examination of the heart 338 siah, now born and presented to him! He says: “Lord, now let [Y]our servant depart in peace, according to [Y]our word; for my eyes have seen [Y]our salvation!” (Lk 2:29-30). He wishes to be dismissed from His service, as he carries in his arms the Author of freedom. He wants to die already, since he has seen the Savior. He does not wish to await redemption among the living, but he wants to be on his way to the deceased Fathers, intending to bring to them the message of redemption [f.104r]. These are the effects of Christ’s action when He remains in the arms of a soul: the desire “to depart and be with Christ” (Phil 1:23); the wish to die to the world and to live for Heaven; the belief that everything that is not Christ is death; the belief that all things are vain, except the love of God. Indeed, anyone who has received Jesus may rightly exclaim: “Lord, now let [Y]our servant depart.” O sin! Which hitherto reigned over me, now let your servant depart when he holds in his arms His own Lord of the soul! O unclean world! Which I have served too greatly, oh, too long and foolishly, now let your servant depart since he turned his heart over to Another, a better and more steadfast Master, his true Lord, intending to serve from now on no one else but Him alone. 2. “[came] for the fall, and for the resurrection of many” (cf. Lk 2:34) [DRB]. Saint Ambrose puts it very well: “Behold, Simeon prophesies: that Jesus Christ came for the fall and for the resurrection of many, that [H]e may discern the merits of the righteous and the faults of the wicked, and according to the quality of our deeds, being the true and just Judge, [H]e may decree punishments or determine rewards.”149 God leaves nothing bad unpunished nor anything good unrewarded. 149 Ambrosius, Expositio Evangelii secundum Lucam: Liber II (Luc. II, 34), in: PL, vol. 15, Ateliers catholiques du Petit-Montrouge, Paris 1845, p. 1574 (n. 1301).
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