Episcopal Duty and Pastoral Office
The obligations of bishops as shepherds of souls — gradual ascent through ecclesiastical offices, pastoral visitation, care for the poor, restoration of discipline, and accountability before God. Moses as archetype of the bishop-prince; Homer's admonition that a king should feed and not fleece his people.
Preliminaries
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TO THE MOST REVEREND AND MOST ILLUSTRIOUS LORD HENRY FRANCIS VAN DER BURCH, ARCHBISHOP AND DUKE OF CAMBRAI, PRINCE OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, COUNT OF CAMBRAI.
— Moses as archetype of the bishop-prince who governs both Church and Commonwealth, administering sacred and civil affairs until delegating the priesthood to Aaron.
"Moses formed, ruled, and directed the Church of the Hebrews no less than their Commonwealth... In Moses therefore, just as in Melchizedek, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the other ancient patriarchs, both supreme powers — that is, of the prince and of the priest — were held in conjunction"
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TO THE MOST REVEREND AND MOST ILLUSTRIOUS LORD HENRY FRANCIS VAN DER BURCH, ARCHBISHOP AND DUKE OF CAMBRAI, PRINCE OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, COUNT OF CAMBRAI.
— Homer calls a king "the shepherd of the peoples, because he ought to feed them, as a shepherd feeds sheep, and not fleece them."
"Homer calls a king the shepherd of the peoples, because he ought to feed them, as a shepherd feeds sheep, and not fleece them."
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TO THE MOST REVEREND AND MOST ILLUSTRIOUS LORD HENRY FRANCIS VAN DER BURCH, ARCHBISHOP AND DUKE OF CAMBRAI, PRINCE OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, COUNT OF CAMBRAI.
— Moses ascended to leadership by degrees: first educated, then given to contemplation, then to pastoral leadership at eighty. Basil similarly rose through sacred orders gradually.
"Moses did not spring at once to power, but ascended to leadership by degrees."
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TO THE MOST REVEREND AND MOST ILLUSTRIOUS LORD HENRY FRANCIS VAN DER BURCH, ARCHBISHOP AND DUKE OF CAMBRAI, PRINCE OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, COUNT OF CAMBRAI.
— Cyprian's praise of Pope Cornelius for ascending through all ecclesiastical offices rather than seizing the episcopate.
"This man (Cornelius)... did not come to the episcopate all at once, but having been advanced through all the offices of the Church, and having often merited well of the Lord in the divine ministrations, he ascended to the lofty summit of the priesthood by every step of religious life."
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TO THE MOST REVEREND AND MOST ILLUSTRIOUS LORD HENRY FRANCIS VAN DER BURCH, ARCHBISHOP AND DUKE OF CAMBRAI, PRINCE OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, COUNT OF CAMBRAI.
— Van der Burch ascended step by step: canon, priest, confessor, dean, vicar-general, bishop of Ghent, then archbishop of Cambrai — always first in choir, never sparing his body.
"You ascended step by step to the summit of the priesthood. First you fulfilled the roles of canon and priest — not in idleness and inactivity, but by giving religious formation to your household, by devoting yourself to hearing confessions..."
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TO THE MOST REVEREND AND MOST ILLUSTRIOUS LORD HENRY FRANCIS VAN DER BURCH, ARCHBISHOP AND DUKE OF CAMBRAI, PRINCE OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, COUNT OF CAMBRAI.
— John Fisher refused to leave his small diocese for wealthier sees, saying he would count himself blessed if he could render proper account for even a small flock.
"he would count himself most blessed if he could at least render a proper account on the Day of the Lord for this small flock entrusted to him"
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TO THE MOST REVEREND AND MOST ILLUSTRIOUS LORD HENRY FRANCIS VAN DER BURCH, ARCHBISHOP AND DUKE OF CAMBRAI, PRINCE OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, COUNT OF CAMBRAI.
— The scale of Van der Burch's pastoral responsibility at Cambrai: nearly eight hundred parishes and thousands of souls.
"A great harvest rises up before you here, to be reaped with great labour: nearly eight hundred parishes to be administered; how many thousands of the faithful to be pastured? how many thousands of souls to be saved?"
Preface and Praise of Sacred Scripture
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Arguments for the Old Testament
— The Church compels bishops before consecration to pledge knowledge of both the Old and New Testament; some wiser men refused the episcopate lest they bind themselves with a false pledge.
"She compels Bishops, as future bishops of the Church, before consecration, to pledge that they know both the Old and the New Testament"
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The Virtues of Moses
— Chrysostom: a bishop must be like an angel; he who undertakes governance must excel in virtue like the sun obscuring the stars.
"A bishop must be an angel, subject to no human disturbance or vice... It befits him who undertakes the governance of others to excel in such glory of virtue that, like the sun, he may obscure all others"
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Chapter V: On the Dispositions Required for This Study
— The Council of Trent commands that reading of divine Scriptures be mixed in at the tables of bishops.
"the Council of Trent at the very beginning of Session II commands that the reading of divine Scriptures be mixed in at the tables of bishops"