Tenth HOMILY. After these words: "Let us make man in our image, and in our likeness," and God created man and created him in the image of God: "He created them male and female. (Gen. I, 26, 27.)

ANALYSIS.

1. The speaker first fights the scruples of some people who, unable to temper their meals, could not dare to come to church until evening; and he warns them that the essential is not so much to endure all the rigor of fasting as to abstain from sin. 2. Nothing, then, should prevent them from coming to hear the holy word, and so give their souls the nourishment they need. - 3-6. He then goes on to explain these words: "God made man in his own image," and after briefly recalling what he had already said, he explains the meaning of these: "He created them male and female, "and describes the prodigious effects of the blessing which the Lord gave them. 7 As to what the sacred writer says: "God rested on the seventh day," that does not imply any contradiction with this word of Jesus Christ: "let his Father cease to act." Moses only affirms that God did not produce other creatures, and Jesus Christ speaks of the care by which God governs and preserves all things. He finishes by exhorting his hearers to communicate to their absent brethren the doctrine they have heard, and to preserve for themselves a faithful memory.

1. Today the assembly is less numerous and the competition of my listeners has diminished: duel is the motive and the cause? Perhaps some have feared, after taking it. nourishment of the body, to come here to seek that of the soul, and that is the reason for their absence .. But I want to remind them of this saying of the Wise One: There is a shame that brings sin, and there is a shame which attracts glory and grace. (Ecclesiastes IV, 25.) Now, how can one who first sits down at a crude and material table, and then comes to take part in this spiritual feast, blush? For the exercises of piety are not, like human affairs, subject to set times: they can be done at any time of the day. What do I say, of the day? night itself is not an obstacle to the diffusion of holy doctrine. So the Apostle wrote to Timothy, "Announce the word; press men in time and against time; take back, beg, threaten. (II Tim IV, 2.) We also learn from St. Luke that Paul being in Troas, and having to leave the next day, spoke to the disciples and entertained them until the middle of the night. (Act XX, 7.) You see well that the hour, although advanced, did not stop the Apostle and did not prevent him from preaching the Gospel. Let us understand, therefore, that an attentive and vigilant listener is worthy to sit at this spiritual meeting, although he is out of the woods, and that, on the contrary, even if he is still fasting, he will not derive any profit from it if he is cowardly and sleepy.

I speak thus not to depreciate the rigor of fasting: do not please! for I praise and approve those who observe all the severity of it, but I want to teach you that we must bring to the spiritual exercises a sober and vigilant spirit, and not appear there purely by habit. There is no shame in first taking one's food and then coming to attend our meetings; but it is shameful to wear a cowardly and distracted mind and a heart troubled by passions and enslaved to the attractions of the flesh. What harm is there to eat? no; excess alone is criminal, and we must condemn those who take beyond what is necessary and think only of satiating their belly. The least inconvenience that results is to blunt in them the enjoyment of taste. So again there is no sin in the moderate use of wine, but one can not blame too much drunkenness that goes so far as to disturb reason. The weakness of your temperament prevents you, my dear brother, from prolonging your fast until the evening, what sensible man can make you a crime! For the Master whom we serve is good and (53) indulgent, and he requires nothing above our strength. It is not, therefore, precisely abstinence and fasting that he asks of us, and he is not satisfied, for that reason, that we differ from our meal until evening. But he wants that, less applied to the affairs of the earth, we give more care to those of our souls. For if all our life was spent in the practice of Christian temperance, and if we allowed the exercises of piety all our leisure; if we only took the absolutely necessary food, and if we spent all our days in a series of good works, we would have no need of fasting. But man is naturally cowardly and negligent; he delights in pleasure and he seeks softness. So, the Lord, like a good father who loves his children, has instituted the salutary correction of fasting. This is how it cuts short all our delicacies; so that it is easy for us to devote to piety the time taken from the preoccupations of the earth. If some of them can not, by weakness of temperament, observe the fast in all its rigor, I exhort them to grant a necessary relief, and especially not to miss our meetings. Because, coming here after their meal, they will only be better disposed and more attentive.

2. And, besides abstinence and fasting, there are other ways which surely lead us to God. Thus, whoever is obliged to advance the hour of his meal, compensates for this infraction of the law of fasting by more abundant alms, more fervent prayers, and more zeal to listen to the holy word. The weakness of temperament can not be an excuse here. I ask him again to be reconciled to his enemies and to banish from his heart any feeling of hatred. The practice of these virtues is that true and sincere fast that the Lord requires. For he prescribes abstinence only as a means of repressing the passions of the flesh, and submitting it to the spirit, which will itself become more obedient to the divine law. If we neglect the useful help of fasting, under the specious pretext of a bad health, but in reality cowardice, we are fools and we expose ourselves to serious damage. For since fasting is of no use without the practice of other virtues, how many will we not be guilty, if, not being able to use the support of fasting, we abandon besides the exercise of good works.

I speak to you so that you, all of you who can fast, can do it with all the zeal and fervor you are capable of. For as much as the outer man is destroyed in us, the interior is renewed. (II Cor IV, 16.)

And indeed, fasting weakens the body and represses the movements of concupiscence, it purifies the soul and gives it as wings to rush to heaven. As for those of your brothers whom bad health prevents from fasting, exhort them not to deprive us of our spiritual feasts, and by telling them my words, tell them that the one who drinks and eats moderately is not it is unworthy to take place in this enclosure, and it is closed only to cowardly and intemperate listeners. It will also be helpful to remind them of this word of the Apostle: He who eats, does it for the Lord; and he who abstains, does so in the sight of the Lord, and gives thanks to God. (Romans XIV, 6.) Fast, bless the Lord who gives you the strength to sustain the rigors of fasting; are you obliged to anticipate your meal, bless, and you also the Lord, because if you will, this infraction of the law will not be harmful to you, and it will not bring any prejudice to the salvation of your soul. For it is impossible to count all the ways which the goodness of the Lord opens to us and which directs our good will towards him. In speaking thus, I have in mind the absent ones, and I propose to deprive them of all pretense of shame. Because, know it well, there is nothing in their conduct which must make them blush. One must blush only of sin, and not to have taken some food.

Sin alone deserves shame; and when we have committed it, we are right to blush and hide ourselves. We ought then not to consider ourselves less unhappy than those who have been shipwrecked, and yet not to lose heart. We must only hasten to resort to repentance and confession. And indeed, when we have sinned out of weakness, the Lord our God requires nothing but that we confess our faults and that we make a firm statement not to fall back. But we have no reason to blush when we eat moderately. For it is God (54) who has given us our body: and to sustain himself, this body needs food. The essential thing is not to give it too much; Moreover, Christian sobriety is the best way to keep it healthy and in good condition. Hey! do not you see every day that a delicate table and a gluttonous intemperance generate an infinity of diseases? Where do we get gout, migraine, plenty of moods and a thousand other diseases? Is it not intemperance and drunkenness? The ship that is watering from all sides, suddenly sinks. Thus the reason of man drowns in the excess of wine and meat. So this man is no more than a living corpse. He can still do evil, but he is too. unable to do good unless he was really dead.

3. I ask you therefore with the Apostle Do not try to satisfy the desires of the flesh. (Rom XIII, 14.) But be always able to apply yourself with ardor to the exercises of piety. Say well to your brothers and persuade them not to deprive themselves of your spiritual feasts; as they hasten to seek here, even after their meal, that holy food which will strengthen them against the attacks of the devil. As for me, I will continue to serve her every evening, to reward your kind attention, and fulfill my promise. You have certainly not forgotten that I had begun to speak to you of the training of the man, and that, pressed by the hour, I could only indicate the utility which he drew from the service of the animals. I have also proved that his disobedience alone made him lose the empire he had first possessed. Today I will finish this subject and then send you back.

But to make my word more intelligible, it is useful to begin this conversation by recalling the end of the preceding and completing it. So I explained to you these verses of Genesis: And God said, Let us make man in our image and likeness, and let them rule over the fishes of the sea and the birds of the sky. This matter is so vast and gives me such an abundance of thoughts that it was impossible for me to ignore it. So I stopped at this passage, without touching the one immediately following. This is why it is necessary to read it again, so that you can better understand its development. Now the Scripture adds: And God created man; he created it in the image of God, and he created it male and female. God blessed them, saying, Grow and multiply; fill the earth, and subjugate it; control the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the roofs of the animals, all the earth, and all the creeping reptiles on the earth. (Gen. I, 27, 28.)

These words are short, but they contain a rich treasure, and the divine spirit that spoke through the mouth of Moses, wants to reveal to us great secrets. The Creator, after having said: Let us do man, seems to recollect and take counsel as to show us the dignity of man in the very act of his creation. For man did not exist yet; but already God revealed all the eminence of the empire that he would give him: Therefore, having said, Let us make man in our image and likeness, he adds, speaking in the plural, that they dominate on the fishes of the sea. So see as from the beginning a rich treasure is open to us! The holy prophet, enlightened by a divine light, speaks of a fact not yet existing, as if it were realized. For why here this word in the singular, let us do man, and there this word in the plural, which they dominate? Obviously, there is a secret and a mystery, and this way of speaking indicates in advance the formation of the woman. Thus everything in our holy Scriptures has its reason and its motive, and a word which seems to be random contains a precious instruction.

4. And do not be astonished, my dear brother, of this language, for all the prophets speak of future events as if they were already accomplished: they see in the spirit what must happen only in the course of centuries, and they tell it as if it were realizing before their eyes. To convince yourself of this, listen to this prophecy of the Savior's passion, a prophecy that so many centuries in advance pronounced the holy King David. They pierced my feet and my hands, and they divided my clothes. (Ps. XXI, 17, 19.) He speaks of a future and distant event, as if already accomplished.

This is how Moses first insinuates, under the veil of enigma and mystery, the formation of the woman, when he says: that they dominate over the fish of the sea. But soon he speaks about it. more clearly, and he adds: and God created man; he created it in the image of God; he created them male and female. And observe (55) here how carefully the sacred writer repeats the same fact twice to better engrave it in the memory of his readers. If this had not been his intention, he would have contented himself with saying: and God created man. But he adds: He created it in his image. Previously he had explained to us the meaning of this word image, and here he repeats it on purpose, and he tells us: and God created it in his image. He also wished to leave no excuse for excuses for those who attack the dogmas of the Church; that is why he explained above the meaning of this word image, which he means of the empire which man should exercise over all animals. But let's continue the story of Genesis. And God created man; he created it in the image of God; he created them male and female. What he had previously insinuated, by saying in the plural: that they dominate, Moses announces it here more clearly, and yet still under the veil of mystery, because he did not speak of the formation of the woman, and he did not indicate where she was drawn from. So he is content to say, and God created them male and female.

The woman has not yet been formed, and already Moses speaks of it as a fait accompli. This is the privilege of the spiritual vision; and the eyes of the body have less force to seize sensible objects than those of the soul to fix persons and facts that do not yet exist. After saying that God created them male and female, Moses records in these terms the common blessing that God gave them. And the Lord, he says, blessed them, saying, Grow and multiply; Fill the earth, and subjugate it, and rule over the fishes of the sea. What an eminent blessing! This order: grow, multiply, and fill the earth had been intimated, it is true, to animals and reptiles; but it has been said that the man and the woman command and dominate. Admire, then, the goodness of the Lord! The woman does not yet exist, and it makes her enter into the participation of the authority of the man, and the privileges of the divine blessing. Dominate, he said to them, on the fishes of the sea, and on the birds of the sky, and on all the animals, and on all the earth, and on all the reptiles that move on the earth.

5. But who could measure the extent of this power, and appreciate the grandeur of this empire! Hey! do you not see that all creation has been subject to the scepter of man? So you must not have this reasonable animal any small and mediocre idea. For his honors are great, the goodness of the Lord to him is immense, and his benefits as amazing as they are unspeakable. And God said, Behold, I have given you all the plants scattered on the face of the earth, and which bear their seed, and all the fruit-trees, which have their seed in themselves, to serve your food. And it was done so. (Gen. XXIX, 30.) Consider, my dear brothers, the sovereign goodness of the Lord, carefully weigh the words of Scripture, and do not lose a syllable. And God says, lo, I have given you all plants. He continues thus to address the man and the woman, although this one has not yet been formed. Admire, too, the excellence of this kindness which shows itself to be eminently liberal and generous not only to man, and to the woman who did not exist, but also to all animals. Because after having. Saying, I have given you the plants of the earth to serve your food, and the Lord adds: and to all the animals of the earth. Here is another abyss of goodness, since the same God who provides for the needs of the animals who serve our needs, our labors, and our food, does not exclude wild and ferocious animals.

Hey! who would speak worthily of this infinite goodness! Behold, says the Lord, that all plants will serve your food, and that of all the animals of the earth, of all the birds of the sky, and. of all the reptiles that crawl on the earth, and all that is alive and animated. (Gen. I, 30.) These words show us the paternal providence of the Lord with regard to the man whom he has just created. For after having created him, he gives him a sovereign power over all animals, and lest he be frightened at the sight of so great a multitude that he would have to feed, he warns even . thought of this worry, and tells him. that he ordered the land to provide, by its fertility, for its food and that of all animals. So, he says, these plants will serve your food, and that of all the animals of the earth, and the birds of the sky, and the creeping reptiles on the earth, and all that is alive and animated . And it was done so. Now all the commandments of the Lord were immediately executed, and all the creatures were disposed in the rank and order that had been assigned to them. It is (56) why Moses immediately adds: and God saw all his works, and they were very good.

6. We can not praise enough the accuracy of the Holy Scripture. For by this word alone: ​​and God lives all his works, she closes her mouth to all the contradictors. God saw all his works, and they were very good: and in the evening and in the morning was the sixth day. Moses said after every particular creation: and God saw that it was good. But. when the whole of creation was finished, and the work of the sixth day completed by the formation of, the man for whom the universe was made, he observes that God saw all his works, and that they were very -good. This word all his works includes the universality of creatures, and encloses them all in the same eulogy. And observe that here Moses expressly says all the works of God, and not only all things; just as he does not say that they were good, but very good, that is, they were eminently good. But since the Lord, who has drawn all creatures from nothingness, finds them very good, and eminently good, what is the fool who dares to open his mouth to contradict him!

It is he who among the visible creatures has created the light and the darkness, which are opposed to him, the day and the night which is the negation. It was he who commanded the land to produce beneficial plants and poisonous herbs, fruit trees, and barren trees, sweet and familiar animals, and wild and feral animals. It was he who peopled the waters of the smallest fish, no less than whales and sea monsters, which rendered some parts of the earth habitable, and others inhospitable; who spread the plains, and who raised the hills and the mountains; it is he who among the birds has created the domestic species which serve our food, and the wild and filthy species, like the vulture and the kite; and among the terrestrial animals he has produced and those who are useful to us, and those who are harmful to us, the serpents, the vipers and the dragons, the lions and the leopards. Finally it is he who, in the regions of the atmosphere, also gives birth to the rain and the beneficial winds, the snow and the hail. Thus, in going through the entire order of creation, we always find the bad beside the good, and yet we are not allowed to blame any creature, and to say: why such a creature , and for what purpose? This is well done, and it is badly done. For Scripture warns and represses all these criticisms by saying that at the end of the sixth day, God having completed creation, lives all his works, and that they were very good.

What reasoning, I ask you, could counterbalance a testimony of such authority? For it is the Creator himself who states his appreciation and declares that all his works are good and very good. So when you hear someone blame the creation, and rise up against the Holy Scripture, flee him like a fool; or rather, do not run away from him, but take pity on his ignorance, and quote to him the words of our holy books: God saw all his works, and they were very good. Perhaps you will be able to correct the indiscretion of his language. For in human affairs we refer to the opinion of wise and wise men, so that, far from contradicting them, we subscribe to their judgment, and subject them to our own enlightenment. But all the more must we do so with God, Creator of the universe. As soon as he has spoken, all that remains is to repress all criticism and to keep quiet; for it is enough for us to know and to be certain, to adorn his wisdom and goodness, to preside over all his works, and that nothing in creation has been done without reason and without motive. Doubtless our intelligence is too feeble for us to penetrate the utility of every creature, and yet there is not one that is not the work of infinite wisdom and ineffable goodness.

7. And in the evening and in the morning was the sixth day: and as on that day God ceased to produce new creatures, so says Moses, Thus were the heavens, the earth, and all their ornaments finished. (Gen. II, 1.) What simplicity in these words! and as the Holy Scripture cuts off all vain and superfluous expression! It confines itself to stating that the whole of the creation was finished on the sixth day, and without repeating minute details, it contented itself with saying that heaven and earth were finished with all their ornaments; that is to say with all that they contain. Now, the ornaments of the earth are its various productions, the (57) plants, the harvests, the fruit trees, and all the riches of which the Lord has deigned to embellish it. The ornaments of the sky are the sun, there moon, the variety of stars, and all the intermediate creatures. This is why Scripture here mentions only heaven and earth, because under these two elements it understands the whole of creation.

And God finished the sixth day all his work. The sacred writer repeats it here so that we know that the creation was fully accomplished in this space of six days. On the sixth day God completed all his work, and rested the seventh of all the works he had made. What does it mean that God rested on the seventh day from all the works he had done? Evidently the Scripture expresses itself in a human way, and is proportionate to our weakness. Without this condescension, it would have been impossible for us to understand his thought. "And God," said she, "rested on the seventh day from all the works which he had made: that is to say, he stopped in the work of creation, and ceased to to draw new creatures from nothingness. And indeed, he had produced all and every creature, and he had formed the man who was to enjoy it.

And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified him, because he had rested on that day from all the works that he had made. The Lord therefore ceased to create, because in the space of six days he had produced all the creatures to which his goodness destined existence. He rested on the seventh day, not wanting to create anything; for according to his designs the work of creation was finished. But in order that this seventh day should also have some prerogative, and that he should not be inferior to other days, since he was not to enlighten any new production, he deigned to bless him. And God, says the Scripture, blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it. What ! Had not the other six days been blessed? No doubt they had been, since in each of them the Lord had produced different orders of creatures. This is why Scripture does not say. not expressly that God blessed them, while she mentions here the blessing of the seventh day. And he sanctified it, she said again. What does this word mean: and he sanctified it? He tells us that God distinguished this day from all others; and Scripture tells us the reason, when it adds, "May God sanctify the seventh day, because in that day he rested from all the works that he had made.

Thus from the beginning a great mystery is revealed to us, and we learn to sanctify a day of the week by devoting it to the exercises of piety. This rest of the seventh day reminds us that God deigned to bless him after having completed in six days the whole of creation, and that he sanctified it because in that day he had rested from all the works he had made. . But here thoughts are rushing, and I reproach myself for not communicating them to you. Camelles seems to me rich, and I want to share with you their wealth. And first, here is a first question. In Genesis, Moses tells us that God rested from His works, and in the Gospel Jesus Christ tells us: My Father always works, and so do I. (Gen. V, 17.) Does it not seem, at first glance, that there is here an obvious contradiction? But God forbid that Scripture be opposed to Scripture! when she tells us in Genesis that God rested from the works he had made, she teaches us that on the seventh day he ceased to create, and to draw new creatures from nothingness. When, on the contrary, Jesus Christ says to us: My Father always works, and so do I; he manifests to us the incessant action of Providence; and he calls action, or operation, that care which directs the universe, maintains it, and preserves it. Hey! how would it remain if the hand of the Lord ceased for a moment to sustain and lead men, animals, and the elements! For the rest, it suffices to reflect seriously on the blessings with which the Creator fills us every day, to recognize how immense is the abyss of his mercies. And to quote only one trait, what word and thought could express this ineffable kindness which, always generous to man, makes his sun shine on the good and on the wicked, which rains on the just and sinners, and who supplies abundantly to all their needs.

Perhaps this speech is prolonged beyond measure? And yet it seems to me that it is not useless. For the absent will know better the harm they do to themselves, by depriving themselves, by condescension for the body, of the graces of this spiritual feast. But your (58) benevolent will soften this deprivation, if it reports them this interview. It will even be from you a sincere witness of charity. For if a friend likes to share his table with his friends, how much better is it to share with them the joys of these spiritual feasts! We ourselves will find a great profit, since the zeal that leads us to educate our brothers, is useful to them, and also becomes for us a title to the most beautiful rewards. We thus make a double profit. For God will take into account our charity, and then by instructing others, we engrave more deeply in our mind the memory of the lessons we have heard.

8. Do not therefore deny your brothers a service from which you will derive such great benefits, and repeat to them the instructions of this evening. But so that they do not always be indebted for this benefit, bring them here, and tell them their good that to have anticipated the time of the meal is not a reason, to abstain from our conferences. For all times are clean to instruct us. And indeed, which prevents us, in the interior of our houses, before, or after our meals, to take in hand the holy Scriptures, and to give to our soul a good and useful food. For if the body requires material food, the soul also needs daily spiritual nourishment that strengthens it, and allows it to resist the attacks of the flesh. Otherwise we would succumb to this war which the enemies of our salvation declare to us, and they would reduce our souls to a sad slavery, if we for a moment ceased to be strong and vigilant. This is why the Psalmist calls the just man who meditates day and night the law of the Lord; and Moses recommends to the Jews that after drinking and eating, and being satisfied, they remember the Lord, their God. (Ps 1, 2 ... Deut, VIII, 10).

You see, then, how useful it is to give our souls spiritual nourishment; after granting the body the one he claims. Otherwise the body would be kept fresh and refreshed, and the weakened and languid soul would fall, and succumb to the attacks of the devil. Because this one spies every opportunity to train us to the mortal sin. That's why the same Moses gives us this advice: Before you sleep and wake up, remember the Lord your God. (Deut, VI, 7.) Thus this memory must never fade from our memory, but we must always be present, and establish ourselves in continual vigilance. We must also keep ourselves constantly on our guard, because we can not ignore how great is the fury of our enemy. It is therefore necessary that we are always attentive and vigilant to close to him any entrance, and to give each day to our soul its spiritual food. This is a sure means of salvation, and a treasure of heavenly riches. If every day we strengthen ourselves thus by reading, by hearing the holy word and by pious conversations, we will become invincible to the attacks of the devil, we will avoid his traps, and we will obtain the kingdom of heaven, by grace and goodness. Our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, glory, honor, and empire, now and always, and for ever and ever. So be it.