Hermas: The Shepherd
The Shepherd is a book of revelations that were supposedly granted to Hermas in Rome. These revelations were made by an old matron and by an angel disguised as a shepherd; hence, the title of the book.
Parts of this book were written around the year 95; the others, around the year 150.
Written in apocalyptic style, the Shepherd is divided in three sections containing five visions, twelve commands, and ten parables.
In the first visions, the Church appears as a venerable matron. In the third vision, the Church is compared to a tower, still under construction. It shall be completed on Judgment Day.
Sharing of Goods with the Needy [Third Vision, 9]
While I was praying, the heavens opened and I saw an elderly matron clothed in shining white raiment, with a book in her hands. She sat down and told me:
Listen to me: Live in peace with one another, care for one another, help one another. Do not enjoy God’s creatures absolutely and all by yourselves, but give a share to those in need.
Some people acquire diseases and weaken their bodies by eating too much, while others, having nothing to eat, are weakened in their bodies from lack of sufficient food and suffer ill health.
This failure to share with those who have nothing is harmful to you, who have enough but do not share.
Keep in mind the judgment to come. You rich, seek out those who are hungry so long as the tower is not yet completed. After the completion of the tower, you will wish to do good but will not have the opportunity.
You who pride yourselves on your wealth, attend to the groan of the poor; their cry will reach the Lord, and you and your possessions will be shut out from the tower.
The Shepherd, the Angel of Repentance, commanded me to write as follows:
Give to All from the Fruits of Your Labor [Second Commandment]
Clothe yourself with sanctity of life, in which there is no room for evil actions, no room for offenses against your neighbor; everything is done with serenity and cheerfulness.
Your talent is God’s gift. Do good, and from the fruit of your work –God’s gift– give to those in need, without discrimination. Do not debate to whom you should and to whom you should not give. Give to all; God wants all sharing from his gifts.
Those who have received will give an account to God: why they have received and for what purpose.
Those who accept gifts because they are in need will not be judged; those who accept gifts under false pretenses will be punished.
Under these circumstances, the giver is innocent, since he only performed the service that the Lord had commanded him to do, with simplicity and without discriminating to whom he should give and to whom he should not. This service becomes acceptable in God’s eyes. The man who thus serves with simplicity will live unto God.
With his talents, a Christian should acquire a treasure before God, by sharing his wealth with others.
A Christian Is a Citizen of Heaven [First Parable]
Be careful, while you live in this foreign land, not to acquire anything superfluous. Be ready, for the ruler of this city may expel you for not complying with his law. You should come out of his city and enter your own, and there observe your own law forever with joy and without pain.
Be on your guard, you who serve the Lord, and keep him in your heart. Remember God’s commandments and the promises he made; do his works. Trust that he will fulfill his promises if you keep his commandments.
Use the talents God has given you and buy souls, not just fields and houses. Bring to the Lord those souls in trouble. Look after widows and orphans and do not neglect them. Invest your wealth, and all the gifts you received from the Lord, on this kind of fields and houses.
For this purpose, the Master made you wealthy and gifted; to do this on his behalf. It is far better to buy such lands, possessions, and houses; you will find them later, when you settle in your own city.
Such is the purpose of wealth; a purpose good and holy, free from sadness and fear, full of joy. Do not live then in the luxury of the pagans; it is of no use to you, servants of God.
Fear of God [First Command]
First of all, believe that there is one God. He created all things and set them in order. He caused all things to pass from nonexistence to existence. Though he contains all things, he is himself uncontained, infinite.
Trust God, then, and fear him; and in this fear, be holy. Observe this command and throw far from you all wickedness. Clothe yourself with justice and every virtue; you will live in God if you observe this command.
Avoid Slander, Be Simple [Second Command]
Be simple of heart and innocent. Be like a child who does not know the wickedness that destroys the life of men.
In the first place, do not speak against anybody and do not readily listen to a slanderer. Otherwise, you –the listener– will be guilty of the sin of the slanderer; if you believe the slander. For, by believing it, you will be holding a grudge against your brother, thus sharing in the sin of the slanderer.
Slander is wicked, a restless devil, never at peace, always dwelling among conflicts. Keep away from it, and you shall always live in good terms with all.
Keep these commandments as I have told you, so that you and your family will be found sincere in your repentance, and your heart will be found pure and spotless.
The Two Angels Inspiring Man [Sixth Command]
Listen, now I am going to tell you how to be faithful. There are two angels accompanying man: the angel of justice and the angel of wickedness.
“How can I distinguish the operations of one and the other,” I said, “if both are with me?”
Listen, he said, and you will learn to distinguish them. The angel of justice is sensitive, modest, gentle, and calm. Whenever this angel talks to your heart, he will speak of justice, chastity, sanctity of life, mortification, and every good deed and practice of virtue. Whenever you feel all these thoughts entering your heart, be sure that the angel of justice is with you. These are the inspirations of the angel of justice. Be faithful to him, and follow his suggestions.
Now observe how the angel of wickedness acts. First of all, he is impatient, bitter, and reckless. His actions are bad and create havoc on the children of God. When he goes up to your heart, recognize him for his deeds.
“Sir,” I said, “I do not know how I should recognize him.”
Listen, he said. When violent anger or a feeling of bitterness comes over you, realize that he is within you. You will feel a tendency toward activism, a desire of spreading yourself in action, of eating too much or going after special delicacies in food and drink, of numerous feasts, and of varied inconvenient amusements. You will feel the desire for worldly companions, greed, arrogance, boasting, and a swarm of related excesses.
Whenever these desires come up in your heart, be sure that the angel of wickedness is within you. Since you already know his deeds, keep away from him, and do not believe him at all; his inspirations are wicked and devastating for the children of God.
Here you have the workings of one and the other angel; understand them and trust only the angel of justice.
Keep away from the angel of wickedness because his inspirations are evil in all aspects.
In the next article [Tenth Command], the Shepherd gives advice on two virtues: unity of life and serenity. The lack of either leads to sadness.
The lack of unity of life –not living a life coherent with one’s faith– blunts man’s perception of the things of God.
Unity of Life
There are some who do not pursue a sincere, deep relationship with God in their ordinary lives. They merely believe, they say, while deeply involved in business, generating income, worldly friendships, and many other materialistic commitments. These men are unable to establish a dialogue with God; their occupations keep their minds in darkness, away from the things of God. They are corrupted, utterly barren.
A good vineyard, when not cared for, grows barren with thorns and weeds. So too happens to those Christians who try to have two separate lives: [one for their faith, and another for their business.] Such persons obscure their discernment for and their perception of justice. When they hear about God and truth, their minds are taken up with their business, and they understand absolutely nothing.
It is different with those who have their hearts directed toward God in the midst of their daily tasks. They understand God’s actions more quickly and penetrate into their meaning; they have a holy fear of the Lord. When the Lord dwells in a man, there is also much understanding. Cling to the Lord, and you will grasp and understand everything.
Sadness Is Evil
Take sadness out of your heart, he said, for it is a companion of violent anger and of lack of unity of life.
“How can this be?” I said. “I think that anger is one thing, and lack of unity of purpose in our actions is another. Still, sadness is unrelated to these two.”
What a pity, he said, that you fail to grasp this. Sadness is worse than all evil spirits and most dangerous to the children of God. More than the evil spirits, sadness destroys a human being and cuts him off from the Holy Spirit. Only later may man be reconciled with him again.
“I do not understand,” I said, “I cannot follow the meaning of your words. How can sadness cut a man off from the Holy Spirit, and later reconcile him with the same Spirit?”
I shall tell you, he said.
There Is No Place for Sadness in a Christian Soul
When a man lacking unity of purpose in his life tries to do something and fails, he becomes sad. He fails because of his divided purpose. Sadness drives away the Holy Spirit from his soul.
Likewise, when violent anger takes hold of a man, he becomes embittered and sad; his actions are bad. He becomes upset for what he does is rotten.
Eventually, he may repent. Sadness may bring a man to salvation if he examines himself, repents of the evil he has done, and makes penance.
Both deeds cause distress: lack of unity life, because man fails to succeed in his actions; and anger, because he commits sin. Both are disliked by the Holy Spirit.
Take sadness off your heart, and give joy to the Holy Spirit dwelling within you, lest he depart from you. The Spirit of God given to this flesh of ours does not endure sadness and gloominess.
Clothe yourself with cheerfulness; it always finds favor with God, and it is acceptable to him. Rejoice. A cheerful man does good, has good thoughts, and rejects gloominess.
A sad man always commits sin. He commits sin because he works against the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of gladness. He commits grave sin because he does not ask help from God to get out of that situation, nor does he confess his faults to God.
“Why does not the prayer of the sad man reach up the altar of God?” I said.
Because sadness occupies his heart. When he is converted, his prayer mingled with sadness does not ascend clean to the altar. As vinegar mixed with wine makes wine unpalatable, so does sadness with the soul.
Reject this wicked sadness, and you will live in God. Cast away gloominess, and clothe yourself with cheerfulness.
It Is Possible to Keep the Commandments [Twelfth Command]
The Shepherd completed his twelve commands. He then said to me: These are the commands. Walk in them, and help others to do so, that their repentance may be sincere and their penance consistent for the rest of their lives.
Fulfill with utmost care this mission I give you now, and work hard; I will be with you. I will cause others to listen to you favorably; they will believe you, repent from their sins, and make penance.
I said to him: “Sir, these commands are great, good, and glorious; they will fill with joy the heart of anyone observing them. But I am not sure if these commands can be kept by anybody; they are very hard.”
He told me: If you face these commands with determination, I will make you able to keep them easily; they will not be too hard for you. If you harbor in your heart the thought that they cannot be observed, you will not observe them.
I tell you, if you do not obey these commands, but neglect them, neither you, nor your children, nor your household will have salvation, since you have already concluded that these cannot be kept by anyone.
Do not fear the devil; he has no power against you. I, the Angel of Repentance, have overcome the devil; I am with you.
The devil cannot lord it over those who serve God with their whole heart and who place their hope in him. The devil may wrestle with them, but he will not overcome them. If you resist him, he will flee from you defeated and confused.
Put your trust in God; do not fall into despair because of your sins, for you will be adding new sins and make your life unbearable. Trust the Lord, turn to him wholeheartedly, and live a holy life for the rest of your days; serve him as he wants to be served, and he will grant you forgiveness for your previous sins; you will obtain the power of mastering the devil’s snares.
“Sir,” I said, “I now hope to be able to keep these commandments with the Lord’s help.”
Parts of this book were written around the year 95; the others, around the year 150.
Written in apocalyptic style, the Shepherd is divided in three sections containing five visions, twelve commands, and ten parables.
In the first visions, the Church appears as a venerable matron. In the third vision, the Church is compared to a tower, still under construction. It shall be completed on Judgment Day.
Sharing of Goods with the Needy [Third Vision, 9]
While I was praying, the heavens opened and I saw an elderly matron clothed in shining white raiment, with a book in her hands. She sat down and told me:
Listen to me: Live in peace with one another, care for one another, help one another. Do not enjoy God’s creatures absolutely and all by yourselves, but give a share to those in need.
Some people acquire diseases and weaken their bodies by eating too much, while others, having nothing to eat, are weakened in their bodies from lack of sufficient food and suffer ill health.
This failure to share with those who have nothing is harmful to you, who have enough but do not share.
Keep in mind the judgment to come. You rich, seek out those who are hungry so long as the tower is not yet completed. After the completion of the tower, you will wish to do good but will not have the opportunity.
You who pride yourselves on your wealth, attend to the groan of the poor; their cry will reach the Lord, and you and your possessions will be shut out from the tower.
The Shepherd, the Angel of Repentance, commanded me to write as follows:
Give to All from the Fruits of Your Labor [Second Commandment]
Clothe yourself with sanctity of life, in which there is no room for evil actions, no room for offenses against your neighbor; everything is done with serenity and cheerfulness.
Your talent is God’s gift. Do good, and from the fruit of your work –God’s gift– give to those in need, without discrimination. Do not debate to whom you should and to whom you should not give. Give to all; God wants all sharing from his gifts.
Those who have received will give an account to God: why they have received and for what purpose.
Those who accept gifts because they are in need will not be judged; those who accept gifts under false pretenses will be punished.
Under these circumstances, the giver is innocent, since he only performed the service that the Lord had commanded him to do, with simplicity and without discriminating to whom he should give and to whom he should not. This service becomes acceptable in God’s eyes. The man who thus serves with simplicity will live unto God.
With his talents, a Christian should acquire a treasure before God, by sharing his wealth with others.
A Christian Is a Citizen of Heaven [First Parable]
Be careful, while you live in this foreign land, not to acquire anything superfluous. Be ready, for the ruler of this city may expel you for not complying with his law. You should come out of his city and enter your own, and there observe your own law forever with joy and without pain.
Be on your guard, you who serve the Lord, and keep him in your heart. Remember God’s commandments and the promises he made; do his works. Trust that he will fulfill his promises if you keep his commandments.
Use the talents God has given you and buy souls, not just fields and houses. Bring to the Lord those souls in trouble. Look after widows and orphans and do not neglect them. Invest your wealth, and all the gifts you received from the Lord, on this kind of fields and houses.
For this purpose, the Master made you wealthy and gifted; to do this on his behalf. It is far better to buy such lands, possessions, and houses; you will find them later, when you settle in your own city.
Such is the purpose of wealth; a purpose good and holy, free from sadness and fear, full of joy. Do not live then in the luxury of the pagans; it is of no use to you, servants of God.
Fear of God [First Command]
First of all, believe that there is one God. He created all things and set them in order. He caused all things to pass from nonexistence to existence. Though he contains all things, he is himself uncontained, infinite.
Trust God, then, and fear him; and in this fear, be holy. Observe this command and throw far from you all wickedness. Clothe yourself with justice and every virtue; you will live in God if you observe this command.
Avoid Slander, Be Simple [Second Command]
Be simple of heart and innocent. Be like a child who does not know the wickedness that destroys the life of men.
In the first place, do not speak against anybody and do not readily listen to a slanderer. Otherwise, you –the listener– will be guilty of the sin of the slanderer; if you believe the slander. For, by believing it, you will be holding a grudge against your brother, thus sharing in the sin of the slanderer.
Slander is wicked, a restless devil, never at peace, always dwelling among conflicts. Keep away from it, and you shall always live in good terms with all.
Keep these commandments as I have told you, so that you and your family will be found sincere in your repentance, and your heart will be found pure and spotless.
The Two Angels Inspiring Man [Sixth Command]
Listen, now I am going to tell you how to be faithful. There are two angels accompanying man: the angel of justice and the angel of wickedness.
“How can I distinguish the operations of one and the other,” I said, “if both are with me?”
Listen, he said, and you will learn to distinguish them. The angel of justice is sensitive, modest, gentle, and calm. Whenever this angel talks to your heart, he will speak of justice, chastity, sanctity of life, mortification, and every good deed and practice of virtue. Whenever you feel all these thoughts entering your heart, be sure that the angel of justice is with you. These are the inspirations of the angel of justice. Be faithful to him, and follow his suggestions.
Now observe how the angel of wickedness acts. First of all, he is impatient, bitter, and reckless. His actions are bad and create havoc on the children of God. When he goes up to your heart, recognize him for his deeds.
“Sir,” I said, “I do not know how I should recognize him.”
Listen, he said. When violent anger or a feeling of bitterness comes over you, realize that he is within you. You will feel a tendency toward activism, a desire of spreading yourself in action, of eating too much or going after special delicacies in food and drink, of numerous feasts, and of varied inconvenient amusements. You will feel the desire for worldly companions, greed, arrogance, boasting, and a swarm of related excesses.
Whenever these desires come up in your heart, be sure that the angel of wickedness is within you. Since you already know his deeds, keep away from him, and do not believe him at all; his inspirations are wicked and devastating for the children of God.
Here you have the workings of one and the other angel; understand them and trust only the angel of justice.
Keep away from the angel of wickedness because his inspirations are evil in all aspects.
In the next article [Tenth Command], the Shepherd gives advice on two virtues: unity of life and serenity. The lack of either leads to sadness.
The lack of unity of life –not living a life coherent with one’s faith– blunts man’s perception of the things of God.
Unity of Life
There are some who do not pursue a sincere, deep relationship with God in their ordinary lives. They merely believe, they say, while deeply involved in business, generating income, worldly friendships, and many other materialistic commitments. These men are unable to establish a dialogue with God; their occupations keep their minds in darkness, away from the things of God. They are corrupted, utterly barren.
A good vineyard, when not cared for, grows barren with thorns and weeds. So too happens to those Christians who try to have two separate lives: [one for their faith, and another for their business.] Such persons obscure their discernment for and their perception of justice. When they hear about God and truth, their minds are taken up with their business, and they understand absolutely nothing.
It is different with those who have their hearts directed toward God in the midst of their daily tasks. They understand God’s actions more quickly and penetrate into their meaning; they have a holy fear of the Lord. When the Lord dwells in a man, there is also much understanding. Cling to the Lord, and you will grasp and understand everything.
Sadness Is Evil
Take sadness out of your heart, he said, for it is a companion of violent anger and of lack of unity of life.
“How can this be?” I said. “I think that anger is one thing, and lack of unity of purpose in our actions is another. Still, sadness is unrelated to these two.”
What a pity, he said, that you fail to grasp this. Sadness is worse than all evil spirits and most dangerous to the children of God. More than the evil spirits, sadness destroys a human being and cuts him off from the Holy Spirit. Only later may man be reconciled with him again.
“I do not understand,” I said, “I cannot follow the meaning of your words. How can sadness cut a man off from the Holy Spirit, and later reconcile him with the same Spirit?”
I shall tell you, he said.
There Is No Place for Sadness in a Christian Soul
When a man lacking unity of purpose in his life tries to do something and fails, he becomes sad. He fails because of his divided purpose. Sadness drives away the Holy Spirit from his soul.
Likewise, when violent anger takes hold of a man, he becomes embittered and sad; his actions are bad. He becomes upset for what he does is rotten.
Eventually, he may repent. Sadness may bring a man to salvation if he examines himself, repents of the evil he has done, and makes penance.
Both deeds cause distress: lack of unity life, because man fails to succeed in his actions; and anger, because he commits sin. Both are disliked by the Holy Spirit.
Take sadness off your heart, and give joy to the Holy Spirit dwelling within you, lest he depart from you. The Spirit of God given to this flesh of ours does not endure sadness and gloominess.
Clothe yourself with cheerfulness; it always finds favor with God, and it is acceptable to him. Rejoice. A cheerful man does good, has good thoughts, and rejects gloominess.
A sad man always commits sin. He commits sin because he works against the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of gladness. He commits grave sin because he does not ask help from God to get out of that situation, nor does he confess his faults to God.
“Why does not the prayer of the sad man reach up the altar of God?” I said.
Because sadness occupies his heart. When he is converted, his prayer mingled with sadness does not ascend clean to the altar. As vinegar mixed with wine makes wine unpalatable, so does sadness with the soul.
Reject this wicked sadness, and you will live in God. Cast away gloominess, and clothe yourself with cheerfulness.
It Is Possible to Keep the Commandments [Twelfth Command]
The Shepherd completed his twelve commands. He then said to me: These are the commands. Walk in them, and help others to do so, that their repentance may be sincere and their penance consistent for the rest of their lives.
Fulfill with utmost care this mission I give you now, and work hard; I will be with you. I will cause others to listen to you favorably; they will believe you, repent from their sins, and make penance.
I said to him: “Sir, these commands are great, good, and glorious; they will fill with joy the heart of anyone observing them. But I am not sure if these commands can be kept by anybody; they are very hard.”
He told me: If you face these commands with determination, I will make you able to keep them easily; they will not be too hard for you. If you harbor in your heart the thought that they cannot be observed, you will not observe them.
I tell you, if you do not obey these commands, but neglect them, neither you, nor your children, nor your household will have salvation, since you have already concluded that these cannot be kept by anyone.
Do not fear the devil; he has no power against you. I, the Angel of Repentance, have overcome the devil; I am with you.
The devil cannot lord it over those who serve God with their whole heart and who place their hope in him. The devil may wrestle with them, but he will not overcome them. If you resist him, he will flee from you defeated and confused.
Put your trust in God; do not fall into despair because of your sins, for you will be adding new sins and make your life unbearable. Trust the Lord, turn to him wholeheartedly, and live a holy life for the rest of your days; serve him as he wants to be served, and he will grant you forgiveness for your previous sins; you will obtain the power of mastering the devil’s snares.
“Sir,” I said, “I now hope to be able to keep these commandments with the Lord’s help.”