it is unfitting for a religious order to
be established for the purpose of the aforesaid actions.

Obj. 4: Further, preachers have a right to receive their livelihood
from the faithful of Christ, according to 1 Cor. 9. If then the
office of preaching be committed to a religious order established for
that purpose, it follows that the faithful of Christ are bound to
support an unlimited number of persons, which would be a heavy burden
on them. Therefore a religious order should not be established for
the exercise of these actions.

Obj. 5: Further, the organization of the Church should be in
accordance with Christ's institution. Now Christ sent first the
twelve apostles to preach, as related in Luke 9, and afterwards He
sent the seventy-two disciples, as stated in Luke 10. Moreover,
according to the gloss of Bede on "And after these things" (Luke
10:1), "the apostles are represented by the bishops, the seventy-two
disciples by the lesser priests," i.e. the parish priests. Therefore
in addition to bishops and parish priests, no religious order should
be established for the purpose of preaching and hearing confessions.

_On the contrary,_ In the Conferences of the Fathers (Coll. xiv, 4),
Abbot Nesteros, speaking of the various kinds of religious orders,
says: "Some choosing the care of the sick, others devoting themselves
to the relief of the afflicted and oppressed, or applying themselves
to teaching, or giving alms to the poor, have been most highly
esteemed on account of their devotion and piety." Therefore just as a
religious order may be established for the care of the sick, so also
may one be established for teaching the people by preaching and like
works.

_I answer that,_ As stated above (A. 2), it is fitting for a
religious order to be established for the works of the active life,
in so far as they are directed to the good of our neighbor, the
service of God, and the upkeep of divine worship. Now the good of our
neighbor is advanced by things pertaining to the spiritual welfare of
the soul rather than by things pertaining to the supplying of bodily
needs, in proportion to the excellence of spiritual over corporal
things. Hence it was stated above (Q. 32, A. 3) that spiritual works
of mercy surpass corporal works of mercy. Moreover this is more
pertinent to the service of God, to Whom no sacrifice is more
acceptable than zeal for souls, as Gregory says (Hom. xii in Ezech.).
Furthermore, it is a greater thing to