"How Lovely God Is"

 How Lovely God Is

excerpt from  A Little Book of Eternal Wisdom 

by Blessed Henry Suso

 (1295 - 1366)

 

The Servant.--Lord, let me reflect on that divine passage, where Thou speakest of Thyself in the Book of Wisdom: "Come over to Me, all ye that desire Me, and be filled with My fruits. I am the Mother of fair love; My Spirit is sweet above honey and the honeycomb. Wine and music rejoice the heart, but the love of wisdom is above them both.[3]

Ah, Lord! Thou canst show Thyself so lovely and so tender, that all hearts must needs languish for Thee and endure, for Thy sake, all the misery of tender desire; Thy words of love flow so sweetly out of Thy sweet mouth, and so powerfully affect many hearts in their days of youthful bloom, that perishable love is wholly extinguished in them. O my dear Lord, this it is for which my soul sighs, this it is which makes my spirit sad, this it is about which I would gladly hear Thee speak. Now, then, my only elected Comforter, speak one little word to my soul, to Thy poor handmaid; for, lo! I am fallen softly asleep beneath Thy shadow, and my heart watcheth.

Eternal Wisdom.--Listen, then, my son, and see, incline to Me thy ears, enter wholly into thy interior, and forget thyself and all things. I am in Myself the incomprehensible good, which always was and always is, which never was and never will be uttered. I may indeed give Myself to men's hearts to be felt by them, but no tongue can truly express Me in words. And yet, when I, the Supernatural, immutable good, present Myself to every creature according to its capacity to be susceptible of Me, I bind the sun's splendour, as it were, in a cloth, and give thee spiritual perceptions of Me and of My sweet love in bodily words thus: I set Myself tenderly before the eyes of thy heart; now adorn and clothe thou Me in spiritual perceptions and represent Me as delicate and as comely as thy very heart could wish, and bestow on Me all those things that can move the heart to especial love and entire delight of soul. 

Lo! all and everything that thou and all men can possibly imagine of form, of elegance, and grace, is in Me far more ravishing than any one can express, and in words like these do I choose to make Myself known. Now, listen further: I am of high birth, of noble race; I am the Eternal Word of the Fatherly Heart, in which, according to the love-abounding abyss of My natural Sonship in His sole paternity, I possess a gratefulness before His tender eyes in the sweet and bright-flaming love of the Holy Ghost. 

I am the throne of delight, I am the crown of salvation, My eyes are so clear, My mouth so tender, My cheeks so radiant and blooming, and all My figure so fair and ravishing, yea, and so delicately formed, that if a man were to lie in the glowing furnace till the day of judgment, only to have one single glance at My beauty, he would not deserve it. See, I am so deliciously adorned in garments of light, I am so exquisitely set off with all the blooming colours of living flowers, that all May-blossoms, all the beautiful shrubs of all dewy fields, all the tender buds of the sunny meads, are but as rough thistles compared to My adornment.

In the Godhead I play the game of bliss,
Such joy the angels find in this,
That unto them a thousand years
But as one little hour appears.

All the heavenly host follow Me entranced by new wonders, and behold Me; their eyes are fixed on Mine; their hearts are inclined to Me, their minds bent on Me without intermission. Happy is he who, in joyous security, shall take Me by My beautiful hand, and join in My sweet diversions, and dance for ever the dance of joy amid the ravishing delights of the kingdom of heaven! 

One little word there spoken by My sweet mouth will far surpass the singing of all angels, the music of all harps, the harmony of all sweet strings. My faithfulness is so made to be loved, so lovely am I to be embraced, and so tender for pure languishing souls to kiss, that all hearts ought to break for My possession. I am condescending and full of sympathy and always present to the pure soul. I abide with her in secret, at  table, in bed, in the streets, in the fields. Turn Myself whichever way I will, in Me there is nothing that can displease, in Me is everything that can delight the utmost wishes of thy heart and desires of the soul. 

Lo! I am a good so pure, that he who in his day only gets one drop of Me regards all the pleasures and delights of this world as nothing but bitterness; all its possessions and honours as worthless, and only fit to be cast away; My beloved ones are encompassed by My love, and are absorbed into the One Thing alone without imaged love and without spoken words, and are taken and infused into that good out of which they flowed. My love can also relieve regenerate hearts from the heavy load of sin, and can give a free, pure, and gentle heart, and create a clean conscience. 

Tell Me, what is there in all this world able to outweigh this one thing? For he who gives his heart wholly to Me lives joyfully, dies securely, and obtains the kingdom of heaven here as well as hereafter.

Now, observe, I have assuredly given thee many words, and yet My beauty has been as little touched by them as the firmament by thy little finger, because no eye has ever seen My beauty, nor ear heard it, neither has it ever entered any heart. Still let what I have said to thee be as a device to show thee the difference between My sweet love and false, perishable love.

The Servant.--Ah! Thou tender, delicious, wild flower, Thou delight of the heart in the embracing arms of the pure loving soul, how familiar is all this to him who has even once really felt Thee; but how strange is it to that man who knows Thee not, whose heart and mind are still in the body! O, Thou most heart-felt incomprehensible good this is a precious hour, this is a sweet moment, in which I must open to Thee a secret wound which my heart still bears from Thy sweet love. 

Lord, plurality in love is like water in the fire. Lord, Thou knowest that real fervent love cannot bear duality. Alas! Thou only Lord of my heart and soul, my heart desires that Thou shouldst have a particular love for me, and that I should be particularly pleasing to Thy divine eyes. O Lord, Thou hast so many hearts that ardently love Thee, and are of much account with Thee. Alas! my sweet and tender Lord, how stands it with me in this matter?

Eternal Wisdom.--My love is of that sort which is not diminished in unity, nor confounded in multiplicity. I am as entirely concerned and occupied with thee alone, with the thought how I may at all times love thee alone, and fulfill everything that appertains to thee, as though I were wholly disengaged from all other things.

The Servant.--O rare! O wonderful! whither am I borne, how am I gone astray! how is my soul utterly dissolved by the sweet friendly words of my beloved! Oh, turn away Thy bright eyes from me, for they have overcome me.[4] Wherever was there a heart so hard, a soul so lukewarm, so cold as, when it heard Thy sweet living words, so exceedingly fiery as they are, was not fain to melt and kindle in Thy sweet love! 

O wonder of wonders! that he who thus sees Thee with the eyes of his soul, should not feel his very heart dissolve in love. How right blessed is he who bears the name of Thy Spouse, and is so! What sweet consolations and secret tokens of Thy love must not he eternally receive from Thee! O thou sweet virgin St. Agnes, thou fair wooer of Eternal Wisdom! how well couldst thou console thyself with thy dear Bridegroom, when thou didst say, "His blood has adorned my cheeks as with roses." O gentle Lord, that my soul were but worthy to be called Thy wooer! 

And were it indeed possible that all delights, all joy and love, that this world can afford, might be found united in one man, how gladly would I renounce him for the sake of that name! How blessed is that man, that ever he was born into the world who is named Thy friend, and is so! Oh, if a man had even a thousand lives, he ought to stake them at once for the sake of acquiring Thy love. Oh, all ye friends of God, all ye heavenly host, and thou dear virgin St. Agnes, help me to pray to Him: for never did I rightly know what His love was.

Alas! thou heart of mine, lay aside, put away all sloth, and see if, before thy death, thou mayest advance so far as to feel His sweet love. O thou tender beautiful Wisdom! O my elected One! What a truly right gracious love Thou canst be above all loves else in the world! How very different is Thy love and the love of creatures! How false is everything that appears lovely in this world and gives itself out to be something, as soon as one really begins to know it. 

Lord, wherever I might cast my eyes I always found something to disgust me; for, if it was a fair image, it was void of grace; if it was fair and lovely, it had not the true way; or if it had indeed this, still, I always found something either inwardly or outwardly, to which the entire inclination of my heart was secretly opposed. But Thou art beauty with infinite affability, Thou art grace in shape and form, the word with the way, nobility with virtue, riches with power, interior freedom and exterior brightness, and one thing Thou art which I have never found in time, namely, a power and faculty of perfectly satiating every wish and every ardent desire of a truly loving heart. 

The more one knows Thee, the more one loves Thee; the more acquainted one is with Thee, the more friendly one finds Thee. Ah me! what an unfathomable, entirely pure, good Thou art! See how deceived all those hearts are that fix their affections on anything else! Ah! ye false lovers, flee far from me, never come near me more. I have chosen for my heart that one only love in which my heart, my soul, my desire, and all my powers can alone be satiated with a love that never dissolves away. 

Oh Lord, could I but trace Thee on my heart! could I but melt Thee with characters of gold into the innermost core of my heart and soul, so that Thou mightest never be eradicated out of me! Oh, misery and desolation! that ever I should have troubled my heart with such things! What have I gained with all my lovers, but time lost, forfeited words, an empty hand, few good works, and a conscience burdened with infirmity? Slay me, rather, in Thy love, O Lord, for from Thy feet I will never more be separated.

Eternal Wisdom.--I go forth to meet those who seek Me, and I receive with affectionate joy such as desire My love. All that thou canst ever experience of My sweet love in time, is but as a little drop to the ocean of My love in eternity.

___________________

3.	Ecclesiasticus xxiv. 24, 26, 27; xl. 20
4.	Cant. vi. 5

"Of Compassion"

Of Compassion

excerpt from The Adornment of Spiritual Marriage 

 by Blessed John of Ruysbroeck

(1293-1381)

 

 

 

 

 

Out of kindliness springs compassion, which is a fellow-feeling with all men; for none can share the griefs of all, save him who is kind.

Compassion is an inward movement of the heart, stirred by pity for the bodily and ghostly griefs of all men. This compassion makes a man suffer with Christ in His passion; for he who is compassionate marks the wherefore of His pains and the way of His resignation; of His love, His wounds, His tenderness; of His grief and His nobleness; of the disgrace, the misery, and the shame He endured; of the way in which He was despised; of His crown; of the nails; of His mercifulness; of His destruction and dying in patience. These manifold and unheard-of sorrows of Christ, our Saviour and our Bridegroom, move all kindly men to pity and compassion with Christ.

Compassion makes a man look into himself, and recognize his faults, his feebleness in virtues and in the worship of God, his lukewarmness, his laziness, his many failings, the time he has wasted and his present imperfection in moral and other virtues; all this makes a man feel true pity and compassion for himself. Further, compassion marks the errors and disorders of our fellow-creatures, how little they care for their God and their eternal blessedness, their ingratitude for all the good things which God has done for them, and the pains He suffered for their sake; how they are strangers to virtue, unskilled and unpractised in it, but skilful and cunning in every wickedness; how attentive they are to the loss and gain of earthly goods, how careless and reckless they are of God, of eternal things, and their eternal bliss. When he marks this, a good man is moved to compassion for the salvation of all men.

Such a man will also regard with pity the bodily needs of his neighbours, and the manifold sufferings of human nature; seeing men hungry, thirsty, cold, naked, sick, poor, and abject; the manifold oppressions of the poor, the grief caused by loss of kinsmen, friends, goods, honour, peace; all the countless sorrows which befall the nature of man. These things move the just to compassion, so that they share the sorrows of all. But their greatest pain springs from this: that men are so impatient of this suffering, that they lose their reward, and may often earn hell for themselves. Such is the work of compassion and of pity.

This work of compassion and of common neighbourly love overcomes and casts out the third mortal sin, that is hatred or Envy. For compassion is a wound in the heart, whence flows a common love to all mankind and which cannot be healed so long as any suffering lives in man; for God has ordained grief and sorrow of heart before all the virtues. And this is why Christ says: Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. And that shall come to pass when they reap in joy that which now, through compassion and pity, they sow in tears.

"The Love of Solitude and Silence"

The Love of Solitude and Silence 

excerpt from the Imitation of Christ by Thomas A. Kempis

Seek a suitable time for leisure and meditate often on the favors of God. Leave curiosities alone. Read such matters as bring sorrow to the heart rather than occupation to the mind. If you withdraw yourself from unnecessary talking and idle running about, from listening to gossip and rumors, you will find enough time that is suitable for holy meditation.

Very many great saints avoided the company of men wherever possible and chose to serve God in retirement. "As often as I have been among men," said one writer, "I have returned less a man." We often find this to be true when we take part in long conversations. It is easier to be silent altogether than not to speak too much. To stay at home is easier than to be sufficiently on guard while away. Anyone, then, who aims to live the inner and spiritual life must go apart, with Jesus, from the crowd.

No man appears in safety before the public eye unless he first relishes obscurity. No man is safe in speaking unless he loves to be silent. No man rules safely unless he is willing to be ruled. No man commands safely unless he has learned well how to obey. No man rejoices safely unless he has within him the testimony of a good conscience.

More than this, the security of the saints was always enveloped in the fear of God, nor were they less cautious and humble because they were conspicuous for great virtues and graces. The security of the wicked, on the contrary, springs from pride and presumption, and will end in their own deception.

Never promise yourself security in this life, even though you seem to be a good religious, or a devout hermit. It happens very often that those whom men esteem highly are more seriously endangered by their own excessive confidence. Hence, for many it is better not to be too free from temptations, but often to be tried lest they become too secure, too filled with pride, or even too eager to fall back upon external comforts.

If only a man would never seek passing joys or entangle himself with worldly affairs, what a good conscience he would have. What great peace and tranquillity would be his, if he cut himself off from all empty care and thought only of things divine, things helpful to his soul, and put all his trust in God.

No man deserves the consolation of heaven unless he persistently arouses himself to holy contrition. If you desire true sorrow of heart, seek the privacy of your cell and shut out the uproar of the world, as it is written: "In your chamber bewail your sins." There you will find what too often you lose abroad.

Your cell will become dear to you if you remain in it, but if you do not, it will become wearisome. If in the beginning of your religious life, you live within your cell and keep to it, it will soon become a special friend and a very great comfort.

In silence and quiet the devout soul advances in virtue and learns the hidden truths of Scripture. There she finds a flood of tears with which to bathe and cleanse herself nightly, that she may become the more intimate with her Creator the farther she withdraws from all the tumult of the world. For God and His holy angels will draw near to him who withdraws from friends and acquaintances.

It is better for a man to be obscure and to attend to his salvation than to neglect it and work miracles. It is praiseworthy for a religious seldom to go abroad, to flee the sight of men and have no wish to see them.

Why wish to see what you are not permitted to have? "The world passes away and the concupiscence thereof." Sensual craving sometimes entices you to wander around, but when the moment is past, what do you bring back with you save a disturbed conscience and heavy heart? A happy going often leads to a sad return, a merry evening to a mournful dawn. Thus, all carnal joy begins sweetly but in the end brings remorse and death.

What can you find elsewhere that you cannot find here in your cell? Behold heaven and earth and all the elements, for of these all things are made. What can you see anywhere under the sun that will remain long? Perhaps you think you will completely satisfy yourself, but you cannot do so, for if you should see all existing things, what would they be but an empty vision?

Raise your eyes to God in heaven and pray because of your sins and shortcomings. Leave vanity to the vain. Set yourself to the things which God has commanded you to do. Close the door upon yourself and call to you Jesus, your Beloved. Remain with Him in your cell, for nowhere else will you find such peace. If you had not left it, and had not listened to idle gossip, you would have remained in greater peace. But since you love, sometimes, to hear news, it is only right that you should suffer sorrow of heart from it.

"On purity of heart which is to be sought above all things"

On purity of heart which is to be sought above all things

excerpt from "On Cleaving to God" by St. Albert the Great

 

 

If your desire and aim is to reach the destination of the path and home of true happiness, of grace and glory, by a straight and safe way then earnestly apply your mind to seek constant purity of heart, clarity of mind and calm of the senses. Gather up your heart's desire and fix it continually on the Lord God above. To do so you must withdraw yourself so far as you can from friends and from everyone else, and from the activities that hinder you from such a purpose. Grasp every opportunity when you can find the place, time and means to devote yourself to silence and contemplation, and gathering the secret fruits of silence, so that you can escape the shipwreck of this present age and avoid the restless agitation of the noisy world. For this reason apply yourself at all times to purity, clarity and peace of heart above all things, so that, so far as possible, you can keep the doors of your heart resolutely barred to the forms and images of the physical senses and worldly imaginations by shutting off the doors of the physical senses and turning within yourself. After all, purity of heart is recognised as the most important thing among all spiritual practices, as its final aim, and the reward for all the labours that a spiritual-minded person and true religious may undertake in this life.

For this reason you should with all care, intelligence and effort free your heart, senses and desires from everything that can hinder their liberty, and above all from everything in the world that could possibly bind and overcome you. So struggle in this way to draw together all the distractions of your heart and desires of your mind into one true, simple and supreme good, to keep them gathered within yourself in one place, and by this means to remain always joined to things divine and to God in your mind, to abandon the unreliable things of earth, and be able to translate your mind continually to the things above within yourself in Jesus Christ.

To which end, if you have begun to strip and purify yourself of images and imaginations and to simplify and still your heart and mind in the Lord God so that you can draw and taste the well of divine grace in everything within yourself, and so that you are united to God in your mind by a good will, then this itself is enough for you in place of all study and reading of holy scripture, and as demonstration of love of God and neighbour, as devotion itself testifies.

So simplify your heart with all care, diligence and effort so that still and at peace from the products of the imagination you can turn round and remain always in the Lord within yourself, as if your mind were already in the now of eternity, that is of the godhead. In this way you will be able to renounce yourself through love of Jesus Christ, with a pure heart, clean conscience and unfeigned faith, and commit yourself completely and fully to God in all difficulties and eventualities, and be willing to submit yourself patiently to his will and good pleasure at all times.

For this to come about you must repeatedly retreat into your heart and remain there, keeping yourself free from everything, so far as is possible. You must always keep the eye of your mind clear and still. You must guard your understanding from daydreams and thoughts of earthly things. You must completely free the inclination of your will from worldly cares and cling will all your being to the supreme true good with fervent love. You must keep your memory always lifted up and firmly anchored in that same true supreme good and only uncreated reality. In just this way your whole mind gathered up with all its powers and faculties in God, may become one spirit with him, in whom the supreme perfection of life is known to consist.

This is the true union of spirit and love by which a man is made compliant to all the impulses of the supreme and eternal will, so that he becomes by grace what God is by nature.

At the same time it should be noted that in the very moment in which one is able, by God's help, to overcome one's own will, that is to cast away from oneself inordinate love or strong feeling, in other words so as to dare simply to trust God completely in all one's needs, by this very fact one becomes so pleasing to God that his grace is imparted to one, and through that very grace one experiences that true love and devotion which drives out all uncertainty and fear and has full confidence in God. What is more, there can be no greater happiness than to place one's all in him who lacks nothing.

So why do you still remain in yourself where you cannot stay. Cast yourself, all of yourself, with confidence into God and he will sustain you, heal you and make you safe. If you dwell on these things faithfully within, they will do more to confer a happy life on you than all riches, pleasures and honours, and above all the wisdom and knowledge of this present deceitful world and its life, even if you were to excel in them all that ever lived. 

"The Evil Tongues"

 The Evil Tongues

excerpt from the Sermon of Curé of Ars

There are some who, through envy, for that is what it amounts to, belittle and slander others, especially those in the same business or profession as their own, in order to draw business to themselves. They will say such evil things as "their merchandise is worthless" or "they cheat"; that they have nothing at home and that it would be impossible to give goods away at such a price; that there have been many complaints about these goods; that they will give no value or wear or whatever it is, or even that it is short weight, or not the right length, and so on. A workman will say that another man is not a good worker, that he is always changing his job, that people are not satisfied with him, or that he does no work, that he only puts in his time, or perhaps that he does not know how to work. 

"What I was telling you there," they will then add, "it would be better to say nothing about it. He might lose by it, you know." 

"Is that so?" you answer." It would have been better if you yourself had said nothing. That would have been the thing to do." 

A farmer will observe that his neighbour's property is doing better than his own. This makes him very angry so he will speak evil of him. There are others who slander their neighbours from motives of vengeance. If you do or say something to help someone, even through reasons of duty or of charity, they will then look for opportunities to decry you, to think up things which will harm you, in order to revenge themselves. If their neighbour is well spoken of, they will be very annoyed and will tell you: "He is just like everyone else. He has his own faults. He has done this, he has said that. You didn't know that? Ah, that is because you have never had anything to do with him." 

A great many people slander others because of pride. They think that by depreciating others they will increase their own worth. They want to make the most of their own alleged good qualities. Everything they say and do will be good, and everything that others say and do will be wrong. 

But the great bulk of malicious talk is done by people who are simply irresponsible, who have an itch to chatter about others without feeling any need to discover whether what they are saying is true or false. They just have to talk. Yet, although these latter are less guilty than the others -- that is to say, than those who slander and backbite through hatred or envy or revenge -- yet they are not free from sin. Whatever the motive that prompts them, they should not sully the reputation of their neighbour. 

It is my belief that the sin of scandalmongering includes all that is most evil and wicked. Yes, my dear brethren, this sin includes the poison of all the vices -- the meanness of vanity, the venom of jealousy, the bitterness of anger, the malice of hatred, and the flightiness and irresponsibility so unworthy of a Christian.... Is it not, in fact, scandalmongering which sows almost all discord and disunity, which breaks up friendships and hinders enemies from reconciling their quarrels, which disturbs the peace of homes, which turns brother against brother, husband against wife, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law and son-in-law against father-in-law? How many united households have been turned upside down by one evil tongue, so that their members could not bear to see or to speak to one another? And one malicious tongue, belonging to a neighbour, man or woman, can be the cause of all this misery.... 

Yes, my dear brethren, the evil tongue of one scandalmonger poisons all the virtues and engenders all the vices. It is from that malicious tongue that a stain is spread so many times through a whole family, a stain which passes from fathers to children, from one generation to the next, and which perhaps is never effaced. The malicious tongue will follow the dead into the grave; it will disturb the remains of these unfortunates by making live again the faults which were buried with them in that resting place. What a foul crime, my dear brethren! Would you not be filled with fiery indignation if you were to see some vindictive wretch rounding upon a corpse and tearing it into a thousand pieces? Such a sight would make you cry out in horror and compassion. And yet the crime of continuing to talk of the faults of the dead is much greater. A great many people habitually speak of someone who has died something after this fashion: "Ah, he did very well in his time! He was a seasoned drinker. 

He was as cute as a fox. He was no better than he should have been." 

But perhaps, my friend, you are mistaken, and although everything may have been exactly as you have said, perhaps he is already in Heaven, perhaps God has pardoned him. But, in the meantime, where is your charity?

Letter to all the Faithful

Letter to all the Faithful

by St. Francis of Assisi
(c. 1182 – October 3, 1226)

from The Writings of St. Francis of Assisi  

(tr. by Father Pascal Robinson), 1905

To all Christians, religious, clerics, and laics, men and women, to all who dwell in the whole world, Brother Francis, their servant and subject, presents reverent homage, wishing true peace from heaven and sincere charity in the Lord. 

Being the servant of all, I am bound to serve all and to administer the balm-bearing words of my Lord. Wherefore, considering in my mind that, because of the infirmity and weakness of my body, I cannot visit each one personally, I propose by this present letter and message  to offer you the words of our Lord Jesus Christ who is the Word of the Father and the words of the Holy Ghost which are "spirit and life." 

This Word of the Father, so worthy, so holy and glorious, whose coming the most High Father announced from heaven by His holy archangel Gabriel to the holy and glorious Virgin Mary  in whose womb He received the true flesh of our humanity and frailty, He, being rich  above all, willed, nevertheless, with His most Blessed Mother, to choose poverty.

 And when His Passion was nigh, He celebrated the Pasch with His disciples and, taking bread, He gave thanks and blessed and broke saying: Take ye and eat: this is My Body. And, taking the chalice, He said: This is My Blood of the New Testament, which shall be shed for you and for many unto remission of sins.  After that He prayed to the Father, saying: "Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from Me."  "And His sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground."  But withal, He gave up His will to the will of the Father, saying: Father, Thy will be done: not as I will, but as Thou wilt.  Such was the will of the Father that His Son, Blessed and Glorious, whom He gave to us, and who was born for us,  should by His own Blood, sacrifice, and oblation, offer Himself on the altar of the Cross, not for Himself, by whom "all things were made,"  but for our sins, leaving us an example that we should follow His steps. And He wishes that we should all be saved by Him  and that we should receive Him with a pure heart and a chaste body. But there are few who wish to receive Him and to be saved by Him, although His yoke is sweet and His burden light. 

 Those who will not taste how sweet the Lord is  and who love darkness rather than the light,  not wishing to fulfil the commandments of God are cursed: of them it is said by the prophet: "They are cursed who decline from Thy commandments."  

 But, O how happy and blessed are those who love the Lord, who do as the Lord Himself says in the Gospel: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart and with thy whole soul and . . . thy neighbor as thyself."  Let us therefore love God and adore Him with a pure heart and a pure mind because He Himself, seeking that above all, says: "The true adorers shall adore the Father in spirit and in truth."  For all who "adore Him, must adore Him in spirit and in truth."  And let us offer Him praises and prayers day and night, saying: "Our Father who art in heaven," for "we ought always to pray, and not to faint." 

We ought indeed to confess all our sins to a priest and receive from him the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He who does not eat His Flesh and does not drink His Blood cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.  Let him, however, eat and drink worthily, because he who receives unworthily "eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the Body of the Lord," —that is, not discerning it from other foods.

Let us, moreover, "bring forth fruits worthy of penance."  And let us love our neighbors as ourselves, and, if any one does not wish to love them as himself or cannot, let him at least do them not harm, but let him do good to them.

Let those who have received the power of judging others, exercise judgment with mercy,  as they hope to obtain mercy from the Lord. For let judgment without mercy be shown to him that doth not mercy. Let us then have charity and humility and let us give alms because they wash souls from the foulness of sins. For men lose all which they leave in this world; they carry with them, however, the reward of charity and alms which they have given, for which they shall receive a recompense and worthy remuneration from the Lord.

We ought also to fast and to abstain from vices and sins and from superfluity of food and drink, and to be Catholics. We ought also to visit Churches frequently and to reverence clerics not only for themselves, if they are sinners, but on account of their office and administration of the most holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which they sacrifice on the altar and receive and administer to others. And let us all know for certain that no one can be saved except by the Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the holy words of the Lord which clerics say and announce and distribute and they alone administer and not others. But religious especially, who have renounced the world, are bound to do more and greater things, but "not to leave the other undone." 

We ought to hate our bodies with [their] vices and sins, because the Lord says in the Gospel that all vices and sins come forth from the heart.  We ought to love our enemies and do good to them that hate us.  We ought to observe the precepts and counsels of our Lord Jesus Christ. We ought also to deny ourselves and to put our bodies beneath the yoke of servitude and holy obedience as each one has promised to the Lord. And let no man be bound by obedience to obey any one in that where sin or offence is committed.

But let him to whom obedience has been entrusted and who is considered greater become as the lesser and the servant of the other brothers, and let him show and have the mercy toward each of his brothers that he would wish to be shown to himself if he were in the like situation. And let him not be angry with a brother on account of his offence, but let him advise him kindly and encourage him with all patience and humility.

We ought not to be "wise according to the flesh" and prudent, but we ought rather to be simple, humble, 

and pure. And let us hold our bodies in dishonor and contempt because through our fault we are all wretched and corrupt, foul and worms, as the Lord says by the prophet: "I am a worm and no man, the reproach of men and the outcast of the people." We should never desire to be above others, but ought rather to be servants and subject "to every human creature for God's sake."  And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon all those who do these things and who shall persevere to the end, and He shall make His abode and dwelling in them,  and they shall be children of the heavenly Father whose works they do, and they are the spouses, brothers and mothers of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are spouses when by the Holy Ghost the faithful soul is united to Jesus Christ. We are His brothers when we do the will of His Father who is in heaven. We are His mothers when we bear Him in our heart and in our body through pure love and a clean conscience and we bring Him forth by holy work which ought to shine as an example to others.

O how glorious and holy and great to have a Father in heaven! O how holy, fair, and lovable to have a spouse in heaven! O how holy and how beloved, well pleasing and humble, peaceful and sweet and desirable above all to have such a brother who has laid down His life for His sheep, and who has prayed for us to the Father, saying: Father, keep them in Thy Name whom Thou hast given Me. Father, all those whom Thou hast given Me in the world were Thine, and Thou hast given them to Me. And the words which Thou gayest Me I have given to them; and they have received them, and have known in very deed that I came forth from Thee, and they have believed that Thou didst send Me. I pray for them: not for the world: bless and sanctify them. And for them I sanctify Myself that they may be sanctified in one as We also are. And I will, Father, that where I am, they also may be with Me, that they may see My glory in My kingdom. 

And since He has suffered so many things for us and has done and will do so much good to us, let every creature which is in heaven and on earth and in the sea and in the abysses render praise to God and glory and honor and benediction; for He is our strength and power who alone is good,  alone most high, alone almighty and admirable, glorious and alone holy, praiseworthy and blessed without end forever and ever. Amen.

But all those who do not do penance and who do not receive the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, but who give themselves to vices and sins and walk after evil concupiscence and bad desires and who do not observe what they have promised, corporally they serve the world and its fleshly desires and cares and solicitudes for this life, but mentally they serve the devil, deceived by him whose sons they are and whose works they do; blind they are because they see not the true light,—our Lord Jesus Christ. They have no spiritual wisdom, for they have not in them the Son of God who is the true wisdom of the Father: of these it is said: "their wisdom was swallowed up."  They know, understand, and do evil and wittingly lose their souls. Beware, ye blind, deceived by your enemies—to wit, by the world, the flesh and by the devil—for it is sweet to the body to commit sin and bitter to serve God because all vices and sins come forth and proceed from the heart of man, as it is said in the Gospel.

And you have nothing of good in this world or in the future. You think to possess for long the vanities of this world, but you are deceived; for a day and an hour will come of which you think not and do not know and are ignorant of. The body grows feeble, death approaches, neighbors and friends come saying: "Put your affairs in order." And his wife and his children, neighbors and friends, make believe to weep. And looking, he sees them weeping and is moved by a bad emotion, and thinking within himself he says: "Behold, I place my soul and body and my all in your hands." Verily, that man is cursed who confides and exposes his soul and body and his all in such hands. Wherefore, the Lord says by the prophet: "Cursed be the man that trusteth in man." And at once they cause a priest to come and the priest says to him: "Wilt thou do penance for all thy sins? " He answers: "I will." "Wilt thou from thy substance, as far as thou canst, satisfy for what thou hast done and for the things in which thou hast defrauded and deceived men." He answers: "No."—And the priest says: "Why not?"—"Because I have put everything into the hands of my relatives and friends." And he begins to lose the power of speech and thus this miserable man dies a bitter death. 

But let all know that wheresoever or howsoever a man may die in criminal sin, without satisfaction—when he could satisfy and did not satisfy—the devil snatches his soul from his body with such violence and anguish as no one can know except him who suffers it. And all talent and power, learning and wisdom that he thought to possess are taken from him. And his relatives and friends take to themselves his substance and divide it and say afterwards: "Cursed be his soul because he could have acquired and given us more than he did, and did not acquire it." But the worms eat his body. And thus he loses soul and body in this short life and goes into hell, where he shall be tormented without end.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. All to whom this letter may come, I, Brother Francis, your little servant, pray and conjure you by the charity which God is, and with the will to kiss your feet, to receive these balm-bearing words f our Lord Jesus Christ with humility and charity and to put them in practice kindly and to observe them perfectly. And let those who do not know how to read have them read often and let them keep them by them with holy operation unto the end, for they are spirit and life. And those who do not do this shall render an account on the day of Judgment before the tribunal of Christ. And all those who shall receive them kindly and understand them and send them to others as example, if they persevere in them unto the end, may the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost bless them. Amen.

Banal na tradisyon patungkol sa pananalangin sa mga yumao (patay) naimbento nga lang ba makalipas ang tatlong daang taon pagkatapos mamatay ni Cristo?

Tanong:

“OF ALL THE HUMAN TRADITIONS taught and practiced by the Roman Catholic Church, which are contrary to the Bible, the most ancient are the prayers for the dead. […] began 300 years after Christ”

Ang pagbibigay dalangin sa mga pumanaw (o yumao) ay matagal na pong ginagawa o kinagisnan na ng mga sinaunang Hudyo. Ang ilang halimbawa ay makikita mismo sa kanilang mga sinaunang literatura (Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Sotah 34b) at maging sa deuterocanonical books (Tb 12:12, 2 Mc 12:39–45ff; cf. 1 Cor. 15:29; tignan din ang Harrington 1999: 150; Schadé 2006). Kung susumahin ang bilang ng taon kung kailan ito sinimulan ay walang nakakaalam, bagkus, tanging ang tungkol kay Judas Maccabees (יהודה המכבי, Y'hudhah HamMakabi) sa 2 Maccabees ang masasabing pinakasinaunang tala (para sa Judeo-Christian religion) na naestima sa panahong ng ikalawang siglo {BC} (Schwartz 2008; Geisler, Howe 2009; Petrisko 2009: 11) ngunit may mga suwestiyon din na iba dito, tulad ng ito daw ay nabuo noong kalagitnaan sa naunang banggit.[1]

Maging sa kalaunan ay napanatili parin ng mga Hudyo ang paniniwala nila ng pagbibigay panalangin sa mga namatay na tuwirang ipinakita sa Talmud

"Why do they go to the cemetery? — With regard to this there is a difference of opinion between R. Levi b. Hama and R. Hanina. One says: [To signify thereby], We are as the dead before Thee; and the other says: In order that the dead should intercede for mercy on our behalf" - Seder Mo‘ed, Tracate Ta'anit 16a

At pati po ang pagyukod sa libingan sa isang huwarang guro (just rabbi) ay kanila rin pong napreserba sa kanilang tradisyon

Rabbi Haviva said, "Rabbi Haviva son of Surmaki told me: "I saw one of the rabbis whom Elijah used to frequent. In the morning his eyes were lovely, but in the evening they looked as if they had been burnt by fire. I asked him, ‘What is it?’ He told me that he has asked Elijah, ‘Show me the [departed] rabbis as they ascend to the Heavenly Academy.’ He [Elijah] replied: ‘You can gaze at all of them except for the carriage of Rabbi Hiyya, at which you cannot gaze.’ ‘What is their sign? [How can I distinguish between them?[‘ ‘All are accompanied by angels as they ascend and descend, except for the Rabbi Hiyya’s carriage, which ascends and descends on its own.’ ‘Unable to restrain myself, I gazed at it. Two sparks of fire shot forth and struck that man [i.e. me], blinding him. The next day I went and prostrated myself upon his [Rabbi Hiyya’s] grave, crying, "Your mishnah is my mishnah," and I was healed."" (Mula sa Zohar, Hadqamat Sefer ha-Zohar p.21)

Gaya po ng nababasa mo, matagal na pong pinanghahawakan ng mga Hudyo ang nasabing paniniwala o kaugalian ng pagbibigay pugay at paghingin ng panalangin sa mga yumao; at bahagi na ito ng kanilang Kaddish (קדיש, Qaddish, Mourner's), at partikular na sa El male rachamim, na isang uri panalangin ng mga Hudyo sa mga namatay.

Ngayon po, marahil ang nasa isip mo po ay hindi naman ito mababasa sa bibliya, kung meron man saan ito makikita, dahil bahagi lamang ang mga ibinigay ko ng paniniwalang Hudaismo (tignan din ang paliwanag ni Rabbi Tzvi Freeman patungkol sa paghingi ng panalangin mula sa צדיק (Tzadik) para sa mga Hudyo dito sa lupa). Sa totoo lamang po, merong teksto sa N.T. na maaring nagpapakita ng isang uri ng panalangin sa namatay (o yumao), ito’y sa matatagpuan sa 2 Tm 1:16-18; 4:19*

May the Lord grant mercy to the household (οἶκος, oikōs) of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chain; when he arrived in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me—may the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! And you know very well how much service he rendered in Ephesus.

Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household (οἶκος, oikōs) of Onesiphorus.

*Mula sa salin ng The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.


Ang tungkol po sa kung patay na si Onesiphorus o hindi ay isang paksa na pinagdedebatehan padin po; gayunpaman, halos maraming mga scholars (Hanson 1966: 81; Guthrie 1990: 148), mapa-Protestante o Katoliko man, ang nagkakaisa pagdating sa pagbibigay pahayag na siya'y patay na nang nakiusap si Paul ng awa sa Panginoon para sa buong sambahayan nito at kay Onesiphorus sa hinaharap, sa (huling) araw ng paghuhukom (Fee, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, 186) Ang paggamit ng salitang sambahayan (oikōs) bago ang pangalan ng taong kinikilalang padre de pamilya dito o hindi pagbanggit dito, bago ang huli, ayon kay Michael Moss sa kanyang komentaryo sa librong 1, 2 Timothy & Titus (p. 200) ay nagpapahiwatig na patay o yumao na ang nasabing tao. (Freedman 1996: 22) Narito pa po ang ilang pahayag na batay sa mga komentaryo ng mga Protestante mula sa A Biblical Defense of Catholicism (pp. 141-143) ni Dave Armstrong na sumasang-ayon na si Onesiphorus ay patay na ng gawin ni Paul ang maikling dalangin (v. 18)

1) Alfred Plummer (1841-1926) (Anglican): The Expositor's Bible (edited by W. Robertson Nicoll), The Pastoral Epistles, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1891, pp. 324-326:

Certainly the balance of probability is decidedly in favour of the view that Onesiphorus was already dead when St. Paul wrote these words. . . . he here speaks of "the house of Onesiphorus" in connexion with the present, and of Onesiphorus himself only in connexion with the past. . . . it is not easy to explain this reference in two places to the household of Onesiphorus, if he himself was still alive. In all the other cases the individual and not the household is mentioned. . . . There is also the character of the Apostle's prayer. Why does he confine his desires respecting the requital of Onesiphorus' kindness to the day of judgment? . . . This again is thoroughly intelligible, if Onesiphorus is already dead.

. . . there seems to be equal absence of serious reason for doubting that the words in question constitute a prayer. . . .

Having thus concluded that, according to the more probable and reasonable view, the passage before us contains a prayer offered up by the Apostle on behalf of one who is dead, we seem to have obtained his sanction, and therefore the sanction of Scripture, for using similar prayers ourselves. . . .

This passage may be quoted as reasonable evidence that the death of a person does not extinguish our right or our duty to pray for him: but it ought not be quoted as authority for such prayers on behalf of the dead as are very different in kind from the one of which we have an example here. Many other kinds of intercession for the dead may be reasonable and allowable; but this passage proves no more than that some kinds of intercession for the dead are allowable; viz., those in which we pray that God will have mercy at the day of judgment on those who have done good to us and others, during their life upon earth.

2) James Maurice Wilson (1836-1931) (Anglican): Truths New and Old, Westminster: Archibald Constable & Co., 1900, p. 141:

We have, therefore, the sanction of St. Paul for remembering inn our prayers, and interceding for, those who have now passed into the other world . . .

3) Sydney Charles Gayford (Anglican): The Future State, New York: Edwin S. Gorham, second edition, 1905, pp. 56-57:

. . . the most satisfactory explanation is that Onesiphorus was dead. . . .

And so we may hold with some confidence that we have in this passage the authority of an Apostle in praying for the welfare of the departed.

4) John Henry Bernard (1860-1927) (Anglican), The Pastoral Epistles, Cambridge University Press, 1899, p. 114:

On the whole then it seems probable that Onesiphorus was dead when St. Paul prayed on his behalf . . .

5) Donald Guthrie (1915-1992) (Anglican): The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, The Pastoral Epistles: An Introduction and Commentary, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Eerdmans Pub. Co., 2nd edition, 1990, p. 148:

Since it is assumed by many scholars that Onesiphorus was by now dead, the question has been raised whether this sanctions prayer for the dead. Roman catholic theologians claim that it does. Spicq, for instance, sees here an example of prayer for the dead unique in the New Testament. Some Protestants agree with this judgment and cite the Jewish precedent of 2 Macc 12:43-45 . . .

(…)

At ilan pa po sa aking mga nabasa

18. The Lord grant unto him to find mercy of the Lord. It seems likely that Onesiphorus was dead when the Apostle wrote. In chapter iv. 19 his household is saluted, but there is no mention of him. In the passage before us St. Paul prays for mercy to his household (? in their sorrow at his death). When he prays for the man himself he adds 'in the day' (cp. 2 Thess. i.10). There is nothing in itself improbable in St. Paul's using a prayer for his dead friend. Such prayers were allowed, and are still practiced, among the Jews (2 Macc. xii. 44.45). Prayers for the dead are found in Christian inscriptions as early as the 2nd century, and prayers for the faithful departed occur in the early Liturgies. (H. W. Fulford, Epistles to Thessalonians, Timothy and Titus, pp. 110-11)


16-17. Here and in 4:19 Paul speaks of the “house of Onesiphorus.” This expression and the prayer in v. 18 seem to indicate that Onesiphorus had died before this letter was written. (Brown, R. E., Fitzmyer, J. A., & Murphy, R. E., The Jerome Biblical commentary, p. 358)


"For the sake of Onesiphorus, who by now may be dead, Paul wishes the Lord to give mercy to Onesiphorus's household." (R. H. Gundry, Commentary on the New Testament, Baker Books, 2010)


Was Onesiphorus dead? "[...] The balance of probability is decidedly in favour of the view that Onesiphorus was already dead when St. Paul wrote these words. There is not only in connection with the present and of Onesiphorus himself only in connection with the past; there is also the still more marked fact that in the final salutations, while greeting are sent to Prisca and Aquila, and from Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, and Claudia, yet it is once more "the house of Onesiphorus," and not, Onesiphorus himself, who is saluted. This language is thoroughly intelligible if Onesiphorus was no longer alive but had a wife and children who were still living in Ephesus; but it is not easy to explain this reference in two places to the household of Onesiphorus, if he himself was still alive. In all the other cases the individual, and not the household, is mentioned. Nor is this twofold reference to his family, rather than to himself, the only fact which points in this direction. (Joseph Exell, The Biblical Illustrator: 2 Timothy, Primedia E-launch LLC)


"16 unto = to. house = household. Onesiphorus must have recently died." (E. W. Bullinger, The Companion Bible: The Authorized Version of 1611 with the Structures and Critical, Explanatory, and Suggestive Notes, p. 1810)


"The household of Onesiphorus.] See chap. i. 16. Onesiphorus was probably dead: his family still remained at Ephesus." (Adam Clarke, The Holy Bible: containing the Old and New Testaments, B. Waugh and T. Mason, 1833, p. 609)


Saint Paul himself evidently prayed for the dead, as we can see in 2 Timothy 1:18: "May the Lord grant him [Onesiphorus] to find mercy from the Lord on that Day." This prayer might be unexpectional, except that in verse 16, Paul wrote, "May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus", suggesting that the man in question had passed away and that his family was in need of comfort. (Carl Sommer, We Look for a Kingdom: The Everyday Lives of the Early Christians, Ignatius Press, 2007, p. 149)


Onesiphorus is not mentioned elsewhere in the NT, although the phrase "household of Onesiphorus" occurs again in the Pastorals at 2 Tim. 4:19. The wording in the Epistles strongly implies that Onesiphorus had died - perhaps even before Paul - possibly in the course of his stay in Rome during which he sought out and visited the apostle. (H. W. Tajra, The martyrdom of St. Paul: historical and judicial context, traditions, and legends, pp. 92-3)


Paul expressed his gratitude toward Onesiphorus by wishing that he would experience God's mercy on the last day (v. 18) and by wishing God's mercy on his household (v.16). Both wishes may indicate that Onesiphorus was dead when Paul wrote 2 Timothy. (J. B. Pohill, Paul & His Letters, B&H Publishing Group, 1999, p. 431)

Maliban po sa mga nabanggit sa itaas narito pa po ang ilang reperensya na nagsasabing patay na si Onesiphorus ng isinulat ni Paul ang nasabing epistle (2 Timothy): Watson E. Mills, Richard F. Wilson, Mercer Commentary on the Bible: Acts and Pauline Writings, p. 281; I. Howard Marshal, The Pastoral Epistles, p. 720; Matthew S. Collins, Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, p. 988; George W. Knight, The Pastoral Epistles: a commentary on the Greek text, p. 386; Michael Ferrebee Sadler, The Epistles of St. Paul to the Colossians, Thessalonians, and Timothy, G. Bell, 1896, p. 271; Robert James Edmund Boggis, Praying for the dead: an historical review of the practice, Longmans, Green, 1913, pp. 34-7.

Makakakita rin po tayo ng ilan pang uri ng katibayan mula po sa mga sinaunang Kristyanong ama ng simbahan at sa mga nadiskubre narin pong sinaunang nitso sa ilalim ng lupa na pinag-lagakan ng mga namayapang Kristyano na nagbibigay liwanag na tinanggap po ang naturang paniniwala tungkol sa pagbibigay o paghingi ng panalangin mula po sa mga namatay ng Kristyano. (Lowrie 2003: 72) Sa mga himlayang pong ito, masasariwa ang mga kinagisnan ng kagawian o batayan ng pananampalataya ng mga Kristyano noon - na hindi mang-tuwirang pong ipinakita sa banal na kasulatan - ay pinanatili naman po sa pamamagitan ng apostolikong doktrina o tradisyon, na nag-aalis sa anino ng pagdududa o kawalan ng katiyakan sa nasabing pong paksa.

 

English translation:

"I implore you, brothers to pray whenever you come here and invoke the Father and Son in
all your prayers so that they might save Agape (the person in the tomb) forever"

(The Catacomb of Priscilla on the Via Salaria in Rome, Italy; Christian burials from the late 2nd century through the 4th century)

The Catacomb(s) of Callixtus (also known as the Cemetery of Callixtus) was one of the Catacombs of Rome
on the Appian Way; built after AD 150.



Catacombe di Domitilla (Catacombs of Domitilla)



Catacombs of S. Sebastiano (b. 258)
(Ang mga nakaukit ay mga sulat na nanghihingi ng panalangin mula kay Peter at Paul)
(pinagmulan)

Ayon naman sa pahayag ng mga Ama ng Simbahan (Church Fathers) bago po ang ikatlong siglo patungkol sa paghingi ng panalanging sa mga patay (o namatay) na mga Kristyanong banal

"[Appealing to the three companions of Daniel] Think of me, I beseech you, so that I may achieve with you the same fate of martyrdom"
- St. Hippolytus of Rome, On Daniel, 11:30 (A.D. 204), in OTT, 319

"In this way is he [the true Christian] always pure for prayer. He also prays in the society of angels, as being already of angelic rank, and he is never out of their holy keeping; and though he pray alone, he has the choir of the saints standing with him [in prayer]."
- St. Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies 7:12 (A.D. 208)

"But not the high priest [Christ] alone prays for those who pray sincerely, but also the angels . . . as also the souls of the saints who have already fallen asleep."
- Origen, Prayer 11 (A.D. 233)

"Let us remember one another in concord and unanimity. Let us on both sides [of death] always pray for one another. Let us relieve burdens and afflictions by mutual love, that if one of us, by the swiftness of divine condescension, shall go hence the first, our love may continue in the presence of the Lord, and our prayers for our brethren and sisters not cease in the presence of the Father's mercy"
- St. Cyprian of Carthage, Letters 56[60]:5 (A.D. 253)

____________________

1 VanderKam, Introduction to Early Judaism, pp. 65-69; John J. Collins, Between Athens and Jerusalem: Jewish in the Hellenistic Diaspora (2nd ed.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999); Harrington, Invitation to the Apocrypha, pp. 137-51; Jan W. van Henten, The Maccabean Martyrs as Saviors of the Jewish People: A Study of 2 and 4 Maccabees (Leiden: Brill, 1997); Robert Doran, "The Second Book of Maccabees," in The New Interpreter's Bible (vol. 2; Nashville: Abingdon, 1996); Daniel j. Harrington, The Maccabean Revolt: Anatomy of a Biblical Revolution (Michael Glazier: Wilmington, DE, 1988); Jonathan Goldtstein, II Maccabees (AB 41A; Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1983); Robert Doran, Temple Propaganda: The Purpose and Character of 2 Maccabees (Washington, DC: Catholic Biblical Association, 1981); Nickelsburg, Jewish Literature Between the Bible and the Mishnah, pp. 118-21.

Paulit-ulit na pagbigkas ng panalangin sa tuwing nagrorosaryo mali nga ba? (Unang bahagi)

Tanong:

Anong masasabi mo sa ibang relihiyon na nag-aakusa na walang kwenta ang paulit-ulit na panalangin sa tuwing magrorosaryo?

Depende po ito sa pagkakaintindi ng salitang Greek na βατταλογήσητε (battalogēsēte); base po ito sa Mt 6:7 na bahagi ng 'Sermon on the Mount'. Ang salita po kasing ito ay isinalin po sa bersyo ng bibliya ng Protestante, partikular na po sa KJV, bilang vain repetitions, at isinalin naman po ito sa Douay-Rheims bilang speak not much. Sa pagitan po ng dalawang salin, ang sa Douay-Rheims po ang mas tama o mas tugma. Ang kabuoang pahayag po sa salitang Greek ay mababasa ng ganito

"Proseuchomenoi de mē battalogēsēte ōsper oi ethnikoi, dokousin gar oti tē polylogia autōn eisakousthēsontai"

Ang salitang pong may guhit ay mahalagang mga salita para maunawaan ang nasabing teksto. Ang unang salita po ay battalogēsēte at ang ikalawa po ay polu(y)logia. Ang ugat po ng salitang battalogēsēte ay battalogeo(a verbal at nominal form) na nanggaling sa salitang batta na ang ibig sabihin po ay much at logeo (mula sa salitang logia, word) na ang katumbas po sa salitang Ingles ay to speak. Habang ang salita pong polulogia (a corresponding noun) ay nanggaling naman po sa salitang polu (kung saan nakuha po natin ang salitang 'poly' = 'many' o 'much'; hal. polytheism, much married, polygamy, many colored) at logia. Kung mapapansin mo po ang salitang batta at poly ay may iisang pakahulugan, at ito po’y tumutukoy sa salitang 'much' o 'marami', bagay na sinanang-ayunan po ng salin ng Douay-Rheims (mē battalogēsēte) at maging ng mga Protestante po tulad nila John Calvin[1], (Lange) Philip Schaff[2] at August Meyer[3].

Meron pong salitang ikinakabit sa batta ito po ay ang salitang ridzein na ang ibig po sabihin ay "to stammer" na pinaniniwalaan kasing kahulugan din daw po ng battalogein, pero ito po ay sinalungat po ni Joseph Sheahan; ayon po sa kanya ang salitang "to speak much" ay ang wasto daw pong salin ng battalogein habang ang battaridzein ay ang s'yang katumbas ng to stammer much. Ngayon po, sa literaturang Griyego, wala pong bakas na hiwalay na ginamit ang salitang batta na makikita; palagi po itong may kasamang salita o isang kumbinasyon. Sa librong isinulat ni Edwin A. Abbott na The Fourfold Gospel[4], wala raw pong bakas[5] na ito'y ginamit bago pa ang panahon ni Simplicius; ito'y sa pagitan ng ikalima o ika-anim na siglo (in Comm. Epict. Ench. 37, Schweig. p. 340). Samakatuwid po, tanging sa Mt 6:7 at sa panahon ni Simplicius[6] ito unang ginamit.

Bagamat meron na pong naunang paliwanag, meron parin pong mga ikinakabit sa salitang batta o pinaniniwalaang pinaghangoan ng salita. Una, ito daw po ay base sa pangalan ni King Battus I[7] (630-600 B.C) at ikalawa, sa manunulang si Battus. Ang una pong nakaisip na ito'y ikabit sa/bilang pinagmulan ng salita ay Suidas (a late 10th century, author of, perhaps, the most important Greek lexicon or encyclopedia). Isa sa posibilidad na pinagkunan niya ay si Hesychius, pero ayon po kay Rev. Sheahan,

"… Hesychius gives no etymology for the noun battalogia and does not mention battalogeo at all. But although some of those who lived before the Protestant Reformation made a guess that Batta was derived from some Libyan king who-stammered, none of them thought that the word batta in St. Matthew meant to stammer, or, to use vain repetitions."[8]

Iba rin po ang naging pakahulugan ni Suidas kahit ikinabit po nya ang pangalan ng dalawa, hindi po vain repetition kundi πολυλογια, much speaking[9] na akma po sa Douay-Rheims. Wala rin pong sinabi si Suidas na Ovid daw po ang nagsabi na ito'y mula sa dalawang taong ito, dahil ang binanggit po ni Ovid na Battus ay "a rustic not a poet"[10] at ito'y malaking pagkakamali na ikrenedito kay Erasmus.

Sa kabuoan po wala pong patunay na ang salita sa Mt 6:7 na βατταλογήσητε ay tumutukoy sa vain repetitions. Ayon narin po kay Alexander, J. A, isang prominenteng Protestant scholar, ang vain repetitions ay "is a paraphrase and gloss but not a version, giving probably the sense but not the form of the original". (The Gospel According to Matthew Explained, p. 170). Sa Latin Vulgate ni St. Jerome isinalin ang Greek battalogia bilang Nolite multum loqui, na halos kaparehas ng sa Arabic, ay may kahulugan na do not speak much. Sinang-ayunan ito ng liguist na si J. D. Michaelis na batay sa kanyang pagsasaliksik, ang sinaunang salin Greek ng Greek mē battalogēsēte ay kasang-ayon rin nito.[11] (Tignan ang Essay of Battology)

Ngayon po, marahil maitatatanong mo po kung meron bang katibayan na ang salitang battalogia at polylogia ay magkaparehas? Opo, meron po, batay po mismo ito sa naunang salin ng teksto mula sa saling Protestante

"But in preiynge nyle ze speke moche as hethen men don, for thei gessen that thei be herd in her moche speche." (Wycliffe, A.D. 1380)

Meron rin po tayong patunay mula sa mga Ama ng Simbahan (Church Fathers) na nagbigay komento na kaiba sa pinaniniwala na ang teksto sa Mt 6:7 ay vain repetitions

"But when praying do not speak much, as the pagans do.” If a pagan speaks much in prayer, (Verbosity in prayer was a commonplace in pagan worship. Cf. Seneca, Ep. 31. 5; Martial 7.60.3) then the one who is Christian ought to say little. For “God is a hearer not of words but of the heart." (Wis 1.6.)

- St. Jerome, The Fathers of the Church: Commentary on Matthew (trans. by Thomas P. Scheck, The Catholic University of America Press), p. 87.

"We should indeed pray often, but in short form, lest if we be long in our prayers, the enemy that lies in wait for might suggest for our thought."
- Cassian, Collat. Ix. 36.

"True prayer consists rather in the bitter groans of repentance, than in the resounding periods of an oration."
- St. Gregory, Catena Aurea. 1. c.

"As the hypocrites use to set themselves so as to be seen in their prayers, whose reward is to be acceptable to men; so the Ethnici (that is, the Gentiles) use to think that they shall be heard for their much speaking; therefore He adds, “When ye pray, do not ye use many words."
- St. Augustine, mula sa The Catena Aurea of St. Thomas Aquinas, Matthew 6:1 (Tignan din ang On the Sermon on the Mount, Book II, translated by William Findlay from Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, vol. 6, edited by Philip Schaff, Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1888.)

"A multitude of words was necessary for the Gentiles, on account of the demons, who did not know what -was wanted until they were informed by their words; hence it is added: ‘For they think that they will be heard on account of their much speaking.'"
Gloss. ord. Catena Aurea. 1. c.

"He orders us therefore, not to make long prayers. Long, not by reason of the time spent in prayer, but on account of the multitude of things that are said in it. For those who pray ought to persevere in it. ‘Continue steadfast in prayer,’ says the Apostle (Rm 12:12). He does not, however tell us to compose a prayer of ten thousand verses and to recite it all, which He insinuates when He says: ‘Do not speak much.’"
- St. Chrysostom (Vain Repetition or The Protestant meaning of BATTA, p. 25)

Bilang pangwakas pong komento, hindi po ito tumutukoy sa pag-ulit-ulit ng mga salita, dahil iba po ang nais tukuyin ng naturang teksto. Kaya para masabi po na dahil inuulit-ulit ang dasal sa tuwing magrorosaryo ay mali na agad ay hindi po tama. Kung tutuosin, kung pag-aaralan po ang ilang paliwanang na mula sa mga Protestante, partikular na po duon sa mga nagsasabing ito'y tumutukoy sa repetitions ay malilito ka po, dahil sa sila sila po ay may kanya kanya ring paliwanag dito, hal. pagikinumpara mo ang sinabi ni Rosen Muller kay Cook ay iba rin ang lalabas, maging kay Grotius, Beza, Gualperious, sa Geneva Study Bible, at marami pangpaliwanag ng Protestante ay may pagkakaiba. Kaya't masasabi po nating wala po itong basehan.


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1"(Christ) uses two words (Batta-logia and Poly-logia) but they have the same meaning" (Calvin, mula sa Vain Repetition or The Protestant meaning of BATTA, p. 13)
2 Lange, J. P., D.D, Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal and Homilectical, (edited by Schaff, P.), p. 128.
3 Meyer, H. A. W, Th. D., Critical and Exegetical Handbook of the Gospel of Matthew.
4 The Fourfold Gospel: the Founding of the New Kingdom Or Life Reached Through Death, Cambridge: University Press, 1917, p. 233.
5 May ibinigay namang pong suwestiyon ang Greek scholar na si Prof. Edward Hussey (ng Oxford) kung bakit wala ito sa mga sinaunang literatura ng Gresya (liban nalang kay Simplicius): "... the absence of the word from Greek literature may indicate either that it had already become archaic by the period of the earliest surviving literature, or that it was felt to be an undignified or slang word." (Wollock, J. L., The Noblest Animate Motion: speech, physiology and medicine in pre-Cartesian linguistic thought, p. 156)
6 Para kay Simplicius, ang battalogia ay katumbas ng salitang πολυλογια (much speaking). (Tholuck, A., Commentary on the Sermon on the Mount (trans. by Lundin Brown), T. & T. Clark Publishing, p. 308)
7 Sa ginawa ko pong pagresearch, ang pangalang pong Battus ay nangangahulugang 'King' sa salitang Libyan at hindi po dahil sa tinawag siya ng Orakulo ng Delphi na Battus ay nangangahulugan na po na 'stammerer'. Bago po ito maikunsidera kailangan po muna natin pag-aralan ang mga ss: una, ang sinabi po ni Herodotus, na ang salitang Battus ay katumbas ng salitang King. (Herod. IV. ch. 155. ); ikalawa, ang estado ni Pythia at ang kahulugan ng salitang orakulo. Ang kahulugan ng orakulo ayon sa Wikipedia ay: "a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic predictions or precognition of the future, inspired by the gods." Ang trabaho po ng isang orakulo ay maybigay ng prediksyon, tumayong kinatawan ng mga diyos/a at magbigay payo hinggil sa mga sumusunod "political impact, war, duty, crime, laws—even personal issues" - sa ibaba mababasa kung ano po ang ipinunta (o isinangguni) ni Battus sa orakulo.; ikatlo, ang pangalan po niya ay Aristotle at hindi Battus (Callimachus, Hymn. ad Apoll. 75; Heraclides Pontius, Fr. iv; Eusebius, Chron. Can. ii, p. 320); at panghuli po, ang mga katawagan ng mga naging Hari ng Libya pagkatapos ni Battus I - Battus II, Battus III, Battus IV …

Kahalitulad din po ng aking ipinunto ang opinyon ng scholar na si Rawlinsonsa kanyang librong The History of Herodotus (p. 106)

“At Thera, Polymnestus, one of the chief citizens of the place, took Phronima to be his concubine. The fruit of this union was a son, who stammered and had a lisp in his speech. According to Cyrenaens and Thereans the name given to the boy was Battus: in my opinion, however, he was called at the first something else, and only got the name Battus after arrival in Libya, assuming it either in consequence of the words addressed to him by the Delphian oracle, or on account of the office when held. For, in the Libyan tounge, the word “Battus” means “a king.” And this, I think, was the reason the Pythoness addressed him as she did: she he was to be king in Libya, and so she used the Libyan word in speaking to him. For after he had grown to man's estate, he made journey to Delphi, to consult the oracle about his voice; when upon his putting his question, the Pythoness thus replied to him: -

Battus, thou cames to ask of thy voice; but Phoebus Apollo
Bids thee establish a city in Libya, abounding in fleeces;

which was as if she had said in her own tounge, “King, thou camest to ask of thy voice.” Then he replied, “Mighty lord, I did indeed come hither to consult thee about my voice, but thou speakest to me of quite other matters, bidding me colonise Libya - an impossible thing! What power have I? What followers?” Thus he spake, but he did not persuade the Pythoness to give him any other response; so when he found that she persisted in former answer, he left her speaking, and set out on his return to Thera.”
8 Vain Repetition or The Protestant meaning of BATTA, p. 72-3
9 "(…) can be classed as 'much speaking'" (Orr, James, M.A, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)
10 A shepherd of Neleus, who saw Hermes driving away the cattle he had stolen from Apollo. The god promised to reward him if he would not betray what he had seen. Battus promised on oath to keep the secret; but as Hermes mistrusted him nevertheless, he assumed a different appearance, returned to Battus, and promised him a handsome present, if he would tell him who had stolen the cattle of Apollo. The shepherd was tempted, and related all he knew, whereupon Hermes touched him with his staff, and changed him into a stone. (Ovid, Met. ii. 688, &c.; Anton. Lib. 22.); A countryman changed by Mercury into a flint (touchstone, the ‘informer’). (Bk II:676-701, Mercury, Battus and the stolen cattle)
11 "… the large majority of the translations take battalogia in the sense of πολυλογια….. Almost all the commentators also restrict the meaning to much speaking in prayer." (Tholuck, p. 310)