20. But the Church has oil wherewith she
dresses the wounds of her children, lest the hardness of the wound
spread deeply; she has oil which she has received secretly. With
this oil Asher washed his feet as it is written: “A blessed
son is Asher, and he shall be acceptable to his brothers, and shall dip
his feet in oil.” Deut. xxxiii. 24. With this
oil, then, the Church anoints the necks of her children, that they may
take up the yoke of Christ; with this oil she anointed the Martyrs,
that she might cleanse them from the dust of this world; with this oil
she anointed the Confessors, that they might not yield to their
labours, nor sink down through weariness;
that they might not be overcome by the heat of
this world; and she anointed them in order to refresh them with the
spiritual oil.