Psalms 43:22

14. Come now, let us examine, or rather let us take notice, for it is obvious and can be seen, at once, whether the authority of the Old Testament too agrees with those statements taken from the gospel and the apostle. What need to speak of the first statement, when it is clear to all that it is a quotation from the law given by Moses? For it is there written, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." And not to go farther for a passage of the Old Testament to compare with that of the apostle, he has himself added one. …

Let us, therefore, consider those very merits of the Apostle Paul which he said the Righteous Judge would recompense with the crown of righteousness; and let us see whether these merits of his were really his own, I mean, whether they were obtained by him of himself, or were the gifts of God. “I have fought,” says he, “the good fight; I have finished my course; I have kept the faith.” Now, in the first place, these good works were nothing, unless they had been preceded by good thoughts. Observe, therefore, what he says concerning these very thoughts. His words, when writing to the Corinthians, are: “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.” Then let us look at each several merit. “I have fought the good fight.” Well, now, I want to know by what power he fought. …

13. “For requiring their blood He hath remembered” ( ver. 12 ). As if they, who were sent to preach the Gospel, should make answer to that injunction which has been mentioned, “Show forth His wonders among the heathen,” and should say, “O Lord, who hath believed our report?” and again, “For Thy sake we are killed all the day long;” the Psalmist suitably goes on to say, That Christians not without great reward of eternity will die in persecution, “for requiring their blood He hath remembered.” But why did he choose to say, “their blood”? Was it, as if one of imperfect knowledge and less faith should ask, How will they “show them forth,” seeing that the infidelity of the heathen will rage against them; and he should be answered, “For requiring their blood He hath remembered,” that is, the last judgment will come, in which both the glory of the slain and the punishment of the slayers shall …

17. “For, for Thy sake we are killed all the day long: we are counted as sheep for the slaughter” ( ver. 22 ). For you may see a man being put to death; you do not know why he is being put to death. God knoweth this. The thing in itself is hid. But some one will say to me, “See, he is detained in prison for the name of Christ, he is a confessor for the name of Christ.” Why do not heretics also confess the name of Christ, and yet they do not die for His sake? Nay more; let me say it, in the Catholic Church itself, do you think there either are, or have been wanting persons such as would suffer for the sake of glory among men? Were there no such persons, the Apostle would not say, “Though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.” He knew therefore that there might be some persons, who did this not from “charity,” but out of vainglory. …

38. But in the very faith in Christ great difficulties occurred, and the heathen in their rage long said, “When shall he die, and his name perish?” On account of these then who have now long believed in Christ, but were destined to doubt for some time, these words follow, “Lord, where are Thy old loving-kindnesses?” ( ver. 49 ). We have now acknowledged Christ our purifier, we now possess Him in whom Thy promises were to be fulfilled; show forth in Him what Thou hast promised. It is He Himself that shall live, and not see death: Himself who delivers His own soul from the hand of Hell: and yet we are still in suffering. Thus spoke the Martyrs, whose birthdays we are celebrating. …

Ver. 36 . “For Thy sake we are killed all the day long, we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” ( Ps. xliv. 22 .) That is, we are exposed to all to be evil entreated of them. But yet against so many and so great dangers and these recent horrors, the object of our conflicts is given as a sufficient consolation, or rather not sufficient only, but even much more. For it is not for men, nor for any other of the things of this life that we suffer, but for the King (he says) of the universe. But this is not the only crown, for he encircles them with another besides, and that varied and manifold. Since then, as they were men they could not have deaths without number to undergo, he shows that in this way the prize is none the less. For even if by nature it were fated to die once, by choice God hath granted us to suffer this every day, if we be so minded. …

But having a sample in what I have mentioned, ye will have a notion of all the rest besides, the things about Christ, about the resurrection, about the life to come, about the resting, about punishment, about moral matters, all that concerns doctrines, and you will find the book filled with countless blessings. And if you fall into temptations, you will gain much comfort from hence. If you fall into sins even, you will find countless remedies stored up here, or if into poverty or tribulation, you will see many havens. And if thou be righteous thou wilt gain much security hence, and if a sinner much relief. For if thou be just and art ill-treated, thou wilt hear him say, “For Thy sake are we killed all the day long, we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.” ( Ps. xliv. 22 .) “All these things have come upon us, and yet have we not forgotten Thee.” ( ib. …

But, as I said, at the crowing of the cock their President comes, and gently touching the sleeper with his foot, rouses them all. For there are none sleeping naked. Then as soon as they have arisen they stand up, and sing the prophetic hymns with much harmony, and well composed tunes. And neither harp nor pipe nor other musical instrument utters such sweet melodies, as you hear from the singing of these saints in their deep and quiet solitudes. And the songs themselves too are suitable, and full of the love of God. “In the night,” they say, “lift up your hands unto God. With my soul have I desired Thee in the night, yea with my spirit within me will I seek Thee early,” ( Isa. xxvi. 9 .) And the Psalms of David, that cause fountains of tears to flow. For when he sings, “I am weary with my groaning, all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears” ( Ps. vi. …

What is, “I sanctify Myself”? “I offer to Thee a sacrifice.” Now all sacrifices are called “holy,” and those are specially called “holy things,” which are laid up for God. For whereas of old in type the sanctification was by the sheep, but now it is not in type, but by the truth itself, He therefore saith, “That they may be sanctified in Thy truth.” “For I both dedicate them to Thee, and make them an offering”; this He saith, either because their Head was being made so, or because they also were sacrificed; for, “Present,” it saith, “your bodies a living sacrifice, holy” ( Rom. xii. 1 ); and, “We were counted as sheep for the slaughter.” ( Ps. xliv. 22 .) And He maketh them; without death, a sacrifice and offering; for that He alluded to His own sacrifice, when He said, “I sanctify,” is clear from what follows.

The blessed Paul wrote to the Corinthians that he always bore in his body the dying of Jesus, not as though he alone should make that boast, but also they and we too, and in this let us be followers of him, my brethren. And let this be the customary boast of all of us at all times. In this David participated, saying in the Psalms, ‘For thy sake we die all the day; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Now this is becoming in us, especially in the days of the feast, when a commemoration of the death of our Saviour is held. For he who is made like Him in His death, is also diligent in virtuous practices, having mortified his members which are upon the earth, and crucifying the flesh with the affections and lusts, he lives in the Spirit, and is conformed to the Spirit. He is always mindful of God, and forgets Him not, and never does the deeds of death. …

19. In her frequent sicknesses and infirmities she used to say, “when I am weak, then am I strong:” “we have our treasure in earthen vessels” until “this corruptible shall have put on incorruption and this mortal shall have put on immortality” and again “as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ:” and then as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation. In sorrow she used to sing: “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God for I shall yet praise him who is the health of my countenance and my God.” In the hour of danger she used to say: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me:” and again “whosoever will save his life shall lose it,” and “whosoever will lose his life for my sake the same shall save it.” When the exhaust …

6. Marcella then lived the ascetic life for many years, and found herself old before she bethought herself that she had once been young. She often quoted with approval Plato’s saying that philosophy consists in meditating on death. A truth which our own apostle indorses when he says: “for your salvation I die daily.” Indeed according to the old copies our Lord himself says: “whosoever doth not bear His cross daily and come after me cannot be my disciple.” Ages before, the Holy Spirit had said by the prophet: “for thy sake are we killed all the day long: we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.” Many generations afterwards the words were spoken: “remember the end and thou shalt never do amiss,” as well as that precept of the eloquent satirist: “live with death in your mind; time flies; this say of mine is so much taken from it.” Well then, as I was saying, she passed her days and lived …