Homily 38

Pronounced before the people

in the Basilica of Blessed Clement, martyr

February 10, 592 (a Sunday)

The guests at the feast

St. Gregory comments on the parable of the wedding banquet all the way through, but he insists more on the wedding gown and Jesus' final sentence: "Many are called, but few are chosen."

I- (1-8) Without wishing to impose his opinion, the pope leans for the distinction between the banquet of the wedding of our gospel and the supper of which St. Luke speaks (14, 16-24: commented passage in Homily 36). The latter would then represent eternity, while the other banquet designates the present Church, from which one can still exclude an unworthy one, not wearing the nuptial habit. The speaker demonstrates that the Church of the Earth can be called the Kingdom of Heaven, and then he determines successively the marriage, the refusal of the guests, and the punishment inflicted upon them by the king. Good and bad are found in the wedding hall, because here the good ones must be resolved to this inextricable mixture where the bad ones dominate. Like the ark of Noah, which is closing up, the Church has many sinners and few perfect ones. Yet the wicked are useful to the good ones, that they make them even better.

II- (9-13) We must be careful to wear the wedding dress, which is charity. The preacher expresses in two images that this charity must include the love of God and the love of neighbor. It is according to God, he adds, that we are bound to love our neighbor, of which we are more easily certain when it comes to enemies, whom we can only love in God. Every excuse will fall when the Judge appears: the feet and hands already tied invisibly by sin, we will be thrown into the outer darkness, which corresponds to our inner blindness.

III- (14-16) For "many are called, but few are chosen." Unable to know if we will be elected, we are invited to humble ourselves. Gregory, knowing the examples more effective than the words, relates two exciting stories, complementary to each other. Three of his aunts had joined together in a life of chastity. Two of them progressed to death, but the last did not persevere and married. Conversely, the pope then tells, a very corrupt young man, just converting when he was going to die, stay alive and indulge in penance. Thus, a holy nun perverts herself and ends up damning herself, while a hardened sinner converts in extremis. Let us therefore tremble for the imperfection of our actions, and let us rejoice only in the mercy of God.

Mt 22, 1-14

At that time Jesus spoke in parables to the chief priests and Pharisees, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who made a wedding for his son. He sent his servants to call those who had been invited to the wedding, and they would not come. And he sent other servants, saying, "Say to the guests, Behold, I have prepared my banquet; my bulls and my fat poultry are slaughtered; everything is ready, come to the wedding. "But these did not take it into account and went away, one to his field, the other to his business. Some even seized the servants, and after mistreating them, they killed them. The king, having heard of it, became angry and sent his armies; he killed those assassins and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, "The wedding meal is ready, but those I invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the end of the ways, and all those whom you find, invite them to the wedding.> These servants, gone out on the roads, gathered together all those whom they found, bad and good; and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

"The king came in to see those who were at the table, and seeing a man there who was not wearing the nuptial dress, he said to him, 'My friend, how did you come in without having the nuptial dress?' And this man remained silent. Then the king said to his servants, "Bind his hands and feet, and throw him into outer darkness. There will be crying and gnashing of teeth.

"For many are called, but few are chosen."

My plan, my dear brothers, is to go through briefly, if I can, the text of this gospel, to have the time to expand my remarks at the end. But we must first of all find out if the story [of the banquet] we read in Matthew's Gospel coincides with that of Luke, who speaks of a supper. There certainly seem to be some differences between the two, because here we mention a lunch, and there, a supper. In the first text, the one who entered the wedding without an appropriate garment was expelled, while in the other, it is not said that none of those who entered was expelled. We can safely conclude that in today's narration the nuptials represent the Church of the earth, while in the other narrative, supper is the final banquet of eternity. In fact, if some of them come out of the first banquet after having entered it, whoever enters the second banquet will not come out again.

But if someone would absolutely insist that here and there is the same passage of the Gospel, I prefer, since faith is not in question, to surrender to the opinion of others than to have to arguing with him, because one can no doubt admit that Matthew speaks of this man expelled for having entered without a wedding garment, and that Luke does not speak of it. Even the fact that one speaks of a supper and the other of a lunch does not contradict our way of understanding, because the lunch was still taking place at the elders at the ninth hour and could therefore also be called a supper.

2. I remember telling you many times that it is often the Church of the earth that is called the Kingdom of Heaven in the Holy Gospel. Indeed, we designate the assembly of the just under the name of the Kingdom of Heaven. And since the Lord declares through the voice of the prophet that "heaven is his throne" (Is 66: 1), that Solomon affirms that the soul of the righteous is the throne of Wisdom (cf Sg 7: 27-28) and that Paul says that "Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Cor 1: 24), we must conclude with confidence that God being the Wisdom and the soul of the righteous the throne of Wisdom, The soul of the righteous is indeed a heaven, since heaven is called the throne of God. Hence this word of the psalmist concerning the holy preachers: "The heavens declare the glory of God" (Ps 19: 2). The kingdom of heaven is therefore the Church of the righteous, for they desiring nothing on earth and sighing toward things above, the Lord already reigns in them as in heaven.

Our text can therefore say, "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who made a wedding for his son."

3. Your charity fully understands who this king is, father of a son who is king too; it is he to whom the psalmist says: "O God, give judgment to the king, and your righteousness to the king's son." (Ps 72: 1)

"He made a wedding for his son." God the Father made a marriage for God, his Son, when he united human nature with him in the womb of the Virgin, and when he wanted him who was God before the centuries to become man to the end of the centuries. But it is not because the marital union is normally done from two persons, that we can admit the idea that the person of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, God and man, results from the union of two people. We say that it is of two natures and subsists in two natures, but we keep ourselves, as from a blasphemy, to believe it composed of two persons.

It is therefore clearer and more certain to say that the Father made a wedding for the King, his Son, by associating him with the Holy Church by the mystery of the Incarnation. The breast of the Virgin Mother was the nuptial bed of this Bridegroom. So the psalmist says: "He has pitched his tent in the sun; and he is like the bridegroom coming out of the nuptial chamber "(Ps 19: 5-6). The incarnate God indeed came out as a husband of the nuptial chamber, leaving the unaltered breast of the Virgin to unite with the Church.

He sent his servants to invite his friends to such nuptials. He sent them a first, then a second time, because to announce the Incarnation of the Lord, he first used prophets, then apostles. He therefore sent his servants to invite [his friends] twice, since he announced by the prophets that the Incarnation of his only-begotten Son was going to be realized, and that once realized, he made it known by the apostles.

But because those who had been the first guests did not want to come to the banquet of the wedding, the king sends to say by a second invitation: "Behold, I have prepared my feast; my bulls and my fat poultry are slaughtered; everything is ready."

4. What are we to see, dear brothers, in bulls and fat fowls, if not the Fathers of the Old and New Testaments? As I speak to the people, they are the very words of our gospel that I am obliged to explain. We call "well fed" [altilia] the animals that have been fattened: because the Latin origin is the verb to nourish [alere], we say "well-nourished" [altilia or alitilia] .1

Because it is written in the Law, "You shall love your friend (Lv 19:18), and you will hate your enemy" (Mt 5:43), the righteous were allowed to crush with all their force their enemies and those of God, and even kill them by the sword without injustice; permission which is undoubtedly removed by the New Testament, when the Truth in person preaches to us in these terms: "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you" (Mt 5:44). What do bulls, if not the Old Testament fathers, symbolize? Indeed, since the law had allowed them to strike their adversaries in revenge for the hatred [that they showed], were they not, so to speak, bulls, when they hit their enemies with horns, using their physical strength?

And what about the fat poultry, if not the New Testament Fathers? When they receive the divine gift of a very rich inner food, emerging from their earthly desires, they are raised to the summits by the wings of their contemplation. To apply one's thoughts to things below, is it not a certain dryness of the mind? But those whose holy desires already feed on the goods from above, savoring them internally through meditation on the things of Heaven, nourish themselves, so to speak, handsomely on a more copious food. It is this fat that the prophet desired to gorge himself when he said: "My soul be satisfied like marrow and fat." (Ps 63, 6)

Thus, since the preachers sent to announce the Incarnation of the Lord, the prophets first, then the holy apostles, were persecuted by the infidels, the king sent word to those who were invited but who did not want to come: "My bulls and my fat poultry are slaughtered; Everything is ready. "It is as if he were telling them more clearly:" Consider the death of the Fathers who have preceded us, and think of a remedy for the corruption of your life. " There is no question of bulls and fat poultry at the first invitation, while they are declared slain at the second invitation. The Almighty God indeed adds examples to his words when we do not want to listen to them: to learn that others have already gone through the same difficulties gives us better hope of achieving what we consider impossible.

5. The text continues: "But they did not take it into account and went away, one to his field, the other to his business." To go to his field, is to indulge in excess to the work of the earth. Going to trading is avidly coveting the profit that is collected from the activities of the century. That one is too attentive to the works of the earth and the other too absorbed by the activities of this world, it prevents them from meditating on the mystery of the Incarnation of the Lord and living in harmony with him; Is it not, so to speak, to refuse to come to the King's wedding, by going to his field or his business? And often, what is more serious, there are some who are not content to reject the grace of the God who calls them, but persecutes [those who announce it to him]. Hence the rest of the text: "Some even seized the servants, and after mistreating them, they killed them. The king, having learned it, sent his armies; he slew these assassins and burned their city. "He kills the assassins, since he kills the persecutors. He burns their city with fire, for it is not only their souls, but also the flesh in which they dwelt, which is tortured by the eternal flames of hell.

It is specified that the killings were exterminated by the armies sent against them. Indeed, God's judgment towards men is always manifested through the angels. And what are the angels' troops, if not the armies of our King? So this same King is called the Lord Sabaoth, Sabaoth meaning "armies". The Lord therefore sends an army to destroy his enemies, since he exerts his vengeance through his angels. The power of this vengeance, our fathers heard about it; but we now have it in front of us. Where are the men of pride who persecuted the martyrs? Where are those who, in their heart, raised their necks against their Creator and swelled the murderous glory of this world? The death of the martyrs now flourished in the faith of the living, while those who boasted of their cruelty to them no longer come to our memory, even among the dead. So we actually see what we hear in parables.

6. But the king who sees his despised invitation will not leave empty the wedding hall of his son's king. He sends his servants to other people, because even if the word of God suffers from difficulties with some, it will eventually find a place to rest. Hence the rest of the text: "Then he said to his servants," The wedding meal is ready, but those I invited to it were not worthy. Go then to the end of the ways, and all those which you will find, invite them to the nuptials. »» If in Scripture, the paths designate the actions, should not one understand by the issue of the paths the actions that fail? For it is often those who have failed in the actions of the earth who come more easily to God.

7. The text goes on: "These servants went out on the roads and gathered together all those whom they found, bad and good; and the wedding hall was full of guests. "The precision here in the quality of the guests now makes it clear that the King's wedding symbolizes the Church of the earth, where the bad ones join the good ones. The Church sees very different sons in her womb, for if she begets them all to the faith, the faults of some of them forbid her to lead them all to the spiritual grace which would make them free, lifestyle change. As long as we live here, we can not avoid going through the path of life present in this inextricable mixture [of bad and good ones]. It is on arrival that we will be separated. The good ones are alone nowhere except in Heaven, and the bad ones are alone nowhere except in hell. And since the present life, situated between Heaven and Hell, constitutes a middle ground between the two, it welcomes together the citizens of both camps. However, if the holy Church now receives them without distinction, she will separate them afterwards when they come out of life.

If you are good, then bear the bad ones with patience as long as you remain in this life. For he who does not want to endure the wicked himself testifies that he is not good. He refuses to be an Abel, the one who does not accept that Cain torments him with his wickedness. Is not the grain of wheat hiding under the straw when it is thrown on the threshing floor? Is not the flower born in the midst of thorns? Does not the fragrant rose grow with the pungent spine? The first man had two sons: one was elected, the other reprobate (see Gen 4: 1-5). Three sons were in the ark of Noah: two of them were elected, the third reprobate (see Gen 9: 25-27). Abraham had two sons: one was elected, the other reprobate (see Gen 21: 10). Isaac had two sons: one was elected, the other reprobate (see Gn 27:37). Jacob had twelve sons: of these, one owed his innocence to be sold, the others had the mischief to be the salesmen of their brother (see Gn 37:28). Twelve apostles were chosen, but one of them [Judas], who put the others to the test, was mixed up with the Eleven, who were tested by him (Acts 1: 16-17). Seven deacons were ordained by these apostles (Acts 6: 5): six remained faithful to their faith, one was a source of error. So can there be in this Church of the earth, wicked without good, nor good without wicked. Remember, dear brothers, past times, and strengthen yourself to bear the wicked. For if we are the sons of the elect, we must necessarily follow their example. And no one was good without accepting to endure the wicked. On this subject, Blessed Job says of himself: "I was the brother of the dragons, the companion of ostriches" (Jb 30, 29). And by Solomon, the voice of the Bridegroom said to the Holy Church, "Like a lily in the midst of thorns, as my friend among young women." (Ct 2, 2). The Lord also declares to Ezekiel, "Son of man, unbelievers and rebels are with you, and you dwell with scorpions" (Ez 2: 6). And Peter glorifies in this sense the life of the blessed Lot, when he says: "And he delivered the just Lot afflicted by the unjust conduct of these scoundrels, because because of what he saw and heard, this just, continuing to live among them, had every day his virtuous soul tortured by their unjust deeds. "(2P 2, 7-8). Paul praises and encourages the lives of the disciples in the same sense, saying, "In the midst of this perverse and corrupt people, in whose breast you shine like torches in the world, cling to the word of life." Ph 2, 15-16). John also testifies to the Church of Pergamum with these words: "I know where you live: where satan's seat is; but you are firmly attached to my name, and you have not denied my faith "(Rev 2: 13). See, dear brothers, as we go through the Scriptures, we find almost everywhere that no one was good without having been put to the test by the disturbances of the wicked. It can be said, by way of comparison, that the iron of our soul does not reach the finesse of a good cutting edge without the lashings inflicted on it by the disturbances of others.

8. You must not be afraid that there are many wicked and few good in the church, for the ark carried on the waters of the flood, which was the figure of the Church of the earth, was wide. in its lower part and narrow in its upper part, narrowing even at the top up to the width of a cubit (see Gn 6, 15). It must be supposed that the lower part contained the quadrupeds and the reptiles, the superior the birds and the men. It is wide down to contain the animals, narrow at the top to keep the men, since the holy Church is vast in its carnal part, narrow in its spiritual part. She widens her breast even more where she has to tolerate the kind of bestial life of men. Whereas where it contains men who live a spiritual way of life, it probably touches the summit, but it becomes narrower, because such men are few. "Broad, indeed, is the way to perdition, and many are following it. Narrow is the one that leads to life, and there are few who find it. "(Mt 7:13)

The ark narrows at the top to the extent of one cubit, since in the holy Church, the more the souls are holy, the fewer they are, and that this Church finds its crowning in the only Man among the other men to to be born holy (cf Lk 1, 35), the one to whom no one else can be compared. About him, the psalmist says, "He became like a lonely sparrow on a roof" (Ps 102, 8). It is therefore better to bear the wicked they are more numerous, because we also find on the threshing floor only a few grains to be raked, while there are heaps of straw to burn in the fire.

9. But since you owe to the bounties of the Lord to have already entered the house of the wedding, that is to say in the holy Church, take care, my brothers, that the King, on entering, find nothing blamable in the habit of your soul. Indeed, we must consider with great fear what the text adds immediately after: "The king entered to see those who were at the table, and there he saw a man who was not wearing the nuptial dress." What symbolism Shall we attribute, dear brothers, to this nuptial dress? Shall we say that it represents baptism, or faith? But who could have entered the wedding hall without baptism or faith? For he who has not yet believed is by the very fact outside [of the Church]. What must we understand by the nuptial dress, if not the charity? He indeed enters for the wedding, but he enters without the nuptial robe, the one who is in the holy Church and has faith, but lacks charity.

It is with good reason that charity is called a wedding dress, since our Creator wore it when it came to the wedding to unite with the Church. Is it not by virtue of his only love that God sent his only Son to unite the souls of the elect? Hence the word of John: "God so loved the world that he gave us his only Son" (Jn 3:16). He who came to men out of love made it known that his love is the nuptial dress.

All of you who belong to the Church and believe in God have already entered the wedding hall, but if they did not keep the grace of charity, they did not come with the bridal dress. Surely, my brethren, if anyone were invited to a human wedding, he would change his clothes and manifest by the very beauty of his clothes that he will rejoice with the bridegroom and the bride; he would blush to show himself with neglected clothes among the jubilant people celebrating this feast. And we who go to the wedding of God, we do not care to change the garment of our soul! Angels rejoice together when the elect ascend to heaven. In what state of mind do we then approach these spiritual feasts, we who do not wear the wedding dress that is charity, when it alone makes us look beautiful?

10. We must know that as we weave the garments in two directions, namely the warp and weft, so charity is based on two precepts, the love of God and the love of neighbor. It is written in effect: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength, and your neighbor as yourself" (Mk 12: 30-31). We must note here that the Lord puts a measure to the love of the neighbor when he indicates to us: "You will love your neighbor as yourself", but that it does not set limits to the love of God, since He says to us, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength." For this precept does not regulate the measure of our love, but from what depth it must go when it tells us "everything". To love God really is to keep nothing for oneself from what is yours.

Whoever takes care of having the bridal gown for the wedding is therefore bound to observe these two precepts of charity. For this reason, according to the prophet Ezekiel, the vestibule of the gate of the city established on the mountain measures two cubits (see Ez 40,9); for the access of the heavenly city is open to us only if we keep good the love of God and neighbor in this Church of the earth, called vestibule of Heaven because it is still external to it. It is for the same reason that it is prescribed to dye the tabernacle curtains twice in scarlet (see Ex 26: 1). It is you, brothers, yes, it is you who are the hangings of the Tabernacle, because by faith, you are veiling the secrets of Heaven in your hearts. But for the tabernacle hangings a fabric dyed twice with scarlet must be used. Now scarlet has the appearance of fire. And what is charity, if not a fire? But this charity must be dyed twice, once by the love of God, another by the love of neighbor. For he who loves God, but neglects his neighbor to indulge in contemplation, is no doubt dyed scarlet, but not twice. On the other hand, he who loves his neighbor but forgets for his sake the contemplation of God, is well dyed with scarlet, but not twice. So that your charity may be dyed twice in scarlet, it must ignite, and the love of God, and love of neighbor; it must neither abandon the contemplation of God out of compassion for the neighbor, nor neglect the compassion for the neighbor by too much attachment to the contemplation of God. Thus, every man living among men must aspire to the one he desires without, however, losing interest in the one with whom he is running; and he must assist his neighbor without at all slowing down the race by which he hastens to God.

11. It is also necessary to know that the love of the neighbor has two precepts himself, since a sage tells us: "What you would be angry at being done, take care not to do it to another" ( Tb 4:15), and that the Truth in person preaches to us in these terms: "Whatever you want men to do to you, do it for them also" (Mt 7:12). Indeed, we fully respect our duties of charity if while giving others what we rightly want to be provided, we avoid doing what we do not want us to do.

But let no one think too quickly of having charity because one loves someone, if one has not at first examined the very value of the love one has for him. For to love a person without loving him because of God is not to have charity, but only to imagine that one has it. True charity consists in loving one's friends in God, and one's enemies for God's sake. Indeed, to know how to love who does not love you is to love God because of those we love: charity is usually proven only in the face of hostility and hatred. Hence the word of the Lord himself: "Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you "(Lk 6:27). He is certain to love, who loves God because of whom he knows not to be loved.

That all this is great, that all this is high and difficult to practice for many! But that's it, the wedding dress. It is highly to be feared, for those who have sat down at the wedding without having dressed it, that one day, when the King comes to enter, he will not be thrown out. For this is what is said: "The king entered the marriage hall to see those who were at the table, and there he saw a man who was not wearing the nuptial robe." It is we, dear brothers who are seated at the wedding of the Word, we who have faith and we find in the Church, we who are nourished by the Holy Scriptures and we rejoice to be the Church united to God. Consider, I conjure you, if you have come to this marriage-bearing wedding; make a careful and careful examination of your thoughts. Examine your hearts on each of the following points: if you have no hate against anyone, if the fire of envy does not ignite you against the happiness of another, if a secret malice does not push you to try to harm to someone.

12. Behold, the King enters for the wedding, and considers the garment of our heart. To him whom he does not see clothed with charity, he asks angrily, "My friend, how did you come here without having the wedding dress?" It is quite astonishing, dear brothers, that while calling this man his friend, he condemns him. It is as if he were telling her more clearly: "You are my friend, and you are not my friend: you are my friend by faith, but you are not my friend by works."

And this man remained silent ", because - it can not be said without groaning - before the rigor of the final punishment, all excuse falls of itself, since the one who, outside, bursts out in reproach against the soul is the even who, on the inside, accuses him by the testimony of his conscience.

We must know here that he who has put on this garment of virtue, although still imperfectly, must not despair of forgiveness at the arrival of the King full of goodness, for he himself has given us hope by this word. of the psalmist: "Your eyes have seen me still imperfect, but on your book all will be written." (Ps 139, 16)

Since we have said these few words for the consolation of those who have [the robe], but are weak, let us now speak of those who do not have it at all.

13. The text continues, "Then the king said to his servants, 'Bind his hands and feet, and throw him into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. "Then we bind the hands and feet, by a rigorous sentence, to those who have not wanted to be bound until then by abstaining from their evil works, by amendment of their life. It can also be said that the penalty then binds those whom sin had hitherto bound by keeping them away from good works. For the feet which neglect to visit the sick, the hands which give nothing to the needy, have bound themselves by their will, by departing from good works. Thus, those who bind themselves here voluntarily in vice will then be bound against their will in the torture.

It is fitting that the king orders the man without the bridal gown to be cast into the outer darkness. In fact, the inner darkness signifies the blindness of the heart, and the outer darkness, the eternal night of damnation. The damned is not thrown into the inner darkness, but into the outer darkness, because one throws down there against his will in the night of damnation the one who fell down here of his own free will in the darkness. blindness of the heart. There, we are told, are the weeping and gnashing of teeth: there grind the teeth that put down here their enjoyment to eat; there mourn the eyes which were devoted here below to forbidden desires. Thus each of the members of the body is subjected to a torment, since each of them had submitted to a vice here below.

14. As soon as the man who represents all the wicked has been expelled, the text ends with a general sentence: "For many are called, but few are chosen." What we hear here, dear brothers, is quite scary. By faith we have all been called to come to the wedding of the Heavenly King, we believe in the mystery of his Incarnation and we profess it, we take part in the banquet of the divine Word; but behold, in the day of judgment, the King of righteousness shall come in. We know that we are called, but we do not know if we are elected. Each of us must therefore humble ourselves all the more deeply as he does not know if he is elected. Indeed, there are some who do not even begin to do good; others, which have started well, do not persevere. One leads a disorderly existence for most of his life, but returns shortly before the end of his life by the tears of severe penance; another leads a life of elected, and yet comes to go astray in the evil shortly before the end of his life. One begins his life well, and finishes better still; another throws himself headlong into evil from his earliest youth, and dies after never ceasing to become worse in the same disturbances. Everyone must therefore fear for himself with all the more anxiety because he does not know how much time he has left; for it is something that must be repeated often, without ever forgetting it: "Many are called, but few are elected."

15. But since to convert the minds of the hearers, the examples of other Christians are often more effective than the words of those who teach them, I want to tell you what happened to someone close to us. Your hearts will hear it with all the more fear that it is a person closer to us. Because we do not tell here very old facts, but we report to you of which the witnesses are still alive to testify to us that they attended there.

My father had three sisters, all three consecrated virgins. One was called Tarsilla, the other Gordiana, the third Æmiliana. All three, entered into religion with the same ardor and consecrated at the same time, had given themselves a very strict rule and led the common life in their own house. As they had been in this kind of life for a long time, Tarsilla and Imiliana began to grow from day to day in the love of their Creator: only their bodies remained here below, while their souls passed each day a little more towards eternal goods. The soul of Gordiana, on the contrary, began to let the love of the inner life cool down from day to day, to return little by little to the love of this world. Tarsilla often said to her sister Æmiliana, crying a lot: "I see that our sister Gordiana does not live in harmony with us; I must admit that she lets herself go to things outside, and that her heart does not keep what she had proposed. "The two sisters took care to correct Gordiana every day with tender remonstrances, to make her to return from his lightness of manners to the gravity which suited his dress. The latter no doubt took on a serious face when she was reprimanded, but as soon as the hour of the reprimand passed, the virtue of gravity that we wanted to impose on her also passed, and Gordiana returned to the same lightness of speech. . She enjoyed herself in the society of the young girls of the world, and the company of those who were not worldly weighed on her.

Better than her sisters, my aunt Tarsilla had risen to the honor of the highest sanctity by her continual prayer, her application to mortify herself, her unusual abstinence, and the gravity of her venerable life. Now, one night, as she herself said, my ancestor Felix, who was bishop of this Church of Rome, appeared to him in a vision and showed him the abode of eternal light, saying, "Come because I will receive you in this light. "

Soon, seized by fever, she arrived on her last day. And when, when a noble woman or man dies, many people gather to comfort their loved ones, at the time of my aunt's death, men and women flocked around her bed; my mother was there too. Tarsilla suddenly raised her eyes, and seeing Jesus coming, she began to shout to those around her, in a tone of sharp reproach: "Go! Go! Jesus is coming. "And while his gaze was drawn toward the one she saw, his holy soul left his body. Immediately was spread a perfume so wonderful that it appeared to everyone by this delicious smell that the Author of all delights had come there. When the body of Tarsilla was undressed for washing, as is customary for the dead, it was found that the skin was hardened on the elbows and knees, like that of a camel, as a result of his long prayers. What his soul had done throughout his life, his flesh testified after his death.

All these events took place before the Nativity of the Lord. The feast having passed, Tarsilla soon appeared in vision to her sister Æmiliana during the night, and she said to him: "Come! I already had to celebrate Christmas without you, now I would like to celebrate Epiphany with you. "Ilmiliana, who cared about the safety of her sister Gordiana, answered immediately:" If I come alone, to whom will I entrust our Sister Gordiana? "But to her objection, Tarsilla sadly repeated," Come on, for our sister Gordiana is destined to take her place among the women of the world. "Illness soon followed that vision and made such progress that Imiliana died before the Epiphany of the Lord, as he had been told. As for Gordiana, as soon as she found herself alone, her vices increased, and the evil hitherto hidden in the depths of her bad desires now appeared in the disorder of her actions. In defiance of the fear of the Lord, in defiance of all modesty and self-respect, in defiance at last of her consecration, she later married the farmer of his lands.

See these three sisters: they had consecrated themselves to God in the same movement of fervor, but they did not remain animated by one and the same zeal. Because, according to the word of the Lord, "many are called, but few are chosen." I have told you these things so that those who now do good works do not take credit for it and do not trust in their actions. Because if they know today what they are, they still do not know what they will be tomorrow. No one, therefore, must rejoice from his good works from now on as if he were sure of it: as long as he remains among the vagaries of this life, he does not know how he will end.

But having told you this story, which has given you to fear the severity of God, I will tell you another, which concerns me closely, and in which the example of his mercy will comfort your frightened hearts. I remember having already said it in another sermon4, but you, you were not there.

16. Less than two years ago, a brother came to lead religious life in my monastery near the Church of Blessed Martyrs John and Paul. It was finally received after the long delay imposed by the Rule. His brother followed him to this monastery, not for the sake of religious life, but for his fraternal affection. He who came to lead the religious life was very agreeable to the monks; his brother, on the other hand, was far removed from his life and manners. He lived, however, at the monastery, but rather by necessity than by a voluntary choice. And although he was corrupt in all his actions, all supported him with patience for his brother's sake. He was light in his words, depraved in his actions, searched in his clothes, rude in his manners, and could not bear being told to live under the monastic habit. His life had become painful to see for all the brethren, but yet all, as I said, supported him for the sake of his brother. He roughly repulsed the one who spoke to him to reform his bad behavior. Not only could he not do good, but he could not even hear about it. He protested, with strong swear words, fits of anger and sneers, that he would never accept to take the habit of monastic life.

However, during the plague epidemic that devoured a large part of the population of this city [of Rome], a groin tumor quickly dragged him to death. When he was about to die, the brothers came together to protect his end with their prayers. His body was already dead in his extremities, and he kept only a little vital heat in his chest. All the brothers began to pray for him all the more urgently as they saw him already leaving quickly. He suddenly screamed as loudly as he could, interrupting with great clamor the prayers of the brothers around him: "Get away! Withdraw! Here I have been fed to the dragon. Your presence alone prevents him from devouring me; my head is already in his mouth. Move away, so that he does not torture me more, but does what he has to do. If I have been given to him for food, why do I have to wait because of you? "Then the brothers began to say to him," What are you talking about here, brother? Make the sign of the holy cross on you. "He answered as he could:" I want to sign myself, but I can not, because the dragon crushes me. "On hearing this, the brothers prostrated themselves on the ground, and all in tears, they began to pray with even more fervor for his deliverance. And suddenly the patient began to get better and to express his joy as much as he could, saying: "God be praised! The dragon who had received me in pasture is on the run. Your prayers chased him away, and he could not stay. Intercede now for my sins, for I am ready to convert and completely give up the life of the world. "Thus, this man who had, as I said before, almost dead body extremities, was brought back to life and he converts to God with all his heart. Finding himself instructed by long and continual sufferings in this new life, and his illness becoming worse, he died a few days later. But when he died, he did not see the devil again, because he had conquered him by the transformation of his heart.

See, my brethren, how this Gordiana, of which I spoke to you just now, has fallen from the heights of the holy habit of a nun to the point of torture; see also how the brother whose life I have just told you has come up from the gates of death to eternal life. Nobody can therefore know what is happening to him in the secret judgments of God, because "many are called, but few are elected". Thus, since no one can be certain of being elected, all must tremble and fear for the imperfection of their actions, and put their joy in the only divine mercy, without ever presuming of their own strength. He will crown our confidence, the one who has deigned to assume our human nature, Jesus Christ, who, being God, lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.