What Was the Reformation
- by Hilaire Belloc
The movement generally called "The Reformation" deserves a place apart in the story of the great heresies; and that for the following reasons:
http://traditionalcatholic.net/Tradition/Information/What_was_the_Reformation.html
#reformation
- by Hilaire Belloc
The movement generally called "The Reformation" deserves a place apart in the story of the great heresies; and that for the following reasons:
http://traditionalcatholic.net/Tradition/Information/What_was_the_Reformation.html
#reformation
tostartyouthinking (1).pdf
10.4 MB
To Start You Thinking
by Fr. Herbert H. J. Crees
Apologetic booklet addressed to potential Catholic converts.
#apologetics
by Fr. Herbert H. J. Crees
Apologetic booklet addressed to potential Catholic converts.
#apologetics
The spirit of penance
"The word of God is too plain: unless we do penance, we shall perish (St. Luke 13:3). But, if our ease-loving and sensual generation were to return, like the Ninivites, to the long- neglected way of penance and expiation, who knows, but that the arm of God which is already raised to strike us, may give us blessing and not chastisement?"
- Dom Guéranger
#quote #lent
"The word of God is too plain: unless we do penance, we shall perish (St. Luke 13:3). But, if our ease-loving and sensual generation were to return, like the Ninivites, to the long- neglected way of penance and expiation, who knows, but that the arm of God which is already raised to strike us, may give us blessing and not chastisement?"
- Dom Guéranger
#quote #lent
"...And you are Christ's" - The Charism of Virginity and Celibate Life
Thomas Dubay, S.M.
#priesthood
Thomas Dubay, S.M.
#priesthood
"Must I Believe It?"
by Canon George Smith Ph.D., D.D.
(Originally published in The Clergy Review)
The doctrinal power of the Catholic Church is apt to provoke two contrary reactions in those who are outside the fold. Some it attracts, others it repels. The earnest seeker after truth, the man who seriously wants an answer to the riddle of his life and purpose, and is either mentally dazed by the contradictory solutions offered or else baffled by the bland scepticism which so often greets his anxious questionings, may perhaps turn with relief to a Church which teaches with authority, there to find rest from his intellectual wanderings. On the other hand, there is the seeker whose enjoyment, one is inclined to suspect, lies chiefly in the pursuit of truth and who cares little whether he ever tracks it down. To think things out for himself or, like the Athenians, to be telling or hearing some new thing is the very breath of his intellectual life, and to him any infallible pronouncement is anathema. A definitive statement of truth is not for him a happy end to a weary search; it is a barrier which closes an avenue to his adventurous quest. An infallible teacher is not a welcome guide who leads him home; he is a monster who would deprive him of the freedom which is his right
Full text:
http://strobertbellarmine.net/believe.html
#doctrine
by Canon George Smith Ph.D., D.D.
(Originally published in The Clergy Review)
The doctrinal power of the Catholic Church is apt to provoke two contrary reactions in those who are outside the fold. Some it attracts, others it repels. The earnest seeker after truth, the man who seriously wants an answer to the riddle of his life and purpose, and is either mentally dazed by the contradictory solutions offered or else baffled by the bland scepticism which so often greets his anxious questionings, may perhaps turn with relief to a Church which teaches with authority, there to find rest from his intellectual wanderings. On the other hand, there is the seeker whose enjoyment, one is inclined to suspect, lies chiefly in the pursuit of truth and who cares little whether he ever tracks it down. To think things out for himself or, like the Athenians, to be telling or hearing some new thing is the very breath of his intellectual life, and to him any infallible pronouncement is anathema. A definitive statement of truth is not for him a happy end to a weary search; it is a barrier which closes an avenue to his adventurous quest. An infallible teacher is not a welcome guide who leads him home; he is a monster who would deprive him of the freedom which is his right
Full text:
http://strobertbellarmine.net/believe.html
#doctrine
Forwarded from Solitary Individual
Omnis mundi creatura
quasi liber et pictura
nobis est in speculum,
nostrae vitae, nostrae sortis,
nostri status, nostrae mortis
fidele signaculum.
(Every created thing serves us for a mirror, as a book or a picture does; it is a true indication of our life, our destiny, our state of being, our death.)
• Alan of Lille, the twelfth-century theologian.
quasi liber et pictura
nobis est in speculum,
nostrae vitae, nostrae sortis,
nostri status, nostrae mortis
fidele signaculum.
(Every created thing serves us for a mirror, as a book or a picture does; it is a true indication of our life, our destiny, our state of being, our death.)
• Alan of Lille, the twelfth-century theologian.
'Jesus also said: "You are the light of the world."
Now a light does not illumine itself, but instead it diffuses its rays and shines all around upon everything that comes into its view. So it must be with the glowing lives of upright and holy clerics. By the brightness of their holiness they must bring light and serenity to all who gaze upon them. They have been placed here to care for others. Their own lives should be an example to others, showing how they must live in the house of the Lord.'
St. John of Capistrano
#quote #religious
Now a light does not illumine itself, but instead it diffuses its rays and shines all around upon everything that comes into its view. So it must be with the glowing lives of upright and holy clerics. By the brightness of their holiness they must bring light and serenity to all who gaze upon them. They have been placed here to care for others. Their own lives should be an example to others, showing how they must live in the house of the Lord.'
St. John of Capistrano
#quote #religious
Watch "Saint Padre Pio: 50 Years Of Thorns And Roses (Excellent Documentary)" on YouTube
https://youtu.be/q3lWMfKZ4Ic
#padrepio
https://youtu.be/q3lWMfKZ4Ic
#padrepio
YouTube
Saint Padre Pio: 50 Years Of Thorns And Roses (Excellent Documentary)
Padre Pio, also known as Saint Pio of Pietrelcina (Italian: Pio da Pietrelcina; 25 May 1887 – 23 September 1968), was an Italian friar, priest, stigmatist and mystic, now venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. Born Francesco Forgione, he was given the…
'Gregory, the servant of the servants of God, to Boniface, a holy priest.
Your holy purpose, as it has been explained to us, and your well-tried faith lead us to make use of your services in spreading the Gospel, which by the grace of God has been committed to our care. Knowing that from your childhood you have been a student of Sacred Scripture and that you now wish to use the talent entrusted to you by God in dedicating yourself to missionary work, we rejoice in your faith and desire to have you as our colleague in this enterprise. Wherefore, since you have humbly submitted to us your plans regarding this mission, like a member of the body deferring to the head, and have shown yourself to be a true member of the body by following the directions given by the head, therefore, in the name of the indivisible Trinity and by the authority of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, whose government we administer in this See by the dispensation of God, we now place your humble and devout work upon a secure basis and decree that you go forth to preach the Word of God to those people who are still bound by the shackles of paganism. You are to teach them the service of the kingdom of God by persuading them to accept the truth in the name of Christ, the Lord our God. You will instill into their minds the teaching of the Old and New Testaments, doing this in a spirit of love and moderation, and with arguments suited to their understanding. Finally, we command you that in admitting within the Church those who have some kind of belief in God you will insist upon using the sacramental discipline prescribed in the official ritual formulary of the Holy Apostolic See. Whatever means you find lacking in the furtherance of your work, you are to report to us as opportunity occurs.
Fare you well.'
Pope St. Gregory II, Letter to St. Boniface, May 15, A.D. 719
Your holy purpose, as it has been explained to us, and your well-tried faith lead us to make use of your services in spreading the Gospel, which by the grace of God has been committed to our care. Knowing that from your childhood you have been a student of Sacred Scripture and that you now wish to use the talent entrusted to you by God in dedicating yourself to missionary work, we rejoice in your faith and desire to have you as our colleague in this enterprise. Wherefore, since you have humbly submitted to us your plans regarding this mission, like a member of the body deferring to the head, and have shown yourself to be a true member of the body by following the directions given by the head, therefore, in the name of the indivisible Trinity and by the authority of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, whose government we administer in this See by the dispensation of God, we now place your humble and devout work upon a secure basis and decree that you go forth to preach the Word of God to those people who are still bound by the shackles of paganism. You are to teach them the service of the kingdom of God by persuading them to accept the truth in the name of Christ, the Lord our God. You will instill into their minds the teaching of the Old and New Testaments, doing this in a spirit of love and moderation, and with arguments suited to their understanding. Finally, we command you that in admitting within the Church those who have some kind of belief in God you will insist upon using the sacramental discipline prescribed in the official ritual formulary of the Holy Apostolic See. Whatever means you find lacking in the furtherance of your work, you are to report to us as opportunity occurs.
Fare you well.'
Pope St. Gregory II, Letter to St. Boniface, May 15, A.D. 719
Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903)
On Socialism
"At the very beginning of Our pontificate, as the nature of Our apostolic office demanded, we hastened to point out in an encyclical letter addressed to you, venerable brethren, the deadly plague that is creeping into the very fibers of human society and leading it on to the verge of destruction; at the same time We pointed out also the most effectual remedies by which society might be restored and might escape from the very serious dangers which threaten it. But the evils which We then deplored have so rapidly increased that We are again compelled to address you, as though we heard the voice of the prophet ringing in Our ears: 'Cry, cease not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet.'"[Isa. 58:1.] You understand, venerable brethren, that We speak of that sect of men who, under various and almost barbarous names, are called socialists, communists, or nihilists, and who, spread over all the world, and bound together by the closest ties in a wicked confederacy, no longer seek the shelter of secret meetings, but, openly and boldly marching forth in the light of day, strive to bring to a head what they have long been planning - the overthrow of all civil society whatsoever.
Surely these are they who, as the sacred Scriptures testify, 'Defile the flesh, despise dominion and blaspheme majesty.'[Jude 8.] They leave nothing untouched or whole which by both human and divine laws has been wisely decreed for the health and beauty of life.
They refuse obedience to the higher powers, to whom, according to the admonition of the Apostle, every soul ought to be subject, and who derive the right of governing from God; and they proclaim the absolute equality of all men in rights and duties. They debase the natural union of man and woman, which is held sacred even among barbarous peoples; and its bond, by which the family is chiefly held together, they weaken, or even deliver up to lust. Lured, in fine, by the greed of present goods, which is 'the root of all evils which some coveting have erred from the faith,'[I Tim. 6:10.] they assail the right of property sanctioned by natural law; and by a scheme of horrible wickedness, while they seem desirous of caring for the needs and satisfying the desires of all men, they strive to seize and hold in common whatever has been acquired either by title of lawful inheritance, or by labor of brain and hands, or by thrift in one's mode of life. These are the startling theories they utter in their meetings, set forth in their pamphlets, and scatter abroad in a cloud of journals and tracts. Wherefore, the revered majesty and power of kings has won such fierce hatred from their seditious people that disloyal traitors, impatient of all restraint, have more than once within a short period raised their arms in impious attempt against the lives of their own sovereigns.
But the boldness of these bad men, which day by day more and more threatens civil society with destruction, and strikes the souls of all with anxiety and fear, finds its cause and origin in those poisonous doctrines which, spread abroad in former times among the people, like evil seed bore in due time such fatal fruit. For you know, venerable brethren, that that most deadly war which from the sixteenth century down has been waged by innovators against the Catholic faith, and which has grown in intensity up to today, had for its object to subvert all revelation, and overthrow the supernatural order, that thus the way might be opened for the discoveries, or rather the hallucinations, of reason alone. This kind of error, which falsely usurps to itself the name of reason, as it lures and whets the natural appetite that is in man of excelling, and gives loose rein to unlawful desires of every kind, has easily penetrated not only the minds of a great multitude of men but to a wide extent civil society, also.
#socialism
On Socialism
"At the very beginning of Our pontificate, as the nature of Our apostolic office demanded, we hastened to point out in an encyclical letter addressed to you, venerable brethren, the deadly plague that is creeping into the very fibers of human society and leading it on to the verge of destruction; at the same time We pointed out also the most effectual remedies by which society might be restored and might escape from the very serious dangers which threaten it. But the evils which We then deplored have so rapidly increased that We are again compelled to address you, as though we heard the voice of the prophet ringing in Our ears: 'Cry, cease not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet.'"[Isa. 58:1.] You understand, venerable brethren, that We speak of that sect of men who, under various and almost barbarous names, are called socialists, communists, or nihilists, and who, spread over all the world, and bound together by the closest ties in a wicked confederacy, no longer seek the shelter of secret meetings, but, openly and boldly marching forth in the light of day, strive to bring to a head what they have long been planning - the overthrow of all civil society whatsoever.
Surely these are they who, as the sacred Scriptures testify, 'Defile the flesh, despise dominion and blaspheme majesty.'[Jude 8.] They leave nothing untouched or whole which by both human and divine laws has been wisely decreed for the health and beauty of life.
They refuse obedience to the higher powers, to whom, according to the admonition of the Apostle, every soul ought to be subject, and who derive the right of governing from God; and they proclaim the absolute equality of all men in rights and duties. They debase the natural union of man and woman, which is held sacred even among barbarous peoples; and its bond, by which the family is chiefly held together, they weaken, or even deliver up to lust. Lured, in fine, by the greed of present goods, which is 'the root of all evils which some coveting have erred from the faith,'[I Tim. 6:10.] they assail the right of property sanctioned by natural law; and by a scheme of horrible wickedness, while they seem desirous of caring for the needs and satisfying the desires of all men, they strive to seize and hold in common whatever has been acquired either by title of lawful inheritance, or by labor of brain and hands, or by thrift in one's mode of life. These are the startling theories they utter in their meetings, set forth in their pamphlets, and scatter abroad in a cloud of journals and tracts. Wherefore, the revered majesty and power of kings has won such fierce hatred from their seditious people that disloyal traitors, impatient of all restraint, have more than once within a short period raised their arms in impious attempt against the lives of their own sovereigns.
But the boldness of these bad men, which day by day more and more threatens civil society with destruction, and strikes the souls of all with anxiety and fear, finds its cause and origin in those poisonous doctrines which, spread abroad in former times among the people, like evil seed bore in due time such fatal fruit. For you know, venerable brethren, that that most deadly war which from the sixteenth century down has been waged by innovators against the Catholic faith, and which has grown in intensity up to today, had for its object to subvert all revelation, and overthrow the supernatural order, that thus the way might be opened for the discoveries, or rather the hallucinations, of reason alone. This kind of error, which falsely usurps to itself the name of reason, as it lures and whets the natural appetite that is in man of excelling, and gives loose rein to unlawful desires of every kind, has easily penetrated not only the minds of a great multitude of men but to a wide extent civil society, also.
#socialism
Continued:
Hence, by a new species of impiety, unheard of even among the heathen nations, states have been constituted without any count at all of God or of the order established by him; it has been given out that public authority neither derives its principles, nor its majesty, nor its power of governing from God, but rather from the multitude, which, thinking itself absolved from all divine sanction, bows only to such laws as it shall have made at its own will. The supernatural truths of faith having been assailed and cast out as though hostile to reason, the very Author and Redeemer of the human race has been slowly and little by little banished from the universities, the Iyceums and gymnasia - in a word, from every public institution. In fine, the rewards and punishments of a future and eternal life having been handed over to oblivion, the ardent desire of happiness has been limited to the bounds of the present. Such doctrines as these having been scattered far and wide, so great a license of thought and action having sprung up on all sides, it is no matter for surprise that men of the lowest class, weary of their wretched home or workshop, are eager to attack the homes and fortunes of the rich; it is no matter for surprise that already there exists no sense of security either in public or private life, and that the human race should have advanced to the very verge of final dissolution."
[Quod Apostolici Muneris, December 28, 1878.]
#socialism
Hence, by a new species of impiety, unheard of even among the heathen nations, states have been constituted without any count at all of God or of the order established by him; it has been given out that public authority neither derives its principles, nor its majesty, nor its power of governing from God, but rather from the multitude, which, thinking itself absolved from all divine sanction, bows only to such laws as it shall have made at its own will. The supernatural truths of faith having been assailed and cast out as though hostile to reason, the very Author and Redeemer of the human race has been slowly and little by little banished from the universities, the Iyceums and gymnasia - in a word, from every public institution. In fine, the rewards and punishments of a future and eternal life having been handed over to oblivion, the ardent desire of happiness has been limited to the bounds of the present. Such doctrines as these having been scattered far and wide, so great a license of thought and action having sprung up on all sides, it is no matter for surprise that men of the lowest class, weary of their wretched home or workshop, are eager to attack the homes and fortunes of the rich; it is no matter for surprise that already there exists no sense of security either in public or private life, and that the human race should have advanced to the very verge of final dissolution."
[Quod Apostolici Muneris, December 28, 1878.]
#socialism
Lehodey - The Ways of Mental Prayer (facsimile).pdf
25.7 MB
Rev. Dom Vitalis Lehodey
"The Ways of Mental Prayer"
This book, along with his other well-known work Holy Abandonment, has stood the test of time and, happily, both are still in print. The Ways of Mental Prayer covers all aspects of this subject, from its basics, as outlined in part below, all the way up through its more mystical, contemplative elements.
(These are for those, mainly but by no means exclusively, religious, for whom intimate conversation with God has become so natural and spontaneous that they can go past some of the formative steps outlined below.)
This book garnered recommendations from such preeminent figures in our faith as Fr. Reginald Garrigou-LaGrange, once called last century's "greatest authority on mystical theology" and Pope Saint Pius X, who called The Ways of Mental Prayer "a work very useful, not only to religious, but to all who, in any walk of life, are striving after Christian perfection."
#mentalprayer
"The Ways of Mental Prayer"
This book, along with his other well-known work Holy Abandonment, has stood the test of time and, happily, both are still in print. The Ways of Mental Prayer covers all aspects of this subject, from its basics, as outlined in part below, all the way up through its more mystical, contemplative elements.
(These are for those, mainly but by no means exclusively, religious, for whom intimate conversation with God has become so natural and spontaneous that they can go past some of the formative steps outlined below.)
This book garnered recommendations from such preeminent figures in our faith as Fr. Reginald Garrigou-LaGrange, once called last century's "greatest authority on mystical theology" and Pope Saint Pius X, who called The Ways of Mental Prayer "a work very useful, not only to religious, but to all who, in any walk of life, are striving after Christian perfection."
#mentalprayer
'This is what we do when we commit sin.'
''We shall see going up to heaven, in body and soul, that father, that mother, that sister, that neighbor, who were here with us, with whom we have lived, but whom we have not imitated; while we shall go down body and soul to burn in hell. The devils will rush to overwhelm us. All the devils whose advice we followed will come to torment us. . . My children, if you saw a man prepare a great pile of wood. . . and when you asked him what he was doing, he were to answer you, "I am preparing a fire to burn me," what would you think? And if you saw this same man set fire to the pile, and when it was lighted through himself upon it, what would you say?"
St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Cure of Ars
#vianney #sin
''We shall see going up to heaven, in body and soul, that father, that mother, that sister, that neighbor, who were here with us, with whom we have lived, but whom we have not imitated; while we shall go down body and soul to burn in hell. The devils will rush to overwhelm us. All the devils whose advice we followed will come to torment us. . . My children, if you saw a man prepare a great pile of wood. . . and when you asked him what he was doing, he were to answer you, "I am preparing a fire to burn me," what would you think? And if you saw this same man set fire to the pile, and when it was lighted through himself upon it, what would you say?"
St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Cure of Ars
#vianney #sin
Sacræ_Theologiæ_Summa_IIB_God_Sagüés,_Joseph_F_,_S_J_&_Bake_7426.pdf
88.7 MB
"Sacrae Theologiae Summa IIB"
On God, the Creator and Sanctifier
-Sagüés, Joseph F., S.J.; Baker, Kenneth, S.J., 1955
Since theology is the science about God, it considers him first of all and principally as he is in himself one and three or by means of an absolute consideration of God. But since, beside God, there is the world, theology would not know God perfectly if it did not secondarily carefully consider his relation to the world. Therefore theology also deals with the world, but only inasmuch as it comes from God and is directed to God or as it is an analogical projection of God, on whom it depends for its existence and to whom it tends in order to participate in his being and to glorify him. "Sacred doctrine," St. Thomas says, "does not deal with God and creatures equally, but about God principally and about creatures according as they are ordered to God as their principle and end" (I, q. 1, a. 3 ad 1).
#theology #thomism
On God, the Creator and Sanctifier
-Sagüés, Joseph F., S.J.; Baker, Kenneth, S.J., 1955
Since theology is the science about God, it considers him first of all and principally as he is in himself one and three or by means of an absolute consideration of God. But since, beside God, there is the world, theology would not know God perfectly if it did not secondarily carefully consider his relation to the world. Therefore theology also deals with the world, but only inasmuch as it comes from God and is directed to God or as it is an analogical projection of God, on whom it depends for its existence and to whom it tends in order to participate in his being and to glorify him. "Sacred doctrine," St. Thomas says, "does not deal with God and creatures equally, but about God principally and about creatures according as they are ordered to God as their principle and end" (I, q. 1, a. 3 ad 1).
#theology #thomism
The Great and Enduring Heresy of Mohammed
by Hilaire Belloc
It might have appeared to any man watching affairs in the earlier years of the seventh century - say from 600 to 630 - that only one great main assault having been made against the Church, Arianism and its derivatives, that assault having been repelled and the Faith having won its victory, it was now secure for an indefinite time.
Christendom would have to fight for its life, of course, against outward unchristian things, that is, against Paganism. The nature worshipers of the high Persian civilization to the east would attack us in arms and try to overwhelm us. The savage paganism of barbaric tribes, Scandinavian, German, Slav and Mongol, in the north and centre of Europe would also attack Christendom and try to destroy it. The populations subject to Byzantium would continue to parade heretical views as a label for their grievances. But the main effort of heresy, at least, had failed - so it seemed. Its object, the undoing of a united Catholic civilization, had been missed. The rise of no major heresy need henceforth be feared, still less the consequent disruption of Christendom.
By AD. 630 all Gaul had long been Catholic. The last of the Arian generals and their garrisons in Italy and Spain had become orthodox. The Arian generals and garrisons of Northern Africa had been conquered by the orthodox armies of the Emperor.
It was just at this moment, a moment of apparently universal and permanent Catholicism, that there fell an unexpected blow of overwhelming magnitude and force. Islam arose - quite suddenly. It came out of the desert and overwhelmed half our civilization.
Full text:
http://traditionalcatholic.net/Tradition/Information/Heresy_of_Mohammed.html
#islam #belloc
by Hilaire Belloc
It might have appeared to any man watching affairs in the earlier years of the seventh century - say from 600 to 630 - that only one great main assault having been made against the Church, Arianism and its derivatives, that assault having been repelled and the Faith having won its victory, it was now secure for an indefinite time.
Christendom would have to fight for its life, of course, against outward unchristian things, that is, against Paganism. The nature worshipers of the high Persian civilization to the east would attack us in arms and try to overwhelm us. The savage paganism of barbaric tribes, Scandinavian, German, Slav and Mongol, in the north and centre of Europe would also attack Christendom and try to destroy it. The populations subject to Byzantium would continue to parade heretical views as a label for their grievances. But the main effort of heresy, at least, had failed - so it seemed. Its object, the undoing of a united Catholic civilization, had been missed. The rise of no major heresy need henceforth be feared, still less the consequent disruption of Christendom.
By AD. 630 all Gaul had long been Catholic. The last of the Arian generals and their garrisons in Italy and Spain had become orthodox. The Arian generals and garrisons of Northern Africa had been conquered by the orthodox armies of the Emperor.
It was just at this moment, a moment of apparently universal and permanent Catholicism, that there fell an unexpected blow of overwhelming magnitude and force. Islam arose - quite suddenly. It came out of the desert and overwhelmed half our civilization.
Full text:
http://traditionalcatholic.net/Tradition/Information/Heresy_of_Mohammed.html
#islam #belloc
Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903)
On Freemasonry
"3. At so urgent a crisis, when so fierce and so pressing an onslaught is made upon the Christian name, it is Our office to point out the danger, to mark who are the adversaries, and to the best of Our power to make head against their plans and devices..."
"12. Now, the fundamental doctrine of the naturalists ...is that human nature and human reason ought in all things to be mistress and guide. Laying this down, they care little for duties to God, or pervert them by erroneous and vague opinions. For they deny that anything has been taught by God; they allow no dogma of religion or truth which cannot be understood by the human intelligence, nor any teacher who ought to be believed by reason of his authority."
"17. But the naturalists go much further; for, having, in the highest things, entered upon a wholly erroneous course, they are carried headlong to extremes, either by reason of the weakness of human nature, or because God inflicts upon them the just punishment of their pride. Hence it happens that they no longer consider as certain and permanent those things which are fully understood by the natural light of reason, such as certainly are - the existence of God, the immaterial nature of the human soul, and its immortality."
"22. Then come their doctrines of politics, in which the naturalists lay down that all men have the same right, and are in every respect of equal and like condition; that each one is naturally free; that no one has the right to command another; that it is an act of violence to require men to obey any authority other than that which is obtained from themselves. According to this, therefore, all things belong to the free people; power is held by the command or permission of the people, so that, when the popular will changes, rulers may lawfully be deposed and the source of all rights and civil duties is either in the multitude or in the governing authority when this is constituted according to the latest doctrines. It is held also that the State should be without God; that in the various forms of religion there is no reason why one should have precedence of another; and that they are all to occupy the same place."
[Humanum Genus, April 20, 1884.]
#freemasonry
On Freemasonry
"3. At so urgent a crisis, when so fierce and so pressing an onslaught is made upon the Christian name, it is Our office to point out the danger, to mark who are the adversaries, and to the best of Our power to make head against their plans and devices..."
"12. Now, the fundamental doctrine of the naturalists ...is that human nature and human reason ought in all things to be mistress and guide. Laying this down, they care little for duties to God, or pervert them by erroneous and vague opinions. For they deny that anything has been taught by God; they allow no dogma of religion or truth which cannot be understood by the human intelligence, nor any teacher who ought to be believed by reason of his authority."
"17. But the naturalists go much further; for, having, in the highest things, entered upon a wholly erroneous course, they are carried headlong to extremes, either by reason of the weakness of human nature, or because God inflicts upon them the just punishment of their pride. Hence it happens that they no longer consider as certain and permanent those things which are fully understood by the natural light of reason, such as certainly are - the existence of God, the immaterial nature of the human soul, and its immortality."
"22. Then come their doctrines of politics, in which the naturalists lay down that all men have the same right, and are in every respect of equal and like condition; that each one is naturally free; that no one has the right to command another; that it is an act of violence to require men to obey any authority other than that which is obtained from themselves. According to this, therefore, all things belong to the free people; power is held by the command or permission of the people, so that, when the popular will changes, rulers may lawfully be deposed and the source of all rights and civil duties is either in the multitude or in the governing authority when this is constituted according to the latest doctrines. It is held also that the State should be without God; that in the various forms of religion there is no reason why one should have precedence of another; and that they are all to occupy the same place."
[Humanum Genus, April 20, 1884.]
#freemasonry
'This seems a cheerful world, Donatus, when I view it from this fair garden. But if I climbed some great mountain and looked out over the wide land, you know well what I would see. Brigands on the high roads, pirates on the seas, men murdered in the amphitheaters to please the applauding crowds, and under all roofs misery and selfishness. It is really a bad world. And yet in the midst of it, I have found a quiet and holy people. They have discovered a joy which is a thousand times better than any pleasure of this sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are the Christians, and I have become one of them.'
St. Cyprian of Carthage
#quote
St. Cyprian of Carthage
#quote
O Eternal Truth, True Love, and Beloved Eternity
by St. Augustine
O eternal truth, true love and beloved eternity. You are my God. To you do I sigh day and night. When I first came to know you, you drew me to yourself so that I might see that there were things for me to see, but that I myself was not yet ready to see them. Meanwhile you overcame the weakness of my vision, sending forth most strongly the beams of your light, and I trembled at once with love and dread.
I sought a way to gain the strength which I needed to enjoy you. But I did not find it until I embraced "the mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who is above all, God blessed for ever." He was calling me and saying: "I am the way of truth, I am the life."
Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you had created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would not have been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace.
#prayer
by St. Augustine
O eternal truth, true love and beloved eternity. You are my God. To you do I sigh day and night. When I first came to know you, you drew me to yourself so that I might see that there were things for me to see, but that I myself was not yet ready to see them. Meanwhile you overcame the weakness of my vision, sending forth most strongly the beams of your light, and I trembled at once with love and dread.
I sought a way to gain the strength which I needed to enjoy you. But I did not find it until I embraced "the mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who is above all, God blessed for ever." He was calling me and saying: "I am the way of truth, I am the life."
Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you had created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would not have been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace.
#prayer
Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903)
On The Nature of Human Liberty
"15. What naturalists or rationalists aim at in philosophy, that the supporters of liberalism, carrying out the principles laid down by naturalism, are attempting in the domain of morality and politics. The fundamental doctrine of rationalism is the supremacy of the human reason, which, refusing due submission to the divine and eternal reason, proclaims its own independence, and constitutes itself the supreme principle and source and judge of truth. Hence, these followers of liberalism deny the existence of any divine authority to which obedience is due, and proclaim that every man is the law to himself; from which arises that ethical system which they style independent morality, and which, under the guise of liberty, exonerates man from any obedience to the commands of God, and substitutes a boundless license."
[Libertas, June 20, 1888.]
#liberalism #rationalism #morality
On The Nature of Human Liberty
"15. What naturalists or rationalists aim at in philosophy, that the supporters of liberalism, carrying out the principles laid down by naturalism, are attempting in the domain of morality and politics. The fundamental doctrine of rationalism is the supremacy of the human reason, which, refusing due submission to the divine and eternal reason, proclaims its own independence, and constitutes itself the supreme principle and source and judge of truth. Hence, these followers of liberalism deny the existence of any divine authority to which obedience is due, and proclaim that every man is the law to himself; from which arises that ethical system which they style independent morality, and which, under the guise of liberty, exonerates man from any obedience to the commands of God, and substitutes a boundless license."
[Libertas, June 20, 1888.]
#liberalism #rationalism #morality