Introduction
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Divisio (see above) 1) First part: souls are careful not to do evil out of a reverential fear of God, i.e. to avoid offending God, «from whose face every creature trembles away» (exempla: John's reaction when he sees God [Revelation 1, 17]; reaction of the disciples on Mount Tabor when they see the face of Christ [Matthew 17, 6]; John the Baptist's reverence when preparing to baptise Christ [Matthew 3, 14]; the reverence of the prostitute Taisis after being converted to God [reference to the story narrated in Vite dei santi Padri]). 2) Second part: sometimes human beings are converted to God by thinking of God's generosity (i.e. the granting of abundant temporal goods) towards them; at other times, some human beings continue to sin despite God's generosity. 3) Third part: through the teaching of doctrine «most sinners are converted, because they hear virtue praised and vice blamed, and so they leave vice and approach virtue»; importance of the role of preachers («Guai al mondo se non fusseron gli predicatori …»), referred to as “trombette di Dio” (Clama, ne cesses, et quasi tuba exalta vocem tuam et anuncia populo meo scelera eorum, quote from Isaiah 58, 1). 4) Fourth part: some human beings are converted after witnessing a miracle; exempla: conversion of Nicodemus (reference to John 3, 2); conversion of the Centurion (reference to Mark 15, 39); conversion of the crowd after the miracle of the five loaves and two fishes (reference to John 6, 1-14).
Conclusion In the conclusion of the sermon, Caracciolo continued his discourse on miracles, arguing that in the present day there is no longer a need for so many miracles because faith is stronger and more solid; many human beings, however, continue not to convert despite the fact that every day in the world it is possible to see numerous miracles, such as «plagues, famine, wars and other adversities, things that God allows so that sinners, seeing these extraordinary things, will convert».