A Plea for Help

Sed utinam vel dum haec loquimur, ipso conscientiae nostrae judicio, et proprii sermonis querimonia excitaremur, vel sero possemus dicere: 'Nunc coepimus, haec mutatio dextrae Excelsi' sed 'ventres pigri' sumus, et idcirco 'adhaeret pavimento anima nostra' quamvis jamdudum ei dixeritis: 'Erige te a mortuis, ut attingas Christum.' Quem quidem Dominum interventu fidei vestrae, per gratiae sacramentum, imposuistis in naviculam cordis nostri. Sed quia somno inertiae nostrae obdormivit in nobis, opus est ut eum excitetis, ut assurgat in excitationem animae nostrae; imperet silentium turbidis cogitationum terrestrium flatibus, et sensuum nostrorum fluctus verbi sui pace componat, ut fiat in corde nostro casta tranquillitas; et spiritu veritatis gubernatore, ac Dei verbo remige, dirigamur ad portum voluntatis nostrae.  Sanctus Paulinus Nolanus, Epistola IX, Ad Amandum

Yet even as I say these things may the very judgement of my conscience and the laments of my own words rouse me, so that, even so late, I may be able to say, 'Now that I have begun, this is the change of the right hand of the Most High.'1 But we are 'slothful bellies'2 and therefore my soul cleaves to the earth, although you have for so long been saying to it, 'Rise from the dead that you may attain to Christ.'3 By the intervention of your faith, through the sacrament of grace, you have established the Lord in the little ship of my heart. But by my idle slumbering Christ has slept within me, and it is your labour to rouse Him that He may rise up to rouse my soul, that he may command silence on the confused gusts of my earthly thoughts, that he may calm with the peace of his own word the billows of my senses; and with the spirit of truth as helmsman and the Word of God as oarsman, I shall be guided to the harbour of my desire. Saint Paulinus of Nola, Letter 9, To Amandus 1. Ps 76.11  2 Tit 1.12 3 Ep 5.14

Peace and Joy

Pacem ergo habeamus ad Dominum, pacem non huius mundi, quae amica peccatis Deo dissidet; sed pacem Christi, quae cum Deo conserit, et nos Christo conformat, si adhaereat Verbo Dei anima nostra, ut efficiamur unum cum Deo per interventum mediatoris, qui est pax nostra; quia fecit utraque unum, naturas discordes Dei et hominis in se copulans; et in nobis duo unum faciens, id est, carnem animae spiritali consentientem; et tunc ignis in medio nostrum manebit, seu harum in nobis duarum vel eum spirituum trium consensus invitet, ut faciat in corde nostro sibi placitam cum Patre et Spiritu mansionem, et vicissim nos ubi ipse est ducat, dicens: Intrate in gaudium Domini vestri.  Sanctus Paulinus Nolanus, Epistola XXXVI

May we, therefore, have peace with the Lord, peace not of this world, which being far from God is a friend of sin, but the peace of Christ which is in harmony with God, and it conforms us to Christ if our soul adheres to the Word of God, so that we may be made one with God through the intervention of the mediator, who is our peace; because he has made both one, uniting in himself the discordant natures of God and man, and in us he is making two one, that is, by the accord of the flesh with the spiritual soul; and then he shall be in the midst of us as fire, bidden by the two which are in us consonant, or the three, with the spirit; so that he may make our heart a pleasing abode with the Father and the Spirit, and, in turn, he himself will lead us, saying, ' Enter into the joy of your Lord.' Saint Paulinus of Nola,  from Letter 36

The Manger

Non frustra, dilectissima mei, iumentis praesepe ponitur, neque tantum ad speciem videndi iacet; mensa etenim quadam est, quamlibet irrationabilium animatium, tamen ab hominum ratione composita, ut per eam quadrupedia cibum capiant. Quod si ii qui praesepia aedificare curaverint negligant pabulum inferre, proclivius tabida inopi stabulo iumenta deficient, et non pascentia fames depascitur animalia. At illi dignum negligentia vel avaritia damnum de tota capessent, quibus praesepis parandi tantum labor fuerit, et replendi cura defuerit: pariter enim cum animalibus mortuis et usum praesepis amittent; duo gravia damna iuste ferentes, qui unum necessarium utilis impendii sumtum pepercerint ministrare. Hoc igitur examplo, dilectissimi, cavere debemus, ne damnum animae et dispendium salutis adeamus, negligentes in Eccleisa positam a Domino mensam indigentibus, quam despicientibus oculis intuemur, aut aridis manibus praeterimus. Absit, quaeso, ab animis vestris tale contagium.  Sanctus Paulinus Nolanus, Epistola XXXIV

It is not with purpose, dear brethren, that a manger is placed before beasts, nor is it set down only to be seen; it is type of table for irrational souls which has been composed by human reason so that quadrupeds may take food. If those who have taken care to erect a manger neglect to supply it with food, the beasts will be more inclined by lack to waste away in the stable; hunger devours animals that are not fed. And in accordance with their negligence or avarice the owners will suffer a total loss, those who had laboured to prepare a manger and then lacked the care to replenish it. And with the animals dead the manger will have no use; two grave losses justly incurred, by those who did not provide the single necessary thing. By this example, dear brethren, we should take care we do not risk the loss of soul or salvation in neglecting the table of the poor in the Church placed here by the Lord, either by glancing at it with aloof eyes or passing by with empty hands. May it not be, I beg, that your souls suffer from such a sickness. Saint Paulinus of Nola, from Letter 34