Due to reasons which have nothing to do with stogs, their service, or the stblogs community, I have decided to make THE DIVINE LAMP accessible on a Wordpress hosted site. I will continue to post content here, however, the blog on my new site will have much more to offer.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
For some reason I cannot post video on this site, so I’ve made them available in several different posts on my other blog, which is also called THE DIVINE LAMP. Please update your bookmark and blog links, as this new blog is now my primary site. Everything on this blog, plus much more, can be found there. Thanks! If you link to my blog please notify me in the combox so I can link to your blog.
The first video series is Anthony Kenny On Aquinas And Medieval Philosophy, in five parts totaling about 45 minutes.
The second video series is from one of the foremost historians of philosophy, Frederick Copleston On Schopenhauer. This too is in five parts totaling about 45 minutes.
The third video series is from Ralph McIrnerry On Aquinas, Metaphysics, And Morality. It will be posted before 6 AM tomorrow, June 16 on my OTHER BLOG.
Posted in Aquinas morality, Morality, Philosophy, ST THOMAS AND THE SUMMA, St Thomas Aquinas | No Comments »
By “clicking on” the “Notes On Ephesians” link under this blog’s header you can access notes far better than mine.
1:1 Paul: See here for a brief Life Of Paul and an account of his conversion.
“First, by his name, Paul, concerning which one should consider three things [nn 17-19].
First, its accuracy; for this name, as it is spelled here, cannot be Hebrew because Hebrew does not have the letter P in its alphabet; but it can be Greek and Latin. Still, if it be taken as some letter close to P, it can be Hebrew.
Secondly, one should consider its meaning. Considered as Hebrew, it means “wonderful” or “chosen”; taken as Greek, it means “quiet;” taken as Latin it means “small.”
And these meanings suit him. For he was chosen as regards grace; hence “he is a chosen vessel of mine” (Ac 9:15). He was wonderful in his work: “A marvelous vessel, the work of the Most High” (Si 43:2). He was quiet in contemplation: “When I enter my house, I shall find rest with her” (Wis 8:16). He was small by humility: “I am the least of the apostles: (1 Cor 15:9)” (St Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Romans).
“The principal sender of this letter is first identified by his name, Paul, that is, one who is humble, for it is such persons who receive wisdom: “Thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes” (Mt 11:25), and so Paul can teach this wisdom” (Aquinas, Commentary on Colossians). In his commentary on First Corinthians Aquinas also appeals to 1 Sam 15:17 which reads:
an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God: Paul is one who is sent (ex apostellos) by God, through Christ, with the power of the Spirit. “Not by human appointment, or authority, but in accordance with the will of God, and His command. That will was made known to him by the special revelation granted to him at his conversion, and call to the apostleship; Acts 9. Paul often refers to the fact that he had received a direct commission from God, and that he did not act on his own authority; compare Gal_1:11-12; 1Co_9:1-6; 2Co_11:22-33; 2Co_12:1-12.” (Albert Barnes, Protestant).
The phrase serves to emphasize Paul’s authority and, consequently, the authority of the letter; in this regard it serves the same function as the superscription of most of the writing prophets.
The letter speaks explicitly of God’s will six times and the subject is implied throughout, making this the dominant theme of the letter. see Eph_1:1; Eph_1:5; Eph_1:9; Eph_1:11; Eph_5:17; Eph_6:6.
St Paul is an apostle by the will of God (1:1), who has predestined us to adoption through Christ, in accord with His will (1:5). Through the ministry of St Paul, the Apostles, and the Church God has made known to us the mystery of His will (1:9) of having re-established all thing in heaven and on earth in Christ. In Christ we have been called to share in His inheritance, predestined according to the purpose of the Father who works all things according to His wise counsel/plan (1:10-11). Already Paul is emphasising the gratuity of these gifts, another major theme of the letter. But we are called upon to respond under grace to these gifts, understanding what is the will of God and acting accordingly (Eph 4:25-6:24, especially 5:17 and 6:6).
to all the saints at Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus. The words “at Ephesus” are missing from some of the best manuscripts, including Vaticanus and Sinaticus, though the words do appear in marginal notes in those mss. In addition they are missing from the Chester Beatty Papyrus, and Origen, St Basil and St Jerome knew of copies without the words. This has lead some to speculate that the letter was in fact the missive to the Laodiceans mentioned in Col 4:16. To bolster this arguement they note the lack of personal reference in this letter, an odd lucunae in a letter to a Church like Ephesus with which St Paul was familiar. Others contend that the letter was circular in nature, not addressed to any particular church, consequently, when the letter was read to the assembly the reader was supposed to insert the name of the Church at the spot where “at Ephesus” appears.
Saints. The Greek word hagios means holy, and is related to Hebrew words such as qadosh and qodesh. “Holy describes what is divine and pertains to God. Sanctity then is more than a divine attribute. It is His most intimate essence in which He radically transcends all that is created. To say then that God is holy and that only He is holy (isa 6:3) is almost repetitious,but on man’s lips it makes sense, for it is his way of expressing the radical otherness of God who reveals Himself as Creator and Savior. “I am God and not man, the Holy One present among you” (Hos 11:9)[NEW WORLD DICTIONARY-CONCORDANCE TO THE NEW AMERICAN BIBLE].
Holiness is something dynamic, and anything brought into relationship with God becomes holy, that is, it can/should no longer be the object of profane use. It becomes consecrated to God, His possession: “Israel is holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of his increase: all they that devour him offend: evils shall come upon them, saith the Lord” (Jer 2:3). Here we see the close connection between holiness and election. Being popssessed/consecrated by God demands a response: Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am Holy” (Lev17:26).
Eph 4:17 This then I say and testify in the Lord: That henceforward you walk not as also the Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind:
Eph 4:18 Having their understanding darkened: being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their hearts.
Eph 4:19 Who despairing have given themselves up to lasciviousness, unto the working of all uncleanness, unto covetousness.
Eph 4:20 But you have not so learned Christ:
Eph 4:21 If so be that you have heard him and have been taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus:
Eph 4:22 To put off, according to former conversation, the old man, who is corrupted according to the desire of error.
Eph 4:23 And be renewed in spirit of your mind:
Eph 4:24 And put on the new man, who according to God is created in justice and holiness of truth.
Eph 4:25 Wherefore, putting away lying, speak ye the truth, every man with his neighbour. For we are members one of another.
Eph 4:26 Be angry: and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your anger.
Eph 4:27 Give not place to the devil.
Eph 4:28 He that stole, let him now steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have something to give to him that suffereth need.
Eph 4:29 Let no evil speech proceed from your mouth: but that which is good, to the edification of faith: that it may administer grace to the hearers.
Eph 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God: whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Eph 4:31 Let all bitterness and anger and indignation and clamour and blasphemy be put away from you, with all malice.
Eph 4:32 And be ye kind one to another: merciful, forgiving one another, even as God hath forgiven you in Christ.
Eph 5:1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as most dear children:
Eph 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us and hath delivered himself for us, an oblation and a sacrifice to God for an odour of sweetness.
Eph 5:3 But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not so much as be named among you, as becometh saints:
Eph 5:4 Or obscenity or foolish talking or scurrility, which is to no purpose: but rather giving of thanks.
Eph 5:5 For know you this and understand: That no fornicator or unclean or covetous person (which is a serving of idols) hath inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Eph 5:6 Let no man deceive you with vain words. For because of these things cometh the anger of God upon the children of unbelief.
Eph 5:7 Be ye not therefore partakers with them.
Eph 5:8 For you were heretofore darkness, but now light in the Lord. Walk then as children of the light.
Eph 5:9 For the fruit of the light is in all goodness and justice and truth:
Eph 5:10 Proving what is well pleasing to God.
Eph 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness: but rather reprove them.
Eph 5:12 For the things that are done by them in secret, it is a shame even to speak of.
Eph 5:13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for all that is made manifest is light.
Eph 5:14 Wherefore he saith: Rise, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead: and Christ shall enlighten thee.
Eph 5:15 See therefore, brethren, how you walk circumspectly: not as unwise,
Eph 5:16 But as wise: redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Eph 5:17 Wherefore, become not unwise: but understanding what is the will of God.
Eph 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is luxury: but be ye filled with the Holy Spirit,
Eph 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual canticles, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord:
Eph 5:20 Giving thanks always for all things, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to God and the Father.
Faithful. Faith comes through hearing the proclaimation of the Gospel by those who are sent (Rom 10:14-15; Gal 3:2; Col 1:3-8). The Ephesians heard “the word of truth, the Gospel of salvation” and believed in Christ (Eph 1:13) and this fact motivates St Paul’s thanksgiving for them in (Eph 1:15 ff).
Eph 1:2 Grace be to you and peace, from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace here designates the full covenant bounty of God. Peace is the total state of well-being. Note that source of these things Is the Father, and that they are mediated through our Lord.
Aquinas notes: May this (i.e., grace and peace) be to you from God our Father from whom every good comes: “Every best gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (Jas. 1:17). And the Lord Jesus Christ without whom no blessings are given. That is why nearly all the [liturgical] prayers are concluded “through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Holy Spirit is not mentioned in the greeting formula since he is the bond uniting Father and Son and is understood when they are mentioned; or he is understood in the gifts appropriated to him, grace and peace.10
Posted in Bible, Notes on Ephesians | No Comments »
Devotion to the Sacred heart of Jesus is intimately linked with His Incarnation, suffering and death, consequently, this prayer from Thomas a Kempis (of THE IMITATION OF CHRIST fame) is perfectly fitting for devotion to the Sacred Heart. H/T Argent By The Tiber.
From Thomas a Kempis’ Prayers and Meditations on the Life of Christ
LORD JESUS CHRIST, Author of our Salvation, most gracious Giver of pardon, most patient in Thy long-suffering of man’s wickedness, I bless Thee, and give thanks to Thee for all the pain, and for each several blow and bloody wound, so cruelly inflicted on Thy most precious and most tender Body; so that from the sole of the foot even to the top of the Head there was no soundness in Thee, but either a grievous wale, or an aching wound, or a stream of warm red Blood trickling down Thy whole Body.
I praise and glorify Thee with the worthiest adoration of which I am capable, and with all the powers of my soul laid at Thy Feet, for the generous outpouring of Thy precious Blood from Thy five sacred Wounds, and from all Thy other wounds, great and small, bleeding and sending forth a life-giving stream, more precious than any balm, to be an effectual remedy for all our sins. Ah ! most gentle Jesus, how cruelly wast Thou tortured and wounded by savage men, so that all Thy bodily strength being exhausted, and Thy veins wide-opened, scarcely a drop of Blood remained in Thee; but whatever of that sacred Stream, whether living or dying, Thou hadst in Thee, was all lovingly poured forth for our souls use, and as the price of our Salvation.
O ye five precious Wounds, pre-eminent tokens of surpassing love, full of Divine sweetness, whence the sinner takes good heart, keeping thereby his guilty conscience from driving him to despair ! In you is found the medicine of life, fullness of grace, plentiful forgiveness, boundless mercy, the gate which leads to the glory which is in store for us. Whatever pollution I incur, whatever sins of the flesh I commit, in your five fountains I may wash all away, and may be purified, and made faultless.
I praise and glorify Thee, O Christ, only and beloved Spouse of Holy Church, for that inestimable love, which moved Thee, to redeem my soul, by the covenant of Thy Own Blood, from the chains of Adam s sin, to cleanse it from all its sins, and to endow and adorn it with the merits of Thy Own holiness; that so, made holy by Thy grace, it might be found meet in this life to be joined and united to Thee, and hereafter to be made happy and glorious in the Kingdom of Thy excellent Majesty.
Mark carefully, O faithful soul, and see at what great and notable cost He redeemed Thee, Who, of His own unbought goodness, made thee, at the beginning, to His own image and likeness. For thou wast not redeemed from the guilt of original sin, nor from the many actual sins which, by the exercise of thy own free will, thou hast wickedly added thereto, with contemptible things, as gold or silver, but with the precious Blood of Christ, as of a Lamb unspotted and undefiled. And not only upon the Cross, for thy cleansing, did He shed His Blood; but He also vouchsafed to leave the same in the Chalice for thee to drink with faithful devotion in the Communion of that Sacrament, by which the daily sins of the world are purged and blotted out.
Alas ! of what terrible punishment will he be thought worthy, who shall have accounted the Blood of the Covenant of the Son of God an unholy thing, and shall not have paid the debt of thanksgiving which he owes to the Wounds of the Crucified. Be careful, then, to render thanks to Him Who has so loved thee, to Him Who has wrought for thee this His inestimable benefit, by at least one short prayer, or one devout meditatation, at some time, either of the day, or night. Many faithful soals, burning with love for Him, have rejoiced to shed their blood for Him: and yet more, taking part in His sufferings by using the rough ways of penance, have, for the Chalice of His Blood, humbly offered the waters of a bitter contrition.
Learn thou from their example to crucify thy flesh with its affections and lusts, manfully to resist temptation, and to bear until death the yoke of willing obedience ; to offer to Christ thy Redeemer, upon the altar of thy heart, in place of a martyrdom of blood, the sacrifice of a troubled spirit. Seek by diligent meditation to keep ever before thee the benefits purchased for thee by the Cross, and to find in the deep wounds of Jesus, as in the clefts of a rock, a hiding-place from the face of the enemy and the avenger.
Come to my help, O most gentle Jesus, in my every need, in every crisis of the strife. Stretch forth over me Thy hands, and with Thy right arm ever protect me ; put devotion in my heart, truth in my mouth, energy in my work. Purge me from all the corruption of my sins, heal my wounds with Thy precious Blood. Let no hidden thing of darkness, nothing impure, nothing that defiles, remain in me ; but may Thy sacred Blood, so abundantly shed, thoroughly cleanse me from all that is hurtful, and sanctify me wholly ; that so, when, at the last day, Thou shalt come in Judge ment, my spirit, and my soul, for the deliverance of which Thou didst endure so many and such grievous pains, and didst expend such boundless treasure, may be presented before Thee pure and undefiled
Posted in Christ, Devotional Resources | No Comments »
Over the past week I’ve been carefully considering the text of President Obama’s Notre Dame speech and, I must say, I’ve undergone a change of heart. I’ve decided to become as open-minded as he is. To celebrate my new found spirit of Modernity I offer to our fine showman/President this song I wrote to the tune of IT’S ONLY ROCK AND ROLL by the Rolling Stones. I do this in the hope that he will perform it at the next Democrat National Convention, for it would give people an idea of where he truly stands. To help the less careful readers discern the meaning I’ve colored the text: “B” is for babies and so blue denotes my enduring pro-life position which I share with the President; Red is the color of blood and creeping socialism and is therefore fitting for denoting my pro-abortion position; and purple is the color you get by mixing blue and red, denoting the new found open-minded relativism I now share with him. I hope this clears things up.
Just one more thing. I’d like to dedicate this song text to the clerics of the ROMAN COLLAR COMEDY TOUR who were so instrumental in helping to convert me. They have a new CD out and I listened to it as I wrote this song; they are my muses. And special props must be given to the well-informed editor of L’Obamaservi Romano (or whatever it is called)
If I could rip a baby apart
I would toss it all over the stage
Would it satisfy ya, would it help decide ya
Would you think yor Prez humane? Ain’t I humane?
If I could win ya, if I could talk ya
Dialogue so divine
Would it be enough for your pro-life trust
If I screamed I’m for change? I’m for change!
I said I now it’s only crock ‘n show but I like it
I know it’s a dog and pony show but I like it, like it, yes, I do
Oh, well, I like it I like it, I like it
I said can’t you see that your old Prez is about living?
If I would stick a probe in a womb
Infanticide right on stage
Would it be enough for your death’crat lusts
Would it ease my pro-life claims? Ease your brains?
If you could see down deep in my heart
Truth would trump the legal page
Would it satisfy ya, would it slide on by ya
Would ya think your Prez a Saint? I’m a Saint!
I said I know I only say it for your vote but I like it
I said I know I’m a dog ‘n pony show but I like it, like it, yes I do
Oh, well, I like it, I like it, I like it
I said can’t you see that your old Prez is about loving?
And do ya think that you’re the only vote around?
I bet you think that your the only vote in town
I said I know it’s only crock ‘n show but I like it
I said I know it’s only for your vote but I like it
I said I know I’m such a dog and pony show but I like it, like it, yes I do!
Posted in Parody, humor | No Comments »
Unfortunately, I cannot reproduce the formating on this blog, so I’ve posted it on my other site. People who are linked to this site are asked to update their link. Everything on this site, and more besides, can be found there. Here is a link to the specific post on Notre Dame.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
I’m in the midst of doing a series of daily posts on Our Lady for the month of May, but I’ve also decided to do a series of post preparing for Pentecost. My First Post is a sermon from St Thomas Aquinas. If you are only acquainted with Aquinas the Theologian/Metaphysician you may think this sermon will be rather dry and difficult, but you’d be wrong. Do check it out on my other site, and be sure to check out the links I’ve included in the short introduction I wrote.
A notice to infrequent readers of this blog: this is no longer my primary site, but I will continue to post at least some of the content from my new site on this one.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
I am unable to post the document directly on this site so i have posted it on my other blog.
Posted in Books, Devotional Resources, Little Office, Our Lady | No Comments »
Wednesday Vespers
Before the Office is begun, it is commendable to say the following Prayer, the singular number being used throughout; for which Pope Pius XI granted an indulgence of 3 years (S. Ap., November 17, 1933).
Prayer
OPEN my mouth, O Lord, to bless thy holy name: cleanse also my heart from all vain, evil and distracting thoughts; enlighten my understanding, inflame my will, that I may worthily recite this Office with attention and devotion, and deserve to be heard in the presence of thy divine Majesty. Through Christ our Lord. R. Amen.
O Lord, in union with that divine intention with which thou didst praise God on earth, I offer to thee this Hour.
OUR Father, Who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen.
HAIL, Mary, full of grace; The Lord is with thee: blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, JESUS. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
V. O God, come to my assistance.
R. O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
¶ Alleluia is thus said at all the Hours, except from Compline of the Saturday before Septuagesima Sunday until Compline of Wednesday in Holy Week inclusive; for then there is said:
Praise be to Thee, O Lord, King of eternal glory.
Ant. 1 Blessed are all they.
Psalm 127
The fear of God is the way to happiness.
[BLESSED are all they] that fear the Lord: that walk in his ways.
For thou shalt eat the labours of thy hands: blessed art thou, and it shall be well with thee.
Thy wife as a fruitful vine, on the sides of thy house.
Thy children as olive plants, round about thy table.
Behold, thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord.
May the Lord bless thee out of Sion: and mayst thou see the good things of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.
And mayst thou see thy children’s children, peace upon Israel.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Ant. Blessed are all they that fear the Lord.
Ant. 2 Let them all be confounded.
Psalm 128
The church of God is invincible: her persecutors come to nothing.
OFTEN have they fought against me from my youth, let Israel now say.
Often have they fought against me from my youth: but they could not prevail over me.
The wicked have wrought upon my back: they have lengthened their iniquity.
The Lord who is just will cut the necks of sinners: let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Sion.
Let them be as grass upon the tops of houses: which withereth before it be plucked up:
Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand: nor he that gathereth sheaves his bosom.
And they that passed by have not said: The blessing of the Lord be upon you: we have blessed you in the name of the Lord.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Ant. Let them all be confounded who hate Sion.
Ant. 3 Out of the depths.
Psalm 129
A prayer of a sinner, trusting in the mercies of God.
The sixth penitential psalm.
[OUT of the depths] I have cried to thee, O Lord: Lord, hear my voice.
Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
If thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities: Lord, who shall stand it.
For with thee there is merciful forgiveness: and by reason of thy law, I have waited for thee, O Lord.
My soul hath relied on his word: my soul hath hoped in the Lord.
From the morning watch even until night, let Israel hope in the Lord.
Because with the Lord there is mercy: and with him plentiful redemption.
And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Ant. Out of the depths I have cried to thee, O Lord.
Ant. 4 Lord.
Psalm 130
The prophet’s humility.
[LORD,] my heart is not exalted: nor are my eyes lofty.
Neither have I walked in great matters, nor in wonderful things above me.
If I was not humbly minded, but exalted my soul:
As a child that is weaned is towards his mother, so reward in my soul.
Let Israel hope in the Lord, from henceforth now and for ever.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Ant. Lord, my heart is not exalted.
Ant. 5 The Lord hath chosen.
Psalm 131
A prayer to the fulfilling of the promise made to David.
O LORD, remember David, and all his meekness.
How he swore to the Lord, he vowed a vow to the God of Jacob:
If I shall enter into the tabernacle of my house: if I shall go up into the bed wherein I lie:
If I shall give sleep to my eyes, or slumber to my eyelids,
Or rest to my temples: until I find out a place for the Lord, a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.
Behold we have heard of it in Ephrata: we have found it in the fields of the wood.
We will go into his tabernacle: we will adore in the place where his feet stood.
Arise, O Lord, into thy resting place: thou and the ark, which thou hast sanctified.
Let thy priests be clothed with justice: and let thy saints rejoice.
For thy servant David’s sake, turn not away the face of thy anointed.
The Lord hath sworn truth to David, and he will not make it void: of the fruit of thy womb I will set upon thy throne.
If thy children will keep my covenant, and these my testimonies which I shall teach them:
Their children also for evermore shall sit upon thy throne.
For the Lord hath chosen Sion: he hath chosen it for his dwelling.
This is my rest for ever and ever: here will I dwell, for I have chosen it.
Blessing I will bless her widow: I will satisfy her poor with bread.
I will clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall rejoice with exceeding great joy.
There will I bring forth a horn to David: I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.
His enemies I will clothe with confusion: but upon him shall my sanctification flourish.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Ant. The Lord hath chosen Sion for his dwelling.
Little Chapter, 2 Cor. 1, 3-4
BLESSED be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort. Who comforteth us in all our afflictions. R. Thanks be to God.
Hymn
O GOD, whose hand hath spread the sky
And all its shining hosts on high,
And, painting it with fiery light,
Made it so beauteous and so bright:
Thou, when the fourth day was begun,
Didst frame the circle of the sun,
And set the moon for ordered change,
And planets for their wider range:
To night and day, by certain line,
Their varying bounds thou didst assign;
And gav’st a signal, known and meet,
For months begun and months complete.
Enlighten thou the hearts of men,
Polluted souls make pure again:
Unloose the bands of guilt within,
Remove the burden of our sin.
Grant this, O Father, ever One
With Christ, thy sole-begotten Son,
Whom, with the Spirit we adore,
One God, both now and evermore.
Amen.
V. Let my prayer be directed, O Lord.
R. As incense in thy sight.
At the Magnificat Ant. (Common of Feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary) All generations.
Canticle of the Blessed Virgin
Luke 1, 46-55
MY soul doth magnify the Lord;
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior,
Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid: for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed,
Because he that is mighty hath done great things to me, and holy is his name,
And his mercy is from generation unto generation to those that fear him.
He hath showed might in his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble.
He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he hath sent away empty.
He hath received Israel, his servant, being mindful of his mercy,
As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Ant. All generations shall call me blessed, for God hath regarded his lowly handmaid.
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
Prayer
(Common of Feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
GRANT, we beseech thee, O Lord God, to us thy servants, that we may evermore enjoy health of mind and body: and by the glorious intercession of blessed Mary, ever a Virgin, may be delivered from present sorrows, and enjoy everlasting gladness. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. R. Amen.
Suffrage of All the Saints
(if it be said)
Ant. May the Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of God, and all the Saints intercede for us with the Lord.
V. The Lord hath made his Saints wonderful.
R. And he heard them when they called upon him.
Prayer
Let us pray.
DEFEND us, we beseech thee, O Lord, from all dangers of mind and body: and through the intercession of the blessed and glorious Mary, ever Virgin, Mother of God, of St. Joseph, of thy holy apostles Peter and Paul, and of all the Saints, in thy loving-kindness grant us safety and peace; that, all adversities and errors being overcome, thy Church may serve thee in security and freedom. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. R. Amen.
V. The Lord be with you. R. And with thy spirit.
V. Let us bless the Lord. R. Thanks be to God.
V. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. R. Amen.
OUR Father, Who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen.
This was taken from the iGoogle gadget Breviarium Romanum developed by Doug at THE HERESY OF PROGRESS Blog. It can be downloaded to your iGoogle home page or to your blog (not all blogs accept it). The text for the home page is available in either Latin or English, the text setting for the blog appears to allow only Latin.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
I posted this on my other site as well. Everything found on this site-and more besides!-can be found there. Some of the things found there which you wont find here are videos (theological, biblical, musical, humorous, ect), documents in the iPaper format (my own and others), and certain posts which, due to the format, I am unable to post here. The Presence of God in All Creatures as Their Active Principle or Efficient Cause Before broaching the interesting yet difficult question of the indwelling of the Holy Ghost in the souls of the just, and of the mysterious union He thus effects with them; before going into the proofs of the presence both substantial and extraordinary of the three Divine persons in the just soul which thus becomes a living temple wherein the adorable Trinity finds delight, it will be useful, and, to a certain extent, even necessary, to grasp a few preliminary notions on the ordinary way in which God is present in all things. Nothing, indeed, could be more unreasonable than to expound the doctrine of the extraordinary or special presence of God in the souls of the just, before we know quite clearly what is His ordinary presence in all creation. To be in a fit position to speak in precise terms of these two kinds of presence, and to distinguish one from the other, we must first of all become acquainted with their respective characteristics, and see in what they agree and in what they differ. This may be achieved by carefully examining, defining and comparing their natures. Were we to follow a different course of action, plunging at once into a more or less scientific explanation of the indwelling of God in the soul by the life of grace, without having, at the outset, firmly established and clearly explained that such an indwelling is to be found nowhere else in nature, we should be in danger of imparting very incomplete notions, and of leaving the reader in a state of vagueness that could not but be regrettable. On the other hand, it will not be necessary to dwell at length on the proofs for the divine omnipresence, since all Catholics believe in it; we shall, however, insist on the way in which it is to be understood in order to convey an exact idea of God's immensity, and so to prepare the way for a clear understanding of the special presence of God in the souls of the just. It is a dogma of faith, as well as a truth of reason, that God is everywhere — in heaven, on earth, in all things and in all places: that He is present in a very intimate manner in everything created. This truth is known to all, not only to the philosopher and theologian, but even to the little child whose intelligence is but awakening; it is one of the first lessons it receives at its mother's knee — one of the first truths it learns from any Christian teacher. This doctrine, which the simplest Christian holds at the beginning of his moral life, and which he continues to hold without always understanding its full bearing, nor suspecting what deep truths it expresses, was preached long ago by the Apostle St. Paul, before the most illustrious audience in the world. He was addressing, not an ignorant populace, but the official representatives of human wisdom, the members of the Areopagus of Athens, when, referring to the existence of God in every creature, the Apostle exclaimed : "That they should seek God, if haply they may feel after Him or find Him, although He be not far from every one of us; for in Him we live, and move, and are." Centuries before, the Psalmist had made this same divine omnipresence the theme of his song: "Behold, Lord, Thou hast known all things, the latest and those of old; Thou hast formed me, and hast laid Thy hand upon me. Thy knowledge has become wonderful to me; it is high, and I cannot reach to it. Whither shall I go from Thy spirit? or whither shall I fly from Thy face? If I ascend into heaven. Thou art there; if I descend into hell, Thou art present. If I take my wings early in the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there also shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me." Finally, in order fully to convince us that we cannot escape His ever-vigilant eye, God Himself, using our weak human language, with infinite condescension, says to us through the mouth of His prophet : "Shall a man be hid in secret places, and I not see him, saith the Lord? Do not I fill heaven and earth, saith the Lord?" It is not necessary to cite other testimonies in proof of a point of doctrine admitted by all who believe in the existence of an infinite Being, the Author of all things; yet, on account of its extreme importance, we should like to set down here the philosophical proof of the omnipresence of God, given by St. Thomas. God, he says, "is present in all things, not as part of their essence, or as an accidental element, but as the active principle is present to the thing on which it acts; for it is essential that the efficient cause be united with the object upon which it exercises an immediate activity, and that it comes into contact with this object, if not bodily, then, at least, by the exercise of its power and energies." We may compare God's action with that of the sun. Although vastly distant from our planet, it still comes into contact with it through its rays, else how could it give light and heat to the earth? But God works in every created thing, not only through the medium of secondary causes as the sun acts upon the earth, but also in a direct and immediate way, by Himself bringing into existence and preserving in things that which is most intimate and deep-rooted in them, namely, their very being. For, as the characteristic effect of fire is to burn, so the characteristic effect of God, Who is Being itself, is to cause the being of creatures. "And so God is intimately present to all things as their efficient cause — as causing the being of all things." God, then, is not present to the world like the artisan or the artist; he is external to his work, and does not often touch it in a direct way, but rather through his instruments, or is present to his work when he produces it, but later on withdraws from it without endangering its existence. God is so intimately united to the works of His hands that if, after calling a created thing into being. He should withdraw from it and cease to sustain it, it would immediately fall into the nothingness out of which it was made. And if you question the Angelic Doctor as to how God, an immaterial, unextended and indivisible substance, can be present in all places, and in the inner depths of beings occupying material space, he will answer you with a comparison borrowed from nature and already employed by the Fathers, namely: He is present in three ways: "By His power, by His presence, and by His essence. By His power, because all things are subject to His sovereign command: He is present everywhere like a king who, while residing in his palace, is by a fiction deemed present in all the parts of his kingdom where he exercises authority. By His presence, that is to say most intimately, because He knows all things and sees all things; and nothing, however hidden it may be, can escape His attention; all things are present to Him as objects are said to be in our presence, although they may be situated at a slight distance from our person. Finally by His essence, for He is as really and in His very substance present to all created things as a monarch is present in person to the throne on which he is seated." The reason for this substantial presence of God in His creatures is that not one of them could dispense with the divine action preserving its existence and actuating its operations; and since substance and action are not really distinct in God, it follows that "He is substantially — in His actual reality — present wherever He works, I. e., in all things and in all places." In his commentary on Peter Lombard's first book of Sentences, St. Thomas explains this threefold presence in slightly different words. Not that it excludes the explanation we have just given, nor that it is in contradiction with it, but it brings out better the thought of the Angelic Doctor relative to the substantial presence of God in His capacity of efficient cause. Here are his words: "God is in created things by His presence, inasmuch as He is there in action, for the worker must in some manner be present with his work; and, furthermore, because the Divine operation cannot be separated from the active force from which it flows, it must be held that God is present in all things by His power; finally, since the force or the power of God is identical with His essence, it follows that God is in all things by His essence." » These words are highly significant. There are some theologians who explain the divine omnipresence by saying that God is present everywhere by His essence, because the divine substance, being infinite, fills the heavens and the earth. To them, the immensity of God is a property by which the divine essence is, so to speak, distributed ad infinitum in all existing and possible spaces; that is to say, God's omni- presence is the actual diffusion of the divine being, penetrating all real things and places without blending with them. According to this opinion, the divine immensity might be compared to a sea without shores, capable of containing an infinite number of beings of every nature and dimension. Within this sea is a sponge which the waters interpenetrate and then flow over on all sides: a figure of this world, that God's immensity pervades and then flows over on all sides; with this difference, however, that God is wholly in the world and wholly in each of its parts, whereas each portion of the water of the sea occupies a distinct place. St. Augustine conceived a similar picture of the divine immensity in his early days before his conversion: "So also I thought of Thee, O God, O Life of my life," he says in his Confessions, "so also I thought of Thee, as stretched out through infinite spaces, interpenetrating the whole mass of the world, reaching out beyond in all directions to immensity without end, so that sea, sky, all things are full of Thee, limited in Thee, while Thou art not limited at all. As the body of the air above the earth does not bar the passage of the light of the sun, but the light penetrates the air, not bursting or dividing it, but filling it — in the same way, I thought, the body of heaven, and air, and sea, and even of earth was all pervious to Thee, penetrable in all its parts great or small, so that it can admit the hidden interjection of Thy presence, which from within or from without orders all things that Thou hast created. This was my fancy, for I could shape no other; yet it was false. For in that way a greater part of the earth would contain a greater part of Thee, a less part a less. All things would be full of Thee in such a sense that there would be more of thee in the elephant than in the sparrow, inasmuch as one is larger than the other, and fills a wider space. And thus Thou wouldst unite Thy limbs piecemeal with the limbs of the world, the great with the great, the small with the small. This is not Thy nature, but as yet Thou hadst not lightened my darkness." Further on, speaking on the same subject, he adds: "I marshaled before the sight of my spirit all creation, all that we see, earth, and sea, and air, and stars, and trees, and animals; all that we do not see, the firmament of the sky above, and all angels, and all spiritual things; for these also, as if they were bodies, did my imagination arrange in this place or in that. I pictured to myself Thy creation as one vast mass, composed of various kinds of bodies, some real bodies, some those which I imagined in place of spirits. I pictured this mass as vast, not indeed in its true dimensions, for these I could not know, but as large as I chose to think, only finite on every side. And Thee, O Lord, I conceived as lapping it round and interpenetrating it everywhere, but as being infinite in every direction; as if there were sea everywhere, and everywhere through measureless space nothing but illimitable sea, and within this a sponge, huge, but yet finite; the sponge would be pervaded through all its particles by the infinite sea. In this way, I pictured Thy finite creation, as filled with Thy infinity." After his conversion and accession to the episcopal see of Hippo, Augustine's language is entirely different: "When we say that God is everywhere we must withdraw from our mind every grossness of thought, and disengage ourselves from sensible images, lest we should imagine God as diffused everywhere, like some greatness spreading itself in space, as does the earth, the sea, the air or light; for all such things are less in one of their parts than in the whole; but we rather should conceive God's greatness as we think of great wisdom in a man who happens to be of small stature." The notion of the diffusion and expansion of God's being, was entirely disapproved by St. Augustine, and dealt with by him as a carnal conception to be rejected. The advocates of such a theory do not, it is true, fall into Augustine's error whilst he was a Manichean, of supposing that a greater part of the earth can contain a greater part of the divine substance; for they know and teach that a pure spirit being indivisible and without parts does not occupy space like earthly bodies, but can be wholly in the whole being and wholly in each and every part of that being. They do, however, seem to share the ideas of Augustine's pre-conversion days, but which he reformed later, in the general trend of their argument and in the manner in which they conceive of the divine ubiquity. Far more spiritual, and therefore much more in accordance with the divine nature, is the notion of God's immensity given by St. Thomas. Instead of admitting, with the advocates of the theory we are now refuting, a kind of diffusion of the divine substance, so that God would still he in His most real substance present to created things scattered through space, even though by an impossibility His action exercised no influence upon them, the Angelic Doctor teaches that the formal reason of God's presence in all created things is none other than His infinite activity and operation, just as the reason of His immensity is His omnipotence. The Divine substance occupies no determined space, either great or small; it does not need space to display itself, and enters into no relation of proximity or remoteness with beings that exist in space. If we speak of a relation of the Divine substance with these beings, we mean only a relation of power and operation; i. e., God is intimately present to all things because He produces and preserves the being of all things: "God is not determined to space great or small by the necessity of His essence, as if He need be present in any place, since He is from all eternity before all place; but by the im- mensity of His power He reaches into all things which are in place, because He is the universal cause of being, Thus He is wholly wheresoever He is, because by His simple power He reaches into all things." If then God is present in all places and in all creatures, it is because no actual space and no created being can escape His direct and immediate influence, for His power, and consequently His substance, reaches out to them all. Theologians, as we have seen, often explain God's omnipresence by saying that He is present everywhere because of His immensity. St. Thomas uses a different term. According to him, God is present everywhere in the capacity of efficient cause, per modum causae. Such an expression is profound and full of meaning, for it banishes from the mind any idea of a diffusion or expansion of the Divine substance, at the same time marking out the Divine operation as the basis of the relations existing between God and His creatures. Yet the expression was not a new one, and St. Thomas is not giving a purely personal opinion; here as ever he shows himself to be the faithful echo of tradition. And, as we have already noticed, St. Augustine declared that God was in the world as the efficient cause of the world, "as the presence of the One by Whom the world was created; as the artisan is present to the work he handles." If, therefore, God fills the heavens and the earth, it is by the presence and exercise of His power and not by the necessity of His nature," for God's greatness is one of power and not of bulk. St. Thomas seems manifestly to have taken his inspiration from these different passages. St. Fulgentius, a disciple of St. Augustine, speaks in much the same terms as his master. Likewise, St. Gregory of Nyssa. That the basis for the presence of God by very substance in all created things is the divine activity, can be clearly seen from all these passages, and from many others we could easily adduce. An earthly body is present in the place it occupies neither by its action nor even directly by its substance, but by its dimensions, by the contact of its parts with the parts of the body surrounding and containing it; since, therefore, it is quantity that gives parts and dimensions to a body and enables it to come into contact with another body and to occupy a determined part of space, such or such a body is, properly speaking, present in space by its quantity: per quantitatem dimensivam. Far different is the way in which a spirit is present in space. As it is a simple, that is to say, an indivisible substance and without parts, it cannot of itself occupy any space, either great or small, and does not need space to display itself. If, however, a spirit wishes to enter into relation with a place or with the things present in that place, it can do so by the exercise of its activities and its energies. Hence the proposition, looked upon as an axiom by all Scholastics : spirits are present in space by contact of power — per contactum virtutis. What, therefore, quantity is to bodies — i. e., a property distinct from their substance and extending it through space — active power is to spirits, which it places in contact with space and the things situated in space.2 This is why St. Thomas, when asking the question whether ubiquity is a property becoming God from all eternity, utrum esse ubique conveniat Deo ab aeterno, instead of answering, like some theologians, that God is not, of course, present from all eternity to things which did not as yet exist, but that His substance is, nevertheless, really and eternally present in the spaces which the different created beings are to occupy in time, answers "that the Divinity is present only temporarily in created things according as by His creative act He is present by His power during their temporary existence." And if you question the Fathers as to where God was before the creation of the world, instead of answering that He was in these incommensurable spaces occupied by the present universe, spaces which thousands of other worlds far greater than ours could not fill, they will answer you differently, saying through the mouth of St. Bernard: "We need not trouble to ask where He was, for besides Him nothing existed, and He was then in Himself alone." Hence, to summarize, in the mind of St. Thomas and the Fathers of the Church, the basic reason, the true ground, the definitive "why" of the presence of God in creatures is the divine operation, formally immanent, since it neither issues forth from, nor is even distinct from, the principle whence it emanates, yet producing outward created effects and, therefore, called "virtually transitive," virtualiter transiens.~excerpted from THE INDWELLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE SOULS OF THE JUST ACCORDING TO THE TEACHING OF ST THOMAS AQUINAS.
Posted in Books, Devotional Resources, Quotes, Rosmini, humor | No Comments »
We are always looking for new talent! Submit your work today! Christian, Non-fiction, Fiction and Children's Literature. Strategic Book Publishing
StBlogs.com Catholic Blogs Community by StBlogs
Sponsored by CatholicLibrary.com
