used in the Divine worship; so that not men only, but also temples and
vessels and other similar things are said to be sanctified by reason of
their use in Divine worship. _Cleanness_ indeed is necessary if a man's
mind is to be applied to God. For the mind of man is stained by being
immersed in inferior things, as indeed all things are cheapened by
admixture with things inferior to them--silver, for instance, when mixed
with lead. And for our minds to be knit to the Supreme Being they must
needs be withdrawn from inferior things. Without cleanness, then, the
mind cannot be applied to God. Hence in the Epistle to the Hebrews[74]
it is said: _Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no
man shall see God._
_Stability_ is also required if the mind is to be applied to God. For
the mind is applied to Him as to the Ultimate End and First Principle,
and consequently must be immovable. Hence the Apostle says: _For I am
sure that neither death nor life shall separate me from the love of
God._[75]
Sanctity, then, is said to be that whereby man's mind and its acts are
applied to God. Hence sanctity does not differ from religion
essentially, but in idea only. For by religion we mean that a man offers
God due service in those things which specially pertain to the Divine
worship--sacrifices, for example, and oblations, etc.; but by sanctity
we mean that a man not only offers these things, but also refers to God
the works of the other virtues, and also that a man disposes himself by
good works for the Divine worship.
* * * * *
Some, however, deny the identity of religion and sanctity, thus:
1. Religion is a certain special virtue. But sanctity is called a
general virtue, for according to Andronicus,[76] sanctity is that which
"makes men faithful observers of what is justly due to God." Hence
sanctity is not the same as religion.
But sanctity is in its essence a special virtue, and as such is,
in a sort, the same as religion. It has, however, a certain
general aspect in that, by its commands, it directs all the acts
of the virtues to the Divine Good. In the same way legal justice
is termed a general virtue in that it directs the acts of all
the virtues to the common good.
2. Sanctity seems to imply cleanness, for S. Denis says[77]: "Sanctity
is freedom from all impurity; it is perfect and stainless cleanness."
Cleanness, however, seems to come under temperance, for this it is which
precludes bodily defilement. Since, then, religion comes under justice,
sanctity cannot be identified with religion.
Temperance indeed worketh cleanness, but this has not the ratio
of sanctity except it be referred to God. Hence S. Augustine
says of virginity itself that "not because it is virginity is it
held in honour, but because it is consecrated to God."[78]
3. Lastly, things that are contradistinguished are not identical. But in
all enumerations of the parts of justice sanctity is set against
religion.
But sanctity is set against religion because of the difference
aforesaid; they differ indeed in idea, not in substance.
* * * * *
_Cajetan:_ Religion is directly concerned with those things which
specially pertain to the Divine worship--ceremonies, for example,
sacrifices, oblations, etc. Whereas sanctity directly regards the mind,
and through the mind the other virtuous works, including those of
religion ... for it makes use of them so as thereby to apply the
mind--and by consequence all acts that proceed from the human mind--to
God. Thus we see that many religious people are not saints, whereas all
saints are religious. For people who devote themselves to ceremonies,
sacrifices, etc., can be termed religious; but they can only be called
saints in so far as by means of these things they give themselves
interiorly to God (_on_ 2. 2. 81. 8).
FOOTNOTES:
[33] _De invent. Rhetor._, ii. 53.
[34] _Etymolog._, x. _sub litt._ R.
[35] _Of the City of God_, x. 3.
[36] _Of the True Religion_, lv.
[37] St. Jas. i. 27.
[38] _Of the City of God_, x. 1.
[39] _Of the City of God_, x. 1.
[40] Gal. v. 13.
[41] The objection and its solution turn upon the Latin words _cultus_
and _colere_, which cannot be consistently rendered in English;
"reverence" is perhaps the most appropriate translation here.
[42] _Of the City of God_, x. 1.
[43] Gal. iv. 14.
[44] Rom. viii. 31.
[45] Ps. xv. 5.
[46] Ps. lxxvi. 1.
[47] _Of the Nature of Good_, iii.
[48] _Fear_ is one of the "Gifts" of the Holy Ghost.
[49] S. Jerome, _Ep._ LIV., _alias_ X., _ad Furiam_.
[50] II., vi. 15.
[51] iv. 5-6.
[52] i. 6.
[53] The Latin word _ordinare_ means "to set in due order"; there is no
precise English equivalent which can be consistently employed.
[54] _Of the City of God_, x. 6.
[55] II. x. 31.
[56] VIII. viii. 1.
[57] 2. 2. Qu. II., Art. 2.
[58] _Enchiridion_, iii.
[59] xliii. 33.
[60] xx. 1-17.
[61] _Ethics_, II. vi.
[62] lviii. 7.
[63] Ps. xv. 2.
[64] 1 Cor. ix. 16.
[65] See p. 30.
[66] i. 20.
[67] Ps. xlix. 13.
[68] _Of the City of God_, x. 5.
[69] _Ibid._, vi. 10.
[70] Ps. xciv. 3.
[71] i. 74-75.
[72] Thus Origen, _Hom._ XI, i. _in Leviticum_, where, however, he is
not really giving an etymology.
[73] X., _sub litt._ S.
[74] xii. 14.
[75] Rom. viii. 38-39.
[76] _De Affectibus_.
[77] _Of the Divine Names_, xii.
[78] _Of Virginity_, viii.
QUESTION LXXXII
OF DEVOTION
I. Is Devotion a Special Kind of Act?
Cardinal Cajetan, On the Meaning of the Term "Devotion"
S. Augustine, _Confessions_, XIII. viii. 2
II. Is Devotion an Act of the Virtue of Religion?
III. Is Contemplation, that is Meditation, the Cause of Devotion?
Cardinal Cajetan, On the Causes of Devotion
" " On the Devotion of Women
IV. Is Joy an Effect of Devotion?
Cardinal Cajetan, On Melancholy
S. Augustine, _Confessions_, II. x.
I
Is Devotion a Special Kind of Act?
It is by our acts that we merit. But devotion has a peculiarly
meritorious character. Consequently devotion is a special kind of act.
Devotion is so termed from "devoting" oneself. Hence the "devout" are so
named because they "devote" themselves to God and thus proclaim their
complete subjection to Him. Thus, too, among the heathen of old those
were termed "devout" who for the army's sake "devoted" themselves to
their idols unto death, as Livy[79] tells us was the case with the two
Decii. Hence devotion seems to mean nothing else than "the will to give
oneself promptly to those things which pertain to God's service"; thus
it is said in Exodus[80]: _The multitude of the children of Israel ...
offered first-fruits to the Lord with a most ready and devout mind._ It
is clear, however, that a wish to do _readily_ what belongs to God's
service is a special act. Hence devotion is a special act of the will.
But some argue that devotion is not a special kind of act, thus:
1. That which serves to qualify other acts cannot be itself a special
act. But devotion appears to qualify certain other acts; thus it is said
that _all the multitude offered victims, and praises, and holocausts
with a devout mind_.[81]
But that which moves another gives a certain measure to the
latter's movement. The will, however, moves the other faculties
of the soul to their respective acts; and, moreover, the will,
as aiming at an end in view, moves itself to the means towards
that end. Consequently, since devotion is the act of a man who
offers himself to serve Him Who is the Ultimate End, it follows
that devotion gives a certain measure to human acts--whether
they be the acts of the will itself with regard to the means to
an end, or the acts of the other faculties as moved by the will.
2. Again, no act which finds a place in different kinds of acts can be
itself a special kind of act. But devotion is to be found in acts of
different kinds, both in corporal acts, for example, and in spiritual;
thus a man is said to meditate devoutly, for instance, or to genuflect
devoutly.
But devotion does not find a place in different kinds of acts as
though it were a _species_ coming under different _genera_, but
in the same sense as the motive power of a moving principle is
virtually discoverable in the movements of the things it sets in
motion.
3. Lastly, all special kinds of acts belong either to the appetitive or
to the cognoscitive faculties. But devotion comes under neither of
these--as will be evident to anyone who will reflect upon the various
acts of these faculties respectively.
But devotion is an act of the appetitive powers of the soul, and
is, as we have said above, a movement of the will.
_Cajetan:_ With regard to the proper meaning of the term _devotion_,
note that since _devotion_ is clearly derived from _devoting_, and since
_to devote_--derived in its turn from _to vow_--means to promise
something spontaneously to God: it follows that the principle in all
such promises is the will; and further, not the will simply as such, but
the will so affected as to be prompt. Hence in Latin those are said to
be _devoted_ to some superior whose will is so affected towards him as
to make them prompt in his regard. And this seems to refer especially to
God and to those who in a sense stand in His place, as, for instance,
our rulers, our fatherland, and our principles of action. Hence in the
Church's usage the term _devotion_ is especially applied to those who
are so affected towards God as to be prompt in His regard and in all
that concerns Him. And so _devotion_ is here taken to signify the act of
a will so disposed, the act by which a man shows himself prompt in the
Divine service.... Thus, then, _devotion_, the principal act of the
virtue of religion, implies first of all the prompt desire of the Divine
honour in our exercise of Divine worship; and hence comes the prompt
choice of appropriate means to this end, and also the prompt carrying
out of what we see to be suitable to that end. And the proof of
possession of such _devotion_ is that truly devout souls, the moment
they perceive that some particular thing (or other) ought to be done for
the service of God, are so promptly moved towards it that they rejoice
in having to do or in actually doing it (_on_ 2. 2. 82. 1).
_S. Augustine:_ Give me, O Lord, Thyself; grant Thyself to me! For Thee
do I love, and if my love be but weak, then would I love Thee more. For
I cannot measure it so as to know how much my love falls short of that
love which shall make my life run to Thy embraces nor ever turn away
from Thee till I be hid in the hiding-place of Thy countenance. This
only do I know: that it fares ill with me when away from Thee; and this
not merely externally, but within me; for all abundance which is not my
God is but penury for me! (_Confessions_, XIII. viii. 2).
II
Is Devotion an Act of the Virtue of Religion?
Devotion is derived from "devoting oneself" or making vows. But a vow is
an act of the virtue of religion. Consequently devotion also is an act
of the virtue of religion.
It belongs to the same virtue to wish to do a thing and to have a prompt
will to do it, for the object of each of these acts is the same. For
this reason the Philosopher says[82]: "Justice is that by which men will
and perform just deeds." And it is clear that to perform those things
which pertain to the Divine worship or service comes under the virtue of
religion. Consequently it belongs to the same virtue of religion to have
a prompt will to carry out these things--in other words, to be devout.
Whence it follows that devotion is an act of the virtue of religion.
But some argue that devotion is not an act of the virtue of religion,
thus:
1. Devotion means that a man gives himself to God. But this belongs to
the virtue of charity, for, as S. Denis says[83]: "Divine love causes
ecstasy since it permits not that those who love should belong any more
to themselves, but to those things which they love." Whence devotion
would seem to be rather an act of charity than of the virtue of
religion.
It is indeed through charity that a man gives himself to God,
clinging to Him by a certain union of soul; but that a man
should give himself to God and occupy himself with the Divine
service, is due directly to the virtue of religion, though
indirectly it is due to the virtue of charity, which is the
principle of the virtue of religion.
2. Again, charity precedes the virtue of religion. But devotion seems to
precede charity; for charity is signified in Scripture by fire, and
devotion by the fat of the sacrifices--the material on which the fire
feeds. Consequently devotion is not an act of the virtue of religion.
But while the fat of the body is generated by the natural
digestive heat, that natural heat finds its nourishment in that
same fat. Similarly charity both causes devotion--since it is by
love that a man becomes prompt to serve his friend--and at the
same time charity is fed by devotion; just as all friendship is
preserved and increased by the practice of friendly acts and by
meditating upon them.
3. Lastly, by the virtue of religion a man turns to God alone. But
devotion extends to men as well; people, for instance, are said to be
devoted to certain Saints, and servants are said to be devoted to their
masters, as S. Leo says of the Jews,[84] that being devoted to the Roman
laws, they said: _We have no king but Caesar._[85] Consequently devotion
is not an act of the virtue of religion.
But the devotion which we have to the Saints of God, whether
living or dead, does not stop at them, but passes on to God,
since we venerate God in God's ministers. And the devotion which
subjects have to their temporal masters is of a different kind
altogether, just as the service of temporal masters differs from
the service of the Divine Master.
III
Is Contemplation, that is Meditation, the Cause of Devotion?
In Ps. xxxviii. 4 it is said: _And in my meditation a fire shall flame
out._ But spiritual fire causes devotion. Therefore meditation causes
devotion.
The extrinsic and principal cause of devotion is God Himself; thus S.
Ambrose says[86]: "God calls those whom He deigns to call; and whom He
wills to make religious He makes religious; and had He willed it He
would have made the Samaritans devout instead of indevout."
But the intrinsic cause of devotion on our part is meditation or
contemplation. For, as we have said, devotion is a certain act of the
will by which a man gives himself promptly to the Divine service. All
acts of the will, however, proceed from consideration, since the will's
object is good understood. Hence S. Augustine says[87]: "The will starts
from the understanding." Meditation must, then, be the cause of devotion
inasmuch as it is from meditation that a man conceives the idea of
giving himself up to God.
And two considerations lead a man to do this: one is the consideration
of the Divine Goodness and of His benefits, whence the words of the
Psalmist: _But for me it is good to cling close to my God, to put my
hope in the Lord God._[88] And this consideration begets love, which is
the proximate cause of devotion. And the second is man's consideration
of his own defects which compel him to lean upon God, according to the
words: _I have lifted up mine eyes to the mountains, from whence help
shall come to me; my help is from the Lord Who made Heaven and
earth._[89] This latter consideration excludes all presumption which, by
making him lean upon himself, might prevent a man from submitting
himself to God.
Some, however, argue that contemplation or meditation is not the cause
of devotion, thus:
1. No cause hinders its own effect. But subtle intellectual meditations
often hinder devotion.
But it is the consideration of those things which naturally tend
to excite love of God which begets devotion; consideration of
things which do not come under this head, but rather distract
the mind from it, are a hindrance to devotion.
2. Again, if contemplation were the real cause of devotion, it should
follow that the higher the matter of our contemplation the greater the
devotion it begot. But the opposite is the case. For it frequently
happens that greater devotion is aroused by the contemplation of the
Passion of Christ and of the other mysteries of His Sacred Humanity than
by meditation upon the Divine excellences.
It is true that things which concern the Godhead are of
themselves more calculated to excite in us love, and
consequently devotion, since God is to be loved above all
things; yet it is due to the weakness of the human mind that
just as it needs to be led by the hand to the knowledge of
Divine things, so also must it be lead to Divine love by means
of the things of sense already known to it; and the chief of
these things is the Humanity of Christ, as is said in the
_Preface_ of the Mass: _So that knowing God visibly in the
flesh, we may thereby be carried away to the love of things
invisible._ Consequently the things that have to do with
Christ's Humanity lead us, as it were, by the hand and are thus
especially suited to stir up devotion in us; though, none the
less, devotion is principally concerned with the Divinity.
3. Lastly, if contemplation were the real cause of devotion, it ought to
follow that those who are the more fitted for contemplation are also the
more fitted for devotion; whereas the contrary is the case, for greater
devotion is often found among simple folk and in the female sex, where
contemplation is wanting.
But knowledge, as indeed anything which renders a person great,
occasions a man to trust in Himself, and hence he does not
wholly give himself to God. It is for this reason that knowledge
and suchlike things are sometimes a hindrance to a man's
devotion, whereas among women and simple folk devotion abounds
by the suppression of all elation. But if a man will only
perfectly subject to God his knowledge and any other perfection
he may have, then his devotion will increase.
* * * * *
_Cajetan:_ Note these two intrinsic causes of devotion: one, namely,
which arises from meditation upon God and His benefits, the other from
meditation on our own defects. Under the first head I must consider
God's goodness, mercy, and kindness towards mankind and towards myself;
the benefits, for instance, of creation according to His own Likeness,
of Redemption, of Baptism, of His inspirations, of His invitations--
whether directly or through the medium of others; His patient waiting
till I do penance; His Holy Eucharist; His preserving me from so many
perils both of body and soul; His care of me by means of His Angels; and
His other individual benefits. Under the second head come all my faults
and the punishments due to me, whether in the past or now in the
present; my proneness to sin; my misuse of my own powers by habituating
my thoughts and desires--as well as the inclinations of my other various
faculties--to evil; my sojourning in a region far away from His
Friendship and from His Divine conversation[90]; my perverted affections
which make me think far more of temporal than of spiritual advantages or
disadvantages; my utter lack of virtue; the wounds of my ignorance, of
my malice, of my weakness, of my concupiscence; the shackles on my hands
and feet, on my good works, that is; the shackles, too, on my
affections, so that I dwell amidst darkness and rottenness and
bitterness, and shrink not from it! My deafness, too, to the inner voice
of my Shepherd; and, what is far worse, that I have chosen God for my
enemy and my adversary as often as I have chosen mortal sin, and that I
have thus offered Him the grievous insult of refusing to have Him for my
God, and choosing instead my belly, or money, or false delights--and
called them my God!
Meditations such as these should be in daily use among spiritual and
religious people, and for their sake they should put aside the
"much-speaking" of vocal prayer, however much it may appeal to them. And
it is of such meditations that devotion and, by consequence, other
virtues, are begotten. And they who do not give themselves to this form
of prayer at least once in the day cannot be called religious men or
women, nor even spiritual people. There can be no effect without a
cause, no end without means to it, no gaining the harbour on the island
save by a voyage in a ship; and so there can be no real religion without
repeated acts regarding its causes, the means to it, and the vehicle
that is to bring us thither (_on_ 2. 2. 82. 3).
_Cajetan:_ Just as he who removes an obstacle is the occasion of the
resulting effect--a man, for instance, who pulls down a pillar is the
occasion of the resulting fall of what it supported, and a man who
removes a water-dam is the occasion of the consequent flood--so in the
same way have women and simple folk a cause of devotion within
themselves, for they have not that obstacle which consists in
self-confidence. And because God bestows His grace on those who put no
obstacle to it, the Church therefore calls the female sex "devout."
Hence we are not to find fault with the learned for their knowledge, nor
are we to praise women for womanly weakness; but that abuse of knowledge
which consists in self-exaltation is blameworthy, just as the right use
of women's weakness in not being uplifted is praiseworthy (_on_ 2. 2.
82. 3).
IV
Is Joy an Effect of Devotion?
In the Church's _Collect_ for the Thursday after the Fourth Sunday of
Lent we say: _May holy devotion fill with joy those whom the fast they
have undertaken chastises._
Of itself indeed, and primarily, devotion brings about a spiritual joy
of the mind; but as an accidental result it causes sorrow. For, as we
have said above, devotion arises from two considerations. Primarily it
arises from the consideration of the Divine Goodness, and from this
thought there necessarily follows gladness, in accordance with the
words: _I remembered God and was delighted._[91] Yet, as it were
accidentally, this consideration begets a certain sadness in those who
do not as yet fully enjoy God: _My soul hath thirsted after the strong
living God_,[92] and he immediately adds: _My tears have been my bread._
Secondarily, however, devotion arises from the consideration of our own
defects, for we thus reflect upon that from which a man, by devout acts
of the will, turns away, so as no longer to dwell in himself, but to
subject himself to God.
And this consideration is the converse of the former: for of itself it
tends to cause sadness since it makes us dwell upon our defects;
accidentally, however, it causes joy, for it makes us think of the hope
we have of God's assistance.
Hence joy of heart primarily and of itself follows from devotion; but
secondarily and accidentally there results a sadness which is unto God.
Some, however, argue that joy is not an effect of devotion, thus:
1. Christ's Passion, as said before, is especially calculated to cause
devotion. But from dwelling on it there follows a certain affliction of
soul: _Remember my poverty ... the wormwood and the gall_[93]--that is,
the Sacred Passion; and then follows: _I will be mindful, and remember,
and my soul shall languish within me._
In meditation on the Passion of Christ there is food for
sadness--viz., the thought of the sins of men, and to take these
away Christ had need to suffer. But there is also food for
joy--viz., the thought of God's merciful kindness towards us in
providing us such a deliverance.
2. Again, devotion principally consists in the interior sacrifice of the
heart: _A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit_;[94] consequently
affliction, rather than pleasure or joy, is the outcome of devotion.
But the soul which is on the one hand saddened because of its
shortcomings in this present life, is on the other hand
delighted at the thought of the goodness of God and of the hope
of Divine assistance.
3. Lastly, S. Gregory of Nyssa says[95]: "Just as laughter proceeds from
joy, so are sorrow and groaning signs of sadness." But out of devotion
some burst into tears.
Yet tears spring not from sadness alone, but also from a certain
tenderness of feeling: and especially is this the case when we
reflect on something that, while pleasant, has in it a certain
admixture of sadness; thus men are wont to weep from loving
affection when they recover their children or others dear to
them whom they had thought lost. And it is in this sense that
tears spring from devotion.
* * * * *