Works › Sermons for the Seasons of the Year
Volume 13 · pp. 222–224
Sermon LVII. On the Third Sunday After Trinity
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SERMO LVII.
IN DOMINICA III POST TRINITATEM.
Congratulamini mihi, quia inveni ovem meam, quae perierat... Congratulamini mihi quia inveni drachmam quam perdideram. Luc. XV, 6 et 9.
In praesenti Evangelio secundum moralem sensum quatuor sunt notanda:
I. Quid per centum oves et decem drachmas intelligatur? II. Quid per ovem centesimam et drachmam decimam, quae perditur, exprimatur? III. Quid per hominem et mulierem, a quibus ovis et drachma quaeritur, accipiatur? IV. Quid significetur per amicos et vicinos, quorum congratulatio postulatur?
I.
De primo nota, quod per centum oves intelligitur numerus electorum. Centenarius enim numerus multiplici perfectione dicitur esse perfectus. Decem namque decies ducta faciunt centum.
Et nota, quod propter quatuor causas electi, et boni Christiani ovibus comparantur. 1. Oves enim voci sui pastoris obsequuntur. 2. Oves post suum pastorem gradiuntur. 3. Oves in pastoris sibilo delectantur. 4. Oves in fervore meridici congregantur ad invicem.
1. De primo dicit Dominus, Joan. X, 27: Oves meae vocem meam audiunt, Glossa, "obediunt praeceptis meis." Debemus igitur quasi bonae oves audire vocem Domini ad bonum nos invitantem, et a malo revocantem. Ad bonum nos invitat, Exod. XX, 8, ubi dicit: Memento ut diem sabbati sanctifices. Hic praecipitur omnis celebris dies in sanctitate ac puritate mentis observari et corporis.
Item, invitat nos ad bonum, Exod. XX, 12: Honora patrem tuum et matrem tuam, ut sit longaevus super terram. Hic praecipitur ut parentes a filiis honorentur, eisque necessaria subministrent.
Revocat etiam nos a malo, et inhibet nobis idem, Exo. XX, 3, et seq., ubi dicit: Non habebis deos alienos coram me... Non assumes nomen Domini Dei tui in vanum. Hic prohibetur, ne aliquis perjurium faciat, nec etiam sine magna necessitate juramentum emittat. Sequitur: Non occides, Glossa, "manu vel mente, vel subtrahendo consilium vitae ei cui debes dare." Sequitur: Non maechaberis, Glossa, id est, "nulli miscearis, excepto foedere matrimonii." Sequitur: Non furtum facies. Augustinus: "Furti nomine omnis illicitae usurpatio intelligitur rei alienae." Sequitur: Non loqueris contra proximum tuum falsum testimonium. Hinc mendacium et detractio ac calumnia prohibentur. Sequitur: Non concupisces domum proximi tui..., nec omnia quae illius sunt. Hic etiam mentalis avaritia prohibetur. Non desiderabis uxorem proximi tui, Glossa, "etiam voluntatem adulterandi vetat."
SERMON LVII.
ON THE THIRD SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.
Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep which had perished... Rejoice with me, because I have found the drachma which I had lost. Luke XV, 6 and 9.
In the present Gospel according to the moral sense four things are to be noted:
I. What is understood by the hundred sheep and the ten drachmas? II. What is expressed by the hundredth sheep and the tenth drachma, which is lost? III. What is accepted by the man and the woman by whom the sheep and the drachma are sought? IV. What is signified by the friends and neighbors whose congratulation is requested?
I.
Concerning the first, note that by the hundred sheep is understood the number of the elect. For the hundred-number is said to be perfect by manifold perfection. For ten led ten times makes one hundred.
And note that for four causes the elect and good Christians are compared to sheep. 1. For sheep obey the voice of their shepherd. 2. Sheep walk after their shepherd. 3. Sheep delight in the whistle of the shepherd. 4. Sheep in the heat of midday are gathered together with one another.
1. Concerning the first the Lord says, John X, 27: My sheep hear my voice. The Gloss: "they obey my precepts." Therefore like good sheep we ought to hear the voice of the Lord inviting us to good and calling us back from evil. He invites us to good, Exodus XX, 8, where he says: Remember to sanctify the sabbath day. Here every celebrated day is commanded to be observed in holiness and purity of mind and body.
Likewise he invites us to good, Exodus XX, 12: Honor your father and your mother, that you may be long-lived upon the earth. Here it is commanded that parents be honored by children and necessary things supplied to them.
He also calls us back from evil, and the same one forbids it to us, Exodus XX, 3 and following, where he says: You shall not have foreign gods before me... You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Here it is prohibited that anyone commit perjury, or even issue an oath without great necessity. It follows: You shall not kill. The Gloss: "by hand or by mind, or by withdrawing the counsel of life from him to whom you ought to give it." It follows: You shall not commit adultery. The Gloss, that is, "you shall be joined to no one, except by the covenant of marriage." It follows: You shall not steal. Augustine: "By the name theft is understood every illicit usurpation of another's thing." It follows: You shall not speak false testimony against your neighbor. Hence lying and detraction and calumny are prohibited. It follows: You shall not covet your neighbor's house..., nor all things that are his. Here also mental avarice is prohibited. You shall not desire your neighbor's wife. The Gloss: "he also forbids the will of committing adultery."
2. De secundo nota, quod oves pastorem sequuntur. Unde dicit Joan. X, 5: Oves meae sequuntur me; alienum autem non sequuntur, sed fugiunt ab eo. Dominus enim cum baculo crucis praecedit nos, ostendit nobis pascua vitae, cujus vestigia sequi debemus. De istis vestigiis dicit I Pet. II, 21: Christus passus est pro nobis, vobis relinquens exemplum, ut sequamini vestigia ejus, etc. Qui in choreis circumeunt, et globos sequuntur, non vadunt post vestigia Christi, sed diaboli.
3. De tertio nota, quod oves in pastoris sibilo delectantur. Unde Dominus in Zach. X, 8: Sibilabo eis, et congregabo illos, quia redemi eos. Per sibilum Domini dulcis remissio regni caelestis intelligitur. De hac promissione dicit Joan. X, 28: Ego vitam aeternam do ovibus meis: et non peribunt in aeternum.
4. De quarto nota, quod oves in fervore conjunguntur et congregantur. Per hoc docemur, quando sumus in aestu alicujus tribulationis, qualem aestum sustinuerunt olim Martyres Christi, qui in magnis tribulationibus fuerunt, sed modo ad consolationes multiplices et invenibiles pervenerunt, et hoc erit solatium nostrae tribulationis.
II.
De secundo nota, quod per drachmas intelliguntur omnes electi. Et scias, quod secundum Glossam, "drachma est nummus certae quantitatis habens imaginem Caesaris." Unde versus:
Drachma genus nummi, nummos bis quinque valebat.
Igitur drachmae vel nummo similes esse debemus, propter quatuor: primo propter materiam, secundo propter formam, tertio propter pondus, quarto propter imaginis impressionem.
1. Materia igitur drachmae, si est aurea, signat patientiam et charitatem. Sicut enim aurum optime sustinet percussiones malleorum, et sicut fiunt ex auro coronae Regum ac Imperatorum; ita et homo per patientiam vincit tribulationum adversitatem, et per charitatem ad regiam vel imperialem assumitur dignitatem. Si vero materia drachmae argentea est, signat biformem munditiam et vocis claritatem. Sicut enim et argentum candidum est et tinnulum, sic et casti homines in die judicii mundas animas et lucida corpora repraesentabunt, et in voce exsultationis coram Deo suo perpetuo jubilabunt.
2. Forma drachmae rotunda est, et significat spem aeterni boni. Tunc enim in anima nostra rotunditatem repraesentamus, cum ea bona quae finem non habent, tota sollicitudine desideramus.
3. Pondus drachmae significat timorem Domini. Timor quippe Domini facit hominem gravem ac ponderosum, ne tamquam pluma, vel palea ab omni vento vanitatis ac voluptatis hujus mundi rapiatur, et per indecentem laetitiam dissolvatur: Beatus homo qui semper est pavidus 1.
2. Concerning the second, note that sheep follow the shepherd. Hence John X, 5 says: My sheep follow me; but they do not follow a stranger, but flee from him. For the Lord precedes us with the staff of the cross; he shows us the pastures of life, whose footsteps we ought to follow. Concerning these footsteps I Peter II, 21 says: Christ suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you may follow his footsteps, etc. Those who go around in dances and follow ball games do not walk after the footsteps of Christ, but of the devil.
3. Concerning the third, note that sheep delight in the whistle of the shepherd. Hence the Lord in Zechariah X, 8: I will whistle to them and gather them, because I have redeemed them. By the whistle of the Lord is understood the sweet remission of the heavenly kingdom. Concerning this promise John X, 28 says: I give eternal life to my sheep, and they will not perish forever.
4. Concerning the fourth, note that sheep are joined and gathered in heat. Through this we are taught, when we are in the heat of some tribulation, what sort of heat the Martyrs of Christ once sustained, who were in great tribulations, but now have come to manifold and unfindable consolations, and this will be the solace of our tribulation.
II.
Concerning the second, note that by drachmas all the elect are understood. And know that according to the Gloss, "a drachma is a coin of a certain quantity having the image of Caesar." Hence the verse:
The drachma, a kind of coin, was worth twice five coins.
Therefore we ought to be like a drachma or coin because of four things: first because of material, second because of form, third because of weight, fourth because of the impression of the image.
1. Therefore the material of the drachma, if it is golden, signifies patience and charity. For just as gold best endures the blows of hammers, and just as crowns of Kings and Emperors are made from gold, so also a man through patience conquers the adversity of tribulations, and through charity is assumed to royal or imperial dignity. But if the material of the drachma is silver, it signifies twofold cleanness and clarity of voice. For just as silver is white and ringing, so also chaste persons on the day of judgment will present clean souls and bright bodies, and in the voice of exultation will perpetually rejoice before their God.
2. The form of the drachma is round, and signifies hope of eternal good. For then we represent roundness in our soul, when we desire with whole solicitude those goods which do not have an end.
3. The weight of the drachma signifies fear of the Lord. Indeed fear of the Lord makes a man grave and weighty, lest he be snatched away like a feather or chaff by every wind of vanity and pleasure of this world, and be dissolved through indecent joy: Blessed is the man who is always fearful 1.
4. Imago hujus drachmae duplex est, videlicet imago misericordiae, et imago justitiae. Et hanc duplicem imaginem habemus ab ipso Deo rege nostro, de cujus moneta sumus. Ipse enim exhibet nobis in hac vita imaginem summae clementiae, per quam recipiet omnes vere poenitentes. In futuro vero ostendit imaginem summae justitiae, per quam damnabit omnes sine vera poenitentia morientes. Itaque et nos debemus esse misericordes per largam eleemosynarum nostrarum largitionem. Debemus etiam justi esse per plenam omnis ablatae rei restitutionem. Hanc duplicem imaginem habuit Zachaeus, qui dimidietatem bonorum suorum distribuit pauperibus, et si aliquem defraudaverit, quadruplum restituit 2.
De secundo nota etiam, quod per ovem quae perit, et per drachmam quae perditur, quilibet peccator intelligitur. Tunc enim homo perit et perditur, dum praecepta Dei contemnens declinat a bono, et facit malum.
III.
De tertio nota, quod per hominem qui ovem perdidit, intelligitur ipse Christus: qui 1. Tunc vadit ovem quaerere, cum hominem per praedicationem vocat. 2. Tunc etiam vadit, cum facit hominem cognoscere et timere, quod venturus est judicare vivos, et mortuos, et saeculum per ignem. 3. Tunc autem invenit ovem, cum peccator convertitur ab errore viae suae. Sic quoque inventum peccatorem imponit in humeros clementiae suae, et reportat primo in domum militantis Ecclesiae, et postea in domum triumphantis Ecclesiae.
Nota etiam, quod per mulierem quae drachmam perdit, notatur divina bonitas et sapientia, quae ut peccatorem inveniat, accendit lucernam, id est, facit hominem recordari, quod omnia peccata delinquentium in die judicii revelabuntur. Everrit etiam domum, id est, cum effectu insinuat omnes hujus mundi concupiscentias everrendas esse in die judicialis vindictae, et sic drachmam invenit, id est, peccatorem compungit ad poenitentiam.
IV.
De quarto nota, quod per amicos et vicinos sancti Angeli designantur, qui sunt amici per divinae voluntatis adimpletionem. Sunt etiam vicini per desiderabilem divinae faciei speculationem.
Rogate ergo Dominum, ut per ipsius misericordiam sic ab errore peccati revocemur, ut cum electis in patria congregemur. Amen.
4. The image of this drachma is twofold, namely the image of mercy and the image of justice. And we have this twofold image from God himself our king, of whose coinage we are. For he shows to us in this life the image of highest clemency, through which he will receive all truly penitent persons. But in the future he will show the image of highest justice, through which he will damn all dying without true penance. And so we too ought to be merciful through the generous largess of our alms. We also ought to be just through full restitution of every thing taken away. Zacchaeus had this twofold image, who distributed half of his goods to the poor, and if he had defrauded anyone, restored fourfold 2.
Concerning the second, note also that by the sheep which perishes and by the drachma which is lost, any sinner is understood. For then a man perishes and is lost when, contemning the precepts of God, he declines from good and does evil.
III.
Concerning the third, note that by the man who lost the sheep, Christ himself is understood: who 1. then goes to seek the sheep when he calls man through preaching. 2. Then he also goes when he makes man know and fear that he is going to judge the living and the dead and the age by fire. 3. But then he finds the sheep when the sinner is converted from the error of his way. Thus also he places the found sinner on the shoulders of his clemency and carries him back first into the house of the Church militant and afterward into the house of the Church triumphant.
Note also that by the woman who loses the drachma is noted divine goodness and wisdom, which, so that it may find the sinner, lights a lamp, that is, makes man remember that all sins of delinquents will be revealed on the day of judgment. She also sweeps the house, that is, she effectually suggests that all concupiscences of this world must be swept out on the day of judicial vengeance, and thus she finds the drachma, that is, she compuncts the sinner to penance.
IV.
Concerning the fourth, note that by friends and neighbors the holy Angels are designated, who are friends through fulfillment of the divine will. They are also neighbors through desirable contemplation of the divine face.
Therefore pray to the Lord that through his mercy we may so be called back from the error of sin that with the elect we may be gathered in the homeland. Amen.
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