Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
First, by the parable of the widow who by her persistence extorts justice from an unjust judge, He teaches that one must always pray. Second, in verse 9, by the parable of the penitent Publican, who is therefore justified over the proud Pharisee, He teaches that the humble are exalted and the proud are humbled. Third, in verse 15, He blesses infants. Fourth, in verse 18, He advises a ruler who keeps the commandments of God to follow the counsels of perfection, that if he wishes to be perfect, he should follow Christ naked and stripped. Then to Peter, who had done this and asked for a reward, He promises more in this age, and in the future eternal life. Fifth, in verse 31, He foretells His imminent passion, death, and resurrection. Sixth, in verse 35, near Jericho He gives sight to a blind man.
We heard the third part at Matthew 19:13; the fourth at the same place, verse 16; the fifth at Matthew 20:22; the sixth at the same place, verse 29. Therefore the first and second remain to be explained here.
Vulgate Text: Luke 18:1-43
1. And He spoke also a parable to them, that they ought always to pray, and not to faint, 2. saying: There was a certain judge in a certain city, who feared not God, nor regarded man. 3. And there was a certain widow in that city, and she came to him, saying: Avenge me of my adversary. 4. And he would not for a long time. But afterwards he said within himself: Although I do not fear God, nor regard man, 5. yet because this widow is troublesome to me, I will avenge her, lest in the end she come and strike me in the face. 6. And the Lord said: Hear what the unjust judge says. 7. And will not God avenge His elect, who cry to Him day and night, and will He have patience with them? 8. I say to you, that He will quickly avenge them. But yet the Son of Man, when He comes, shall He find, think you, faith on earth? 9. And He spoke also to some who trusted in themselves as just, and despised others, this parable: 10. Two men went up into the temple to pray: the one a Pharisee, and the other a Publican. 11. The Pharisee standing, prayed thus within himself: O God, I give You thanks that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers; as also is this publican. 12. I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that I possess. 13. And the Publican, standing afar off, would not so much as lift up his eyes toward heaven; but struck his breast, saying: O God, be merciful to me a sinner. 14. I say to you, this man went down into his house justified rather than the other; because everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted. 15. And they brought unto Him also infants, that He might touch them. Which when the disciples saw, they rebuked them. 16. But Jesus, calling them together, said: Allow the children to come to Me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God. 17. Amen I say to you: Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a child shall not enter into it. 18. And a certain ruler asked Him, saying: Good Master, what shall I do to possess eternal life? 19. And Jesus said to him: Why do you call Me good? None is good but God alone. 20. You know the commandments: You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. Honor your father and mother. 21. Who said: All these things have I kept from my youth. 22. Which when Jesus had heard, He said to him: Yet one thing is lacking to you: sell all whatever you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me. 23. He having heard these things, became sorrowful, for he was very rich. 24. And Jesus seeing him become sorrowful, said: How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 25. For it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 26. And they that heard it said: Who then can be saved? 27. He said to them: The things that are impossible with men are possible with God. 28. Then Peter said: Behold, we have left all things and have followed You. 29. Who said to them: Amen I say to you, there is no man that has left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, 30. who shall not receive much more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting. 31. Then Jesus took unto Him the Twelve, and said to them: Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things shall be accomplished which were written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man. 32. For He shall be delivered to the Gentiles, and shall be mocked and scourged and spit upon; 33. and after they have scourged Him, they will put Him to death, and the third day He shall rise again. 34. And they understood none of these things, and this word was hidden from them, and they understood not the things that were said. 35. Now it came to pass, when He drew near to Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the wayside, begging. 36. And when he heard the multitude passing by, he asked what this meant. 37. And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. 38. And he cried out, saying: Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. 39. And they that went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace. But he cried out much more: Son of David, have mercy on me. 40. And Jesus standing, commanded him to be brought unto Him. And when he was come near, He asked him, 41. saying: What will you that I do to you? But he said: Lord, that I may see. 42. And Jesus said to him: Receive your sight; your faith has made you whole. 43. And immediately he saw, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.
Verse 1: A Parable That They Ought Always to Pray
1. AND HE SPOKE ALSO A PARABLE TO THEM (to show them through it), THAT (because) THEY OUGHT ALWAYS TO PRAY (the Syriac reads: that they should pray at all times; likewise the Arabic) AND NOT TO FAINT. — In the preceding chapter, at the end, Christ had said that persecutions and tribulations were pressing upon the Apostles and the faithful, in which they would desire to see Christ, so as to seek and receive help and counsel from Him. Now He suggests to them a remedy against all adversities, and a way of approaching Him, namely prayer; for He hears and answers those who pray, instructs, directs, and strengthens them, etc.
ONE OUGHT ALWAYS TO PRAY. — Hence the heretics called Euchites wanted to pray always and never work with their hands; but foolishly, for it is written: "If any man will not work, neither let him eat," 2 Thessalonians 3:10. I say therefore that the word "always" here means the same as diligently, perseveringly, carefully, assiduously, as much as other business allows, at fitting times, especially when temptation, persecution, and affliction are pressing. For it is impossible that a man should pray at absolutely every moment; for at some time he must eat, sleep, work, etc. Therefore the word "always" here signifies not the continuation of prayer but its perseverance; namely, that at opportune times we should devote ourselves to prayer and not desist from it until we obtain what we need and what we ask for. Hence, explaining, He adds: "And not to faint;" in Greek μὴ ἐκκακεῖν, that is, not to grow weary. The reason is that so many difficulties and troubles arise daily that the whole life of man seems to be a trial and a warfare. Therefore, since man is weak and powerless to overcome them, he must seek help and strength from God through constant prayer, lest he succumb. Therefore the entire life of a Christian ought to be, as it were, a prayer.
Again, "always" means frequently, often, at the appointed hours of the Church, and so that you do nothing without first praying, and refer everything to the glory of God. Thus we commonly say of a very studious person: This young man always studies, meaning he studies frequently and diligently. So Bede, who also adds mystically: "He always prays who always works according to God," and the Gloss: "He always prays who always does good."
Furthermore, "the Lord wills," says St. Chrysostom, "that you receive by asking what He desires to bestow: how great a happiness has been granted you, to converse with God through prayers, to ask for what you desire! The court and the ears of princes are open to few, but those of God to all who are willing." He alludes to Ecclesiasticus 18:22: "Let nothing hinder you from praying always." Hence also the Apostle, Ephesians 6:18: "Praying at all times;" and 1 Thessalonians 5:17: "Pray without ceasing." See what I have noted on these three passages. For so great is the power and efficacy of prayer, so great its effects and fruits, that there is nothing it cannot obtain and overcome. Hear Climacus, Step 28, at the beginning: "Prayer, if you consider its nature or quality, is a familiar conversation and union of man with God; but if you consider its power or efficacy, it is the preservation of the world, reconciliation with God, the mother of tears and again their daughter, the propitiation of sins, the bridge over temptations, the bulwark against the assault of afflictions, the crushing and extinction of wars, the work of angels, the nourishment of all spirits, future joy, everlasting activity, the wellspring of virtues, the procurer of divine graces." Not content with these, he adds far more and greater things: "Spiritual progress, the nourishment of the soul, the illumination of the mind, the axe of despair, the demonstration of hope, the consolation of sorrow, the riches of monks, the treasure of hermits, the diminution of anger, the mirror of religious progress, the indicator of measure, the declaration of one's state, the signification of future things, the token of future glory."
Thus concerning St. Cecilia (whose solemn feast we celebrate today in Rome) the Church sings: "She always carried the Gospel of Christ in her bosom, and neither by day nor by night did she cease from divine conversations and prayer. While the organs played, Cecilia sang to the Lord, saying: Let my heart be made immaculate, that I may not be confounded. Valerian (her husband) found Cecilia in her chamber praying with an angel." By this continual prayer she merited to be given an angel as guardian of her virginity, the conversion of Valerian her husband, of Tiburtius, and of four hundred others, and finally a glorious martyrdom with them all.
Verse 2: A Judge Who Feared Neither God Nor Man
2. SAYING: THERE WAS A CERTAIN JUDGE IN A CERTAIN CITY, WHO DID NOT FEAR GOD AND DID NOT RESPECT MAN: — namely, an impious, unjust, cruel, and godless man, who feared neither the vengeance of God nor the reproaches of men, and who cared for neither his conscience nor his reputation. For the impious, who do not fear God, are usually moved by shame before men, lest they openly commit impious acts for which they would be publicly despised and considered wicked and infamous. But this man was moved neither by fear of God nor by shame before men; therefore he had reached the summit of all wickedness, says Theophylact.
Verse 3: The Widow Who Sought Vindication
3. AND THERE WAS A CERTAIN WIDOW IN THAT CITY, AND SHE CAME TO HIM, SAYING: AVENGE ME OF MY ADVERSARY — in a lawsuit and legal case. In Greek, ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀντιδίκου μου, that is, from the one who litigates against me. "Avenge," that is, defend my right, and free my innocence, justice, substance, and reputation, which are unjustly oppressed by my adversary, who is powerful, in the lawsuit. For she does not seek vengeance, but justice, namely, to be freed from the unjust violence of her adversary, and to have restored to her what is owed to her by right.
Verse 4: He Would Not for a Long Time
4. AND HE WOULD NOT FOR A LONG TIME (partly because of his own cruelty and perversity, partly because he was hoping for great gifts and wealth from the adversary). BUT AFTER THESE THINGS HE SAID WITHIN HIMSELF: ALTHOUGH I DO NOT FEAR GOD, NOR RESPECT MAN — that is to say: Although I am unjust, shameless, and brazen-faced.
Verse 5: Lest She Strike Me in the Face
5. YET BECAUSE THIS WIDOW IS TROUBLESOME TO ME, I WILL AVENGE HER (her right from the oppression of her adversary, and restore it to the widow), LEST IN THE END SHE COME AND STRIKE ME IN THE FACE. — For "in the end," the Greek is εἰς τέλος, that is, in the end, finally, at the last time. But Euthymius, St. Augustine, and Bede translate it "to the end," that is, continually, unceasingly. The Syriac reads: at all times. The Arabic reads: always. As if to say: lest by coming continually she always be troublesome to me.
STRIKE ME IN THE FACE. — Sugillo (both forms are used) properly means the same as to beat the face and make it black and blue. It is derived from 'sucking,' as if to say: By striking, I draw out, as it were by sucking, the juice, that is, the blood, moisture, and bruise to the forehead, eyes, and cheeks. So Ambrosius Calepinus. For this is properly what the Greek ὑπωπιάζω signifies, about which I spoke at 1 Corinthians 9, last verse. But St. Isidore says: Sugillare, he says, is derived as if from subgulare, that is, to suck blood from someone's throat, as ferrets and foxes do, which bite through the throat and gullet of hens in order to suck out their blood.
"To strike in the face" therefore properly means to beat the head with blows, to disfigure the face with bruises, and to stain it with marks of blood. Hence metaphorically, first, it means the same as to stun the head and ears with clamor, and many understand it this way here. Hence the Syriac translates: lest she cause me annoyance at all times. The Arabic: lest she always come to trouble me. As if to say: I will vindicate the widow's right, lest she in the end strike me in the face, that is, stun my head with her lamentations, and with her wailings, as with blows, constantly beat, scourge, and, as it were, bruise my forehead and ears. Hence St. Augustine translates it, "lest she weary me." Hear him, Book II, Questions on the Gospels, Question 45: "He yielded to the widow's constant entreaties in order to avenge her, lest she cause him weariness; for this is what he says: Lest coming she strike me in the face." The same, Letter 121 to Proba, chapter 8: "By frequently entreating the unjust judge," he says, "she bent him to listen, not moved by justice or mercy, but overcome by weariness." So also Bede, Euthymius, Francis Lucas, and others from the Greek: just as this widow by her persistence and importunity in pleading overcame the judge, so by the same means we overcome God. Hear St. Chrysostom, Book II, On Praying to God, where he beautifully amplifies this parable: "What fear could not do, entreaty did: the threats and the expectation of vengeance did not move the man to justice; but when the suppliant widow came forward, she made the fierce judge gentle. What then is to be inferred about a kind God, if a supplicating widow rendered so gentle a cruel judge!" Chrysostom adds that Christ here wishes to show that the power of prayer is supreme, from the fact that it bends even unjust and merciless judges to piety and mercy.
Second, "to strike in the face" is transferred metaphorically from the body to the mind, and means to brand with disgrace, to cause shame, to damage one's reputation, to accuse. As if to say: to ruin one's good name, to defame, to impute a crime. Hence Ulpian: "If the action is not a notorious one," he says, "or does not inflict disgrace." Thus we commonly say: He strikes me in the face, meaning he accuses and defames me. Hence Vatablus translates, "lest she reproach me." And in this sense our translator seems to have rendered "lest in the end she come and strike me in the face," as if to say: Lest, overcome by my unfairness, she finally defame me and accuse me before the governor, and thus never cease to make trouble for me until I am punished and stripped of my authority by the governor. Therefore, although this shameless judge respected neither God nor men, he nevertheless feared for himself and his magistracy, lest he be removed from his office of judging by the governor and deprived of his honor and profit, and therefore he rendered to the widow her right.
Thus the Emperor Trajan, as he was setting out for war, was entreated by a widow to avenge the unjust slaying of her son. When he replied that he would do so when he returned from war, the widow answered him: "Either administer justice, or cease to be Emperor." Therefore Trajan dismounted from his horse and did not depart until he had personally carried out the widow's judgment. So his Life records, and from it John Damascene in his Oration for the Dead, and John the Deacon in the Life of St. Gregory, Book II, chapter 44. Where he also adds that St. Gregory, moved by this piety of Trajan, prayed for him and freed him from the punishments of hell; which, however, Baronius, Bellarmine, and others consider to be a fable.
Allegorically: St. Augustine, Book II, Questions on the Gospels, Question 45: The widow, he says, is the Church, which seems desolate until Christ her Bridegroom returns from heaven for judgment, He who now secretly cares for her. She desires vengeance, namely, that all the wicked may perish, either by conversion to justice or by the loss of their power, so that they may not harm the pious.
Tropologically: The widow is the soul, says Theophylact, which has expelled her former husband, that is, the devil, who for this reason opposes her, and which approaches God. The judge is God, who fears no one and shows no favoritism. The widow, therefore, is every soul that is desolate and afflicted, which prays to the judge, that is, to God, to be freed from the adversary, that is, from her enemies. But because it is unfitting, indeed unworthy, that God should be compared to an unjust and impious judge, as Euthymius rightly teaches from Chrysostom, it is better to say that Christ here argues not from comparison and similitude, but from the lesser to the greater: as if to say, if an impious judge, overcome by the persistence of a widow's prayers, turned injustice into justice and granted the widow her right, how much more will God do so, who is most just, indeed justice itself, avenging all injustice! So St. Augustine in the passage cited, Chrysostom, and Theophylact, and this will soon be clear in verse 7.
Verse 6: Hear What the Unjust Judge Says
6. AND THE LORD SAID: HEAR WHAT THE UNJUST JUDGE SAYS.
Verse 7: Will Not God Avenge His Elect
7. AND WILL NOT GOD AVENGE HIS ELECT, WHO CRY TO HIM DAY AND NIGHT, AND WILL HE HAVE PATIENCE WITH THEM? — "But God," the leader of all justice, says Theophylact, the judge and avenger. Hence David, Psalm 33:18: "The just cried, and the Lord heard them, and delivered them out of all their tribulations." "This unjust judge," says St. Augustine, Book II, Questions on the Gospels, Question 45, "was employed not from likeness but from contrast, so that the Lord might show how much more confident those should be who pray to God. They persistently petition the fountain of justice and mercy, since before the most unjust judge, the perseverance of the petitioner prevailed even to the effect of fulfilling his desire." Hence the Arabic version translates: Hear what the judge of iniquity said: Will not God then more fittingly vindicate His elect, who call upon Him day and night?
WILL HE HAVE PATIENCE WITH THEM? — In Greek μακροθυμεῖ, that is, He will be longsuffering, that is, slow and tardy with them, namely in hearing and vindicating His elect; as if to say: Will God patiently and for a long time endure that His elect be constantly afflicted by the wicked, and not free them, or punish the wicked? By no means: for this would be foreign to God's fatherly providence, charity, and justice toward His own. The Syriac has: and He will draw out His spirit upon them. This alludes to Sirach ch. 35, verses 21 and 22: "The prayer of him who humbles himself penetrates the clouds," etc. And: "The Lord will not delay, but will judge the just, and will execute judgment, and the Almighty will not have patience with them." Very similar to this is the passage in Apocalypse 6:18, where the souls of those slain for Christ cry out to God, demanding vengeance, and hear from Him that they should rest yet a little while, until their fellow servants are completed. See what I annotated on those passages.
Morally: see here how great is the dignity, necessity, and power of prayer. The necessity, that through it we may be freed from all temptations and tribulations by which we are everywhere and always surrounded; therefore just as the body needs the soul in order to live naturally, so the soul needs prayer in order to live spiritually; and just as man cannot live without breathing, so neither without prayer: for by praying he sends forth the spirit of desire to God, and from Him in turn receives the spirit of the desired virtue, just as a man by breathing sends forth the old breath and draws in and admits new air. The dignity, because through prayer we converse with God, as the angels do. The power, because through it we overcome all adversities and hardships.
Hear St. Chrysostom, book II, On Praying to God: Prayer, he says, is the source of every good and the procurer of eternal life: "Of what great dignity it is to mix conversation with God! Prayer associates us with the angels: for to pray always is the work of angels, who being wholly intent on God, teach us, while we pray, to forget our human nature, and being occupied with both alertness and trembling of mind, to look at nothing of present things, but to consider ourselves as standing in the midst of angels, and performing the same sacrifice with them." Hence he immediately adds: "With what wisdom, what virtue, what prudence, what goodness, what sobriety, what equity of manners, prayer and supplication fills them! Therefore he by no means erred from the truth who affirmed that prayer is the cause of all virtue and justice, and that nothing of what contributes to piety can come to a soul in which prayer and supplication are not present." He then adds: "Just as a city not surrounded by walls easily falls into the power of enemies, for that reason which must absolutely be warded off from the course it had entered: so also the devil easily reduces to his dominion a soul not fortified by prayers, and with little effort fills it with every kind of wickedness. For first indeed he does not dare to approach more closely a soul fortified by prayers, fearing the strength and fortitude that prayer has supplied to it, invigorating the spirit more than food invigorates the body." And shortly after: "As water is the life of a fish, so prayer is yours. Prayer makes us temples of Christ." The same, book I: "As the sun, he says, provides light to the body, so prayer is light to the soul. Therefore if it is harmful for a blind man not to behold the sun, how much graver a loss it is for a Christian man if he does not pray constantly, nor by praying bring Christ's light into his soul! By which we also attain this, that we cease to be mortal and temporary; mortal indeed by nature, but by the conversation and fellowship we have with God, passing over to immortal life. For it is necessary that he who has familiarity with God should rise above both death and all things subject to corruption." The Author of the Imperfect Work, hom. 43 on Matthew: "As incense, he says, well prepared delights the man who smells it, so the prayer of the just is sweet before God." St. Lawrence Justinian, book On the Tree of Life, ch. 5, On Prayer: "As, he says, the prize of the contest is not attained by one who fails before reaching the goal, so the fruit of prayer is lost by whoever has not been importunate in it."
Verse 8: Shall He Find Faith on Earth
8. A stimulus to pray always, as if to say: Gradually faith declines more and more, therefore scandals and persecutions increase; wherefore arm yourselves against them with constant prayer, lest you be overcome by them. So St. Augustine, tract. 36, On the Words of the Lord according to Luke, who having said that faith is the fountain of prayer, adds: "Therefore that we may pray, let us believe; and that faith itself by which we pray may not fail, let us pray: faith pours forth prayer, and prayer once poured forth obtains firmness of faith. For indeed, lest faith should fail in temptations, the Lord said: Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation. What is it to enter into temptation, except to depart from faith? To the extent that temptation gains ground, to that extent faith declines. And to the extent that temptation declines, to that extent faith gains ground."
HE WILL FIND FAITH — perfect faith, that is, formed by sure confidence and charity. For this, says St. Augustine in the cited passage, is scarcely found on earth, although the Church of the faithful is full of imperfect and quasi half-dead faith. For perfect faith alone strengthens a man to pray continually and to overcome all tribulations bravely. And thus Christ explains Himself in Matthew 24:12, saying: "Because iniquity has abounded, the charity of many will grow cold; but he who perseveres to the end, he shall be saved."
Moreover, this will especially happen at the end of the world, before the coming of Christ to judgment, when men will be eating and drinking, and giving themselves to pleasures, not thinking about the judgment, as Christ said in chapter 17:25 and following. So Bede: When Christ, he says, shall appear, there will be a great scarcity of the elect; indeed, orthodox faith will then fail in many. "For false prophets will arise and give great signs and wonders, so as to lead into error (if it were possible) even the elect." Matthew 24:24. And, as St. Peter says, epistle II, ch. 5:3: "In the last days there will come deceitful scoffers, walking according to their own lusts, saying: Where is the promise, or His coming?" As if to say: They will deny that Christ will return for judgment, when His return is already imminent; they give the reason: "For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation;" as if they were saying: Nature established the world, the same nature maintains the course of the world with the same tenor, and will always perpetuate it; therefore there is no God who will cut it short, there is no divine power that will judge and punish our deeds.
Verse 9: To Those Who Trusted in Themselves as Just
By the preceding parable Christ taught one condition of prayer, namely perseverance; here He teaches another, namely humility: for a humble prayer is heard by God, while a proud one is rejected, according to the saying: "The prayer of him who humbles himself will penetrate the clouds, and until it draws near, he will not be comforted, and he will not depart until the Most High regards it," Sirach ch. 35:21. See what was said there. Moreover, the Fathers connect this with the preceding verse, namely with faith, as follows: St. Augustine, serm. 36, On the Words of the Lord: Because faith belongs not to the proud but to the humble, he adds a parable about humility against pride. Theophylactus: Because pride, more than other passions, torments the minds of men, He warns about it more frequently. The Gloss: Lest anyone, on account of what was just said, should flatter himself about his knowledge or confession of faith, He shows that God examines not the words of faith but works, among which humility reigns supreme.
9. AND HE SPOKE ALSO TO CERTAIN ONES WHO TRUSTED IN THEMSELVES AS JUST, AND DESPISED OTHERS, THIS PARABLE — which nevertheless could truly have happened: indeed it often happens that this parable is simultaneously a true history. This is the title of the parable, signifying with what aim and purpose the parable is introduced; namely to rebuke the Pharisees' presumptuous confidence, boasting, and contempt for others.
TRUSTED AS JUST. — In Greek, πεποιθότας ἐφ' ἑαυτοῖς, that is, persuaded and persuading themselves that they are just.
Verse 10: The Pharisee and the Publican
10. TWO MEN WENT UP INTO THE TEMPLE TO PRAY: ONE A PHARISEE (swollen and puffed up with Pharisaical pride), AND THE OTHER A PUBLICAN — acknowledging himself with humble confession to be a publican, that is, a sinner, and begging pardon. See what was said at Matthew 5:46. Hence publicans were infamous among the Jews, and therefore were barred from public offices; indeed they were called Parisim, that is, public robbers: for, as Suidas says from Jamblichus, "the life of publicans is open violence (on account of unjust exactions and taxes), unpunished robbery, business conducted by no rule, shameless commerce."
Verse 11: The Pharisee Standing Prayed Thus With Himself
11. THE PHARISEE STANDING, PRAYED THUS WITH HIMSELF: GOD, I GIVE YOU THANKS THAT I AM NOT LIKE THE REST OF MEN: EXTORTIONERS, UNJUST, ADULTERERS; OR EVEN LIKE THIS PUBLICAN. — "Standing": the Jews partly knelt when praying, partly stood, when the prayer, sacrifice, or psalmody was longer; for there were no seats in the temple for sitting, except for the pontiff and the king alone, as I showed at Ezekiel 46:2. Yet "standing" is added here to note the haughtiness of the Pharisee, that he raised his face to heaven, as if about to dispute with God, or about to enter into and exact an accounting of his merits; for it is proper to a humble man, says Theophylactus, to be humbled even in appearance; but this man is recognized as proud both in bearing and in gesture. Hence in Greek it is σταθείς, that is, standing firm, erect; the Arabic has: But the Pharisee stood praying. The Pharisee therefore stood proud: first, as if secure and confident in his merits, as if challenging God to judgment; second, he stood first, that is, among the foremost, near the altar; third, he stood with neck and face raised and fixed toward heaven, as if it were owed to him. But the Publican stood: first, trembling and fearful, confessing his sins; second, he stood at a distance, namely far from the altar, last or among the last; third, with face cast down to the ground, not daring to look at heaven, displaying fear and repentance by his very posture and bearing.
Hence allegorically Bede says: The Pharisee is the Jewish people, boasting of his merits from the justifications of the law; the Publican is the Gentile, confessing his sins with himself. Some with the Syriac refer this to "standing," as if to say: Standing with himself, that is, relying on himself, trusting in himself, insisting on and pressing his own merits. The Syriac translates "secretly." Our translator more correctly joins "with himself" with "prayed," as if to say: He prayed within himself, in his mind and thought; for the swelling in his mind so puffed him up that he intended to pray and speak only with himself, and barely deigned to pray and speak before others. Yet he prayed in the Pharisaic manner, with an external voice, but a heavy, swollen, inflated one. Hence St. Basil, on chapter 2 of Isaiah: He prayed "with himself," he says, not with God; "for he returned to himself when he fell into the sin of pride." I add: "with himself," because God does not hear the proud who pray swollen with self-importance and boast of themselves.
HE PRAYED — in his manner; because in truth he was not praying to God, but praising himself. Hear St. Augustine, serm. 36, On the Words of the Lord according to Luke: "Ask what he requested of God, search in his words, you will find nothing: he went up to pray, he did not want to ask God, but to praise himself. It is not enough that he did not ask God but praised himself; in addition he even insulted the one who was asking (the Publican)."
I GIVE YOU THANKS. — "He is not blamed, says St. Augustine, serm. 36 cited above, for giving thanks to God, but because he desired nothing to be added to himself. He who says: I make myself just, is worse than the Pharisee who proudly called himself just; but at least he gave thanks to God for it."
Hear St. Bernard, tract. On the Steps of Humility: "He gives thanks, not because he is good, but because he is alone; not so much for the good things he has, as for the evil things he sees in others. He had not yet cast out the beam from his own eye, and he counts the specks in the eyes of his brothers. For he adds: 'the unjust, extortioners,' etc." See the same, serm. 13 on the Song of Songs, where he teaches that proud and feigned thanksgiving displeases God.
BECAUSE I AM NOT LIKE THE REST OF MEN. — "Let him at least say, says St. Augustine, I am not like many men. What does 'like the rest of men' mean, if not all men except himself? I, he says, am just, the rest are sinners;" as if to say: I alone am just, all the rest are wicked. For a proud man, in order to exalt himself to the utmost, despises and depresses others to the utmost. This is his madness, by which he so pleased himself that all others displease him.
St. Gregory, book 23 of the Morals, ch. 7, notes in this Pharisee four species of pride. The first is when someone thinks he has a good thing, e.g. virtue, from himself; the second, when he attributes it to his own merits; the third, when he thinks he has what he does not have; the fourth, when someone wants to be singular, and therefore despises and censures others: the last three of these clearly shine forth in this proud and feigned justice of the Pharisee. The first was also in him, because he ascribed his virtue not to God but to his own labor, and said with that pagan about God: "Let Him give strength, let Him give wealth — I myself shall furnish my own spirit."
For entirely, says Theophylactus, if he had believed that he possessed the goods of another through the grace of God, he would not have despised others, considering that he himself was also naked, as far as his own virtue was concerned.
OR EVEN LIKE THIS PUBLICAN. — Behold, from the nearby publican there is a greater occasion for swelling to the Pharisee, says the Interlinear Gloss from St. Augustine; the Syriac has: nor like this publican; supply: I am a public sinner. From pride he rashly and falsely judges the publican to be wicked, when he was in fact already penitent and justified. He sins therefore: first, by rash judgment; second, by contempt of the publican; third, by insult and outrage, for he reproaches the publican with his sins. Hear St. Chrysostom, in the Catena: The whole of human nature had not satisfied his contempt, but he also attacked the publican. But he who insults others does many evils: First, he makes the listener worse; for if he is a sinner, he rejoices at having found a companion in crime; if just, he is puffed up, thinking great things of himself. Second, he injures the community of the Church; for those who hear him disparage it. Third, he causes God to be blasphemed. Fourth, he makes the one he insults more shameless, and his own adversary. Fifth, he makes himself liable to punishment.
Hear St. Bernard, tract. On the Steps of Humility: "The Pharisee, while he exults singularly in himself, arrogantly insults others. But David does otherwise; for he says: Every man is a liar. He excepts no one, lest he deceive anyone, knowing that all have sinned, and all need the glory of God. The Pharisee deceives himself alone, whom alone he excepts, while he condemns the rest. The Prophet does not except himself from the common misery, lest he be excepted from mercy; the Pharisee blows away mercy while he conceals his misery. The Prophet affirms both of all and of himself: Every man is a liar; the Pharisee confirms it of all except himself: I am not, he says, like the rest of men."
Verse 12: I Fast Twice in the Week
12. I FAST TWICE IN THE SABBATH — that is, in the week. It is a synecdoche: for from its most important day the whole week is called a sabbath. Hence the Arabic: I fast on two days in every week. Theophylactus asserts that the Pharisees used to fast on Monday and Thursday, but cites no authority for this.
I GIVE TITHES OF ALL THAT I POSSESS. — As if to say: I not only give tithes of the fruits of the earth, which the law prescribes, but also out of greater and spontaneous devotion, I give tithes of absolutely all things, such as meat, eggs, fish, etc., to which I am not bound by law. This Pharisee had taxed other men as adulterers and unjust, as if he alone were chaste and just: he proves himself chaste by fasting, which is the mother of chastity; just, by tithing everything. "Against adultery, says Theophylactus, he boasts of fasting; for wantonness comes from delicacies. Against robbery and injustice, he brings forth the giving of tithes of all he possessed: So much, he says, am I opposed to robbery and injustice, that I even spend what is my own." So also St. Ephrem, in the Catena.
Morally, St. Gregory observes here, hom. 7 on Ezekiel: "The Pharisee, he says, who performed fasting, gave tithes, returned thanks to God, as it were kept watch almost around the entire circuit of his city: but because he did not attend to one opening of pride in himself, he suffered the enemy there where through negligence he closed his eye." The same Gregory, on Penitential Psalm 2: "In the spirit of the Pharisee, he says, there was deceit, who wished to appear just rather than to be just. Therefore, while he was silent about the things he ought to have cried out, the wretch cried out what he should have kept silent. And through pride, if there were any merits in him, he diminished them, and disdaining to be humbled, he increased his sins."
Verse 13: God, Be Merciful to Me a Sinner
13. AND THE PUBLICAN STANDING AFAR OFF, WOULD NOT SO MUCH AS LIFT UP HIS EYES TOWARD HEAVEN; BUT STRUCK HIS BREAST, SAYING: GOD, BE MERCIFUL TO ME A SINNER. — The Publican disregards the insult inflicted upon him by the Pharisee; indeed he acknowledges it, confesses, and being penitent asks for pardon, and therefore is justified above the Pharisee. Hear St. Chrysostom, homily On David and Saul, volume 5: "But the Publican, standing afar off, did not return the insult, nor did he in turn speak a reproach, nor did he utter those common words: Do you then dare to blame my deeds? Am I not better than you? I shall recount your sins, and make sure you never ascend into these sacred courts again." And after some remarks: "He received the reproach and washed away the reproach; he acknowledged his sins and laid down his sins; and the accusation of crimes became for him the remission of crimes, and the enemy unknowingly became his benefactor: how many labors the Publican would have had to undergo — fasting, sleeping on the ground and keeping vigil, sharing his goods with the poor, sitting for a long time in sackcloth and ashes — in order to be able to lay down those many sins! But now, having done none of these things, by a simple word he laid down all his iniquity, and the reproaches and insults of the Pharisee, who seemed to be heaping contumely upon him, brought forth the crown of justice, and that without sweat, without labors, and without the delay of a long time."
STANDING AFAR OFF. — Far from the altar and the Holy Place, because he deemed himself unworthy of it on account of his sins; yet not so far that the Pharisee could not point him out, and he could not hear the Pharisee. "The conscience of his heart removed him, says St. Augustine, piety drew him near."
HE WOULD NOT (he did not dare out of shame, humility, and reverence) SO MUCH AS LIFT UP HIS EYES TOWARD HEAVEN — considering himself unworthy to look at heaven, where God in glory (whom he had offended by his sins) dwells; therefore, with eyes cast down to the ground, he humbled himself. So St. Cyril, in the Catena. Again, "toward heaven," that is, upward, namely toward the Holy of Holies, where God sat above the propitiatory and the Cherubim: for this was situated in the higher part of Mount Sion, while the courts in which the laity prayed were situated in a lower part of the mount. So Francisco Lucas.
Theophylactus gives the reason that he deemed himself unworthy of the heavenly vision, he who had cast himself down to the earth and preferred to look at and seek earthly goods. St. Augustine gives the final cause: "In order to be looked upon (by God), he says, he did not look; he did not dare to look upward: his conscience pressed him down, hope lifted him up." Again, by this gesture he signifies that he had sinned against the heavenly family, that is, against the angels, whose inspirations he had resisted; against the saints, whose prayers he had defrauded; against God Himself, whose commandments he had violated.
BUT HE STRUCK HIS BREAST — in which was the heart, that is, the will, which had been for him the origin and cause of all his sins: this therefore he strikes and beats, as if it were guilty, to exact punishment from it, and to show himself worthy of blows on its account, says Euthymius; somehow pricking and arousing the heart, says Theophylactus. The beating of the breast therefore is a sign of repentance and a contrite heart. Hence this was the gesture of one confessing and repenting in ancient times, and still is. This is also the old and modern custom of Christians, to beat their guilty breast. Hear St. Augustine, serm. 8, On the Words of the Lord according to Matthew: "In that very moment when the words 'I confess' sounded, you beat your breasts. But to beat the breast, what is it except to accuse what is hidden in the breast, and with an evident blow to chastise the hidden sin? Why did you do this, except because you heard: I confess to You, Father?" And below: "Therefore in confession there is self-accusation, and the praise of God." For we confess ourselves guilty, and God to be innocent, just, and merciful, and therefore we ask pardon from Him. The penitent therefore beats his breast to beat out and expel sin.
The beating of the breast therefore is: first, a symbol of confession of sin, namely that the one confessing acknowledges that the cause of his sin is none other than the heart, the appetite and will lying hidden in his breast. Second, the same is a symbol of contrition, for it indicates that the heart is bruised and crushed. Third, the same is a symbol of satisfaction and vengeance, for he strikes his breast to afflict and punish it as guilty. "He was exacting punishment from himself, says St. Augustine, serm. 36, On the Words of the Lord according to Luke, and therefore the Lord was sparing the one who confessed." Wherefore Isidore of Pelusium in the Catena: "Everyone, he says, who strikes his breast on account of sins, is said to praise God with timbrel and dance. For he who strikes his breast and inward parts with compunction, and adding a chorus of mournful words, dips the pen of penitence into the vessel of sorrow and nocturnal tears, will not be disappointed by the death of Christ undertaken for sinners."
SAYING: GOD, BE MERCIFUL TO ME A SINNER. — A brief prayer, but succulent, sincere, and efficacious; as if to say: I confess, O Lord, that I am a great sinner, and I grieve from the depths of my heart that by my sins I have most grievously offended Your majesty; therefore I think of nothing else but my sins, which I utterly detest, nor do I ask anything else from You, except that You forgive them, and grant me the grace of amending my life and performing serious and continual penance. For I esteem and confess myself alone to be the greatest sinner; therefore I ask pardon for myself alone, and I neither think about nor pray for others, who are better than I. Hence the Arabic translates: spare me, for I am a sinner. He does not say "sinning" but "sinner," because he had sinned not once but many times, as if by the craft and habit of sinning, and from his conception and birth he had contracted the sin of our first parents. "To me," as if to say: Not to fortune, not to companions, not to the stars, not to the devil, but to myself I ascribe all sin, all fault.
Verse 14: This Man Went Down Justified
14. I TELL YOU, THIS MAN WENT DOWN TO HIS HOUSE JUSTIFIED RATHER THAN THE OTHER — that is, more than the other; in Greek, παρ' ἐκείνου, that is, "from that one"; others read παρ' ἐκεῖνον, that is, "compared to that one," namely set alongside and compared. Now most manuscripts read παρ' ἐκεῖνος, that is, "than that one"; the Syriac has: more, or rather than he. So also St. Augustine reads, epistle 86, to Casulanus and elsewhere: because namely the publican was justified through true humility and repentance. But the Pharisee, through his feigned and proud prayer, was more stained with sins. Hence Euthymius interprets "rather than that one" as: not that one. It is a Hebraism; for the Hebrews use מן (min), that is "from," for the comparative degree, which they often employ when they prefer one thing to another, either by the degree of a greater good, or by its affirmation in one and negation in the other. The sense therefore is, as if to say: The Publican returned home more just than the Pharisee, he who had come into the temple more unjust than him; more just, I say, not by a direct and simple comparison, but by an indirect and negative one; because namely he himself was just, but the Pharisee was unjust, indeed more unjust than when he had come, he returned home. "For, as Euthymius says, he who had justified himself so much was so much condemned; and he who had condemned himself so much was justified." And St. Paulinus, epistle 58: "What justice was building, he says, pride was destroying, etc. The former, in a contrite heart, is accepted as his own accuser, and obtains pardon for his confessed sins, because of his degree of humility, while that holy Pharisee (as the holy Jews are) carried home a burden of sins from his boasting of holiness." And St. Bernard, serm. 3, On the Annunciation: "The Pharisee went back empty, because he feigned fullness. For the Publican, who emptied himself, who took care to present himself as an empty vessel, brought back more abundant grace."
Hear St. Augustine, serm. 36, On the Words of the Lord according to Luke: "Why do you marvel if God pardons, when he himself acknowledges? He stood afar off, but the Lord was attending to him from close by; for the exalted Lord regards the lowly: his conscience trembled, hope lifted him up; striking his breast he exacted punishment from himself; therefore the Lord was sparing the one who confessed." And Chrysostom: "Humility with sin overcomes justice joined with pride; for pride easily depresses justice, but humility overcomes the weight of sin."
FOR EVERYONE WHO EXALTS HIMSELF WILL BE HUMBLED (as the proud Pharisee was humbled and rejected by God); AND EVERYONE WHO HUMBLES HIMSELF WILL BE EXALTED — as the humble Publican was exalted to the grace of God and adoption into the kingdom of heaven. So Theophylactus: "Everyone, he says, who exalts himself will be humbled, with God condemning him; but he who humbles himself by condemning himself will be exalted by God who justifies." Here therefore is fulfilled that saying of Solomon: "Before ruin the heart is exalted," "and before glory it will be humbled," says the Interlinear Gloss. Truly St. Chrysostom says: "Humility led the thief into paradise before the Apostles: if humility joined with sins can do so much, what will it be able to do when joined with justice! And if haughtiness joined with justice can bring one down, what will it do when joined with sin!" And Optatus of Mileve, book 2, Against the Donatists: "Better, he says, are sins with humility than innocence with pride." St. Basil, homily On Humility: "The Pharisee, he says, lost justification through pride, lost his reward through presumption: the rash man was cast down below the humble and more ready one, exalting himself above him, and not waiting for God's judgment, but pronouncing his own."
Again St. Chrysostom, homily 5, On the Incomprehensible Nature of God, bids us consider a double chariot team in the Pharisee and the Publican: "Under one of which, he says, let virtue be yoked with pride, under the other sin with humility: for you will see the chariot of sin easily outstrip virtue and obtain the palm of a swifter course, not by the speed of sin, but by the power of humility yoked with it. On the contrary, the other chariot of virtue is slowed down and overcome, not by the weakness of virtue, but by the mass and weight of pride. For as humility, by its supreme excellence, overcomes the weight of sin and reaches heaven; so pride, by its excessive weight and intolerable burden of its mass, prevails to such an extent that it even defeats that lightest and most exalted virtue and easily drags it downward." The same, homily 15 and 45 on Matthew: "Whether you gather prayer, or fasting, or mercy, or chastity, or any other good thing without humility, all immediately flow away and perish. This also happened to the Pharisee, who, having ascended to the very summit of virtue, losing everything at once, descended; because he did not have the mother of all goods: for just as pride is the fountain of all evils, so humility is the origin of all virtues." Thus far Chrysostom. St. Bernard, serm. 13 on the Song of Songs: "It is truly, he says, a great and rare virtue, that while doing great things, you should not know yourself to be great, and that your holiness, manifest to all, should be hidden from you alone. To appear admirable and to consider yourself contemptible — this I judge to be more admirable than the virtues themselves. Truly faithful you are a servant, if when the great glory of your lord, though not originating from you, yet passing through you, nothing happens to adhere to your hands." The same St. Bernard wrote an entire sermon on these words of Christ: "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled."
Finally St. Leo says admirably, to Dioscorus: "The whole discipline of Christian wisdom, he says, consists not in abundance of words, not in cleverness of disputation, nor in the desire for praise and glory, but in true and voluntary humility, which the Lord Jesus from His mother's womb to the suffering of the cross chose and taught with all fortitude." I said more on this subject in Sirach 10, at the end.
Verse 15: They Brought Unto Him Also Infants
15. AND THEY BROUGHT UNTO HIM ALSO INFANTS, THAT HE MIGHT TOUCH THEM — and by touching bless them. Christ confirms the teaching of humility by His own example. Hence the Gloss: "To the humble Master, it says, infants are brought, to show that an innocent and simple age belongs to grace."
Verse 16: Suffer the Little Children to Come to Me
16. SUFFER THE LITTLE CHILDREN TO COME TO ME, etc., FOR OF SUCH IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD. — The Arabic: because the kingdom of God belongs to those who are like them, not in emptiness, but in innocence, simplicity, humility. Hence Bede: "He does not say 'of them,' but 'of such,' designating character, not age." And St. Ambrose: "Not childhood, but a goodness that emulates childlike simplicity is designated; for it is not a virtue to be unable to sin, but to be unwilling." Explain the rest at Matthew 19:13 and following.
Verse 35: The Blind Man at Jericho
35. AND IT CAME TO PASS, WHEN HE DREW NEAR TO JERICHO, A CERTAIN BLIND MAN SAT. — Concerning this blind man illuminated by Christ, I spoke at Matthew 20:29.