death, the spiritual government of the church chiefly inhered. And in this church not the pope but Christ is the chief ruler who presides over that place, that is, the basilica or apostolic dignity, and he rules the church which is his bride. But, if in the pope is discovered a life at variance with Christ, lived in pride, greed, restless impatience, ambition, and in the flaunting of power and giving preponderance to his own law over the law of Christ—then is seen the abomination of the desolation of Christ's virtues standing in the holy place, where it ought not to stand, as Christ said, Mark 13:14. Wherefore, if faithful souls should observe anywhere the spiritual state of the church set up, where one head of a family[1] was accustomed to preside over his house, who graciously received all his servants whom he had invited, took care of them by warming them, and defended them by helping them, but if in that same house he should find that one presides over a condition altogether the opposite, it would not be wondered at if many were confounded, just as though a traveller wished to be entertained by a true head of a household, a man of large hospitality, goodness and good nature, and of an altogether virtuous life, and afterward should find a monstrous wild beast which was wont to tyrannize over the guests by giving them cold comfort and by craft, cruelty and avarice and betrayal—the traveller, entering the house and seeing such an one sitting in the chair of the good head of the household, would wonder, be troubled and not a little confounded at his looks. So the abomination of desolation may be understood in accord with Zech. 11:15: "Take unto thee yet again the instruments of a foolish shepherd, for I will raise up a shepherd in the land which will not visit those which are cut off, neither seek those which are scattered nor heal that which is broken nor feed that which is sound; but he will eat the flesh of the fat sheep and will tear their hoofs in
- ↑ This is taken from Gregory the Great, Migne, 76: 1154.
