Concerning the nature of a glorified body, true it is, that the qualities thereof are changed, but not entirely. For we must distinguish between the qualities which proceed from the corruption of sin, and those which belong to and are inseparable from the nature of the body. St. Paul, in the third chapter of the Epistle to the Philippians, says that our vile or weak body shall be made like to the glorious body of Christ. By this humble expression or Tapinosis, he points out which of the qualities that we at present bear about with us in our bodies are to be changed; those, namely, which are of the corruptible and fading nature of this world. And on this subject St. Augustine says, in the Epistle to Dardanus, which in number is the 57th, "He shall come again in the same form and substance of the flesh, to which certainly he gave immortality; he hath not taken away the nature. In this form he must not be supposed to be everywhere diffused." This argument he follows out at greater length, showing that the body of Christ is contained within its own dimensions. And in fact our glorified bodies will not be ubiquitous, although they will have that likeness of which St. Paul speaks. As for the passage of the Apocalypse, the words are these in the fifth chapter: "And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever." Now you see that it is a childish cavil to apply this to souls in purgatory; for St. John, by the figure which is called Prosopopœia, rather conveys that even the fishes blessed God. And in regard to the passages of the Doctors, refer your people to the 27th Epistle of St. Augustine, To Boniface, where he states, toward the end, that the sacraments have a certain similitude of those things which they represent. From whence it comes to pass, that after some fashion the sacrament of the body of Christ may be the body of Christ. Item, that which he treats of in the third book, Of Christian Doctrine, where he says, among other things in the fifth chapter, "Such is the completely miserable bondage of the soul in conceiving of the signs in place of the things signified, and never lifting up the eye of the understanding above the corporeal creature to breathe eternal light." Item, in the ninth chapter.—"The believer knows by experience, and understands, [agnoscit] to what the mystery of baptism, and the celebration of the body and blood of the Lord, may be referred, so that the soul can offer religious worship, not in the bondage of the flesh, but rather in the liberty of the spirit. So to follow the literal sense, and in suchwise to conceive of the signs instead of the things sealed or signified by them, is a slavish weakness; that mere symbols should be so unprofitably interpreted, is the result of vague error." I do not heap up quotations, because these will be quite enough for your purpose. In conclusion, I beseech our good Lord that he would be pleased to make you feel in every way the worth of his protection of his own, to fill you with his Holy Spirit who gives you prudence and virtue, and brings you peace, joy, and contentment; and may the name of our Lord Jesus be glorified by you to the edification of his Church!
[Fr.—Printed in Histoire des Martyrs, lib. iv. p. 225.]
CCXCVII—To Edward VI.[377]
Dedication of a new work, and Christian exhortations.
From Geneva, this 4th July 1552.
Sire,—Although I ought to fear lest my importunity may prove troublesome to your Majesty, and have indeed on that account abstained from writing to you more frequently, nevertheless, I have had the boldness to send you, together with my letters, a short exposition which I have composed of the 78th (87th)[378] Psalm, hoping that you would take pleasure in it, and also that the reading thereof might be profitable to you. As I was one day expounding it in a sermon to the people, the argument appeared to me so appropriate for you, that I was forthwith moved to draw up a summary of it, such as you will see, when it shall please your Majesty to devote to it one hour only. It is very true, that I treat the subject generally, without addressing you personally. But as I have mainly had regard to you in the writing of it, so in the prudent application and appropriation of it, you will find that it contains a very profitable lesson for your Majesty.
You know, Sire, how much danger kings and princes are in, lest the height to which they are raised should dazzle their eyes, and amuse them here below, while making them forgetful of the heavenly kingdom; and I doubt not that God hath so warned you against this evil, to preserve you therefrom, that you are a hundred times more impressed with it, than those who have no personal experience of it. Now, in the present Psalm mention is made of the nobleness and dignity of the Church, which ought so to enrapture both great and small, that no earthly honours and possessions should hold them back, or hinder them from aiming to be enrolled among the people of God. It is indeed a great thing to be a king, and yet more, over such a country; nevertheless, I have no doubt that you reckon it beyond comparison better to be a Christian. It is therefore an invaluable privilege that God has vouchsafed you, Sire, to be a Christian king, to serve as his lieutenant in ordering and maintaining the kingdom of Jesus Christ in England.[379] You see, then, that in acknowledgment of such great benefits received from his infinite goodness, you ought to be stirred up to employ all your energies to his honour and service, setting to your subjects an example of homage to this great King, to whom your Majesty is not ashamed to submit yourself with all humility and reverence beneath the spiritual sceptre of his Gospel; and if hitherto you have done this, so that we have cause to glorify God for his goodness, the present Psalm will always serve you as a support and a buckler. Meanwhile, I humbly entreat you, Sire, that this short letter may serve as a protest and testimony to your Majesty of the hearty desire I have to do better, if the means were given me.
Sire, after having very humbly commended me to your kind favour, I pray our Lord to fill you with the gifts of his Holy Spirit, to guide you in all prudence and virtue, to make you prosper and flourish to the glory of his name.