Cornelius a Lapide

O death , where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory ? This question received its first answer when Christ rose and brought back from their limbus the souls of the saints, and so rescued this part of His spoil from Hades. Cf. Anselm and Origen (, Horn . xxii. in Evangl), and Augustine ( Sernu 137 de Tempore ). The final answer will be given at the resurrection of all, as the Apostle says here. S. Jerome, writing to Heliodorus about Nepotianus, lately dead, beautifully addresses Death, and exults over it with S. Paul. He says : “ By Hosea He formerly sternly threatened thee : 1 0 death , I will be thy plagues ; O grave , I will be thy destruction.' By His death thou now art dead; by His death we live . Thou hast devoured and been swallowed up, and when thou wast tempted with the bait of the body assumed by Christ, and thoughtest it a prey meet for thy greedy jaws, thou wast straightway pierced within by the barbed hook. We, Thy creation , give thanks to Thee, Christ our Saviour, that when Thou wast slain Thou didst slay this our powerful foe." Similarly, S. Francis, when suffering from the most grievous bodily pains, found no relief but in singing the praises of God and in hearing others singing them ; and, when he was reproved by Elias for devoting his last moments to joy instead of to repentance, he replied that it was not right for him to do otherwise when he knew that in a short time he should be with God. S. Reginald, one of the first companions of S. Dominic, when bidden prepare himself, according to custom, by extreme unction, for his contest with the devil, said : VICTORY OVER DEATH 401 "7 have little fear of that contest ; nay, rather, I joyfully look forward to it; for long ago was I anointed by the mother of mercy : in her I put my utmost confidence, and set out to her with eagerness 7 S. Bernard ( Serm. 26 in Cantica ), speaking of the death of his brother Gerard, who in his last moments had broken out in the words of the Psalmist, “ Praise the Lord of heaven ; praise Him in the height,” wrote as follows : " On thee, my brother, though it was still midnight, day was dawning; the night was as bright as the day . I was summoned to behold that marvel , to see a man rejoicing in death , taunting death: 1 0 death, where is thy sting ? O grave, where is thy victory V There is no longer a sting, but a shout of victory. Man now dies singing, and in singing dies”