Sermon 306E

Sermon 306

Sermon of Saint Augustine, Bishop
on the birthday of Saint Quadratus the martyr

We commend ourselves to the prayers of the martyrs.

The day foretold for your Love, Quadratus' festival day, has dawned upon us today: let us celebrate it with gathering and discourse. Therefore, we speak as often of the glory of the martyrs before God and men as we celebrate their solemnities. Frequent celebration should be a frequent exhortation, so that it may become exultation. We have sung a psalm suitable for the festival of the martyrs: "I was pushed down like a heap of sand, and the Lord took me up." For this indeed the whole chorus of martyrs says, this the body of Christ in the world, living like Lot among the Sodomites, seeing many things they do not want, but consenting in no way to the deeds of the wicked. For the human soul is impelled to sin in various ways, either by the allure of pleasure or by the sting of tribulation, and whoever, so as not to sin through allure, has conquered pleasure, has made great progress, though not yet perfected. For the love of righteousness must be so great that pleasure yields to it and that it does not yield to pain. Whoever has come this far has been perfected. Therefore, perfect martyrs are believed to have departed from this world, because they have overcome not only the pleasures of the world but also tribulations through struggle. Finally, as the faithful know, we do not pray for the martyrs among the Christian sacraments. Moreover, not only do we not pray for them, but we commend ourselves to their prayers.

With God's help, the struggler does not falter.

This perfection is demanded by rebuke and required by the Epistle of Paul to the Hebrews, where it is said: "For you have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin." This perfection is demanded; to whom it is said, "You have not yet done," he is admonished to do so. For you have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. But the martyrs have striven unto blood. However, they did not strive against a persecuting man, but against a lurking devil, and—if you rightly recognize—against their own weakness. Indeed, in the very man himself, a great contest is conducted, where the theater of conscience is: the highest spectator, however, is the inspector of conscience. But if he were merely an inspector of conscience and not a helper, every contender would falter. Accordingly, even in the very words we have sung, you have what I say: "I was pushed so hard that I was falling, but the Lord helped me." This he said, as if confessing his weakness. "As far as I am concerned," he says, "I would have fallen, but the Lord helped me." Therefore, be in the Lord, remain in the Lord, and when temptation pushes you, you will not fall because you do not give way. If by resisting you do not yield, by not consenting you do not fall.

Christ is the cornerstone in the house of God.

Take a likeness from the very name of the one whose feast we are celebrating: he is called Quadratus. When you push a square stone, it gives way but does not fall. It gives way without resisting, but it does not fall because it remains upright on all sides. For a square is upright on all sides: if you push it from one side, it is received by another, and it can never fall. Rightfully, the Lord God commanded the ancient righteous Noah to build the ark with square timbers. He wanted to use timbers for the construction that were both incorruptible and square. Incorruptible because of eternity, square to avoid temptation. Let us also be square, or rather let the whole body of Christ be a mass of squares. For it has a cornerstone, as it is sung: "The stone," he says, "which the builders rejected, has become the head of the corner." How then did it become the head of the corner, which the builders rejected? It means the Pharisees and scribes and doctors of the law. They rejected him as if he was not the one; they said, "He is not the one. Indeed, we are expecting the Christ, but we do not recognize him." By confessing that they awaited the Christ, they seemed like builders; but by saying that they did not recognize the true one, they rejected the cornerstone, because they themselves were not on the rock but on the sand. Therefore, those builders, boasting rather than building, rejected the cornerstone. But so that you would not wonder how the stone rejected by the builders became the head of the corner, Scripture added: "This was done by the Lord." Rejected by those builders, but made the head of the corner by the Lord. Walls from different directions came together at this corner: circumcision and uncircumcision. If you consider where they come from, what could be more different? If you consider where they are united, what could be more one? For walls coming from different directions form a corner, but they join together in one place in the bond of peace. It happened: they came from circumcision, they came from uncircumcision, they were joined together in the cornerstone. It was fulfilled what the apostle said: "He is our peace, who made both one."

"He who made you does not need you."

Therefore, beloved, come as squared stones striving for the cornerstone, so that the builder does not reject you. Yet hope for everything from God, He who assembles also squares. You, says the apostle Peter, like living stones, are being built into a holy temple of God. Thus, we must think of the temple of God to know repeatedly that God does not need a temple, but the temple needs God, lest we think we are doing a favor to God by giving Him a place to dwell. That God dwells in you benefits you. By dwelling in you, He makes you blessed; He is not made blessed by the dwelling. For thus is the true Lord who does not need a servant, yet has a servant whom He does not need but to whom He gives advice. For human weakness requires a servant to do some work that the master cannot, and in doing what he can, helps the master who cannot. For God is almighty and does not need you, who He made. You do not earn any merit by bearing the Lord, as you were merited to be made by the Lord. Do not think you are doing a favor to God because you believe in God. For if you do not believe, it is not harmful to Him, but to you. This voice is expressed in the psalm where it is said: I said to the Lord: You are my God, for you do not need my goods. Therefore, my true Lord is God the Lord, who does not need my goods, but I need yours.

No one is suitable for healing himself, although he is suitable for wounding himself.

No one should consider themselves capable of correcting themselves just as they were capable of corrupting themselves, because no one should consider themselves capable of healing themselves, even if they were capable of wounding themselves. Darkness is within the power of the eyes, for it is closed and it is within them. When you have closed it, you are in darkness. Therefore, it was within your power to be in darkness by closing your eyes, but is it within your power to see when you open your eyes, unless there is light in which you can see? The closing of your eyes did not need help to not see, but the opening of your eyes needs help to see. For unless there is light either from the sun, or a lamp, or the moon, or any other kind of light, unless it is present at the opening, your eyes see nothing even when open. Therefore, it is ours to receive, it is ours to have. But what do you have that you did not receive?

"God... has many martyrs in secret."

Therefore, a pious voice is like a heap of sand, not a heap of sand, but like a heap of sand; for the body of Christ, when it was made solid and squared, was thought by the blind to be a heap of sand, and because it was thought to be a heap of sand, therefore it did not fall. Yet it did not give this even by its own strength, because it added: The Lord took hold of me. Therefore, in all these temptations of the world—for Sodom has not burned yet, another great Sodom indeed, for that one burned as an example, another is reserved for judgment—in these temptations of the world, let us meditate daily to contend against sin unto bloodshed, which in another saying is called: Contend for the truth unto death. What is said there against sin is said here for the truth. And what is said there unto bloodshed is said here unto death. The soul itself must be of the martyr, for God is not delighted by the shedding of blood: He has many martyrs in the hidden place. Peace on earth to men of good will.

The world ceases not to tempt us.

Nor is that persecution to be desired which our ancestors suffered from earthly powers, in order to become martyrs. The world does not cease, nor does the abundance of temptations. Sometimes fever, and certain ones. To set aside the various threats of adversaries, the various temptations of each individual, which I began to say, fever, and certain ones. You are in bed, and you are an athlete. You are weak, and you fight, and you conquer. What if, indeed, to him fevered and placed in the danger of death, comes someone who promises to drive away your fever with certain incantations, and those incantations are illicit, diabolical, detestable, and to be anathematized, then many examples are proposed to you by him who urges this, and of those who were healed in this manner, and it is said to you: “That person, when he had this, did this for him, incanted for him, purified him, assisted him, and he was made healthy. Ask him, question him, listen to him.” And those people also say: “Truly it happened, we were almost dead, and we were thus liberated, and let it be your belief that if you allow that incantation, you will immediately be delivered from that plague.” If you do not consent, will you not be a martyr, who chose rather to die, and did not consent to the sacrilege? For what the unjust judge said to the martyr placed in chains or on the scaffold: “Consent to the sacrifice, and I release you from this tribulation,” this the devil privately says to the fevered one: “Consent to this sacrilege, and I release you from this fever.”

Many faithful are crowned without shedding blood.

Therefore, if you do not consent, if you conquer not man but the devil, not just any sinner equal to you, but the very prince of sinners - because your struggle is not against flesh and blood, that is, against humans from whom you suffer annoyances either of persuasion or tribulation, but against principalities and powers and rulers of the world, not of heaven and earth, but of this darkness, that is, of the impure and the unjust, as the apostle says to those liberated: "You were once darkness" -, if therefore you do not consent, do not think yourself not a martyr. Indeed, your solemnity is not celebrated, but your crown is prepared. For it is customary to celebrate the solemnity of those who have contended publicly. How many martyrs have risen from their bed, and from that infirmity have passed on as victors to the heavens. Therefore, know that you are being tested, if you suffer such a thing, if such a thing is suggested to you; there it is necessary that you have the spirit of a martyr, for He who made you watches over you, and He who called you helps you. There it is that you should say that of the saints. †inveni The voice said: "God is able to free me from this deadly fever, but even if not." Let the contest be yours, enchanter, because he to whom you speak is not a transgressor. Thus, after these words, whatever pleases your Lord about you will happen. Either you will be returned alive, or you will be joined to the angels. He will do what he chooses about you: you be prepared for either, if you wish to be steadfast.

Martyrs also existed before the birth of Christ.

Do you think those words of the psalm you just heard: "Chastising, the Lord has chastised me, and has not delivered me to death," are solely the voice of Daniel, who closed the mouths of lions? Do you think this voice is solely of the three youths, who tested the flames with faith and walked amidst them? Do you think it is solely their voice: "Chastising, the Lord has chastised me, and has not delivered me to death," because the lions did not devour him, nor did the flames consume them? By no means! Do not believe this, this voice is not solely theirs: it is also the voice of the Maccabees. For there is not one God for these and another for those, nor was He present for these and absent for those, nor did He assist these while being angry with those. He is the same God, able to save in both manners, to show that He has all power. By closing the mouths of the lions, He chastised Daniel in humiliation, but did not deliver him to death. By cooling the flames, He chastised the three youths in humiliation, but did not deliver them to death. By making the Maccabees conquerors in the fire, who did not yield to torments but fought against sin unto blood, He chastised them and did not deliver them to death. For they all live. To what death, then, did He not deliver them, I say? The devil wished to deliver them to the second death, the eternal death, not the transient one. Therefore, He openly saved them, secretly crowned them, and delivered neither these nor those to death.

"Great martyr John the Baptist."

Therefore, we must always be prepared for either outcome, I said. For God is able to deliver us from every tribulation. But we must especially pray that He delivers us from tribulation, that we be victors over tribulation, that we do not give in to sin because of tribulation. Do not think only of being a martyr if someone says to you, "Deny Christ," and you do not deny Him. Whenever you consider doing something against justice, it is nothing else but saying to you, "Deny Christ." Certainly, the great martyr John the Baptist was beheaded, and yet it was not said to him, "Deny Christ." He spoke the truth to a wicked king: the angry king ordered him to be imprisoned, and out of delight he ordered him to be killed. It was danced so that he might be killed: she danced, he fell. For he fell more by killing the righteous. The one who ordered the righteous to be killed fell, not the one who was killed. Yet it was not said to him, "Deny Christ," but because he died for the truth, he died for Christ, who said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life."

"Let there be no lack of a wrestler, because there will be no lack of a crown-giver."

And he who says to you: "Give false testimony for me," says nothing else to you than: "Deny Christ." For if you confess Christ with your tongue and give false testimony, what happens in you is what Paul says: For they profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him. You have confessed by word, you have denied by deed. God judges the denier by deed more than the confessor by word. Deeds are greater than words. It is good to do and to say, but not to say and not to do. Therefore, you think yourself a martyr if you strive. "Give false testimony for me." "I will not say it." "Accept only and say it." "I do not accept." You have conquered greed. If you conquer fear as well, you have striven against sin unto blood. He who has not enticed you with rewards will try to break you with threats, proposing that he will exercise enmities, harm you more grievously, and when he has the power, kill you—and perhaps he already has the power—what do you do? He does not say: "Deny Christ," but he says: "Act against Christ," that is, against Him who said: You shall not bear false witness. How many such daily temptations, not upon all, as if pushed upon the entire Church, as if the heap of sand were attacked, which is thought to be a heap of sand, but often the enemy fights against individual grains, sometimes they are tempted one by one. What does it matter whether he tempts individually or coerces universally? The tempter is not lacking, but neither should the fighter be lacking, because the crown-giver will not be lacking. Turned to the Lord...