| From
the
life of the saint, compiled from his writings by Dom. Marand, the
learned and
judicious editor of St. Justin's works, printed at Paris in 1742; and
at Venice
in 1747. Also from Tatian, Eusebius, and the original short acts of his
martyrdom, in Ruinart. On his writings, see Dom. Nourry, Apparatus in
Bibl. Patr.
Ceillier and Marechal, Concordance des Peres, t 1.
St.
Justin was born at Neapolis, now Naplosa, the ancient
Sichem, and
formerly the capital of the province of Samaria. Vespasian, having
endowed its
inhabitants with the privileges belonging to Roman citizens, gave it
the name of
Flavia. His son Titus sent thither a colony of Greeks, among whom were
the
father and grandfather of our saint. His father, a heathen, brought him
up in
the errors and superstitions of paganism, but at the same time did not
neglect
to cultivate his mind by several branches of human literature.
St.
Justin accordingly informs us,1 that he spent his youth
in reading the
poets, orators, and historians. Having gone through the usual course of
these
studies, he gave himself up to that of philosophy in quest of truth, an
ardent
love of which was his predominant passion. He addressed himself first
to a
master who was a Stoic; and after having stayed some time with him,
seeing he
could learn nothing of him concerning God, he left him, and went to a
Peripatetic, a very subtle man in his own conceit: but Justin, being
desired the
second day after admission, to fix his master's salary, that he might
know what
he was to be allowed for his pains in teaching him, he left him also,
concluding
that he was no philosopher. He then tried a Pythagorean, who had a
great
reputation, and who boasted much of his wisdom; but he required of his
scholar,
as a necessary preliminary to his admission, that he should have
learned music,
astronomy, and geometry. Justin could not bear such delays in the
search of God,
and preferred the school of an Academic, under whom he made great
progress in
the Platonic philosophy, and vainly flattered himself with the hope of
arriving
in a short time at the sight of God, which the Platonic philosophy
seemed to
have had chiefly in view.
Walking
one day by the sea-side, for the advantage of a
greater freedom from
noise and tumult, he saw, as he turned about, an old man who followed
him pretty
close. His appearance was majestic, and had a great mixture in it of
mildness
and gravity. Justin looking on him very attentively, the man asked him
if he
knew him. Justin answered in the negative. "Why then," said he,
"do you lock so steadfastly upon me?" Justin replied: "It is the
effect of my surprise to meet any human creature in this remote and
solitary
place." "What brought me hither," said that old man, "was my
concern for some of my friends. They are gone a journey, and I am come
hither to
look out for them." They then fell into a long discourse concerning the
excellency of philosophy in general, and of the Platonic in particular,
which
Justin asserted to be the only true way to happiness, and of knowing
and seeing
God. This the grave person refuted at large, and at length by the force
of his
arguments convinced him that those philosophers whom he had the
greatest esteem
for, Plato and Pythagoras, had been mistaken in their principles, and
had not a
thorough knowledge of God and of the soul of man, nor could they in
consequence
communicate it to others. This drew from him the important query, Who
were the
likeliest persons to set him in the right way? The stranger answered,
that long
before the existence of these reputed philosophers, there were certain
blessed
men, lovers of God, and divinely inspired, called prophets, on account
of their
foretelling things which have since come to pass; whose books, yet
extant,
contain many solid instructions about the first cause and end of all
things, and
many other particulars becoming a philosopher to know. That their
miracles and
their predictions had procured them such credit, that they established
truth by
authority, and not by disputes and elaborate demonstrations of human
reason, of
which few men are capable. That they inculcated the belief of one only
God, the
Father and author of all things, and of his Son Jesus Christ, whom he
had sent
into the world. He concluded his discourse with this advice: "As for
thyself, above all things, pray that the gates of life may be opened
unto thee:
for these are not things to be discerned, unless God and Christ grant
to a man
the knowledge of them." After these words he departed, and Justin saw
him
no more: but his conversation left a deep impression on the young
philosopher's
soul, and kindled there an ardent affection for these true
philosophers, the
prophets. And upon a further inquiry into the credibility of the
Christian
religion, he embraced it soon after. What had also no small weight in
persuading
him of the truth of the Christian faith, was the innocence and true
virtue of
its professors; seeing with what courage and constancy, rather than to
betray
their religion, or commit the least sin, they suffered the sharpest
tortures,
and encountered, nay, even courted death itself, in its most horrible
shapes.
"When I heard the Christians traduced and reproached," says he,
"yet saw them fearless and rushing on death, and on all things that are
accounted most dreadful to human nature, I concluded with myself that
it was
impossible those men should wallow in vice, and be carried away with
the love of
lust and pleasure."2 Justin, by the course of his studies, must have
been
grown up when he was converted to the faith. Tillemont and Marand
understand, by
an obscure passage in St. Epiphanius,3 that he was in the thirtieth
year of his
age.
St.
Justin, after he became a Christian, continued to wear
the pallium, or
cloak, as Eusebius and St. Jerome inform us, which was the singular
badge of a
philosopher. Aristides, the Athenian philosopher and a Christian, did
the same;
so did Heraclas, even when he was bishop of Alexandria. St. Epiphanius
calls St.
Justin a great ascetic, or one who professed a most austere and holy
life. He
came to Rome soon after his conversion, probably from Egypt. Tillemont
and Dom.
Marand think that he was a priest, from his description of baptism, and
the
account he gave at his trial of people resorting to his house for
instruction.
This, however, is uncertain; and Ceillier concludes, from the silence
of the
ancients on this head, that he was always a layman: but he seems to
have
preached, and therefore to have been at least deacon. His discourse, or
oration
to the Greeks,4 he wrote soon after his conversion, in order to
convince the
heathens of the reasonableness of his having deserted paganism. He
urges the
absurdity of idolatry, and the inconsistency of ascribing lewdness and
other
crimes to their deities: on the other hand, he declares his admiration
of, and
reverence for, the purity and sanctity of the Christian doctrine, and
the awful
majesty of the divine writings which still the passions, and fix in a
happy
tranquillity the mind of man, which finds itself everywhere else
restless. His
second work is called his Paraenesis, or Exhortation to the Greeks,
which he
drew up at Rome: in this he employs the flowers of eloquence, which
even in his
apologies he despises. In it he shows the errors of idolatry, and the
vanity of
the heathen philosophers; reproaches Plato with making an harangue to
the
Athenians, in which he pretended to establish a multitude of gods, only
to
escape the fate of Socrates; while it is clear, from his writings, that
he
believed one only God. He transcribes the words of Orpheus the Sibyl,
Homer,
Sophocles, Pythagoras, Plato, Mercury, and Acmon, or rather Ammon, in
which they
profess the unity of the Deity. He wrote his book on Monarchy,5
expressly to
prove the unity of God, from the testimonies and reasons of the heathen
philosophers themselves. The epistle to Diognetus is an incomparable
work of
primitive antiquity, attributed to St. Justin by all the ancient
copies, and
doubtless genuine, as Dr. Cave, Ceillier, Marand, &c., show; though
the
style is more elegant and florid than the other works of this father.
Indeed it
is not mentioned by Eusebius and St. Jerome; but neither do they
mention the
works of Athenagoras. And what wonder that, the art of printing not
being as yet
discovered, some writings should have escaped their notice? Tillemont
fancies
the author of this piece to be more ancient, because he calls himself a
disciple
of the apostles: but St. Justin might assume that title, who lived
contemporary
with St. Polycarp, and others, who had seen some of them. This
Diognetus was a
learned philosopher, a person of great rank, and preceptor to the
emperor Marcus
Aurelius, who always consulted and exceedingly honored him. Dom.
Nourry6
mistakes grossly, when he calls him a Jew: for in this very epistle is
he styled
an adorer of gods. This great man was desirous to know upon what
assurances the
Christians despised the world, and even torments and death, and showed
to one
another a mutual love, which appeared wonderful to the rest of mankind,
for it
rendered them seemingly insensible to the greatest injuries. St.
Justin, to
satisfy him, demonstrates the folly of idolatry, and the imperfection
of the
Jewish worship and sets forth the sanctity practiced by the Christians,
especially their humility, meekness, love of those who hate them
without so much
as knowing any reason of their hatred, &c. He adds, that their
numbers and
virtue are increased by tortures and massacres, and explains clearly
the
divinity of Christ,7 the maker of all things, and Son of God. He shows
that by
reason alone we could never attain to the true knowledge of God, who
sent his
Son to teach us his holy mysteries; and, when we deserved only
chastisement, to
pay the full price of our redemption;-the holy One to suffer for
sinners,-the
person offended for the offenders; and when no other means could
satisfy for our
crimes, we were covered under the wings of justice itself, and rescued
from
slavery. He extols exceedingly the immense goodness and love of God for
man, in
creating him, and the world for his use; in subjecting to him other
things, and
in sending his only-begotten Son with the promise of his kingdom, to
those who
shall have loved him. "But after you shall have known him," says he,
"with what inexpressible joy do you think you will be filled! How
ardently
will you love him who first loved you! And when you shall love him, you
will be
an imitator of his goodness. He who bears the burdens of others,
assists all,
humbles himself to all, even to his inferiors, and supplies the wants
of the
poor with what he has received from God, is truly the imitator of God.
Then will
you see on earth that God governs the world; you will know his
mysteries, and
will love and admire those who suffer for him: you will condemn the
imposture of
the world, and despise death, only fearing eternal death, in
never-ending fire.
When you know that fire, you will call those blessed who here suffer
flames for
justice. I speak not of things to which I am a stranger, but having
been a
disciple of the apostles, I am a teacher of nations, &c."
St.
Justin made a long stay in Rome, dwelling near the
Timothin baths, on the
Viminal hill. The Christians met in his house to perform their
devotions, and he
applied himself with great zeal to the instruction of all those who
resorted to
him. Evelpistus, who suffered with him, owned at his examination that
he had
heard with pleasure Justin's discourses. The judge was acquainted with
his zeal,
when he asked him, in what place he assembled his disciples. Not
content with
laboring in the conversion of Jews and Gentiles, he exerted his
endeavors in
defending the Catholic faith against all the heresies of that age. His
excellent
volumes against Marcion, as they are styled by St. Jerome, are now
lost, with
several other works commended by the ancients. The martyr, after his
first
Apology, left Rome, and probably performed the functions of an
evangelist, in
many countries, for several years. In the reign of Antoninus Pius,
being at
Ephesus, and casually meeting, in the walks of Xistus, Tryphon, whom
Eusebius
calls the most celebrated Jew of that age, and who was a famous
philosopher, he
fell into discourse with him, which brought on a disputation, which was
held in
the presence of several witnesses during two entire days. St. Justin
afterwards
committed to writing this dialogue with Tryphon, which work is a simple
narrative of a familiar unstudied conversation. Tryphon, seeing Justin
in the
philosopher's cloak, addressed him on the excellency of philosophy. The
saint
answered, that he admired he should not rather study Moses and the
prophets, in
comparison of whom all the writings of the philosophers are empty
jargon and
foolish dreams. Then, in the first part of his dialogue, he showed,
that,
according to the prophets, the old law was temporary, and to be
abolished by the
new: and in the second, that Christ was God before all ages, distinct
from the
Father,-the same that appeared to Abraham, Moses, &c., the same
that created
man, and was himself made man, and crucified. He insists much on that
passage,
Behold, a virgin shall conceive.8 From the beginning of the
conversation,
Tryphon had allowed that from the prophets it was clear that Christ
must be then
come; but he said, that he had not yet manifested himself to the world.
So
evident was it that the time of his coming must be then elapsed, that
no Jew
durst deny it, as Fleury observes.9 From the Apocalypse and Isaiah, by
a
mistaken interpretation, Justin inferred the futurity of the
Millennium, or of
Christ's reign upon earth for a thousand years, before the day of
judgment, with
his elect, in spiritual, chaste delights: but adds, that this was not
admitted
by many true orthodox believers.10 This point was afterwards cleared
up, and
that mistake of some few corrected and exploded, by consulting the
tradition of
the whole church. In the third part, St. Justin proves the vocation of
the
Gentiles, and the establishment of the church. Night putting an end to
the
conversation, Tryphon thanked Justin, and prayed for his happy voyage:
for he
was going to sea. By some mistakes made by St. Justin in the
etymologies, or
derivation of certain Hebrew names, it appears that he was a stranger
to that
language. The Socinians dread the authority of this work, on account of
the
clear proofs which it furnishes of the divinity of Christ. St. Justin
testifies11 that the miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost, of curing the
sick, and
casting out devils in the name of Christ, were then frequent in the
church. He
excludes from salvation wilful heretics no less than infidels.
But the
Apologies of this martyr have chiefly rendered his
name illustrious.
The first or greater, (which by the first editors was, through mistake,
placed
and called the second,) he addressed to the emperor Antoninus Pius, his
two
adopted sons, Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Commodus, and the senate,
about the
year 150. That mild emperor had published no edicts against the
Christians; but,
by virtue of former edicts, they were often persecuted by the
governors, and
were everywhere traduced as a wicked and barbarous set of people,
enemies to
their very species. They were deemed atheists; they were accused of
practicing
secret lewdness, which slander seems to have been founded on the
secrecy of
their mysteries, and partly on the filthy abominations of the Gnostic
and
Carpocratian heretics: they were said in their sacred assemblies to
feed on the
flesh of a murdered child; to which calumny a false notion of the
blessed
eucharist might give birth. Celsus and other heathens add,12 that they
adored
the cross, and the head of an ass. The story of the ass's head was a
groundless
calumny, forged by a Jew, who pretended to have seen their mysteries,
which was
readily believed and propagated by those whose interest it was to decry
the
Christian religion, as Eusebius,13 St. Justin, Origen, and Tertullian
relate.
The respect shown to the sign of the cross, mentioned by Tertullian and
all the
ancient fathers, seems ground enough for the other slander. These
calumnies were
advanced with such confidence, and, through passion and prejudice,
received so
eagerly, that they served for a presence to justify the cruelty of the
persecutors, and to render the very name of a Christian odious. These
circumstances stirred up the zeal of St. Justin to present his apology
for the
faith in writing, begging that the same might be made public. In it he
boldly
declares himself a Christian, and an advocate for his religion: he
shows that
Christians ought not to be condemned barely for the name of Christian,
unless
convicted of some crime; that they are not atheists, though they adore
not
idols; for they adore God the Father, his Son, and the Holy Ghost,14
and the
host of good angels. He exhorts the emperor to hold the balance even,
in the
execution of justice; and sets forth the sanctity of the doctrine and
manners of
Christians, who fly all oaths, abhor the least impurity, despise
riches, are
patient and meek, love even enemies, readily pay all taxes, and
scrupulously and
respectfully obey and honor princes, &c. Far from eating children,
they even
condemned those that exposed them. He proves their regard for purity
from the
numbers among them of both sexes who had observed strict chastity to an
advanced
age. He explains the immortality of the soul, and the resurrection of
the flesh,
and shows from the ancient prophets that God was to become man, and
that they
had foretold the destruction of Jerusalem, the vocation of the
Gentiles, &c.
He mentions a statue erected in Rome to Simon Magus, which is also
testified by
Tertullian, Saint Austin, Theodoret, &c.15 The necessity of
vindicating our
faith from slanders, obliged him, contrary to the custom of the
primitive
church, to describe the sacraments of baptism and the blessed
eucharist,
mentioning the latter also as a sacrifice. "No one," says he,16
"is allowed to partake of this food but he that believes our doctrines
to
be true, and who has been baptized in the laver of regeneration for
remission of
sins, and lives up to what Christ has taught. For we take not these as
common
bread and common drink; but like as Jesus Christ our Saviour, being
incarnate by
the word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation; so are we
taught
that this food, by which our flesh and blood are nourished, over which
thanks
have been given by the prayers in his own words, is the flesh and blood
of the
incarnate Jesus." He describes the manner of sanctifying the Sunday, by
meeting to celebrate the divine mysteries, read the prophets, hear the
exhortation of him that presides, and make a collection of alms to be
distributed among the orphans, widows, sick, prisoners, and strangers.
He adds
the obscure edict of the emperor Adrian in favor of the Christians. It
appears
that this Apology had its desired effect—the quiet of the church.
Eusebius
informs us,17 that the same emperor sent into Asia a rescript to the
following
purport: "When many governors of provinces had written to my father, he
forbade them (the Christians) to be molested, unless they had offended
against
the state. The same answer I gave when consulted before on the same
subject. If
any one accuse a person of being a Christian, it is my pleasure that he
be
acquitted, and the accuser chastised, according to the rigor of the
law."
Orosius and Zonaras tell us, that Antoninus was prevailed upon by the
Apology of
Justin to send this order.
He
composed his second Apology near twenty years after, in
167, on account of
the martyrdom of one Ptolemy, and two other Christians, whom Urbicus,
the
governor of Rome, had put to death. The saint offered it to the emperor
Marcus
Aurelius (his colleague Lucius Verus being absent in the East) and to
the
senate. He undertakes in it to prove that the Christians were unjustly
punished
with death, and shows how much their lives and doctrine surpassed the
philosophers, and that they could never embrace death with so much
cheerfulness
and joy, had they been guilty of the crimes laid to their charge. Even
Socrates,
notwithstanding the multitude of disciples that followed him, never
found one
that died in defence of his doctrine. The apologist added boldly, that
he
expected death would be the recompense of his Apology, and that he
should fall a
victim to the snares and rage of some or other of the implacable
enemies of the
religion for which he pleaded; among whom he named Crescens, a
philosopher in
name, but an ignorant man, and a slave to pride and ostentation. His
martyrdom,
as he had conjectured, was the recompense of this Apology: it happened
soon
after he presented this discourse, and probably was procured by the
malice of
those of whom he spoke. The genuine acts seem to have been taken from
the
praetor's public register. The relation is as follows:
Justin
and others that were with him were apprehended, and
brought before
Rusticus, prefect of Rome, who said to Justin, "Obey the gods, and
comply
with the edicts of the emperors." Justin answered, "No one can be
justly blamed or condemned for obeying the commands of our Saviour
Jesus
Christ."
RUSTICUS-"What
kind of literature and discipline do you
profess?"
JUSTIN-"I
have tried every kind of discipline and learning,
but I have
finally embraced the Christian discipline, how little soever esteemed
by those
who were led away by error and false opinions."
RUSTICUS-
"Wretch, art thou then taken with that discipline?"
JUSTIN-"Doubtless
I am, because it affords me the comfort of
being in
the right path."
RUSTICUS-"What
are the tenets of the Christian religion?"
JUSTIN-"We
Christians believe one God, Creator of all things
visible and
invisible; and we confess our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
foretold by the
prophets, the Author and Preacher of salvation, and the Judge of
mankind."
The prefect inquired in what place the Christians assembled. Justin
replied,
"Where they please, and where they can: God is not confined to a place:
as
he is invisible, and fills both heaven and earth, he is everywhere
adored and
glorified by the faithful."
RUSTICUS-"Tell
me where you assemble your disciples."
JUSTIN-"I
have lived till this time near the house of one
called Martin,
at the Timothin baths. I am come a second time to Rome, and am
acquainted with
no other place in the city. If any one came to me, I communicated to
him the
doctrine of truth."
RUSTICUS-"You
are then a Christian?"
JUSTIN-"Yes,
I am."
The
judge then put the same question to each of the rest,
viz., Chariton, a
man; Charitana, a woman; Evelpistus, a servant of Caesar, by birth a
Cappadocian;
Hierax, a Phrygian; Peon, and Liberianus, who all answered, "that, by
the
divine mercy, they were Christians." Evelpistus said he had learned the
faith from his parents, but had with great pleasure heard Justin's
discourses.
Then
the prefect addressed himself again to Justin in this
manner: "Hear
you, who are noted for your eloquence, and think you make profession of
the
right philosophy, if I cause you to be scourged from head to foot, do
you think
you shall go to heaven?"
Justin
replied, "If I suffer what you mention, I hope to
receive the
reward which those have already received who hare observed the precepts
of Jesus
Christ."
Rusticus
said, "You imagine then that you shall go to
heaven, and be
there rewarded."
The
martyr answered, "I do not only imagine it, but I know
it; and am so
well assured of it, that I have no reason to make the least doubt of
it."
The
prefect seeing it was to no purpose to argue, bade them
go together and
unanimously sacrifice to the gods, and told them that in case of
refusal they
should be tormented without mercy.
Justin
replied, "there is nothing which we more earnestly
desire than to
endure torments for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ; for this is what
will
promote our happiness, and give us confidence at his bar, where all men
must
appear to be judged." To this the rest assented, adding, "Do quickly
what you are about. We are Christians, and will never sacrifice to
idols."
The
prefect thereupon ordered them to be scourged and then
beheaded, as the
laws directed. The martyrs were forthwith led to the place where
criminals were
executed, and there, amidst the praises and thanksgivings which they
did not
cease to pour forth to God, were first scourged, and afterwards
beheaded. After
their martyrdom, certain Christians carried off their bodies privately,
and gave
them an honorable burial. St. Justin is one of the most ancient fathers
of the
church who has left us works of any considerable note. Tatian, his
disciple,
writes, that, of all men, he was the most worthy of admiration.18
Eusebius, St.
Jerome, St. Epiphanius, Theodoret, &c., bestow on him the highest
praises.
He suffered about the year 167, in the reign of Marcus Aurelius and
Lucius Verus.
The Greeks honor him on the 1st of June; in Usuard and the Roman
Martyrology his
name occurs on the 13th of April.
St.
Justin extols the power of divine grace in the virtue of
Christians,
among whom many who were then sixty years old, had served God from
their infancy
in a state of spotless virginity, having never offended against that
virtue, not
only in action, but not even in thought: for our very thoughts are
known to
God.19 They could not be defiled with any inordinate love of riches,
who threw
their own private revenues into the common stock, sharing it with the
poor.20 So
great was their abhorrence of the least wilful untruth, that they were
always
ready rather to die than to save their lives by a lie.21 Their fidelity
to God
was inviolable, and their constancy in confessing his holy name, and in
observing his law, invincible. "No one," says the saint,22 "can
affright from their duty those who believe in Jesus. In all parts of
the earth
we cease not to confess him, though we lose our heads, be crucified, or
exposed
to wild beasts. We suffer dungeons, fire, and all manner of torments:
the more
we are persecuted, the more faithful and the more pious we become,
through the
name of Jesus. Some adore the sun: but no one yet saw any one lay down
his life
for that worship; whereas we see men of all nations suffer all things
for Jesus
Christ." He often mentions the devotion and fervor of Christians in
glorifying God by their continual homages, and says, that the light of
the
gospel being then spread everywhere, there was no nation, either of
Greeks or
barbarians, in which prayers and thanksgivings were not offered to the
Creator
in the name of the crucified Jesus.23
Endnotes
1 Dial. in initio.
2 Apol. 2, ol. 1, n.
12, p.
96.
3 Haer. 46.
4 Op. p. 1.
5 Ed. Ben. p. 36.
6 Appar. in Bibl. Patr.
t.
1, p. 445.
7 N. 7, p. 237.
8 Isaiah viii.
9 Hist. t. 1, p. 463.
10 N. 80, p. 177.
11 N. 85, p. 182, n.
35, p.
133.
12 Apud Origen, 1. 6,
c.
133.
13 Hist. l. 4, c. 16,
and
in Isa.
14 Apol. 1, ol. 2, n.
6, p.
47.
15 See Tillemont, t. 2
p.
521, and Marand, Not. hic.
16 N 66, p. 88. See the
notes of the Ben. Ed.
17 Hist. p. 4, c. 13.
18 Apud Eus. l. 4, c.
16.
19 Apol. 1, ol. 2, p.
62.
20 Ib. p. 61.
21 Ib. p. 57, and Dial.
cum
Tryph.
22 Ib.
23 Dial. p. 345.
(Taken
from Vol. 6 of "The Lives or the Fathers, Martyrs and
Other
Principal Saints" by the Rev. Alban Butler, the 1864 edition published
by
D. & J. Sadlier, & Company)
|
What Does 'Divine
Mercy' Actually Mean?
"A single act
of uniformity
with the divine will suffices to make a saint. Behold while Saul
was persecuting the Church, God enlightened him and converted
him. What does Saul do? What does he say? Nothing
else but to offer himself to do God's will: "Lord, what wilt thou
have me to do?" (Acts 9:6 In return the Lord calls him a
vessel of election and an apostle of the gentiles: "This man
is to me a vessel of election, to carry my name before the
gentiles." (Ibid) Absolutely true - because he who gives his
will to God, gives Him everything. He who gives his goods in alms, his
blood in scourging, his food in fasting, gives God what he has. But he
who gives God his will, gives himself, gives everything he is. Such a
one can say: "Though I am
poor, Lord, I give thee all I possess; but when I say I give thee
my will, I have nothing left to give thee." This is just
what God does require of us: My son, give me thy heart." (Prov.
23:26) St. Augustine's comment is: "There is nothing
more pleasing we can offer God than to say to Him; Possess thyself of
us" (St. Augustine on Ps 131:3) We cannot offer God
anything more pleasing than to say: Take us, Lord, we give thee
our entire will. Only let us know thy will and we will carry it
out.