Treatise on the Love of God

Certainly our Saviour's zeal principally appeared in his death upon the cross to destroy death and sin in men: in which he was sovereignly imitated by that admirable vessel of election and dilection, as the great S. Gregory Nazianzen, in golden words, represents him; for speaking of this holy Apostle he says: "He fights for all, he prays for all, he is passionately jealous about all, he is inflamed for all, yea he has dared yet more for his brethren according to the flesh, so that if I may dare also to say it, he desires through charity that they may have his own place near Our Saviour. O excellence of courage and incredible fervour of spirit! He imitates Jesus Christ, who for us was made a curse,⁴⁸² who took on himself our infirmities and carried our diseases.⁴⁸³ Or, that I may speak a little more soberly, he was the first after our Saviour who refused not to suffer and to be reputed wicked for their sake." Even so then, Theotimus, as our Saviour was whipped, condemned, crucified, as a man devoted, destined and set apart to bear and support all the reproaches, ignominies and punishments due to all the sinners in the world, and to be a general sacrifice for sin,—as he was made an anathema, was cast off and abandoned by his eternal Father, so, according to the true doctrine of this great Nazianzen, the glorious Apostle S. Paul desired to be filled with ignominy, to be crucified, cast off, abandoned and sacrificed for the sin of the Jews, that the curse and punishment which they deserved might fall upon him; and as our Saviour took upon him the sins of the world, and was made a curse, sacrificed for sin and forsaken by his Father in such sense that he ceased not ever to be the well-beloved Son in whom his Father was well pleased,—so the holy Apostle desired indeed to be a curse, and to be separated from his master, to be left to the mercy of the reproaches and punishments due unto the Jews, yet he never desired to be deprived of charity and the grace of his Lord, from which, moreover, nothing could ever separate him; that is to say, he desired to be treated as a man cast off by God, but he did not desire actually to be cast off and deprived of his grace, for this cannot be holily desired. So the heavenly spouse declares, that though love is strong as death, which makes a separation between the body and soul, zeal, which is an ardent love, is yet stronger, for it resembles hell, which separates the soul from the sight of Our Lord; but it is never said, nor can be said, that love or zeal was like to sin, which alone separates from the grace of God. And indeed how could the ardour of love possibly make one desire to be separated from grace, since love is grace itself, or at least cannot be without grace. And the zeal of the great S. Paul was in some sort practised by the little S. Paul, I mean S. Paulinus, who to deliver a slave out of bondage became himself a slave, sacrificing his own liberty to bestow it upon his neighbour.

"O how happy is he," says S. Ambrose, who knows how to discipline zeal!" "The devil will easily," says S. Bernard, "delude thy zeal, if thou neglect knowledge; therefore let thy zeal be inflamed with charity, adorned with knowledge, established in constancy." True zeal is the child of charity as being its ardour; wherefore, like to charity, it is patient, is kind, envieth not, dealeth not perversely, seeketh not her own, is not provoked to anger, rejoiceth in the truth.⁴⁸⁴ The ardour of true zeal resembles that of the huntsman, being diligent, careful, active, industrious, eager in pursuit, but without passion, anger or disquiet, for if the huntsman's work were done in anger, bad temper and vexation, it would not be so much loved and desired. Zeal in like manner has ardours which are extreme, but constant, solid, sweet, industrious, equally agreeable and untiring; whereas on the contrary, false zeal is turbulent, troubled, insolent, arrogant, choleric, transient, equally impetuous and inconstant.

482. Gal. iii. 13.

483. Matt. viii. 17.

484. 1 Cor. xiii.