He answered and said unto them, He that has two coats, let him impart to him that has none; and he that has food, let him do likewise.
All Commentaries on Luke 3:11 Go To Luke 3
Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. A synecdoche; he signifies every kind of alms-deed by one which is the more common and necessary; clothing and feeding the poor. "Two" supposing one coat to be sufficient to clothe and warm the body, and the other, therefore, superfluous, let him give that other "to him that hath not," to him that is naked and in need of a coat. For if both be necessary he is not bound to, give either to the poor man. So S. Jerome (Quæst. I. ad Hedibiam); and S. Ambrose, on this passage, says, "The limits of mercy are observed according to the capability of human nature, so that each one deprive not himself of everything, but share what he has with the poor Prayer of Manasseh ," and he adds, "He that is able, let him bear the fruit of grace, he that is bound, of penance. The use of mercy is common, therefore the precept is common; mercy is the fulness of the virtues."
This, then, is one of the fruits worthy of penance, according to the words of Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar, "Break off thy sins by righteousness and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor" Daniel 4:27. Besides, almsgiving fitly disposes our lives for every virtue. Every virtue is either of obligation or of supererogation; justice is of obligation, mercy of supererogation, and therefore mercy satisfies both for itself and for justice, both because he that gives what is his own, will not seize what belongs to others, and also because he that gives what he is not bound to give will much more pay what he owes—to which he is bound by justice or some other virtue—and again because mercy comes of love and charity, and charity is the fulness of the law. For "He that loveth hath fulfilled the law," Romans 13:8.
Euthymius aptly remarks here, "He enjoins on the multitudes to take one another into mutual benevolence, and assist one another with mutual good works." For the many easily understand works of mercy, and devote themselves to them, while they are not easily induced to prayer, fasting, and works of penance, and sometimes are incapable of them.
