examination of the heart 194 brought to Him. For He Himself associates with simple people; He places the honest ones at his side, and His brothers are the obedient ones who do his will (cf. Lk 8:21), as He Himself did the will of the Father who is in Heaven. For just as the donkey is a simple animal, inasmuch as it bears whatever burden has been laid upon it and is obedient to its lord and his command (it goes wherever it is driven, or comes back whenever called); so it is necessary that the soul, the servant of Christ, be simple, in order to bear most steadily both injuries, which are great burdens, and the yoke of obedience. It is necessary for a soul to be obedient, to heed the command of the Lord and His Vicars, and to follow the road indicated by God and by the Superiors who represent Him. Hence the saints were happy to call themselves donkeys, because they were either most obedient or had a will ready to comply. Therefore, remembering the excellence of these virtues and holding them in high esteem, reflect upon the well-known words of St. Peter Damian: “Therefore … let us go forth to meet the Lord at Bethphage,72 pricked with fear of punishment, and strengthened by the hope of heavenly life, confessing sins with humility and simplicity, treading down the garments of our carnality, that the Lord may deign to sit upon us, and to bring us with Himself into the Heavenly Jerusalem.”73 Amen. 3. “The Lord has need of them” (Mt 21:3). Since it is assumed that the Lord’s donkeys are the simple and obedient [f.39v] people, then you should now understand that God seeks out exactly such people so that He may easily place His yoke upon them, and may manifest and enjoin to them His will. Obviously, a human will that is opposed to God is not fit to serve Him. As masters dislike disobedient servants, so does God dislike disobedient religious. The Lord Jesus has need for obedient servants, as He Himself was; for His sustenance was to 72 Cf. Mt 21:1. 73 Cornelius à Lapide, The Great Commentary of Cornelius à Lapide: S. Matthew’s Gospel — Chaps. X to XXI, Trans. Thomas W. Mossman, 4th ed., vol. 2, John Grant, Edinburgh 1908, p. 400 (Ch. XXI, 2): A quotation from the homily “in Dominica Palmarum” of St. Peter Damian.
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