, 26 et 27: Mulier, ecce filius tuus. Deinde dicit Discipulo: Ecce mater tua. Hæc vox expellit dæmonium luxuriæ: casta enim fuit Virgo, quæ hæc verba audivit: Ecce filius tuus. Castus fuit discipulus, cui dictum est: Ecce mater tua. Sicut enim infantulus inhabitator est materni uteri, sic etiam Christus inhabitator est mundorum corporum et castarum animarum; e converso diabolus inhabitat in fædis corporibus et animabus immundis. Sicut mater diligit filium, sic etiam casti et mundi diligunt Christum, et semper præ oculis habent corpus suum sanguine cruentatum. Matrem suam et Dei Filius matrem asserit continentium et castorum.
Note that mathematicians say, according as the Master testifies in the Histories, that certain demons hate and flee the harmony of the harp. Hence also the Gloss says on the aforesaid place that "Boethius reports that a certain Philosopher by the touch of a harp drove a demon from a possessed body." Therefore it must be noted that, just as David was called so that by the touch of the harp he might expel the demon from Saul, so also Christ permitted the veins and arteries of his venerable body to be stretched upon the wood of the cross, so that from the human race, indeed from any sinner, by the sweet harmony of the seven words that he uttered on the cross, he might powerfully cast out the sevenfold demon that suggests the seven principal crimes. Hence Isaiah 16:1 says: My belly shall sound to Moab like a harp. Moab is interpreted as from the father, or out of the father. Therefore by Moab the whole human race is signified, or any human being, who descends from the first father Adam.
And note: the more strongly a string is stretched, the more sweetly it resounds; so also Christ was stretched on the cross even to the numbering of all his bones, that he might resound more sweetly.
Therefore the first voice of this harp was the Lord's words in Luke 23:34: Father, forgive them, and so forth. This harmony expels the demon of anger. For anger does not forgive injury, but rather seeks vengeance. This harp therefore warns us that we should renounce all anger from the heart and forgive our debtors. Hence Matthew 6:15 says: If you will not forgive human beings, neither will your Father forgive you your sins.
The second voice of this harp was the word of God in Luke 23:43: Amen I say to you: Today you will be with me in paradise. This harmony expels the demon of envy. For envy communicates its own goods to no one. Hence the Lord teaches us, through the fact that he communicated and gave paradise to the thief, that we should drive envy from the lodging of our heart; for all good works are made rotten through envy. Proverbs 14:30: Envy is rottenness of the bones.
The third voice of the harp was the Lord's words in John 19:26 and 27: Woman, behold your son. Then he says to the Disciple: Behold your mother. This voice expels the demon of luxury; for the Virgin was chaste, who heard these words: Behold your son. The disciple was chaste, to whom it was said: Behold your mother. For just as an infant is an inhabitant of the mother's womb, so also Christ is an inhabitant of clean bodies and chaste souls; conversely the devil inhabits foul bodies and unclean souls. As a mother loves her son, so also the chaste and the clean love Christ, and they always have before their eyes his body bloodied with blood. The Son of God declares his own mother to be also the mother of the continent and the chaste.
Quarta vox hujus citharæ habetur Matth. xxvii, 46: Eli, Eli, lamma sabactani? hoc est: Deus meus, Deus meus, ut quid dereliquisti me? Hæc harmonia expellit dæmonium avaritiæ. Avari enim nummos, et pecuniam, sive alia bona colunt pro Deo. Unde et ab Apostolo idolatræ nuncupantur. Docet igitur nos Filius Dei per hoc, quod auxilium quæsit a Deo Patre, non sperare in acervo divitiarum, sed in Deo vivo. Non enim bona per avaritiam conquisita possunt subvenire animæ in tempore ultimæ necessitatis, sed solus Deus Pater, qui est Deus noster per creationem, et Deus noster per redemptionem.
Quinta vox hujus citharæ fuit hoc verbum, Sitio (Joan. xix, 28). Hæc harmonia expellit dæmonium gulæ. Gula enim semper exardescit siti, et instigat hominem ad superfluum potum: studet enim calicibus epotandis. Dominus autem ut sitim gulæ exstinguat in nobis, docet nos sua siti sitire fontem consolationis æternæ, de quo qui biberit, non sitiet in æternum.
Sexta vox Dominicæ citharæ habetur Joan. xix, 30: Consummatum est. Per hanc harmoniam expellitur dæmonium acediæ, quæ nihil bono fine consummat, sed potius eos qui circa principia in servitio Dei ferventes spiritu fuerunt, postmodum segnes reddit et pigros. Ut autem Dominus acediam a nobis extrudat, et ad fervorem boni operis nos accendat, dicit se bene omnia consummasse.
Septima vox hujus citharæ fuerunt verba, quæ Dominus clamavit in cruce, Luc. xxiii, 46: Pater, in manus tuas commendo spiritum meum. Hæc harmonia excludit dæmonium superbiæ. Dominus enim, ut doceret nos semper per humilitatem spiritum nostrum et animam in manus Domini commendare, cum prædicta verba pronuntiasset, inclinato capite tradidit spiritum 1. Superbi enim non subjiciunt se manibus Domini; sed potius erecto collo contra eum concurrunt, ipsumque, quantum possunt, impugnant.
Rogate igitur, charissimi, Dominum, ut sic a nobis per citharam corporis sui omne dæmonium expellat, ut tandem Spiritu Dei repleti in regnum suum recipi mereamur. Amen.
The fourth voice of this harp is had in Matthew 27:46: Eli, Eli, lamma sabactani? that is: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? This harmony expels the demon of avarice. For the avaricious worship coins and money, or other goods, in place of God. Hence they are also called idolaters by the Apostle. Therefore the Son of God teaches us through this, that he sought help from God the Father, not to hope in a heap of riches, but in the living God. For goods acquired through avarice cannot aid the soul in the time of its final necessity; only God the Father can, who is our God through creation and our God through redemption.
The fifth voice of this harp was this word, I thirst (John 19:28). This harmony expels the demon of gluttony. For gluttony always burns with thirst and instigates a human being to excessive drinking; it is eager to drain cups. But the Lord, in order that he may extinguish in us the thirst of gluttony, teaches us by his thirst to thirst for the fountain of eternal consolation, from which whoever drinks will not thirst forever.
The sixth voice of the Lord's harp is had in John 19:30: It has been consummated. Through this harmony the demon of acedia is expelled, which consummates nothing with a good end, but rather later makes sluggish and lazy those who around the beginnings in the service of God were fervent in spirit. But so that the Lord may thrust acedia out from us and inflame us toward the fervor of good work, he says that he has consummated all things well.
The seventh voice of this harp was the words that the Lord cried on the cross in Luke 23:46: Father, into your hands I commend my spirit. This harmony excludes the demon of pride. For the Lord, so that he might teach us always through humility to commend our spirit and soul into the hands of the Lord, when he had pronounced the aforesaid words, with head bowed, handed over the spirit 1. For the proud do not subject themselves to the hands of the Lord; rather, with neck raised, they run against him and attack him as much as they can.
Therefore pray, dearest ones, to the Lord, that he may so expel every demon from us through the harp of his body, that at last, filled with the Spirit of God, we may deserve to be received into his kingdom. Amen.
Notes
- John 19:30. (Joan. xix, 30.) ↩
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