16. There is also a certain water which we
put into the basin of our soul, water from the fleece and from the Book
of Judges; water, too, from the Book of Psalms. Ps. xxiii.
[xxii.] 2. It is the water of the message
from heaven. Let, then, this water, O Lord Jesus, come into my
soul, into my flesh, that through the moisture of this rain Ps. lxxv.
[lxxiv.] 11. the valleys of our minds and the fields of
our hearts may grow green. May the drops from Thee come upon me,
shedding forth grace and immortality. Wash the steps of my mind
that I may not sin again. Wash the heel “Alia
est iniquitas nostra, alia calcanei nostri, in quo Adam dente serpentis
est vulneratus et obnoxiam hereditatem successionis humanæ suo
vulnere dereliquit, ut omnes illo vulnere claudicemus.”
St. Aug. Exp. Psal. xlviii. 6, and St. Ambrose, Enar. in
Ps. xlviii. 9: “Unde reor uniquitatem calcanei magis
lubricum deliquendi quam reatum aliquem nostri esse
delicti.” This lubricum delinquendi, the wound
of Adam’s heel, seems to have been understood of concupiscence,
which has the nature of sin, and is called sin by St. Paul. of
my soul, that I may be able to efface the curse, that I feel not the
serpent’s bite Gen. iii. 15. on the foot of my
soul, but, as Thou Thyself hast bidden those who follow Thee, may tread
on serpents and scorpions S. Luke x. 19. with uninjured
foot. Thou hast redeemed the world, redeem the soul of a single
sinner.