Letter 35

From: Paulinus, bishop of Nola To: Delphinus, bishop of Bordeaux Date: ~418 AD Context: Paulinus mourns a spiritual brother who died without properly preparing his soul, and begs Delphinus to pray for the dead man. Most Blessed and ever-dear Father Delphinus, We received your short but deeply loving letter, and it filled our hearts with everything we had hoped for. But since there is a time for everything, this seems to be a time for sadness — and so a time for keeping words brief. We must confess that we are profoundly grieved, not so much by the bodily death of our brother as by his spiritual negligence. He should have been thinking about the remedies awaiting him in the next life rather than clinging to the concerns he was leaving behind in this one. He got his priorities backward — putting first what should have come last, and neglecting what should have come first. He ought to have attended to those greater matters for his own soul while also seeing to temporal affairs for his children. And so we ask you, sharing in our grief with a father's compassion, to remember that this man was once your spiritual son, brought to new life through God's grace — and that this cause belongs especially to your care. Do not let us, your children who took such pride in your devoted guidance, be put to shame by the squandering of his inheritance. Instead, we beg that through your prayers he may be granted forgiveness — that even a single drop of refreshment falling from the tip of your most holy finger might cool his soul. And for us, while there is still time, as we come running back to you crying out, "Father, we have sinned against heaven and before you; we are no longer worthy to be called your children" [Luke 15:18-19] — may God's mercy come to our aid through your intercession. Otherwise, with our share of the eternal Father's inheritance squandered daily by our sins, we will be too ashamed to return home, and lingering in that far-off country, we will be reduced — God forbid — to guarding and feeding swine.

XXXV. BEATISSIMO BT VENERABILI SEMPER NOBIS DESIDERANTISSIMO PATRI DELPHINO PAVLINVS. Breues sanctae affectionis tuae litteras magno affectu nobis copiosas in toto, quo desiderauimus, corde suscepimus. sed quia omni rei tempus est, nunc ut in tempore contristationis tempus etiam breuiandi sermonis esse uisum est. contristatos autem nos uehementer fatemur non tam de obitu corporali fratris nostri quam de neglegentia eius spiritali, qua relinquendarum istic potius curarum quam prouidendorum illic remediorum memor posthabenda praeposuit et praeponenda posthabuit. quem oportuit et illa potiora pro se curare et haec temporalia pro filiis non praetermittere. unde petimus, ut paterna affectione conpatiens huic nostro dolori meminisse digneris et illum quondam spiritalem tibi filium gratia dei fuisse progenitum et ideo tuae specialiter curae hanc esse causam, ne pietatem tuam, quae nobis filiis gloriabatur, 4] Matth. 24, 46. 11] Eccl. 3,1. 16] (II Cor. 12, 14). 22] (Lue. 15, 18). 1 et Lv, om. cet . 4 hiemen 0 uestitum praeparatu L, praeparatu uestium U 5 inueniat U facientem] ualeas oro add. Fp\'U . — finit de gaiophilatio 0, finit de gazophylactio v FLMOPU . — ite epistola eiusdem ad eundem XII L, ad eundem XX. M, incipit ad eundem quinta 0, epistola sancti paulini episcopi ad dalphinum episcopum ubi de significato sibi excessu fratris sui plurimum dolens rogat ipsum ut pro eo dominum supliciter deprecetur: si quomodo suo interuentu etternas penas euadere possit U 7 desideratissimo FPU 8 delfino LMO, dalphino FPU 11 ut Rosw., om. LM, et cel. U 15 reliquendarum U 16 proponenda 0 17 posthabiit 0 18 hec F, hoc U 19 copatiens M dilapidata hereditariae portionis substantia confundamus, sed potius ut orationibus tuis condonetur tibi, ut et illius animam uel de minimo sanctitatis tuae digito distillans refrigerii gutta respergat et nobis, dum tempus est, recurrentibus ad te et clamantibus: pater, peccauimus in caelum et in te; iam non sumus digni uocari filii tui, pro confessione peccati diuina miseratio te interueniente succurrat, ne perabsumpta patris aeterni substantia, quam cotidie peccata nostra dilapidant, obruamur pudore redeundi et in longinqua regione commorati ut in custodiam escamque porcorum indignam, quod nefas est, deducamur.