On Order/Ordaining
XLII. On Order/Ordaining
1. O God! Trinity pertains to You
so that in Yourself You may enjoy order
as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
2. In goodness would not reside order
without the bonifier, the bonifiable or bonifying,
because <goodness> is operative by means of all three.
3. Order is lent to goodness by reason of <the latter’s> bonifying,
of its magnifying, understanding and loving,
and of its power, virtue, concordance and difference.
4. <Our> glorious God has ordained the entire world
to be remembered, known and loved,
because to this end has He created it from nothing.
5. God has ordained the world so that He may become incarnate,
and so that He may find to be in order the flesh which He assumed,
by means of which order He may lead us to glory.
6. Whoever wishes to bring order to his thinking,
let him begin by loving God above all else,
and let him preserve his thoughts from sin.
7. He who orders his love
devotes it to revealing the truth
by means of understanding and remembering.
8. Man orders his speech
in virtue of the desire to perform great good,
by establishing great concordance with the good.
9. Order is worthier in religion
by reason of conscience and devotion
than it is by reason of silence or a protruding cowl.
10. Ah, God! Of what great benefit it would be to ordain
that holy men might go to protect the sheep
from the wolves who wish to devour them!