In Nomine Dei Summi - Sermon 6

From R. E. McNally, "In nomine Dei summi": Seven Hiberno-Latin Sermons', Traditio 35 (1979), pp. 121-43.

------------------------------------

In the name of God most high.

It is fitting for each and every one of us to love his soul, just as he loves his body.

The body when it is hungry seeks food; when thirsty it seeks drink; when it is naked, clothing; when it labours it seeks rest; when it is sleepy it seeks sleep. Just so the soul also needs these things: the food of the soul is the Word of God; its drink is prayer or wisdom; its clothes are a firm faith in Christ; its rest is truth; its sleep is humility. On this last point scripture says: 'I will overlook any other except for the one who is humble and quiet and trembles at my word'; and in another place: 'he who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted'; and Christ says, 'Learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart'; and in another place: 'God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble'.

So it behoves us to lift up our souls
from the present things to the things that are absent,
from sadnesses to joy,
from fallen things to eternal things,
from earthly things to heavenly things,
from the lowest things to the high things,
from the absence of God to his presence,
from journeying to our own inheritance,
from the region of death to the region of life
in which we shall see the heavenly things 'face to face' and the king of kings reigning over the eternal things, with whom we, destined to last, will reign always without end in the eternal kingdoms of the eternal king. Amen.


(From "Journeys on the Edge: the Celtic Tradition" by Thomas O'Loughlin, (Traditions of Christian Spirituality Series) 2000, London, Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd. )