DAILY CONTEMPLATION

October 12, 2026 ~ Paope 2, 1743

“The sinner borrows, but will not repay;
however, the righteous man is compassionate, and gives” (Ps 36:21 OSB).
“The wicked borrows, and pays not again”.
He receives, and will not repay. What is it he will not repay? Thanksgiving.
For what is it that God would have of you, what does He require of you,
except that He may do you good?
And how great are the benefits which the sinner has received, and which he will not repay!
He has received the gift of being; he has received the gift of being a man;
and of a being highly distinguished above the brutes;
he has received the form of a body,
and the distinction of the senses in the body, eyes for seeing, ears for hearing,
the nostrils for smelling, the palate for tasting, the hands for touching, and the feet for walking;
and even the very health and soundness of the body…
he has received yet more than this; a mind capable of understanding, capable of Truth,
capable of distinguishing right from wrong;
capable of seeking after, of longing for, its Creator, of praising Him, and fixing itself upon Him.
All this the wicked man has received as well as others;
but by not living well, he fails to repay that which he owes.
Thus it is, “the wicked borrows, and pays not again”.
He will not requite Him from whom he has received; he will not return thanks;
nay, he will even render evil for good, blasphemies, murmuring against God, indignation.
Thus it is that he “borrows, and pays not again; but the righteous shows mercy, and lends.”
The one therefore has nothing; the other has.
See, on the one side, destitution: see, on the other, wealth.
The one receives and pays not again; the other shows mercy, and lends, and he has more than enough.
What if he is poor? Even so he is rich; look at his riches with the eyes of religion.
For you look at the empty chest, but do not look at the conscience, that is full of God
St. Augustine