217157339.pdf
1.6 MB
Article
Marriage: Passion, Friendship & Vocation
Introduction
a. Why and how the problem started
b. In our own time
V. Chapter I: Why Romantic Passion Alone Cannot Sustain the Spousal
Relationship
a. Romantic passion focuses attention merely on oneself and how the other meets one’s needs
i. Sensuality and sentimentality
ii. Loves for pleasure and utility
1. Love for the sake of utility
2. Love for the sake of pleasure
3. Erotic love related to the love of pleasure
b. Neglecting the good of the other leads to disintegration
c. Disintegration is harmful to marriage
d. Summary
#marriage
Marriage: Passion, Friendship & Vocation
Introduction
a. Why and how the problem started
b. In our own time
V. Chapter I: Why Romantic Passion Alone Cannot Sustain the Spousal
Relationship
a. Romantic passion focuses attention merely on oneself and how the other meets one’s needs
i. Sensuality and sentimentality
ii. Loves for pleasure and utility
1. Love for the sake of utility
2. Love for the sake of pleasure
3. Erotic love related to the love of pleasure
b. Neglecting the good of the other leads to disintegration
c. Disintegration is harmful to marriage
d. Summary
#marriage
Faber_The_foot_of_the_cross.pdf
37.1 MB
"The Foot of the Cross; or the Sorrows of Mary"
By Frederick William Faber
1
I. The Immensity of Our Lady's Dolours
II. Why God permitted Our Lady's Dolours
III. The Fountains of Our Lady's Dolours
IV, The Characteristics of Our Lady's Dolours
V. How Our Lady could rejoice in her Dolours
VI. The way in which the Church puts Our Lady's Dolours before us
VII. The Spirit of Devotion to Our Lady's Dolours
2-8
The Seven Dolours
9
I. The Divine Purpose of Mary's Compassion
II. The Nature of Her Compassion
III. The Actual Effects of Her Compassion
IV. Our Compassion with Her Compassion
V.-The Passion and Compassion Compared
VI. The seeming excess of the Compassion
VII. The measures of Mary's Compassion
#mary
By Frederick William Faber
1
I. The Immensity of Our Lady's Dolours
II. Why God permitted Our Lady's Dolours
III. The Fountains of Our Lady's Dolours
IV, The Characteristics of Our Lady's Dolours
V. How Our Lady could rejoice in her Dolours
VI. The way in which the Church puts Our Lady's Dolours before us
VII. The Spirit of Devotion to Our Lady's Dolours
2-8
The Seven Dolours
9
I. The Divine Purpose of Mary's Compassion
II. The Nature of Her Compassion
III. The Actual Effects of Her Compassion
IV. Our Compassion with Her Compassion
V.-The Passion and Compassion Compared
VI. The seeming excess of the Compassion
VII. The measures of Mary's Compassion
#mary
Willam--Rosary (2).pdf
7.8 MB
"The Rosary: The History and Meaning"
By Franz Michael William
Part one of this book presents the first complete history of the origin and development of the rosary. This prayer has grown like a spreading shrub. Springing up lush and green in the spirirual soil of the Irish-British homeland, it extended to the continent. In Central Europe it blossomed forth in mysteries which finally attained perfection of form and number in Southern Europe. Part two is the story of the significance of the rosary in the light of its history. The great teachers are invoked as witnesses: they explain the nature of the prayer and tell of the various helps offered the faithful for the right understanding and proper practice of the devotion. Especially profitable for the aid and guidance of souls are the personal experiences of St. Louis Grignion de Montfort, canonized on July 20, 1947.
#rosary
By Franz Michael William
Part one of this book presents the first complete history of the origin and development of the rosary. This prayer has grown like a spreading shrub. Springing up lush and green in the spirirual soil of the Irish-British homeland, it extended to the continent. In Central Europe it blossomed forth in mysteries which finally attained perfection of form and number in Southern Europe. Part two is the story of the significance of the rosary in the light of its history. The great teachers are invoked as witnesses: they explain the nature of the prayer and tell of the various helps offered the faithful for the right understanding and proper practice of the devotion. Especially profitable for the aid and guidance of souls are the personal experiences of St. Louis Grignion de Montfort, canonized on July 20, 1947.
#rosary
Ecce Verbum
The rule of Praesupponendum Saint Ignatius Loyola, Spiritual Exercises Praesupponendum means "Presupposition of Charity", whereby a person assumes the best intentions behind another person's statements. It is the principle of kindness and understanding,…
Jesuit_Education_Its_History_and_Princip.pdf
17.6 MB
"Jesuit Education: its history and principles"
Viewed in the light of modern educational problems
Robert Schwickerath, S. J.
"Much has been said and written
about the Jesuit schools; in fact , they have occupied the attention of the public more, perhaps, than ever before. However, with the exception of the excellent book of Father Thomas Hughes, S. J., most of what has been offered to American and English readers is entirely untrustworthy. The account given of the Jesuit system in Histories of Education used in this country , as those of Compayré , Painter, and Seeley, is a mere caricature. Instead of drawing from the original sources, these authors have been content to repeat the biased assertions of unreliable secondary authorities.
I wished also to call attention to points of contact between the Ratio Studiorum and other famous educational systems. As so many features of the Jesuit system have been misrepresented, a work
of this kind must, at times, assume a polemical attitude."
#education
Viewed in the light of modern educational problems
Robert Schwickerath, S. J.
"Much has been said and written
about the Jesuit schools; in fact , they have occupied the attention of the public more, perhaps, than ever before. However, with the exception of the excellent book of Father Thomas Hughes, S. J., most of what has been offered to American and English readers is entirely untrustworthy. The account given of the Jesuit system in Histories of Education used in this country , as those of Compayré , Painter, and Seeley, is a mere caricature. Instead of drawing from the original sources, these authors have been content to repeat the biased assertions of unreliable secondary authorities.
I wished also to call attention to points of contact between the Ratio Studiorum and other famous educational systems. As so many features of the Jesuit system have been misrepresented, a work
of this kind must, at times, assume a polemical attitude."
#education
Ecce Verbum
Charity as Friendship According to St. Thomas Aquinas.pdf
love_and_charity_in_thomas_aquinas_the_perfection_of_intelligent.pdf
314.3 KB
Article
"Love and charity in Aquinas: The perfection of intelligent will"
Bradley R. Cochran
The strategy of this inquiry into Thomistic charity will be as follows. Since Charity is a
species of love, examining Aquinas’s doctrine of love will immerse us into his Aristotelian
anthropology and help set the stage to attain better clarity on his doctrine of charity. It only
makes sense to understand the answer to the question “What is love?” before understanding “What kind of love is charity?” After looking at several ways Aquinas defines love, we will begin to penetrate a much larger picture of his overall anthropology that assigns an interdependent relationship between the intellect and will. Exploring the dynamics of love will underscore how central love is to human nature in Thomistic anthropology—it is in fact the very principle of human life and, in a certain sense, the very essence of the human soul.
#charity #aquinas
"Love and charity in Aquinas: The perfection of intelligent will"
Bradley R. Cochran
The strategy of this inquiry into Thomistic charity will be as follows. Since Charity is a
species of love, examining Aquinas’s doctrine of love will immerse us into his Aristotelian
anthropology and help set the stage to attain better clarity on his doctrine of charity. It only
makes sense to understand the answer to the question “What is love?” before understanding “What kind of love is charity?” After looking at several ways Aquinas defines love, we will begin to penetrate a much larger picture of his overall anthropology that assigns an interdependent relationship between the intellect and will. Exploring the dynamics of love will underscore how central love is to human nature in Thomistic anthropology—it is in fact the very principle of human life and, in a certain sense, the very essence of the human soul.
#charity #aquinas
Ecce Verbum
''A Freedom Within.''- A Cardinal's Prison Diary By Blessed Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski On September 25, 1953 Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski, who from the end of World War II to the present has been the personification of Poland's struggle against Communism and…
09-3-4_092 (1).pdf
653.4 KB
An article relevant today:
Cardinal Wyszynski: A Portrait
Grażyna Sikorska
"Wyszynski stated:
All these social changes and this political and class struggle for social justice are irrelevant. The real struggle is in fact against the Lord and His Christ. All this talk about reaction and obscurantism is irrelevant, and so is juggling with words like "progress", "peace", "justice" and so on. These are poor, overused words; a screen for real aims. The eternal enemy of God has revealed himself on earth today, dressed as an Angel of Light, and claiming to correct God Himself. Evil does not believe in the power of Christian love but promotes struggle. It does not put its trust in the Word but in futile manifestoes. It rejects the Christian philosophy of life and Christian culture but promotes the materialistic era."
Cardinal Wyszynski: A Portrait
Grażyna Sikorska
"Wyszynski stated:
All these social changes and this political and class struggle for social justice are irrelevant. The real struggle is in fact against the Lord and His Christ. All this talk about reaction and obscurantism is irrelevant, and so is juggling with words like "progress", "peace", "justice" and so on. These are poor, overused words; a screen for real aims. The eternal enemy of God has revealed himself on earth today, dressed as an Angel of Light, and claiming to correct God Himself. Evil does not believe in the power of Christian love but promotes struggle. It does not put its trust in the Word but in futile manifestoes. It rejects the Christian philosophy of life and Christian culture but promotes the materialistic era."
Ecce Verbum
Aquinas on Degrees of Love of Neighbor A summary of Aquinas's division of love of neighbor in his work On the Perfection of the Spiritual Life. His aim here is explaining the perfection of the religious state and the episcopal state. Necessary love of neighbor…
On love and detachment
St. John of the Cross
The first is that you should have an equal love for and an equal forgetfulness of all persons, whether relatives or not, and withdraw your heart from relatives as much as from others, and in some ways even more for fear that flesh and blood may be quickened by the natural love that is ever alive among kin, and must always be mortified for the sake of spiritual perfection.
Regard all as strangers and you will fulfill your duty towards them better than by giving them the affection you owe God. Do not love one person more than another for you will err.
Though this seems inhuman and contradictory to the way John behave toward his own mother and brother, the tone finds its roots in the Gospel (Luke 14:26) -If any man come to me, and hate not his father and mother, and wife and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
Love must not be based on temporal goods, such as blood, status or titles (A. 3 18-20); nor on natural goods: beauty, intelligence, and so on (A. 3. 21-23)..The person who loves God more is the one more worthy of love, and you do not know who this is. But forgetting everyone alike, as is necessary for holy recollection, you will free yourself from this error of loving one person more or less than another.
#charity #detachment
St. John of the Cross
The first is that you should have an equal love for and an equal forgetfulness of all persons, whether relatives or not, and withdraw your heart from relatives as much as from others, and in some ways even more for fear that flesh and blood may be quickened by the natural love that is ever alive among kin, and must always be mortified for the sake of spiritual perfection.
Regard all as strangers and you will fulfill your duty towards them better than by giving them the affection you owe God. Do not love one person more than another for you will err.
Though this seems inhuman and contradictory to the way John behave toward his own mother and brother, the tone finds its roots in the Gospel (Luke 14:26) -If any man come to me, and hate not his father and mother, and wife and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
Love must not be based on temporal goods, such as blood, status or titles (A. 3 18-20); nor on natural goods: beauty, intelligence, and so on (A. 3. 21-23)..The person who loves God more is the one more worthy of love, and you do not know who this is. But forgetting everyone alike, as is necessary for holy recollection, you will free yourself from this error of loving one person more or less than another.
#charity #detachment
Ecce Verbum
The rule of Praesupponendum Saint Ignatius Loyola, Spiritual Exercises Praesupponendum means "Presupposition of Charity", whereby a person assumes the best intentions behind another person's statements. It is the principle of kindness and understanding,…
'When the intellect is moved by love for its neighbor, it always thinks well of him; but when it is under diabolic influence it entertains evil thoughts about him.'
St. Thalassios the Libyan, (5th century)
#charity
St. Thalassios the Libyan, (5th century)
#charity
J. R.R. Tolkien on marriage
Men are not [monogamous]. No good pretending. Men just ain’t, not by their animal nature. Monogamy (although it has long been fundamental to our inherited ideas) is for us men a piece of ‘revealed ethic,’ according to faith and not the flesh. The essence of a fallen world is that the best cannot be attained by free enjoyment, or by what is called “self-realization” (usually a nice name for self-indulgence, wholly inimical to the realization of other selves); but by denial, by suffering. Faithfulness in Christian marriages entails that: great mortification.
For a Christian man there is no escape. Marriage may help to sanctify and direct to its proper object his sexual desires; its grace may help him in the struggle; but the struggle remains. It will not satisfy him—as hunger may be kept off by regular meals. It will offer as many difficulties to the purity proper to that state as it provides easements.
No man, however truly he loved his betrothed and bride as a young man, has lived faithful to her as a wife in mind and body without deliberate conscious exercise of the will, without self-denial. Too few are told that—even those brought up in ‘the Church’. Those outside seem seldom to have heard it.
When the glamour wears off, or merely works a bit thin, they think that they have made a mistake, and that the real soul-mate is still to find. The real soul-mate too often proves to be the next sexually attractive person that comes along. Someone whom they might indeed very profitably have married, if only—. Hence divorce, to provide the ‘if only’.
And of course they are as a rule quite right: they did make a mistake. Only a very wise man at the end of his life could make a sound judgement concerning whom, amongst the total possible chances, he ought most profitably have married! Nearly all marriages, even happy ones, are mistakes: in the sense that almost certainly (in a more perfect world, or even with a little more care in this very imperfect one) both partners might have found more suitable mates. But the ‘real soul-mate’ is the one you are actually married to. In this fallen world, we have as our only guides, prudence, wisdom (rare in youth, too late in age), a clean heart, and fidelity of will…
source
(Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, pp. 51-52)
https://bibliothecaveneficae.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/the_letters_of_j.rrtolkien.pdf
•More:
https://t.me/ecceverbum/536
#marriage
Men are not [monogamous]. No good pretending. Men just ain’t, not by their animal nature. Monogamy (although it has long been fundamental to our inherited ideas) is for us men a piece of ‘revealed ethic,’ according to faith and not the flesh. The essence of a fallen world is that the best cannot be attained by free enjoyment, or by what is called “self-realization” (usually a nice name for self-indulgence, wholly inimical to the realization of other selves); but by denial, by suffering. Faithfulness in Christian marriages entails that: great mortification.
For a Christian man there is no escape. Marriage may help to sanctify and direct to its proper object his sexual desires; its grace may help him in the struggle; but the struggle remains. It will not satisfy him—as hunger may be kept off by regular meals. It will offer as many difficulties to the purity proper to that state as it provides easements.
No man, however truly he loved his betrothed and bride as a young man, has lived faithful to her as a wife in mind and body without deliberate conscious exercise of the will, without self-denial. Too few are told that—even those brought up in ‘the Church’. Those outside seem seldom to have heard it.
When the glamour wears off, or merely works a bit thin, they think that they have made a mistake, and that the real soul-mate is still to find. The real soul-mate too often proves to be the next sexually attractive person that comes along. Someone whom they might indeed very profitably have married, if only—. Hence divorce, to provide the ‘if only’.
And of course they are as a rule quite right: they did make a mistake. Only a very wise man at the end of his life could make a sound judgement concerning whom, amongst the total possible chances, he ought most profitably have married! Nearly all marriages, even happy ones, are mistakes: in the sense that almost certainly (in a more perfect world, or even with a little more care in this very imperfect one) both partners might have found more suitable mates. But the ‘real soul-mate’ is the one you are actually married to. In this fallen world, we have as our only guides, prudence, wisdom (rare in youth, too late in age), a clean heart, and fidelity of will…
source
(Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, pp. 51-52)
https://bibliothecaveneficae.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/the_letters_of_j.rrtolkien.pdf
•More:
https://t.me/ecceverbum/536
#marriage
Telegram
Ecce Verbum
•When St. Francis wished to lead anyone to live in a Christian manner and renounce worldliness, he would not speak of the exterior, but he spoke only to the heart and of the heart. For he knew that if this fortress is captured, all else surrenders.
•St. Philip Neri adopted the same course with his penitents. He was not accustomed to dwell much upon any vanities, but he would overlook as much as possible for some time, that he might more easily arrive at his object. When a lady once asked him whether it was a sin to wear very high heels, his only answer was, "Take care not to fall".
A man of noble birth dressed immodestly came to the Saint every day for a fortnight to consult him in regard to the affairs of his soul. During all this time he said not a word to him in regard to his dress. He took pains to make him feel compunction for the sins of his soul. Finally, becoming ashamed of his style of dress, he changed it of his own accord and made a good general confession.
#charity
credits to @laelizabeta
•St. Philip Neri adopted the same course with his penitents. He was not accustomed to dwell much upon any vanities, but he would overlook as much as possible for some time, that he might more easily arrive at his object. When a lady once asked him whether it was a sin to wear very high heels, his only answer was, "Take care not to fall".
A man of noble birth dressed immodestly came to the Saint every day for a fortnight to consult him in regard to the affairs of his soul. During all this time he said not a word to him in regard to his dress. He took pains to make him feel compunction for the sins of his soul. Finally, becoming ashamed of his style of dress, he changed it of his own accord and made a good general confession.
#charity
credits to @laelizabeta
Ecce Verbum
Correction of our neighbour "You become worse than the sinner if you fail to correct him" St. Augustine •We ought to respect the image of God in everyone. "Love is the most necessary of all virtues. Love in the person who preaches the word of God is like…
Do not criticise but build up
•Hebrews 10:25
Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
•Ephesians 4:29
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
•1 Thessalonians 5:11
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
•Ephesians 4:31
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
•Proverbs 10:12
Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.
•Galatians 6:1
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.
•Matthew 5:7
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
•Romans 3:23
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
#charity
painting: St Jadwiga, P. Stachiewicz
•Hebrews 10:25
Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
•Ephesians 4:29
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
•1 Thessalonians 5:11
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
•Ephesians 4:31
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
•Proverbs 10:12
Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.
•Galatians 6:1
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.
•Matthew 5:7
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
•Romans 3:23
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
#charity
painting: St Jadwiga, P. Stachiewicz
Avoiding Idle Talk
Shun the gossip of men as much as possible, for discussion of worldly affairs, even though sincere, is a great distraction inasmuch as we are quickly ensnared and captivated by vanity.
Many a time I wish that I had held my peace and had not associated with men. Why, indeed, do we converse and gossip among ourselves when we so seldom part without a troubled conscience? We do so because we seek comfort from one another’s conversation and wish to ease the mind wearied by diverse thoughts. Hence, we talk and think quite fondly of things we like very much or of things we dislike intensely. But, sad to say, we often talk vainly and to no purpose; for this external pleasure effectively bars inward and divine consolation.
Therefore we must watch and pray lest time pass idly.
When the right and opportune moment comes for speaking, say something that will edify.
Bad habits and indifference to spiritual progress do much to remove the guard from the tongue. Devout conversation on spiritual matters, on the contrary, is a great aid to spiritual progress, especially when persons of the same mind and spirit associate together in God.
Thomas à Kempis,The Imitation of Christ, Book 1 Chapter 10
#speech
Shun the gossip of men as much as possible, for discussion of worldly affairs, even though sincere, is a great distraction inasmuch as we are quickly ensnared and captivated by vanity.
Many a time I wish that I had held my peace and had not associated with men. Why, indeed, do we converse and gossip among ourselves when we so seldom part without a troubled conscience? We do so because we seek comfort from one another’s conversation and wish to ease the mind wearied by diverse thoughts. Hence, we talk and think quite fondly of things we like very much or of things we dislike intensely. But, sad to say, we often talk vainly and to no purpose; for this external pleasure effectively bars inward and divine consolation.
Therefore we must watch and pray lest time pass idly.
When the right and opportune moment comes for speaking, say something that will edify.
Bad habits and indifference to spiritual progress do much to remove the guard from the tongue. Devout conversation on spiritual matters, on the contrary, is a great aid to spiritual progress, especially when persons of the same mind and spirit associate together in God.
Thomas à Kempis,The Imitation of Christ, Book 1 Chapter 10
#speech
Article
The Role of the Theological Virtue of Faith in Scriptural Interpretation
Chad Ripperger, F.S.S.P., PhD
Summer 2006 (Vol. XXXI, no. 2) edition of Faith and Reason (Christendom Press).
In this article Chad Ripperger addresses the modernist/rationalist approach to understanding Sacred Scripture, specifically, the theological virtue of faith and its role in the study and interpretation of the Bible.
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=8442
#scripture
The Role of the Theological Virtue of Faith in Scriptural Interpretation
Chad Ripperger, F.S.S.P., PhD
Summer 2006 (Vol. XXXI, no. 2) edition of Faith and Reason (Christendom Press).
In this article Chad Ripperger addresses the modernist/rationalist approach to understanding Sacred Scripture, specifically, the theological virtue of faith and its role in the study and interpretation of the Bible.
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=8442
#scripture
www.catholicculture.org
Library : The Role of the Theological Virtue of Faith in Scriptural Interpretation
The Role of the Theological Virtue of Faith in Scriptural Interpretation In this article Chad Ripperger addresses the modernist/rationalist approach to understanding Sacred Scripture, specifically, the theological virtue of faith and its role in the study…
RelationPhilTheo (1).pdf
44.6 KB
Article
The Relationship of Philosophy to Theology 11/24/98
Chad Ripperger, F.S.S.P., PhD
"..It pertains to philosophy to impart two things: the first is an organized body of knowledge, i.e. a scientific understanding of the essences of things which can be known through the natural light of reason, but
it also provides the intellectual virtues necessary to engage in theology.."
This was a conference given at a priest study day in the Diocese of Lincoln on the necessity of a sound philosophical formation prior to seminarians studying theology.
#philosophy
The Relationship of Philosophy to Theology 11/24/98
Chad Ripperger, F.S.S.P., PhD
"..It pertains to philosophy to impart two things: the first is an organized body of knowledge, i.e. a scientific understanding of the essences of things which can be known through the natural light of reason, but
it also provides the intellectual virtues necessary to engage in theology.."
This was a conference given at a priest study day in the Diocese of Lincoln on the necessity of a sound philosophical formation prior to seminarians studying theology.
#philosophy
ChristianArtCulture (1).pdf
74.3 KB
Article
"Christian Art and Culture"
Chad Ripperger, F.S.S.P., PhD
"In order to understand the relationship of Christian art to culture, which is the topic of this address, one must have a grasp of four things. The first is the nature of art; the second, connected to the first, is: what is beauty? Third, what is truly “Christian” and lastly, what is culture? It appears, at least to me, that our contemporaries are so confused about all four of these that we should briefly discuss each."
#art #culture
"Christian Art and Culture"
Chad Ripperger, F.S.S.P., PhD
"In order to understand the relationship of Christian art to culture, which is the topic of this address, one must have a grasp of four things. The first is the nature of art; the second, connected to the first, is: what is beauty? Third, what is truly “Christian” and lastly, what is culture? It appears, at least to me, that our contemporaries are so confused about all four of these that we should briefly discuss each."
#art #culture
MEDITATION_ON_THE_HOLY_ROSARY (2).pdf
167.7 KB
"Meditations on the Holy Rosary of Mary"
by Fr. Dolindo Rutuolo
Translated by Giovanna Invitti Ellis
Fr. Dolindo
Theologian of the Incarnation of the Word and Magnificat of Mary, the author of a huge Commentary on the Holy Scripture in thirty-three volumes. He has left numberless theological writings. He was an extraordinary psychologist and had a deep knowledge of the problems of the human soul. He dedicated every instant of his day to prayer, penance and to thousands of attentive listeners who asked for his spiritual direction.
Paralyzed for the last ten years of his life he died in Naples in 1970.
Dolindo wrote pages of high and very poetic theology in praise of Mary.
He was completely overwhelmed by meditation on the Incarnation of the Eternal Word and the Visitation of Mary with St. Elisabeth. In all truth, he can be described as the theologian of the Annunciation and of the Magnificat.
#rosary
by Fr. Dolindo Rutuolo
Translated by Giovanna Invitti Ellis
Fr. Dolindo
Theologian of the Incarnation of the Word and Magnificat of Mary, the author of a huge Commentary on the Holy Scripture in thirty-three volumes. He has left numberless theological writings. He was an extraordinary psychologist and had a deep knowledge of the problems of the human soul. He dedicated every instant of his day to prayer, penance and to thousands of attentive listeners who asked for his spiritual direction.
Paralyzed for the last ten years of his life he died in Naples in 1970.
Dolindo wrote pages of high and very poetic theology in praise of Mary.
He was completely overwhelmed by meditation on the Incarnation of the Eternal Word and the Visitation of Mary with St. Elisabeth. In all truth, he can be described as the theologian of the Annunciation and of the Magnificat.
#rosary
incarnationstathanasius.pdf
110.7 KB
On the Incarnation
St. Athanasius (the Great)
born c. 293, Alexandria—died May 2, 373
Table of Contents
Chapter I Creation And The Fall
Chapter II The Divine Dilemma And Its Solution In The Incarnation
Chapter III The Divine Dilemma And Its Solution In The Incarnation--Continued
Chapter IV The Death Of Christ
Chapter V The Resurrection
Chapter VI Refutation Of The Jews
Chapter VII Refutation Of The Gentiles
Chapter VIII Refutation Of The Gentiles--Continued
Chapter IX Conclusion
End Notes
read online
St. Athanasius (the Great)
born c. 293, Alexandria—died May 2, 373
Table of Contents
Chapter I Creation And The Fall
Chapter II The Divine Dilemma And Its Solution In The Incarnation
Chapter III The Divine Dilemma And Its Solution In The Incarnation--Continued
Chapter IV The Death Of Christ
Chapter V The Resurrection
Chapter VI Refutation Of The Jews
Chapter VII Refutation Of The Gentiles
Chapter VIII Refutation Of The Gentiles--Continued
Chapter IX Conclusion
End Notes
read online
The necessity of spiritual reading
"Don’t neglect your spiritual reading. Reading has made many saints."
Saint Josemaría Escrivá, The Way
The great conversions:
•St. Augustine was born in 354 AD in Africa. His mother, St. Monica, was a devout Christian, who raised her son with a Christian education; however, he was not baptized. Augustine’s father was a pagan who did not convert to Catholicism until on his death bed and he had taught his son to be more concerned with worldly goods and pleasures. St. Augustine was miserably imprisoned by his passions and vices.
"I loved my own error—not that for which I erred, but the error." (Confessions 2:4).
St. Monica continued to pray for the conversion of her son and husband. At the age of 32, St. Augustine heard a young voice tell him to take and read St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. God’s light penetrated his heart, and he was led out of spiritual darkness into the marvelous light of Christ.
•St. Ignatius was a soldier who was recuperating from an injury which he sustained while in battle. While recovering, he picked up a volume of the lives of the saints in order to pass the time in bed. Afterward, he was led to begin a life of sanctity. Eventually, he became both the father and founder of the Jesuits.
Ignatius describes what happened in his autobiography (written in the third person).
"As Ignatius had a love for fiction, when he found himself out of danger he asked for some romances to pass away the time. In that house there was no book of the kind. They gave him, instead, “The Life of Christ,” by Rudolph [De Vita Christi by Ludolph of Saxony], the Carthusian, and another book called the “Flowers of the Saints,” both in Spanish. By frequent reading of these books he began to get some love for spiritual things. This reading led his mind to meditate on holy things, yet sometimes it wandered to thoughts which he had been accustomed to dwell upon before."
"While perusing the life of Our Lord and the saints, he began to reflect, saying to himself: “What if I should do what St. Francis did?” “What if I should act like St. Dominic?” He pondered over these things in his mind, and kept continually proposing to himself serious and difficult things. He seemed to feel a certain readiness for doing them, with no other reason except this thought: “St. Dominic did this; I, too, will do it.” “St. Francis did this; therefore I will do it.”
•Edith Stein (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross), while raised in the Jewish faith, she distanced herself from all religion in young adulthood. She pursued worldly knowledge and became an atheist philosopher. This intellectual journey led her to explore Christian writings, such as the New Testament and St. Ignatius Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises. However, her head and heart were captivated by the Autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila, which began her journey to the Catholic Church. One evening Edith picked up St. Teresa's book and was reading it all night;
“When I had finished the book, I said to myself: This is the truth.”
#spiritualreading
"Don’t neglect your spiritual reading. Reading has made many saints."
Saint Josemaría Escrivá, The Way
The great conversions:
•St. Augustine was born in 354 AD in Africa. His mother, St. Monica, was a devout Christian, who raised her son with a Christian education; however, he was not baptized. Augustine’s father was a pagan who did not convert to Catholicism until on his death bed and he had taught his son to be more concerned with worldly goods and pleasures. St. Augustine was miserably imprisoned by his passions and vices.
"I loved my own error—not that for which I erred, but the error." (Confessions 2:4).
St. Monica continued to pray for the conversion of her son and husband. At the age of 32, St. Augustine heard a young voice tell him to take and read St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. God’s light penetrated his heart, and he was led out of spiritual darkness into the marvelous light of Christ.
•St. Ignatius was a soldier who was recuperating from an injury which he sustained while in battle. While recovering, he picked up a volume of the lives of the saints in order to pass the time in bed. Afterward, he was led to begin a life of sanctity. Eventually, he became both the father and founder of the Jesuits.
Ignatius describes what happened in his autobiography (written in the third person).
"As Ignatius had a love for fiction, when he found himself out of danger he asked for some romances to pass away the time. In that house there was no book of the kind. They gave him, instead, “The Life of Christ,” by Rudolph [De Vita Christi by Ludolph of Saxony], the Carthusian, and another book called the “Flowers of the Saints,” both in Spanish. By frequent reading of these books he began to get some love for spiritual things. This reading led his mind to meditate on holy things, yet sometimes it wandered to thoughts which he had been accustomed to dwell upon before."
"While perusing the life of Our Lord and the saints, he began to reflect, saying to himself: “What if I should do what St. Francis did?” “What if I should act like St. Dominic?” He pondered over these things in his mind, and kept continually proposing to himself serious and difficult things. He seemed to feel a certain readiness for doing them, with no other reason except this thought: “St. Dominic did this; I, too, will do it.” “St. Francis did this; therefore I will do it.”
•Edith Stein (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross), while raised in the Jewish faith, she distanced herself from all religion in young adulthood. She pursued worldly knowledge and became an atheist philosopher. This intellectual journey led her to explore Christian writings, such as the New Testament and St. Ignatius Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises. However, her head and heart were captivated by the Autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila, which began her journey to the Catholic Church. One evening Edith picked up St. Teresa's book and was reading it all night;
“When I had finished the book, I said to myself: This is the truth.”
#spiritualreading
Ecce Verbum
The necessity of spiritual reading "Don’t neglect your spiritual reading. Reading has made many saints." Saint Josemaría Escrivá, The Way The great conversions: •St. Augustine was born in 354 AD in Africa. His mother, St. Monica, was a devout Christian…
The necessity of spiritual reading
"..he who wishes often to be with God ought to pray frequently and read pious books."
St. Augustine
"The lack that comes for souls from the lack of reading holy books makes me shudder.
What power spiritual reading has to lead to a change of course, and to make even worldly people enter into the way of perfection."
"Don't consider me too demanding if I ask you once again to set great store by holy books and read them as much as you can. This spiritual reading is as necessary to you as the air you breathe."
St. Pio of Pietrelcina
"As the reading of bad books fills the mind with worldly and poisonous sentiments; so, on the other hand, the reading of pious works fills the soul with holy thoughts and good desires."
"But before all, the Apostle prescribed spiritual reading to Timothy. Attend unto reading. Mark the word Attend, which signifies that, although Timothy, as being bishop, was greatly occupied with the care of his flock, still the Apostle wished him to apply to the reading of holy books, not in a passing way and for a short time, but regularly and for a considerable time."
"The reading of spiritual works is as profitable as the reading of bad books is noxious. As the former has led to the conversion of many sinners, so the latter is every day the ruin of many young persons. The first author of pious books is the Spirit of God; but the author of pernicious writings is the devil, who often artfully conceals from certain persons the poison that such works contain, and makes these persons believe that the reading of such books is necessary in order to speak well, and to acquire a knowledge of the world for their own direction, or at least in order to pass the time agreeably (...) Wise author has said that by the reading of such pernicious books heresy has made, and makes every day, great progress; because such reading has given and gives increased strength to libertinism."
St. Alphonsus de Liguori
Spiritual reading and prayer purify the intellect, while love and self-control purify the soul's passible aspect.
St. Thalassios the Libyan
"What need have you of seeking for a little gold in the midst of so much mire," when you can read pious books in which you may find all gold without any mire?
St. Jerome
The crafty enemies of the Church and human society attempt to seduce the people in many ways. One of their chief methods is the misuse of the new technique of book-production. They are wholly absorbed in the ceaseless daily publication and proliferation of impious pamphlets, newspapers and leaflets which are full of lies, calumnies and seduction. Furthermore, under the protection of the Bible Societies which have long since been condemned by this Holy See, they distribute to the faithful under the pretext of religion, the holy bible in vernacular translations. Since these infringe the Church's rules, they are consequently subverted and most daringly twisted to yield a vile meaning. So you realize very well what vigilant and careful efforts you must make to inspire in your faithful people an utter horror of reading these pestilential books. Remind them explicitly with regard to divine scripture that no man, relying on his own wisdom, is able to claim the privilege of rashly twisting the scriptures to his own meaning in opposition to the meaning which holy mother Church holds and has held.
Pope Pius IX
Notes:
The purpose of spiritual reading is not to merely finish a book. The books that aid the soul are not to be finished but absorbed, i.e. benefitted from. Such books are meant to be lived.
In order to perfect our life, it is necessary to perfect our knowledge and frequently return to books we read when we can further benefit from them. Spiritual reading serves to make us see the stains that infect the soul, and helps us to remove them.
#spiritualreading
"..he who wishes often to be with God ought to pray frequently and read pious books."
St. Augustine
"The lack that comes for souls from the lack of reading holy books makes me shudder.
What power spiritual reading has to lead to a change of course, and to make even worldly people enter into the way of perfection."
"Don't consider me too demanding if I ask you once again to set great store by holy books and read them as much as you can. This spiritual reading is as necessary to you as the air you breathe."
St. Pio of Pietrelcina
"As the reading of bad books fills the mind with worldly and poisonous sentiments; so, on the other hand, the reading of pious works fills the soul with holy thoughts and good desires."
"But before all, the Apostle prescribed spiritual reading to Timothy. Attend unto reading. Mark the word Attend, which signifies that, although Timothy, as being bishop, was greatly occupied with the care of his flock, still the Apostle wished him to apply to the reading of holy books, not in a passing way and for a short time, but regularly and for a considerable time."
"The reading of spiritual works is as profitable as the reading of bad books is noxious. As the former has led to the conversion of many sinners, so the latter is every day the ruin of many young persons. The first author of pious books is the Spirit of God; but the author of pernicious writings is the devil, who often artfully conceals from certain persons the poison that such works contain, and makes these persons believe that the reading of such books is necessary in order to speak well, and to acquire a knowledge of the world for their own direction, or at least in order to pass the time agreeably (...) Wise author has said that by the reading of such pernicious books heresy has made, and makes every day, great progress; because such reading has given and gives increased strength to libertinism."
St. Alphonsus de Liguori
Spiritual reading and prayer purify the intellect, while love and self-control purify the soul's passible aspect.
St. Thalassios the Libyan
"What need have you of seeking for a little gold in the midst of so much mire," when you can read pious books in which you may find all gold without any mire?
St. Jerome
The crafty enemies of the Church and human society attempt to seduce the people in many ways. One of their chief methods is the misuse of the new technique of book-production. They are wholly absorbed in the ceaseless daily publication and proliferation of impious pamphlets, newspapers and leaflets which are full of lies, calumnies and seduction. Furthermore, under the protection of the Bible Societies which have long since been condemned by this Holy See, they distribute to the faithful under the pretext of religion, the holy bible in vernacular translations. Since these infringe the Church's rules, they are consequently subverted and most daringly twisted to yield a vile meaning. So you realize very well what vigilant and careful efforts you must make to inspire in your faithful people an utter horror of reading these pestilential books. Remind them explicitly with regard to divine scripture that no man, relying on his own wisdom, is able to claim the privilege of rashly twisting the scriptures to his own meaning in opposition to the meaning which holy mother Church holds and has held.
Pope Pius IX
Notes:
The purpose of spiritual reading is not to merely finish a book. The books that aid the soul are not to be finished but absorbed, i.e. benefitted from. Such books are meant to be lived.
In order to perfect our life, it is necessary to perfect our knowledge and frequently return to books we read when we can further benefit from them. Spiritual reading serves to make us see the stains that infect the soul, and helps us to remove them.
#spiritualreading
The Excellence of a free mind gained through prayer rather than by study
It is the mark of a perfect man, Lord, never to let his mind relax in attention to heavenly things, and to pass through many cares as though he had none; not as an indolent man does, but having by the certain prerogative of a free mind no disorderly affection for any created being.
Keep me, I beg You, most merciful God, from the cares of this life, lest I be too much entangled in them. Keep me from many necessities of the body, lest I be ensnared by pleasure. Keep me from all darkness of mind, lest I be broken by troubles and overcome. I do not ask deliverance from those things which worldly vanity desires so eagerly, but from those miseries which, by the common curse of humankind, oppress the soul of Your servant in punishment and keep him from entering into the liberty of spirit as often as he would.
My God, Sweetness beyond words, make bitter all the carnal comfort that draws me from love of the eternal and lures me to its evil self by the sight of some delightful good in the present. Let it not overcome me, my God. Let not flesh and blood conquer me. Let not the world and its brief glory deceive me, nor the devil trip me by his craftiness. Give me courage to resist, patience to endure, and constancy to persevere. Give me the soothing unction of Your spirit rather than all the consolations of the world, and in place of carnal love, infuse into me the love of Your name.
Behold, eating, drinking, clothing, and other necessities that sustain the body are burdensome to the fervent soul. Grant me the grace to use such comforts temperately and not to become entangled in too great a desire for them. It is not lawful to cast them aside completely, for nature must be sustained, but Your holy law forbids us to demand superfluous things and things that are simply for pleasure, else the flesh would rebel against the spirit. In these matters, I beg, let Your hand guide and direct me, so that I may not overstep the law in any way.
Thomas à Kempis,The Imitation of Christ, Book 3 Chapter 26
#mentalprayer
It is the mark of a perfect man, Lord, never to let his mind relax in attention to heavenly things, and to pass through many cares as though he had none; not as an indolent man does, but having by the certain prerogative of a free mind no disorderly affection for any created being.
Keep me, I beg You, most merciful God, from the cares of this life, lest I be too much entangled in them. Keep me from many necessities of the body, lest I be ensnared by pleasure. Keep me from all darkness of mind, lest I be broken by troubles and overcome. I do not ask deliverance from those things which worldly vanity desires so eagerly, but from those miseries which, by the common curse of humankind, oppress the soul of Your servant in punishment and keep him from entering into the liberty of spirit as often as he would.
My God, Sweetness beyond words, make bitter all the carnal comfort that draws me from love of the eternal and lures me to its evil self by the sight of some delightful good in the present. Let it not overcome me, my God. Let not flesh and blood conquer me. Let not the world and its brief glory deceive me, nor the devil trip me by his craftiness. Give me courage to resist, patience to endure, and constancy to persevere. Give me the soothing unction of Your spirit rather than all the consolations of the world, and in place of carnal love, infuse into me the love of Your name.
Behold, eating, drinking, clothing, and other necessities that sustain the body are burdensome to the fervent soul. Grant me the grace to use such comforts temperately and not to become entangled in too great a desire for them. It is not lawful to cast them aside completely, for nature must be sustained, but Your holy law forbids us to demand superfluous things and things that are simply for pleasure, else the flesh would rebel against the spirit. In these matters, I beg, let Your hand guide and direct me, so that I may not overstep the law in any way.
Thomas à Kempis,The Imitation of Christ, Book 3 Chapter 26
#mentalprayer