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*H A gradual canticle. When the Lord brought back the captivity of Sion, we became like men comforted.
Ver. 1. Sion. It cannot be doubted but this regards the captives of Babylon: but still David might compose it, as he was a prophet; and herein the redemption of mankind may also be described. Bert. — The captives pray for the return of the rest of their brethren. C. — Comforted. Heb. "dreaming." C. — They could hardly believe their own eyes, like S. Peter. Acts xii. 9. This extraordinary joy is felt by devout souls, when freed from sin. W. — The Greek cities which the Romans declared free, could scarcely believe that they had understood the herald. Majus gaudium fuit, &c. Livy xxxiii. — Thus were the Jews affected. C. Ps. xiii. 2. — Chal. "we were like convalescents," which comes nearer to the sense of the Sept. Bert.
*H Then was our mouth filled with gladness; and our tongue with joy. Then shall they say among the Gentiles: The Lord hath done great things for them.
Ver. 2. Shall. Or "did;" (C.) though the future is here well employed. Bert. — The prophet uses both tenses, shewing the certainty of the event. W. — It would require some time before the Gentiles would become sufficiently acquainted with the concerns of the Jews. Bert. — As soon as they did, they expressed their admiration, while the former were careful not to imitate the conduct of those who murmured at leaving Egypt. S. Chrys.
*H Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as a stream in the south.
Ver. 4. South. As the Egyptians hope for the overflowing of the Nile; (Hammond) or as the south wind melts the snow, so as to make the Jordan overflow its banks. Theod. — The return of our brethren will be as agreeable to us as water to a thirsty soil. Chal. Muis. — Make them come quickly, and in great numbers. Is. lx. 3. and lxvi. 12. C. — Esdras brought back some, and Nehemias others, from Babylon. Bert. — The ten tribes returned from Assyria later, and by degrees, (C. Diss.) if at all. Those who arrived first at Jerusalem pray for the rest. Bert. — The prophet foreseeing this event, desireth its perfect and speedy accomplishment, (W.) though it were scarcely to be expected, no more than (H.) a copious torrent in the south. W.
*H They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
Ver. 5. Joy. This was the case of the martyrs, &c. (Lu. vi. 21. Jo. xvi. 20.) as well as of the captives. Jer. xxxi. 9. Is. lxvi. 10. Bar. v. 6. C. — Tribulation commonly attends the virtuous in this life. Their reward is reserved for the next. S. Aug. W. — Sowing, we know not whether we shall ever reap. H. — This is a sort of proverb, which is applied to the captives. Bert.
* Summa
*S Part 4, Ques 84, Article 5
[III, Q. 84, Art. 5]
Whether This Sacrament Is Necessary for Salvation?
Objection 1: It would seem that this sacrament is not necessary for salvation. Because on Ps. 125:5, "They that sow in tears," etc., the gloss says: "Be not sorrowful, if thou hast a good will, of which peace is the meed." But sorrow is essential to Penance, according to 2 Cor. 7:10: "The sorrow that is according to God worketh penance steadfast unto salvation." Therefore a good will without Penance suffices for salvation.
Obj. 2: Further, it is written (Prov. 10:12): "Charity covereth all sins," and further on (Prov. 15:27): "By mercy and faith sins are purged away." But this sacrament is for nothing else but the purging of sins. Therefore if one has charity, faith, and mercy, one can obtain salvation, without the sacrament of Penance.
Obj. 3: Further, the sacraments of the Church take their origin from the institution of Christ. But according to John 8 Christ absolved the adulterous woman without Penance. Therefore it seems that Penance is not necessary for salvation.
_On the contrary,_ our Lord said (Luke 13:3): "Unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish."
_I answer that,_ A thing is necessary for salvation in two ways: first, absolutely; secondly, on a supposition. A thing is absolutely necessary for salvation, if no one can obtain salvation without it, as, for example, the grace of Christ, and the sacrament of Baptism, whereby a man is born again in Christ. The sacrament of Penance is necessary on a supposition, for it is necessary, not for all, but for those who are in sin. For it is written (2 Paral. 37 [*The prayer of Manasses, among the Apocrypha]), "Thou, Lord, God of the righteous, hast not appointed repentance to the righteous, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, nor to those who sinned not against Thee." But "sin, when it is completed, begetteth death" (James 1:15). Consequently it is necessary for the sinner's salvation that sin be taken away from him; which cannot be done without the sacrament of Penance, wherein the power of Christ's Passion operates through the priest's absolution and the acts of the penitent, who co-operates with grace unto the destruction of his sin. For as Augustine says (Tract. lxxii in Joan. [*Implicitly in the passage referred to, but explicitly Serm. xv de verb. Apost.]), "He Who created thee without thee, will not justify thee without thee." Therefore it is evident that after sin the sacrament of Penance is necessary for salvation, even as bodily medicine after man has contracted a dangerous disease.
Reply Obj. 1: This gloss should apparently be understood as referring to the man who has a good will unimpaired by sin, for such a man has no cause for sorrow: but as soon as the good will is forfeited through sin, it cannot be restored without that sorrow whereby a man sorrows for his past sin, and which belongs to Penance.
Reply Obj. 2: As soon as a man falls into sin, charity, faith, and mercy do not deliver him from sin, without Penance. Because charity demands that a man should grieve for the offense committed against his friend, and that he should be anxious to make satisfaction to his friend; faith requires that he should seek to be justified from his sins through the power of Christ's Passion which operates in the sacraments of the Church; and well-ordered pity necessitates that man should succor himself by repenting of the pitiful condition into which sin has brought him, according to Prov. 14:34: "Sin maketh nations miserable"; wherefore it is written (Ecclus. 30:24): "Have pity on thy own soul, pleasing God."
Reply Obj. 3: It was due to His power of _excellence,_ which He alone had, as stated above (Q. 64, A. 3), that Christ bestowed on the adulterous woman the effect of the sacrament of Penance, viz. the forgiveness of sins, without the sacrament of Penance, although not without internal repentance, which He operated in her by grace. _______________________
SIXTH
*H Going they went and wept, casting their seeds.
Ver. 6. They. Heb. "he," which must be taken distributively for all. Bert.