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Contra Faustum Manichaeum libri triginta tres

46.

Verum disciplina catholica propterea simplici fide prius nutriri oportere docet mentem christianam, ut eam capacem faciat ad intellegenda superna et aeterna. Sic enim et propheta dicit: Nisi credideritis, non intellegetis. At ea ipsa est simplex fides, qua credimus, antequam cognoscamus supereminentem scientiae caritatem Christi, ut impleamur in omnem plenitudinem dei, non sine causa dispensationem humilitatis eius, qua humanitus natus et passus est, a prophetis per propheticam gentem, per propheticum populum, per propheticum regnum tanto ante praedictam, nisi quia in illa stultitia, quae sapientior est hominibus, et in illa infirmitate, quae fortior est hominibus, magnum aliquid latet ad iustificationem et glorificationem nostram. p. 375,11 Et ibi sunt omnes thesauri sapientiae et scientiae absconditi, qui nulli aperiuntur, si sibi per maternam carnem traiectum cibum, id est per apostolica et prophetica ubera lactis alimenta contempserit et tamquam infantilem victum quasi praegrandi aetate fastidiens prius in venena haereticorum quam in sapientiae cibum, cui se idoneum temere arbitratur, irruerit. Non ergo quod dicimus necessariam simplicem fidem, contrarium est ei, quod dicimus, ut prophetis credatur; magis enim ad hoc pertinet, ut prophetis credatur, priusquam purgata et roborata mente possit intellegi, qui per prophetas sic loquebatur. p. 375,22

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Reply to Faustus the Manichaean

46.

According to the teaching of the Catholic Church, the Christian mind must first be nourished in simple faith, in order that it may become capable of understanding things heavenly and eternal. Thus it is said by the prophet: "Unless ye believe, ye shall not understand." ¹ Simple faith is that by which, before we attain to the height of the knowledge of the love of Christ, that we may be filled with all the fullness of God, we believe that not without reason was the dispensation of Christ's humiliation, in which He was born and suffered as man, foretold so long before by the prophets through a prophetic race, a prophetic people, a prophetic kingdom. This faith teaches us, that in the foolishness which is wiser than men, and in the weakness which is stronger than men, is contained the hidden means of our justification and glorification. There are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, which are opened to no one who despises the nourishment transmitted through the breast of his mother that is, the milk of apostolic and prophetic instruction; or who, thinking himself too old for infantile nourishment, devours heretical poison instead of the food of wisdom, for which he rashly thought himself prepared. To require simple faith is quite consistent with requiring faith in the prophets. The very use of simple faith is to believe the prophets at the outset, while the understanding of the person who speaks in the prophets is attained after the mind has been purified and strengthened.