Thy Resurrection, O Christ our SaviorThe angels in Heaven sing;Enable us on earth To glorify Thee in purity of heart!
The second miracle -- enabling us to glorify Him with purity of heart -- is greater than the first.
As Menochius says regarding Matthew 9:5 (quoted in the Haydock Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859 ed.),
It is more difficult to remit sins than restore the health of the body. St. Augustine remarks, (tract. lxxii in Joannem) it is more difficult to justify a man than to create the heavens and the earth; but Christ speaks thus, because the Pharisees might otherwise have said, that as he could not confer visible health upon the body, he had recourse to the invisible remission of sins, and that it was easy to grant in words, what no one could discern whether it was really granted or not. In this sense, therefore, the word, "Be thou healed," is more difficult than simply to say, "Thy sins are forgiven thee;" which any one could say, though he might not effect what his word implied.
No comments:
Post a Comment