The healing of the ten lepers

Saint Luke - Chapter 17

The healing of the ten lepers. J-J Tissot

[11] Et factum est, dum iret in Jerusalem, transibat per mediam Samariam et Galilaeam.
And it came to pass, as he was going to Jerusalem, he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

[12] Et cum ingrederetur quoddam castellum, occurrerunt ei decem viri leprosi, qui steterunt a longe :
And as he entered into a certain town, there met him ten men that were lepers, who stood afar off;

[13] et levaverunt vocem, dicentes : Jesu praeceptor, miserere nostri.
And lifted up their voice, saying: Jesus, master, have mercy on us.

[14] Quos ut vidit, dixit : Ite, ostendite vos sacerdotibus. Et factum est, dum irent, mundati sunt.
Whom when he saw, he said: Go, shew yourselves to the priests. And it came to pass, as they went, they were made clean.

[15] Unus autem ex illis, ut vidit quia mundatus est, regressus est, cum magna voce magnificans Deum,
And one of them, when he saw that he was made clean, went back, with a loud voice glorifying God.

[16] et cecidit in faciem ante pedes ejus, gratias agens : et hic erat Samaritanus.
And he fell on his face before his feet, giving thanks: and this was a Samaritan.

[17] Respondens autem Jesus, dixit : Nonne decem mundati sunt? et novem ubi sunt?
And Jesus answering, said, Were not ten made clean? and where are the nine?

[18] Non est inventus qui rediret, et daret gloriam Deo, nisi hic alienigena.
There is no one found to return and give glory to God, but this stranger.

[19] Et ait illi : Surge, vade : quia fides tua te salvum fecit.
And he said to him: Arise, go thy way; for thy faith hath made thee whole.

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam 

The healing of the ten lepers (Notes)

Saint Luke - Chapter 17

The healing of the ten lepers. J-J Tissot

[11] Et factum est, dum iret in Jerusalem, transibat per mediam Samariam et Galilaeam.
And it came to pass, as he was going to Jerusalem, he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

And it came to pass as He was going up to Jerusalem from the borders of Cæsarea Philippi or Paneas, as is clear from S. Matt. 17:22, to Jerusalem; to the feast of tabernacles, as appears from S. John 7:2. He went through the midst of Samaria and Galilee; for this was the direct road for one journeying from Cæsarea to Jerusalem. Mention is made of Samaria to suggest a reason why, among the ten lepers that were healed by Christ, one was a Samaritan; namely, that as Christ was going through Samaria, although He had been inhospitably received by the Samaritans, nay, shut out from one of their towns, 9:53, He yet wished to do good to a Samaritan, that He might return kindness for ill-treatment. See the chronological order of events which I have prefixed to this commentary.

[12] Et cum ingrederetur quoddam castellum, occurrerunt ei decem viri leprosi, qui steterunt a longe :
And as he entered into a certain town, there met him ten men that were lepers, who stood afar off;

And as He entered into a certain village. Lepers, as being unclean, were not able to enter cities, towns and villages, lest they should communicate their leprosy to the inhabitants, as well as their legal defilement, which under the old law was communicated by contact with a leprous and unclean person; as in Numb. 5:2. Hence they met Christ before the village.

There were ten lepers, says Euthymius, whom their disease had united together; for otherwise the Jews hold no communication with the Samaritans, John 4:9. These ten lepers seem to have agreed, as soon as they met Jesus, to demand to be healed with one voice. They made an attack upon the clemency of Jesus.

They stood afar off, as being unclean and out of communion with the clean, being banished lest they should affect them by their breath. In figure leprosy is concupiscence, heresy, and every kind of sin, as is shown in Levit, 13, 14 and Matt. 8:2.

[13] et levaverunt vocem, dicentes : Jesu praeceptor, miserere nostri.
And lifted up their voice, saying: Jesus, master, have mercy on us.

And they lifted up their voices. They cried out aloud, because they stood afar off. The voice was one and proceeded from all, “Jesus, Master,” have mercy on us, and free us from this heavy and incurable disease. Master here does not so much mean teacher as Lord, one who directs his servants and tells them his wishes. The Greek is ἐπίστατα, that is Præfect—Præses; one whose right it is to rule and command: for they do not ask Christ to teach them, and give them precepts of virtue, but to command the leprosy and cause it to depart from them. So the Hebrew, Rabbi, means not only master but also Lord, and Mighty, and One of the first rank. Moreover, S. Luke everywhere calls Christ ἐπίστατα, as is seen 5:5, 8:24, 45, 9:33, 49; S. Matt, also, 8:25, 17:4, and elsewhere, has κύριε, that is Lord. So the Gauls, Germans, and Belgians call their masters Lords, Domini, mon maistre, mein meister.

[14] Quos ut vidit, dixit : Ite, ostendite vos sacerdotibus. Et factum est, dum irent, mundati sunt.
Whom when he saw, he said: Go, shew yourselves to the priests. And it came to pass, as they went, they were made clean.

And when He saw them He said unto them. Theophylact says, “They stood afar off indeed in position, but they were near in speech, for ‘The Lord is nigh unto all that call upon Him,’ ” Ps. 145:18.
He said unto them, Go and shew yourselves unto the priests. That is, if you go to them and obey Me, you shall assuredly be healed of your leprosy by My power and providence.

And it came to pass, as they went. Christ commanded them to go to the priests, not that they might be healed by them, for this was impossible, but firstly, for the honour and deference due to the priesthood; secondly, because the law commanded lepers, if they were healed, to show themselves to the priests, that by their means they might be brought back to the city and temple, and to the society of men. The priests, moreover, had their own signs by which they might know whether a man were a leper or not, as I have shown before. Thirdly, to prove the faith and obedience of the lepers, for they knew themselves to be lepers, and that they could not be healed by the priests, but only that their leprosy could be declared. Yet they went to them at the command of Christ, believing that they would thus be healed by Him before they came to the priests. For if they had not so believed they would assuredly not have gone to them. Fourthly, that Christ might make the priests witnesses of the miraculous healing done by Him, and that from this they might know that He was the Christ.

Allegorically. Christ wished to signify that mystical lepers, that is sinners in the New Law, ought to come to the priests that they may be healed by penance, and absolved from the leprosy of sin. “It is not,” says S. Chrysostom, “the duty of the priest, under the New Law, to prove the leprosy, as it was under the Old, but to cleanse and expiate it when proved.” Lib. iii. de Sacerdotio.

And as they went, they were cleansed. “In certain faith and blind obedience, not judging of the command,” says Euthymius. It is probable that immediately on their going they were healed, that they might know it to have been done by Jesus. Hence the Samaritan, perceiving what had happened, and that he was cured, returned to Jesus and gave thanks. Thus is God wont to reward prompt faith and obedience.

They were cleansed. From their leprosy, which among the Jews was the greatest of uncleannesses, both natural and legal; especially because it was contagious, and made those who came near, leprous and unclean.

[15] Unus autem ex illis, ut vidit quia mundatus est, regressus est, cum magna voce magnificans Deum,
And one of them, when he saw that he was made clean, went back, with a loud voice glorifying God.

And one of them, when he saw that he was healed. He left the road and went back to Jesus, the Author of his healing, magnifying God with a loud voice, who, through Jesus, had healed him.

[16] et cecidit in faciem ante pedes ejus, gratias agens : et hic erat Samaritanus.
And he fell on his face before his feet, giving thanks: and this was a Samaritan.

And fell down on his face at His feet. That by profound humiliation he might show his great reverence to Him, as in the Greek and Syriac. And he was a Samaritan: a Samaritan, and therefore an alien from and abhorrent to the Jews, a schismatic moreover, so that it was wonderful that he alone gave thanks so earnestly to Jesus, who was a Jew, when the other lepers, who were Jews by nation and religion, passed Him by and gave no thanks for so great a benefit.

[17] Respondens autem Jesus, dixit : Nonne decem mundati sunt? et novem ubi sunt?
And Jesus answering, said, Were not ten made clean? and where are the nine?

And Jesus answering said, Why do not the nine, equally with this Samaritan, return and acknowledge their cure, and give Me thanks? In truth the nine were rejoiced at their cure, and went to the priests, that they might be declared to be clean, and restored to the society of men, thinking wholly of themselves, and caring very little for the glory of Jesus.

[18] Non est inventus qui rediret, et daret gloriam Deo, nisi hic alienigena.
There is no one found to return and give glory to God, but this stranger.

There are not found that returned. By confessing and declaring themselves cured by God through Christ of their leprosy, which was a great glory to God.

Save this stranger. That is, except this Samaritan, who was a stranger to the nation and religion of the Jews. For the Samaritans were Babylonians, Assyrians and Medians, and were transferred by Shalmanezer to Samaria. 2 Kings 17:24. The Syriac says, “Why were they separated, so that none gave glory to God except this one?” He represents the Gentiles, who were to believe in Christ, and give Him thanks, when the unbelieving Jews would hold Him in contempt. We thus see that strangers are often more grateful than natives; because strangers wonder at strange benefactors more, and pay them greater respect than natives, who, as familiar with their benefactors, think that benefits are their due from the right of country. Moreover, they were ashamed to humble themselves before their own countrymen, and to acknowledge the misery from which they had been delivered. Rightly therefore does Christ blame them; and He might with justice have deprived them of the benefit of the cure, and allowed them to fall back again into their leprosy. But He would not do this, because His mercy was so great that it extended even to the ungrateful. S. Bernard sharply rebukes the wickedness of ingratitude, Serm. li. on Canticles. He says, “It is the enemy of our souls, the inanition of our merits, the disperser of our virtues, the ruin of our benefactions. Ingratitude is a burning wind, drying up the Fountain of Holiness, the dew of mercy, the streams of grace.”

[19] Et ait illi : Surge, vade : quia fides tua te salvum fecit.
And he said to him: Arise, go thy way; for thy faith hath made thee whole.

And He said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith. Faith, by which you have believed that I am able to save you, nay that I will do so, if you obey Me, and go to the priests. For this faith has worked with your healing, even though I be the primary author. Hence very likely the prompting of God elicited from this leper some act of contrition by which he was justified; and that he then left the schism of the Samaritans, and joined the true religion of the Jews. In the end he became a disciple of Jesus, and received His baptism, and became a Christian and preached the power and miracle of Christ and converted many to Him.

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam 

The woman who lifted up her voice

Saint Luke - Chapter 11

The woman who lifted up her voice. J-J Tissot

[27] Factum est autem, cum haec diceret : extollens vocem quaedam mulier de turba dixit illi : Beatus venter qui te portavit, et ubera quae suxisti.
And it came to pass, as he spoke these things, a certain woman from the crowd, lifting up her voice, said to him: Blessed is the womb that bore thee, and the paps that gave thee suck.

[28] At ille dixit : Quinimmo beati, qui audiunt verbum Dei et custodiunt illud.
But he said: Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God, and keep it.

[29] Turbis autem concurrentibus coepit dicere : Generatio haec, generatio nequam est : signum quaerit, et signum non dabitur ei, nisi signum Jonae prophetae.
And the multitudes running together, he began to say: This generation is a wicked generation: it asketh a sign, and a sign shall not be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.

[30] Nam sicut fuit Jonas signum Ninivitis, ita erit et Filius hominis generationi isti.
For as Jonas was a sign to the Ninivites; so shall the Son of man also be to this generation.

[31] Regina austri surget in judicio cum viris generationis hujus, et condemnabit illos : quia venit a finibus terrae audire sapientiam Salomonis : et ecce plus quam Salomon hic.
The queen of the south shall rise in the judgment with the men of this generation, and shall condemn them: because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold more than Solomon here.

[32] Viri Ninivitae surgent in judicio cum generatione hac, et condemnabunt illam : quia poenitentiam egerunt ad praedicationem Jonae, et ecce plus quam Jonas hic.
The men of Ninive shall rise in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it; because they did penance at the preaching of Jonas; and behold more than Jonas here.

[33] Nemo lucernam accendit, et in abscondito ponit, neque sub modio : sed supra candelabrum, ut qui ingrediuntur, lumen videant.
No man lighteth a candle, and putteth it in a hidden place, nor under a bushel; but upon a candlestick, that they that come in, may see the light.

[34] Lucerna corporis tui est oculus tuus. Si oculus tuus fuerit simplex, totum corpus tuum lucidum erit : si autem nequam fuerit, etiam corpus tuum tenebrosum erit.
The light of thy body is thy eye. If thy eye be single, thy whole body will be lightsome: but if it be evil, thy body also will be darksome.

[35] Vide ergo ne lumen quod in te est, tenebrae sint.
Take heed therefore, that the light which is in thee, be not darkness.

[36] Si ergo corpus tuum totum lucidum fuerit, non habens aliquam partem tenebrarum, erit lucidum totum, et sicut lucerna fulgoris illuminabit te.
If then thy whole body be lightsome, having no part of darkness; the whole shall be lightsome; and as a bright lamp, shall enlighten thee.

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam 

The woman who lifted up her voice (Notes)

Saint Luke - Chapter 11

The woman who lifted up her voice. J-J Tissot

[27] Factum est autem, cum haec diceret : extollens vocem quaedam mulier de turba dixit illi : Beatus venter qui te portavit, et ubera quae suxisti.
And it came to pass, as he spoke these things, a certain woman from the crowd, lifting up her voice, said to him: Blessed is the womb that bore thee, and the paps that gave thee suck.

[28] At ille dixit : Quinimmo beati, qui audiunt verbum Dei et custodiunt illud.
But he said: Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God, and keep it.

[29] Turbis autem concurrentibus coepit dicere : Generatio haec, generatio nequam est : signum quaerit, et signum non dabitur ei, nisi signum Jonae prophetae.
And the multitudes running together, he began to say: This generation is a wicked generation: it asketh a sign, and a sign shall not be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.

[30] Nam sicut fuit Jonas signum Ninivitis, ita erit et Filius hominis generationi isti.
For as Jonas was a sign to the Ninivites; so shall the Son of man also be to this generation.

[31] Regina austri surget in judicio cum viris generationis hujus, et condemnabit illos : quia venit a finibus terrae audire sapientiam Salomonis : et ecce plus quam Salomon hic.
The queen of the south shall rise in the judgment with the men of this generation, and shall condemn them: because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold more than Solomon here.

[32] Viri Ninivitae surgent in judicio cum generatione hac, et condemnabunt illam : quia poenitentiam egerunt ad praedicationem Jonae, et ecce plus quam Jonas hic.
The men of Ninive shall rise in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it; because they did penance at the preaching of Jonas; and behold more than Jonas here.

[33] Nemo lucernam accendit, et in abscondito ponit, neque sub modio : sed supra candelabrum, ut qui ingrediuntur, lumen videant.
No man lighteth a candle, and putteth it in a hidden place, nor under a bushel; but upon a candlestick, that they that come in, may see the light.

[34] Lucerna corporis tui est oculus tuus. Si oculus tuus fuerit simplex, totum corpus tuum lucidum erit : si autem nequam fuerit, etiam corpus tuum tenebrosum erit.
The light of thy body is thy eye. If thy eye be single, thy whole body will be lightsome: but if it be evil, thy body also will be darksome.

[35] Vide ergo ne lumen quod in te est, tenebrae sint.
Take heed therefore, that the light which is in thee, be not darkness.

[36] Si ergo corpus tuum totum lucidum fuerit, non habens aliquam partem tenebrarum, erit lucidum totum, et sicut lucerna fulgoris illuminabit te.
If then thy whole body be lightsome, having no part of darkness; the whole shall be lightsome; and as a bright lamp, shall enlighten thee.

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam 

The rich young man

Saint Matthew - Chapter 19

The rich young man who went away sorrowful. J-J Tissot

[16] Et ecce unus accedens, ait illi : Magister bone, quid boni faciam ut habeam vitam aeternam?
And behold one came and said to him: Good master, what good shall I do that I may have life everlasting?

[17] Qui dixit ei : Quid me interrogas de bono? Unus est bonus, Deus. Si autem vis ad vitam ingredi, serva mandata.
Who said to him: Why asketh thou me concerning good? One is good, God. But if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

[18] Dicit illi : Quae? Jesus autem dixit : Non homicidium facies; non adulterabis; non facies furtum; non falsum testimonium dices;
He said to him: Which? And Jesus said: Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness.

[19] honora patrem tuum, et matrem tuam, et diliges proximum tuum sicut teipsum.
Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

[20] Dicit illi adolescens : Omnia haec custodivi a juventute mea : quid adhuc mihi deest?
The young man saith to him: All these I have kept from my youth, what is yet wanting to me?

[21] Ait illi Jesus : Si vis perfectus esse, vade, vende quae habes, et da pauperibus, et habebis thesaurum in caelo : et veni, sequere me.
Jesus saith to him: If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come follow me.

[22] Cum audisset autem adolescens verbum, abiit tristis : erat enim habens multas possessiones.
And when the young man had heard this word, he went away sad: for he had great possessions.

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam 

The rich young man (Notes)

Saint Matthew - Chapter 19

The rich young man who went away sorrowful. J-J Tissot

[16] Et ecce unus accedens, ait illi : Magister bone, quid boni faciam ut habeam vitam aeternam?
And behold one came and said to him: Good master, what good shall I do that I may have life everlasting?

And behold one, &c. S. Jerome thinks that this one was the lawyer of whom Luke speaks (10:25), and so that he came with the intention of tempting Christ. S. Chrysostom’s opinion is preferable, that it was a different person, and that he came with a sincere intention of asking how he could become like a little child, according to Christ’s precept, and so become a partaker of everlasting life. Wherefore he is the same person who is spoken of in Luke 18:18. This becomes plain by a comparison of the two passages, especially ver. 22, where it is said that when he had heard Christ’s doctrine concerning perfection, If thou wilt be perfect go and sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, he went away sorrowful because he was rich. But this is evidence that he had asked these things of Christ from a sincere desire of salvation.

Good Master: This is a common Hebrew form of salutation by which persons sought the good will of a doctor or prophet. As though they said, “Rabbi, I know that thou art good, both as a man, and as a doctor and a prophet, who teachest us those things which are indeed good, and which lead to happiness. Tell me therefore what special good thing shall I do, that I may obtain the chief good in Heaven?” He plays upon the word good.

[17] Qui dixit ei : Quid me interrogas de bono? Unus est bonus, Deus. Si autem vis ad vitam ingredi, serva mandata.
Who said to him: Why asketh thou me concerning good? One is good, God. But if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

He said unto Him, &c. The Vulgate translator read in the Greek, τί με ἐρωτᾷς περὶ ἀγαθοῦ; This was S. Augustine’s reading, and that which S. Jerome followed in his commentary. Why askest thou me concerning good? The present reading is that given in the text. Origen gives both readings. He subjoins the reason, saying—

One is good, God: viz., in His nature and essence. Humbly does Christ refer this praise of His goodness to God, that He may teach us to do the same. For this man had not perfect faith concerning Christ, nor did he believe Him to be God. To this faith Christ desired to raise him by chiding him as it were. As though He had said, “If thou callest Me good, believe that I am God: for no one is good of himself save God.” So S. Jerome, Theophylact, Euthymius.

Moreover good means the same as perfect, and the perfection of a thing is its goodness. That God is perfect, S. Denis proves in many ways (de Divin. Nomin. c. 10.) In God there is infinite perfection both of nature and wisdom, of power, holiness and virtue. There is therefore in Him the highest goodness, natural, moral and supernatural. Wherefore He is the Fountain of all good, in whom all the excellencies of all creatures are gathered together, and infinitely more than there are in the creatures. Wherefore in God there is in an eminent degree the beauty of gold, the splendour of jewels, the savour of delicacies, the harmony of music, the pleasantness of gardens, and whatsoever there is lovely, pleasant and delicious in the creatures. Hence it is from God that honey derives its sweetness, the sun its radiance, the stars their light, the heavens their glory, angels their wisdom, men their virtue, animals their sensations, plants their life, and all other things whatsoever they have of good: yea it is to the bounty of God that they as mendicants owe their very existence, as a drop out of the ocean. In God therefore is all good, and that in a perfect and infinite degree. In God is the allurement of all love, the consummation of all desire, the satisfying of all appetite. Why then, O wretched man, dost thou wander about among these poor created goods, and with all art not satisfied? Seek good in Him in whom is all good. Love and desire God. He alone can fully satisfy thy appetite and thy thirst: in this life through grace, but bow much more in the life to come through glory: yea by Himself. For in heaven God manifests Himself that He may be beheld by the blessed as the chief good, that they may taste Him and enjoy Him.

If thou will enter, &c. Calvin foolishly, if not impiously, imagines that Christ is here addressing the young man ironically, because he trusted in the works of the Law; inasmuch as there is no road to Heaven through the keeping of the commandments, since it is impossible for men; but by faith. There are here as many errors and heresies, yea blasphemies, as there are words. It is diametrically opposed to what Christ declares, and is subversive of it. Hence it is plain that Calvin was not led by the Spirit of Christ but of Antichrist. See among Catholics, Maldonatus, who writes with the express object of refuting Calvin and the Protestants. Let us go on to speak of what will be of more use to the orthodox. Christ here teaches that not faith alone justifies and saves, but that good works are also required, by which in fulfilling the law, we may obtain the prize of eternal life, which has been promised by God to those who fulfil the law. Calvin urges—At least Christ by the commandments of God here excludes the precepts and traditions of the Church, of Pontiffs and Prelates. I reply they are included in the fifth commandment, “Honour thy father and thy mother.” For Prelates are spiritual fathers.

[18] Dicit illi : Quae? Jesus autem dixit : Non homicidium facies; non adulterabis; non facies furtum; non falsum testimonium dices;
He said to him: Which? And Jesus said: Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness.

He saith unto Him, &c. As thyself; Syriac, as thy soul. I have expounded these commandments in Deut. 5:6. Christ in this place only propounded the precepts of the second table having reference to our neighbour, because in them are included the precepts of the first table concerning God. For the love of God produces love of our neighbour. For we love him for the sake of God. Wherefore the love of our neighbour flows from love of God. Again it is more difficult to love our neighbour than to love God. For who is there who does not love God, especially among religious people, such as this youth was?

[19] honora patrem tuum, et matrem tuam, et diliges proximum tuum sicut teipsum.
Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

[20] Dicit illi adolescens : Omnia haec custodivi a juventute mea : quid adhuc mihi deest?
The young man saith to him: All these I have kept from my youth, what is yet wanting to me?

The young man saith, &c. From my youth; Syriac and Arabic, from my childhood—meaning, from a child I have been brought up in God’s law, and been prevented by His grace. I have carefully kept all God’s commandments. What lack I yet? i.e., of goodness; that I may become perfected therein, and have eternal life? Not in any fashion, as all have it who keep the commandments, but surely and securely, and in large measure; in the chief and perfect degree of happiness and glory. For Thou, O Christ, as the Master of Heavenly virtue seemest to deliver a higher doctrine concerning it than our Scribes. Tell me therefore what it is? For I covet salvation and perfection. R. Jerome thinks that this young man told a falsehood, for if he had loved his neighbour as himself, he would have sold all his goods, and given to the poor. But this argument is not absolutely convincing. For to love one’s neighbour as oneself is of precept: but to give all one’s goods to the poor is of counsel. And Christ, as Mark says, beholding him, loved him, and gave him this advice concerning bestowing all his goods upon the poor, that he might go on to perfection.

[21] Ait illi Jesus : Si vis perfectus esse, vade, vende quae habes, et da pauperibus, et habebis thesaurum in caelo : et veni, sequere me.
Jesus saith to him: If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come follow me.

Jesus saith unto him, &c. This is not an evangelical precept, but a counsel. Whence He saith, if thou wilt. This is to say, I do not command, but I advise. Mark adds (10:21), Then Jesus beholding him, loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor. S. Anthony, hearing these words of Christ read at Mass, left all things, and so followed Christ, says S. Athanasius in his life. S. Prosper of Regium, who was afterwards a bishop, did the same, in the time of S. Leo, as is recorded in his Life in Surius. June. 25.

Deservedly therefore S. Bernard says (in Dedaman. sub initium.), “These are the words which in all the world have persuaded men to a contempt of the world, and to voluntary poverty. They are the words which fill the cloisters with monks, the deserts with anchorites. These, I say, are the words which spoil Egypt, and strip it of the best of its goods. This is the living and effectual word, converting souls, by the happy emulations of sanctity, and the faithful promise of truth. For Simon Peter saith unto Jesus—Lo we have left all things.” Wherefore S. Jerome, by this saying of Christ, as by the sound of a trumpet constantly stirs up his own people, as well as all of us to a zeal for poverty. Whence (Epist. 150, ad Hedib.), he says, “Dost thou wish to be perfect, and to stand in the first rank of dignity? Then do what the Apostles did. Sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and follow the Saviour; and follow the bare and only cross with virtue for thine only cloke.” Still more clearly does the same S. Jerome speak (Epist. 24, ad Julian.), “And this I exhort, if thou wilt be perfect, if thou desirest the summit of Apostolic dignity, if to raise up the cross and follow Christ, if to take hold of the plough, and not to look back, if placed on the top of the house, thou despisest thine old garments, and wouldest escape the Egyptian woman, thy mistress, leaving the world’s pallium. Whence also Elias, when he was hastening to the kingdom of Heaven is not able to go with his mantle, but leaves his unclean garments to the world (mundo immunda vestimenta dimittit.). But this, thou sayest is a question of Apostolic dignity, and of the man who wishes to be perfect. But why art thou unwilling to be perfect too? Why shouldest not thou who art first in the world, be first also in the family of Christ?” After a little he adds, “But if thou shalt give thyself to the Lord, and being perfect in Apostolic virtue, shalt begin to follow the Saviour, thou shalt then understand where thou art, and how in Christ’s army thou holdest the last place.”

Observe: Christian perfection chiefly and primarily consists in charity; nevertheless it is placed by Christ in evangelical counsel as it were means and instruments suitable for acquiring charity. (See S. Thomas, ii. 2 q. 184, art. 3.) This perfection all the religious aim at who renounce all their possessions, that naked they may follow a naked Christ. Yet do not all immediately at the beginning obtain this perfection, but they tend towards it by degrees; and by making continual progress, they at length arrive at it. Hence, wisely does Climacus (Gradus 26) make three grades of such persons—namely, beginners, those who are making progress, and the perfect. To beginners he delivers this alphabet, not of twenty-four letters, but of virtues. “The best elementary alphabet of all,” he says, “is obedience, fasting, a hair shirt, ashes, tears, confession, silence, humility, vigils, fortitude, cold, fatigue, affliction, contempt, contrition, forgetfulness of injuries, brotherly love, gentleness, a simple and incurious faith, the neglect of the world, the affections kept free from all things, simplicity united with innocence, voluntary vileness.” To such as are making progress he assigns these greater precepts of virtues. “The lot and the method of those who are progressing is victory over vain glory and anger, a good hope of salvation, quietness of mind, discretion, a firm and constant remembrance of the Last Judgment, mercy, hospitality, modest reproof, speech free from all vicious affections.” Lastly, to the perfect he delivers these maxims of complete sanctity: “A heart free from all captivity, perfect love, a fount of humility, the mind’s departure from the vanities of the world, and going to Christ, a treasure of light and Divine prayer secure from robbers, abundance of divine illumination, desire of death, hatred of life, and flight from the body.” And then he adds that “a perfect man is so holy, and so pleasing to God, that he may be the ambassador, or the patron and advocate of the world, who is able (in a certain sense) to compel God; the colleague of angels, and is with them initiated into mysteries; a most profound depth of knowledge, a habitation of celestial mysteries, a keeper of the Divine arcana, the health of men, a god over devils, a master of vices, an emperor of the body.”

Go, sell, &c. You will ask, Why is poverty the appropriate way and instrument of evangelical perfection? 
Bonaventura answers (in Apol. Paupcrum), because cupidity is the root of all evils. Cupidity, therefore, is the foundation of the city of Babylon. For of it are born ambition, gluttony, and the rest of the vices. This cupidity Christ cuts down by poverty, and takes away riches, honours, delights, which are the food and fuel of all vices. For delicacies make the mind effeminate, and to become women rather than men. A manly strength abhors delicacies. 
2. Poverty begets humility, which is the foundation of sanctity. Whence S. Francis, says Bonaventura, being asked by his disciples what virtue would most commend us to Christ the Lord, and make us pleasing to Him, replied (according to his wont): Poverty; for it is the way of salvation, the fount of humility, the root of perfection, and from it there spring many fruits, although they be hidden and known to but few. 
3. One who is poor in spirit, since he has no other cares, gives himself wholly up to gathering virtues, as a bee to gathering honey. Thus S. Anthony, being free from the desire of riches, had an insatiable desire of virtues; and so from one man he learned patience, from another abstinence, from another constancy, prayer, and so on. Hence the first poor religious were called Ascetics, that is, exercisers; because they were wholly occupied in taming anger, gluttony and other passions, and in the practice of arduous and heroic virtues. Whence some of them were accustomed to take food only once in two days, others only once in three. Others scarcely slept at all, like those who lived in the monastery of the Acemetœ—i.e., of those who keep vigil without sleeping. 
4. Because perfection consists in the love of God and our neighbour; and to this poverty directs us. For it puts an end to meum and tuum, from whence all the strifes and wars arise among neighbours, says S. Chrysostom. The same removes the mind away from all care and love of earthly things, and fixes it wholly upon God. For what the Apostle says concerning a married man (1 Cor. 7:33), applies also to a rich man: “He that is married cares for the things of the world, how he may please his wife,” and is divided. For the rich man is divided. He divides his cares and his thoughts between God and Mammon. Poverty, therefore, makes a man superior to the world and the flesh, like an angel conversing with angels, breathing after Heaven. And such a one fulfils the words of the Apostle, “Seek those things which are above, not the things that are upon the earth,” that he may place his whole mind and love upon God, and may be made with Him, as it were, one spirit. Perfection, therefore, consisteth in this—that the mind be altogether abstracted from transitory things, and fixed on what is good and eternal; that is, on God, for which poverty affords an opportunity.

You will say, for this it is sufficient to leave all things in affection, which was what Abraham did, not in act. I answer with S. Jerome against Vigilantius. That is one grade of poverty, and a lower one. For the highest is to relinquish all things in reality, both because such a one gives all, that is to say both intention and its effect, as also because it is not possible wholly to relinquish a thing in intention, without carrying the intention into effect. For like a person lying in a bed, or sitting in a chair, if any one should secretly bind him to the chair he does not know that he is bound, until he gets up: so those who possess riches have their affection hidden, by which they are bound to them, and do not perceive it until they lose them or leave them. Thus S. Gregory records (Epist. ante lib. Moral.) how he was deceived by the world. “There was opened to me even then that I should seek for the eternal love, but persistent habit had prevailed so that I should not change my outward life.”

Go, sell what thou hast. From hence the Pelagians taught that no rich man can be saved, unless he sell his property, and give to the poor, and become poor himself. S. Augustine writes against this view (Epist. 89. ad Hilar.), teaching that this is a counsel not a precept. Whence Pelagius was compelled to retract this error of his, as S. Augustine testifies (Epist. ad Paulin.).

There are three tracts which have been recently printed, bearing the name of Pope S. Sixtus. The first is concerning riches, in which the writer would prove from this passage that a believer cannot be saved unless he relinquish them, and become poor. The second is concerning works of faith, in which he teaches that they are necessary to salvation, but that they are works of free will, not of the grace of God The third concerning chastity, that it is a work of free will, not the gift of God. From all this it is plain that the author of this work is not S. Sixtus, but some Pelagian, as the Louvain doctors and others have rightly perceived.

Sell that thou hast, and give to the poor: Mark and Luke add, all things whatsoever thou hast. By these words is refuted the error of Vigilantius and Calvin, who teach that it is better and more perfect to keep one’s riches, and use them in moderation, and give to the poor according as opportunity serves, than to relinquish them all at once. S. Jerome confutes this error, (lib. cont. Vigilant.). For as S. Ambrose says, “It is better to give the tree with its fruit than to give the fruit only.” Again, the ascetic, who gives part of his wealth to the poor, and keeps part for himself, is neither fish nor flesh: he neither renounces the world, nor is he a secular. He is a sort of amphibious animal. Whence S. Basil said to one who took up the religious life, but reserved certain things for himself, “Thou hast spoilt a senator, and not made a monk.” Such a person does not wholly trust in God, but partly in God, and partly in the riches which he keeps for himself. Whence he is not really and entirely poor in spirit, nor does he free himself from the care, distraction and temptation, which are wont to accompany riches. Wherefore S. Anthony commanded a certain person who wished to renounce the world after this sort, that he might reserve something for himself against a time of necessity, to place upon his naked body some pieces of flesh which he had bought. When he had done this, the dogs and birds, which came to snatch at the flesh, lacerated his body all over. Then S. Anthony said, “Thus shall they who do not renounce all things be torn by the devils.” (See Rufinus, in the Lives of the Fathers, lib. 3, n. 68.) Wherefore S. Hilarion, as S. Jerome testifies in his Life, rejected money offered him to distribute among the poor by Orion, out of whom he had cast a legion of devils, and said, “To many the name of poverty is an occasion of covetousness: but mercy has no art. No one spends better than he who reserves nothing for himself.” For as S. Leo wisely says about a like matter (Serm. 12, de Quadrages.), “Through lawful use we pass on to immoderate excess, when from care of the health there creeps in the delectation of pleasure; and the desire of what is sufficient for nature does not satisfy.” S. Gregory gives the reason d priori (Hom. 20, in Ezech.), “When any one vows something that is his to God, and something does not vow, that is called sacrifice. But when a man vows all that he has, all that he lives, all that he knows, to Almighty God, then it is a holocaust. For there are some who as yet are retained in mind in this world, and who afford help to the poor from their possessions, and hasten to succour the oppressed. These in the good which they do, offer sacrifices, because of their actions they offer something to God, and keep something for themselves. And there are some who reserve nothing for themselves, but immolate senses, life, tongue, and the substance which they have received to Almighty God. What do these do but offer a holocaust, yea rather are made a holocaust?”

To the poor: Christ does not say, Give to your relations, or rich friends, as Remigius observes. For this is an act of natural love, by which you do not cast away your riches, but deliver them to those who belong to you, to be kept. Wherefore in this way you do not leave the world, but rather immerse yourself further in it. You must make an exception, when your relations according to their position are in need of your riches; for then, they are reckoned poor in their own station. But give to the poor, from whom you expect nothing in return, but from God only. Therefore this is a pure act of charity and poverty, and renunciation of wealth. Origen adds, he who gives his goods to the poor is assisted by their prayers.

And thou shalt have treasure, &c. By the word treasure, says Chrysostom, “the abundance and the permanence of the recompense are shown.” And S. Hilary says, “By the casting away of earthly riches heavenly wealth is purchased.” Beautifully does S. Augustine observe (Serm. 28, de Verb. Apost.), “Great is the happiness of Christians, to whom it is given, to make poverty the price of the kingdom of Heaven. Let not thy poverty displease thee. Nothing richer can be found than it is. Would you know how wealthy it is? It purchases Heaven. By what treasures could be conferred what we see granted to poverty? That a rich man should come to the kingdom of Heaven with his possessions may not be: but he may get there by despising them.” Sell clay therefore, and buy Heaven: give a penny and procure a treasure.

And come, follow Me: Journeying in poverty, and preaching the kingdom of God. “For many,” says S. Jerome, “even when they leave their riches do not follow the Lord. Neither does this suffice for perfection, unless after despising riches, they follow the Saviour; that is, leave evil and do good. For the world is more easily set at nought than the will. Therefore do the words follow, Come and follow Me. Again, Follow Me implies the union of an active with a contemplative life. There is a threefold sort of holy life. The first and lowest is the active life. The second is the contemplative. The third and most perfect is the union of action with contemplation, that what we derive from God by contemplation, we should afterwards teach to others. This was the life which Christ and His Apostles led. S. Ambrose gives the reason in his explanation of the title of the 39th Psalm. “Christ,” he says, “is the end of all things, which with a pious mind, we ask for. For whether you seek for wisdom, or study virtue, or truth, or the way of justice, or the resurrection, in all things you must follow Christ, who is the Power and the Wisdom of God: who is Truth, the Way, Justice, Resurrection. After whom therefore do you strive, but the perfection of all things, and the sum of virtues? And therefore He saith to thee, Come, follow Me, i.e., that thou mayest deserve to arrive at the consummation of virtues. Therefore he who follows Christ ought to imitate Him as closely as he can; to meditate upon His precepts, and the Divine examples of His deeds.”

Observe that in this chapter Christ gives three chief evangelical counsels, viz., of celibacy and continence, ver. 12: of poverty, when He says, Sell that thou hast, ver. 21: of obedience, when He says, Follow Me, i.e., obey Me and My command: imitate My obedience even unto death.

[22] Cum audisset autem adolescens verbum, abiit tristis : erat enim habens multas possessiones.
And when the young man had heard this word, he went away sad: for he had great possessions.

When the young man heard, &c Wisely says S. Augustine (Epist. 43. ad Paulin.), “I know not how it is that when superfluous earthly things are loved, the more acquired the more they bind. Wherefore did that young man depart in sorrow, except because he had great riches? For it is one thing to be unwilling to incorporate with yourself what you have not; it is another thing to tear away what has been incorporated. The former may be repudiated as something not belonging to you: divesting yourself of the latter is like cutting off your limbs.” In the Gospel according to the Hebrews which Origen cites, there is here a considerable addition. It is as follows. “Another of the rich men said unto Him, Master, what good thing shall I do that I may live? He saith unto him, Man, keep the Law and the Prophets. He answered Him, I have done this. He said unto him, Go and sell all that thou possessest and divide amongst the poor, and come, follow Me. But the rich man began to scratch his head, and it pleased him not. And the Lord said unto him, How sayest thou, I have kept the Law and the Prophets? For it is written in the Law, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, and lo, many of thy brethren, the sons of Abraham, are clothed in filthy garments, and perish of hunger, and thy house is full of many good things, and there goeth not out of it anything whatsoever unto them. And He turned and said unto His disciple Simon, who was silting by Him,—Simon, son of Jonah, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of Heaven.”

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam 

Zacharias killed between the altar and the Temple

Saint Matthew - Chapter 23

Zacharias killed between the altar and the Temple. J-J Tissot

[34] Ideo ecce ego mitto ad vos prophetas, et sapientes, et scribas, et ex illis occidetis, et crucifigetis, et ex eis flagellabitis in synagogis vestris, et persequemini de civitate in civitatem :
Therefore behold I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them you will put to death and crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city:


[35] ut veniat super vos omnis sanguis justus, qui effusus est super terram, a sanguine Abel justi usque ad sanguinem Zachariae, filii Barachiae, quem occidistis inter templum et altare.d
That upon you may come all the just blood that hath been shed upon the earth, from the blood of Abel the just, even unto the blood of Zacharias the son of Barachias, whom you killed between the temple and the altar.

Saint Luke - Chapter 11

[49] Propterea et sapientia Dei dixit : Mittam ad illos prophetas, et apostolos, et ex illis occident, et persequentur :
For this cause also the wisdom of God said: I will send to them prophets and apostles; and some of them they will kill and persecute.

[50] ut inquiratur sanguis omnium prophetarum, qui effusus est a constitutione mundi a generatione ista,
That the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation,

[51] a sanguine Abel, usque ad sanguinem Zachariae, qui periit inter altare et aedem. Ita dico vobis, requiretur ab hac generatione.
From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, who was slain between the altar and the temple: Yea I say to you, It shall be required of this generation.

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam 

Zacharias killed between the altar and the Temple (Notes)

Saint Matthew - Chapter 23

Zacharias killed between the altar and the Temple. J-J Tissot

[34] Ideo ecce ego mitto ad vos prophetas, et sapientes, et scribas, et ex illis occidetis, et crucifigetis, et ex eis flagellabitis in synagogis vestris, et persequemini de civitate in civitatem :
Therefore behold I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them you will put to death and crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city:

Therefore, behold, I send, &c. Observe the word therefore, that it expresses from the preceding verse an effect, as it were, from a cause. It means, “because ye, as serpents and vipers, will kill Me, your Messiah, for which wickedness ye will be cut off and condemned to hell. I have had pity upon you, and will send to you My disciples after My death, that they may avert from you this destruction, that they may arouse you to repentance and faith in Me. But I foresee that ye will slay them also, as I have predicted in the 32d verse.”

I send. Luke 11:49 says, The wisdom of God hath said, that is, indeed, Christ Himself.

Prophets, and wise men, and Scribes. Luke has Prophets and Apostles. S. Jerome says “This marks the various gifts of Christ’s disciples: Prophets, who foretell things to come; wise men, who know when they ought to speak the word; Scribes, those learned in the law.”

Some of them ye shall kill, as S. Stephen by stoning, James the greater by the sword; and crucify, as S. Simeon, Bishop of Jerusalem, successor of S. James (see Euseb. H. E. ii. 32); and some of them ye shall scourge, as Peter and the Apostles (Acts 4 and 5), and persecute from city to city, like Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13 and 14).

Tropologically: Origen says (hom. 23, in Num.), “And I, this day, if I will not hear the words of a Prophet, if I despise his warnings, stone that Prophet, and as far as in me lies, kill him.”

[35] ut veniat super vos omnis sanguis justus, qui effusus est super terram, a sanguine Abel justi usque ad sanguinem Zachariae, filii Barachiae, quem occidistis inter templum et altare.d
That upon you may come all the just blood that hath been shed upon the earth, from the blood of Abel the just, even unto the blood of Zacharias the son of Barachias, whom you killed between the temple and the altar.

That upon you may come, &c., righteous blood. That is, of the righteous men who have exhorted others to live justly and holily, both by word and example. Whence S. Luke has, the blood of the Prophets; for a Prophet in Scripture frequently denotes a just and holy man. S. Austin gives the reason for what Christ says in this verse, “Because the imitation of wicked men causes people to obtain not only their own deserts, but the deserts of those whom they imitate.” Moreover S. Chrysostom says, “Even as the rewards which all the preceding generations deserved were bestowed upon those who received Christ, so what their wicked ancestors merited came upon the latest Jews.”

Which was shed, &c. Because, although Cain, who slew his brother Abel, was not a Jew by race, yet by his wickedness in killing righteous Abel he afforded an example to the Jews, who were most prone to follow it, in killing the holy Prophets. Thus Cain the fratricide was not the natural, but the symbolical father of the Jews who slew their brethren, Christ and the Prophets. By a like analogy the devil is called the father of all the proud and the wicked.

The Jews, even though they knew the Divine vengeance which pursued Cain’s fratricide, not only imitated it, but far transcended it by slaying Christ, the Son of God, and His Apostles. We may add, that although Cain was not a direct forefather of the Jews, he was one of their collateral ancestors. He was the brother of Seth, from whom Abraham and the Jews were sprung. But the posterity of Seth married the daughters of Cain, as Abulensis saith (Quæst. 260) (see Gen. 6:2). This is probable, but not certain. All that Scripture says is, that from them the giants were sprung, who were the cause of the Deluge, in which they perished. But it does not say that other children were not sprung from them.

There were persons who praised this fratricide of Cain, and for that reason were called Cainites, as S. Augustine says (lib. de hæres. c. 18), “The Cainites are so called because they honour Cain, saying that he was a man of the greatest virtue.” They also think that the traitor Judas was something divine, and account his wickedness a benefit. They assert that he knew beforehand how great a benefit the Passion of Christ would be to the human race, and for that reason betrayed Him to the Jews to be put to death. They are also said to honour the Sodomites, and those who made a schism amongst the ancient people, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.

Zacharias the son of Barachias. You will ask who was this Zacharias? There are three opinions. The first that of S. Chrysostom (Hom. de Joan. Bapt.), Vatablus, Arias Montanus, &c. They think that he was the Zachariah, the last but one of the twelve minor Prophets. For he was the son of Barachiah, but we nowhere read that he was slain between the Temple and the altar.

The second and more probable opinion is, that he was the Zachariah who was the son of Jehoiada, who, with base ingratitude, was slain in an awfully sacrilegious manner by King Joash in the most holy place,—that is to say, in the court of the Priests, which was between the Temple, or the holy place, and the altar of burnt-offering; for this altar was in the court of the Priests (2 Chron. 24:21). So Abul. (Quæst. 215), S. Jerome, Bede, Tertullian (Scorpiace, c. 8), “Zachariah is slain between the Temple and the altar, marking the stones with indelible spots of blood.” For although there were other Prophets slain by the Jews after Zachariah, he is the last whose murder is related in Scripture. Add to this that Scripture makes mention only of the blood of Abel and this Zacharias as crying for vengeance. Of Abel’s it is said (Gen. 4:10), “What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto Me from the ground.” And of Zacharias (2 Chron. 24:22), “Who, when he was dying, said, ‘The Lord look upon it, and require it.’ ” Chrysostom says, “He makes mention of Abel to show that they would kill Christ and His Apostles out of envy, as from envy Cain slew Abel; of Zacharias, because the holy man was slain in the holy place.”

You will say, this Zacharias was the son of Jehoiada, not of Barachias. S. Jerome answers that Jehoiada was also called Barachiah, perhaps because Barachiah in Hebrew signifies “the blessed of the Lord.” And it is plain that Jehoiada, who was a very holy man, was such. S. Jerome adds, “In the Gospel which the Nazarenes make use of, we find, instead of the son of Barachias, the son of Jehoiada.”

The third opinion is, that this Zacharias was the father of John the Baptist, concerning whom there is a tradition that he was slain by the Jews because he proclaimed the advent of Christ, saying in his Canticle, “And thou, child, shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest, for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways;” and because he had hidden his son John from Herod, the murderer of the innocents, who sought to kill him on account of the miracles which happened at his birth. For this Zacharias was the last of the Prophets. For John, his son, was rather an index to a present Christ than a Prophet of a future one. Again, that this Zacharias was the son of Barachias is attested by S. Hippolytus, the martyr, who is cited by Nicephorus (H. E. ii. 3). S. Jerome rejects this as apocryphal; but the same thing is asserted by S. Cyril, against the Anthropomorphites, Peter of Alexandria (in regula Eccles. can. 3), S. Epiphanius (lib. de vit. et obit. Prophet.), Baronius (in apparat. Ann.), S. Thomas (in Catena). Origen, Theophylact, Euthymius, and S. Basil (Hom. de humana Christi generat.) add that this Zacharias was slain by the Jews because, after the birth of Christ, he placed the Blessed Virgin as a virgin among the virgins in the Temple. But this is difficult to be believed, for reasons given by Baronius and Abulensis.

Saint Luke - Chapter 11

Zacharias killed between the altar and the Temple. J-J Tissot

[49] Propterea et sapientia Dei dixit : Mittam ad illos prophetas, et apostolos, et ex illis occident, et persequentur :
For this cause also the wisdom of God said: I will send to them prophets and apostles; and some of them they will kill and persecute.

[50] ut inquiratur sanguis omnium prophetarum, qui effusus est a constitutione mundi a generatione ista,
That the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation,

[51] a sanguine Abel, usque ad sanguinem Zachariae, qui periit inter altare et aedem. Ita dico vobis, requiretur ab hac generatione.
From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, who was slain between the altar and the temple: Yea I say to you, It shall be required of this generation.

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam 

Christ passes through the villages

Saint Luke - Chapter 13

Jesus at Bethany, passing through the villages. J-J Tissot

[22] Et ibat per civitates et castella, docens, et iter faciens in Jerusalem.
And he went through the cities and towns teaching, and making his journey to Jerusalem.

[23] Ait autem illi quidam : Domine, si pauci sunt, qui salvantur? Ipse autem dixit ad illos :
And a certain man said to him: Lord, are they few that are saved? But he said to them:

[24] Contendite intrare per angustam portam : quia multi, dico vobis, quaerent intrare, et non poterunt.
Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able.

[25] Cum autem intraverit paterfamilias, et clauserit ostium, incipietis foris stare, et pulsare ostium, dicentes : Domine, aperi nobis : et respondens dicet vobis : Nescio vos unde sitis :
But when the master of the house shall be gone in, and shall shut the door, you shall begin to stand without, and knock at the door, saying: Lord, open to us. And he answering, shall say to you: I know you not, whence you are.

[26] tunc incipietis dicere : Manducavimus coram te, et bibimus, et in plateis nostris docuisti.
Then you shall begin to say: We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.

[27] Et dicet vobis : Nescio vos unde sitis : discedite a me omnes operarii iniquitatis.
And he shall say to you: I know you not, whence you are: depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.

[28] Ibi erit fletus et stridor dentium : cum videritis Abraham, et Isaac, et Jacob, et omnes prophetas in regno Dei, vos autem expelli foras.
There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

[29] Et venient ab oriente, et occidente, et aquilone, et austro, et accumbent in regno Dei.
And there shall come from the east and the west, and the north and the south; and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam 

Christ passes through the villages (Notes)

Saint Luke - Chapter 13

Jesus at Bethany, passing through the villages. J-J Tissot

[22] Et ibat per civitates et castella, docens, et iter faciens in Jerusalem.
And he went through the cities and towns teaching, and making his journey to Jerusalem.

[23] Ait autem illi quidam : Domine, si pauci sunt, qui salvantur? Ipse autem dixit ad illos :
And a certain man said to him: Lord, are they few that are saved? But he said to them:

Then said one unto Him, Lord, are there few that be saved? Christ answered in the affirmative that few should be saved, as S. Luke signifies and S. Matt, plainly states, 7:14. Isaiah speaks to the same effect, 10:22; 24:13. Understand “few” by a comparison of all the inhabitants of the whole world; or of the faithful with the unbelieving, for all the latter are condemned for their unbelief, and equally many of the faithful for their wicked lives. The faithful alone are saved, and not all of these. But whether the greater number of them are saved or lost is the question. Some think that the greater number are saved, through the holy sacraments (which very many of them only receive at the end of their lives). Others think that most are lost because they live in a state of mortal sin. The rule of S. Augustine is that as men have lived, so they die. Of these opinions I have shown which is the true one, on S. James 2:13, on the words “Mercy rejoiceth against judgment.” The judgment of S. Chrysostom, Homily xl. to the Antiochenes, who numbered 100,000 or more, is formidable. “In our city,” he says, “among so many thousands, scarcely can 100 be found who will be saved, for in the youngers is great wickedness, and in the elders deadness.” And S. Augustine (Bk. iv. ch. 53, against Dresconius) compares the Church to a threshing-floor, on which there is much more chaff than grain, i.e. more reprobate than elect.

[24] Contendite intrare per angustam portam : quia multi, dico vobis, quaerent intrare, et non poterunt.
Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able.

[25] Cum autem intraverit paterfamilias, et clauserit ostium, incipietis foris stare, et pulsare ostium, dicentes : Domine, aperi nobis : et respondens dicet vobis : Nescio vos unde sitis :
But when the master of the house shall be gone in, and shall shut the door, you shall begin to stand without, and knock at the door, saying: Lord, open to us. And he answering, shall say to you: I know you not, whence you are.

[26] tunc incipietis dicere : Manducavimus coram te, et bibimus, et in plateis nostris docuisti.
Then you shall begin to say: We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.

[27] Et dicet vobis : Nescio vos unde sitis : discedite a me omnes operarii iniquitatis.
And he shall say to you: I know you not, whence you are: depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.

[28] Ibi erit fletus et stridor dentium : cum videritis Abraham, et Isaac, et Jacob, et omnes prophetas in regno Dei, vos autem expelli foras.
There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

[29] Et venient ab oriente, et occidente, et aquilone, et austro, et accumbent in regno Dei.
And there shall come from the east and the west, and the north and the south; and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam 

A lawyer tempting Christ

Saint Luke - Chapter 10

A lawyer tempting Christ. J-J Tissot

[21] In ipsa hora exsultavit Spiritu Sancto, et dixit : Confiteor tibi Pater, Domine caeli et terrae, quod abscondisti haec a sapientibus et prudentibus, et revelasti ea parvulis. Etiam Pater : quoniam sic placuit ante te.
In that same hour, he rejoiced in the Holy Ghost, and said: I confess to thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones. Yea, Father, for so it hath seemed good in thy sight.

[22] Omnia mihi tradita sunt a Patre meo. Et nemo scit quis sit Filius, nisi Pater : et quis sit Pater, nisi Filius, et cui voluerit Filius revelare.
All things are delivered to me by my Father; and no one knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and to whom the Son will reveal him.

[23] Et conversus ad discipulos suos, dixit : Beati oculi qui vident quae vos videtis.
And turning to his disciples, he said: Blessed are the eyes that see the things which you see.

[24] Dico enim vobis quod multi prophetae et reges voluerunt videre quae vos videtis, et non viderunt : et audire quae auditis, et non audierunt.
For I say to you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see the things that you see, and have not seen them; and to hear the things that you hear, and have not heard them.

[25] Et ecce quidam legisperitus surrexit tentans illum, et dicens : Magister, quid faciendo vitam aeternam possidebo?
And behold a certain lawyer stood up, tempting him, and saying, Master, what must I do to possess eternal life?

[26] At ille dixit ad eum : In lege quid scriptum est? quomodo legis?
But he said to him: What is written in the law? how readest thou?

[27] Ille respondens dixit : Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo, et ex tota anima tua, et ex omnibus virtutibus tuis, et ex omni mente tua : et proximum tuum sicut teipsum.
He answering, said: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind: and thy neighbour as thyself.

[28] Dixitque illi : Recte respondisti : hoc fac, et vives.
And he said to him: Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam 

A lawyer tempting Christ (Notes)

Saint Luke - Chapter 10

A lawyer tempting Christ. J-J Tissot

[21] In ipsa hora exsultavit Spiritu Sancto, et dixit : Confiteor tibi Pater, Domine caeli et terrae, quod abscondisti haec a sapientibus et prudentibus, et revelasti ea parvulis. Etiam Pater : quoniam sic placuit ante te.
In that same hour, he rejoiced in the Holy Ghost, and said: I confess to thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones. Yea, Father, for so it hath seemed good in thy sight.

In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit (Spiritu Sancto, Vulgate), because the Holy Spirit had, according to His promise, granted the disciples, though weak and unlearned men, the power of working wonders, and had thus led others to believe in Christ and to glorify God.

And hast revealed them unto babes, i.e. that thou hast revealed to my humble and unlearned disciples the truth, so that they might acknowledge Thee, the one true God, and Me whom Thou hast sent, and might be predestinated to eternal life; and that many others also, whom they have healed of their diseases, and from whom they have cast out devils, might be brought to the knowledge of God, and believe to the salvation of their soul.

[22] Omnia mihi tradita sunt a Patre meo. Et nemo scit quis sit Filius, nisi Pater : et quis sit Pater, nisi Filius, et cui voluerit Filius revelare.
All things are delivered to me by my Father; and no one knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and to whom the Son will reveal him.

All things are delivered to Me of My Father. As all things were created by My Father, so all things are created anew by Me, and redeemed from the curse of sin. That thus I might raise up those who had fallen away, and might sanctify them, and might renew all the other creatures which had become corrupt through the sin of man.

“For,” says S. Athanasius (Serm. iv. contra Arianos), “after the fall of man, all things were made partakers of his transgression. And so death reigned over all from Adam even unto Christ. The earth was given over to the curse, hell was opened, paradise shut, heaven became an enemy, and mankind being corrupted and lost, the devil triumphed over us.”

“Then He gave Him a human nature, that the Word Himself might take upon Him our flesh, and might renew in all the nature He had taken.

“All things were delivered unto Him as the physician who could heal the serpent’s bite, as the life which could restore the dead, as the light which could illuminate the darkness, as the understanding which could renew the powers of the mind.”

And in explanation, he adds, “After all things were delivered to Him, and he was made man, all things were renewed and made perfect again. The earth received a blessing instead of a curse, paradise was unlocked. Hell drew back from fear, the graves gave up their dead, and the gates were thrown open that He might enter from Eden.”

Christ does not speak here of the essence and attributes which were communicated to Him from the Father by His divine generation, as S. Chrysostom, Hilary, and S. Ambrose explain, but of the plenary power which was given to Him as man, to effect the salvation of men.

[23] Et conversus ad discipulos suos, dixit : Beati oculi qui vident quae vos videtis.
And turning to his disciples, he said: Blessed are the eyes that see the things which you see.

[24] Dico enim vobis quod multi prophetae et reges voluerunt videre quae vos videtis, et non viderunt : et audire quae auditis, et non audierunt.
For I say to you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see the things that you see, and have not seen them; and to hear the things that you hear, and have not heard them.

[25] Et ecce quidam legisperitus surrexit tentans illum, et dicens : Magister, quid faciendo vitam aeternam possidebo?
And behold a certain lawyer stood up, tempting him, and saying, Master, what must I do to possess eternal life?

And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up. “What ought I to do to obtain eternal life?” This lawyer is not the same as the one mentioned by S. Matt. 22:35, as is clear from the circumstances there recorded.

And tempted Him. He asked the question, not for any good motive, but with the design of tempting Christ to give some answer concerning Himself or His doctrine, which might lay Him open to the charge of being a breaker or a despiser of the law. Toletus.

[26] At ille dixit ad eum : In lege quid scriptum est? quomodo legis?
But he said to him: What is written in the law? how readest thou?

[27] Ille respondens dixit : Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo, et ex tota anima tua, et ex omnibus virtutibus tuis, et ex omni mente tua : et proximum tuum sicut teipsum.
He answering, said: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind: and thy neighbour as thyself.

[28] Dixitque illi : Recte respondisti : hoc fac, et vives.
And he said to him: Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam