NON-SCIENTIFIC AFFIRMATIONS
10) There is only what can be detected experimentally: we have already discussed this: thought (not the activity of neurons when we think) cannot be detected experimentally; the same must be said of the possible value of an idea when writing poetry. Neither the literary value of a book nor the artistic level of a painting can be demonstrated experimentally. The same applies to our family relationships, our sense of duty, our social concerns: everything that truly constitutes human life and culture is impossible to detect and quantify by strictly empirical scientific methodology. We can detect the presence of tiny currents in the brain during periods of intellectual activity, but no measurable parameter indicates the truth or beauty value of an idea.
There are even bolder ones who go so far as to claim that they only believe in what they see. With this form of argument we should deny the existence of the electron, since we can neither perceive nor imagine it: it has no sensory referent. No scientist represents it, as had become popular, as a very tiny ball. We can only describe its behaviour by means of a complex mathematical function. There is nothing we see or touch that resembles an electron. The electron cannot be touched, heard, seen, smelled or tasted. We know of its existence by the effects it produces in the fog chamber, just as we know that an aeroplane has passed - without seeing it - by the trail it leaves in the sky.
The behaviour of the electron is, moreover, completely paradoxical and does not fit in with common sense. It acts complementarily as a particle and as a wave and can be simultaneously in two places at the same time. It does not seem to occupy any situation in space because its position can never be determined together with its energy. The existence of the electron must be deduced, must be proved from the behaviour of matter. We believe that there are electrons because otherwise such and such phenomena cannot be explained. But no one has seen the electron - nor can it be seen. No one has imagined the electron - nor can it be imagined.
Jan Oort realised in 1932 the existence of dark matter, when he observed that there was not enough known matter in the universe to prevent stars from shooting out of the sky. He called this absence of matter dark matter and claimed that there must be five times as much dark matter as visible matter. The problem is that it cannot be seen, which is an added difficulty in analysing it. One hypothesis about its composition is that it is composed of neutrinos, tiny elementary particles with very little mass and no electric charge, which originate from the thermonuclear reactions of stars. Who sees or touches electromagnetic waves, gravitational fields, protons or neutrons or neutrinos or any of the "elementary particles" at different levels? Of course, these realities exist and act upon us, but we do not see or touch them.
Finally, I invite you to read a short text from Plato, taken from the "Sophist", in the form of a dialogue between Theaetetus and a Stranger:
"- Stranger: Some [materialists] transfer everything from heaven and the invisible world to earth, as if all that exists were rocks and trees that can be touched and felt with one's own hands. And so, stubborn that all things are of this kind, they maintain that only what can be seen and touched exists, thus identifying being with the body in their very definition. And if anyone dares to assert that there are also things of another kind, and that they are incorporeal, they end by despising him and no longer wanting to hear anything more from him.
-Theaetetus: You speak of terrible men indeed. I too have had occasion to meet a great many of them" (Sophist 246a-b).
#SCIENCEANDFAITH
10) There is only what can be detected experimentally: we have already discussed this: thought (not the activity of neurons when we think) cannot be detected experimentally; the same must be said of the possible value of an idea when writing poetry. Neither the literary value of a book nor the artistic level of a painting can be demonstrated experimentally. The same applies to our family relationships, our sense of duty, our social concerns: everything that truly constitutes human life and culture is impossible to detect and quantify by strictly empirical scientific methodology. We can detect the presence of tiny currents in the brain during periods of intellectual activity, but no measurable parameter indicates the truth or beauty value of an idea.
There are even bolder ones who go so far as to claim that they only believe in what they see. With this form of argument we should deny the existence of the electron, since we can neither perceive nor imagine it: it has no sensory referent. No scientist represents it, as had become popular, as a very tiny ball. We can only describe its behaviour by means of a complex mathematical function. There is nothing we see or touch that resembles an electron. The electron cannot be touched, heard, seen, smelled or tasted. We know of its existence by the effects it produces in the fog chamber, just as we know that an aeroplane has passed - without seeing it - by the trail it leaves in the sky.
The behaviour of the electron is, moreover, completely paradoxical and does not fit in with common sense. It acts complementarily as a particle and as a wave and can be simultaneously in two places at the same time. It does not seem to occupy any situation in space because its position can never be determined together with its energy. The existence of the electron must be deduced, must be proved from the behaviour of matter. We believe that there are electrons because otherwise such and such phenomena cannot be explained. But no one has seen the electron - nor can it be seen. No one has imagined the electron - nor can it be imagined.
Jan Oort realised in 1932 the existence of dark matter, when he observed that there was not enough known matter in the universe to prevent stars from shooting out of the sky. He called this absence of matter dark matter and claimed that there must be five times as much dark matter as visible matter. The problem is that it cannot be seen, which is an added difficulty in analysing it. One hypothesis about its composition is that it is composed of neutrinos, tiny elementary particles with very little mass and no electric charge, which originate from the thermonuclear reactions of stars. Who sees or touches electromagnetic waves, gravitational fields, protons or neutrons or neutrinos or any of the "elementary particles" at different levels? Of course, these realities exist and act upon us, but we do not see or touch them.
Finally, I invite you to read a short text from Plato, taken from the "Sophist", in the form of a dialogue between Theaetetus and a Stranger:
"- Stranger: Some [materialists] transfer everything from heaven and the invisible world to earth, as if all that exists were rocks and trees that can be touched and felt with one's own hands. And so, stubborn that all things are of this kind, they maintain that only what can be seen and touched exists, thus identifying being with the body in their very definition. And if anyone dares to assert that there are also things of another kind, and that they are incorporeal, they end by despising him and no longer wanting to hear anything more from him.
-Theaetetus: You speak of terrible men indeed. I too have had occasion to meet a great many of them" (Sophist 246a-b).
#SCIENCEANDFAITH
👍3
NON-SCIENTIFIC ASSERTIONS
11) The last refuge of materialist reductionism is the assertion of blind confidence in future theoretical advances that will be able to explain consciousness and intelligence in terms of forces and particle structures at various levels: it cannot be shown that this will not happen in a way that is convincing to those who do not want to adhere to any scientific rigour. But it is clear that such a position actually hides a prejudice that denies the very methodology on which it claims to rest: it seeks to justify a position as scientific, without having any experimental data to prove it with known or foreseeable facts as an extension of any theory.
The materialist may say that not everything can yet be explained by the material, but that in the future it will be possible. He may even say that it will never be fully achieved, but that scientific progress explains more and more things, and that it is logical then to adhere to materialism. But it is important to note that these are promises that demand faith beyond the available evidence. And that, for the time being, materialistic explanations of intelligence and will are as insufficient now as they have always been. No one has so far been able to give a materialist explanation of intelligence worth considering, and authors like Karl Popper, while not sharing a spiritualist philosophy, readily admit that the "emergence" of human intelligence is a "miracle" that we will probably never understand. This position is at least respectful of reality as it is presented to us. On the other hand, those who claim that there is no difficulty in explaining intelligence now or in the future in terms of material processes, hold a thesis that goes far beyond the possibilities of the method of experimental science.
#SCIENCEANDFAITH
11) The last refuge of materialist reductionism is the assertion of blind confidence in future theoretical advances that will be able to explain consciousness and intelligence in terms of forces and particle structures at various levels: it cannot be shown that this will not happen in a way that is convincing to those who do not want to adhere to any scientific rigour. But it is clear that such a position actually hides a prejudice that denies the very methodology on which it claims to rest: it seeks to justify a position as scientific, without having any experimental data to prove it with known or foreseeable facts as an extension of any theory.
The materialist may say that not everything can yet be explained by the material, but that in the future it will be possible. He may even say that it will never be fully achieved, but that scientific progress explains more and more things, and that it is logical then to adhere to materialism. But it is important to note that these are promises that demand faith beyond the available evidence. And that, for the time being, materialistic explanations of intelligence and will are as insufficient now as they have always been. No one has so far been able to give a materialist explanation of intelligence worth considering, and authors like Karl Popper, while not sharing a spiritualist philosophy, readily admit that the "emergence" of human intelligence is a "miracle" that we will probably never understand. This position is at least respectful of reality as it is presented to us. On the other hand, those who claim that there is no difficulty in explaining intelligence now or in the future in terms of material processes, hold a thesis that goes far beyond the possibilities of the method of experimental science.
#SCIENCEANDFAITH
👍2
CHASTITY AND MARRIAGE
"That shifting ground which is the feminine soul can only be explored by one who, with great patience, accepts the unceasing renewal of her efforts over many years. For what is constant in her is her inconstancy; she is always the same: that is to say, she is never the same. "It is left in the calm, it is found again in the storm," said Amiel. It is therefore necessary for man to be always on the move. However, such an effort requires great psychological courage, which, unfortunately, man is not endowed with by nature. He, who easily adapts himself to an equivocal situation, as long as it does not entail too many complications, soon gives up what he believes to be a game of hide-and-seek on the part of his wife. Wrapped up in his innate selfishness, he decides to suppress his efforts. Unfortunately for his wife... and for himself
It is therefore advisable for the groom to convince himself that it is absolutely necessary for him to put effort- whatever is required and whatever the difficulties that arise, and whatever the time he has to spend on it - to understanding his bride, today, and, later on, his wife. If not, there will come certain disunity, inner divorce, at the very least, and perhaps even outward rupture. A woman can live only with a man who understands her; only with him can she be united. Without her wanting it, this call to understanding springs from the depths of her being, to such an extent that it can stifle love when the other does not respond to this call. Man must therefore know how to shake off the natural indolence which inclines him to think that everything is going very well, so that he believes himself dispensed from all effort; he must overcome his selfishness, for it can prevent him from seeing that the being with whom he lives in the most total intimacy possible, is a disappointed and unhappy being; that he knows how to become psychologically strong enough to keep himself in a state of alertness and restlessness, always on the lookout for what can help him to understand better and, consequently... to love better."
"Courtship and happiness" - Paul Eugene Charbonneau
#CHASTITYANDMARRIAGE
"That shifting ground which is the feminine soul can only be explored by one who, with great patience, accepts the unceasing renewal of her efforts over many years. For what is constant in her is her inconstancy; she is always the same: that is to say, she is never the same. "It is left in the calm, it is found again in the storm," said Amiel. It is therefore necessary for man to be always on the move. However, such an effort requires great psychological courage, which, unfortunately, man is not endowed with by nature. He, who easily adapts himself to an equivocal situation, as long as it does not entail too many complications, soon gives up what he believes to be a game of hide-and-seek on the part of his wife. Wrapped up in his innate selfishness, he decides to suppress his efforts. Unfortunately for his wife... and for himself
It is therefore advisable for the groom to convince himself that it is absolutely necessary for him to put effort- whatever is required and whatever the difficulties that arise, and whatever the time he has to spend on it - to understanding his bride, today, and, later on, his wife. If not, there will come certain disunity, inner divorce, at the very least, and perhaps even outward rupture. A woman can live only with a man who understands her; only with him can she be united. Without her wanting it, this call to understanding springs from the depths of her being, to such an extent that it can stifle love when the other does not respond to this call. Man must therefore know how to shake off the natural indolence which inclines him to think that everything is going very well, so that he believes himself dispensed from all effort; he must overcome his selfishness, for it can prevent him from seeing that the being with whom he lives in the most total intimacy possible, is a disappointed and unhappy being; that he knows how to become psychologically strong enough to keep himself in a state of alertness and restlessness, always on the lookout for what can help him to understand better and, consequently... to love better."
"Courtship and happiness" - Paul Eugene Charbonneau
#CHASTITYANDMARRIAGE
❤5
FATHER LEONARDO CASTELLANI
"The "parties" do not really unite. They unite artificially. They do not add, on the contrary, they subtract and divide as their very name indicates.
The great social classes of today, Capitalism and Communism, unite a minority and divide it against all the others. They instrument the parties to that. And their tendency is to destroy all other social forces; and to turn the people, already turned into a mass, into a herd, and themselves into their shepherd-mercenaries.
What naturally unites men is the family, the commune, the guild, the province, the region; and the particular estates, the army, religious groups, intellectual groups.
It is on these "intermediate bodies" (as they are called today) that the graded structure of a genuine nation can be built. Without them, the necessary result is slavery and despotism".
Revista Jauja, nº 6, June 1967 - Father Leonardo Castellani
#CHESTERTONCASTELLANIJMPRADA
"The "parties" do not really unite. They unite artificially. They do not add, on the contrary, they subtract and divide as their very name indicates.
The great social classes of today, Capitalism and Communism, unite a minority and divide it against all the others. They instrument the parties to that. And their tendency is to destroy all other social forces; and to turn the people, already turned into a mass, into a herd, and themselves into their shepherd-mercenaries.
What naturally unites men is the family, the commune, the guild, the province, the region; and the particular estates, the army, religious groups, intellectual groups.
It is on these "intermediate bodies" (as they are called today) that the graded structure of a genuine nation can be built. Without them, the necessary result is slavery and despotism".
Revista Jauja, nº 6, June 1967 - Father Leonardo Castellani
#CHESTERTONCASTELLANIJMPRADA
👍1
Forwarded from Nuestra Señora de la Cristiandad - España
Nuestra Señora de la Cristiandad - España se une a las oraciones de toda la Iglesia por el eterno descanso del Romano Pontífice.
Réquiem ætérnam dona ei, Dómine, et lux perpétua lúceat ei.
Requiescat in pace. Amen.
Réquiem ætérnam dona ei, Dómine, et lux perpétua lúceat ei.
Requiescat in pace. Amen.
❤2
FORGIVENESS
Misericordia et misera is a phrase used by Saint Augustine in recounting the story of Jesus’ meeting with the woman taken in adultery (cf. Jn 8:1-11). It would be difficult to imagine a more beautiful or apt way of expressing the mystery of God’s love when it touches the sinner: “the two of them alone remained: mercy with misery”.[1] What great mercy and divine justice shine forth in this narrative! Its teaching serves not only to throw light on the conclusion of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, but also to point out the path that we are called to follow in the future.
[...] Mercy cannot become a mere parenthesis in the life of the Church; it constitutes her very existence, through which the profound truths of the Gospel are made manifest and tangible. Everything is revealed in mercy; everything is resolved in the merciful love of the Father.
A woman and Jesus meet. She is an adulteress and, in the eyes of the Law, liable to be stoned. Jesus, through his preaching and the total gift of himself that would lead him to the Cross, returned the Mosaic Law to its true and original intent. Here what is central is not the law or legal justice, but the love of God, which is capable of looking into the heart of each person and seeing the deepest desire hidden there; God’s love must take primacy over all else. This Gospel account, however, is not an encounter of sin and judgement in the abstract, but of a sinner and her Saviour. Jesus looked that woman in the eye and read in her heart a desire to be understood, forgiven and set free. The misery of sin was clothed with the mercy of love. Jesus’ only judgement is one filled with mercy and compassion for the condition of this sinner. To those who wished to judge and condemn her to death, Jesus replies with a lengthy silence. His purpose was to let God’s voice be heard in the consciences not only of the woman, but also in those of her accusers, who drop their stones and one by one leave the scene (cf. Jn 8:9). Jesus then says: “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?… Neither do I condemn you. Go your way and from now on do not sin again” (vv. 10-11). Jesus helps the woman to look to the future with hope and to make a new start in life. Henceforth, if she so desires, she can “walk in charity” (Eph 5:2). Once clothed in mercy, even if the inclination to sin remains, it is overcome by the love that makes it possible for her to look ahead and to live her life differently.
"Apostolic letter Misericordia et misera"
- Pope Francis.
#FORGIVENESS
Misericordia et misera is a phrase used by Saint Augustine in recounting the story of Jesus’ meeting with the woman taken in adultery (cf. Jn 8:1-11). It would be difficult to imagine a more beautiful or apt way of expressing the mystery of God’s love when it touches the sinner: “the two of them alone remained: mercy with misery”.[1] What great mercy and divine justice shine forth in this narrative! Its teaching serves not only to throw light on the conclusion of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, but also to point out the path that we are called to follow in the future.
[...] Mercy cannot become a mere parenthesis in the life of the Church; it constitutes her very existence, through which the profound truths of the Gospel are made manifest and tangible. Everything is revealed in mercy; everything is resolved in the merciful love of the Father.
A woman and Jesus meet. She is an adulteress and, in the eyes of the Law, liable to be stoned. Jesus, through his preaching and the total gift of himself that would lead him to the Cross, returned the Mosaic Law to its true and original intent. Here what is central is not the law or legal justice, but the love of God, which is capable of looking into the heart of each person and seeing the deepest desire hidden there; God’s love must take primacy over all else. This Gospel account, however, is not an encounter of sin and judgement in the abstract, but of a sinner and her Saviour. Jesus looked that woman in the eye and read in her heart a desire to be understood, forgiven and set free. The misery of sin was clothed with the mercy of love. Jesus’ only judgement is one filled with mercy and compassion for the condition of this sinner. To those who wished to judge and condemn her to death, Jesus replies with a lengthy silence. His purpose was to let God’s voice be heard in the consciences not only of the woman, but also in those of her accusers, who drop their stones and one by one leave the scene (cf. Jn 8:9). Jesus then says: “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?… Neither do I condemn you. Go your way and from now on do not sin again” (vv. 10-11). Jesus helps the woman to look to the future with hope and to make a new start in life. Henceforth, if she so desires, she can “walk in charity” (Eph 5:2). Once clothed in mercy, even if the inclination to sin remains, it is overcome by the love that makes it possible for her to look ahead and to live her life differently.
"Apostolic letter Misericordia et misera"
- Pope Francis.
#FORGIVENESS
❤🔥3
FORGIVENESS
What great joy welled up in the heart of these two women: the adulteress and the sinner! Forgiveness made them feel free at last and happy as never before. Their tears of shame and pain turned into the smile of a person who knows that he or she is loved. Mercy gives rise to joy, because our hearts are opened to the hope of a new life. The joy of forgiveness is inexpressible, yet it radiates all around us whenever we experience forgiveness. Its source is in the love with which God comes to meet us, breaking through walls of selfishness that surround us, in order to make us in turn instruments of mercy.
How meaningful in this regard for us too are the ancient words which guided the first Christians: “Clothe yourselves in joy, which always is agreeable and acceptable to God, and rejoice in it. For all who are joyful do what is good, think what is good, and despise sadness… All who put aside sadness and put on joy will live in God”.[2] The experience of mercy brings joy. May we never allow this joy to be robbed from us by our troubles and concerns. May it remain rooted in our hearts and enable us to approach with serenity the events of our daily lives.
In a culture often dominated by technology, sadness and loneliness appear to be on the rise, not least among young people. The future seems prey to an uncertainty that does not make for stability. This often gives rise to depression, sadness and boredom, which can gradually lead to despair. We need witnesses to hope and true joy if we are to dispel the illusions that promise quick and easy happiness through artificial paradises. The profound sense of emptiness felt by so many people can be overcome by the hope we bear in our hearts and by the joy that it gives. We need to acknowledge the joy that rises up in a heart touched by mercy. Let us keep in mind, then, the words of the Apostle: “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil 4:4; cf. 1 Thess 5:16)
"Apostolic letter Misericordia et misera"
- Pope Francis
#FORGIVENESS
What great joy welled up in the heart of these two women: the adulteress and the sinner! Forgiveness made them feel free at last and happy as never before. Their tears of shame and pain turned into the smile of a person who knows that he or she is loved. Mercy gives rise to joy, because our hearts are opened to the hope of a new life. The joy of forgiveness is inexpressible, yet it radiates all around us whenever we experience forgiveness. Its source is in the love with which God comes to meet us, breaking through walls of selfishness that surround us, in order to make us in turn instruments of mercy.
How meaningful in this regard for us too are the ancient words which guided the first Christians: “Clothe yourselves in joy, which always is agreeable and acceptable to God, and rejoice in it. For all who are joyful do what is good, think what is good, and despise sadness… All who put aside sadness and put on joy will live in God”.[2] The experience of mercy brings joy. May we never allow this joy to be robbed from us by our troubles and concerns. May it remain rooted in our hearts and enable us to approach with serenity the events of our daily lives.
In a culture often dominated by technology, sadness and loneliness appear to be on the rise, not least among young people. The future seems prey to an uncertainty that does not make for stability. This often gives rise to depression, sadness and boredom, which can gradually lead to despair. We need witnesses to hope and true joy if we are to dispel the illusions that promise quick and easy happiness through artificial paradises. The profound sense of emptiness felt by so many people can be overcome by the hope we bear in our hearts and by the joy that it gives. We need to acknowledge the joy that rises up in a heart touched by mercy. Let us keep in mind, then, the words of the Apostle: “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil 4:4; cf. 1 Thess 5:16)
"Apostolic letter Misericordia et misera"
- Pope Francis
#FORGIVENESS
❤🔥3
The celebration of mercy takes place in a very particular way in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. Here we feel the embrace of the Father, who comes forth to meet us and grant us the grace of being once more his sons and daughters. We are sinners and we bear the burden of contradiction between what we wish to do and what we do in fact (cf. Rom 7:14-21). Yet grace always precedes us and takes on the face of the mercy that effects our reconciliation and pardon. God makes us understand his great love for us precisely when we recognize that we are sinners. Grace is stronger than sin: it overcomes every possible form of resistance, because love conquers all (cf. 1 Cor 13:7).
In the sacrament of Forgiveness God shows us the way to turn back to him and invites us to experience his closeness anew. This pardon can be obtained by beginning, first of all, to live in charity. The Apostle Peter tells us this when he writes that “love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Pet 4:8). Only God forgives sins, but he asks that we be ready to forgive others even as he forgives us: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us” (Mt 6:12). How sad it is when our hearts are closed and unable to forgive! Resentment, anger and revenge gain the upper hand, making our lives miserable and blocking a joyful commitment to mercy.
"Apostolic letter Misericordia et misera"
- Pope Francis
#FORGIVENESS
In the sacrament of Forgiveness God shows us the way to turn back to him and invites us to experience his closeness anew. This pardon can be obtained by beginning, first of all, to live in charity. The Apostle Peter tells us this when he writes that “love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Pet 4:8). Only God forgives sins, but he asks that we be ready to forgive others even as he forgives us: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us” (Mt 6:12). How sad it is when our hearts are closed and unable to forgive! Resentment, anger and revenge gain the upper hand, making our lives miserable and blocking a joyful commitment to mercy.
"Apostolic letter Misericordia et misera"
- Pope Francis
#FORGIVENESS
❤🔥2
FORGIVENESS
Another face of mercy is consolation. “Comfort, comfort my people” (Is 40:1) is the heartfelt plea that the prophet continues to make today, so that a word of hope may come to all those who experience suffering and pain. Let us never allow ourselves to be robbed of the hope born of faith in the Risen Lord. True, we are often sorely tested, but we must never lose our certainty of the Lord’s love for us. His mercy finds expression also in the closeness, affection and support that many of our brothers and sisters can offer us at times of sadness and affliction. The drying of tears is one way to break the vicious circle of solitude in which we often find ourselves trapped.
All of us need consolation because no one is spared suffering, pain and misunderstanding. How much pain can be caused by a spiteful remark born of envy, jealousy or anger! What great suffering is caused by the experience of betrayal, violence and abandonment! How much sorrow in the face of the death of a loved one! And yet God is never far from us at these moments of sadness and trouble. A reassuring word, an embrace that makes us feel understood, a caress that makes us experience love, a prayer that makes us stronger… all these things express God’s closeness through the consolation offered by our brothers and sisters.
Sometimes too, silence can be helpful, especially when we cannot find words in response to the questions of those who suffer. A lack of words, however, can be made up for by the compassion of a person who stays at our side, who loves us and who holds out a hand. It is not true that silence is an act of surrender; on the contrary, it is a moment of strength and love. Silence too belongs to our language of consolation, because it becomes a concrete way of sharing in the suffering of a brother or sister.
"Apostolic letter Misericordia et misera"
- Pope Francis
#FORGIVENESS
Another face of mercy is consolation. “Comfort, comfort my people” (Is 40:1) is the heartfelt plea that the prophet continues to make today, so that a word of hope may come to all those who experience suffering and pain. Let us never allow ourselves to be robbed of the hope born of faith in the Risen Lord. True, we are often sorely tested, but we must never lose our certainty of the Lord’s love for us. His mercy finds expression also in the closeness, affection and support that many of our brothers and sisters can offer us at times of sadness and affliction. The drying of tears is one way to break the vicious circle of solitude in which we often find ourselves trapped.
All of us need consolation because no one is spared suffering, pain and misunderstanding. How much pain can be caused by a spiteful remark born of envy, jealousy or anger! What great suffering is caused by the experience of betrayal, violence and abandonment! How much sorrow in the face of the death of a loved one! And yet God is never far from us at these moments of sadness and trouble. A reassuring word, an embrace that makes us feel understood, a caress that makes us experience love, a prayer that makes us stronger… all these things express God’s closeness through the consolation offered by our brothers and sisters.
Sometimes too, silence can be helpful, especially when we cannot find words in response to the questions of those who suffer. A lack of words, however, can be made up for by the compassion of a person who stays at our side, who loves us and who holds out a hand. It is not true that silence is an act of surrender; on the contrary, it is a moment of strength and love. Silence too belongs to our language of consolation, because it becomes a concrete way of sharing in the suffering of a brother or sister.
"Apostolic letter Misericordia et misera"
- Pope Francis
#FORGIVENESS
❤2
MILAGROS
"a family of workers, whose father is unemployed, laments the imminent danger threatening one of their eight children, a little six-year-old boy, Daniel B... is in a very bad way. Sick with infectious cerebro-spinal meningitis, he is delirious and struggles with the anguish of approaching agony. The hospital doctor has warned his mother (...) that (...) the next day she will have to be told that her son is dead. "Desolate, the poor mother entrusts her grief to excellent neighbours (...) who come up with a brilliant idea: "Madam, if you wish, we will send a telegram on your behalf to a holy priest in Italy to ask him to pray for the dying child and bless him". The mother agreed and the telegram was sent at 1.30 p.m. full of hope. At 3pm, Mrs. B... was in hospital. Daniel has a fever of 41°. He is struggling with convulsions. The nun on duty begged his mother to leave, wanting to spare her the pain of seeing her son die. But she stayed... At 4 pm, the fever dropped to 37°C. There was a lull. The child rests. He is saved. The message reached its address and Padre Pio's prayers had already brought the dying child back to health (...) "The next morning, the doctor who was looking after the child, seeing Daniel's mother arrive, exclaimed: "I don't understand anything, but your son is not only saved, he is cured! Nevertheless, I want to keep him under observation for a few days. Mrs. B..., moved by her immense joy, went to her friends who had had this happy inspiration, and they gave her the life of this religious saint to read; the book had his photo on the cover. Mrs. B... returns with her son carrying the book and places it on the child's bed. The child looks up. "Listen, mum, I know this priest. He came to see me twice already this morning... He started singing so I wouldn't be scared... And then he left through the door you come in through when you come to see me. "The mother quickly replied: "How can you expect, my son, that a priest who lives miles away from here has come to see you? But, at the boy's insistence, his mother was forced to admit the truth. She was unaware that Padre Pio possessed the inexplicable gift, given to certain saints, of bilocation. And for the sake of her little dying child, Padre Pio had made a journey of more than 2,000 km at the speed of thought... "Daniel B... is so healthy that his parents decide to take him out of hospital before the date prescribed by the doctor, because it must not be forgotten that his father is unemployed and that the expenses are too much for the marriage. Faced with this magnificent gift from heaven that gives them back their son, these good people reflect. They had not enjoyed the grace of Christian marriage: the following 19 March, they asked a priest to bless their marriage. They had found the way to true happiness, which is that of Christian truth. Since then, Daniel has been doing very well. His father says that his liveliness and vitality are a testimony to his regained health. And from time to time, Daniel whispers to his mother: "You know, Mom, when I grow up, I'm going to be a priest. When I grow up, I will be a priest
(...) We can see once again how this miraculous healing obeys, so to speak, the laws of these cases: the power of prayer and the sincerity of faith moved God to intervene by means of a double miracle (inexplicable healing and bilocation), Padre Pio being the intercessor between the faithful and God and also God's "instrument" for this circumstance. And also other characteristics: the obvious and immediate fruits of the miracle (the physical healing of a man condemned by medicine) were accompanied by spiritual fruits: for all, a deepening of faith (the parents marry religiously, the child thinks of becoming a priest). Like all the miracles in Padre Pio's life, this one is situated in a supernatural or religious perspective, while at the same time restoring the disrupted natural order"
"Padre Pio The Capuchin of Stigmata" - Yves Chiron
#MIRACLESANDPROVIDENCE
"a family of workers, whose father is unemployed, laments the imminent danger threatening one of their eight children, a little six-year-old boy, Daniel B... is in a very bad way. Sick with infectious cerebro-spinal meningitis, he is delirious and struggles with the anguish of approaching agony. The hospital doctor has warned his mother (...) that (...) the next day she will have to be told that her son is dead. "Desolate, the poor mother entrusts her grief to excellent neighbours (...) who come up with a brilliant idea: "Madam, if you wish, we will send a telegram on your behalf to a holy priest in Italy to ask him to pray for the dying child and bless him". The mother agreed and the telegram was sent at 1.30 p.m. full of hope. At 3pm, Mrs. B... was in hospital. Daniel has a fever of 41°. He is struggling with convulsions. The nun on duty begged his mother to leave, wanting to spare her the pain of seeing her son die. But she stayed... At 4 pm, the fever dropped to 37°C. There was a lull. The child rests. He is saved. The message reached its address and Padre Pio's prayers had already brought the dying child back to health (...) "The next morning, the doctor who was looking after the child, seeing Daniel's mother arrive, exclaimed: "I don't understand anything, but your son is not only saved, he is cured! Nevertheless, I want to keep him under observation for a few days. Mrs. B..., moved by her immense joy, went to her friends who had had this happy inspiration, and they gave her the life of this religious saint to read; the book had his photo on the cover. Mrs. B... returns with her son carrying the book and places it on the child's bed. The child looks up. "Listen, mum, I know this priest. He came to see me twice already this morning... He started singing so I wouldn't be scared... And then he left through the door you come in through when you come to see me. "The mother quickly replied: "How can you expect, my son, that a priest who lives miles away from here has come to see you? But, at the boy's insistence, his mother was forced to admit the truth. She was unaware that Padre Pio possessed the inexplicable gift, given to certain saints, of bilocation. And for the sake of her little dying child, Padre Pio had made a journey of more than 2,000 km at the speed of thought... "Daniel B... is so healthy that his parents decide to take him out of hospital before the date prescribed by the doctor, because it must not be forgotten that his father is unemployed and that the expenses are too much for the marriage. Faced with this magnificent gift from heaven that gives them back their son, these good people reflect. They had not enjoyed the grace of Christian marriage: the following 19 March, they asked a priest to bless their marriage. They had found the way to true happiness, which is that of Christian truth. Since then, Daniel has been doing very well. His father says that his liveliness and vitality are a testimony to his regained health. And from time to time, Daniel whispers to his mother: "You know, Mom, when I grow up, I'm going to be a priest. When I grow up, I will be a priest
(...) We can see once again how this miraculous healing obeys, so to speak, the laws of these cases: the power of prayer and the sincerity of faith moved God to intervene by means of a double miracle (inexplicable healing and bilocation), Padre Pio being the intercessor between the faithful and God and also God's "instrument" for this circumstance. And also other characteristics: the obvious and immediate fruits of the miracle (the physical healing of a man condemned by medicine) were accompanied by spiritual fruits: for all, a deepening of faith (the parents marry religiously, the child thinks of becoming a priest). Like all the miracles in Padre Pio's life, this one is situated in a supernatural or religious perspective, while at the same time restoring the disrupted natural order"
"Padre Pio The Capuchin of Stigmata" - Yves Chiron
#MIRACLESANDPROVIDENCE
❤1
VARIOUS ARTICLES
"All sin, indeed, presupposes a great error in the understanding, without which it would be psychologically impossible. As we have already said in speaking of the ultimate end of man and of human acts, the proper object of the will is good, as that of the eyes is colour and that of the ears is sound. It is psychologically impossible for the will to throw itself into the possession of an object if the understanding does not present it to itself as a good. If it were presented to it as an evil, the will would reject it immediately and without hesitation. It happens, however, that the understanding, when contemplating a created object, can easily become confused in the right appreciation of its value, by discovering in it certain aspects flattering to one part of the human compound (e.g., to the body), even though, on the other hand, it sees that it also presents aspects which are objectionable from another point of view (e.g., that of morality).
The understanding vacillates between the two extremes and does not know which card to take. If it succeeds in dispensing with the clamour of the passions, which want at all costs to tip the scales in their favour, the understanding will rightly judge that the moral order is a thousand times preferable to the flattery and satisfaction of the passions, and will present the object to the will as something evil or inconvenient, and the will will will reject it with energy and promptness. But if, blinded and darkened by the impetus of the passions, the understanding ceases to notice those reasons of inconvenience, and fixes itself more and more earnestly on the flattering aspects for the passion, there will come a time when the erroneous and mistaken appreciation will prevail in it that, After all, it is preferable in the present circumstances to accept that object which is so seductive, and, closing his eyes to the moral aspect, he will present that sinful object to the will as a real good, that is to say, as something worthy of being desired; And the will blindly throws itself upon it, giving its consent, which will definitively consummate the sin. The understanding, obscured by the passions, has made the fatal mistake of confusing an apparent good with a real good, and the will has freely chosen it by virtue of that great mistake.
It is precisely this psychology of sin, based on the defectibility of human understanding in the face of created goods, which is the profound reason for the intrinsic impeccability of the blessed in heaven. By contemplating face to face the divine essence as infinite Truth, and by possessing it fully as supreme and infinite Good, the understanding will be fully immersed in the ocean of Truth, and there will be no loophole through which the smallest error can infiltrate. And the will, in its turn, will be totally submerged in the beatific enjoyment of the supreme Good, and it will be psychologically impossible for it to desire any other complementary good. Under these conditions, sin will be psychologically and metaphysically impossible, as it would be in this world too if we could see with all clarity and serenity of judgement the infinite distance between the absolute Good and relative goods. Sin always supposes a great ignorance and a great initial error, since it is the height of ignorance and error to exchange the infinite Good for the fleeting and transitory enjoyment of a perishable and expiring good such as that offered by sin."
"Moral Theology for Laymen" - Father Royo Marín
#VARIOUSARTICLES
"All sin, indeed, presupposes a great error in the understanding, without which it would be psychologically impossible. As we have already said in speaking of the ultimate end of man and of human acts, the proper object of the will is good, as that of the eyes is colour and that of the ears is sound. It is psychologically impossible for the will to throw itself into the possession of an object if the understanding does not present it to itself as a good. If it were presented to it as an evil, the will would reject it immediately and without hesitation. It happens, however, that the understanding, when contemplating a created object, can easily become confused in the right appreciation of its value, by discovering in it certain aspects flattering to one part of the human compound (e.g., to the body), even though, on the other hand, it sees that it also presents aspects which are objectionable from another point of view (e.g., that of morality).
The understanding vacillates between the two extremes and does not know which card to take. If it succeeds in dispensing with the clamour of the passions, which want at all costs to tip the scales in their favour, the understanding will rightly judge that the moral order is a thousand times preferable to the flattery and satisfaction of the passions, and will present the object to the will as something evil or inconvenient, and the will will will reject it with energy and promptness. But if, blinded and darkened by the impetus of the passions, the understanding ceases to notice those reasons of inconvenience, and fixes itself more and more earnestly on the flattering aspects for the passion, there will come a time when the erroneous and mistaken appreciation will prevail in it that, After all, it is preferable in the present circumstances to accept that object which is so seductive, and, closing his eyes to the moral aspect, he will present that sinful object to the will as a real good, that is to say, as something worthy of being desired; And the will blindly throws itself upon it, giving its consent, which will definitively consummate the sin. The understanding, obscured by the passions, has made the fatal mistake of confusing an apparent good with a real good, and the will has freely chosen it by virtue of that great mistake.
It is precisely this psychology of sin, based on the defectibility of human understanding in the face of created goods, which is the profound reason for the intrinsic impeccability of the blessed in heaven. By contemplating face to face the divine essence as infinite Truth, and by possessing it fully as supreme and infinite Good, the understanding will be fully immersed in the ocean of Truth, and there will be no loophole through which the smallest error can infiltrate. And the will, in its turn, will be totally submerged in the beatific enjoyment of the supreme Good, and it will be psychologically impossible for it to desire any other complementary good. Under these conditions, sin will be psychologically and metaphysically impossible, as it would be in this world too if we could see with all clarity and serenity of judgement the infinite distance between the absolute Good and relative goods. Sin always supposes a great ignorance and a great initial error, since it is the height of ignorance and error to exchange the infinite Good for the fleeting and transitory enjoyment of a perishable and expiring good such as that offered by sin."
"Moral Theology for Laymen" - Father Royo Marín
#VARIOUSARTICLES
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RELIGIOUS ARTICLES
"self-deprecation is often just another manifestation of narcissism. In reality, the opposite of narcissism is not self-loathing, but rather a balanced self-esteem. This means that the healing of narcissism requires an education in a healthy and balanced love of self. Moreover, this "love of self" ("self-esteem", as we would say today), is the measure indicated by Christ to be taken as a reference when it comes to loving one's neighbour: "You shall love your neighbour as yourself". The Gospel speaks to us of self-denial and self-forgetfulness as a condition for following Christ. But in order to be able to do this, it is necessary to be grounded in a living and actual experience of the value we have in the eyes of God. Let us not forget that self-esteem does not come from doing a lot of things, nor from achieving success, nor from physical appearance... etc.; but from knowing that we are loved. Undoubtedly, in our culture, one of the main reasons for the lack of self-esteem is the crisis of the family, together with the lack of awareness of the personal and unconditional love that God has for us. For this reason, the proclamation of God's infinite love for each person is called to be the backbone of the evangelisation of young people. Young people, or rather - let us all look at ourselves in this mirror - each one of us present here, suffer greatly from the fluctuation of our feelings. We run the risk of judging ourselves according to the judgement of others, of sinking because of a comment or a failure?
It is a real drama when our moods resemble the ups and downs of the stock market or the roller coaster! How can we find a stable, solid and firm emotional point?
The answer, again, lies in the Redemption brought about by Jesus Christ. The value of man is great, like that of the very blood of Christ. When we are tempted to belittle or self-deprecate ourselves, it is time to remind ourselves that "God does not make rubbish"; even if we are sometimes tempted to see ourselves that way when we look in the mirror. God has given his life for each one of us; for you, for me... sometimes I think I am the centre of the universe, and other times I perceive myself as pure waste.
Our self-esteem cannot depend on whether others speak well or badly of us. Not even on whether things go better or worse for us.... Undoubtedly, we will always value the positive comments of others, and we will rejoice in our achievements and small triumphs; but the real and ultimate consideration of the value of our life cannot be based on this. Otherwise, we would be - as we so often observe in this narcissistic culture - "beggars of affectivity", instead of "called to love".
Christ crucified is the exact measure of what each of us is worth to God. It is not a matter of understanding it only in theory, but of interiorising and personalising it, making it our identity card. Without this faith, self-denial would be literally impossible, and we would be condemned to the slavery of narcissism. Self-denial and self-forgetfulness, in the sense in which they are preached by Christ in the Gospel, presuppose self-love. Whoever has the experience of being loved unconditionally by God, finds himself, and it is then that he can forget himself in every relationship with others. But, beware, not out of a desire to despise oneself, but because he feels himself overflowing with appreciation and awareness of the unconditional love received from God".
"The discarding of abortion" - Monsignor José Ignacio Munilla.
#RELIGIOUSARTICLES
"self-deprecation is often just another manifestation of narcissism. In reality, the opposite of narcissism is not self-loathing, but rather a balanced self-esteem. This means that the healing of narcissism requires an education in a healthy and balanced love of self. Moreover, this "love of self" ("self-esteem", as we would say today), is the measure indicated by Christ to be taken as a reference when it comes to loving one's neighbour: "You shall love your neighbour as yourself". The Gospel speaks to us of self-denial and self-forgetfulness as a condition for following Christ. But in order to be able to do this, it is necessary to be grounded in a living and actual experience of the value we have in the eyes of God. Let us not forget that self-esteem does not come from doing a lot of things, nor from achieving success, nor from physical appearance... etc.; but from knowing that we are loved. Undoubtedly, in our culture, one of the main reasons for the lack of self-esteem is the crisis of the family, together with the lack of awareness of the personal and unconditional love that God has for us. For this reason, the proclamation of God's infinite love for each person is called to be the backbone of the evangelisation of young people. Young people, or rather - let us all look at ourselves in this mirror - each one of us present here, suffer greatly from the fluctuation of our feelings. We run the risk of judging ourselves according to the judgement of others, of sinking because of a comment or a failure?
It is a real drama when our moods resemble the ups and downs of the stock market or the roller coaster! How can we find a stable, solid and firm emotional point?
The answer, again, lies in the Redemption brought about by Jesus Christ. The value of man is great, like that of the very blood of Christ. When we are tempted to belittle or self-deprecate ourselves, it is time to remind ourselves that "God does not make rubbish"; even if we are sometimes tempted to see ourselves that way when we look in the mirror. God has given his life for each one of us; for you, for me... sometimes I think I am the centre of the universe, and other times I perceive myself as pure waste.
Our self-esteem cannot depend on whether others speak well or badly of us. Not even on whether things go better or worse for us.... Undoubtedly, we will always value the positive comments of others, and we will rejoice in our achievements and small triumphs; but the real and ultimate consideration of the value of our life cannot be based on this. Otherwise, we would be - as we so often observe in this narcissistic culture - "beggars of affectivity", instead of "called to love".
Christ crucified is the exact measure of what each of us is worth to God. It is not a matter of understanding it only in theory, but of interiorising and personalising it, making it our identity card. Without this faith, self-denial would be literally impossible, and we would be condemned to the slavery of narcissism. Self-denial and self-forgetfulness, in the sense in which they are preached by Christ in the Gospel, presuppose self-love. Whoever has the experience of being loved unconditionally by God, finds himself, and it is then that he can forget himself in every relationship with others. But, beware, not out of a desire to despise oneself, but because he feels himself overflowing with appreciation and awareness of the unconditional love received from God".
"The discarding of abortion" - Monsignor José Ignacio Munilla.
#RELIGIOUSARTICLES
VARIOUS ARTICLES
"From Father Faber, who cannot be described as poorly illustrated, we quote here a precious passage about his famous compatriots Milton and Byron. This is what the great English writer said in one of his most beautiful letters:
I do not understand the strange anomaly of people of the drawing-room, who quote with praise such men as Milton and Byron, while at the same time showing that they love Christ and place in Him all hope of salvation. Christ and the Church are loved, and those who blaspheme them are praised in society; impurity is thundered and spoken against as hateful to God, and a man whise life and works have been saturated with it is celebrated. I cannot understand the distinction between the man and the poet, between the pure and the impure passages. If a man offends the object of my love, I can receive from him neither comfort nor pleasure, and I cannot conceive how can we like the works of the enemies of our Saviour while having ardent and delicate love for Him. Intelligence admits distinctions, but the heart does not. Milton (cursed be the memory of this blasphemer!), spent a great part of his life writing against the divinity of my Lord, my only faith, my only love; this thought poisons me. Byron, trampling under foot his duties to his country and all natural affections, shamefully stooped, dressing crime and unbelief in beautiful verse. The monster who placed (dare I write it?), Jesus Christ on a level with, and as a companion of, Jupiter and Muhammad, is to me nothing but a fierce beast, even in his purest passages, and I have never regretted having thrown into the fire at Oxford a beautiful edition of his works in four volumes... England does not need Milton. How can my country need a policy, a courage, a talent, or anything else that curses God; and how can the Eternal Father bless the talent and work of him who in prose and verse has disowned it?""
"Liberalism is sin" - Father Félix Sardá y Salvany
#VARIOUSARTICLES
"From Father Faber, who cannot be described as poorly illustrated, we quote here a precious passage about his famous compatriots Milton and Byron. This is what the great English writer said in one of his most beautiful letters:
I do not understand the strange anomaly of people of the drawing-room, who quote with praise such men as Milton and Byron, while at the same time showing that they love Christ and place in Him all hope of salvation. Christ and the Church are loved, and those who blaspheme them are praised in society; impurity is thundered and spoken against as hateful to God, and a man whise life and works have been saturated with it is celebrated. I cannot understand the distinction between the man and the poet, between the pure and the impure passages. If a man offends the object of my love, I can receive from him neither comfort nor pleasure, and I cannot conceive how can we like the works of the enemies of our Saviour while having ardent and delicate love for Him. Intelligence admits distinctions, but the heart does not. Milton (cursed be the memory of this blasphemer!), spent a great part of his life writing against the divinity of my Lord, my only faith, my only love; this thought poisons me. Byron, trampling under foot his duties to his country and all natural affections, shamefully stooped, dressing crime and unbelief in beautiful verse. The monster who placed (dare I write it?), Jesus Christ on a level with, and as a companion of, Jupiter and Muhammad, is to me nothing but a fierce beast, even in his purest passages, and I have never regretted having thrown into the fire at Oxford a beautiful edition of his works in four volumes... England does not need Milton. How can my country need a policy, a courage, a talent, or anything else that curses God; and how can the Eternal Father bless the talent and work of him who in prose and verse has disowned it?""
"Liberalism is sin" - Father Félix Sardá y Salvany
#VARIOUSARTICLES
❤1
JUAN MANUEL DE PRADA
"Bernanos said that democracy is a political form whose philosophical foundation is "indifference between the true and the false" and whose practical aim is "economic dictatorship, hoping to be, in the future of universal dirigisme, something even worse". And, as if to confirm this devastating definition by Bernanos with practical examples, the governor of the Bank of Spain has appeared, spouting the whole catechism of universal dirigisme (...) he has recommended, in order to reduce excessive temporary contracts, "to make permanent contracts more attractive, preventing their excessive protection from continuing to encourage temporary employment and discouraging the creation of stable jobs". Here (...) he uses a textbook logical fallacy, not without a touch of cheek, to which demagogues frequently resort, sometimes with success. It is to present the cause of an evil as its remedy, in the malicious and sardonic manner of the blind bastard in Lazarillo de Tormes, who, after disqualifying the protagonist by pouring a jug of wine over him, mocked him by applying wine to his wounds and saying mockingly: "What do you think, Lazarus? What made you sick makes you well and healthy". (...) he claims that, in order to encourage permanent employment, the best thing to do is to avoid its "excessive protection"; in other words, he proposes that dismissal should be made cheaper (even cheaper!) and that the worker should be stripped of legal guarantees (even more!). It is as grotesque as saying that, in order to promote marriage, it is best to avoid its "excessive protection"; to do this, adultery is decriminalised, divorce is promoted and spouses are exempted from their reciprocal duties. It is obvious that this is a gross fallacy; but the fact is that this, exactly this, was done to destroy marriage, and people took the bait so richly.
(...) he no doubt thought that a fallacy which has been so successful for demagogues on previous occasions would also work on this occasion; but for such a gross fallacy to work it requires, in addition to corrupt people who no longer distinguish true from false, a baiting tidbit to obfuscate it (thus, to destroy marriage, the tidbit of sanctifying the weaknesses of the flesh was offered); (...) he forgot - he forgot - that it is a gross fallacy. ..) he forgot - perhaps too much urged by universal dirigisme - to offer the tidbit to disguise his crude logical fallacy.
At another point in his speech, (...) he resorted to sophistry, defending the "adaptation of wages" to the specific conditions of each company; or, in other words, that wages should not be fixed by agreement, but should be determined at each moment, depending on the situation of the company. Here (...) he slips in a more sibylline sophistry, as he starts from a plausible premise to justify the lowering of wages; however, he evades the logical conclusion required by justice: if a worker agrees to reduce his wages when the company he works for is making a loss, he must in return share in its profits when it is making a profit. (...) However, it ignores this requirement of justice by claiming that wages should be "adjusted" when the company is in difficulties, but not when it is in a better position. In short, what it proposes is that the worker should suffer the losses and not enjoy the benefits (...)".
"Falacias y sofismas" - Juan Manuel de Prada
#CHESTERTONCASTELLANIJMPRADA
"Bernanos said that democracy is a political form whose philosophical foundation is "indifference between the true and the false" and whose practical aim is "economic dictatorship, hoping to be, in the future of universal dirigisme, something even worse". And, as if to confirm this devastating definition by Bernanos with practical examples, the governor of the Bank of Spain has appeared, spouting the whole catechism of universal dirigisme (...) he has recommended, in order to reduce excessive temporary contracts, "to make permanent contracts more attractive, preventing their excessive protection from continuing to encourage temporary employment and discouraging the creation of stable jobs". Here (...) he uses a textbook logical fallacy, not without a touch of cheek, to which demagogues frequently resort, sometimes with success. It is to present the cause of an evil as its remedy, in the malicious and sardonic manner of the blind bastard in Lazarillo de Tormes, who, after disqualifying the protagonist by pouring a jug of wine over him, mocked him by applying wine to his wounds and saying mockingly: "What do you think, Lazarus? What made you sick makes you well and healthy". (...) he claims that, in order to encourage permanent employment, the best thing to do is to avoid its "excessive protection"; in other words, he proposes that dismissal should be made cheaper (even cheaper!) and that the worker should be stripped of legal guarantees (even more!). It is as grotesque as saying that, in order to promote marriage, it is best to avoid its "excessive protection"; to do this, adultery is decriminalised, divorce is promoted and spouses are exempted from their reciprocal duties. It is obvious that this is a gross fallacy; but the fact is that this, exactly this, was done to destroy marriage, and people took the bait so richly.
(...) he no doubt thought that a fallacy which has been so successful for demagogues on previous occasions would also work on this occasion; but for such a gross fallacy to work it requires, in addition to corrupt people who no longer distinguish true from false, a baiting tidbit to obfuscate it (thus, to destroy marriage, the tidbit of sanctifying the weaknesses of the flesh was offered); (...) he forgot - he forgot - that it is a gross fallacy. ..) he forgot - perhaps too much urged by universal dirigisme - to offer the tidbit to disguise his crude logical fallacy.
At another point in his speech, (...) he resorted to sophistry, defending the "adaptation of wages" to the specific conditions of each company; or, in other words, that wages should not be fixed by agreement, but should be determined at each moment, depending on the situation of the company. Here (...) he slips in a more sibylline sophistry, as he starts from a plausible premise to justify the lowering of wages; however, he evades the logical conclusion required by justice: if a worker agrees to reduce his wages when the company he works for is making a loss, he must in return share in its profits when it is making a profit. (...) However, it ignores this requirement of justice by claiming that wages should be "adjusted" when the company is in difficulties, but not when it is in a better position. In short, what it proposes is that the worker should suffer the losses and not enjoy the benefits (...)".
"Falacias y sofismas" - Juan Manuel de Prada
#CHESTERTONCASTELLANIJMPRADA
👍3
VARIOUS ARTICLES
"Eclecticism takes its name from a Greek word meaning "to choose". So the eclectic is one who takes a little from here and a little from there. The eclectic is a person who does not choose a single system or a single school, but takes from each one what he likes. So there were eclectics who combined stoicism with scepticism, or with Aristotelianism. The combinations can be many, since the eclectic feels authorised to take from each system what he likes best or what convinces him most. As when the grandmothers of yesteryear used to make those blankets of many colours, which were only a union of scraps of other blankets.
Although it is true that in the eclectic attitude there is a certain part of truth, since the philosopher must search for the truth and sometimes it happens that a school has found valuable things. Then the philosopher can take them, assimilate them. But the difference between the true philosopher and the one who is just a vulgar eclectic, is that the philosopher builds a coherent world view, in which each truth found has its place and its natural function. He does not make a blanket of multicoloured patchwork, but a uniform and finished work of art. Like the goldsmith who, from many pieces of gold, after melting them down, makes a single marvellous piece, in which it is no longer possible to distinguish the original pieces, because now they all form a single, harmonious piece of art.
[Eclecticism] becomes an equivocal activity when we want to build an ethical or religious system using the bricks of the building, contradictory things. Then we become incoherent beings, who go through life proclaiming sometimes no, sometimes yes, when faced with questions of the utmost importance.
An example of healthy eclecticism? A good example would be that effort of parents in the education of their children which is summed up in that phrase we have all heard at some time or other: dedicate yourself to following only good examples; that is to say, look around you and take for your own life only those examples of correct conduct. Or when parents say to their children: take the good and leave the bad. That would be an example of healthy eclecticism, because what is basically sought is that the child or adolescent takes a little from each person he meets, but as long as the "little" he borrows is positive for his own formation as a person".
"Love for wisdom" - Leonardo Rodríguez
#VARIOUSARTICLES
"Eclecticism takes its name from a Greek word meaning "to choose". So the eclectic is one who takes a little from here and a little from there. The eclectic is a person who does not choose a single system or a single school, but takes from each one what he likes. So there were eclectics who combined stoicism with scepticism, or with Aristotelianism. The combinations can be many, since the eclectic feels authorised to take from each system what he likes best or what convinces him most. As when the grandmothers of yesteryear used to make those blankets of many colours, which were only a union of scraps of other blankets.
Although it is true that in the eclectic attitude there is a certain part of truth, since the philosopher must search for the truth and sometimes it happens that a school has found valuable things. Then the philosopher can take them, assimilate them. But the difference between the true philosopher and the one who is just a vulgar eclectic, is that the philosopher builds a coherent world view, in which each truth found has its place and its natural function. He does not make a blanket of multicoloured patchwork, but a uniform and finished work of art. Like the goldsmith who, from many pieces of gold, after melting them down, makes a single marvellous piece, in which it is no longer possible to distinguish the original pieces, because now they all form a single, harmonious piece of art.
[Eclecticism] becomes an equivocal activity when we want to build an ethical or religious system using the bricks of the building, contradictory things. Then we become incoherent beings, who go through life proclaiming sometimes no, sometimes yes, when faced with questions of the utmost importance.
An example of healthy eclecticism? A good example would be that effort of parents in the education of their children which is summed up in that phrase we have all heard at some time or other: dedicate yourself to following only good examples; that is to say, look around you and take for your own life only those examples of correct conduct. Or when parents say to their children: take the good and leave the bad. That would be an example of healthy eclecticism, because what is basically sought is that the child or adolescent takes a little from each person he meets, but as long as the "little" he borrows is positive for his own formation as a person".
"Love for wisdom" - Leonardo Rodríguez
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VARIOUS ARTICLES
"It is a mistake to talk too much to young people about the virtue of prudence. That is not their virtue. But also, they do not understand that language. Just as it would be a mistake and a lack of discretion to talk to old men of eighty years of age about audacity. The power of youth lies precisely in its boldness, placed at the service of a noble cause. That is what we should be talking about; about risky undertakings, about heroism.
There is a soldier in every young man: as soon as you talk to him about war, his whole soul vibrates. He may overstep the bounds of justice for a moment; but if that happens in the defence of a high ideal, such excesses are equivalent to the inevitable evils of a just war.
It is not human in a bayonet attack to ask of the soldier perfection in self-control. And if in such an attack moderation were demanded of him, he would conclude by feeling himself compelled not to fight. In other words, by making him prudent, we would have made him faint-hearted.
We should not, therefore, speak to him too much of prudence; nor too much of legality.
So let us talk to our young people about fighting generously for the Church. Of scorning dangers, of undertaking arduous enterprises, of sacrificing comfort, expansion, money, and life. Of everything, except prudence."
"Formation of the select" - Angel Ayala
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"It is a mistake to talk too much to young people about the virtue of prudence. That is not their virtue. But also, they do not understand that language. Just as it would be a mistake and a lack of discretion to talk to old men of eighty years of age about audacity. The power of youth lies precisely in its boldness, placed at the service of a noble cause. That is what we should be talking about; about risky undertakings, about heroism.
There is a soldier in every young man: as soon as you talk to him about war, his whole soul vibrates. He may overstep the bounds of justice for a moment; but if that happens in the defence of a high ideal, such excesses are equivalent to the inevitable evils of a just war.
It is not human in a bayonet attack to ask of the soldier perfection in self-control. And if in such an attack moderation were demanded of him, he would conclude by feeling himself compelled not to fight. In other words, by making him prudent, we would have made him faint-hearted.
We should not, therefore, speak to him too much of prudence; nor too much of legality.
So let us talk to our young people about fighting generously for the Church. Of scorning dangers, of undertaking arduous enterprises, of sacrificing comfort, expansion, money, and life. Of everything, except prudence."
"Formation of the select" - Angel Ayala
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SPIRITUAL PERFECTION
"(...) the acquisition of a virtue is not usually achieved by violent sporadic efforts, but by the continuity of the struggle, the constancy of trying every day, every week, aided by grace. "In the battles of the soul, the strategy is often a question of time, of applying the appropriate remedy, with patience, with stubbornness. Increase the acts of hope. I remind you that you will suffer defeats, or that you will go through ups and downs - God grant that they may be imperceptible - in your inner life, for no one is free from such mishaps. But the Lord, who is omnipotent and merciful, has given us the means to overcome. It is enough that we use them (...) with the resolution to begin and to begin again at every moment, if necessary". The soul of constancy is love; it is only out of love that one can be patient and struggle, without accepting shortcomings and failures as inevitable and hopeless. We cannot be like those Christians who, after many battles and struggles, "ran out of strength and lacked courage" when they were already "two steps away from the fountain of living water". To be patient with oneself in uprooting bad tendencies and defects of character, means at the same time to flee from conformity and to accept to present oneself many times before the Lord as that servant who had nothing to pay, in humility, asking for new graces. In our walk towards the Lord, we will suffer many defeats; many of them will not matter; others will, but atonement and contrition will bring us closer to God. This sorrow and repentance for our sins and shortcomings are not sad, because they are sorrow and tears of love (...)".
"Talking to God" - Father Francisco Fernández-Carvajal.
#SPIRITUALPERFECTION
"(...) the acquisition of a virtue is not usually achieved by violent sporadic efforts, but by the continuity of the struggle, the constancy of trying every day, every week, aided by grace. "In the battles of the soul, the strategy is often a question of time, of applying the appropriate remedy, with patience, with stubbornness. Increase the acts of hope. I remind you that you will suffer defeats, or that you will go through ups and downs - God grant that they may be imperceptible - in your inner life, for no one is free from such mishaps. But the Lord, who is omnipotent and merciful, has given us the means to overcome. It is enough that we use them (...) with the resolution to begin and to begin again at every moment, if necessary". The soul of constancy is love; it is only out of love that one can be patient and struggle, without accepting shortcomings and failures as inevitable and hopeless. We cannot be like those Christians who, after many battles and struggles, "ran out of strength and lacked courage" when they were already "two steps away from the fountain of living water". To be patient with oneself in uprooting bad tendencies and defects of character, means at the same time to flee from conformity and to accept to present oneself many times before the Lord as that servant who had nothing to pay, in humility, asking for new graces. In our walk towards the Lord, we will suffer many defeats; many of them will not matter; others will, but atonement and contrition will bring us closer to God. This sorrow and repentance for our sins and shortcomings are not sad, because they are sorrow and tears of love (...)".
"Talking to God" - Father Francisco Fernández-Carvajal.
#SPIRITUALPERFECTION
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Holy Spirit, enlighten the Church at this time, especially all the cardinals you call to take part in the conclave. Grant them wisdom and holiness so that all may cooperate with your inspiration and guidance to elect the next Vicar of Christ, your chosen servant. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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