Page:Ninety-nine homilies of S. Thomas Aquinas upon the epistles and gospels for forty-nine Sundays of the Christian year (IA ninetyninehomili00thom).pdf/143

 His fingers into liis ears.” Gloss, upon Holy Gospel, “ He puts the fingers into the ears, when, through the Holy Spirit, He opens the ears of the heart for understanding and receiving of the words of salvation.” “ Being purified freely by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus,” Hom. iii. 24. (3) The operation of repentance, which consists of three parts. Firstly, of grief of heart, “ Looking up to heaven He sighed.” So He taught us to groan for ourselves or for our offences, “ I am weary with my groaning. I water my couch with my tears,” Ps. vi. 6. Secondly, of confession by the mouth, “ The string of his tongue was loosed.” The string of the tongue of the sinner was loosed when he confessed his sin, “Confess your faults one to another,” S. James v. 16. Thirdly, in fulfilling the commands of God and the priest, “ His ears were opened,” &c. The ears of the sinner were opened when he obeyed the precepts of God and the priest by fulfilling them, making satisfaction for them, “ Obey them that have the will over you, and submit yourselves; for they watch for souls, as they that must give account,” Heb. xiii. 17. III. On the third head, it is to be noted, that a threefold benefit follows upon the conversion of the sinner. (1) That he is liberated from all spiritual infirmity, “ The string of his tongue was loosed and he spoke plain.” “ Return ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings,” Jer. iii. 22. (2) Because God is praised on this account, “ By so much the more, a great deal they published it.” “ Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God. . . my tongue shall sing aloud of Thy righteousness,” Ps. li. 14. (3) Because the power and goodness of God is declared, “ He hath done all things well: He maketh both the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak.”