Page:Ninety-nine homilies of S. Thomas Aquinas upon the epistles and gospels for forty-nine Sundays of the Christian year (IA ninetyninehomili00thom).pdf/110

 19, “Oh, how great is Thy goodness which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee,” &c. IV. On the fourth head it is to be noted, that three things are mentioned here in which the future calamity of the wicked consists. (1) The complete absence of all good things ; and this is noted by the fact that Dives was not able to have a drop of water. Job xxvii. 20, Vulg., “Poverty like water shall take hold on him.” (2) The bitterness and multiplicity of the punishments—“ I am tormented in this flame.” Psa. xi. 6, “ Upon the wicked He shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.” (3) The mighty confusion and ignominy—“Was buried; and in hell.” What can be more ignominious than to be buried with such a burial? Jer. xxii. 19, “ He shall be buried with the burial of an ass.” Jer. xx. 11, Vulg., “They shall be greatly confounded, because they have not understood the everlasting reproach which never shall be effaced.” Therefore present prosperity is to be condemned; present adversity to be joyfully sustained ; the calamity of the lost to be fled from ; and the happiness of the saints to be sought for with all desire ; to which may we be led, &c.

S. John the Apostle in these words exhorts us to the practice of almsgiving for three reasons, for he who does almsgiving obtains three good gifts—(1) temporal good ; (2) spiritual good; (3) eternal good.

I. About the first good. It is noted that man acquires a threefold temporal good by almsgiving. (1) Increase of riches —Prov. iii. 9, 10, “Honour the Lord,” i.e., seek ye His praise, not thine own, not of the world. “Of thy substance,” i.e., which you rightly possess—not from rapine, not from the stranger;