Chapter 13.—18. But who can fail to understand what they may be saying in their hearts? "What then are we to do," say they, "with those whom we have already rebaptized?" Return with them to the Church. Bring those whom you have wounded to be healed by the medicine of peace: bring those whom you have slain to be brought to life again by the life of charity. Brotherly union has great power in propitiating God. "If two of you," says
our Lord, "shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them."1258
If for two men who agree, how much more for two communities? Let us throw ourselves together on our
knees before the
Lord. Do you share with us our
unity; let us share with you your contrition and let
charity cover the multitude of
sins.
1259
Seek counsel from the
blessed Cyprian himself. See how much he considered to depend upon the
blessing of
unity, from which he did not sever himself to
avoid the
communion of those who disagreed with him; how, though he considered that those who were
baptized outside the
communion of the
Church had no true
baptism, he was yet willing to believe that, by simple admission into the
Church, they might, merely in
virtue of the
bond of
unity, be admitted to a share in pardon.
For thus he solved the
question which he proposed to himself in writing as follows to Jubaianus: "But some will say, ‘What then will become of those who, in times past, coming to the
Church from
heresy, were admitted without
baptism?’ The
Lord is able of His
mercy to grant pardon, and not to sever from the
gifts of His Church those who, being out of simplicity admitted to the Church, have in the Church fallen asleep."
1260
| 1260 Cypr. Ep. lxxiii. 23 to Jubaianus.
|
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