Caesarius of Arles

In his own words on Romans

• Romans 1:21

  In the hearts of the Gentiles, the purest honoring of the one God was changed into the bloody worship of different gods.

  SERMON 100a.2

• Romans 1:32

  Those who do not admonish adulterers make us suspect that the reason for this failure of reproof is that they commit similar sins themselves.

  SERMON 42.2

• Romans 2:5

  If a person sins once or even twice and then without excuses has recourse to the healing of penance, he will recover his former good condition without any delay. But if he begins to add sin upon sin and prefers to acquire an infection by concealing or defending the wounds of his soul rather than cure them by confession and the performance of penance, it is to be feared that these words of the apostle will be fulfilled in him.

  SERMON 65.1

• Romans 3:5

  When adversities come … or when by God's just judgment hostility, dryness or death is imposed, we should attribute this to our sins rather than to God's injustice.

  SERMON 70.1

• Romans 6:9

  When death first had dominion over Christ, it was only with his consent.

  SERMON 69.2

• Romans 6:12

  Paul did not say: "Let sin not exist," but "Let it not reign." Sin is within you if you take delight in it; it reigns if you consent to it.

  SERMON 134.3

• Romans 7:23

  This law in me was born when the former law was transgressed; it was born, I repeat, when the former law was despised.

  SERMON 177.1

• Romans 7:25

  The grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord will free you from the body of this death; it will deliver you from the law of death. But … this is going to take place at the resurrection, when you will possess a body in which no evil inclination remains.

  SERMON 177.4

• Romans 8:3

  By taking upon himself flesh from a sinful substance while remaining without sin, Christ fulfilled all righteousness and condemned sin in the body. This is proved by his conflict with the spirit in the desert, for the devil is overcome not by sheer divine majesty but by a reminder of the commandment, by fasting and by a legal reply.

  SERMON 11.3

• Romans 8:27

  By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in silence, the shouting of the saints is heard in the presence of God.

  SERMON 97.2

• Romans 8:35

  Good Christians are not separated from Christ even by torture. Tepid and careless ones however, are sometimes separated from him by idle tales; if they suffer even a slight loss they are immediately scandalized, dare to murmur against God and return to their impious, detestable omens.

  SERMON 54.2

• Romans 8:39

  Spiritual souls are not separated from Christ by torments, but carnal souls are sometimes separated by idle gossip. The cruel sword cannot separate the former, but carnal affections remove the latter. Nothing hard breaks down spiritual men, but even flattering words corrupt the carnal.

  SERMON 82.2

• Romans 9:14

  Why does God not scourge all men mercifully in such a way so as not to allow anyone to be hardened against him? Either this is to be ascribed to the wickedness of those who have deserved to become hardened, or it is to be referred to the inscrutable judgments of God, which are often hidden but are never unjust.

  SERMON 101.5

• Romans 9:23

  We who were vessels of wrath through our first birth have deserved to become vessels of mercy through the second one. The first birth brought us forth unto death, but the second one recalled us to life. All of us were temples of the devil before baptism, but after baptism we were made ready to become temples of Christ.

  SERMON 229

• Romans 10:14

  This is why you first learned the creed. Here is a rule of your faith which is both short and long—short in the number of words, long because of the weight of the thoughts.

  SERMON 147.1

• Romans 12:14

  How can the Scriptures, which forbid us to curse, contain so many curses themselves? Those curses are not spoken by a person who desires their fulfillment but merely foretell the fact. They do not want this to befall sinners, but because they will doubtless come to pass these curses are proved to be prophecies.

  SERMON 48.2

• Romans 13:10

  Therefore, whatever you do, do it for the love of Christ, and let the intention or end of all your actions look to him. Do nothing for the sake of human praise but everything for the love of God and the desire for eternal life. Then you will see the end of all perfection, and when you have reached it you will want nothing more.

  SERMON 137.1