Book I, Part 1, Chapter 5. Of the fifth Motive that obliges us to Virtue, which is the Benefit of our Justification

1. But what would the benefit of our redemption avail, were it not followed by that of justification, by which this extraordinary favor is applied to us ? For, as physic, though ever so well prepared, is wholly useless, if not applied to the distemper, so this heavenly medicine would work no cure in us, unless applied by means of this benefit we now treat of. This application is peculiarly the work of the Holy Ghost, to whom the sanctification of man is attributed. He it is who prevents the sinner with his mercy, who, having thus prevented, calls him, who justifies him when called, who conducts him, when justified, in the paths of justice, and thus raises him to perfection by the gift of perseverance, to crown him in the end with everlasting glory. These are the different degrees of grace contained under the inestimable favors of justification.

§ I. — 2. The first of all these graces is that of our vocation. When man, by the force of the divine Spirit, having broken all the bands and fetters of his sins, is freed from the tyrannic slavery of the devil, and raised from death to life ; when, of a sinner, he becomes a saint, and a child of God from a child of wrath, which is not to be done without the special help of the divine grace, as our Saviour testifies to us by these words : No man can come to me, except the Father, who hath sent me, draw him (John vi. 44) ; to signify to us that neither free-will, nor all the advantages of human nature, are sufficient of themselves to lift a man out of the depth of sin, and raise him to a state of grace, unless the Almighty lend him a helping hand. And as St. Thomas, explaining these very words, says, " That, as the stone naturally tends downwards, and cannot raise itself up again without some exterior assistance, so man, according to the bent of his nature, depraved by the corruption of sin, is always sinking downwards in the desire of earthly things ; so that God must, of necessity, lend a hand to lift him up to a supernatural love and desire of heavenly delights, or he will never be able to rise." This sentence very well deserves both our consideration and tears, for by it man comes to know himself, grows sensible of the corruption of his nature, and of the necessity he perpetually lies under of begging Almighty God's assistance.

3. But to come to the point, it is impossible for man to return from sin to grace, unless the almighty hand of God raise him up. But this is a favor of such value that there is no expressing how many graces are contained in it. For, there being nothing more certain than, that sin is, by this means, extracted from the soul, and that it is sin which is the cause of all its miseries, how great a good must this consequently be, which expels and banishes so many evils ? But, for as much as the consideration of this benefit is a powerful motive to make us grateful for it, and excite us to the pursuit of virtue, I will explain here, in short, the vast riches this benefit brings along with it.

4. First, then, it is by this that man is reconciled to God, and restored to his favor; for the greatest misery sin causes in our souls is the rendering them odious to God, who, as he is goodness itself, bears such a hatred to sin as is proportioned to his goodness. For this reason, thCy^&kprophet says, Thou, 0 Lord hat est all them that wof^'^qu^t^fiwu shalt destroy all them that tell lies; the Lord wi$<£hor both w&blood-thir sty and the deceit-

THE SINNER S GUIDE.

,. „™„ 41 ful man; Ps. v. 7, 8. It is this which, in effect, is the greatest of all evils, and the source from whence all others flow ; as the love of God, on the other side, is the greatest of all goods, and the very fountain of all the rest. This, therefore, is the evil we are freed from, by virtue of our justification, since by it we are restored to God's favor ; and, though we were his enemies before, this reconciles us to his love again, and that not in any mean degree, but in the highest that may be, which is that of a father for his son. This it is the beloved evangelist St. John so much extols, where he says, Behold what manner of charity the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called, and should be the sons of God ; St. John hi. 1 . He does not think it enough to say that we are called the children of God ; he adds, further, that we are really so; to the end that human distrust, which carries so much weakness and imperfection along with it, should have a clearer and more distinct view of the liberality of God's grace, and perceive that he has truly and really ennobled man, by making him his son, and not given him the title only. If, as we have said, it is so miserable a thing to be hated by God, what a happiness must it be to be beloved by him? Philosophers tell us that* the worse any thing is, the better and more excellent its contrary must be. Whence, we are to conclude that thing to be supremely good whose opposite is supremely evil, such as man is when he is become the object of God's hatred. If men use so much caution in this world, not to lose the love of their masters, fathers, princes, superiors or kings, how solicitous should we be to keep in favor with this powerful King, this heavenly Prince, this sovereign Lord and Father, in comparison of whom all earthly power and authority is a mere nothing ! This favor is the greater by how much it is more freely bestowed ; for, as man could do nothing before he was created to deserve his being, because at that time he was not ; so neither could he, after having once fallen into sin, do any thing at all that might deserve the gift of justification ; not because he was not, but because he was wicked and odious in the sight of God.

5. Another benefit, besides this, is, that justification takes off the sentence of everlasting torments, which man's sins had condemned him to. For, whereas sin makes a man the object of God's hatred, and it is impossible that any one should be hated by him, and not, at the same time, be in the greatest misery imaginable, it follows that the wicked, having cast Almighty God off from them, and ungratefully despised him, deserve very justly to be cast away by God, and to be despised and neglected by him. They deserve to be banished for ever from his presence, never to enjoy his company, never to enter into his most beautiful and glorious palace. And because, in separating themselves from him, they have had an irregular love for the creatures, it is but 6 D2 justice they should be condemned, for the same, to eternal pains and torments, which are so rigorous that, if we compare all that men suffer, in this life, to them, they will look more ideal than real torments. Let us add to these miseries the never-dying worm, which will continually gnaw the very bowels, and tear the consciences of the wicked ; add also, the company which these unhappy souls must always keep, . which shall be no pleasanter than that of all the damned. What shall I say of their horrible and melancholy habitation, full of darkness and confusion, where there never shall be any order, joy, rest or peace ; never any comfort, satisfaction or hope? where there shall be nothing but eternal weeping and gnashing of teeth, eternal rage and blasphemies ? God delivers those whom he justifies from all these miseries, and, having restored them to his grace and favor, frees them entirely from his wrath and vengeance.

6. There is another advantage, yet more spiritual than the former, which is the reforming and renewing of the inward man, all deformed and disfigured by sin. Because sin, in the first place, deprives the soul, not only of God, but of all its supernatural force, and of all those treasures and gifts of the Holy Ghost, with which it was enriched and adorned. So that, being once robbed of the riches of grace, it is immediately maimed and wounded in all its natural powers and faculties; because man, being a rational creature, and sin being an action against reason, as it is very natural for one contrary to destroy another, it follows of course, that, the greater and more numerous our sins are, the greater must be the ruin the faculties of the soul lie open to, not in themselves, but in the natural inclination they have to do good. Thus, sin makes the soul miserable, weak, slothful, inconstant in the doing of what is good, and bent upon all kind of evil, unable to resist temptations, and soon tired with walking in the way of God's commandments. It also deprives the soul of true liberty, and of that sovereignty of the spirit, and makes it a mere slave to the world, the flesh, the devil, and its own inordinate appetites; bringing it under a harder and more unhappy servitude than that of the Israelites in Egypt or Babylon. Nor are these all the mise-ries which sin reduces the soul to: it oppresses it, besides, in such a manner that it can neither hear God speaking to it, nor perceive those dreadful calamities with which it is threatened ; it is quite senseless to that sweet smell which comes from the virtues and examples of the saints ; it cannot taste how sweet the Lord is, nor feel the stroke of God's hand, any more than those graces which he pours into it, to excite it to the love of him. Besides all these ills, it takes away the peace and joy of conscience, and 30, by degrees, lessens and cools the fervor of the spirit, till it leaves poor man in such a miserable condition that he is foul, deformed and abominable in the sight of God, and of his saints,

7. The grace of justification delivers us from all these miseries. For God, who is an infinite abyss of mercy, thinks it not enough to pardon our sins, and receive us into his favor, unless he free our souls from all those disorders which sin had raised in it, by reforming and renewing the inward man. So that he heals our wounds, he cleanses us from our filth, he loosens our chains, he eases us of the burthen of our evil desires, he frees us from the slavery and captivity of the devil, he moderates the heat of our passions, he restores us to a true liberty, he beautifies the soul anew, he settles peace and joy in our consciences again, he enlivens our inward motions, he makes us forward to do what is good, and backward to do that which is not, he strengthens us against temptations, and, after all these benefits, he enriches us with a treasure of good works ; in fine, he repairs our inward man, with all its faculties, after such a manner, that the apostle does not hesitate to call those, who are thus justified, new men and new creatures; 2 Cor. iv. 16. So great is the grace of this renovation, that, when we receive it by baptism, it is called a regeneration (Galat. vi. 15) ; when by penance, a resurrection ; not only because the soul, by virtue of it, is raised from the death of sin to the life of grace, but because it holds some proportion with the glory of the general resurrection at the last day. This is so certainly true, that no tongue is able to declare the beauty of a justified soul, but only that divine Spirit which beautifies and makes it his temple and dwelling-place ; so that, if we should compare all the riches of the earth, all the honors of the world, all the benefits of nature, and all the virtues we are able to acquire, with the beauty and riches of such a soul, they would all appear base and deformed before it. Because the life of grace has the same advantages over that of nature, the beauty of the soul over that of the body, inward riches over the outward, and spiritual strength over the corporeal, as heaven has over earth, a spirit over a body, or eternity over time. For all these things are transitory, limited and only beautiful to the eyes of the body ; nor have they need of any more than a general assistance and support from God, whilst the others stand in need of a peculiar and supernatural help, and cannot be called temporal, because they lead us to eternity ; nor can we say they are altogether finite, because they make us worthy to partake the infinity of God, who has such an esteem and love for them that he is even enamoured with their beauty. And though God could do all these things only by his will, yet he was not so satisfied, but would adorn the soul with infused virtues, and the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost ; by the means whereof, not only the essence, but all the faculties of the soul are adorned and beautified with these heavenly graces.

8. To all these extraordinary benefits, his infinite goodness, and boundless liberality has added another, which is the presence of the Holy Ghost and of the blessed Trinity, which descends into the soul of him that is justified, to instruct him what use to make of all these riches ; like a good father, who not only leaves his estate to his son, but provides him a guardian to look after and manage it for him ; so that as the soul of one that is in sin is a den 01 vipers, dragons and serpents ; that is to say, a place where all sorts of wicked -spirits dwell, according to our Saviour (St. Matthew, ch. xii.) ; so the soul of a justified man becomes Qie habitation of the Holy Ghost and of the blessed Trinity, which, having expelled all these hellish monsters and wild beasts, make it its temple and place of abode, as our Saviour has expressly signified by these words : If any one love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and will make our abode with him: St. John xiv. 23. From which words the holy fathers and the school-men conclude that the Holy Ghost dwells, in a particular manner, in the soul of a justified man, distinguishing between the Holy Ghost and his gifts ; and declaring that such persons partake, not only of the gifts of the Holy Ghost, but of the Holy Ghost himself; who, entering into every soul thus disposed, makes it his temple and dwelling-place ; and, to this end, he himself cleanses, sanctifies and adorns it, with his gifts, that it may be a place worthy to entertain such a guest.

9. Add to all these benefits one more, which is, that all those who are justified become living members of Jesus Christ ; whereas they were dead before, and incapable, whilst they remained in that condition, of receiving the influence of his grace, whence many other singular privileges and excellences flow to it. For this is the reason why the Son of God loves and cherishes these persons as his own members, and, as their Head, is continually communicating force and vigor to them. And, lastly, the eternal Father behold them with eyes of affection, because he looks upon them as living members of his only Son, united to and incorporated with him by the participation of the Holy Ghost. And, therefore, their actions are pleasing to him, and meritorious to themselves, inasmuch as they are actions of the living members of his only Son Christ Jesus, who produces all that is good in them. This is, also, the reason why those persons, who are thus justified, whensoever they beg any favor of Almighty God, address themselves to him with a perfect confidence ; because they suppose that what they ask is not so much for themselves as for the Son of God, who is honored in them, and with them. For since the members can receive no benefit but the head must partake of it, Christ being their Head, they conceive that, when they ask for themselves, they ask for him. And, if what the apostle says be true, that they who sin against the members of Jesus Christ sin against Jesus Christ himself, and that he looks upon any injury offered to one of his members, upon his account, as done to him, as he said to the apostle himself, when he persecuted the church ; what wonder is it that the honor done to these members should be done to him? This being so, what confidence will not the just man bring with him to his prayers, when he considers that in begging for himself, he, in some measure, begs of the heavenly Father for his beloved Son? For when a favor is granted at the request of another, it may, doubtless, rather be said to be bestowed on him that begs, than on him that receives it ; as we see, that he who serves the poor for the love of God, serves God more than he does the poor.

10. There remains another benefit, to which the rest tend and are directed ; it is the right and title those that are justified have to eternal life. For God, who is no less merciful than he is just, as he on the one side condemns impenitent sinners to everlasting torments, so, on the other side, he rewards them who are truly penitent with everlasting happiness. And though he could forgive men their sins, and restore them to his friendship and favor, without raising them so high as to partake of his glory, yet he would not do so, but out of the excess of his mercy justified those whom he had pardoned, adopted those whom he had justified, and made them his heirs, giving them a share in his riches, and an inheritance with his only Son. Hence proceeds that lively hope, which comforts the just in all their tribulations, because they are assured beforehand of this inestimable treasure. For though they see themselves surrounded with all the troubles, infirmities and miseries of this life, they know very well that all the evils they can possibly suffer here are nothing, in comparison of the glory which is prepared for them hereafter; nay, on the contrary, they assure themselves, that our present tribulation, which is momentary and light, worketh for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory ; 2 Cor. iv. 17.

11. These are the advantages comprehended under that inestimable benefit of justification, which St. Augustine, with a great deal of reason, prefers before the creation of the whole world ; because God created all the world with one single word : but the justifying of a man after his fall was at the expense of his blood, and of those other most grievous pains and torments he endured. Now, if we are so strictly obliged to the Almighty's goodness for having created us, how much more do we owe his mercy, for having justified us; a favor we stand so much the more indebted for, as it cost him more than the other ?

12. And though no man can certainly tell whether he be justified or not, yet he may give a probable guess, especially by the change of his life ; as, for example, when one that before never scrupled at committing a thousand mortal sins, would not now commit one, though it were to gain the world : let him that perceives he is in such a happy condition, consider what an obligation lies upon him to serve his Lord, for having thus sanctified hin.; and at the same time delivered him from all those miseries, and heaped all those favors on him which we spoke of. But if he happen to be in the state of sin, I know nothing that can more efficaciously excite him to a desire of being freed from it, than the consideration of those misfortunes which sin draws after it, and of those treasures of blessings which go along with the incomparable benefit of justification.

§ II. Of some other Effects that are wrought "by the Holy Ghost in the Soul of a justified Man, and of the Sacrament of the Eucharist.— 13. Notwithstanding those effects which are produced by the Holy Ghost in the soul of one that is sanctified are very great, yet they do not end there. This divine Spirit deems it not enough to put us in the way of justice, but, after having led us in, still helps us forward, till, all the storms of this world being weathered, he brings us into the haven of salvation ; so that, when he has entered into a soul by the grace of justification, he does not remain idle there ; he not only honors such a soul with his presence, but also sanctifies it with his virtue, doing in it and with it whatever is necessary for the obtaining its salvation. He behaves himself there like a head of a family in his house, looking after and directing like a master teaching in his school, like a gardener cultivating in his garden, and like a king in his kingdom ruling and governing it. He further performs in the soul what the sun does in the world ; that is, he gives light to it : and, like the soul in the body, animates and enlivens it, though he does not act as the former does upon its matter, but as the head of a family in his house. Can man desire any greater happiness in this world than to have such a Guest, such a Guardian, such a Companion, such a Governor, such a Tutor, and such an Assistant within himself; for he being all things, exercises all capacities in the soul, in which he takes his habitation: thus we see, that, like fire, he enlightens the understanding, inflames the will, and raises us from earth to heaven. It is he who, like a dove, makes us simple, peaceable, gentle and kind to one another : he it is who, like a cloud, defends us against the burning lusts of the flesh, who moderates the heat of our passions, and, in fine, like a violent wind, forces and bends clown our wills towards that which is good, and carries them away from all such affections as may lead to evil. Hence it is, that they wTho are justified conceive such a horror of the vices they had so great a love for before their conversion, and so great an esteem for the virtues they so much detested before. This David very lively represents to us, speaking of himself in one of his Psalms, where he says, I hated and abhorred iniquity (Ps. cxviii. 163) ; and again, in the same Psalm, I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches ; ver. 14. Who was it but the Holy Ghost, that occasioned this alteration ? for he. like a loving mother, put wormwood upon the breasts of this world, and most delicious honey into the commandments of God.

This plainly shows, that whatsoever good we do, what progress soever we make, we are entirely obliged to the Holy Ghost, for the same. So that, if we are converted from sin, it is by his grace ; if we embrace virtue, it is he that brings us to it ; if we persevere in it, it is by his assistance ; if, in short, we one day receive the reward he has promised, it is he himself that gives it us : for which reason St. Augustine says very well, God rewards his own benefits when he rewards our services. So that one favor procures us another, and one mercy is only a step to the obtaining of another. The holy patriarch Joseph (Gen. xlii. 25) thought it not enough to give his brothers the corn they went to buy in Egypt, but ordered his servants to put the money they brought to pay for it into the mouth of the very sack : God in some measure does the same with his elect, for he gives them not only eternal life, but grace and a good life to purchase it. Whereupon Eusebius Emissenus says excellently well, " that he who is adorned, to the end that he may show mercy, has showed mercy already, when he gave us grace to adore him."

Let every man, therefore, consider how he has spent his life, and reflect upon all those favors God has bestowed on him, and on all those crimes, these frauds, adulteries, thefts and sacrileges, which he has preserved him from falling into, and by this means he will see upon what accounts he stands indebted to him : because, according to St. Augustine, it is no less mercy to preserve us from falling into sin, than to pardon it when committed, but much greater ; and, therefore, the same saint, writing to a virgin, says, " Man is to make account, that God has pardoned him all sorts of sin, inasmuch as he has given him grace not to commil them;" Lib. 2. Conf. c. 7. Let not, therefore, your love be little, as if he had pardoned you but little ; rather endeavour to love much, because you have received much. For if a man loves a creditor that forgives a great debt, how much more reason has he to love a Benefactor that bestows so much on him ? For he who has lived chastely all his lifetime, has, therefore, continued so, because he had God to direct and guide him ; he who, of an impure person, becomes pure, has had God to correct him ; and he who continues impure to the end, is justly forsaken by Almighty God. This being a matter beyond all doubt, it only remains that we say, with the prophet, Let my mouth be filled with praise, that I may sing thy glory and honor all day ; Ps. lxx. 8. Upon which words St. Augustine says, " What means all the day ? Nothing else, but that I will praise thee for ever, and without ceasing; in my prosperity, because thou comfortest me ; in my adversity, because thou chastisest me ; since I have had my being, because it is from thee that I have received it ; when I sinned, because thou forgavest ; when I return to thee, because thou receivedst me ; and when I persevered to the end, because thou rewardest me. For this reason my mouth shall be filled with thy praise, O Lord, and I will sing thy glory all the day."

14. It would be proper here to speak of the benefit of the Sacraments, which are the instruments of our justification, and particularly of that of Baptism, as also of the light of faith, and of the grace we receive with it ; but having treated this subject elsewhere, I shall add no more at present ; yet I cannot pass in silence that grace of graces, that sacrament of sacraments, by virtue of which God is pleased to live with us on earth, to give himself every day to us as our food and as our sovereign remedy. He was sacrified on the cross but once for our sakes ; but here he is daily offered up to his Father on the altar, a propitiation for our sins. This is my body which is given for you, says he ; do this for a commemoration of me ; Luke xxii. 19. O precious pledge of our salvation ! O divine sacrifice! O most acceptable victim ! Bread of life! Most delicious nourishment! Food of kings! O sweet manna, which contains whatsoever is pleasant and delightful ! Who can ever be able to praise you according to your deserts ? who can worthily receive ? who can honor you with due respect and reverence ? My soul quite loses itself, when it thinks of you ; my tongue fails me ; nor am I able to express the least part of your wonders as I desire to do.

Had our Lord bestowed this favor upon none but innocent and holy men, it would have still been inestimable ; how great, then, must this unparalled charity be, which, after having moved him to communicate himself so freely to those, has further prevailed on him to pass through the impure hands of many wicked priests, whose souls are the habitations of devils, whose bodies are vessels of con iption, whose lives are continual sacrileges, and spent in nothing else but in sin and iniquity ? And yet, that he may visit and comfort his friends, he suffers himself to be touched by such polluted hands, to be received into such profane mouths, and to be buried in their noisome and abominable breasts. His body was sold but once; but in this sacrament he is sold a thousand times. He was scorned and despised but once in his passion ; whereas these impious priests offer him infinite affronts and injuries at the very table of the altar. He was once crucified between two thieves ; but here he is crucified millions of times in the hands of sinners.

15. Who is there that will pretend, after all this, to be able to pay due respect and honor to a Lord that has consulted our interest so many several ways ? What returns can we make for so wonderful a nourishment ? If servants serve their masters for a poor livelihood, if soldiers for their pay expose themselves to fire and sword, what ought we to do for this Lord, who maintains us with this heavenly and immortal food ? If God, in the old law, required so great an acknowledgment for the manna he sent from heaven, though it was corruptible food, what returns will he expect for this, which, besides being exempt from corruption, makes all those who receive it worthily incorruptible? If the Son of God thanks his Father, in the gospel, for only one meal of barley-bread, what kinds of thanks should we give him for this bread of life ? If we are so much indebted to him for the nourishment he gives us to preserve our being, how much greater is our obligation for that food which preserves in us the supernatural being of grace ? For we do not commend a horse purely because he is a horse, but because he is a good horse ; nor wine because it is wine, but because it is good wine; nor man because he is man, but because he is a good man. If you are so much obliged to him that made you man, how much greater is your obligation for having made you a good man? If the acknowledgment be so great on account of corporal benefits, what should it be for the spiritual ? If you are so deeply indebted for the gifts of nature, how much more do we owe for those graces ? And if, to conclude, his having made you a son of Adam, lays so strict a tie of gratitude on you, how much must you be obliged to him for having made you a son of God himself ? For it is certainly true, as Eusebius Emissenus says, " That the day we are born to eternity is infinitely better than that which brought us forth to the toils and* dangers of this world/'

This, dear Christian, is another motive, and, as it were, a new chain added to the others, to bind your hearts the faster, and oblige you to the pursuit of virtue and service of this Lord.