Page:Ninety-nine homilies of S. Thomas Aquinas upon the epistles and gospels for forty-nine Sundays of the Christian year (IA ninetyninehomili00thom).pdf/113

 the absence of all evil. (2) A dish of joy by the presence of all good—Deut. viii. 9, “ Where thou shalt eat bread without scarceness: thou shalt not lack anything in it.” Isai. xxxv. 10, “They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (3) There will be a dish of joy by Divine praise—Psa. lxxxiv. 5, “ Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house, they will be still praising Thee.” Of these three S. August., in his book “ On the City of God,” O how great will be that happiness where there will be no evil; where no good will be hidden; it will be intent upon eternal praises, and God will be all in all. III. On the third head it is noted, that this great supper is called eternal for three reasons. (1) S. John xvi. 22, “ Your joy no man taketh from you.” For to sit down to supper is to rejoice. (2) Because no one will ever cease from supping—Apoc. iv. 8, “ And they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Which was, and is, and is to come.” For to praise is the same as to sup. (3) It is called eternal because it is eaten entire at once —Boetius, “ Eternity is called the possession of the Blessed Life, entire at once.” Rev. xix. 9, “Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb to which supper may Jesus Christ lead us, &c.

In these words S. Peter asserts three things. In the First place, he exhorts to humility, “ humble yourselves;” in the Second place, he shows the necessity of the humbling “ under the mighty hand of God,” Who is able to humble the unwilling; in the Third place, he places the usefulness of humility, that “He may exalt you in due time.”