Jesus knowing their thoughts, said to them: Every kingdom
divided against itself shall be made desolate: and every city or house
divided against itself shall not stand.

12:26. And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself: how
then shall his kingdom stand?

12:27. And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children
cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.

12:28. But if I by the Spirit of God cast out devils, then is the
kingdom of God come upon you.

12:29. Or how can any one enter into the house of the strong, and rifle
his goods, unless he first bind the strong? and then he will rifle his
house.

12:30. He that is not with me, is against me: and he that gathereth not
with me, scattereth.

12:31. Therefore I say to you: Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven
men, but the blasphemy of the Spirit shall not be forgiven.

The blasphemy of the Spirit... The sin here spoken of is that blasphemy,
by which the Pharisees attributed the miracles of Christ, wrought by the
Spirit of God, to Beelzebub the prince of devils. Now this kind of sin
is usually accompanied with so much obstinacy, and such wilful opposing
the Spirit of God, and the known truth, that men who are guilty of it,
are seldom or never converted: and therefore are never forgiven, because
they will not repent. Otherwise there is no sin, which God cannot or
will not forgive to such as sincerely repent, and have recourse to the
keys of the church.

12:32. And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall
be forgiven him: but he that shall speak against the Holy Ghost, it
shall not be forgiven him neither in this world, nor in the world to
come.

Nor in the world to come... From these words St. Augustine (De Civ. Dei,
lib. 21, c. 13) and St. Gregory (Dialog., 4, c. 39) gather, that some
sins may be remitted in the world to come; and, consequently, that there
is a purgatory or a middle place.

12:33. Either make the tree good and its fruit good: or make the tree
evil, and its fruit evil. For by the fruit the tree is known.

12:34. O generation of vipers, how can you speak good things, whereas
you are evil? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

12:35. A good man out of a good treasure bringeth forth good things: and
an evil man out of an evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

12:36. But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak,
they shall render an account