A Medieval Sermon on St. Augustine1

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FEW years ago the attention of Catholic preachers was called, especially by Popes Leo XIII and Benedict XV, to the need of a revision in the method to be employed in the instruction of the faithful. For a long time the primary purpose of the sermon, namely, to instruct, had been lost sight of; modern preaching had become, in the words of the first named pontiff, "either contemptible or barren and un­ profitable." The value and beauty of the sermons of the preach­ ers of the early Church, with their frequent appeals to the Scripture and the lives of holy men, were no longer appreciated by modern preachers. Mental gymnastics, debates, civil affairs, exerted a far greater appeal. "In 1894 the Congregation of Bishops and Regulars pointed out those great abuses (of the preacher of that day) as including the choice of 'themes,' which bring them the reputations which satisfy their ambition, in pompous discourses, treating of speculative rather that practical arguments, discourses more secular than religious, more showy than fruitful, such as are perhaps not out of place in journalism or debating clubs, but are out of place in the sacred edifice." 2 The preachers of the Middle Ages can also be accused of treating of speculative arguments, but never of placing them above the practical in importance. They lived in an age when speculative thought had reached its height. It would be ex­ pecting too much of preachers of such an age to leave specula­ tion ~ut of their sermons. Nor can they be accused of having lost sight of the value of the scriptural sermon. Their entire sermon was based upon a scriptural text, their assertions were supported by texts. This is perhaps the greatest difference between the 1 The material for this study was obtained from "Senno1ies S. Vincentii Ferr. de Tempore et de Sanctis; de Sancto Augustino" Tom. I (Strasburg, 1489), a copy of which is now in the library of the Dominican House of Studies, Washington, D. C. The transliteration was made by Casimir Zvirblis, 0.P. See opposite page for facsimile. •Schulz, Sacred Eloqitence, p. 1. 196 Dominic:ana modern sermon and that of the Middle Ages. Today the tend­ ency is to suit the text to the sermon, while then the sermon was about the text chosen. Among the great preachers of the close of the Middle Ages St. Vincent Ferrer ranks very high. He was an indefatigable preacher. What he said of St. Augustine may be said of him­ self, "He went his way preaching, converting sinners to penance, and infidels, Jews, and pagans to the Catholic faith." The sermon for our study has been chosen, not so much 8ecause it better portrays the method and style of St. Vincent, but rather because at this time St. Augustine should prove a subject of absorbing interest to Catholic readers and scholars. It may well be considered, however, a typical sermon of St. Vin­ cent. While it is intended as a panegyric on St. Augustine, the preacher does not lose sight of the primary aim of all sermons, to instruct. Only at times in the course of this one does he be­ come the "Angel of the Apocalypse," thundering forth warnings and denunciations against evil-doers. The entire sermon is based upon the scriptural text, "Lamps burning in your hands."8 The plan is simple. After a short in­ troduction, in which "burning lamps" are interpreted as virtues infused into the soul by God, he proceeds to show how the soul is made hideous and displeasing to God when it is stained by sin, in this case by one of the seven capital sins, but which be­ comes cleansed and beautiful, "clara et pulchra," by the infusion of the virtues to which these seven sins are opposed. The sec­ ond, and by far the much longer part is devoted to a portrayal of these virtues as possessed by St. Augustine. A conclusion of but a few lines describes the death of St. Augustine and his en­ trance into heaven. St. Vincent begins his sermons with a declaration of his purpose. The sermon was preached on the feast of St. Au­ gustine, who is held up before the audience as a model whom all should follow. As you know, to-day throughout the entire Christian world, is celebrated the feast of the great and glorious doctor, the blessed Augustine, bishop. Our sermon will be of him also, especially be­ cause in his life we find many things about which we might meditate and which we should practice. He first explains in a few sentences just what is meant by "burning lamps." The soul is compared to a hall which, being 1 Luke, XII, 36.
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