FIFTIETH SERMON.
ON THE HAPPY SOCIETY OF THE ELECT IN HEAVEN.
Subject.
The joys of the elect shall be greatly increased by the delightful society that is to be found in the kingdom of heaven alone and nowhere else.—Preached on the feast of St. John Baptist.
Text.
Et congratulabantur ei.—Luke i. 58.
“And they congratulated with her.”
Introduction.
Truly does this day bring to our minds a most pleasant and joyful meeting. Zachary, Elizabeth, that holy and God-fearing couple, the new-born child, John, the wonderful and saintly precursor of Our Lord, the neighbors and relations, all met together with joyful congratulations. “And her neighbors and kinsfolks heard that the Lord had showed His great mercy towards her, and they congratulated with her.” But, my dear brethren, my thoughts about this matter relate to something that adds still more to the joy of this meeting. In all probability Mary, who at the time was bearing in her virginal womb the Son of God, was present also; for when the message was brought to her that she was to be the Mother of the Most High, the angel said to her: “And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her.” Mark those words, “the sixth month.” Mary, after the angel’s message, visited Elizabeth and remained with her three months: “And Mary abode with her about three mouths.”[1] Thus she mu6t have been present at the time of the birth of St. John. Oh, I say again, what a delightful and joyful meeting! If we could only have had a glimpse at that holy company, and seen what they did, and heard what they said, and how they wished each other joy! Truly, if there is a paradise on earth it must be where Jesus, the Son of God, Mary, the Mother of God, John, the precursor of the Incarnate God, and Zachary and Elizabeth, those holy friends of God, come together. On earth, I say; for, rejoice again, pious Christians who serve the Lord! In the kingdom of heaven we shall enjoy that society, along with that of countless other friends, and all in the garb of glory, amid endless pleasures for all eternity. It is a joy that I cannot help thinking of, and would to God that we always raised our hearts and minds to this land of bliss that is promised us! At all events we shall now represent it to our imaginations more in detail, and consider the happiness of the elect with each other in heaven.
Plan of Discourse.
The joys of the elect shall be greatly increased by the delightful society that is to be found in the kingdom of heaven alone and nowhere else. Such is the whole subject of this meditation. It is not to be found on earth: the first part; it is only to be found in heaven: the second part. Let us so live that by avoiding bad and dangerous company, and by frequenting the good and pious, we may one day have the happiness of associating with the elect. Such amongst other points of doctrine shall be the conclusion.
Give us Thy grace hereto, Christ Jesus: we ask it of Thee through the merits of Mary, of St. John, and of our holy guardian angels.
There is no true pleasure without company. Of all the lawful pleasures that men can enjoy in this world with each other, the best is agreeable company; when, namely, true and well-known friends, who understand each other and love each other truly, meet in order to rejoice in the Lord. Nay, there is hardly any pleasure without society, and with reason has the philosopher Seneca said that there is no real joy or delight to be found in anything without a companion. Good food and drink taste well; but what of that if I have to sit down alone to table, without a soul near me? I can say that I have eaten and drunk well, but I cannot say that I have enjoyed myself. Put a man quite alone in a royal palace that is abundantly provided with everything; shut him up in it by himself; he will soon grow tired of life and make his escape in order to be again amongst men.
Shown from Scripture. That disposition man has, so to speak, inherited from natare; he is naturally fond of society. Although Adam had in paradise all that he could desire, he would not have been satisfied there long if he had remained alone, as God Himself said of him: " And the Lord God said: It is not good for man to be alone: let us make him a help like unto himself,”[2] that he may have some one to keep him company. The only complaint that the brother of the prodigal son had to make to his father was that the latter never gave him an opportunity of meeting his friends: “Behold, for so many years do I serve thee, and I have never transgressed thy commandment, and yet thou hast never given me a kid to make merry with my friends.” Be satisfied, my son, said the father, in order to console him: “Thou art always with me, and all I have is thine.”[3] But that was not enough; the son was so displeased that he was unwilling to enter the room in which the other was being entertained. So it is with us too, my dear brethren; he who wishes to amuse himself and spend a pleasant day, either goes out in search of company or invites a few friends to his own house; and even holy servants of God are wont to observe that custom. The Scripture tells us of the elder Tobias: “When there was a festival of the Lord, and a good dinner was prepared in Tobias’ house, he said to his son: Go and bring some of our tribe that fear God, to feast with us,”[4] and to rejoice in the Lord. Even God Himself, who surely is not in need of society, seems to say that the company of men is pleasing to Him: “My delight is to be with the children of men;”[5] so He tells us by the wise Solomon. Thus society is a recreation and a pleasure for the soul and the mind.
But the company must be in all respects a suitable one if it is to give pleasure. But not all society gives pleasure, for some may cause annoyance and put an end to enjoyment; that is the case when the companions are not suited to each other. Sometimes when good friends are together there happens to be amongst them or to have come uninvited one who is not looked on favorably by the others, or in whose presence they may not talk confidentially, because they are obliged to show him a certain amount of respect, and to weigh their words when he is there; in such a case there is an end to all pleasure in the gathering; the party is a failure, as the saying goes. And the next day they say: we might have had a very pleasant time of it yesterday if such a one had not been there. Often the absence of one whose society is much sought after by the others spoils the party, so that it is not near so pleasant as it might have been. Ah, they say then, if he were here the party would be complete! And again if all the company are not of the one mind; if one wants to play, the other to sing, the third to talk, the fourth to do this, the fifth that, the party is spoiled again, and there is no amusement. Hence, if there is to be true joy and happiness in a meeting of the kind, the company should consist of good friends who know each other well, love each other truly, and are on such good terms that no one will take what another says in a bad sense, and each is glad on account of the presence of his companions.
Such company is rare in the world. But where can one find such a loving, friendly, and agreeable company? To no purpose should we seek it on earth. “Nothing,” says the Holy Ghost by the wise Ecclesiasticus, “can be compared to a faithful friend, and no weight of gold and silver is able to countervail the goodness of his fidelity. A faithful friend is the medicine of life and immortality. He that hath found him hath found a treasure.”[6] Here the Holy Ghost speaks as of a rare thing; as if a true friend were hardly to be found on earth. How much more difficult then must it not be to find many who truly agree with each other in all things? If there were a city in which all the inhabitants lived without passion and self-interest, and in that harmony, meekness, friendship, and confidence that Our Lord recommends to the faithful, where nothing is ever done contrary to honesty, justice, decency, or the divine law, where each one truly loves his neighbor as himself: would not a city of that kind be looked on as a prodigy, and would not every one wish to live in it? But, alas! not only is there no city to be found in which the inhabitants live on such good terms with each other, but one could with reason fix a high price on even a single house in any town of which one could say with truth what Phocion the Athenian said of his when he was selling it: this house has good neighbors. Ah, there is difficulty enough in finding a family of which all the members live in love and harmony with each other, in which husband and wife, parents and children, masters and servants do not fight and quarrel.
On account of the different tastes and inclinations of men. Nor is this to be wondered at; men are the same everywhere: we are of contrary dispositions, humors, and inclinations. Every one has some faults and failings that give rise to disputes and trouble. One is clever, the other stupid; one is learned, the other ignorant; one is honest, the other crafty and cunning; one is amiable, the other obstinate; one is meek, the other quarrelsome; one is patient, the other passionate; one is humble, the other proud; one is generous, the other niggardly and sparing; one is virtuous and pious, the other wicked and godless; one is cheerful, the other melancholic. One wishes to be better than the other; to appear richer, nobler, more important than the other; no one likes to yield or give way to his neighbor. And this is properly the source from which spring all vexation, misunderstandings, quarrelings, and disunion. Moreover, if one is anxious to observe peace and charity, and to suit himself to the contrary dispositions of others, which is a great virtue, there are people who never leave one in peace; reckless men who without the least shadow of reason are always seeking quarrels; envious men who cannot bear the sight of their neighbors, simply because they cannot find any fault in them; uncharitable men whose blighting tongues do not spare even the most virtuous; wicked men whose pleasure consists in doing mischief to others, and in putting a bad interpretation on even the holiest works and intentions.
On account of the difference between “mine” and “thine.” Shown by a simile. And besides all this, what often disturbs the harmony of even the best friends, and makes brothers and sisters hate each other, is that wretched “mine and thine;” “that cold-hearted word,”[7] as St. Chrysostom calls it. We are like fowls; sometimes a hen finds a piece of bread, or draws a worm out of the ground; up come the others immediately to take the bit out of her bill. She runs off, and the others after her; she is quite happy, while the others are envious of her good fortune; with all her good luck she has hardly time enough to enjoy her morsel in peace, while the others are just as uneasy and run after her. Now if the bread falls out of her bill, or as often happens, one of the others pulls half the worm away from her, then the tables are turned. She that lost her bit is sad, the other that has taken it is satisfied, but has as much to suffer as the former from the envy and pursuit of the others. The running and fighting go on as before; one wins and the other loses again; all are and remain uneasy, and fight with each other until the morsel is divided into little bits, or is with much difficulty swallowed by one of them; and then most frequently they go in search of something else. How is that? Because the worm or the piece of bread is not enough for all, and hence each one strives to get possession of it.
A source of disunion and misunderstanding. Christians! whence come quarrelings, misunderstandings, and disunion amongst neighbors, friends, and relations? From the fact that the morsels of worldly goods, about which we fight like fowls, are not enough to satisfy our greed. One has a larger morsel than another; the latter therefore is filled with hatred, envy, and grudging; one thinks that this or that belongs to him, or that a greater share of it is due to him; hence come quarrels and lawsuits, abuse and vilification, anger, hatred, ill-humor, inordinate ambition, and a host of other evils. Through want of Christian charity and meekness no one wishes to yield or give way to another, and thus loving intimacy and confidential relations are disturbed even amongst the best of friends. Such is the power of that cold-hearted word, mine and thine.
Plesant company is not of long duration on earth. Even if a few good friends understand each other perfectly as far as mine and thine are concerned, and enjoy each other’s company, how long will that last? Ah, how easy it is for something to come between them and upset all their fondness! A cross look when one is not exactly in a good humor; a suspicion, a chance word taken up in a wrong sense, although it may have been well meant, is quite enough to put an end to all former confidence. Nay, the length of time that people know each other as friends, the frequency of their meetings and repeated conversations generally form a hindrance to love, as is so often the case with married people, whose love for each other should he most tender and constant. At first they think they have found a heaven on earth; for the first two, three, or four years they get on well enough, but after that love grows cold in many cases. Some go so far that they can hardly bear the sight of each other, and find nothing but a hard and intolerable cross in each other’s society, although it should be a joy and consolation for them. Thus it is not in this vale of tears that we can find true and constant friendship and really agreeable society. No, my dear brethren; we must look elsewhere for that. O heaven! O holy city of Jerusalem! O dwelling of true love and lasting peace! Thou alone art that happy place where society of the most agreeable kind constitutes an indescribable joy and pleasure, and lasts forever! We shall consider this in the
Second Part.
In heaven along are all the delights of pleasant company to be enjoyed in perfection. And what sort of society is it? “Let us consider,” says St. Augustine, “what the society of the blessed spirits is in itself.”[8] His opinion is that it is the occasion of such happiness that of although we may form some idea of it from what we know of agreeable company on earth, we can never understand or comprehend it in this life: “No one in this life can form an adequate idea of the bliss of hearing the concerts of the angels, and of being in the company of the saints.”[9] There have been occasionally on earth some great servants of God whose loss was able to fill a whole city with mourning. When the news was spread in Alexandria that the holy Bishop Athanasius was banished, and the inhabitants knew that they should never again behold their beloved prelate, there was a commotion in the whole city, and the people ran into the streets crying out in loud and mournful tones: Athanasius! Athanasius! All the churches were filled with people who threw themselves on their knees to implore the divine mercy, and have their dear pastor restored to them. To this end the priests said Mass daily, and had public prayers; the virgins consecrated to God cried out for their spiritual father, the poor for their supporter, widows and orphans for their protector; the very hermits filled their caves with wailings and lamentations. On this occasion the great St. Anthony came out of his solitude and wrote to Constantino, begging of him to have some regard to his tears, and to the general wish of all good people, and to send them back their bishop, the object of such tender love to a large portion of the fold of Christ. Consider now, my dear brethren, if one servant of God, who was still a wanderer on earth and not yet adorned with the glory of heaven, was so much beloved by a whole city that the people found it impossible almost to live without him, how will it be then when we shall see all the saints in the kingdom of heaven in their immense glory and majesty, and shall always be in their company? The chief of this heavenly company is Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world; next to Him is Mary, the blessed Mother of the Lord; after her come the principal courtiers and ministers of God, the holy angels distributed in nine choirs, the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, confessors, virgins, and all the remaining elect, the multitude of whom, according to St. John, no one can number; all are now in glory, true kings and queens of heaven; all are most beautiful, holy, wise, good, friendly, amiable creatures, in whom there can never be the least imperfection, or fault, or failing, or inordinate passion. There, says the Venerable Bede, “no one is injured, no one angry, no one envies another, no cupidity is felt.”[10] Thy society, O heavenly paradise! shall be wholly made up of holy friends of God who, renewed in mind and manners, adorned with all virtues, purged of all bad inclinations, freed from ail error, live together and rejoice in the Lord, united with each other in the bonds of the most tender, true, and intimate affection, and with the greatest uniformity of will and heart; so that neither their multitude makes any disorder, nor does their high position give rise to pride, nor does difference of standing cause confusion, nor inequality envy; because the glory of heaven is enough for all and fully satisfies all: each one has as much as he can have and wishes to have. “God will be all in all,”[11] says St. Augustine. And because each one of the blessed possesses God entirely, each one has everything in God without any want. O most delightful acquaintanceship and society! O most agreeable conversation! Behold there the holy apostles Peter and Paul, the princes and chiefs of the Church! See St. Joseph, the foster-father of Our Lord! O ye holy martyrs and invincible warriors of Christ! show me your glorious wounds. St. Ambrose, tell me of the labor and trouble you had to overcome the Arian heretics and to refute their errors! St. Francis Xavier, tell me of the long and wearisome journeys you made by land and sea to convert so many thousand Indians! And if I wish to see saints from foreign lands, there is a number of Indians, Japanese, Chinese, Africans, Americans, who are all now fellow-citizens and happy inhabitants of the heavenly city Jerusalem. And what joy! O most beautiful and pleasing countenance of Mary! I shall behold and contemplate thee for all eternity! Most loving heart of Mary, I shall praise, love, and bless thee without end! O Mary! I shall thank thee, as I am bound to do, a thousand thousand times! I am here, I shall say; to my great joy, I am here at last. O great Queen of heaven! my Advocate, my dearest Mother! it is for many years now that I have been constantly receiving thy benefits and blessings in abundance, and that I have heard and spoken to others of the power given thee, of the unspeakable graces bestowed on thee above all mere creatures; but now I am with thee myself; I see thee with my own eyes, and am always in thy presence like a child with its mother. Oh, what joy and happiness! But still more than all I find here Thy sacred humanity, Jesus Christ, my Saviour! During my life I have often honored Thee in pictures and images; many thousand times I have reverently kissed Thy sacred wounds; I have often received Thee, God and Man, in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. But away with the dark veil of faith! Away with the appearance of bread and wine! O beautiful, bright wounds of Christ! I behold you now with my own eyes. O exceedingly comely countenance of my Saviour! never shall I cease to behold and contemplate thee. How happy and glad I am, and I shall remain so for all eternity!
The difference of merits shall not cause any jealousy there. What do you think, my dear brethren, of this joyful company? True it is that the measure of joy in heaven shall correspond to the merits of each one, and he who has done more good on earth and amassed more merit shall be greater;md higher in joy and glory, and shall be preferred to others. But this inequality shall not give rise to envy or discontent in those who receive a lesser degree of glory; for every one shall be quite satisfied with what he has, and have no wish to be raised higher. How is that? The Holy Ghost by the Wise Man gives me a beautiful simile to explain this. “All her domestics,” and the inhabitants of the city of God, “are clothed with double garments.”[12] What else are those double garments, asks Cardinal Hugo, but the glory of the soul and of the body?[13] They are all provided with a double garment of the same material; but how? In what manner are they different in glory? Just as the clothing of a grownup man differs from that of a little child. See how the rich father acts who has several children to provide for; he gives each of them clothes of the same material, richly adorned, and embroidered with gold and silver; but does he have all the garments made of the same size? Not by any means. Why not? One child is taller and stouter than the others, and he must have clothes proportioned to his size. One requires eight ells of cloth, the other seven, the third six, and so on in proportion; one more, another less. Now ask the smallest of the children if he is dissatisfied because his coat has less cloth than that of his brother, and whether he is jealous of the other on that account, or would like to change with him. He will answer, no. But is not the larger garment of more value, worth more money than the smaller? True; yet as the little brother has a coat that suits him and looks well on him, he is content and does not want any other.
Because each one is content with his own glory. Shown by a simile. So it is when several guests are sitting down to table to enjoy themselves. They all partake of the same food, and drink the same wine; yet according to the difference of health and appetite one is able to consume more than another. But no one is therefore envious of his neighbor because every one eats and drinks as much as he pleases. O chosen children and domestics of God! in what desirable contentment and complete satisfaction you will live together in heaven! All partake of the same delicious banquet; all sit at the same table; all behold their God; all love their God; all possess their God; all rejoice in their God; and therefore all are clothed with the same precious garment of heavenly glory. Yet this garment is greater for one than for another, because it is suited to each one’s stature, that is, to the amount of sanctifying grace and merit that eacli one has amassed on earth. But there will be neither jealousy nor dissatisfaction on that account; for every one shall be fully satisfied with what he has, nor will any one desire another’s glory, since each one knows that more is not due to him, and would not suit him according to the measure of his merit.
Nay, each one shall rejoice on account of the glory of the others. Not only is there no jealousy, or envy, or discontent among the blessed, but, says St. Augustine, there is such a general, mutual love amongst them that each one rejoices at the glory of another as if it were his own; hence, “although the glory is different according to the difference of merit, yet the joy of all is general.”[14] Similar is the experience of two who love each other truly, and eat and drink at the same table; each rejoices, not only because he likes his food, but also because he sees his companion enjoying himself too. Thus it is, continues St. Augustine, that each of the elect in heaven has as many joys as he has companions in glory, and since the number of the latter is almost uncountable, the joys of each one are innumerable. “In that perfect charity of innumerable angels and men, where no one loves another less than himself, the joys are countless,”[15] such are the words of the saint. With good reason does he say that the joys are countless; for by the mutual charity that animates them, the bliss of each will be increased as much as he sees it increased in each of his companions. “For each will rejoice at the happiness of the others as much as he does at his own unspeakable bliss; and he will have as many joys as he has companions.”[16]
The multitude of the elect shall not cause disorder, Nor must we imagine that any disturbance or disorder will arise on account of the vast number of the elect, as is the case on earth when too many guests sit down to table to enjoy themnor the length of time fatigue in this company. selves, and there is such a clatter that, as the saying is, one can hardly hear himself talk. No; according to the words of St. John, “crying shall not be any more;”[17] there will be no shouting in heaven; all shall assemble in the most perfect order, and see and know each other clearly and completely as if they had been the most intimate friends on earth; and they shall associate with each other as pleasantly as if there were only two or three together. Nor will the length of time cause any weariness or fatigue in this society, as is so often the case with us on earth, because the friendship and love of the elect are founded on the immutable God. Thus through all eternity the joy of this banquet shall be as great and unchangeable as in the beginning. Oh, what bliss! Who shall understand it? Thus united and bound in the ties of the most tender love and affection, to live always with God, to associate with God as with a most dear friend!
So that the society of the blessed shall cause unspeakable happiness. Poor heart! according to the words of the Holy Ghost, thou findest a great treasure on earth if thou hast even one well-meaning friend; how wilt thou then be able to grasp that treasure in heaven, when thou shalt possess in the most intimate friendship so many thousands of thousands of elect souls, so many millions of the most beautiful angels, the Mother of the Lord, and Christ Himself, the Son of God? O my God! what joy and happiness await me in that most blissful and delightful society! If I am now so attracted by the friendly words of a mortal man whose manners are affable and whose company I love, being assured moreover that he means well with me, how will it be when I see myself surrounded for eternity by so many friends who have all the same intentions and inclinations as I, who are all one heart with me, whom I shall love most perfectly from the bottom of my heart, and who shall all most certainly love me in the same manner? who shall rejoice because it is well with me as I shall rejoice at their good fortune? who shall intone with me as with one mouth the undying song of jubilee: “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give glory to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come”?[18] Alleluia! True are thy words, O holy Prophet David: “Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house, O Lord! they shall praise Thee forever and ever,”[19] and rejoice with Thee!
Conclusion and exhortation to shun bad company, to love one another, and to serve God truly. My dear brethren, shall all of us who are here present be together in that happy society? Ah, if things turn out as we hope and trust, how shall we not congratulate each other, and exult and rejoice, that we at all events have all found our way without exception to the heavenly marriage-feast! Eh? he is no good who keeps away when true friends meet, as the old saying has it; and wo to that one of us who so lives as to be excluded from that heavenly society! Therefore as long as we are all here together, let us all serve God faithfully, give up that bad company that has hitherto kept us from good and led us into sin; let us now renounce that wicked intimacy, sustained by unlawful love, that has been such a hindrance to our returning to God with our whole hearts. Away out of the house with the person who has been an occasion of sin to me! I shall see and know you no longer; and we shall both of us bewail our blindness and wickedness, that we may meet and see each other in heaven. At once I will leave the house in which unlawful proposals have been made to me, in which I have been tempted to offend God grievously; never more shall I set foot therein, even if I have to suffer temporal loss and seek my bread elsewhere. Now let us avoid and shun dangerous company in which even the least stain might be attached to our hearts and consciences; those nightly gatherings in which, amid dancing and other amusements, the vain world endangers the purity of young people of both sexes. We shall say to ourselves: will this company be a consolation to me at the hour of death? If not, then I shall have nothing to do with it. I will rejoice, but in the Lord, as becomes the children of God, so that my conscience may remain pure and unstained. In heaven I shall have a perpetual feast; I shall console myself with that hope and reserve all my enjoyment till then. Now let us live in Christian unity and charity, and bear each other’s faults and shortcomings with meekness and patience, pardon all injuries, and say to ourselves: all men are my neighbors, my brothers and sisters, whom I hope to have as companions in heaven; therefore I will love them all as myself according to the law of my Saviour, that we may be one day together forever. If premature death separates one good friend from another, husband from wife, wife from husband, little children from their parents, why should you weep so much for that, and give way to such inordinate grief? Think for your consolation: they are gone before into the eternal dwelling, which is also the end of my journey; they await my coming; there in heaven we shall see each other again and remain together forever. Now let us frequent those holy companies of pious Christians who assemble in church to hear the word of God, or to praise God with united voices in public devotions. Thus we shall here in this vale of tears begin the occupation that shall keep us employed for eternity in the heavenly country, where in the holiest of all companies, amidst endless joys and pleasures, we shall love, praise, and magnify the God of infinite beauty for all eternity. Amen.
Another introduction to the same sermon for the first Sunday after Epiphany.
Text.
Descendit cum eis, et venit Nazareth.—Luke ii. 51.
“He went down with them and came to Nazareth.”
Introduction.
What consolation and joy it must have been to the heart of Mary, the Virgin Mother of Jesus, and to the heart of Joseph, His foster-father, to see increasing in age and stature, and exciting the wonder and admiration of all men by His wisdom and knowledge, the divine and more than blessed Child, longed for by heaven and earth, whom they had always looked after and cared for, with whom they had been constantly, whom they had carried in their arms and borne on their knees! We can understand the joy caused by the presence of Jesus from the great grief they experienced when they lost Him for three days. Ah, if one could have even a glimpse of the holy house at Nazareth, and see what that holy company did, hear what they said, and know how they spent the time! Truly, if there ever was a paradise on earth, it was that family in which Jesus, the Son of God. Mary, the Mother of God, and Joseph, the foster-father of God lived together. On earth, etc. Continues as above.
- ↑ Et ecce Elizabeth cognata tua, et ispa concepit filium in senectute sua: et hic mensis sextus est illi…Mansit autem Maria cum illa quasi mensibus tribus.—Luke i. 36, 56.
- ↑ Dixit quoque Dominus Deus: non est bonum esse hominem solum: faciamus ei adjutorium simile sibi.—Gen. ii. 18.
- ↑ Ecce tot annis servio tibi, et nunquam mandatum tunm præterivi, et nanquam dedisti mihi hœdum, ut cum amicis meis epularer. Tu semper mecum es, et omnia mea tua sunt.—Luke xv. 29, 31.
- ↑ Cum esset dies festus Domini, et factum esset prandium bonum in domo Tobiæ, dixit filio suo: vade, et adduc aliquos de tribu nostra, timentes Deum, ut epulentur nobiscum.—Tob. ii. 1, 2.
- ↑ Deliciæ meæ esse cum filiis hominum.—Prov. viii. 31.
- ↑ Amico fideli nulla est comparatio; et non est digna ponderatio auri et argenti ad bonitatem fidei illius. Amicus fidelis medicamentum vitæ et immortalitatis. Qui autem invenit illum, invenit thesauram.—Ecclus. vi. 15, 16, 14.
- ↑ Meum et tuum, frigidum illud verbum.
- ↑ Contemplemur quid sit ipsa societas beatorum spirituum.—S. Aug. l. de spiritu et anima.
- ↑ Nemo in hac vita digne pensare potest, quanta sit illa suavitas, illud melos angelorum audire, sanctorum societatem habere.
- ↑ Nemo lædetur, irascetur nemo, nemo invidebit, cupiditas nulla exardescet.
- ↑ Erit Deus omnia in omnibus.
- ↑ Omnes domestici ejus vestiti sunt duplicibus.—Prov. xxxi. 21.
- ↑ Duplex vestis est duplex stola beatitudinis.
- ↑ Dispar est gloria singulorum, sed communis est lætitia omnium.
- ↑ Id illa perfecta charitate innumerabilium angelorum et hominum, ubi nullus alium diliget minus quam seipsum, erit gaudium innumerabile.—S. Aug. l. de spiritu et anima.
- ↑ Tantum enim unusquisque gaudebit de beatitudine alterius, quantum de suo gaudlo ineffabili; et quot socios habebit, tot gaudia habebit.
- ↑ Neque clamor erit ultra.—Apoc. xxi. 4.
- ↑ Gaudeamus et exultemus; et demus gloriam ei; quia venerunt nuptiæ Agni.—Ibid. xix. 7.
- ↑ Beati qui habitant in domo tua, Domine: in’sæcula’sæculorum laudabunt te.—Ps. lxxxiii. 5.