Untitled - Saints' Books

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348 Material for Instructions. (PART n.
himself* The holy Church prohibits, with so much rigor,
and under pain of censure, ecclesiastics to engage in
traffic. The priest is consecrated to God; he therefore
should attend to no other business than the advance
ment of God s glory. The Lord does not accept empty
victims from which the marrow has been extracted. /
will offer up to Thee, said David, holocausts full of marrow?
The sacrifices, the Masses, Offices, and works that a
priest dissipated by the cares of traffic offers to God
are, says St. Peter Damian, empty; for he has taken
away the marrow, that is, attention and devotion, and
presents only the skin or external appearance. 3
What a
misery to see a priest, who could save souls and do
great things for the glory of God, employed in buying
and selling, and engaged in traffic of cattle and corn.
are consecrated," says Peter de Blois, to great
things do not occupy yourself with what is 1
trivial."
What but a spider s web, says St. Bernard, is earthly
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traffic ? As the spider eviscerates itself, making
its web
for the purpose of catching a fly, so, O God ! certain
priests spend themselves, lose their time, and the fruit
of their spiritual works, in order to gain a little dust.
submit to labors, to anxiety and disquietude, for
They
emptiness, when they could possess God, who is the
Lord of all things. "Why
do we trouble ourselves,"
exclaims St. Bonaventure, about nothing, while we may
possess the Creator of all things
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"Nemo, militans Deo, implicat se negotiis saecularibus, ut ei pla-
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ceat, cui se probavit." 2 Tim. ii. 4.
Holocausta medullata offeram tibi." Ps. Ixv. 15.
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Quisquis se per negotiorum saeeularium exercitia delectabiliter
fundit, holocaust! sui medullas cum visceribus subtrahit, et solam
victimae pellem Deo adolere contendit." Opusc. 12, c. 22.
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Magnis addictus es, noli minimis occupari."
De Inst. Episc.
Fructus horum quid, nisi araneorum telae ?" De Cons. \. i. c. 2.
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Nescio cur nos affligimus circa nihil, cum possidere Creatorem
omnium valeamus !" div, am. p. 2, c. 2.
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