The Dialogue

How the Sacraments should not be sold or bought, and how they who receive them should succour the ministers in temporal things, which the ministers should dispense in three divisions.

" I WISH My ministers to be liberal and not miserly, or, through cupidity and avarice, to sell the grace of the Holy Spirit. I do not desire this, and they ought not to do it; for even as they, by gift and out of the broadness of My love have received of My goodness, so ought they, by gift and in broadness of heart, through affection of love for My honour and the salvation of souls, to give charitably to every rational creature who humbly asks for it ; and they should take nothing as its price, because they have not bought it, but have received it freely from Me to administer to you. But they can and should take alms, and you, who receive the Sacraments, ought on your side, when you can, to give alms ; for the ministers should be supported by you in temporal things, and succoured by you in their necessity, and you should be supported and fed by them in grace and spiritual gifts — that is, in the holy Sacraments that I have placed in the holy Church for them to ad minister to you for your salvation. And I make known to you that, without any comparison, they give more to you than you to them, because comparison cannot be made between the transitory and finite things with which you help them, and Me — God, Who am Infinite, and Whom through My Divine providence and Divine charity they have the right of administering to you. And not only is it so in this mystery, but also in any other spiritual graces which are administered to you by any creature, whether through prayer or through some other means. All your temporal sub stance would never equal,by anycomparison,what you receive spiritually. Now I tell you that the substance which they receive from you they are bound to distribute in three ways — that is, to make of it three parts — one for their living, the other for the poor, and the other should be spent on

A TREATISE OF PRAYER 243

the objects which are necessary for the services of the Church, and in no other way. Doing otherwise they offend Me."