Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 14.djvu/674

 THEOLOGY

614

THEOLOGY

emphatically state that bodily asceticism has not an absolute, but only a relative, value. St. Thomas calls it a "means to an end", to be used with discre- tion. St. Bonaventure says that bodily austerities "prepare, foster, and preserve perfection" (ad per- fectionem praeparans et ipsam promovens et conser- vans; "Apolog. pauperum", V, c. viii). In proof of his thesis, he shows that to put an absolute value on bodily asceticism would leadtoManichEeism. He also points to Christ, the ideal of Christian perfection, who was less austere in fasting than John the Baptist, and to the founders of religious orders, who prescribed fewer ascetic exercises for their communities than they themselves practised (cf. J. Zahn, "VoUkom- menheitsideal" in "Moralprobleme", Freiburg, 1911, p. 126 sqq.). On the other hand, Cathohcs do not deny the importance of ascetic practices for acquiring Christian perfection. Considering the actual condi- tion of human nature, they declare these necessary for the removal of obstacles and for the liberation of man's moral forces, thus claiming for asceticism a positive character. A like value is put upon those exercises which restrain and guide the powers of the soul. Consequently, Catholics actually fulfil and always have fulfilled what Harnack sets down as a demand of the Gospel and what he pretends to have looked for in vain among Cathohcs; for they do "wage battle against mammon, care, and selfishness, and practise that charity which loves to serve and to sac- rifice itself" (Harnack, "Essence of Christianity"). The Catholic ideal, then, is by no means confined to the negative element of asceticism, but is of a posi- tive nature.

(2) The essence of Christian perfection is love. St. Thomas (Opusc. de perfectione christ., c. ii) calls that perfect which is conformable to its end (quod attingit ad finem. ejus). Now, the end of man is God, and what unites him, even on earth, most closely with God is love (I Cor., vi, 17; I John, iv, 16). All the other virtues are subservient to love or are its natural prerequisites, as faith and hope. Love seizes man's whole soul (intellect, wiU), sanctifies it, and fuses new life into it. Love lives in all things and all things live in love and through love. Love imparts to all things the right measure and directs them all to the last end. "Love is thus the principle of unity, no matter how diversified are the particular states, voca- tions, and labours. There are many provinces, h\it they constitute one realm. The organs are many, but the organism is one" (Zahn, 1. c, p. 146). Love has, therefore, rightly been called "the bond of perfec- tion" (Col., iii, 14) and the fulfilment of the law (Rom., xiii, 8). That Christian perfection consists in love has ever been the teaching of Cathohc asceti- cal writers. A few testimonies may suffice. Writing to the Corinthians, Clement of Rome says (Ep. I Cor., xlix, 1): "It was love that made all the elect perfect; without love nothing is acceptalile to Clod" (iv Trj iyiir-ji lrekii.wd-q(7av irdjTts ol c/cXtKToi toC 9iov, Slxa iyiir-qs oidiv (iapearbv lariv t(? SfiJ) ; Funk, "Patr. apost.", p. 16.3). The "Epistle of Barnabas" insists that the way of light is "the love of him who created us" (d7oiri}(rcis rbv ae irof/iaavTa; Funk, 1. C, p. 91), "a love of our neighbour that does not even spare our own life" (iyaTrrjceis rhv ir'Kiialov aov inrip rifv ^nx')" <rou), and it affirm.s that perfection is nothing else than "love and joy over the good works which testify to justice" (aydinj eitfppoavvtjs Kal ayaWLdaeui (pywv StKai- offi^Kr)! fiapTvpla). St. Ignatius never wearies in his letters of proposing faith as the light and love as the way, love being the end and aim of faith ("Ad Ephes.", ix, xiv; "AdPhilad.", ix;"AdSmyrn.", vi). According to the "Didache", love of God and of one's neighbour is the beginning of the "way of life" (c. i), and in the "Epistl<' to Diognetus" active love is called tlie fruit of belief in Christ. The "Pastor" of Hermas acknowledges the same ideal when he sets

down "a life for God" O^vv t<? Bef) as the sum-total of human existence. To these Apostolic Fathers may be added St. Ambrose (De fuga saeculi, c. iv, 17; c. vi, 35-36) and St. Augustine, who regards perfect justice as tantamount to perfect love. Both St. Thomas and St. Bonaventure speak the same language, and their authority is so overpowering that the ascetical writers of all subsequent centuries have faithfully fol- lowed in their footsteps (cf. Lutz, "Die kirchl. Lehre von den evang. Raten", Paderborn, 1907, pp. 26-99).

However, though perfection is essentially love, it is not true that any degree of love is suflicient to consti- tute moral perfection. The ethical perfection of the Christian consists in the perfection of love, which re- quires such a disposition "that we can act with speed and ease even though many obstacles obstruct our path" (Mutz, "Christl. Ascetik", 2nd ed., Paderborn, 1909). But this disposition of the soul supposes that the passions have been subdued; for it is the result of a laborious struggle, in which the moral virtues, steeled by love, force back and quell the CA-il inclina- tions and habits, supplanting them bj' good inclina- tions and habits. Only then has it really become "a man's second nature, as it were, to prove his love of God at certain times and under certain circum- stances, to practise virtue and, as far as human nature may, to preserve his soul even from the slightest taints" (Mutz, 1. c, p. 43). Owing to the weakness of human nature and the presence of the evil concupiscence (fornes peccali: Trid., Sess. VI, can. xxiii), a perfection that would exclude every de- fect cannot be attained in this life without a special privilege (cf. Prov., xx, 9; Eccl., vii, 21; James, iii, 2). Likewise, perfection, on this side of the grave, will never reach such a degree that further growth is impossible, as is clear from the mind of the Church and the nature of our present existence (slalus vi(F) ; in other words, our perfection will always be relative. As St. Bernard says: "An unflagging zeal for advanc- ing and a continual struggle for perfection is itself perfection" (Indefessus proficiendi studium et iugia conatus ad perfectionem, perfectio reputatur; "Ep. celiv ad Abbatem Guarinuin"). Since perfection con- sists in love, it is not the privilege of one particular state, but may be, and has as a fact been, attained in every state of life (cf. Perfection, Christian and Religious). Consequently it would be wrong to identify perfection with the so-called state of perfec- tion and the observance of the evangelical counsels. As St. Thomas rightly observes, there are perfect men outside the religious orders and imperfect men within them (Summatheol., II-II,Q.clxxxiv,a.4). True it is that the conditions for realizing the ideal of a Christian hfe are, generally speaking, more favour- able in the rehgious state than in the secular avoca- tions. But not all are called to the religious life, nor would all find in it their contentment (cf. Counsels, Evangelical). To sum up, the end is the same, the means are different. This sufficiently answers Har- nack's objection (Essence of Christianity) that the Church considers the perfect imitation of Christ pos- sible only for the monks, while she accounts the life of a Christian in the world as barely sufficient for the attainment of the last end.

(3) The ideal, to which the Christian should con- form and towards which he should strive with all his powers both natural and sujiernatural, is Jesus Christ. His justice should be our justice. Our whole life should be so jienet rated by Christ that we become Christians in the full sense of the word ("until Christ be formed in you" ; Gal., iv, 19). That Christ is the supreme model and pattern of the Christian life is proved from Scripture, as e. g. from John, xiii, 15, and I Peter, ii, 21, where imitation of Christ is directly recommended, and from John, viii, 12, where Christ is called "the light of the world". Cf. also Rom., viii, 29, Gal., ii, 20, Phil., iii, 8, and Heb., i, 3, where the