1 Samuel 13:11

Now this we all in common do charge you, that every one remain in that rank which is appointed him, and do not transgress his proper bounds; for they are not ours but God's.… And those things which are allotted for the high priests to do, those might not be meddled with by the priests; and what things were allotted to the priests, the Levites might not meddle with; but every one observed those ministrations which were written down and appointed for them. And if any would meddle beyond the tradition, death was his punishment. And Saul's example does show this most plainly, who, thinking he might offer sacrifice without the prophet and high priest Samuel, drew upon himself a sin and a curse without remedy. Nor did even his having anointed him king discourage the prophet.

Saul also was dishonored because he did not wait for Samuel the high priest. It behooves you, therefore, also to reverence your superiors.

And mark it, he [the devil] desired to bring Saul into [the] superstition of witchcraft. But if he had counseled this at the beginning, the other would not have given heed; for how should he, who was even driving them out? Therefore gently and by little and little he leads him on to it. For when he had disobeyed Samuel and had caused the burnt offering to be offered, when he was not present, being blamed for it, he says, "The compulsion from the enemy was too great," and when he ought to have bewailed, he felt as though he had done nothing.Again God gave him the commands about the Amalekites, but he transgressed these too. Then he proceeded to his crimes about David, and thus slipping easily and little by little he did not stop, until he came to the very pit of destruction and cast himself in.

16. The prophet indeed knew what he had done, but by asking, he was reproving the act of disobedience. Hence also to Adam sinning in paradise, the Lord says: "Adam, where are you?" (Gen. 3:9). The magnitude of the guilt can also be conveyed through this question — as if he were saying openly: Does it seem a small thing to you that you sinned by disobeying? Rather, by sinning you fell from the lofty summit of your glory. Now therefore, many within the holy Church bury themselves in shameful deeds, and are unconcerned, as though they were losing nothing or only trifles. Let it therefore be said to the one who has fallen, let it be said: "What have you done?" Does it seem a small thing to you that you have defiled yourself with the filth of sin, since you pay no attention to the glory of eternity you have lost or the punishment of hell you have deserved? The sinner is indeed asked what he has done, so that he may be led back to his heart through lamentation, so that he may know he has brought great things upon himself and may not grieve too little. But because the very fault of disobedience is born from the root of pride, the disobedient are accustomed to hear the magnitude of their guilt from rebuking teachers, but not to make satisfaction by humbly confessing. For since they desire to appear exalted, they disdain to reveal their falls; and therefore they bring forth excuses and put forward claims of righteousness, because they are ashamed to appear as sinners. Therefore what follows is fittingly added: Saul answered: "Because I saw that the people were slipping away from me, and you had not come within the appointed days, and moreover the Philistines had gathered at Michmash, I said: Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not entreated the face of the Lord. Compelled by necessity, I offered the burnt offering."

Behold, he who is accused of the recklessness of a great transgression is not afraid to assert great reasons of justice. "I saw," he says, "that the people were slipping away from me." Here he asserts that he was abandoned by the people. "Furthermore, you had not come within the appointed days." Here he shows himself cheated of the prophet's promise. "Furthermore, the Philistines had gathered at Michmash." Here he likewise brings up the imminent danger of battle. Therefore, drawing a conclusion from his own action, he says: "Compelled by necessity, I offered the burnt offering." As if to say: You accuse me of a great offense, when the offense is so much lighter inasmuch as it was committed not from recklessness but from necessity. But what the prophet recognizes him to be—he who was unwilling to recognize himself—he adds, saying...

Because I saw that the people were slipping away from me, etc. The mystical sense of these words, as is clear from what was explained above, is easily understood. He immediately added, and said: Moreover, the Philistines were gathered together at Michmash, which means in humility; for unless they were deprived of humility, they would by no means prefer themselves to the Lord; nor unless the spirits of pride besieging the gates of the heart, would they, who dwell in high places and yet observe the humble, arrogantly despise Him.