Father Noel Alexandre's Literal and Moral Commentary on Romans Chapter 10

LITERAL COMMENTARY ON ROMANS 10 — Father Noël Alexandre

Rom 10:1. "Brethren, the good will of my heart and my prayer to God is for them unto salvation." The Apostle addresses Christians, both those from among the Jews and those from among the Gentiles who believe in Christ, and testifies to his benevolence toward his fellow countrymen, the Israelites, who did not yet believe. "With great and sincere inclination of my heart," he says, "I wish and pray for true blessings for the Jews, pouring out prayers to God on their behalf, that by His mercy they may obtain eternal salvation."

Rom 10:2–3. "For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge." I testify concerning them that they are carried along with vehement and fervent zeal for the worship of God and His law; but their zeal—and otherwise praiseworthy devotion—is not directed by the necessary knowledge. They are ignorant, namely, of what constitutes the true worship of God and what is the way to obtain righteousness, despite the shining light of the Scriptures and of Evangelical preaching. "For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they have not submitted to the righteousness of God." That is, being ignorant of the righteousness by which God makes us just—true, interior righteousness, consisting in faith, hope, and charity, by which we are pleasing to God—and seeking to establish and defend their own righteousness, that is, a human righteousness which makes them just in the eyes of men by the external observance of the law, or which seems to them to be obtainable by their own powers, aided solely by knowledge of the law, they stubbornly refuse to submit themselves to God, from whom alone that true righteousness can be received through the humility of faith.

Rom 10:4. "For the end of the law is Christ, unto righteousness for everyone who believes." For Christ is the fulfillment, perfection, and consummation of the Law, so that no one can be justified except he who believes in Him, whether Jew or Gentile. Those, therefore, who are unwilling to submit themselves to Christ through faith are ignorant of the righteousness of God. The Apostle's aim is to show that there is no way to true, interior righteousness except through Christ. "The end of the law is Christ": for what the law willed but was not able to accomplish, Christ accomplished—namely, to justify man.

Rom 10:5. "For Moses writes" (Leviticus 18:5): "That the man who does the righteousness which is of the law shall live by it." Moses, namely, describes the righteousness which is of the law in these words: "Keep my laws and my judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them"—not only shall he escape the penalty of death established for transgressors of the Law, not only shall he be long-lived upon the earth, but he shall obtain eternal life, of which that temporal longevity promised to men of the Old Testament was a type. Compare with Matthew 19:17; Luke 10:28.

Rom 10:6–7. "But the righteousness which is of faith speaks thus: 'Do not say in your heart: Who will ascend into heaven?' (that is, to bring Christ down) 'or who will descend into the abyss?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead)." Thus, indeed, the same Moses speaks concerning the righteousness which is of faith: Do not say to yourself, doubting and hesitating: "Who will ascend into heaven?"—that is, to bring down from there the Word of God, or the commandment of the New Law, by which He explains His will to men, so that we may hear it and fulfill it by our works. For to ask this is to wish to bring down Christ, who was constituted by God as the interpreter of the divine will to men, from the right hand of the Father, where He sits gloriously in heaven, to earth, that He may teach us again outwardly and visibly. "Or who will descend into the abyss?"—that is, into the depths of hell—to bring down to us the Word of God and the commandments of the New Law, so that we may hear and do what is commanded. For to ask this is to wish to recall Christ from the dead and to raise Him from the underworld, as if He had not yet risen. Let no one allege the impossibility or extreme difficulty of believing the mysteries of the New Law which we preach. The words of Moses (Deuteronomy 30:12), which according to the obvious literal sense are understood concerning the commandment of the law promulgated by him, the Apostle, taught by the Holy Spirit, understands in a loftier sense—intended likewise by the Spirit Himself who dictated those words of Moses—concerning the word of faith and the doctrine and commandments of the New Law, especially concerning the mysteries of the Incarnation and Resurrection of Christ, which may seem less credible to human reason, and concerning which, therefore, he sets forth an example. Moses, therefore, according to the letter, spoke thus: "The commandment of God is placed before your eyes, O Jew; nor is it necessary for you to ascend into heaven to find it, nor to descend into the abyss to receive it, nor to cross beyond the seas; but it is near you, in your mouth and in your mind." For God showed you all things through the law. But the Apostle transfers those words to Christ—that is: Do not hesitate, nor say in your heart: How did Christ descend from heaven and become incarnate? or how, having died, did He rise again? But believe that He both descended, was incarnate, and, having been laid in the tomb, returned by rising again. What, then, could be easier in this matter, since you have salvation in your mouth?

Rom 10:8–9. "But what does Scripture say? 'The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart'"—that is, the word of salvation which is announced to you is near you; it is not to be sought far away; it is so readily at hand that it can be held in the heart and easily pronounced by the mouth. "This is the word of faith which we preach." Such is the Gospel which we preach; or, this is the nature of the faith which we teach is necessary for obtaining true righteousness. "For if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." If you confess with your mouth—namely, by a sincere and open profession of faith—that Jesus is Lord and your Savior and the Savior of all men, and if you believe in your heart that He rose from the dead by divine power—that is, by His own power and that of the Father—you will be saved; you will attain eternal life. He makes special mention of the Incarnation and Resurrection of Christ because nearly the whole of faith is summed up in these articles. Under these, therefore, the others are to be understood. And certainly, if we believe that Jesus is our Lord and Savior, it follows that we believe all things which, through Himself, through His Apostles, through His Church, revealing by His Holy Spirit, He has proposed for us to believe. But by the name of "faith" which leads to salvation, a living faith is to be understood—a faith which works through love, a faith accompanied by good will, by which man is prepared to keep the divine commandments, the observance of which faith itself teaches is necessary for obtaining eternal life.

Rom 10:10. "For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." One must believe with the heart that we may obtain from God true righteousness, which consists in the remission of sins and the infusion of grace and virtues; and it is necessary to profess the faith with the mouth that we may attain salvation. It is necessary, namely, to confess the faith openly, according to place and time—that is, when the faith of someone is demanded by a persecutor, or when the faith of another is in peril. Therefore, the baptized are anointed with chrism, with the sign of the cross impressed upon the forehead, so that they may not be ashamed to confess Christ crucified. Hence, in former times, those were called "Confessors" who, for the profession of the Christian faith, were afflicted by tyrants short of death; and from that number were by no means excluded those who, when persecution raged against Christians, fled, distrusting their own strength—concerning whom St. Cyprian writes: "The first title of victory is to confess the Lord when seized by the hands of the Gentiles; the second step to glory is to be withdrawn by a prudent withdrawal and reserved for the Lord. The former is a public confession; the latter, a private one. The former conquered the judge of the world; the latter, content with God as his judge, keeps a pure conscience by the integrity of his heart. In the one, courage is more prompt; in the other, solicitude is more secure. The former, with his hour approaching, was found already mature; the latter, perhaps, was delayed, who, having left his possessions, withdrew for this reason: because he was not going to deny [the faith]; he would certainly have confessed if he himself had been detained."

Rom 10:11-13. "For Scripture says: 'Everyone who believes in Him will not be confounded.'" Everyone, whether Jew or Gentile, believing in Christ with the will to do the things which He prescribes, will not be frustrated of the salvation which he hopes for. "For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek." For in the matter of justification and salvation, there is no distinction between Jews and Gentiles. "For the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him." It is certainly fitting that Christ should repel no one who believes in Him and trusts in Him from salvation, since He is equally the Lord of all—both by the right of creation and by the right of redemption—and since He abounds in the riches of mercy and grace, which He is prepared to pour out upon all who call upon Him and worship Him with true faith, hope, and charity. "For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Whoever, with sincere faith and furnished with the accompaniment of hope and charity, calls upon Christ as the Author and Mediator of all spiritual goods and of salvation, will most certainly obtain salvation through Him.

Rom 10:14–15. "How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? Or how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!'" In these two verses an objection is contained, and a response is given to that objection. Invocation proceeds from faith; faith, from hearing; hearing, from preaching; preaching, from mission. Since, therefore, Divine Providence disposes all these things, it is not to be imputed as a fault to the Jews that they do not invoke the name of Christ the Lord. To this objection the Apostle responds in this manner: On the contrary, the Jews did hear the word of salvation, and Apostles were sent to them who announced it, as had been predicted by Isaiah in these words: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!" For going about, the Apostles announced nothing else than the unspeakable goods and the peace and reconciliation offered by God through Christ Jesus our Lord to those who would believe in Him. Whence the Lord Himself commanded the Apostles that, into whatever house they entered, they should say: "Peace be to this house." That, therefore, the Jews do not believe is their own fault.

"How then shall they call upon"—as the Author of salvation and Lord of all—"in whom they have not believed? Or how shall they believe in Him"—by the ordinary way—"of whom"—that is, concerning whom—"they have not heard?" Under "hearing" is comprehended also reading, through which many have believed. Whence it is written in John 20:31: "These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name." I said that it cannot happen by the ordinary way that faith be had without hearing, because it has been granted to very few to receive the doctrine of salvation through God Himself or through the angels of heaven, with no man preaching to them; but it has been granted to many to believe in God through men. Nevertheless, in whatever way the Word of God is spoken to a man, it is undoubtedly a gift of God that he so hears as to obey it.

"And how shall they hear without a preacher?" By what reasoning will they be able to hear concerning Him in whom they ought to believe, unless the Gospel is announced to them?—of which hearing God takes care for all who are distinguished from that original damnation by the bounty of divine grace.

"And how shall they preach unless they are sent?" No one can legitimately preach the Gospel without a mission—either an ordinary mission, which is conferred by the authority of the Bishops, who succeeded the Apostles by vicarious ordination; or an extraordinary mission, which is conferred immediately by God through interior inspiration, of which mission the authority of Sacred Scripture is sometimes a sign. Whence John the Baptist proved his mission by the authority of the Prophet Isaiah: "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord,' as Isaiah the Prophet said."

Sometimes the proof of an extraordinary mission is the truth of those things which are foretold as future, confirmed by the events themselves. Hence Deuteronomy 18:22 is written: "That which a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, and it does not come to pass, the Lord has not spoken." At other times, the sign of an extraordinary mission is the working of miracles. Hence, when Moses had said to the Lord: "They will not believe me, nor heed my voice, but will say: 'The Lord has not appeared to you,'" God gave him the power to work miracles to confirm his mission: "Take this staff in your hand, with which you will perform signs."

Yet neither the truth of events nor miracles sufficiently prove a mission from God, especially if anyone preaches against the dogmas of faith which the Church received from the Apostles and which, by perpetual tradition, have been handed down to us by the Bishops who legitimately succeeded them. Hence Deuteronomy 13 is written: "If a prophet arises in your midst and foretells a sign or wonder, and the sign or wonder comes to pass that he spoke to you, and says, 'Let us go and follow strange gods and serve them,' you shall not listen to the words of that prophet." For either it is not a true prophecy, or they are true miracles employed as testimony to error, or those who preach false doctrines abuse divine gifts—which do not make men holy—against God; just as those to whom the seal of a prince has been entrusted out of the ordinary course would abuse it if they were to seal false letters with it and publish them to overthrow his authority.

Therefore, in the Church—which is the pillar and foundation of truth, the supreme and infallible judge of controversies of faith, the guardian of the deposit—resides the authority to judge the truth of new prophecies and miracles, and concerning the vocation of those who boast that they are sent out of the ordinary course and intrude themselves to preach the Gospel or to undertake any sacred office in the Church. I say, in the Church; for if they hold assemblies outside the Church, they are convicted of not having charity by their very schism, and therefore they are to be regarded as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal, and are to be avoided no less than pagans, as Christ teaches, since they do not listen to the Church, in whose unity God has placed the chair of truth. Without legitimate mission, therefore, no preachers of the Gospel are to be received or listened to.

"And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written," or "concerning whom it is written," Isaiah 52:7: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things"—pertaining to the eternal salvation of men. How desirable, how sweet is their coming, who announce the reconciliation of men with God through Christ! In citing the words of Isaiah, St. Paul follows the Hebrew text more closely than the version of the LXX Interpreters, as Jerome notes in his Commentary on Isaiah, where he renders the Greek text into Latin thus: "As the hour upon the mountains, so the feet of the one preaching good news of peace, preaching good things." The Targum of Jonathan agrees with the Hebrew.

Rom 10:16–17. "But not all have obeyed the Gospel." Theodoret comments that this is spoken in the manner of a question: "But have not all obeyed the Gospel?" St. Chrysostom, Theophylact, and Oecumenius consider that an objection is contained in these words, and that the response follows in what comes next: "For Isaiah says: 'Lord, who has believed our report?'" For since the Apostle had said that preachers of the Gospel are sent by God, proved by the testimony of the Prophet, lest anyone should object: "If it is established that they are sent by God, all ought to have obeyed them," he answers the objection thus: Although not all obey the Gospel, its truth is not thereby shaken. For the very same thing was predicted by Isaiah in chapter 53:1 with these words: "Lord, who has believed our report?" Very few of the Jews believed the preaching which they heard from our mouth.

"Therefore faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." Therefore, faith is born from hearing, or is not had by the ordinary way except through hearing; but that what is to be believed may be heard, it is necessary that the word of Christ be announced by His preachers.

Rom 10:18. "But I say: Have they not heard? Yes indeed, their sound has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world." But what excuse can avail the Jews? Have they not already heard the preaching of the Gospel? On the contrary: the fame of the Apostles' preaching has spread into all the earth and to the ends of the world. For when they preached in the most illustrious cities and worked miracles—as at Jerusalem, Caesarea, Joppa, Antioch, Ephesus, Corinth, Thessalonica, Rome, etc.—from there the report of such great things reached all the lands where Jews dwelt, just as the force and influence of the heavens are diffused into all parts of the world. And their doctrine began to be disseminated to the farthest ends of the earth, the Apostles preaching everywhere among the Gentiles; and before the end of the world, the Gospel will be preached in all parts of the habitable earth, according to the prediction and command of Christ the Lord: Matthew 24:14: "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world, for a testimony to all nations, and then shall the consummation come." Matthew 28:19: "Going therefore, teach all nations." Mark 16: "You shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, even to the uttermost part of the earth. Going into the whole world, preach the Gospel to every creature."

But St. Paul spoke in the past tense, as did the Prophet whom he cites as witness, although he was declaring what was to happen, not what had already happened and been completed, because of the certainty of divine preordination. From this, moreover, it is clear that no excuse is available to the Jews. For how could it be that the Jews did not hear, when the nations that are in the whole world have heard? For the heralds of truth brought the preaching to them first. For the Lord Himself also said to them: "Go rather to the sheep that are lost of the house of Israel." And in the Acts of the Apostles: "To you first it was necessary that the word of God should be spoken."

Rom 10:19. "But I say: Did Israel not know?" Did the Jews not know more clearly than the Gentiles those things which pertain to the mystery of Christ and the calling of the Gentiles themselves, having been taught by the testimonies of the Law and the Prophets? So indeed does Moses, who precedes the other prophets in time, say: "I will provoke you to jealousy by that which is not a nation, by a foolish nation I will anger you." From the calling and adoption of the Gentiles, and from the graces which I will bestow upon them, although they are alien from My worship and even from true wisdom, you will take occasion for envy and anger, with which you will burn against them. Compare with the Epistle to Titus 3:3: "For we ourselves also," says our Apostle, "were some time unwise, incredulous, erring, slaves to desires and various pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another."

Rom 10:20–21. "But Isaiah is bold and says." Isaiah, indeed, openly and clearly proclaims in the person of God: "I was found by those who did not seek Me; I became manifest to those who did not ask for Me." In the prophetic manner, he uses the past tense for the future on account of the certainty of the event. "I was found by those who were thinking nothing of Me, wholly devoted to their idols"—that is, by the Gentile people. "I made Myself known to those who did not consult Me, but [consulted] their false deities." He shows that the conversion of the Gentiles was apart from their merits and intention, by the mere grace of our Savior God, who deigned to appear to them not in enigmas and figures as under the law, but in manifest truth.

With a slight inversion of the order of words, though with the same sense, the Apostle cites the prophetic oracle. For thus our Vulgate, consonant with the Hebrew has it in Isaiah: "They have sought Me who before asked not for Me; they have found Me who sought Me not. I said: Behold Me, behold Me to a nation that did not call upon My name." But the version of the LXX Interpreters reads: "I appeared to those who did not seek Me; I was found by those who did not ask for Me." But as I said, the Apostle changes the order of the words without any detriment to the sense.

Rom 10:21. "But to Israel," or concerning the Jews, the same Prophet says: "All day long I have stretched out My hands to a people not believing and contradicting." Assiduously, as with outstretched hands, I called a stubborn people by the preaching and miracles of Christ My Son and of His Apostles, and by continuous benefits, inviting them to faith and repentance, and yet they refused to come to Me. The metaphor is taken from mothers who, with open arms, recall wayward children to themselves, ready to embrace them when they come. The word "contradicting" is absent from the Hebrew text; it is taken from the version of the LXX Interpreters, who added it, without injury to the sense, to express more clearly the vice of the people's ungrateful mind toward God. "I have stretched out My hands to a people not believing and contradicting." They, though overcome by the Lord's benefits and beholding signs beyond human power, said: "This man casts out demons only by Beelzebub, prince of demons." And again: "You are a Samaritan and have a demon." And again: "Being a man, you make yourself God." And elsewhere: "This man is not from God, because he does not keep the Sabbath." Finally, when He stretched out His hands on the cross to the unbelieving people and said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," they, on the contrary, said: "Ah, you who destroy the temple of God and in three days build it up, come down now from the cross, and we will believe in you. He saved others; he cannot save himself." Concerning this, too, Simeon, holding the infant in his arms, prophesied: "Behold, this child is set for the fall and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be contradicted." At Rome, the Jews speak to Paul: "Concerning this sect, we know that everywhere it is spoken against."

 MORAL COMMENTARY

Rom 10:1. Indeed, the wish of my heart and my prayer to God on their behalf is for their salvation. Let all shepherds of souls learn from the example of St. Paul to love each and every sheep committed to their care with the deepest affection of the heart, and to desire their salvation with the most earnest will—no matter how unworthy they may be, no matter how wayward, no matter how ungrateful or obstinate. Were not the Jews unworthy of the love and care of St. Paul, who did not even wish to listen to him speaking of Christ Jesus, but rather grievously persecuted him and even plotted against his life, as is evident from Acts 7, 13, and 14? And yet he loved them intensely, not with a fleeting affection but with a persevering ardor of will, earnestly desiring their salvation. Hence in Acts 16:8 he says: "I wish before God that all who hear may become such as I am—except these chains."

Pastors ought constantly to pray to God for the salvation of the sheep committed to their care: for unbelievers, that God may open their hearts and grant them faith; for the faithful, that He may increase their faith, inspire and perfect their charity, and mercifully bestow upon them the gift of perseverance. "And my prayer to God is made on their behalf for their salvation." Hence Samuel, himself an exemplar of good pastors, said to the people: "Far be it from me this sin against the Lord, that I should cease to pray for you."

Rom 10:3. The charity of pastors toward the sheep committed to them ought to be beneficent and laborious, so that they may be deterred or delayed by no difficulties, by no dangers, from procuring their salvation. It is not enough for a pastor merely to pray; he must also labor—solicitously, constantly, untiringly—in the ministry of the Word, so that he may uproot and destroy errors, teach and defend the truth, extirpate vices, implant virtues, nourish charity, and prepare a people perfect for Christ, worshiping God in spirit and in truth, serving the Lord in holiness and justice all the days of their life.

Rom 10:2. The charity of pastors ought to be compassionate, so that they never mock the weakness of the sheep, nor provoke them to anger with harsh words; but if there is anything praiseworthy in them, let them commend it, so as to win their hearts and gain their confidence—following the example of St. Paul, who says: "I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God." Nevertheless, pastors ought not to overlook the vices of the people committed to their care; indeed, they ought to rebuke them, so that they may be healed and converted by the most salutary remedies of admonition and correction. This is the economy our Apostle employs toward the Jews: "They have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge."

Rom 10:2 cont. Rom 10:3. Pastors ought to temper the force of their reproofs and rebukes with prudent gentleness. Thus the Apostle seasoned blame with praise, as if concealing a hook with bait, so that the fruit of the divine Word might be received from them: "They have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they have not submitted to the righteousness of God." The greater the zeal, the more dangerous it is if it lacks the light of knowledge and the direction of prudence. Zeal is the fervor of devotion and charity. A priest who strives to preserve the incorrupt chastity of the Church ought to have zeal. Zeal is most necessary for preserving the purity of the faith, for propagating that same faith, for the reformation and restoration of morals, and for discipline. Yet unless knowledge directs it, charity informs it, equity accompanies it, and it is joined with meekness, it harms the Church more than it profits, impedes the salvation of souls more than it helps. Hence the Prophet prays to God: "Teach me goodness, discipline, and knowledge." Those who follow the impulse of a fervent disposition, or even the blind sparks of piety, in the governance of the Church and of souls, usually bring death to souls that live by the spiritual life—far from procuring life for those who are dead by the death of sin. "There is a certain measure and discipline of zeal, just as of virtue," says St. Ambrose. Whoever exceeds this measure throws everything in the Church or in ecclesiastical societies into confusion and disorder; he often even persecutes and vexes the good, thinking he is rendering service to God; he drives the weak to despair, embitters the wicked, and imprudently turns them away from the way of salvation. Zeal without knowledge is unbearable. Therefore, wherever emulation is vehement, there discretion is most necessary—which is the ordering of charity. Indeed, zeal without knowledge is always found to be less effective and less useful; more often, however, it is felt to be very pernicious. Therefore, the more fervent and vehement the zeal, the more abundant the spirit, and the more profuse the charity, the more vigilant the knowledge needed—which may restrain zeal, temper the spirit, and order charity. Discretion places order in every virtue; order gives measure, and also beauty and permanence. Remove this, and virtue becomes vice.

The threefold origin of false zeal is most often:

1. Ignorance of the counsels and ways of God, and of the true rules by which souls ought to be directed and governed. For some do not draw these from the fountains of Sacred Scripture and Tradition.

2. Self-complacency and confidence in the visions of their own heart, in their own talents, industry, piety (of which they have a reputation), and in the works which they undertake with what seems a good intention and zeal for God's glory.

3. A hidden desire for independence, even in doing good, whereby they do not consult Christ as they ought, nor attend to His teachings and example, who is the supreme Pastor of our souls. "For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they have not submitted to the righteousness of God"—namely, because, being proud, they think they can please God by their own power, not by God's; and He is the God of knowledge, and therefore also the judge of consciences, there seeing the thoughts of men, that they are vain if they are merely human and not from Him.

Rom 10:4. "For the end of the law is Christ, for righteousness to everyone who believes." Those who make a show of the external observance of the law, yet do not attend to or care for the faith of the commandments and counsels of Christ—which is charity proceeding from a pure heart, a good conscience, and faith unfeigned—live in a Jewish, not a Christian manner; they follow the letter of the law, not the spirit; they remain on the way and do not reach the end. "The end of the law is Christ, for salvation to everyone who believes." What is "the end"? Christ. Because Christ is God, and "the end of the commandment is charity," and God is charity, because the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one. There the end is for you; elsewhere it is the way. Do not cling to the way and fail to reach the end. Whatever else you come to, pass on until you reach the end. What is the end? "For me, to cling to God is good." You have clung to God; you have reached the end; you will remain in your homeland. Someone seeks money—let it not be your end; pass on as a pilgrim. You seek a place to pass through, not to remain. But if you love it, entangled by avarice, avarice will be a chain on your feet; you cannot proceed further. Pass on, therefore, and seek the end. You seek health of body—do not remain there yet. For what is this health of body, which perishes by death, is weakened by sickness—frivolous, mortal, fleeting? Seek that health, lest sickly vigor perhaps impede your good works. Therefore, the end is not there, because it is sought for the sake of something else. Whatever is sought for the sake of something else is not the end. Whatever is sought for its own sake and freely—there is the end. You seek honors, perhaps to accomplish something; you seek to carry out something to please God. Do not love the honor itself, lest you remain there. You seek praise: if you seek God's praise, you do well; if you seek your own, you do ill. But behold, you are loved, you are praised—do not rejoice when you are praised in yourself; praise in the Lord, that you may sing: "In the Lord my soul shall be praised." You deliver some good sermon, and your sermon is praised. Let it not be praised as if it were yours; the end is not there. See, brethren, how many things we pass through in which there is no end. We use them as on a journey, as in lodging places of inns; we refresh ourselves and pass on. Where, then, is the end? In Christ Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith and grace. If we establish the end elsewhere, the end will be one that kills and consumes, not perfects. For He alone, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, is eternal life. "The end of the law is Christ, for righteousness to everyone who believes."

Rom 10:5. "For Moses writes that the man who does the righteousness which is of the law shall live by it." Life and true piety—which has the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come—are placed not in the possession, hearing, or merely external observance of the law, but in the observance of the commandments according to the spirit of the law and for the sake of the end of the law. "If you wish to enter into life," says Christ, "keep the commandments." The law therefore truly says: "He who does these things shall live by them." But that he may do them, he must live by them—not by the law which commands this, but by faith, which obtains this. Yet that faith may deserve to receive these things, it is itself given freely. The law, therefore, gives only the help of knowledge, by which we may know what ought to be done; not the inspiration of love, by which we may do with holy love what we have come to know—which properly is grace. For knowledge of the law without charity puffs up, it does not edify. Knowledge of the law, therefore, makes a proud transgressor; but through the gift of charity, one delights to be a doer of the law.

Rom 10:6-7. "But the righteousness which is of faith speaks thus: Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' (that is, to bring Christ down) or 'Who will descend into the abyss?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead)." The Incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ are the object, origin, and merit of Christian faith. One ought not to inquire how those adorable mysteries could be fulfilled, but to believe them without hesitation, by the Word of God revealing them. Faith is terrified by no difficulties; it repels them with heroic and invincible courage; when reasonings murmur against the Mysteries, it closes and fortifies the entrance of the heart. "Do not say in your heart," etc. The more incredible they appear, the more worthy they are to be believed, because God has spoken—the first and supreme Truth, who can neither be deceived nor deceive. The less proportion the truths proposed by God for us to believe have with our intellect and powers, the more they are suited to God's design of humbling men under the yoke of faith. Let us grant that God can do something which we confess we cannot investigate. In such matters, the whole reason for the fact is the power of the One who does it.

Rom 10:8. "But what does Scripture say? 'The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart'—that is, the word of faith which we preach." How concise, how easy is the law of faith! The Jews needed as many tongues to profess their faith as there were ceremonies, sacrifices, and precepts in the Law of Moses. Christians need one heart to believe, one tongue to confess the faith. Yet both are God's gift. This is the word of faith, which is the object and subject of Apostolic preaching; by this word the Church has been built up throughout the whole world; by this word the hearts of all who receive it are cleansed. "And you," says Christ, "are clean because of the word which I have spoken to you."

Rom 10:9. "For if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." He alone truly confesses that Christ Jesus is Lord who subjects his affection to Him and exhibits obedience to Him in all things—without which a Christian does not confess Him to his salvation, but to his own damnation. For not everyone who says to Him, "Lord, Lord," shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of the Father, he shall enter the kingdom of heaven. He truly says "Lord Jesus" in the Holy Spirit, as our Apostle writes elsewhere. He believes in his heart the death and resurrection of Christ who dies with Him to the world and its corruptions, renounces them, and lives to God through charity. Good works follow faith, provided it is sincere. "If you believe in your heart, you will be saved." By faith, therefore, we obtain salvation—both insofar as it is begun in us in reality, and insofar as it is awaited to be perfected in hope. "How great is the multitude of Your sweetness, O Lord, which You have hidden for those who fear You; You have perfected it for those who hope in You." By the law we fear God; by faith we hope in God. But to those who fear punishment, grace is hidden. When the soul, laboring under this fear, has not overcome evil concupiscence, and yet that severe guardian has not departed, let it flee by faith to the mercy of God, that He may give what He commands; and, inspired by the sweetness of His grace through the Holy Spirit, let it delight more in what He enjoins than in what hinders. Thus the great multitude of His sweetness—that is, the law of faith, His charity inscribed and poured forth in hearts—is perfected in those who hope in Him, so that the soul, healed, may work good not out of fear of punishment, but out of love of justice.

Rom 10:10–11. "For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation," etc. By living faith God is worshiped in the heart; by confession of faith He is honored before men. Mind, tongue, and works must agree if salvation is to be obtained. Faith of the heart destroys presumption or proud confidence in one's own natural powers and free will, by causing man to trust in God alone. Confession of the mouth causes the faithful person to make light of and despise human opinion and malice, and to esteem, reverence, and fear God alone above all creatures; it causes this world to be conquered with all its errors, loves, and terrors. For "this is the victory that overcomes the world: our faith." It is little to have Christ in the heart and to be unwilling to confess Him while the reproach of men is feared; but to those who reproach, the word must be answered: "And I will answer those who reproach me a word, because I have hoped in Your words"—that is, in Your promises. "And do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, because in Your judgments I have hoped exceedingly." This is the glory of Martyrs and Confessors; this is the duty of all Christians. Those who do not believe what they confess with their mouth are impious, liars, deceivers, sacrilegious. Those who deny or are ashamed to confess with tongue and works what they believe hope for salvation in vain. "You have perfected it for those who hope in You, in the sight of the sons of men," says the Royal Prophet. Therefore, if you hope in the Lord, hope before men; lest perhaps you hide your very hope in your heart and fear to confess when it is charged against you as a crime that you are a Christian. But to whom is it now charged that he is a Christian? So few non-Christians remain that it is more often charged against them that they are not Christians than that they dare charge others with being Christians.

Nevertheless, I say to you, my brethren: begin, whoever hears me, to live as a Christian ought, and see whether it is not charged against you—even by those who bear the Christian name but not the life, not the morals. Only he who has experienced it feels it. Do you wish to live as a Christian? Do you wish to follow the footsteps of your Lord? Let it be charged against you; you blush, and by blushing you abandon it. You have lost the way. You seem to yourself to have believed with the heart unto righteousness, but you have lost it. "With the mouth confession is made unto salvation." If, therefore, you wish to walk the way of the Lord even in the sight of the sons of men, hope in God—that is, do not be ashamed of your hope. As He lives in your heart, so let Him dwell on your lips; for not without cause did Christ will that His sign be placed on our foreheads, as in the seat of modesty, so that a Christian may not blush at the reproaches of Christ. Therefore, if you do this in the sight of men, if you are not ashamed of it before men, if in the sight of the sons of men you deny Christ neither by word nor by deed, hope that the sweetness of God will be perfected for you. For this faith is the substance and foundation of our hope. "Everyone who believes in Him will not be confounded."

Rom 10:12. "For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him." With God there is no acceptance of persons. He wills all, Gentiles and Jews alike, to be saved. He pours out the unfailing riches of His goodness and mercy upon all; He offers graces sufficient for salvation to all, although He does not bestow the gift of faith and special graces upon all. Hence our Apostle says elsewhere: "Who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe." By saying "Who is the Savior of all men," he confirmed that God's goodness is general over all men; by adding "especially of those who believe," he showed that there is a part of the human race which, by the merit of divinely inspired faith, is advanced to the highest and eternal salvation by special benefits—which is certainly done without any injustice by the most just and most merciful God, whose judgment in these dispensations is not to be scrutinized with arrogance, but praised with trembling. That general help is offered to all in innumerable ways, whether hidden or manifest; and that it is rejected by many is due to their own wickedness; but that it is received by many is due both to divine grace and to human will.

Rom 10:12–13. "The same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him." We are most poor and most wretched; let us call upon Him that we may be partakers of His riches. He is rich in spiritual goods who knows how to pray as he ought. For prayer conceived in faith, animated by hope, fervent with charity, commended by humility, victorious by perseverance, places all God's goods—indeed, our very salvation—in our hands. "Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." But He must be called upon rightly. For whoever pray do not, as they ought, call upon the name of the Lord; of whom it is said in the Psalm: "They did not call upon God." They call, but not upon God. You call upon whatever you love; you call upon whatever you summon within yourself; whatever you wish to come to you. Now, if you call upon God so that money may come to you, that an inheritance may come to you, that secular dignity may come to you, you are calling upon those things which you wish to come to you, but you are making God the helper of your desires, not the fulfiller of your longings. If you were calling upon God, He Himself would come to you; He Himself would be your riches. But now you wish to have a full coffer and an empty conscience. God does not fill the coffer, but the breast. What good are external riches to you if interior poverty oppresses you? Therefore, those who call upon God for the sake of temporal advantages, for the sake of earthly goods, for the sake of the present life and earthly happiness, do not call upon God.

"What then shall I do," you ask, "what shall I pray for?" What the Lord taught you, what the Lord taught you, what the heavenly Master taught you: Call upon God as God; love God as God; nothing is better than He; desire Him; long for Him. "One thing I have asked of the Lord, this I will seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, that I may see the beauty of the Lord." If, therefore, you wish to be a lover of God, love Him with the most sincere affections and chaste sighs; love Him; burn for Him; yearn for Him—than whom you find nothing more delightful, nothing better, nothing more joyful, nothing more enduring. For what is so enduring as that which is eternal? Do you not fear that He who keeps you from perishing might ever perish from you? If, therefore, you call upon God as God, be secure; you will be a partaker of His riches, who is rich to all who call upon Him. Ask salvation from Him, and He Himself will be your salvation. "For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Rom 10:14. "How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? Or how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" Therefore, those who believe rightly believe this: that they may call upon Him in whom they have believed, and may be able to do what they have received through lawful precepts. For what the law commands, faith obtains. Faith is the fountain of prayer; nor can the stream flow where the source of the water has dried up. Therefore, that we may believe, let us pray; and that faith itself—by which we pray—may not fail, let us pray. Faith pours forth prayer; prayer, once poured forth, obtains even for faith itself firmness. "How shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?" Christians who do not believe in Christ and the Gospel as they ought can no more be excused than the Jews. For although Christ Himself does not preach the Gospel to them personally, nevertheless He preaches it daily in His Scriptures and in His Church through His ministers, concerning whom He said: "He who hears you hears Me; he who despises you despises Me." But also now and always, Christ, as the Word, speaks to each one in the heart, teaching concerning piety, persuading concerning justice, exhorting concerning chastity, modesty, and all the virtues together—as He Himself says: "My sheep hear My voice." Thus indeed He also spoke in the heart of Paul, so that even he said: "Do you seek proof of Christ who speaks in me?" Thus, O Lord my God, Your Word is that which is also the Beginning, because it also speaks to us. Thus in the Gospel, through the flesh, it speaks; and it resounded outwardly to the ears of men, that it might be believed, and sought inwardly, and found in the eternal truth, where the good and only Master teaches all disciples. There I hear Your voice, O Lord, saying to me—because He speaks to us who teaches us. But He who does not teach us, even if He speaks, does not speak to us. Who, then, teaches us except the unchangeable Truth? For even when we are admonished through a changeable creature, we are led to the stable Truth; there we truly learn when we stand and hear Him, and rejoice with joy because of the voice of the Bridegroom, returning to Him from whom we came. And therefore He is the Beginning, because if He did not remain when we were wandering, there would be nowhere for us to return. But when we return from error, we certainly return by knowing. But that we may know, He teaches us, because He is the Beginning; He speaks to us. "Speak, Lord Jesus, for Your servant hears."

Rom 10:15. "And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!'" Not only is an external mission of the divine Word necessary for preachers—that is, that by the legitimate authority of the Bishops, who govern the Church in the place of Christ, the ministry of the Word may be entrusted to them for the building up of His Body—but they stand in greatest need of an interior mission through the grace of Christ, calling and assisting. Hence Origen says: "We, the heralds and preachers of Christ," he says, "could not preach, nor would any power of proclaiming subsist for us, unless He Himself who sent us were present with us. But if, while we preach, you are unwilling to hear, the fault is now yours; if, hearing, you do not believe; and not believing, you do not call upon; and not calling upon, you cannot be saved." But let us so exhibit ourselves in all things as irreproachable ministers of the Word, that our ministry may not be blamed, and the Christian people may deservedly say: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!" Let peoples receive "beautiful feet"—that is, a pure and holy life and conduct—in us. Those are the beautiful and comely feet of preachers who walk by the way of life, which is Christ. These are the feet concerning which our Apostle said that he had finished his course, that he had so run as to obtain—that is, with the mind by which one strives and hastens toward heaven. These are the feet of Jesus, washed, concerning which He says: "If I, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example." If anyone finds living water; if anyone receives drink from Jesus; if anyone, through His grace, imitates His examples—charity, purity, humility, poverty, labors, love of the cross, contempt of the world, zeal for the salvation of souls—and that water, poured out by Christ upon him, becomes in him a fountain of water springing up unto eternal life, that one can, from the water of spiritual doctrine, wash the feet of his hearers, and wash away from their souls all the filth and uncleanness of evil affections and works; and doing this, he will fulfill the example given by the Master. "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!"—peace, which the world cannot give nor disturb; goods, not temporal, not perishable, but eternal—God Himself, the one supreme Good. Let the ministers of the divine Word say with the Bride: "I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?" Let them take care lest their affections be defiled while they preach Christ and open the door to Him that He may dwell through faith in the hearts of men. Let them fear lest, perhaps, while preaching to others, they themselves become reprobate. For truth is more safely heard than preached, because when it is heard, humility is preserved; but when it is preached, some measure of boasting does not easily creep in upon any man, in which, indeed, feet are defiled. "I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?" Wash them, O Christ Jesus. "Forgive us our debts, for our charity is not extinct." When we hear You, our humbled bones rejoice with You in heavenly things; but when we preach You, we tread the earth that we may open it to You; therefore, if we are reproved, we are disturbed; if we are praised, we are puffed up. Wash our feet, cleansed before, but defiled when we go through the earth to open it to You.

Rom 10:16. "But they have not all obeyed the Gospel." How few Christians obey the Gospel in every respect! They believe the mysteries, but contradict the precepts and rules of morals. They would wish the Gospel to condescend to and be accommodated to their desires. It displeases them that it commands them to love their enemies, not to love riches, to make light of honors and the glory of the world, to take up their cross daily—so much so that today the preachers of the Gospel can say with groaning and tears, no less than the Apostles: "Lord, who has believed our report?" Indeed, since faith is proved by works, few believe, because very few order their life according to the Gospel.

Rom 10:17. "Therefore faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." That which says that faith is from hearing is to be understood because faith arises from what the mind conceives through hearing—not as if the mere conception of the mind produces faith in man, but because faith cannot exist without conception. For when rectitude of willing is added to conception through grace, faith results, because one believes what one hears. But since hearing is through the word of Christ, which His preachers announce, this one grace of faith embraces a great and manifold grace:

1. Preachers of the Gospel must be chosen by God and destined for us. But that they are destined for us rather than for others is a grace conferred upon us, unworthy, by God.

2. They must be sent by God, whose legation they fulfill and whose ministers they are. But that they are sent by God to us rather than to others—to whom He sends them by a hidden but just judgment—is another grace mercifully imparted to us.

3. It is necessary that we hear the preachers of the Gospel, and this is a new grace. For how many heralds of the divine Word are sent to entire nations, and yet are heard by only a few men!

4. It is not enough to hear the preachers, unless the word of salvation which they announce is understood and grasped. But that it is understood and grasped is the gift and grace of God, not given to all who hear with the ears of the body. Hence the Lord Christ says: "Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand; and in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, saying: 'By hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you shall see, and not perceive. For the heart of this people has grown dull, and with their ears they hear heavily, and they have closed their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I should heal them.'"

5. Understanding is not enough, but a humble, complete, perfect submission and obedience of mind and heart to the divine truth which the preachers announce is necessary. But this cannot happen without a right will, which the grace of Christ alone bestows upon us.

"Hearing is through the word of Christ"—that is, through the word of those who preach Christ. But preachers are none unless they are sent; but that they are sent is grace. Therefore, preaching itself is grace, because it is that which descends from grace; and hearing is grace, and understanding from hearing is grace, and rectitude of willing is grace. But mission, preaching, hearing, understanding—are nothing unless the will wills what the mind understands; which the will cannot do unless it has received rectitude. For one wills rightly when one wills what one ought. Thus, what the mind conceives from hearing the Word is the seed of the preacher; and rectitude is the increase which God gives—without which NEITHER he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but God who gives the increase. Therefore, as often as the Word of God is preached to us, let us give thanks to God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and let us humbly pray to Him that He may mercifully work in us a right will—without which the other graces become useless to us for salvation, and, through the perversity of our heart's action, turn rather to an increase of damnation than to sanctification.

"Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." Let His preachers announce this one thing: not words persuasive of human wisdom and eloquence, empty and destitute of the power of the Cross. The Word of Christ is the seed and nourishment of faith. It must be drawn from the Sacred Scriptures and the books of the holy Fathers, not from broken cisterns which cannot hold the waters of saving wisdom with which the Christian peoples ought to be watered. The ministers of Christ are; let them speak the words of their Lord. Therefore, just as God in the beginning, by miracle, made grain and other things growing from the earth for the nourishment of men, without a cultivator and without seeds—as St. Anselm says—so, without human teaching, He wonderfully made the hearts of the Prophets, Apostles, and also the Evangelists fruitful with saving seeds. Whence we receive whatever we sow salutarily in God's agriculture for the nourishment of souls, just as we have only from the first seeds of the earth what we propagate for the nourishment of bodies. Indeed, we preach nothing usefully for spiritual salvation which Sacred Scripture, made fruitful by the miracle of the Holy Spirit, has not brought forth or does not contain within itself.

Rom 10:18–19. "But I say: Have they not heard? Yes indeed: 'Their sound has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.'" But I say: "Has Israel not known?" etc. The sound of Apostolic preaching has reached even to us, and in the Church, diffused throughout the whole world, their words resound. In the Roman Church—into which the Princes of the Apostles, Peter and Paul, poured out all doctrine with their blood; in that Church, I say, the Mother, the Teacher of truth, into which, as into a deposit, the Apostles contributed the rich doctrine of salvation—the Apostolic voices are heard; and through the ministers of the same Word, their sermons are preached in the languages of all nations in all parts of the earth. "Their sound has gone out into all the earth"—and heretics do not enter the Church. Therefore the sound has gone out into all the earth, that you may enter heaven. Hear the testament of your Father. Behold, what could be plainer, what more open? "Their sound has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world." Is an interpreter needed? Why do you strive against yourself? Do you wish to retain a part in a lawsuit, when you can retain the whole in concord? "Do not seek me," you say. Why should I not seek you, when Christ, and the Apostles after Him, sought the stray sheep of the house of Israel and the stray sheep among all nations and in all the earth with great labors? "Do not seek me," you say. This, indeed, is what the iniquity by which we are divided wills; but not what the charity by which we are brothers wills. I would not be harsh if I were seeking my servant; and am I called harsh because I seek my brother? Thus may he think in whom fraternal charity is not present—charity with which the breasts of the Apostles burned, for our example. But I, nevertheless, seek my brother, that he may return to our common Mother, the Catholic, Apostolic, Roman Church. Let him be angry, provided he is sought; when found, he will be appeased. I seek, I say, my brother; and I intercede not against him, but for him, to my Lord. Nor, interceding, will I say: "Lord, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me"; but: "Tell my brother to hold the inheritance with me." Far be it from me to be like the Jews, who envy the faith of the Gentiles and are inflamed with anger at their calling. First, Moses says: "I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation, by a foolish nation I will move you to anger."

Rom 10:20–21. "But Isaiah is bold and says: 'I was found by those who did not seek Me; I became manifest to those who did not ask for Me.'" In many and various ways and paths, God has made Himself known to us, and has signified to us His counsels concerning us, His will, and our duties toward Him: through the exhortations of preachers, the admonitions of superiors, the reading of pious books, the examples of the Saints, interior inspirations, benefits, and chastisements. He has appeared to us when we were not thinking about Him or about our salvation—indeed, when we were fleeing from Him. Now, at least, let us seek Him with living faith, with fervent charity; let us seek the Lord while He may be found; let us call upon Him while He is near; while with outstretched hands He calls us; while He is prepared to bestow upon us the gifts of His graces; while He shows us the way of salvation and deigns to be our guide upon it. There will come a time when He will be sought in vain by those who, by the incredulity, hardness, obstinacy of heart, and perversity of life and morals, contradict Him, like the Jews: "All day long I have stretched out My hands to a people not believing and contradicting Me." We are hardened and close to damnation if we are not moved, if we do not tremble, if we do not flee to God with praiseworthy emulation, lest others receive the grace and crown prepared for us, by the terrible example of the reprobation of the Jews. The Jews were reprobated by their own fault; the Gentiles were called by God's mercy. From the one we ought to fear; from the other we ought to hope; we must respond faithfully to the grace of our calling. "All day long I have stretched out My hands to a people not believing and contradicting Me." Here He calls "day" the entire time past which had gone by. But that time in which He says He stretched out His hands, He declares that He called, drew, and exhorted, showing that the entire fault of this disobedience was theirs; He says: "to a people not believing and contradicting Me." You see how great their accusation is. For they not only did not obey even when exhorted, but even contradicted—and that not once, not twice or thrice, but throughout the entire time, while they saw Him persistently doing the same. But others, who had never known God, were nevertheless able to be drawn to Him. Yet He does not say that they were able to draw God to themselves by their own power; but, casting down the pride even of those from the Gentiles who believed, and showing that God's grace accomplished all this, He says: "I became manifest; I was found." Therefore, you will say, they were empty of all merit? By no means. But what they found and apprehended, and what became manifest and they knew—this they contributed from themselves. Then, lest the Jews say, "Why have You not also become manifest to us?" He adds: "All day long I have stretched out My hands," etc. As if to say: "Not only did I become manifest to them, but I also persisted with outstretched hands, exhorting and showing a paternal benevolence, and such care as a mother has for her offspring." Thus He proves that their perdition proceeded from their own obstinate will, so that they are unworthy of any pardon. For although they both heard and understood what was said, nevertheless they were unwilling to approach—which is still much greater—not only did He cause them to hear and understand, but He even provoked them to emulation: "I will provoke you to emulation," etc. You know the tyranny of this passion, and what powers it has to dissolve all contention and to raise up the languid and remiss. And what need is there to say this about men, when even in those who are not very strong in reason, and in the still immature age of children, jealousy shows much power? For it frequently happens that a boy, called by his father, does not approach, but contentiously refuses; but when he first sees some other boy obeying his father, he immediately runs of his own accord to his father's bosom, so that what sedulous invitation could not accomplish, emulation effects. Thus God dealt with the Jews. For He not only called and stretched out His hands, but also awaited the passion of jealousy in them, while He introduced those who were much baser not only into their good things, but loaded them with much greater and more excellent blessings. But not even thus did they approach. By what pardon, then, would they be worthy—so unbelieving toward God's words, so faithless toward His promises, so ungrateful for His benefits, so rebellious against His commands? "All day long I have stretched out My hands to a people not believing and contradicting Me."