The statements of the fathers.
The statements of the fathers.
§ 92. The statements of the fathers which Bellarmine cites and in which they assert that “by repentance God is soothed and appeased, sins are washed away with tears, and contrition merits pardon,” etc., are not of the same category. (1) They must be understood to refer to the salutary repentance to which faith in Christ the Mediator is conjoined, whose blood alone “cleanses us from all sins” (1 John 1:7).
(2) They are engaged in a kind of speaking that is homiletic and is exhorting people to repent, and thus they spoke too vehemently at times. Sixtus Senensis (bk. 6, Biblioth. annotat. 152): “The words of preachers must not always be taken with the same severity as they first reach the ears of their listeners, for they declare and teach many things hyperbolically as they are influenced by the occasion of place, person, or time, or as they are carried away by the impulse of affections or the course of the oration.” Barradius (Concord. evangel., vol. 1, bk. 8, ch. 6) admits that this happened sometimes to Chrysostom.
(3) Petrus Canisius (De virg. deipara, bk. 2, ch. 16) acknowledges that the expression “to merit” is used too loosely by the fathers, about which there will be more in its own place [On Good Works (Commonplace XX), § 124]. Bellarmine should acknowledge his own words (De gratia et lib. arbitr., bk. 2, ch. 14, response to 3): “When the fathers spoke to the people, they would say those things which appeared more useful in stirring their people to good works.”
(4) Elsewhere they speak more suitably and explain their meaning clearly. Chrysostom (Ad pop. Antioch., homily 80): “Do not trust in your own repentance, for repentance cannot wipe away such great sins. If repentance alone were to exist, you would be afraid justly; but after faith and God’s mercy are mingled with repentance, take heart, because only God’s grace overcomes your wickedness.” Chrysostom again (Hypomn. on Isaiah): “Has anyone said whether one may attain salvation through repentance? By all means, one may! When I have spent all of my life in sins, shall I be saved if I repent? Surely you will! What is the source of this? From the very kindness of your Lord toward us and not as the result of your repentance, for your repentance is not strong enough to wipe away so great a stain.”
Hilary (on Psalm 66): “From the abundance of His goodness God bestows His mercy in the remission of sins. The remission of sins is not the merit of our goodness but comes from voluntary pardon.”
Gregory (on Ezekiel, bk. 1, homily 7): “Our just Advocate defends us just people in the judgment because we both know ourselves and accuse ourselves as unjust people. Therefore we trust not in our tears, not in our acts, but in the response of our Advocate.”
The gloss on [Ius canonicum,]De poenit., dist. 1, c. 1: “If we look carefully, the remission of sins must be attributed to God’s grace and not to contrition.”