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81.1
First Point
While
provincial governor, Saint Ambrose was elected Bishop of Milan through a
sort of miracle, and by God's inspiration. He had come to the assembly of
the bishops of the province solely to prevent the Arians, who wanted to
choose a bishop belonging to their party, from causing disorder. The saint
did all he could to oppose his own election, but when he did not succeed,
in order to rid himself completely of the spirit of the world, he resigned
all the positions he held, abandoned all he possessed in these positions,
and gave his fortune to the poor and to the Church. In this he imitated the
apostles, who had left all to follow Our Lord[i]
and to preach his gospel. This spirit of poverty filled the holy prelate
as soon as he was promoted to the episcopal dignity and inspired him with
such a love for the poor that he even sold the sacred vessels in a time of
public calamity to help them.
To begin to belong entirely to God we need to make ourselves poor.
We even need to have as much affection for poverty as people of the world
have for riches. This is the first step that Jesus Christ wishes us to
make when we enter the way of perfection.[ii]
Do you have an effective love of poverty? To give proof of this, are you
pleased when you lack something, even necessary things? Question yourself
often on this.
81.2
Second Point
When
he became a bishop, this saint's eloquence which was natural, became
heavenly and completely divine. It served him so well in the conversion of
souls that no one was able to resist him. It was in him the power, with
God's help, to convert Saint Augustine and, from being a stubborn
Manichean, make him one of the greatest Doctors of the Church. This was
also the reason why the heretics feared him and did not dare challenge
him, because he alone was quite able to refute all of them. For he joined
to his eloquence and piety a marvelous power and firmness which were
reinforced by his extraordinary disinterestedness.
You do not need eloquence of this sort, but you do need to share in
his apostolic zeal in order to labor usefully in your work of saving
souls. Often ask God for the grace to touch hearts, as he did; this is the
grace of your state, for it would be of little use to those whom you
instruct if, as Saint Paul says of the Jews, their minds remained
blinded and hardened after so many instructions, and if, after you have
announced to them so many times the truths of the holy Gospel, the veil
still remained in their hearts.[iii]
81.3
Third Point
Saint
Ambrose labored with marvelous success to reestablish the discipline of
the Church. He did away with several abuses which had insinuated
themselves into his province; for this purpose he carried episcopal vigor
to such an eminent degree that he resisted the emperors themselves when
they opposed his plans. In order to provide a solid foundation for the
restoration of discipline, he was instrumental in having decrees voted on
this matter in several councils which he attended outside his province,
and he did the same in several councils he held in his own diocese, which
were effective in maintaining the good that he had procured by his zeal.
To make your zeal useful to others, you should first exercise it in
regard to yourselves and your community. With this in mind, and in regard
to yourselves, you must watch over yourselves without pardoning the
slightest fault, or let anything escape you which can in the least
displease God without procuring for yourselves a penance able to remedy
the evil. You should also, out of zeal for discipline, contribute so well
to establish and maintain regularity in your community that it may become
a heaven on earth where charity and peace reign.
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Ambrose
(ca 340 - 397) was born at Treves (Trier), West Germany. His father was
governor of the Gauls and a member of the Roman aristocracy. Ambrose was
educated in Rome and became a provincial governor with headquarters in
Milan. While presiding at the election of the bishop of Milan, he was
nominated by acclamation, even though he was not yet a Christian, though
his family was. He was forthwith baptized, ordained a priest, and
consecrated bishop. He took his assignment seriously, prayed, studied, and
became a great pastoral bishop without losing his sense of the dignity and
power of his office. His preaching contributed to the conversion of Saint
Augustine, whom he baptized in 387. He introduced Eastern melodies into
the Western church; the Ambrosian rite is part of his influence on the
liturgy.
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