staq commentary on 2cor 12.pdf

8/11/2019 STAq commentary on 2Cor 12.pdf

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STAq commentary on 2Cor 12,1-10

2 Cor. 12:1-2

1 I must boast; there is nothing to be gained by it, but I will go on to visionsand revelations of the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years

ago was caught up to the third heavenwhether in the body or out of the

body I do not know, God knows.

440. Having commended himself for the evils he suffered, the Apostle continues tocommend himself and shows the pre-eminence of his dignity in regard to good things

received from God. For he first gloried in his weaknesses, but now in his good things. In

regard to this he does two things. First, he commends himself on the good things received

from God; secondly, he begs pardon for this commendation, alleging that he is compelledto do this (v. 11). In regard to the first he does two things. First, he extols the greatness of

the things conferred on him by God; secondly, he discloses the remedy given to him against

the danger of pride (v. 7). In regard to the first he does two things: first, he mentions a gooddivinely conferred; secondly, he shows how he behaved in regard to glorying in it (v. 5). In

regard to the first he does two things. First, he shows in general that this was divinely

bestowed; secondly, in particular (v. 2).

441.The good divinely bestowed on the Apostle are revelations made to him by God; it is

of these that he wishes to glory. Hence he says: If I must boast [glory], i.e., because I must

glory for your sake, although in itself there is nothing to be gained by it, because a personwho glories in a good he has received runs the risk of losing what he has: Through this,

i.e., by vain glory, are the treasures of the virtues opened, and the clouds fly out like

birds. (Sir. 43:15, Aquinas Latin). And this is signified in Hezekiah, when heshowed the

treasures of the Lords house to the messengers of the king in Babylon (Is. 39:2). Andalthough, absolutely speaking, it is not expedient to glory, nevertheless, for some special

reason a man may glory, as is clear from what has been stated above. Therefore he says:

because I must boast [glory], I will leave off commending myself on my infirmities andcome by commending myself to visions and revelations of the Lord.

442. Here it should be noted the difference between a vision and a revelation. For a

revelation includes a vision, but not vice versa. For sometimes things are seen, theunderstanding and significance of which are hidden from the beholder; in that case it is

only a vision, as in the visions of Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar, the vision of the ears of

corn and of the statue was only a vision. But in regard to Joseph and Daniel, who

understood the meaning of what was seen, it was a revelation and a prophecy. Both,however, namely vision and revelation, are sometimes produced by God: There is a God

in heaven who reveals mysteries (Dan. 2:28); It was I who multiplied visions (Hos.

12:10); Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law (Ps. 119:18);but sometimes by an evil spirit: They prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel astray

(Jer. 23:13). To the Apostle were made both vision and revelation, because he fully

understood the secret things he saw. They were produced by the Lord and not by an evil

spirit. Hence he says: I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. Now a revelation


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is a removing of a veil. But a veil can be of two kinds: one on the part of the beholder, andthis is unbelief or sin or hardness of heart. Of this veil he said above (3:15): Yes, to this

day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their minds; the other is on the part of the

object seen, namely, when spiritual things are proposed to someone under the figures ofsense-perceptible objects. Concerning this it says in Num. (chap. 4) that the priests

delivered the vessels of the sanctuary veiled to the Levites, because weaker persons cannotgrasp spiritual things as they are in themselves. This is why the Lord spoke to the

multitudes in parables (Matt. 13:13).

443. Then the Apostle describes these visions and revelations in details, speaking ofhimself as though of another person; hence he says, I know a man in Christ. He mentions

two visions: the first begins here; the second at v. 3.

444.When speaking of the first vision, the Apostle makes use of a distinction, for he says

in regard to this revelation that he knew certain things and other things not. But he knew

three things, namely, the condition of the beholder; hence he says: I know a man in Christ;the time of the vision, that is, who fourteen years ago; and the high point of the vision,

because he was caught up to the third heaven. And he says that he did not know thedisposition of the beholder, whether in the body or out of the body I do not know.

445. Therefore let us see what he knew, so that through what is known we may more

easily attain to what was not known. First of all, the condition of the beholder, which ispraiseworthy, because he was in Christ, i.e., conformed to Christ. But on the contrary, no

one is in Christ, unless he has charity, because He who abides in love abides in God (1

Jn. 4:16). Therefore, he knew that he had charity, which is contrary to what is stated in Ec.(9:1): The righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God; whether it is love

or hate man does not know. I answer that be ing in Christ can be taken in two ways: in one

way by faith and the sacrament of faith according to Gal. (3:27): For as many of you as

were baptized into Christ have put on Christ, namely, by faith and the sacrament of faith.This is the sense in which the Apostle knew that he was in Christ. In another way a person

is said to be in Christ through charity, and in this way no one knows for certain that he is in

Christ, except by certain tests and signs, inasmuch as he feels himself disposed and joinedto Christ in such a way that he would not permit himself to be separated from him for any

reason including death. This the Apostle experienced in regard to himself, when he said:

For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor t hings present,

nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, willbe able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 8:38). Hence,

he could have had such signs that he was in the charity of Christ.

446. Secondly, the time of the vision, which was fitting, because it was fourteen years

ago; for fourteen years had elapsed from the time he saw the vision, until he wrote thisepistle, because when he wrote this epistle he had not yet been cast into prison. Hence itseems to have been written at the beginning of Neros reign, by whom he was killed much

later. Hence if we go back fourteen years from the beginning of Neros reign, it is clear that

the Apostle had these visions at the beginning of his conversion. For he had been converted

to Christ in the same year that the Lord suffered. But Christ suffered near the end ofTiberius Caesars reign, who was succeeded at death by the emperor Caius, who lived four

years, after which Nero became emperor. Therefore, between Tiberius and Nero there were


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four years. Adding two years from Tiberius reign, because he was not yet dead, when Paulwas converted, and from Neros reign the eight years which had passed until he wrote this

epistle, there were fourteen years between the time of his conversion to the time he wrote

this epistle. Therefore, some say quite probably that the Apostle had these visions duringthose three days after he was struck down by the Lord, when he remained neither seeing

nor eating nor drinking (Ac. 9:9). But he recalls the time of his conversion to show that ifhe was so pleasing to Christ from the time of his conversion that he revealed such things to

him, then how much more pleasing was he after fourteen years, when he had grown incharity before God and in the virtues and graces?

447.Thirdly, let us see the high point of the vision, because he was caught up (raptus) to

the third heaven. But it should be noted that it is one thing to be the victim of thievery and

another to be rapt. Properly speaking, the former takes place when something is taken away

from another in a secret way, hence, in Gen. (40:13) Joseph said: For I was indeed stolenout of the land of the Hebrews. A person is properly speaking rapt when something is

taken suddenly and by force: As the torrent that passes swiftly (raptim), i.e., suddenly and

rapidly, in the valleys (Job 6:15). Hence it is that plunderers who despoil violently are

called ravagers (raptores). But note that a man is said to be rapt from men, as Enoch: Hewas caught up (raptim) lest evil change his understanding or guile deceive his soul (Wis.

4:11); sometimes the soul is rapt from the body: Fool! This night your soul is required of

you (Lk. 12:20). Sometimes a person is said to be rapt by himself, when for some reasonhe is made to be outside himself; and this is the same as ecstasy. But a man is made to be

outside himself both by his appetitive power and by his cognitive power. For by the former

a person is in himself, when he cares only for things that are his own; but he is made to beoutside himself when he does not care about things that are his own, but about things that

pertain to others; and this is the work of charity: Love does not insist on its own way (1

Cor. 13:5). Concerning this ecstasy Dionysius says in the Divine Names (chap. 4): Ecstasy

is produced by divine love not permitting one to be a lover of self but of the beloved, i.e.,

of the things loved. But a person is made to be outside himself according to the cognitivepower when he is raised up above the human mode to see something. This is the rapture

about which the Apostle is speaking here.

448. But it should be noted that a mode natural to human knowing is that a man know

simultaneously with his mental power, which is the intellect, and with a bodily one, whichis a sense. This is why a man in knowing has a free judgment of the intellect, when the

senses are well disposed in their vigor and not hindered by a fettering, as happens during

sleep. Therefore a man is made to be outside himself when he is removed from this natural

disposition for knowing, namely, when the intellect, being withdrawn from the use of thesenses and sense-perceptible things, is moved to see certain things. This occurs in two

ways: first, by a lack of power, no matter how it is produced. This happens in phrenitis andother mental cases, so that this withdrawal from the senses is not a state of being elevated,but of being cast down, because their power has been weakened. But the other way is by

divine power, and then it is, properly speaking, an elevation, because since the agent makes

the thing it works on to be like itself, a withdrawal produced by divine power and above

men is something higher than mans nature.

449. Therefore, a rapture of this sort is defined as an elevation from that which isaccording to nature into that which is above nature, produced in virtue of a higher nature.


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In this definition are mentioned its genus, when it is called an elevation; the efficient cause,because it is by the power of a higher nature; and the two termini of the change, namely, the

terminus from which and into which, when it is described as being from that which is

according to nature into what is above nature. Thus it is clear what rapture is.

450. Then he mentions the terminus reached by the rapture, when he says, to the third

heaven. But it should be noted that the third heaven is taken in three ways: in one wayaccording to the things below the soul; in another way according to the things in the soul;

and in a third way according to things above the soul. Below the soul are all bodies, as

Augustine says in the book On The True Religion. And so we can think of a threefoldheaven: the ethereal, sidereal, and empyrean. In this way the Apostle is said to have been

rapt to the third heaven, i.e., to see things in the empyrean heaven; not to exist there,

because then he would have known whether he was in the body or out of the body. Or

according to Damascene, who does not admit an empyrean heaven, we can say that thethird heaven, to which the Apostle was rapt, is above the eighth sphere, so that he could

clearly see the things which exist above all corporeal nature.

451. But if we take heaven according to the things in the soul itself, then we should callheaven some altitude of mind which transcends natural human knowledge. Now there arethree kinds of sight, namely, bodily, by which we can see and know bodies; spiritual or

imaginary, by which we see likenesses of bodies; and intellectual, by which we know the

nature of things in themselves. For the proper object of the intellect is the what it is (quod

quid est) of things. But such a sight of things, if it takes place according to the natural mode(e.g. if I see something visible, if I imagine something previously seen, or if I understand

through phantasms) cannot be called heaven. But each of these is called heaven when they

are above the natural faculty of human knowledge. For example, if you see something withyour bodily eyes above the faculty of nature, then you are rapt into the first heaven. This is

the way Belshazzar was rapt, when he saw the handwriting on the wall, as it is stated in

Dan. (5:5). But if you are raised up by the imagination or spirit to know somethingsupernaturally, then you are rapt to the second heaven. This is the way Peter was rapt, whenhe saw the linen sheet descending from heaven (Ac. 10:11). But if a person were to see

intelligible things themselves and their nature, not through sense-perceptible things not

through phantasms, he would be rapt to the third heaven.

452. But it should be noted that to be rapt to the first heaven is to be alienated from the

bodily senses. Hence, since no one can be totally withdrawn from the bodily senses, it isobvious that no one can be rapt in the strict sense to the first heaven, but only in a qualified

sense, inasmuch as it sometimes happens that a person is so engrossed in one sense that he

is withdrawn from the act of the others. One is rapt to the second heaven when he is

alienated from sense to see imaginable things; hence, such a person is always said to be in

ecstasy. And so when Peter saw the linen sheet (Ac. 10:11), it is said that he was in ecstasy.But Paul is said to have been rapt to the third heaven, because he was so alienated from the

senses and lifted above all bodily things that he saw intelligible things naked and pure in

the way angels and separated souls see them. What is more, he saw God in his essence, asAugustine expressly says in Gen. ad Litt.12 and in a Gloss, and ad Paulinus in the book, De

Videndo Deum. Furthermore, it is not probable that Moses, the minister of the Old

Testament to the Jews saw God, and the minister of the New Testament to the Gentiles, theteacher of the Gentiles, was deprived of this gift. Hence he says above (3:9): For if there


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was splendor in the dispensation of condemnation, the dispensation of righteousness mustfar exceed it in splendor. That Moses saw God in his essence is clear, for he begged God:

Show me your face (Ex. 33:13, Vulgate). And although it was denied him at that time, it

is not stated that the Lord finally denied him. Hence, Augustine says that this was grantedhim by reason of what is stated in Num. (12:6): If there is a prophet among you, I the

LORD make myself known to him in a vision, I speak with him in a dream. Not so with myservant Moses; he is entrusted with all my house. For he saw God openly and not in a dark

manner.

453. But would it have been possible for Paul to see God without being rapt? I answer:No, for it is impossible that God be seen in this life by a man not alienated from his senses,

because no image or phantasm is a sufficient medium for showing Gods essence;

therefore, he must be abstracted and alienated from the senses.

454.In a third way, by taking heaven according to things above the soul; in this way the

three heavens are the three hierarchies of angels. According to this the Apostle was rapt tothe third heaven, i.e., to see Gods essence as clearly as the angels of the higher an d first

hierarchy see him, because they see God in such a way as to receive illumination in Godhimself and to know the divine mysteries. This is the way Paul saw.

455. But if he saw God as the angels of the higher and first hierarchy do, then it seems

that the Apostle was beatified and, consequently, was immortal. I answer that although hesaw God in his essence, he was not absolutely beatified, but only in a qualified sense. Yet it

should be noted that the vision of God by essence takes place by means of a certain light,

namely, the light of glory, of which it says in Ps. 36 (9): In your light we see light. Butlight is communicated to some things after the manner of a passing quality and to others

after the manner of an inhering form, i.e., connaturally produced; but it is found in the air as

a passing form and not as a permanent form, because it vanishes when the sun is absent.

Similarly, the light of glory is infused in the mind in two ways: in one way, after themanner of a form connaturally made and permanent, and then it makes a mind beatified in

the strict sense. This is the way it is infused in the beatified in heaven. Hence they are

called comprehenders and, so to say, seers. In another way the light of glory affects ahuman mind as a passing quality; this is the way Pauls mind in rapture was enlightened by

the light of glory. Hence, the very name, rapture, suggests that this was done in a passing

manner. Consequently, he was not glorified in the strict sense or had the mark of glory,

because that brightness was not produced as a property. As a result it was not derived fromthe soul in the body, nor did he remain in this state permanently. Hence, when he was in

rapture, he had only the act of the beatified, but he was not beatified. Thus it is clear what

the Apostle saw in his rapture, namely, the condition of the beholder, the time of the vision,

and the high point of the vision.

456. Then he tells what he did not know, namely, whether he was in the body or out ofthe body, although he says that God knew. Hence he says, whether in the body or out of the

body I do not know, God knows. Some interpret this as meaning that the rapture referred to

his body, saying that the Apostle did not say he did not know whether the soul was joined

to the body in that rapture, but whether he was rapt according to the soul and bodysimultaneously, so as to have been transported bodily into heaven as Habakkuk was

transported (Dan. 14:35-39), or whether it was according to the soul only that he enjoyed


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the vision of God, as it says in Ez. (8:3): He brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem.This was the way a certain Jew understood, as Jerome mentions in the Prol. to Dan. 3ff.,

where he says: Finally, he says that even our Apostle does not dare to say that he wa s rapt

in the body, but he said: whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, Godknows. But Augustine disproves this interpretation in Gen. ad Litt.12, because it does not

agree with the other words of the Apostle. For the Apostle says that he was rapt to the thirdheaven; hence he knew for certain that it was the third heaven. Consequently, he knew

whether that heaven was corporeal or incorporeal, i.e., an incorporeal thing. But if it wasincorporeal, he knew that he could not have been rapt there bodily, because a body cannot

exist in an incorporeal thing. But if it had been corporeal, he knew that the soul was not

there without the body, because the soul joined to the body cannot be in a place where thereis no body, unless the incorporeal heaven is called a likeness of the bodily heaven. But if

that were the case, the Apostle would not have said that he knew he was rapt to the third

heaven, i.e., to a likeness of heaven, because by that same token it could be said that he was

rapt in the body, i.e., in the likeness of a body.

457.Therefore it must be admitted according to Augustine that no one set in this life and

living this mortal life can see the divine essence. Hence, the Lord says: For man shall notsee me and live (Ex. 33:20), i.e., no man will see me, unless he is entirely separated from

the body, namely, in such a way that his soul is not in the body as a form, or if it is as a

form, nevertheless his mind is totally and altogether alienated from the sense in such avision. Therefore, it must be said that the Apostle says he does not know whether the soul

was entirely separated from the body in that vision. Hence he says, whether out of the body,

or whether his soul existed in the body as a form, but his mind was alienated from thebodily senses; hence, he says, whether in the body. Even others concede this.

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2 Cor. 12:3-6

3 And I know that this man was caught up into Paradisewhether in thebody or out of the body I do not know, God knows4 and he heard things

that cannot be told, which man may not utter. 5 On behalf of this man I will

boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. 6

Though if I wish to boast, I shall not be a fool, for I shall be speaking thetruth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees

in me or hears from me.

458.Having spoken of the first rapture, the Apostle speaks of a second rapture. First, he

mentions the rapture; secondly, its excellence (v. 4b).

459.It should be noted that a Gloss says that this rapture was distinct from the first, and if

one considers the matter well, two things are written of the Apostle to which these tworaptures can be referred. For in Acts (chap. 9) it is recorded that he remained for three days

without seeing and without taking food or drink; and the first rapture can be referred to this

event, namely, that he was rapt to the third heaven at that time. But in Acts (chap. 22) itsays that he was in a trance in the temple; hence the second rapture can refer to this. But


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this does not seem to be a similar case, because when he was in the trance, the Apostle hadbeen cast into prison; but the Apostle wrote this epistle long before that. Therefore it must

be said that this rapture differs from the first in regard to that into which he was rapt. For in

the first rapture he had been rapt to the third heaven, but in the second to the paradise ofGod

460. But if you take the third heaven in a corporeal sense according to the firstacceptation of the heavens, as mentioned above, or if it was an imaginary vision, it could be

called a bodily paradise, so that he was rapt to an earthly paradise. But this is against the

authors intention, according to whom we say that he was rapt to the third heaven, i.e., to avision of intelligible things according to which they are seen in themselves and in their own

natures, as has been said above. Hence, according to this we must not understand one thing

by heaven and another by paradise, but one and the same thing by both, namely, the glory

of the saints, but according to one thing in one case and according to another thing in theother case. For heaven suggests a certain loftiness accompanied by brightness, but paradise

a certain joyful pleasantness. Now these two things are present in an excellent way in the

saints and angels who see God, because there is present in them a most excellent brightness

by which they see God, and a supreme agreeableness by which they enjoy God. Therefore,they are said to be in heaven as to the brightness and in paradise as to the pleasantness:

You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice (Is. 66:14). Therefore, both of these were

conferred on the Apostle, namely to be raised up to that most excellent clearness ofknowledge, which he signifies when he says, to the third heaven, and to experience the

agreeableness of the divine sweetness; hence he says, into paradise: O how great is the

multitude of thy sweetness, O Lord (Ps. 31:20); To him who conquers I will give some ofthe hidden manna (Rev. 2:17). This sweetness is the delight experienced in enjoying God,

and is mentioned in Matt. (25:13): Enter into the joy of your master. Thus the terminus of

the rapture is clear, namely, into paradise, i.e., into that sweetness with which those who are

in the heavenly Jerusalem are unceasingly refreshed.

461.Then he mentions the excellence of that rapture, because he heard things that cannotbe told, which man may not utter. This can be explained in two ways: in one way so that

the word, man, is construed with may and utter. Then the sense is this: he heard

secret words, i.e., he perceived an intimate understanding of Gods secret essence, as

though by words, which words it is not lawful to be uttered by a man. In the other way, sothat man is construed only with may not. Then the sense is this: he heard words, which

it is not lawful to utter to a man, i.e., to an imperfect man.

462. But it should be noted according to Augustine that Paul was rapt to a vision of the

divine essence, which of course, cannot be seen by any created likeness. Hence, it is clear

that what Paul saw of the divine essence cannot be described by any human tongue;

otherwise, God would not be incomprehensible. Therefore, according to the firstexplanation it must be said: he heard, i.e., considered, secret words, i.e., the magnificence

of the godhead, which no man can utter. He says heard for saw because that

consideration was according to an interior act of the soul, in which the same is heard andseen, as it says in Num. (12:8): For I speak to him mouth to mouth. That consideration is

called a vision, inasmuch as God is seen in it; and an utterance inasmuch as man in

instructed about divine things in it.


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463.And because such spiritual things are not to be disclosed to the simple and imperfect,but to the perfect, as it says in 1 Cor. (2:6): Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom,

it is explained in the second way, so that the secrets he heard there it is not lawful to man to

utter, i.e., to the imperfect, but to the spiritual, among whom we speak wisdom: It is theglory of God to conceal things (Prov. 25:2), i.e., the fact that it is necessary to conceal the

marvelous things of God pertains to Gods glory. The Psalm is according to the translationof Jerome: Your praise , O God, is silent to you (cf. Ps. 108:2, Vulgate), that is, cannot be

comprehended by our words.

464.Then when he says, On behalf of this man I will boast, he shows how he reacted tothis glory. In regard to this he does three things. First, he shows that he did not glory in

such revelations; secondly, he suggests that he has something else in which to glory (v. 6).

465. In regard to the first it should be noted that the statement, on behalf of this man I

will boast [glory], but on my own behalf I will not boast, can be read in two ways. In one

way so that the Apostle is showing that he is the one in whom he glories, i.e., that he is theone who saw these visions. In another way, to show that it was someone else who saw these

visions. For it should be noted that there are two things to consider in man, namely, the giftof God and the human condition. If a person glories in a gift of God as received from God,that glorying is good, as has been state above (10:17). But if he glories in that gift as though

he had it of himself, then such glorying is evil: What have you that you did not receive? If

then you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift? (1 Cor. 4:7). According to

this, therefore, the Apostle says, on behalf of this man, namely, for the visions and giftsconferred on me by God, I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, i.e., will not

glory in them as though I were their source, because I had them from God. But if I must

glory, I will glory in nothing except my weaknesses, i.e., I have nothing in which I canglory save in my own condition.

466.But if it is explained as showing that it was someone else who saw, even if it was he,then the sense is as though he were speaking of someone, saying, on behalf of this man I

will boast, i.e., for the man who saw this and who received these gifts I will glory; but on

my own behalf, as wishing to show that I am such a one, I will not boast except of myweaknesses, i.e., in the tribulations I suffer.

467. But because they could say to him, O Apostle, it is not strange that you do not

glory, because you have nothing in which to glory, he shows that even besides these

visions he has something in which to glory. Although I might glory in such a man and not

in myself, yet I can rightfully glory in myself, for if I should wish to boast either in suchtribulations or in other things bestowed on me by God, or even for my infirmity, I shall not

be a fool, i.e., I will not act foolishly. Why? For I will be speaking the truth about the other

things in which I can glory besides those visions. He says, I shall not be a fool, because hegloried in the things he had; for when a person glories in things he does not have, he isspeaking foolishly: For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, a nd I need nothing; not

knowing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked (Rev. 3:17); and because

he gloried with sufficient reason, as is clear from the foregoing.

468.Then when he says, But I refrain from it, he indicates the reason he does not glory in

everything, if he can glory, the reason being that he wishes to spare them. Hence he says, I


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refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me.As if to say: I could glory in many other things, but I forbear, i.e., I glory sparingly, of I

forbear commending myself, lest I become burdensome to you. For God has conferred on

me such things that if you knew them, you would regard me as much greater; and these arethe many charismatic gifts which the Apostle had and for which the men of this world are

wont to commend others and regard them as great more than for doing something pleasing.Hence he says, I do not wish to be commended on these gifts; therefore I refrain, i.e., I do

not glory. Why? So that no one may think more of me than what he sees in me or hearsfrom me.

469. Or another way: man is known in two ways: by his manner of life and by his

doctrine. Although he could have done so, the Apostle did not wish to say about himself

certain things which went beyond his life and doctrine. Consequently, I refrain, so that no

one may think more of me than he sees in me, i.e., in my outward conduct, or hears fromme, i.e., from the doctrine of my preaching and exhortation and instruction, because they

might perhaps think him immortal or an angel: A man of understanding remains silent

(Prov. 11:12): A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man quietly holds it back

(Prov. 29:11).

470. Or he says: But I refrain, on account of his detractors, namely, the false apostles,

who said that he glories from elation without cause or for things that were not in him.

Therefore, he says, But I refrain, i.e., I glory sparingly, so that no one, i.e., the false

apostles, think of me as having an excessive spirit of elation, more than that which he seesin me or has heard from me, i.e., above the power of my merits: O LORD, my heart is not

lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high (Ps. 131:1); The greater you are, the more

humble yourself in all things (Sir. 3:10, Vulgate).

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2 Cor. 12:7-10

7 And to keep me from being too elated by the abundance of revelations, a

thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keepme from being too elated. 8 Three times I besought the Lord about this, that

it should leave me; 9 but he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for

my power is made perfect in weakness. I will all the more gladly boast of

my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sakeof Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships,

persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

471. Here he speaks of the remedy against pride. In regard to this he does three things.

First, he mentions the remedy applied; secondly, he discloses his prayer to have the remedy

removed (v. 8); thirdly, he tells the Lords answer giving the reason for the remedy applied(v. 9).

472.In regard to the first it should be noted that very often a wise physician procures and

permits a lesser disease to come over a person in order to cure or avoid a greater one. Thus,


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to cure a spasm he procures a fever. This the Apostle shows was done to him by thephysician of souls, our Lord Jesus Christ. For Christ, as the supreme physician of souls, in

order to cure greater sins, permits them to fall into lesser, and even mortal sins. But among

all the sins the gravest is pride, for just as charity is the root and beginning of the virtues, sopride is the root and beginning of all vices: Pride isthe beginning of all sin (Sir. 10:15,

Vulgate). This is made clear in the following way. Charity is called the root of all thevirtues, because it unites one to God, who is the ultimate end. Hence, just as the end is the

beginning of all actions to be performed, so charity is the beginning of all the virtues. Butpride turns away from God, for pride is an inordinate desire for ones own excellence. For

if a person seeks some excellence under God, if he seeks it moderately and for a good end,

it can be endured. But if it is not done with due order, he can even fall into other vices, suchas ambition, avarice, vainglory and the like. Yet it is not, properly speaking, pride, unless a

person seeks excellence without ordaining it to God. Therefore pride, properly called,

separates from God and is the root of all vices and the worst of them. This is why God

resists the proud, as it says in Jas. (4:6). Therefore, because the matter of this vice, that is,pride, is mainly found in things that are good, because its matter is something good, God

sometimes permits his elect to be prevented by something on their part, e.g. infirmity or

some other defect, and sometimes even mortal sin, from obtaining such a good, in order

that they be so humbled on this account that they will not take pride in it, and that beingthus humiliated, they may recognize that they cannot stand by their own powers. Hence it

says in Rom. (8:28): We know that in everything God works for good with those who love

him, not by reason of their sin, but by Gods providence.

473. Therefore, because the Apostle had good reason for glorying in the spiritual choiceby which he was chosen by God: He is a chosen instrument of mine (Ac. 9:15), and in his

knowledge of Gods secrets, because he says that he was caught up into the third heaven

where he heard secret words, which it is not granted to man to utter, and in enduring evils

because he had far more imprisonments, with countless floggings, and often near death (2

Cor. 11:23), and in his virginal integrity, because I wish that all were as I myself am (1Cor. 7:7), and especially in the outstanding knowledge with which he shone and which

especially puffs one up: for these reasons the Lord applied a remedy, lest he be lifted up

with pride. And this is what he says: to keep me from being too elated by the abundance ofrevelations: Do not exalt yourself through your souls counsel, lest your soul be torn in

pieces like a bull (Sir. 6:2); Being exalted I have been humbled and troubled (Ps. 88:15,

Vulgate). Furthermore, to show that these revelations were made to him, he says: a thornwas given me, i.e., for my benefit and my humiliation: You have lifted me up and set me

as it were upon the wind (Job 31:22); there was given, I say, to me a thorn tormen ting my

body with bodily weakness, that the soul might be healed. For it is said that he literally

suffered a great deal from pain in the ileum [pelvis]. Or a thorn in the flesh, i.e., of

concupiscence arising from my flesh, because he was troubled a great deal: For I do not dothe good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. . . So I find it to be a law that when

I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. . . So then, I of myself serve the law of God with

my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin (Rom. 7:19, 21, 25). Hence, Augustinesays that there existed in him movements of concupiscence which Gods grace,

nevertheless, restrained.


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474. That thorn, I say, is a messenger of Satan, i.e., a wicked angel, for it was an angelsent by God or permitted, but it was Satans because Satans intention is to subvert, but

Gods is to humble and to render approved. Let the sinner beware, if the Apostle and vessel

of election was not secure.

475. Now the Apostle was anxious to have this thorn removed and prayed that it might;

hence he says: Three times I besought the Lord about this, that it should leave me. Here itshould be noted a sick person, ignorant of the reason why a physician supplies a stinging

plaster, asks him to remove it. But the physician, knowing its purpose, that is, for health,

does not oblige him, caring more for his improvement. Similarly the Apostle, feeling thatthe sting was painful to him, sought the help of the unique physician to remove it. For he

expressly and devoutly asked God three times to remove it, the thorn, from him: We do

not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you (2 Chr. 20:12). Perhaps he asked this

many times, but he asked him expressly and earnestly three times, or three times, namely,many times. For three is a perfect number. And of course it was right to ask, because For

he wounds, but he binds up (Job 5:18); Pray that you may not enter into temptation (Lk.

22:46).

476. Then he states the Lords answer: but he, i.e., the Lord, said to me: My grace issufficient for you. Here he does two things. First, he states the Lords answer; secondly, the

reason for the answer (v. 9b).

477.He says therefore, I asked, but the Lord said to me, my grace is sufficient for you. As

if to say: it is not necessary that this bodily weakness leave you, because it is not

dangerous, for you will not be led into impatience, since my grace strengthens you; or thatthis weakness of concupiscence depart, because it will not lead you to sin, for my grace will

protect you: Justified by his grace as a gift (Rom. 3:24). And of course, Gods grace is

sufficient for avoiding evil, doing good, and attaining to eternal life: By the grace of God I

am what I am (1 Cor. 15:10); But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus ourLord (Rom. 6:25).

478. But on the other hand it says in Jn. (15:16): Whatever you ask the Father in my

name, he may give it to you. Therefore, Paul either asked discreetly and deserved to be

heard, or indiscreetly and hence sinned. I answer that a man can speak of one and the samething in two ways: in one way according to itself and the nature of things; in another way

according to its relation to something else. Hence, it happens that something evil according

to itself and to be avoided is in relation to something else able to be sought. Thus, a

medicine, inasmuch as it is bitter should be avoided, yet, when it is considered in relation tohealth, a person seeks it. Therefore a thorn in the flesh according to itself is to be avoided as

troublesome, but inasmuch as it is a means to virtue and an exercise of virtue, it should be

desired. But because that secret of divine providence, namely, that it would turn out to hisadvantage, had not been revealed to him yet, the Apostle considered that in itself it was badfor him. But God who had ordained this to the good of his humility did not oblige him, as

far as his wish was concerned; indeed, once he understood its purpose, the Apostle gloried

in it, saying, I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ

may rest upon [dwell in] me. And although he did not oblige him as to his wish, yet heheard him and does hear his saints to their advantage. Hence, Jerome says in the Letter to


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Paulinus: The good Lord frequently does not grant what we wish, in order to bestow whatwe should prefer.

479. Then he gives the reason for the Lords response when he says, for my power is

made perfect in weakness [infirmity]. This is a remarkable expression: virtue is made

perfect in infirmity; fire grows in water. But this can be understood in two ways, namely,

materially and by way of occasion. If it is taken materially, the sense is this: infirmity is thematerial on which to exercise virtue; first, humility, as stated above; secondly, patience:

The testing of your faith produces steadfastness (Jas. 1:3); thirdly, temperance, because

hunger is weakened by infirmity and a person is made temperate. But if it is taken as anoccasion, infirmity is the occasion for arriving at perfect virtue, because a man who knows

that he is weak is more careful when resisting, and as a result of fighting and resisting more

he is better exercised and, therefore, stronger. Hence it says in Jdg. (3:1) that the Lord was

not willing to destroy all the inhabitants of the land, but preserved some in order that thechildren of Israel might be exercised by fighting against them. In the same way, Scipio also

did not wish to destroy the city of Carthage, in order that the Romans, having external

enemies, would not have internal enemies, against whom it is more painful to wage war

than against outsiders, as he said.

480.Then the Apostle mentions the effect of this answer from the Lord, saying: I will all

the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. He

mentions two effects. One is glorying; hence he says: because my virtue is made perfect in

infirmity, I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, i.e., given to me for my profit;and this because it joins me closer to Christ: But far be it from me to glory except in the

cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. 6:14); But he that is glorified in poverty, how much

more in wealth? (Sir. 10:34. Vulgate). The reason I will glory gladly is that the power ofChrist may rest upon me [dwell in me], i.e., that through infirmity the grace of Christ may

dwell and be made perfect in me: He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no

might he increases strength (Is. 40:29).

481.The other effect is joy. Hence he says: For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with

weaknesses. In regard to this he does two things. First, he mentions the effect of joy;secondly, he assigns the reason for it (v. 10b).

482. He mentions the effect of joy and the matter of joy. He says therefore: because the

power of Christ dwells in me in all tribulations, I am content, i.e., I am greatly pleased and

take joy in the infirmities I mentioned: Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet

various trials (Jas. 1:2). The weaknesses in which he rejoices abundantly on account ofChrists grace are then listed. First, those which come from an internal cause, namely, his

infirmities; hence he says, in my weaknesses: Their infirmities were multiplied: afterwards

they made haste (Ps. 16:5, Vulgate), namely, toward grace. Secondly, those that comefrom an external cause: first, as to the word, when he says, in insults: Then they left thepresence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the

name (Ac. 15:4); then as to deed, and this either as to a lack of good things, when he says,

in hardships, i.e., in the lack of things necessary and in the poverty by which he was

pressed: Contribute to the needs of the saints (Rom. 12:13). Or as to experiencing evilsinflicted, and this as to external things: Blessed are those who are persecuted for

righteousness sake (Matt. 5:10), when he says, in bodily persecutions, which we


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experience from place to place and everywhere, as well as to internal things, saying, incalamities, i.e., in anxieties of soul: I am straitened on every side (Dan. 13:22, Vulgate).

But in all these things the material which makes for joy is that they are for Christ. As if to

say: I am pleased because I suffer for Christ: But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or athief (1 Pet. 4:15).

483. He assigns the reason for this joy, when he says, for when I am weak, then I amstrong, i.e., when as a result of what is in me or as a result of persecutions, I fall into any of

the aforesaid, Gods help is applied to me to strengthen me: Your consolations cheer my

soul (Ps. 94:19); Let the weak say, I am strong (Jl. 3:10, Vulgate); Though our outernature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day (2 Cor. 4:16). And in

Ex. (1:12) it says that the more the Israelites were oppressed, the more they multiplied.

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