Part 6 (1/2)

3. Lastly, all special kinds of acts belong either to the appet.i.tive or to the cognoscitive faculties. But devotion comes under neither of these--as will be evident to anyone who will reflect upon the various acts of these faculties respectively.

But devotion is an act of the appet.i.tive powers of the soul, and is, as we have said above, a movement of the will.

_Cajetan:_ With regard to the proper meaning of the term _devotion_, note that since _devotion_ is clearly derived from _devoting_, and since _to devote_--derived in its turn from _to vow_--means to promise something spontaneously to G.o.d: it follows that the principle in all such promises is the will; and further, not the will simply as such, but the will so affected as to be prompt. Hence in Latin those are said to be _devoted_ to some superior whose will is so affected towards him as to make them prompt in his regard. And this seems to refer especially to G.o.d and to those who in a sense stand in His place, as, for instance, our rulers, our fatherland, and our principles of action. Hence in the Church's usage the term _devotion_ is especially applied to those who are so affected towards G.o.d as to be prompt in His regard and in all that concerns Him. And so _devotion_ is here taken to signify the act of a will so disposed, the act by which a man shows himself prompt in the Divine service.... Thus, then, _devotion_, the princ.i.p.al act of the virtue of religion, implies first of all the prompt desire of the Divine honour in our exercise of Divine wors.h.i.+p; and hence comes the prompt choice of appropriate means to this end, and also the prompt carrying out of what we see to be suitable to that end. And the proof of possession of such _devotion_ is that truly devout souls, the moment they perceive that some particular thing (or other) ought to be done for the service of G.o.d, are so promptly moved towards it that they rejoice in having to do or in actually doing it (_on_ 2. 2. 82. 1).

_S. Augustine:_ Give me, O Lord, Thyself; grant Thyself to me! For Thee do I love, and if my love be but weak, then would I love Thee more. For I cannot measure it so as to know how much my love falls short of that love which shall make my life run to Thy embraces nor ever turn away from Thee till I be hid in the hiding-place of Thy countenance. This only do I know: that it fares ill with me when away from Thee; and this not merely externally, but within me; for all abundance which is not my G.o.d is but penury for me! (_Confessions_, XIII. viii. 2).

II

Is Devotion an Act of the Virtue of Religion?

Devotion is derived from ”devoting oneself” or making vows. But a vow is an act of the virtue of religion. Consequently devotion also is an act of the virtue of religion.

It belongs to the same virtue to wish to do a thing and to have a prompt will to do it, for the object of each of these acts is the same. For this reason the Philosopher says[82]: ”Justice is that by which men will and perform just deeds.” And it is clear that to perform those things which pertain to the Divine wors.h.i.+p or service comes under the virtue of religion. Consequently it belongs to the same virtue of religion to have a prompt will to carry out these things--in other words, to be devout.

Whence it follows that devotion is an act of the virtue of religion.

But some argue that devotion is not an act of the virtue of religion, thus:

1. Devotion means that a man gives himself to G.o.d. But this belongs to the virtue of charity, for, as S. Denis says[83]: ”Divine love causes ecstasy since it permits not that those who love should belong any more to themselves, but to those things which they love.” Whence devotion would seem to be rather an act of charity than of the virtue of religion.

It is indeed through charity that a man gives himself to G.o.d, clinging to Him by a certain union of soul; but that a man should give himself to G.o.d and occupy himself with the Divine service, is due directly to the virtue of religion, though indirectly it is due to the virtue of charity, which is the principle of the virtue of religion.

2. Again, charity precedes the virtue of religion. But devotion seems to precede charity; for charity is signified in Scripture by fire, and devotion by the fat of the sacrifices--the material on which the fire feeds. Consequently devotion is not an act of the virtue of religion.

But while the fat of the body is generated by the natural digestive heat, that natural heat finds its nourishment in that same fat. Similarly charity both causes devotion--since it is by love that a man becomes prompt to serve his friend--and at the same time charity is fed by devotion; just as all friends.h.i.+p is preserved and increased by the practice of friendly acts and by meditating upon them.

3. Lastly, by the virtue of religion a man turns to G.o.d alone. But devotion extends to men as well; people, for instance, are said to be devoted to certain Saints, and servants are said to be devoted to their masters, as S. Leo says of the Jews,[84] that being devoted to the Roman laws, they said: _We have no king but Caesar._[85] Consequently devotion is not an act of the virtue of religion.

But the devotion which we have to the Saints of G.o.d, whether living or dead, does not stop at them, but pa.s.ses on to G.o.d, since we venerate G.o.d in G.o.d's ministers. And the devotion which subjects have to their temporal masters is of a different kind altogether, just as the service of temporal masters differs from the service of the Divine Master.

III

Is Contemplation, that is Meditation, the Cause of Devotion?

In Ps. x.x.xviii. 4 it is said: _And in my meditation a fire shall flame out._ But spiritual fire causes devotion. Therefore meditation causes devotion.

The extrinsic and princ.i.p.al cause of devotion is G.o.d Himself; thus S.

Ambrose says[86]: ”G.o.d calls those whom He deigns to call; and whom He wills to make religious He makes religious; and had He willed it He would have made the Samaritans devout instead of indevout.”

But the intrinsic cause of devotion on our part is meditation or contemplation. For, as we have said, devotion is a certain act of the will by which a man gives himself promptly to the Divine service. All acts of the will, however, proceed from consideration, since the will's object is good understood. Hence S. Augustine says[87]: ”The will starts from the understanding.” Meditation must, then, be the cause of devotion inasmuch as it is from meditation that a man conceives the idea of giving himself up to G.o.d.

And two considerations lead a man to do this: one is the consideration of the Divine Goodness and of His benefits, whence the words of the Psalmist: _But for me it is good to cling close to my G.o.d, to put my hope in the Lord G.o.d._[88] And this consideration begets love, which is the proximate cause of devotion. And the second is man's consideration of his own defects which compel him to lean upon G.o.d, according to the words: _I have lifted up mine eyes to the mountains, from whence help shall come to me; my help is from the Lord Who made Heaven and earth._[89] This latter consideration excludes all presumption which, by making him lean upon himself, might prevent a man from submitting himself to G.o.d.

Some, however, argue that contemplation or meditation is not the cause of devotion, thus:

1. No cause hinders its own effect. But subtle intellectual meditations often hinder devotion.