Magdalene, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and
Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto Him of their
substance" (Luke viii, i-3).

Leo the Ninth, furthermore, in his reply to the letter of
Parmenianus concerning monastic zeal, says: "We unequivocally
declare that it is not permissible for a bishop, priest, deacon or
subdeacon to cast off all responsibility for his own wife on the
grounds of religious duty, so that he no longer provides her with
food and clothing; albeit he may not have carnal intercourse with
her. We read that thus did the holy apostles act, for St. Paul
says: 'Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as
other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas?' (I
Cor. ix, 5). Observe, foolish man, that he does not say: 'have we
not power to embrace a sister, a wife,' but he says 'to lead
about,' meaning thereby that such women may lawfully be supported
by them out of the wages of their preaching, but that there must be
no carnal bond between them."

Certainly that Pharisee who spoke within himself of the Lord,
saying: "This man, if He were a prophet, would have known who and
what manner of woman this is that toucheth Him: for she is a
sinner" (Luke vii, 39), might much more reasonably have suspected
baseness of the Lord, considering the matter from a purely human
standpoint, than my enemies could suspect it of me. One who had
seen the mother of Our Lord entrusted to the care of the young man
(John xix, 27), or who had beheld the prophets dwelling and
sojourning with widows (I Kings xvii, 10), would likewise have had
a far more logical ground for suspicion. And what would my
calumniators have said if they had but seen Malchus, that captive