Ecce Verbum
ABC of Thomism J.M. Bocheński 3. Thomistic theism 🧵 1. Rejection of the views of the intuitionists, pseudo-mystics, ontologists and the errors of Descartes and St. Anselm Thomistic theism teaches that man does not and cannot naturally possess an experience…
ABC of Thomism
J.M. Bocheński
4.Thomistic ethics 🧵
1. What does the moral value of human act depend on?
Rejection of subjectivists and utilitarians, criticism of Kant
According to Thomistic ethics, every human act has an object. This object is related to the deed in the same way as an act is related to potency. It gives it meaning and content. Thus, in the first instance, a human act is good or evil depending on the object (immediate intent) rather than the result of the deed or state of the person commiting the act.
Thomistic ethics rejects subjectivist fallacies, which hold that the value of an act is determined by subjective factors. It also rejects utilitarian viewpoints which place the moral value primarily on the outcomes of an action. While these numerous aspects may impact the judgment of an act, its value is determined by its object.
Thomistic ethics is a form of objectivist, object-oriented ethics. "The object" of an act is what Thomism refers to as a "direct purpose," which is closely tied to the act's content and without which the act is impossible. For example, the object of lying is to provide misleading information. This object might then be used as a means to another end, for example, a lie can be used to save lives, but the moral value of an act is determined primarily by the object (the direct end).
The statement "the ends justify the means" is therefore untrue. The end can only justify the neutral means, but it cannot make an immoral act (evil by virtue of its object) good. Thus, a good intention, a good further aim, cannot make lying morally acceptable, but it can make, for example, singing (which is morally neutral in and of itself) morally good or bad, depending on the further end. Therefore, it is the object (the direct purpose) rather than the further end (the pleasure or displeasure of the person acting, the benefit or damage that may arise from the act), that primarily determines the moral value of the act. Thomism does not exclude other factors, and, in a general moral evaluation, it also considers the secondary purpose and circumstances.
It should be noted that Thomism does not follow Kant in rejecting satisfaction, pleasure, etc., as allegedly detrimental to the morality of an act. Satisfaction, according to Thomistic ethics, is the natural result of a good act and cannot therefore be separated from it. But for an act to be good, it must not be performed for the sake of satisfaction but for the sake of the moral value of its object.
Thus, for example, one should eat not for the sake of pleasure but to nourish oneself. However, it does not mean that the pleasure of eating is morally wrong.
🔗 2.The end of all existence is God. Philosophy alone cannot prove that man can attain God.
Rejection of materialism
🔗 3. Grace acts through nature, requires human action. An act of faith is also an action (act of the will)
🔗 4. Reason must guide all human action
Rejection of sentimentalism and voluntarism
🔗 5. The role of education and virtue ethics in formation of conscience
Criticism of Stoics and Kantians
🔗 6. Well developed virtue is effortless
🔗 7. Development of moral qualities
🔗 8. The relation between eternal law, natural law, positive law, and human conscience.
Rejection of conventionalism, theological voluntarism and idealism
🔗 9. Conclusions
#philosophy #ethics
J.M. Bocheński
4.Thomistic ethics 🧵
1. What does the moral value of human act depend on?
Rejection of subjectivists and utilitarians, criticism of Kant
According to Thomistic ethics, every human act has an object. This object is related to the deed in the same way as an act is related to potency. It gives it meaning and content. Thus, in the first instance, a human act is good or evil depending on the object (immediate intent) rather than the result of the deed or state of the person commiting the act.
Thomistic ethics rejects subjectivist fallacies, which hold that the value of an act is determined by subjective factors. It also rejects utilitarian viewpoints which place the moral value primarily on the outcomes of an action. While these numerous aspects may impact the judgment of an act, its value is determined by its object.
Thomistic ethics is a form of objectivist, object-oriented ethics. "The object" of an act is what Thomism refers to as a "direct purpose," which is closely tied to the act's content and without which the act is impossible. For example, the object of lying is to provide misleading information. This object might then be used as a means to another end, for example, a lie can be used to save lives, but the moral value of an act is determined primarily by the object (the direct end).
The statement "the ends justify the means" is therefore untrue. The end can only justify the neutral means, but it cannot make an immoral act (evil by virtue of its object) good. Thus, a good intention, a good further aim, cannot make lying morally acceptable, but it can make, for example, singing (which is morally neutral in and of itself) morally good or bad, depending on the further end. Therefore, it is the object (the direct purpose) rather than the further end (the pleasure or displeasure of the person acting, the benefit or damage that may arise from the act), that primarily determines the moral value of the act. Thomism does not exclude other factors, and, in a general moral evaluation, it also considers the secondary purpose and circumstances.
It should be noted that Thomism does not follow Kant in rejecting satisfaction, pleasure, etc., as allegedly detrimental to the morality of an act. Satisfaction, according to Thomistic ethics, is the natural result of a good act and cannot therefore be separated from it. But for an act to be good, it must not be performed for the sake of satisfaction but for the sake of the moral value of its object.
Thus, for example, one should eat not for the sake of pleasure but to nourish oneself. However, it does not mean that the pleasure of eating is morally wrong.
🔗 2.The end of all existence is God. Philosophy alone cannot prove that man can attain God.
Rejection of materialism
🔗 3. Grace acts through nature, requires human action. An act of faith is also an action (act of the will)
🔗 4. Reason must guide all human action
Rejection of sentimentalism and voluntarism
🔗 5. The role of education and virtue ethics in formation of conscience
Criticism of Stoics and Kantians
🔗 6. Well developed virtue is effortless
🔗 7. Development of moral qualities
🔗 8. The relation between eternal law, natural law, positive law, and human conscience.
Rejection of conventionalism, theological voluntarism and idealism
🔗 9. Conclusions
#philosophy #ethics
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ABC of Thomism
J.M. Bocheński
4.Thomistic ethics 🧵
2.The end of all existence is God. Philosophy alone cannot prove that man can attain God.
Rejection of materialism
According to Thomistic ethics, human existence as a whole, like every act, has an ultimate…
J.M. Bocheński
4.Thomistic ethics 🧵
2.The end of all existence is God. Philosophy alone cannot prove that man can attain God.
Rejection of materialism
According to Thomistic ethics, human existence as a whole, like every act, has an ultimate…
627425.pdf
3 MB
The Earliest History of the
Christian Gathering
Origin, Development and Content of the Christian Gathering in the
First to Third Centuries
Valeriy A. Alikin
Using recent insights into the nature of early Christian communities as religious associations, this book offers a new reconstruction of the origins and development of the weekly Christian gathering and its constitutive elements; based on an analysis of all available evidence from the first three centuries
Christian Gathering
Origin, Development and Content of the Christian Gathering in the
First to Third Centuries
Valeriy A. Alikin
Using recent insights into the nature of early Christian communities as religious associations, this book offers a new reconstruction of the origins and development of the weekly Christian gathering and its constitutive elements; based on an analysis of all available evidence from the first three centuries
Ecce Verbum
The virtue and mystery of the holy sacrifice. St. Gregorius Magnus And here also we have diligently to consider, that it is far more secure and safe that every man should do that for himself whiles he is yet alive, which he desireth that others should do…
St. Albert on Eucharist
"For the glory which the Father gave to the Son to be made perfect, is the glory by which he shines in all the members of the mystical body. For the glory of Christ flashes and shines in all of them. He gives us his glory, which the Father gave [him] to make perfect in the world by pouring himself into us spiritually and sacramentally, and so we are one body with him. For in this way the Father is shining in Christ the man in his humanity, through the consubstantial divinity."
(Dist. 1 Ch.5)
"For this sacrament brings the grace of communion, and beyond this, the grace of atonement, and upon these two it piles the grace of redemption, and in addition to these three it piles up the grace of vivification, and beyond these four, it gives the grace of spiritual refreshment, and beyond these five, it signifies to us the glory of eternal beatitude. From these it will be shown that it bestows a heap of grace and of holiness; indeed, by his body, it confers the grace of communion with all the members of Christ, and by his blood, it gives the grace of atonement, and by his soul, it truly [gives] the grace of redemption, and from the spirit of Christ, it gives the grace of vivification and of virtue, and by his divinity, it causes the grace of refreshment, and by the whole sacramental sign, it gives the grace of eternal beatitude."
(Dist.1 Ch.5)
"That it is nothing but grace is shown by the name, because it is and is named the Eucharist, which means "good grace". Although we receive grace in all the sacraments, there is in this sacrament the whole of grace, which we see, touch, and taste. Thus Zechariah 4.7 says about this sacrament, "And he will give equal grace to its grace." Whatever graces are scattered to be gathered in all the [other] sacraments and virtues, the whole is found here together in one grace. This is signified by the omer, which was the measure of the manna, which was sufficient for each one. [Exodus 16.16-17] For the measure which is sufficient for man's salvation can only be that which contains the grace in which the whole Christ is contained."
pp. 31-32.
🔗 Albert the Great, On the Body of the Lord, Surmanski, tr., The Catholic University of America Press (Washington DC: 2017)
#eucharist
"For the glory which the Father gave to the Son to be made perfect, is the glory by which he shines in all the members of the mystical body. For the glory of Christ flashes and shines in all of them. He gives us his glory, which the Father gave [him] to make perfect in the world by pouring himself into us spiritually and sacramentally, and so we are one body with him. For in this way the Father is shining in Christ the man in his humanity, through the consubstantial divinity."
(Dist. 1 Ch.5)
"For this sacrament brings the grace of communion, and beyond this, the grace of atonement, and upon these two it piles the grace of redemption, and in addition to these three it piles up the grace of vivification, and beyond these four, it gives the grace of spiritual refreshment, and beyond these five, it signifies to us the glory of eternal beatitude. From these it will be shown that it bestows a heap of grace and of holiness; indeed, by his body, it confers the grace of communion with all the members of Christ, and by his blood, it gives the grace of atonement, and by his soul, it truly [gives] the grace of redemption, and from the spirit of Christ, it gives the grace of vivification and of virtue, and by his divinity, it causes the grace of refreshment, and by the whole sacramental sign, it gives the grace of eternal beatitude."
(Dist.1 Ch.5)
"That it is nothing but grace is shown by the name, because it is and is named the Eucharist, which means "good grace". Although we receive grace in all the sacraments, there is in this sacrament the whole of grace, which we see, touch, and taste. Thus Zechariah 4.7 says about this sacrament, "And he will give equal grace to its grace." Whatever graces are scattered to be gathered in all the [other] sacraments and virtues, the whole is found here together in one grace. This is signified by the omer, which was the measure of the manna, which was sufficient for each one. [Exodus 16.16-17] For the measure which is sufficient for man's salvation can only be that which contains the grace in which the whole Christ is contained."
pp. 31-32.
🔗 Albert the Great, On the Body of the Lord, Surmanski, tr., The Catholic University of America Press (Washington DC: 2017)
#eucharist
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On the Body of the Lord
Fathers of the Church Medieval Continuations
by St. Albert The Great
Translated by Sr. Albert Marie Surmanski
Albert the Great wrote On the Body of the Lord in the 1270s, making it his final work of sacramental theology. A companion…
Fathers of the Church Medieval Continuations
by St. Albert The Great
Translated by Sr. Albert Marie Surmanski
Albert the Great wrote On the Body of the Lord in the 1270s, making it his final work of sacramental theology. A companion…
On_The_Body_and_Blood_of_The_Lord;_On_The_Truth_of_The_Body_Lanfranc.pdf
825.5 KB
On the Body of the Lord
Fathers of the Church Medieval Continuations
by St. Albert The Great
Translated by Sr. Albert Marie Surmanski
Albert the Great wrote On the Body of the Lord in the 1270s, making it his final work of sacramental theology. A companion volume to his commentary on the Mass, On the Body of the Lord is a comprehensive discussion of Eucharistic theology. The treatise is structured around six names for the Eucharist taken from the Mass: grace, gift, food, communion, sacrifice, and sacrament. It emerges from the liturgy and is intended to draw the reader back to worship.
#eucharist
Fathers of the Church Medieval Continuations
by St. Albert The Great
Translated by Sr. Albert Marie Surmanski
Albert the Great wrote On the Body of the Lord in the 1270s, making it his final work of sacramental theology. A companion volume to his commentary on the Mass, On the Body of the Lord is a comprehensive discussion of Eucharistic theology. The treatise is structured around six names for the Eucharist taken from the Mass: grace, gift, food, communion, sacrifice, and sacrament. It emerges from the liturgy and is intended to draw the reader back to worship.
#eucharist
The Experience of Eucharistic Beauty in Albert the Great’s De corpore domini
Sr. Albert Marie Surmanski, O.P.
🔗 article
#eucharist
Sr. Albert Marie Surmanski, O.P.
🔗 article
#eucharist
Ecce Verbum
Humility in Criticism Unjust and bitter criticism is one of the marks of inveterate pride. The devil is the accuser of the brethren. Much that he urges against them is true, but this is no excuse. Much is false, and in this those who criticize rashly and…
Calumny and Detraction
Both calumny and detraction unjustly damage a person’s reputation by revealing a fault. The calumniator knows the accusation to be false, whereas the detractor believes it to be true. Here is what four Franciscan saints have to say about detraction:
St. Francis of Assisi : “The sin of detraction is the impediment to the very source of piety and grace; it is abominable in the sight of God, because the detractor feeds on the blood of the souls which he has murdered with the sword of his tongue.” He argues that “the malice of the detractor is far greater than that of the thief, because the law of Christ, which is fulfilled by showing mercy, commands us to desire more ardently the salvation of the soul than the safety of the body.” He further states: “The tongue is the instrument of life and death to man, not on account of the food it takes, but on account of the words it utters.”
St. Leonard of Port Maurice gives this advice on dealing with detractors: “Detraction is the poison of conversation. Never let any one who is given to this fault meet with any applause or approbation from you. On the contrary, do what you can to justify your neighbour, or else show your displeasure by a significant silence, or by turning the conversation, where this is practicable.”
St. Francis exhorts us: “Be modest, showing kindness to all, never judging or condemning anybody. And, as our Lord says, let us not pay attention to the small sins of others, but rather ponder on our own in the bitterness of our hearts.”
St. Bonaventure adds: “Beware of ever repeating what you have heard of others, unless it be something very edifying.”
Finally, St. Antony of Padua offers this advice: “Use your ears oftener than your tongue. One often repents of having spoken, and scarcely ever of having been silent.”
source of quotes: Flowers from the Garden of Saint Francis for Every Day of the Year (London: Burns and Oates, 1882).
#speech
Both calumny and detraction unjustly damage a person’s reputation by revealing a fault. The calumniator knows the accusation to be false, whereas the detractor believes it to be true. Here is what four Franciscan saints have to say about detraction:
St. Francis of Assisi : “The sin of detraction is the impediment to the very source of piety and grace; it is abominable in the sight of God, because the detractor feeds on the blood of the souls which he has murdered with the sword of his tongue.” He argues that “the malice of the detractor is far greater than that of the thief, because the law of Christ, which is fulfilled by showing mercy, commands us to desire more ardently the salvation of the soul than the safety of the body.” He further states: “The tongue is the instrument of life and death to man, not on account of the food it takes, but on account of the words it utters.”
St. Leonard of Port Maurice gives this advice on dealing with detractors: “Detraction is the poison of conversation. Never let any one who is given to this fault meet with any applause or approbation from you. On the contrary, do what you can to justify your neighbour, or else show your displeasure by a significant silence, or by turning the conversation, where this is practicable.”
St. Francis exhorts us: “Be modest, showing kindness to all, never judging or condemning anybody. And, as our Lord says, let us not pay attention to the small sins of others, but rather ponder on our own in the bitterness of our hearts.”
St. Bonaventure adds: “Beware of ever repeating what you have heard of others, unless it be something very edifying.”
Finally, St. Antony of Padua offers this advice: “Use your ears oftener than your tongue. One often repents of having spoken, and scarcely ever of having been silent.”
source of quotes: Flowers from the Garden of Saint Francis for Every Day of the Year (London: Burns and Oates, 1882).
#speech
Ecce Verbum
"When, after the Apostles, heresies burst forth and were striving under various names to tear apart and divide the Queen of God (the Church), did not the apostolic people require a name of their own to mark the unity of the people? If at last we must give…
What is a Christian
Epistle to Diognetus
The following excerpts are from two chapters of the Epistle to Diognetus, an anonymous apology of the second century addressed to the high-ranking pagan Diognetus. The author of this epistle calls himself simply “Mathetes,” meaning in Greek “a disciple.”
Mathetes writes: “The Christians are distinguished from other men neither by country, nor language, nor the customs which they observe. For they neither inhabit cities of their own, nor employ a peculiar form of speech, nor lead a life which is marked out by any singularity. The course of conduct which they follow has not been devised by any speculation or deliberation of inquisitive men; nor do they, like some, proclaim themselves the advocates of any merely human doctrines.They dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners. As citizens, they share in all things with others, and yet endure all things as if foreigners. Every foreign land is to them as their native country, and every land of their birth as a land of strangers. They marry, as do all [others]; they beget children; but they do not destroy their offspring. They have a common table, but not a common bed. They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh. They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the laws by their lives. They love all men, and are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned; they are put to death, and restored to life. They are poor, yet make many rich; they are in lack of all things, and yet abound in all; they are dishonoured, and yet in their very dishonour are glorified. They are evil spoken of, and yet are justified; they are reviled, and bless; they are insulted, and repay the insult with honour; they do good, yet are punished as evil-doers. When punished, they rejoice as if quickened into life.” (5)
“To sum up all in one word—what the soul is in the body, that are Christians in the world. The soul is dispersed through all the members of the body, and Christians are scattered through all the cities of the world. The soul dwells in the body, yet is not of the body; and Christians dwell in the world, yet are not of the world..The immortal soul dwells in a mortal tabernacle; and Christians dwell as sojourners in corruptible [bodies], looking for an incorruptible dwelling in the heavens.” (6)
🔗 source: Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. I, ed. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1867).
Epistle to Diognetus
The following excerpts are from two chapters of the Epistle to Diognetus, an anonymous apology of the second century addressed to the high-ranking pagan Diognetus. The author of this epistle calls himself simply “Mathetes,” meaning in Greek “a disciple.”
Mathetes writes: “The Christians are distinguished from other men neither by country, nor language, nor the customs which they observe. For they neither inhabit cities of their own, nor employ a peculiar form of speech, nor lead a life which is marked out by any singularity. The course of conduct which they follow has not been devised by any speculation or deliberation of inquisitive men; nor do they, like some, proclaim themselves the advocates of any merely human doctrines.They dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners. As citizens, they share in all things with others, and yet endure all things as if foreigners. Every foreign land is to them as their native country, and every land of their birth as a land of strangers. They marry, as do all [others]; they beget children; but they do not destroy their offspring. They have a common table, but not a common bed. They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh. They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the laws by their lives. They love all men, and are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned; they are put to death, and restored to life. They are poor, yet make many rich; they are in lack of all things, and yet abound in all; they are dishonoured, and yet in their very dishonour are glorified. They are evil spoken of, and yet are justified; they are reviled, and bless; they are insulted, and repay the insult with honour; they do good, yet are punished as evil-doers. When punished, they rejoice as if quickened into life.” (5)
“To sum up all in one word—what the soul is in the body, that are Christians in the world. The soul is dispersed through all the members of the body, and Christians are scattered through all the cities of the world. The soul dwells in the body, yet is not of the body; and Christians dwell in the world, yet are not of the world..The immortal soul dwells in a mortal tabernacle; and Christians dwell as sojourners in corruptible [bodies], looking for an incorruptible dwelling in the heavens.” (6)
🔗 source: Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. I, ed. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1867).
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Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. I, ed. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1867).
Ecce Verbum
Reflections on the Decline of Masculinity Dr. John C. Rao "The Vikings indulged a passion for blood that far surpassed anything that the Germans ever experienced. They reveled in their annual excursions to a terrified Europe, their looting and burning of…
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Ecce Verbum
Contemplation and chastity "There is finally a fourth consideration, which this time concerns contemplation itself, I say Christian contemplation, and which furnishes in relation to the latter a certain nuance or attenuation to the statement (however valid…
De bono coniugale
St. Augustine of Hippo 🧵
1.Continence and Obedience
Augustine argues that obedience is a greater virtue than continence.
He states: “The good of obedience is better than of continence.” And why? Because “marriage is in no place condemned by authority of our Scriptures, but disobedience is in no place acquitted.” In other words, marriage is permitted, but not required of everyone, whereas obedience to lawful authority is required of every person. Then he asks, “If therefore there be set before us a virgin about to continue so, but yet disobedient, and a married woman who could not continue a virgin, but yet obedient, which shall we call better?” (29)
He notes that “obedience is in a certain way the mother of all virtues,” for obedience is the virtue “whereby precepts are complied with.” However, he observes that there may be obedience without virginity and virginity without obedience.
First, regarding obedience without virginity, he says: “There may be obedience without virginity, because virginity is of counsel, not of precept.” (30) Celibacy is a counsel because its external practice is not required of every person, but only recommended, as Christ said, “Whoso can receive, let him receive” (Matt 19:12).
St. Augustine distinguishes between the virtues of continence and chastity: “There may be obedience to precepts without virginity, but not without chastity. For it pertains unto chastity, not to commit fornication, not to commit adultery, to be defiled by no unlawful intercourse: and whoso observe not these, do contrary to the precepts of God.” (30) Chastity is the virtue whereby one abstains from unlawful sexual intercourse, whereas continence is the virtue whereby one abstains from all sexual intercourse. Chastity is a precept required of every person, whereas continence is a counsel pertaining to those who have chosen the celibate state of life. Married spouses are called to practice conjugal chastity; those who are not married are called to practice chastity by continence.
Secondly, regarding virginity without disobedience, St. Augustine notes that “there may be virginity without obedience...We have known many sacred virgins, talkative, curious, drunken, litigious, covetous, proud: all which are contrary to precepts.” Therefore, while affirming the three goods of chastity, continence, and obedience, he is led to conclude: “Not only is the obedient to be preferred to the disobedient, but a more obedient married woman to a less obedient virgin.” (30)
🔗source: A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Vol. III, ed. Philip Schaff (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1886).
🔗 2. Continence in Spouses and Virgins
#chastity
St. Augustine of Hippo 🧵
1.Continence and Obedience
Augustine argues that obedience is a greater virtue than continence.
He states: “The good of obedience is better than of continence.” And why? Because “marriage is in no place condemned by authority of our Scriptures, but disobedience is in no place acquitted.” In other words, marriage is permitted, but not required of everyone, whereas obedience to lawful authority is required of every person. Then he asks, “If therefore there be set before us a virgin about to continue so, but yet disobedient, and a married woman who could not continue a virgin, but yet obedient, which shall we call better?” (29)
He notes that “obedience is in a certain way the mother of all virtues,” for obedience is the virtue “whereby precepts are complied with.” However, he observes that there may be obedience without virginity and virginity without obedience.
First, regarding obedience without virginity, he says: “There may be obedience without virginity, because virginity is of counsel, not of precept.” (30) Celibacy is a counsel because its external practice is not required of every person, but only recommended, as Christ said, “Whoso can receive, let him receive” (Matt 19:12).
St. Augustine distinguishes between the virtues of continence and chastity: “There may be obedience to precepts without virginity, but not without chastity. For it pertains unto chastity, not to commit fornication, not to commit adultery, to be defiled by no unlawful intercourse: and whoso observe not these, do contrary to the precepts of God.” (30) Chastity is the virtue whereby one abstains from unlawful sexual intercourse, whereas continence is the virtue whereby one abstains from all sexual intercourse. Chastity is a precept required of every person, whereas continence is a counsel pertaining to those who have chosen the celibate state of life. Married spouses are called to practice conjugal chastity; those who are not married are called to practice chastity by continence.
Secondly, regarding virginity without disobedience, St. Augustine notes that “there may be virginity without obedience...We have known many sacred virgins, talkative, curious, drunken, litigious, covetous, proud: all which are contrary to precepts.” Therefore, while affirming the three goods of chastity, continence, and obedience, he is led to conclude: “Not only is the obedient to be preferred to the disobedient, but a more obedient married woman to a less obedient virgin.” (30)
🔗source: A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Vol. III, ed. Philip Schaff (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1886).
🔗 2. Continence in Spouses and Virgins
#chastity
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Continence in Spouses and Virgins
St. Augustine of Hippo shows how the same virtue is at the heart of both marriage and celibacy.
He begins by affirming that each human person “is a part of the human race, and human nature is something social,” and that…
St. Augustine of Hippo shows how the same virtue is at the heart of both marriage and celibacy.
He begins by affirming that each human person “is a part of the human race, and human nature is something social,” and that…
Ecce Verbum
The importance of a daily examination of conscience Notes -It is one of the most important duties of the Christian life. -It is strongly recommended by all spiritual writers. -It is the most profitable excercise we can apply to ourselves for avoiding sin…
Self-Examination 🧵
Peter Geiermann, The Narrow Way 🔗
The key role of examination of conscience in one’s spiritual development.
“Self-knowledge is a necessary requisite for prudent self-denial. It is naturally difficult to attain (1) because it is almost impossible for us to obtain a true perspective of ourselves; (2) because the study of self is humiliating; (3) because our pride and self-love easily deceive us; (4) because the world and the devil frown on such a study and fill us with repugnance for it.
With the aid of God’s grace, however, we can easily make progress in learning ourselves, provided we are faithful in the practice of self-examination.
And in proportion as we grow in the knowledge of self, shall we also grow in humility, and realize the necessity of cultivating a closer union with God.
If, on the other hand, we neglect our self-examination, we become the willing slaves of tepidity and spiritual stagnation, from which we may be aroused only when the light of eternity will reveal our real selves before the judgment seat of God.”
Geiermann mentions four types of self-examination. One is a general examination. The other three are particular examinations of conscience.
“A general examination of the interior is a complete accounting of our spiritual condition.
It examines (1) our natural or acquired inclinations; (2) our fidelity to grace; (3) our conduct when tempted; (4) the good and the evil we have done; and (5) the intention, the motive, and the rule of our actions.
This general examination, when carefully made, gradually enlightens us to see ourselves as we are in the sight of God. By renewing it from time to time we may observe not only our general progress or retrogression, but also discover the weak points in our character on which we should concentrate our energies.
As successful merchants take an inventory of their stock and balance their accounts frequently, so we do well in making a general examination of our interior every month or at least once a year.”
🔗 2.Particular Types of Self-Examination
🔗 3.Objects of Self-Examination 1/3
🔗 4.Objects of Self-Examination 2/3
🔗 5.Objects of Self-Examination 3/3
🔗 6. Our limitations
#examination
Peter Geiermann, The Narrow Way 🔗
The key role of examination of conscience in one’s spiritual development.
“Self-knowledge is a necessary requisite for prudent self-denial. It is naturally difficult to attain (1) because it is almost impossible for us to obtain a true perspective of ourselves; (2) because the study of self is humiliating; (3) because our pride and self-love easily deceive us; (4) because the world and the devil frown on such a study and fill us with repugnance for it.
With the aid of God’s grace, however, we can easily make progress in learning ourselves, provided we are faithful in the practice of self-examination.
And in proportion as we grow in the knowledge of self, shall we also grow in humility, and realize the necessity of cultivating a closer union with God.
If, on the other hand, we neglect our self-examination, we become the willing slaves of tepidity and spiritual stagnation, from which we may be aroused only when the light of eternity will reveal our real selves before the judgment seat of God.”
Geiermann mentions four types of self-examination. One is a general examination. The other three are particular examinations of conscience.
“A general examination of the interior is a complete accounting of our spiritual condition.
It examines (1) our natural or acquired inclinations; (2) our fidelity to grace; (3) our conduct when tempted; (4) the good and the evil we have done; and (5) the intention, the motive, and the rule of our actions.
This general examination, when carefully made, gradually enlightens us to see ourselves as we are in the sight of God. By renewing it from time to time we may observe not only our general progress or retrogression, but also discover the weak points in our character on which we should concentrate our energies.
As successful merchants take an inventory of their stock and balance their accounts frequently, so we do well in making a general examination of our interior every month or at least once a year.”
🔗 2.Particular Types of Self-Examination
🔗 3.Objects of Self-Examination 1/3
🔗 4.Objects of Self-Examination 2/3
🔗 5.Objects of Self-Examination 3/3
🔗 6. Our limitations
#examination
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2. Particular Types of Self-Examination
Peter Geiermann, The Narrow Way (Benziger, 1914)
In addition to a general examination of one’s spiritual condition, Father Geiermann elaborates upon three particular types of self-examination:
1. daily examination…
Peter Geiermann, The Narrow Way (Benziger, 1914)
In addition to a general examination of one’s spiritual condition, Father Geiermann elaborates upon three particular types of self-examination:
1. daily examination…
Ecce Verbum
"Great inspirers and coworkers of Saint Jerome" A fragment about St. Marcella and St. Fabiola and their role in the founding of the Christian monastic system. "To the amazement -- or rather the consternation -- of the patrician society of Rome it was one…
John Cassian on the role of monks in the community of the Church and Augustine's developments around 400
source: article 🔗 "Augustine on marriage, monasticism and the community of the Church"
The author attempts to situate Augustine's theology of marriage in the broad historical and theological context of the early Church by connecting his view of marriage to his thinking on virginity and monastic life, and especially by integrating his views on all three states against the background of church preoccupations about the year 400. This more comprehensive account of Augustine's views draws upon the Confessions, On the Good of Marriage, On Holy Virginity, and the On the Work of Monks
#monasticism
source: article 🔗 "Augustine on marriage, monasticism and the community of the Church"
The author attempts to situate Augustine's theology of marriage in the broad historical and theological context of the early Church by connecting his view of marriage to his thinking on virginity and monastic life, and especially by integrating his views on all three states against the background of church preoccupations about the year 400. This more comprehensive account of Augustine's views draws upon the Confessions, On the Good of Marriage, On Holy Virginity, and the On the Work of Monks
#monasticism
Ecce Verbum
Wealth without sin *(Sirach 13:24 ) Wealth is good as long as it's free of sin; the ungodly speak of poverty as an evil in and of itself. *In the words of Jesus, the rich man's road to heaven is particularly winding and difficult. It is full of dangers…
Wealth without sin II
"Who Is the Rich Man That Shall Be Saved?", Clement of Alexandria (ca. 150-215)
*(Sirach 13:24 ) Wealth is good as long as it's free of sin; the ungodly speak of poverty as an evil in and of itself.
*In his treatise Clement shows how a person can put to a good use the wealth with which God has entrusted him.
One can possess wealth and still be poor in spirit. Such a one uses his wealth for the common good: “He who holds possessions, and gold, and silver, and houses, as the gifts of God; and ministers from them to the God who gives them for the salvation of men; and knows that he possesses them more for the sake of the brethren than his own; and is superior to the possession of them, not the slave of the things he possesses; and does not carry them about in his soul, nor bind and circumscribe his life within them, but is ever labouring at some good and divine work, even should he be necessarily some time or other deprived of them, is able with cheerful mind to bear their removal equally with their abundance. This is he who is blessed by the Lord, and called poor in spirit, a meet heir of the kingdom of heaven.” (16)
It is not a person’s external appearance or the value of his temporal possessions that determine whether or not he will end up in heaven: “Salvation does not depend on external things, whether they be many or few, small or great, or illustrious or obscure, or esteemed or disesteemed; but on the virtue of the soul, on faith, and hope, and love, and brotherliness, and knowledge, and meekness, and humility, and truth, the reward of which is salvation. For it is not on account of comeliness of body that any one shall live, or, on the other hand, perish. So also a poor and destitute man may be found intoxicated with lusts; and a man rich in worldly goods temperate, poor in indulgences, trustworthy, intelligent, pure, chastened.” (18)
Who are really rich? “He then is truly and rightly rich who is rich in virtue, and is capable of making a holy and faithful use of any fortune; while he is spuriously rich who is rich, according to the flesh, and turns life into outward possession, which is transitory and perishing, and now belongs to one, now to another, and in the end to nobody at all. Again, in the same way there is a genuine poor man, and another counterfeit and falsely so called.
To him who is poor in worldly goods, but rich in vices, who is not poor in spirit and rich toward God, it is said, Abandon the alien possessions that are in thy soul, that, becoming pure in heart, thou mayest see God.” (19)
🔗source Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. II, ed. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1867).
🔗 Part 2
"Who Is the Rich Man That Shall Be Saved?", Clement of Alexandria (ca. 150-215)
*(Sirach 13:24 ) Wealth is good as long as it's free of sin; the ungodly speak of poverty as an evil in and of itself.
*In his treatise Clement shows how a person can put to a good use the wealth with which God has entrusted him.
One can possess wealth and still be poor in spirit. Such a one uses his wealth for the common good: “He who holds possessions, and gold, and silver, and houses, as the gifts of God; and ministers from them to the God who gives them for the salvation of men; and knows that he possesses them more for the sake of the brethren than his own; and is superior to the possession of them, not the slave of the things he possesses; and does not carry them about in his soul, nor bind and circumscribe his life within them, but is ever labouring at some good and divine work, even should he be necessarily some time or other deprived of them, is able with cheerful mind to bear their removal equally with their abundance. This is he who is blessed by the Lord, and called poor in spirit, a meet heir of the kingdom of heaven.” (16)
It is not a person’s external appearance or the value of his temporal possessions that determine whether or not he will end up in heaven: “Salvation does not depend on external things, whether they be many or few, small or great, or illustrious or obscure, or esteemed or disesteemed; but on the virtue of the soul, on faith, and hope, and love, and brotherliness, and knowledge, and meekness, and humility, and truth, the reward of which is salvation. For it is not on account of comeliness of body that any one shall live, or, on the other hand, perish. So also a poor and destitute man may be found intoxicated with lusts; and a man rich in worldly goods temperate, poor in indulgences, trustworthy, intelligent, pure, chastened.” (18)
Who are really rich? “He then is truly and rightly rich who is rich in virtue, and is capable of making a holy and faithful use of any fortune; while he is spuriously rich who is rich, according to the flesh, and turns life into outward possession, which is transitory and perishing, and now belongs to one, now to another, and in the end to nobody at all. Again, in the same way there is a genuine poor man, and another counterfeit and falsely so called.
To him who is poor in worldly goods, but rich in vices, who is not poor in spirit and rich toward God, it is said, Abandon the alien possessions that are in thy soul, that, becoming pure in heart, thou mayest see God.” (19)
🔗source Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. II, ed. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1867).
🔗 Part 2