ering Christ's Passion and other
mysteries of His humanity than by considering the greatness of His
Godhead. Therefore contemplation is not the proper cause of devotion.

Obj. 3: Further, if contemplation were the proper cause of devotion,
it would follow that those who are most apt for contemplation, are
also most apt for devotion. Yet the contrary is to be noticed, for
devotion is frequently found in men of simplicity and members of the
female sex, who are defective in contemplation. Therefore
contemplation is not the proper cause of devotion.

_On the contrary,_ It is written (Ps. 38:4): "In my meditation a fire
shall flame out." But spiritual fire causes devotion. Therefore
meditation is the cause of devotion.

_I answer that,_ The extrinsic and chief cause of devotion is God, of
Whom Ambrose, commenting on Luke 9:55, says that "God calls whom He
deigns to call, and whom He wills He makes religious: the profane
Samaritans, had He so willed, He would have made devout." But the
intrinsic cause on our part must needs be meditation or
contemplation. For it was stated above (A. 1) that devotion is an act
of the will to the effect that man surrenders himself readily to the
service of God. Now every act of the will proceeds from some
consideration, since the object of the will is a good understood.
Wherefore Augustine says (De Trin. ix, 12; xv, 23) that "the will
arises from the intelligence." Consequently meditation must needs be
the cause of devotion, in so far as through meditation man conceives
the thought of surrendering himself to God's service. Indeed a
twofold consideration leads him thereto. The one is the consideration
of God's goodness and loving kindness, according to Ps. 72:28, "It is
good for me to adhere to my God, to put my hope in the Lord God": and
this consideration wakens love [*_Dilectio,_ the interior act of
charity; cf. Q. 27] which is the proximate cause of devotion. The
other consideration is that of man's own shortcomings, on account of
which he needs to lean on God, according to Ps. 120:1, 2, "I have
lifted up my eyes to the mountains, from whence help shall come to
me: my help is from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth"; and this
consideration shuts out presumption whereby man is hindered from
submitting to God, because he leans on His strength.

Reply Obj. 1: The consideration of such things as are of a nature to
awaken our love [*Ibid.] of God, causes devotion; whereas the
consideration