The Divine Lamp

The following was posted on my primary blog which contains more “stuff” than is found here.  The post contains links to online video, audio, and text resources for this Sunday’s Mass according to both forms of the Rite.

Ordinary Form:

Sunday Gospel Scripture Study.  Video.  As I write this the video is not yet available so keep checking.

John Paul II Catholic University.  Video, approx. 5 minutes.  I’ve been having problems with my computer; could someone tell me if the sound quality of this video is bad?

Daily Word: Text and Commentary on the readings taken from the Navarre Bible.

• 1st Reading
• 2nd Reading
• Gospel Reading

Daily Gospel.  Another great daily resource.  Contains the Gospel reading of the day, a link to a brief reflection, usually by a Church Father or Saint.  The If you are viewing the page on a day other than Sunday, July 26 you must click the blue arrow and select the date.  You can get this resource daily via email.

• Readings.
• Commentary.  By St Hilary.  Very brief.
• Saint of the day.  Very brief.

Word Sunday.  Contains a podcast, the Scripture readings with brief commentary, children’s readings, and suggested family activities.

Word On Fire.  Audio sermon by Father Robert Barron.

Extraordinary Form: Please note that the readings for the EF differ from those of the OF.

The Pulpit Orator.  Outstanding sermons from Father Johann Evangelist Zollner.

• Homiletic Sketch #1: Why We Must Mortify The Deeds Of The Flesh.
• Homiletic Sketch #2: The Parable Of The Unjust Steward.
• Dogmatic Sketch: On The Particular Judgment.
• Liturgical Sketch: On St Mary Magdalen, St James the Greater, and St Anne.

St Thomas Aquinas Homily Notes:

• On the Epistle.
• On the Gospel.  Please not that the Gospel reading in St Thomas’ day differed from that of the 1962 Missal.  I’ve included the link because these notes are excellent sources for reflection and meditation.

Instructions for the 8th Sunday after Pentecost.  Includes a Moral Lesson Concerning Detraction.

Homily by St Jerome.  Includes Gospel Reading.

Sermon on the Unjust Steward.

St Alphonsus Ligouri.  Sermon on the Unjust Steward.  The text is faded, increase text size or use the “zoom in” feature for easier reading.

Sermon on the Death of the Just.

Homily on the Epistle Reading. By Bishop Bonomelli

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.

Chapter 1.  The definition and Scope of Moral Theology.

Definition; Catholic Moral Theology, broadly speaking, is the scientific exposition of the ethical teaching of the Gospel, or, more definitely, that theological discipline which sets forth the laws, rules, and precepts man must know and obey in order to attain his supernatural destiny.

There is a distinction between”moral” and “ethical.”  “Ethical is derived from a Greek word which means in the singular, custom, usage, habit; and in the plural, disposition, temper, character (Latin, mores) see 1 Cor 15:33.  Every free act, good or bad, performed by a rational being is “ethical;” but no act is ‘Moral’ unless it be ethically good (see ST Ia IIae, q. 58, art 1).

The words “moral” and “immoral” are sometimes used with sole reference to the Sixth Commandment.  Their true meaning is much larger.  Morality is by no means confined to the sexual sphere.  Other vices, such as injustice, hatred, revenge, can be and are quite as immoral as the vice of impurity.  The fact of the matter is that the use of the expressions “immorality” or “immoral life” for the vice of impurity is merely an idiomatic euphemism adopted to avoid a clearer description of what is meant, and is not intended to restrict immorality to the sexual sphere.

Scope: In order to give a scientific exposition of the laws that govern human conduct, Moral Theology must first ascertain the conditions under which man’s actions will enable him to reach his final destiny, and then draw from Revelation the correct principles for guiding him aright both in public and private life.  All the problems of human existence, including those of the social and economic order, have a religious and an ethical bearing, and they can not be completely solved except in the light of Christian justice and charity (see John 1:9; 14:6; 1 Cor 10:31; Col 3:17).

Moral Theology must avoid two extremes: over-emphasizing the ascetic point of view and resolving itself into mere casuistry.

Moral Theology is an independent science with a well-defined scope and object, and it is neither its sole nor its principle aim to train preachers or confessors.  The latter function belongs to casuistry, which is “the study of cases of conscience” with a view “to define the exact limits and frontiers of wrong-doing.”-excerpted from A HANDBOOK OF MORAL THEOLOGY by Koch and Preuss.