Friday, March 14, 2014

Chrysologus for Lent IX

We have heard, my brothers, how high God's graciousness have brought us, and how high the celestial paternity has exalted us. Let us believe that we are sons of God, let us prove equal to our lineage, let us live for heaven, let us represent our Father by our resemblance so that we do not destroy with our vices what we have attained through grace.

Bring to the Lord, you sons of God. Bring. You see that our heavenly Father declares his love by his generosity, he manifests his affection by what he has given and his charity by his gifts. And truly, brothers, who does not compliantly obey the Author of his life, whoever does not unite with him through worship, whoever does not honor him with gifts does not know that he is his son, is heartless, denies his nature, and is ungrateful to his Father.

Sermon 10, section 2. He is preaching on Ps 29 here. The 'gifts' he means are people: we are to bring the Lord 'sons of rams' according to the Psalm; and Chrysologus, transferring it to the Christian, says that we should bring prophets, apostles, martyrs, confessors: that is, we should bring those around us to faith.