HOMILY 40. Delivered to the people in the basilica of the holy martyr Lawrence on the second Sunday after Pentecost.
READING OF THE HOLY GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE. At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: There was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and feasted sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar, named Lazarus, who lay at his gate, full of sores, desiring to be filled with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table, and no one gave to him. But even the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by angels into Abraham's bosom. And the rich man also died, and was buried in hell. And lifting up his eyes when he was in torments, he saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said: Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water to cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. And Abraham said to him: Son, remember that you received good things in your lifetime, and Lazarus likewise evil things. But now he is comforted, and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been established, so that those who wish to pass from here to you cannot, nor can they cross over from there to here. And he said: I ask you then, father, that you send him to my father's house; for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come into this place of torments. And Abraham said to him: They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. But he said: No, father Abraham; but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent. But he said to him: If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe if someone rises from the dead.
In the words of sacred Scripture, dearest brothers, the truth of history must first be preserved, and afterward the spiritual understanding of allegory must be sought. For then the fruit of allegory is sweetly gathered when it is first established through history in the root of truth. But since sometimes allegory builds faith and history builds morality, we who by God's authority now speak to the faithful do not think it unreasonable if we set aside this order of speaking, so that you who already hold firm faith should first hear something briefly about allegory; and what is very necessary for you concerning the moral sense of history, let this be kept for last in the order of our exposition, because those things which happen to be heard afterward are usually better remembered.
And so we pass quickly over the allegorical meanings, that we may come more swiftly to the breadth of the moral sense. There was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and feasted sumptuously every day. Whom, dearest brothers, does this rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and feasted sumptuously every day signify, if not the Jewish people, who had the cultivation of life outwardly, who used the delights of the law they received for show, not for usefulness? And whom does Lazarus full of sores figuratively represent, if not the Gentile people? For when he turned to God and was not ashamed to confess his sins, he had a wound on his skin. For in a wound of the skin, poison is drawn from the inner parts and bursts forth outward. What then is the confession of sins, if not a kind of breaking open of wounds? For the poison of sin is healthfully opened in confession, which was festering within the mind. For wounds of the skin draw the fluid of corruption to the surface. And in confessing sins, what else do we do but open the evil that lay hidden within us? But the wounded Lazarus desired to be filled with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table, and no one gave to him, because that proud people scorned to admit any Gentile to knowledge of the law. And since they held the teaching of the law not for charity but for pride, they swelled as it were with the riches they had received. And because words flowed from them out of knowledge, crumbs as it were fell from the table. But on the other hand, dogs licked the wounds of the poor man lying there. Sometimes in sacred speech preachers are understood by dogs. For the tongue of a dog, when it licks a wound, heals it, because holy teachers too, when they instruct us in the confession of our sin, touch as it were the wound of the mind through their tongue; and because by speaking they rescue us from sins, by touching wounds as it were they restore us to health. For that by the name of dogs the tongue of preachers is signified, the Lord says through the Psalmist: The tongue of your dogs from enemies, from him. For from the unbelieving Jews the holy preachers were chosen, who, coming against thieves and robbers in defense of the truth, gave great barkings, so to speak, for the Lord. Against this it is said of certain reprobates: Dumb dogs, not able to bark. Because therefore holy preachers condemn sins, but approve the confession of sins, saying: Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be saved, dogs lick the sores of Lazarus. For holy teachers, when they receive the confessions of the Gentiles, restore the wounds of minds to health. Hence also Lazarus is well interpreted as "one who is helped," because they help him toward deliverance, because they heal his wounds through the correction of their tongue. The licking of dogs can also signify the broad tongue of flatterers. For flatterers lick our wounds, who often are accustomed to praise with wicked favor even those very evils which we reprove in ourselves. Now it happened that both died. The rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen, was buried in hell; but Lazarus was led by angels into Abraham's bosom. What does Abraham's bosom signify but the secret rest of the fathers? Of which the Truth says: Many, he says, will come from the East and the West, and will recline with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. For he who is said to have been clothed in purple and fine linen is rightly called a child of the kingdom. He who lifts his eyes from afar to see Lazarus, because while the unfaithful are in the depths through the punishments of their damnation, they behold the faithful above them in rest before the day of the last judgment, whose joys afterward they can in no way contemplate. But what they see is far away, because they do not attain there by merit. Moreover he is shown to burn more in his tongue, when he says: Send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, to cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. The unbelieving people held the words of the law in their mouth, which they scorned to keep in deed. Therefore he will burn more there, where he showed himself to know what he was unwilling to do. Wherefore it is well said of the learned and negligent through Solomon: All the labor of man is in his mouth, but his soul will not be filled, because whoever labors only to know what he ought to say, fasts with an empty mind from the very refreshment of his knowledge. He desires to be touched by the tip of a finger, because given over to eternal punishments he wishes to share in even the least work of the just. To whom it is answered that in this life he received his good things, because he considered all his joy to be transitory happiness. For the just can have good things here, and yet not receive them as recompense, because while they seek better things, that is eternal things, whatever good things may have been present, in their judgment, when they burn with holy desires, they seem hardly good at all. Hence the prophet David, who was supported by the riches of his kingdom and many attendants, although he perceived that these things were good for necessity, nevertheless panted with longing for one singular good alone, saying: But for me, to cling to God is good. Among these things it should be noted what is said to him: Remember, son. For behold, Abraham calls him son, whom nevertheless he does not free from torment, because the faithful forefathers of this unfaithful people, since they see that many have strayed from their faith, do not rescue from torments by any compassion those whom nevertheless they recognize as sons according to the flesh. Moreover the rich man placed in torments declares that he has five brothers, because that same proud Jewish people, which has already been condemned for the most part, knows that his followers whom he left upon the earth are given over to the five senses of the body. Therefore by the number five he expresses the brothers he had left behind, because he who is placed in hell groans that they do not rise to spiritual understanding, and asks that Lazarus be sent to them. To whom it is said that they have Moses and the prophets. But he says: They will not believe, unless someone rises from the dead. To whom it is immediately answered: If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe even if someone rises from the dead. Certainly the Truth says of Moses: If you believed Moses, you would certainly believe me also. For he wrote of me. Therefore what is said through Abraham's response is fulfilled. For the Lord rose from the dead, but that Jewish people, because they were unwilling to believe Moses, also scorned to believe him who rose from the dead. And since they scorned to understand the words of Moses spiritually, they did not come to him of whom Moses had spoken.
Let this suffice, dearest brothers, for us to have briefly touched upon in searching out the mysteries of allegory; now let the mind return to contemplate more broadly the moral meaning of the historical event: "There was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and feasted sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar, named Lazarus, who lay at the gate of the rich man, full of sores." Some think that the precepts of the Old Testament are stricter than those of the New; but these are certainly deceived by careless consideration. For in the Old Testament, not avarice but robbery is punished. There, property unjustly taken is punished by fourfold restitution. But here this rich man is not blamed for taking what belonged to others, but for not giving what was his own. Nor is it said that he oppressed anyone by violence, but that he exalted himself in the things he had received. From this, therefore, we must especially conclude with what punishment he should be punished who seizes what belongs to others, if he is struck with the condemnation of hell who does not share his own possessions. Therefore let no one consider himself safe, saying: "Behold, I do not seize what belongs to others, but I enjoy things lawfully granted to me," because this rich man was not punished for taking what belonged to others, but because he wrongly abandoned himself to the things he had received. This too is what delivered him to hell: that he was not fearful in his prosperity, that he turned the gifts he received to the use of arrogance, that he knew nothing of the bowels of compassion, that he refused to redeem his sins even when he had abundant means to do so. And there are some who do not think that the wearing of fine and costly garments is a sin. But if indeed it were not a fault, the Word of God would never so carefully express that the rich man who is tormented in hell had been clothed in fine linen and purple. For no one seeks exceptional garments except for vainglory, that is, to appear more honorable than others. For the thing itself testifies that more costly clothing is sought only for empty glory, because no one wishes to be clothed in precious garments where he cannot be seen by others. We can better understand this fault also from the opposite: for if the lowliness of cheap clothing were not a virtue, the evangelist would not carefully say of John: "He was clothed with camel's hair." But we must note especially how great is the order of narration in the mouth of Truth concerning the proud rich man and the humble poor man. For behold it is said: "There was a certain rich man"; and immediately it is added: "And there was a certain beggar, named Lazarus." Certainly among the people the names of the rich are usually known more than those of the poor. What is it, therefore, that the Lord, speaking of a poor man and a rich man, tells the name of the poor man and does not tell the name of the rich man, except that God knows and approves the humble, and does not know the proud? Hence also to some who are proud of the power of their miracles He will say at the end: "I know you not whence you are: depart from me, all you workers of iniquity." But on the contrary, to Moses it is said: "I know you by name." Therefore He says of the rich man: "A certain man." He says of the poor man: "A beggar, named Lazarus." As if He openly said: I know the humble poor man, I do not know the proud rich man. The one I hold as known through approval, the other I do not know through the judgment of reprobation. We must also consider with what great consideration our Creator dispenses all things. For one thing is not done for one purpose alone. For behold, Lazarus the beggar, full of sores, lies before the gate of the rich man. From this one circumstance the Lord fulfilled two judgments. For the rich man would perhaps have had some excuse if Lazarus, poor and ulcerous, had not lain before his gate, if he had been far away, if his poverty had not been troublesome to his eyes. Again, if the rich man had been far from the eyes of the ulcerous poor man, the poor man would have endured less temptation in his soul. But when He placed the needy and ulcerated man before the gate of the rich man abounding in delights, in one and the same circumstance He both heaped up condemnation upon the rich man who showed no mercy at the sight of the poor man, and again by the sight of the rich man daily tested and proved the tempted poor man. For how many temptations do you think this needy man, beset with wounds, endured in his thoughts, when he himself lacked bread and did not even have health, and saw before him a rich man having both health and delights with pleasure; when he saw himself afflicted with pain and cold, while the other rejoiced, clothed in fine linen and purple; himself brought low by wounds, the other overflowing with the things he had received; himself in need, the other unwilling to give? How great, my brothers, do we think was the tumult of temptation then in the heart of the poor man, for whom certainly poverty could have sufficed as punishment, even if he had been healthy; and again, sickness would have sufficed, even if he had had some support? But that the poor man might be more fully proved, both poverty and sickness together wasted him away. And moreover he saw the rich man going forth, surrounded by throngs of attendants, while he himself in his weakness and want was visited by no one. For that no one was there to visit him, the dogs testify, who freely licked his wounds. From this one circumstance, therefore, almighty God rendered two judgments, when He permitted Lazarus the poor man to lie before the gate of the rich man, so that both the wicked rich man might increase for himself the vengeance of condemnation, and the tempted poor man might grow unto reward. The one daily beheld him on whom he showed no mercy; the other saw him by whom he was being proved. Two hearts below, but one observer above, who both by tempting exercised the one unto glory, and by tolerating awaited the other unto punishment. For there follows:
And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. And the rich man also died, and was buried in hell. This rich man, when placed in his own torment, seeks as a patron the one on whom he was unwilling to have mercy in this life. For behold it is added: Who lifting up his eyes, when he was in torments, saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said: Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water to cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. O how great is the subtlety of God's judgments! O how strictly is the recompense of good and evil deeds carried out! Certainly it was said above that in this life Lazarus sought the crumbs falling from the rich man's table, and no one gave to him; now concerning the torment of the rich man it is said that he desires water to be dropped from the tip of Lazarus's finger into his mouth. From this therefore, from this, brethren, gather how great is the strictness of God's severity. For this rich man who was unwilling to give even the least things from his table to the wounded poor man, placed in hell, came to seeking even the least things. For he who denied crumbs of bread asked for a drop of water. But it must be carefully noted what it means that the rich man placed in the fire asks for his tongue to be cooled. For it is the custom of sacred Scripture sometimes to say one thing, but to indicate another by that same saying. Now above the Lord had described this proud rich man not as given to talkativeness, but as feasting excessively. And He did not narrate that he sinned by talkativeness, but that he sinned by pride and greed through gluttony. But because talkativeness usually abounds at feasts, he who is said to have feasted wickedly here is reported to burn more grievously in his tongue in hell. For the sin of talkativeness first serves those who feast wickedly, and after talkativeness the levity of jesting also follows. For that jesting follows gluttony, sacred Scripture testifies, which says: The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play. But before the body is moved to play, the tongue is moved to jokes and empty words. What therefore is indicated by the fact that the rich man placed in torments asks for his tongue to be cooled, except that he who by feasting had sinned more by talkativeness was burning more fiercely in his tongue through the justice of retribution?
But this which is said to him through Abraham's response must be considered with very great fear: "Son, remember that you received good things in your life, and Lazarus likewise evil things. But now he is comforted here, and you are tormented." This sentence, my brothers, needs fear rather than exposition. For if any of you have received something of external good in this world, you ought to fear that very external gift, so to speak, lest it be given to you as recompense for certain of your deeds, lest the Judge who here restored external goods reject you from the retribution of inward good, lest honor here or riches be not an aid to virtue but a reward for labor. For behold, when it is said, "You received good things in your life," it is indicated that this rich man also had something of good, from which he might receive good things in this life. And again, when it is said of Lazarus that he received evil things, it is clearly shown that Lazarus also had some evil that needed to be purged. But the fire of poverty purged the evils of Lazarus, and the happiness of passing life rewarded the goods of the rich man. Poverty afflicted and cleansed the one; abundance rewarded and repelled the other. Therefore whoever among you have good things in this world, when you recall that you have done good deeds, greatly fear concerning them, lest the prosperity granted to you be the reward of those same goods. And when you see any poor people committing some blameworthy acts, do not despise them, do not despair of them, because perhaps the furnace of poverty purges what the excess of very slight depravity stains. Fear greatly concerning yourselves, because a prosperous life has even followed some evil deeds. But consider carefully concerning them, because the teacher poverty also torments their life until it leads them to righteousness.
There follows: "And in all these things, between us and you a great chasm has been established, so that those who wish to cross from here to you cannot, nor can they pass from there to here." In this matter, it must be carefully investigated how it is said, "Those who wish to cross from here to you cannot." For there is no doubt that those who are in hell desire to cross over to the lot of the blessed. But those who have already been received into the lot of blessedness—in what sense is it said that they wish to cross over to those who are tortured in hell? But just as the reprobate desire to cross over to the elect, that is, to migrate away from the affliction of their punishments, so for the just to cross over to those who are afflicted and placed in torments means to go in mind through mercy and to wish to free them. But those who wish to cross from the seat of the blessed to those who are afflicted and placed in torments cannot do so, because the souls of the just, although they have mercy in the goodness of their nature, being now joined to the justice of their Creator, are bound by such great rectitude that they are moved by no compassion toward the reprobate. For they are in harmony with the Judge to whom they cling, and they do not condescend out of mercy to those whom they cannot rescue, because they will then see them as foreign to themselves to the same degree that they perceive them to be rejected by their Creator whom they love. Therefore neither do the unjust cross over to the lot of the blessed, because they are bound by perpetual damnation; nor can the just cross over to the reprobate, because, already raised up through the justice of judgment, they have no mercy on them from any compassion whatsoever.
But after hope concerning himself is taken from the burning rich man, his mind runs back to the relatives whom he had left behind, because the punishment of the reprobate sometimes unprofitably instructs their mind toward charity, so that they then love their own spiritually, who here, while they loved sins, did not even love themselves. Hence it is now added: "I ask you therefore, Father, to send him to my father's house; for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come into this place of torments." In this matter it should be noted how much is heaped upon the burning rich man for his punishment. For both knowledge and memory are preserved for him unto his punishment. For he recognizes Lazarus whom he despised, and he also remembers his brothers whom he left behind. For his vengeance from the poor man would not be complete if he did not recognize him in retribution. And the punishment in fire would not be complete if he did not fear for his own what he himself suffers. Therefore, that sinners may be punished more in their torment, they both see the glory of those whom they despised, and are also tortured by the punishment of those whom they loved unprofitably. Indeed it is to be believed that before the retribution of the last judgment the unjust see certain just ones in rest, so that seeing them in joy they may be tortured not only by their own punishment but also by the good of those others. But the just always behold the unjust in torments, so that their joy may increase from this, because they see the evil which they mercifully escaped; and they give so much greater thanks to their deliverer, as they see in others what they themselves could have suffered if they had been abandoned. Nor does the observed punishment of the reprobate darken that brightness of such great blessedness in the minds of the just, because where there will no longer be compassion for misery, it will without doubt be unable to diminish the joy of the blessed. But what wonder if, while the just behold the torments of the unjust, this comes to them as a service to their joys, when even in a painting black color is placed beneath so that white or red may appear brighter? For as was said, the joys of the good increase so much more as the evils of the damned which they escaped lie beneath their eyes. And although their own joys suffice them fully for enjoyment, yet they without doubt always behold the evils of the reprobate, because those who see the brightness of their Creator, nothing is done in creation that they cannot see.
But when the rich man asked that Lazarus be sent, Abraham immediately answered: They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. But he who had despised the words of God thought that his followers could not hear these things. Hence the rich man also replied: No, my father; but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will believe. To whom a truthful judgment is immediately spoken: If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe someone who has risen from the dead, because indeed those who despise the words of the law will fulfill the precepts of the Redeemer, who rose from the dead, with greater difficulty the more subtle they are. For whatever is said through the law is less than what is commanded through the Lord. For the law commands that tithes be given, but our Redeemer commands that everything be given up by those who follow perfection. The law cuts away sins of the flesh, but our Redeemer condemns even unlawful thoughts. If therefore they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe if someone rises from the dead, because when will those who neglect to fulfill the lesser precepts of the law grow strong enough to obey the higher commands of our Savior? And indeed it is certain that those who refuse to fulfill his words undoubtedly refuse to believe him. Let it suffice that we have said these things from consideration of the event itself.
But you, brothers, knowing both the rest of Lazarus and the punishment of the rich man, act diligently, seek intercessors for your sins, and secure the poor as advocates for yourselves on the day of judgment. For you now have many Lazaruses; they lie before your doors, and they need what falls daily from your table while you are already satisfied. The words of sacred scripture ought to instruct us to fulfill the commands of piety. Every day, if we seek Lazarus, we find him; every day, even if we do not seek him, we see Lazarus. Behold, the poor present themselves persistently, they ask of us, who will then come as intercessors for us. Certainly we ought to have asked them entirely, yet we are the ones being asked. Consider whether we ought to refuse what is requested of us, when those who ask are our patrons. Therefore do not waste the times for mercy, do not neglect the remedies you have received. Before punishment, think about punishment. When you look upon any who are lowly in this world, even if some things of theirs seem reprehensible, do not despise them, because perhaps those whom weakness of character wounds, the medicine of poverty heals. If there are any such things of theirs that ought rightly to be reproved, turn these, if you wish, to the use of your own reward, so that from their very faults the increase of your piety may be accumulated, inasmuch as you give both bread and word equally, the bread of refreshment with the word of correction; and let those who sought one thing receive two forms of nourishment from you, while they are satisfied both outwardly with food and inwardly with discourse. Therefore when a poor person is seen to be blameworthy, he ought to be admonished, not despised. But if he has nothing deserving of reproof, he ought to be greatly venerated as an intercessor. But behold, we see many people, and we do not know what merit each one has. Therefore all are to be venerated, and it is necessary that you humble yourself before all, the more so because you do not know which of them is Christ.
I am telling of a matter, brothers, which he who is present—my brother and fellow presbyter Speciosus—knows well. At that time when I entered the monastery, there was a certain old woman named Redempta, established in the religious habit, who dwelt in this city near the church of blessed Mary ever virgin. She had been a disciple of that Herundo who, endowed with great virtues, was said to have led the eremitic life upon the Praenestine mountains. Two disciples in the same habit were attached to her: one named Romula, and another who still survives to this day, whom indeed I know by face but not by name. These three, therefore, living together in one dwelling, led a life full of riches of character yet nevertheless poor in possessions. Now this Romula whom I have mentioned surpassed her fellow disciple whom I spoke of by great merits of life. For she was of marvelous patience, of the highest obedience, a guardian of her mouth for silence, and greatly devoted to the practice of continual prayer. But since often those whom people already esteem as perfect still have something of imperfection in the eyes of the supreme Maker—just as we unskilled people often behold statues not yet perfectly sculpted and already praise them as if perfect, which the artist still examines and polishes, and already hears them praised yet does not cease to strike them for improvement—this Romula whom we mentioned was struck by that bodily affliction which physicians call by the Greek word paralysis, and lying in bed for many years, she lay deprived of the use of nearly all her limbs. Yet these same afflictions had not brought her mind to impatience. For the very losses of her limbs had become increases of her virtues, since she had grown all the more diligently to the practice of prayer, inasmuch as she was utterly unable to do anything else. Therefore one night she called to that same Redempta whom I mentioned, who was nurturing both her disciples in the place of daughters, saying: "Mother, come; mother, come." She arose at once with the other disciple, as became known to many from both of them reporting the matter, and as I too learned at that same time. And when they stood by the bed of the one lying there at midnight, suddenly light sent from heaven filled the whole space of that little cell, and such great brilliance shone forth that it struck the hearts of those standing by with inestimable fear, and, as they themselves recounted afterward, their whole body became rigid and they remained in sudden stupor. For there began to be heard a sound as of a great multitude entering, the door of the cell being shaken as if pressed by a throng of those entering. And, as they said, they sensed a multitude of those entering, but because of the excess of fear and light they could see nothing, for both terror had pressed down their eyes and the very brightness of so great a light was dazzling them. This light was immediately followed by a fragrance of wondrous odor, so that the sweetness of the scent refreshed their spirit, which the light sent forth had terrified. But when they could not bear the force of that brightness, Romula began to console with gentle voice the trembling Redempta standing by her, the teacher of her character, saying: "Do not fear, mother; I am not dying now." And while she said this repeatedly, gradually the light that had been sent in was withdrawn, but the odor that had followed remained. And so the second and third day passed, with the fragrance of the scent remaining. Therefore on the fourth night she called her teacher again. When she came, Romula asked for and received the viaticum. But Redempta and the other disciple had not yet withdrawn from the bed of the one lying there when suddenly in the street before the door of that cell two choirs of those singing psalms stood still, and as they themselves said they distinguished the sexes by their voices, they said men were singing the psalm and women were responding. And while these heavenly obsequies were being performed before the doors of the cell, that holy soul was released from the flesh. As she was being led to heaven, the higher the choirs of singers ascended, the more faintly the psalmody began to be heard, until both the sound of that psalmody and the sweetness of the odor ended in the distance.
Therefore, as long as she lived in the body, who held her in honor? She seemed unworthy to all, despised by everyone. Who would deign to approach her, who would deign to see her? But God's pearl lay hidden in a dunghill. By dunghill, brothers, I mean this very corruptibility of the body; by dunghill I designate the rejection of poverty. Therefore the pearl that lay in the dunghill was taken up and placed in the adornment of the heavenly King; now she shines among the citizens above, now she gleams among those fiery stones of the eternal diadem. O you who believe yourselves to be rich in this world, or who are, compare, if you can, your false riches with the true riches of Romula. You possess all things in the way of this world, only to lose them; she sought nothing on the journey, and found everything upon arrival. You lead a joyful life, you fear a sad death; she endured a sad life, she arrived at a joyful death. You seek the service of men for a time; she, despised by men, found the choirs of angels as companions. Learn therefore, brothers, to despise all temporal things; learn to scorn passing honor, to love eternal glory. Honor those whom you see as poor, and those whom you observe outwardly as despised by the world, consider them inwardly as friends of God. Share with them what you have, so that one day they may deign to share with you what they have. Consider what is said by the mouth of the teacher of the nations: In this time let your abundance supply their want, that their abundance also may be a supplement to your want. Consider what Truth itself says in person: As long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me. Why are you slow to give, when what you extend to one lying on earth you give to him who sits in heaven? But may almighty God, who speaks through me in your ears, speak through himself in your minds—he who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, through all ages of ages. Amen.