Lectio divina lingua latina Liturgia Horarum Ad Officium lectionis Hebdomada 8 per annum Dominica Si bona accepimus de manu Domini, mala quare non sustineamus? An upright and honest man who feared God and shunned evil.

Lectio altera

E Morálium libris sancti Gregórii Magni papæ in Iob (Lib. 3, 15-16: PL 75, 606-608)

Si bona accepimus de manu Domini, mala quare non sustineamus?

Paulus cum in seípso divítias sapiéntiæ intérnæ conspíceret, seque ipsum extérius esse corruptíbile corpus vidéret, ait: Habémus thesáurum istum in vasis fictílibus. Ecce in beáto Iob vas fíctile scissúras úlcerum extérius sensit; sed hic thesáurus intérius ínteger mansit. Foras enim per vúlnera crépuit, sed indeficiénter intérius nascens thesáurus sapiéntiæ per verba sanctæ eruditiónis emanávit, dicens: Si bona accépimus de manu Dómini, mala quare non sustineámus? Bona scílicet, dona Dei vel temporália vel ætérna; mala autem, flagélla præséntia appéllans, de quibus per Prophétam Dóminus dicit: Ego Dóminus, et non est alter, formans lucem, et creans ténebras; fáciens pacem, et creans mala.

Formans lucem et creans ténebras, quia cum per flagélla extérius dolóris ténebræ creántur, intus per eruditiónem lux mentis accénditur. Fáciens pacem et creans mala, quia tunc nobis pax cum Deo rédditur, cum hæc quæ bene sunt cóndita, sed non bene concupíta, in ea quæ nobis mala sunt, flagélla vertúntur. Per culpam quippe Deo discórdes exstítimus; dignum ergo est ut ad pacem illíus per flagélla redeámus; ut cum unaquæque res bene cóndita nobis in dolórem vértitur, corrécti mens ad auctóris pacem humíliter reformétur.

Sed illud valde in eius verbis intuéndum est, contra persuasiónem cóniugis quanta consideratiónis arte se cólligat, dicens: Si bona accépimus de manu Dómini, mala quare non sustineámus? Magna quippe consolátio tribulatiónis est, si cum advérsa pátimur, auctóris nostri ad memóriam dona revocémus. Nec frangit quod ex dolóre óbviat, si menti cítius hoc, quod ex múnere súblevat, occúrrat. Hinc namque scriptum est: In die bonórum ne ímmemor sis malórum, et in die malórum ne ímmemor sis bonórum.

Quisquis enim dona pércipit, sed donórum témpore nequáquam étiam flagélla pertiméscit, in elatióne per lætítiam córruit. Quisquis autem flagéllis attéritur, sed flagellórum témpore nequáquam se ex donis, quæ eum cóntigit accepísse, consolátur, a statu mentis omnímoda desperatióne destrúitur.

Sic ergo utráque iungénda sunt, ut unum semper ex áltero fulciátur; quátenus et flagélli pœnam memória témperet doni, et doni lætítiam mórdeat suspício ac formído flagélli. Sanctus ígitur vir, ut oppréssam mentem inter vúlnera múlceat, in flagellórum dolóribus blandiménta donórum pensat, dicens: Si bona accépimus de manu Dómini, mala quare non sustineámus?

Second Reading

The Moral Reflections on Job by Pope St Gregory the Great

An upright and honest man who feared God and shunned evil.

Some people are so simple that they do not know what uprightness is. Theirs is not the true simplicity of the innocent: they are as far from that as they are far from rising to the virtue of uprightness. As long as they do not know how to guard their steps by walking in uprightness, they can never remain innocent merely by walking in simplicity. This is why St Paul warns his disciples I hope that you are also wise in what is good, and innocent of what is bad but also Brothers, you are not to be childish in your outlook, though you can be babies as far as wickedness is concerned. Thus Christ our Truth enjoins his disciples with the words Be cunning as serpents and yet as harmless as doves. In giving them this admonition, he had to join the two together, so that both the simplicity of the dove might be instructed by the craftiness of the serpent, and the craftiness of the serpent might be attempered by the simplicity of the dove.

  That is why the Holy Spirit has manifested his presence to mankind, not only in the form of a dove but also in the form of fire. For by the dove simplicity is indicated, and by fire, zeal. So he is manifested in a dove and in fire, because those who are full of the Spirit have the mildness of simplicity, but catch fire with zeal of uprightness against the offences of sinners.

  An upright and honest man who feared God and shunned evil. Undoubtedly whoever longs for the eternal country lives sincerely and uprightly: perfect in practice, and right in faith, sincere in the good that he does in this lower state, right in the high truths which he minds in his inner self. For there are some who are not sincere in the good actions that they do, looking not to be rewarded within themselves but to win favour from others. Hence it is well said by a certain wise man, Woe to the sinner who follows two ways. A sinner goes two ways when an action he performs belongs to God but what he aims at in his thought belongs to the world.

  It is well said, who feared God and shunned evil, for the holy Church of the elect starts on the path of simplicity and of uprightness from fear but completes that path in charity. When, from the love of God, she feels an unwillingness to sin, then she may shun evil. But when she is still doing good deeds from fear then she is not entirely shunning evil: the fact is that she would have sinned if she could have sinned without being punished.

  So then: when Job is said to have feared God, it is rightly related that he also shunned evil. Fear comes first and charity follows later; and when that has happened, the offence which is left behind in the mind is trodden underfoot by the desires of the heart.