Sermon 206

SERMO 206

In Lent

The time of Lent is one of humility.

The time of the anniversary return of Lent has arrived, in which our exhortation is owed to you: because you also owe works to the Lord suitable for this time: which nonetheless cannot be beneficial to the Lord, but to yourselves. At other times too, prayers, fastings, almsgivings, and other such things ought to be fervent for the Christian; however, this solemnity ought to stir even those who are sluggish in these on other days; and those who are eager for these on other days ought now to exercise them more fervently. For the time of our humility in this world is signified by these days, with the Lord Christ for us, who suffered by dying once, as if again revolving this solemnity every year. For what was done once in the whole time, so that our life might be renewed; is celebrated every year so that it might be recalled to memory. Therefore if with the truest feeling of piety, in the whole time of this pilgrimage, in which we live in the midst of temptations, we ought to be humble in heart: how much more in these days, in which we not only live through the time of our humility, but also signify it by celebrating? The humility of Christ taught us to be humble, because by dying He yielded to the wicked: the loftiness of Christ makes us exalted, because by rising again He has preceded the pious. For if we have died with Him, says the Apostle, we shall also live with Him: if we endure, we shall also reign with Him. One of these we now celebrate with due devotion, as His passion approaches; the other after Easter, as the completion of His resurrection. For then after the days of this humility, though it is not yet the time of our exaltation to be seen; even now, however, it delights to signify it through forethought. Therefore let us now groan more earnestly in prayers: then we shall be gladdened more abundantly in praises.

Two kinds of almsgiving: giving and forgiving.

But to our prayers, so that they may more easily reach God by flying, let us add wings of piety with almsgiving and fasting. From this, however, the Christian mind understands how remote it should be from the fraud of another's goods; when it feels that it is similar to fraud if it does not give its surplus to the needy. The Lord says: Give and it will be given to you; forgive and you will be forgiven. These two kinds of alms, giving and forgiving, let us practice mercifully and fervently; so that we may pray to the Lord for good things to be given to us, and for bad things not to be rewarded to us. He says: Give, and it will be given to you. What could be more true, what could be more just, than that he who refuses to give, defrauds himself and does not receive? If a farmer shamelessly seeks a harvest where he knows he has not sown seed, how much more shamelessly does one seek a rich God giving, who refused to listen to a poor man asking? For he who does not hunger willed to be fed in the poor. Therefore, let us not despise our needy God in the poor, so that we, needing, may be satisfied in the rich. We have the needy, and we need: let us give, therefore, so that we may receive. Nonetheless, what is it that we give? And for this small, visible, temporal, and earthly thing, what is it that we desire to receive? What eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man. Unless He Himself promised it, it would have been shameless to give these things and desire to receive those: and not to want to give even these things: which, however, we would not have at all unless He who gives exhorts that we should give. With what face, therefore, do we hope for the giver in both, if we despise the commander in the least things? Forgive, and you will be forgiven. That is, forgive, and you will be forgiven. Let a fellow servant be reconciled to a fellow servant, lest a servant be justly punished by the Lord. In this kind of almsgiving, no one is poor. He who does not have the means to live for a time can do this, so that he may live forever. It is given freely, accumulated by giving, and not consumed except when not distributed. Let those whose enmities have lasted until these days be confounded and ended. Let them be ended so that they may not end: not held, so that they may not hold: let them be destroyed by the redeemer, lest they may destroy the retainer.

Fasts acceptable to God.

Let your fasts not be such as the prophet condemns, saying: "This is not the fast that I have chosen," says the Lord. For he reproves the fasts of the contentious: he seeks those of the pious. He reproves oppressors: he seeks those who relieve burdens. He reproves the quarrelsome: he seeks the liberators. Therefore, during these days, you restrain your desires from lawful things, so that you do not commit unlawful acts. Let no one indulge in wine or commit adultery on any day, who during these days refrains even from marriage. Thus our prayer, in humility and charity, fasting and giving, temperance and forgiveness, bestowing good and not returning evil, turning from evil and doing good, seeks peace and attains it. For prayer flies supported by such wings of virtues: and where Christ, our peace, has gone before, it is more easily carried to heaven.