COLLATION II.
On the gift of the fear of the Lord.
Summary. - Introduction and recapitulation, 1. - Two effects of the seven gifts: they expel the seven sins and introduce the seven virtues, 2. 3. - They are sought in the Lord's Prayer, 4. 5. - An invitation to the gift of fear: three things to be considered concerning it, 6. - Part I. On the origin of the fear of the Lord. It arises from a threefold consideration: first, the sublimity of God's power, 7.
Second, the perspicacity of divine wisdom, 8. - Third, the severity of divine vengeance. There are seven judgments of God, 9-12.
On these three united, 13.
Part II. On the usefulness of the same. It avails for three things, 14. - First, for obtaining the influx of grace, 15. - Second, for introducing the rectitude of justice, 16. - Third, for obtaining the illumination of wisdom, 17. - On these three united, 18. - Part III. On the perfection of the same. This consists in three things: first, in the perfect sanctification of conscience, 19. - Second, in the perfect promptitude of obedience, 20. - Third, in the perfect firmness of confidence, 21.
1. Come, children, hear me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord .
Listen in silence, and for your reverence good grace will come to you. The latter word is written in Ecclesiasticus, in which the Wise Man exhorts the good hearer to listen silently and with reverence to the word of God; for silence and reverence are not unprofitable to him, because through these good grace will come to him. What is good grace? Are there perhaps bad graces? Good is the grace that makes a man good; but grace is deceitful and beauty is vain, as is said in Proverbs. Grace freely given can coexist with mortal sin. This grace Ecclesiasticus regards as of little account, but the grace that makes one pleasing he highly esteems.
I have described this grace to you in a threefold manner, namely as to the origin of grace, as to the use of grace, and as to the fruit of grace. As to the origin of grace I said that grace is nothing other than an excellent gift and a perfect endowment, descending from the Father of lights through the Word incarnate, through the Word crucified, and through the Word inspired. And I said that that Word leads us back to the highest principle: and Dionysius notes this in treating the word: Every excellent gift etc., and he adds and says: "But also every procession of manifestations, set in motion by the Father, coming forth to us abundantly and beneficently as a unifying power, fills us and converts us back to the Father of lights."
As to the use of grace I said that the use of grace ought to be faithful, manly, and generous: therefore the grace that makes one pleasing is a perfect gift, by which we make good use of it and of other things. And the use of grace ought to be such that a man uses grace well: faithfully with respect to God, manfully with respect to himself, and generously with respect to his neighbor.
Third, as to the fruit of grace I said that grace heals from fault, strengthens in virtue, and consummates in glory.
And from this the following description of grace is given: that grace is the best endowment and the perfect gift, descending from the Father of lights, healing from evil, strengthening in good, and consummating in glory.
Healing grace is given in the seven Sacraments, is guarded in the seven exercises of justice, and is perfected in the seven works of mercy. Strengthening grace consists in the sevenfold habits of the virtues and in the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Consummating grace consists in the seven beatitudes and in the seven endowments.
These are the seven groups of seven, which are numbered in the jubilee year. Concerning this multitude we have said that we cannot speak except about one group of seven, namely the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Let us beseech the Lord, etc.
2. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety, and the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill him . Concerning these spirits I wish you to understand that John in the Apocalypse saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures a Lamb having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth. John sets forth a visionary image and expresses the truth.
He calls the gifts of the Holy Spirit horns and eyes. And why? You must understand that there is a certain efficacy of the gifts of the Holy Spirit by which all evils are combated; there is another efficacy of the gifts by which a person is equipped for all good things. And because strength resides in horns, therefore the gifts by which evils are combated he calls horns. And because the power of readiness resides in the eyes, therefore the gifts by which a person is equipped for all good things he calls eyes. - There are seven sins which are combated by the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. The first is the sin of pride, the second sin is envy, the third wrath, the fourth sloth, the fifth avarice, the sixth is gluttony, and the seventh is lust.
3. These vices are expelled by the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, and seven virtues are introduced, which Christ taught when he set forth the foundations of salvation on the mountain. The first virtue is voluntary poverty, concerning which it says in the Gospel: Blessed are the poor in spirit. The second is meekness or gentleness, concerning which it says in the Gospel: Blessed are the meek, etc. The third is mourning, concerning which it says in the Gospel: Blessed are those who mourn. The fourth is hunger for justice, concerning which it says in the Gospel: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice. The fifth is mercy, concerning which it says in the Gospel: Blessed are the merciful. The sixth virtue is purity of heart, concerning which it says in the Gospel: Blessed are the pure of heart. And the seventh is peace, concerning which it says in the Gospel: Blessed are the peacemakers.
Through these seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, designated by the seven horns, the seven mortal sins are destroyed, and seven virtues are introduced. The gift of fear destroys pride and brings about the good of poverty; the gift of piety destroys envy and introduces meekness or gentleness of spirit; the gift of knowledge destroys wrath and introduces the gift of mourning — nothing is so contrary to wrath as serenity of mind — the gift of fortitude destroys sloth and introduces hunger for justice; the gift of counsel destroys avarice and introduces mercy; the gift of understanding destroys gluttony and introduces purity of heart; the gift of wisdom destroys lust and introduces peace.
Whence through the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit all evils are destroyed, and all goods are introduced.
4. These seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are touched upon in the Lord's Prayer. These gifts are had only from the Father of lights; therefore Christ, wishing to teach us how we can obtain them, teaches us to ask for them in the Lord's Prayer. In the first part the gift of fear is sought, when he says: Our Father, who art in heaven; hallowed be thy name. Second, piety is sought, when he says: Thy kingdom come. Third, the gift of knowledge is sought, when he says: Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Fourth, the gift of fortitude is sought, when he says: Give us this day our daily bread. Bread strengthens the heart of man. Fifth, the gift of counsel is sought, when he says: And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. Sixth, the gift of understanding is sought, when he says: And lead us not into temptation. Seventh, the gift of wisdom is sought, when he says: But deliver us from evil. Amen.
5. In the first, our sanctification is sought, and this through the gift of fear, when he says: Our Father, who art in heaven; hallowed be thy name. Isaiah: Sanctify the Lord of hosts, and let him be your dread and your fear. In the second, the consummation of human salvation is sought, which is not obtained except through the gift of piety: judgment without mercy shall be done to him who has not shown mercy. This gift is touched upon when he says: Thy kingdom come. In the third part, the fulfillment of the divine law is sought through the gift of knowledge, which teaches to do good and to avoid evil. This gift is touched upon when he says: Thy will be done, etc. In the fourth part, the refreshment of eternal strength is sought, and this through the gift of strength or fortitude, when he says: Give us this day our daily bread. Bread strengthens the heart of man. In the fifth, the remission of sin is sought through the gift of counsel, when he says: And forgive us our debts, as, etc. In the sixth petition, the repulsion of hostile fraud is sought through the gift of understanding, when he says: And lead us not into temptation. In the seventh petition, the subjugation of carnal concupiscence is sought through the gift of wisdom, when he says: But deliver us from evil. Amen. It is impossible for the soul to tame its flesh unless it is filled with the gift of wisdom. To speak of these things would be lengthy.
6. Come, children, etc. These words are of the Prophet David, in which he invites the children of the grace of God and the children of adoption to learn this lesson: and he invites not only the little ones, but also the advanced and the aged and the decrepit. This is a lesson that ought to be taught in youth and never abandoned. Whence in Ecclesiasticus: Keep the fear of the Lord and grow old therein. And in Tobias it is said that Tobias begot a son, whom from his infancy he taught to fear God. This lesson, therefore, is for all. It is true that Sacred Scripture speaks of the fear of the Lord; and the fear of the Lord is handed down in Sacred Scripture. The preacher does as a man who is in a meadow and gathers flowers: he cannot gather them all, but he gathers some and makes from them a garland. It is said in Ecclesiasticus: The crown of wisdom is to fear the Lord. I wish to make for you a garland from the flowers that I have gathered, which for the present I wish to set before you. It seems to me that the fear of the Lord is a most beautiful tree planted in the heart of the holy man, which God waters continually: and when the tree is brought to perfection, then the man is worthy of eternal glory. I wish to describe for you the root of this tree and its branching together with its fruit. — Three things to be considered here I wish to tell you, so that together with you I may learn to fear God. I wish to describe for you what is the origin of divine fear, what its usefulness, and what its perfection.
And what is the root of the fear of the Lord? For it is necessary to go to the original principle, so that we may know by what way the fear of God arises in us. Now the fear of God arises in us first from the consideration of the sublimity of divine power, second, from the consideration of the perspicacity of divine wisdom, third, from the consideration of the severity of divine vengeance.
7. First, I say, the fear of God arises in us from the consideration of divine power. Whence in Jeremiah: There is none like unto thee, O Lord; thou art great, and thy name is great in might: who would not fear thee, O king of nations ? For thine is the glory: among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms, who is like unto thee? He sets forth first the magnitude of divine power, when he says: There is none like unto thee, O Lord, etc.; whence in the book of Wisdom: As a drop of morning dew, so is the whole world before thee. Therefore who would not fear thee, unless he be impious and foolish? Wherefore it is also said in Malachi: The son honoreth the father and the servant his master: if then I be a father, where is my honor? And if I be a master, where is my fear? If a man is impious, he is in need of punishment; if he is foolish, he is in need of understanding. That it is the height of folly not to fear, the Lord says in Jeremiah: Hear, he says, O foolish people, who have no heart: who having eyes, see not, and ears, and hear not. Will you then not fear me, and will you not be grieved at my presence? I who have set the sand as the boundary of the sea, an everlasting decree, which it shall not pass beyond. Do you not fear me?
I say therefore that the fear arises in us first from the consideration of divine power.