Immaculata Publishing: Thomas Aquinas

The Event of the Other

Wed, 30 Mar 2005 04:09:35 GMT

The Summa Theologica

The New American Bible

The Documents of vatican Council II

Going beyond the Essence!

"If transcendence has meaning, it can only signify the fact that the event of the esse, the essence, passes over to what is other than being.' [Levinas, OBBE, Ch. 1.1]

Here Levinas in his opening pargraphs of Otherwise Than Being or Beyond Essence(OBBE) he captures the heart of his whole work he is about to set forth-the separation between being and beyond being. Much like Aquinas argued and showed that, in following Aristotle, God cannot be put into a genus, since he is beyond every genus, so Levinas will show that the relation with the other before me is also a contact, a trace of the Other who is beyond the Other before me. In short, it is the face of God who traces himself in the face of the Other.

Some Excerpts From Aquinas on Essence and Beyond Essence

For example here is a passage from the first book of the Summa Contra GEntiles where Aquinas shows the difference between the operations of the intellect of man and the intellectual operations of God:

Summa Contra Gentiles Bk 1 Ch 58 p 125 Again. A composing and dividing intellect judges of various things by various compositions: because the composition of the intellect does not go beyond the limits of composition: wherefore the intellect does not judge that a triangle is a figure by the same composition whereby it judges that man is an animal. Hence, if God considers things by composing and dividing, it follows that His act of understanding is not one only but manifold. And thus again His essence will not be one only, since His intellectual operation is His essence, as we proved above. (Summa Contra Gentiles, trans. by English Dominicans (London: Burns, Oates, and Washbourne, 1934), pg. 125.

Here Aquinas does two things. First he shows what is the operations of hte human intellect and how it comes to understand; secondly, he shows thru argumentation, the essence of the understanding of God. This chapter in the Summa Contra Gentiles (SCG) is titled: 'THAT GOD DOES NOT UNDERSTAND BY COMPOSITION AND DIVISION.' God does not understand himself by composition and division. But the same who approaches the other approaches God who leaves his trace in the other; therefore, neigher can the same understnad the Other traces himself in the face of the neighbor grasp him thru composition and division. But God who traces himself in the neighbor's face is beyond essence; that is, beyond a genus. But every genus can be understood as grapsed in its essence. Therefore, God cannot be grasped in his essence , who comes to me as a trace in the meeting of the Other; thast is, by compostion and division, who is beyond every essence. This does not mean, as I think that Levinas meant , tha tthe trace does not indicate the one who traces; that is as 'the invisible things of God are clearly seen thru the things tha the has made.' (Rom.) Neither doe sit mean that the neighbor whom the Same encounters understands who traces himself as towards the Same, for the trace is beyond a composition and division; that is, a way of understanding. THe Other is always seen in hindsight. And of course, this is the whole schema which Levinas will show thru his analysis.

Even though the same can grasp the essence of the other, the neighbor, it is the grasp that eludes his grasp. In other words, as Levinas, shows, the other is transcendent, yet a contemporary. I do not graps the other from a without; that is, by a sign ourside of myself, as a sensible, but a command form within. This, too,is what Levinas will show. This command is not a command that arises from a knowledge thru composition and division by the intellect, but a knowledge of the heart, where the other also finds his place 'under the same sun' as myself.

He Who Finds Truth, Finds God.

Behold how I enlarged in my memory seeking Thee, O Lord; and out of it have I not found Thee. Nor have I found aught concerning Thee. For from the time I learned Thee have I never forgotten Thee. For where I found truth, there found I my God, who is the Truth itself, which is from the time I learned it have I not forgotten. ' {Augustine, Confessions, Bk 10., Ch.xxiv)

As Levinas says, being's other must be transcendent in order for it to have meaning and what more meaning can the being of the Other can have if it is God whom we face. But not the God of Moses whom eHe could not look upon even his back without a veil over his face, but the God who glimmers in the face to face with the neighbor.

But the inability ot grasp the Other thru this composition and division, where the other becomes merely a sign or a signified thru the reason of the Same is the power one experieces over the other, yet at the same time it reveals the weakness of the Same over the Other.

Immaculata Publishing

Rejoice in the Risen Lord

Mon, 28 Mar 2005 18:22:56 GMT

#title "Learning to Love in the Risen Lord" #postTime "3/28/05; 8:40:34 AM"

The Summa Theologica

The New American Bible

The Documents of vatican Council II

<b>Following the Risen Lord</b>

Union, Mo. Monday, March 28, 2005

Immaculata Publishing News Briefs

Christ Rising from the Grave

Easter Festivities

With all of the Easter Festivities out of the Way, the dust now settles in the Church; the curious spectators who watch the Church so as to 'watch for any misstep' have returned to their posts and the Church and members continue their way along the path the Risen Lord will show in 'days to come,' where the 'mountain of the Lord's House shall be raised as the highest mountains above the hills' of all that this world has to offer.

It seems quite curious that though the liturgies have celebrated the Risen Christ in His Mysterious easter Joy, the renewal of each member in that Mystical Body must continue as foretold by Christ. We will see this Mystery unfold in the days ahead as Christ in the Church's Liturgical year, He ascends into Heaven and sends his Sanctifying Spirit to be with His 'newly formed' Church.

New Kids on the Block

For the 'new kids on the block' of the Church, there is a certain light that surrounds the Church at this point, yet at its center it continues to follow the Crucified Lord in his redemptive sufferings along the path of this world, until 'all the children of God are gathered together,' which 'all creation waits for in expectation.'

Entering these exercises calls forth a new energy from Our Risen Lord, and this new energy is not waisted on vain things, but on the eternal realities which the Church celebrates faithfully until the end of the world. Jesus said, 'do not hate your enemies, ' but 'pray for your enemies.' At heart, our enemies are only a reflection of the fallen nature we all inherit. After all, can 'anything good come out of:

Nazareth

We Seek a New Heaven and a New Earth

This is what was said about the Christ! Can it be any different for each of us. Though we are caught up in a world that is sinking daily into oblivion for ' this world and all its spelendor is passing away,' still Christ says, 'be attentive,' you do not 'know the day nor the hour' when the Master of the House will return.

Drinking the Cup After the Resurrection

The disciples wanted to destroy their enemies with lighting from Heaven, but Our Lord said, 'shall I not drink the cup prepared for me.' We, too, must drink up the cup God has prepared for each of us, but not so much from the cup prepared for others, but our own. Anothers cup always seems to be more splendid, but when we drink deeply of our own we find both light and sorrw and joy enough. As Christians set on a path that leads into ways only known thru unknown territory we need to measure our lives according to the rule of faith.

Mystery of Faith

We need to constantly desire the eternal but live in the real present of our existence. Not far from each of us is the next need and challengs of everyday existence where the cup becomes real and makes us place our feet on the ground one step at a time.

An Easter Prayer

Perhaps Our Lord will have pity on each of us during this Easter season, but as He reveals Himself to each of us as one who makes our hearts Burning within us by His Holy Spirit,' he will also give us strength to be faithful.

When the Word was made flesh, God gave to man the meaning of his life;
the meaning of that life only increased thru life, death, and resurrection of the Redeemer. It is after the Resurrection that Mary and the Apostles waited for Christ to send His Spirit.

Today we seek to live by that same Spirit in all that we do. It is the same eternal Spirit promised once, to all God's children that we await to fulfill in our lives the promised hope of eternal life. The Easter season, leading us to Pentecost, sets our hearts aright to this promised Gift of God, the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity: One in Essence with the Father and the Son. This interior abiding of God is what guides the Christian to the 'Land of Promise.' But most of all, the author to the Letter to the Hebrews counsels each Christian to 'keep their eyes fixed on the goal of our labors and the perfection of faith: Christ Jesus.' He is our hope and our joy!

Risen Lord, help us to see you in one another and to learn of your love for us.

Immaculata Publishing News Briefs

Following The Church thru the Liturgical year.

Wed, 23 Mar 2005 18:28:54 GMT
<b>IMAGES OF ST. THERSE</b>

Here at Immaculate Conception Parish in Union, Mo. we have in the Church a small statue of the Saint of Lisieux which stands above the confessional overlooking the body of the Church itself. Opposite the statue of St. Therese is the statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague, which is above the confessional on the other side of the Church.

Below is a group of photos of the St. of Lisieux. They are to remind us of the holiness of the life of St. Therese and it is for this purpose that they are presented here. The Catholic Church teaches that the relics and images of the Saints can unite us to those to whom they remind us of. In the same way. St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that the sacred image is a means to unite us to the saacred person it depicts as the robe of the King reminds us of the King

St. Therese and Celine

This is a picture of the two youngest sisters next to each other; Therese and Celine were the closest to one another. St. Therese was very instrumental in bringing Celine into religious life.

St. Therese at the Pillar in the Convent

St. Therese At Her Death

St. Therese said that she would ask Our Lord to continue so spend her eternity doing good works on earth. In the following days after her death many miracles were worked attested to her intercession.

St. Therese near a Cross

St. Therese to Sr. Marie of St. Joseph, Sept. 1896

"It will never be revealed to creatures on earth, but when the Lamb will open teh book of life, what a surprise for the heavenly court to hear proclaimed with the names of missionaries and martyrs those of poor little children who will have never performed dazzling actions...

St. Therese as Joan of Arc

A Picture of Young St. Therese from 1896

St. Therese at Fifteen

St. There at Twelve Years of Age

St. Therese in Her Religious Habit at Lisieux

St. Therese Washign Laundry With Religious Sisters

Basilica of St. Therese in Lisieux

May St. Therese consinue to pray for all of her spiritual children and guide them to the eternal dwelling with God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. May she intercede for us with the Most Holy Mother of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Rom. 8:18

Sun, 20 Mar 2005 05:13:09 GMT
Rom. 8:18 When St. looks out into the future, thru the Holy Spirit that inspires his mind and heart he sees nothing that would attract him to that is held to be of calue in this world. A. The Word Group Outside the NT. 1. logiízomai. In secular Greek this word is used a. commercially for [base "]to reckon,[per thou] [base "]to charge,[per thou] and b. more generally for [base "]to deliberate,[per thou] [base "]to conclude.[per thou] [COMMENT.ip.crl.3.18.2005.palm.sunday.reflections.elder.ephraim.counsels..ch.1[per thou]On Salvation and Paradise.[per thou] #5] [c.1] Who looking upward would not find that he sees into eternity, before the face of God in that [base "]darkly mirror[per thou] which is revealed ot us in faith. On the other hand, when looking outward, he sees all the world and all that it has to offer, which is the words of St. Paul, is considered a [OE]noisy gong and a tiknlikg cymbal.[per thou] [1 Cor.] [c.2] [end.comment] In the LXX it takes on the nuance: a. of an emotional and even volitional act, e.g., devising, or counting in the subjective sense (see TDNT, IV, 284[^]85 for details). It also: [comment.to.notes.1] Referring to TDNT, IV, 284-285. This word logizmoi is used of [OE]strict logical rules,[base '] or [OE]reckoning.[base '] It can also have the meaning of [OE]evaluating.[base '] [There seems to be some parallel to the thinking of Ignatius of Loyola in his spiritual exercises when he considers the third method of making a decison; that is, thru strict reasoning of the advantages and disadvantages fo a thing to vbe decided on, see Spir. exercises, [OE]On making a Decison[base ']] Could this evaluating of a situation not also have some meaning attachhed to it in reference to [OE]COUNSEL[base '] of the Holy Spirit. Here, as mentioned in the COMMENTS above is what Elder Ephraim speaks about in his counsels on [base "]On Salvation and Paradise.[per thou] I mean he considers its advantages in striving for and the disadvantages and dangers in not striving for it. This too, is what Aquinas means when he says that [OE]free-will[base '] is the will under the aspect of considering the perfect means to an end, rather the will itself must be considered as the last end, which is Charity or the Holy Spirit, which is the human image of that perfect will of God for Himself, Love or the Holy Spirit. [comment.to.notes.2] TDNT, IV, 284-285 speaks about class. lit. referring to logi÷zomai as [base "]deliberation,[per thou] or [base "]to conclude.[per thou] This is precisely what the soul deliberates about, what God has in his Divine Providence has chosen for each soul, [OE]I consider,[base '] do not worry about what you are to say [OE]for it will the Spirit of my Father speaking in you.[base '] Again, this [OE]consideration[base '] is what the Fathers of the Church have done in their reflections on the Mysteries of Faith. Aquinas speaks about the faculties of the intellect, following Aristotle, whcih considers the [OE]indivisibles,[base '] and tha twhich considers [OE]definitions[base '] as such or compsoes and divides. Again, in the introduction to the Posterior Analytics of Aristotle gives this detailed preface to the logistic works of the Stagirite: FOREWORD OF ST. THOMAS AQUINAS As the Philosopher says in Metaphysics I (980b26), "the human race lives by art and reasonings." In this statement the Philosopher seems to touch upon that property whereby man differs from the other animals. For the other animals are prompted to their acts by a natural impulse, but man is directed in his actions by a judgment of reason. And this is the reason why there are various arts devoted to the ready and orderly performance of human acts. For an art seems to be nothing more than a definite and fixed procedure established by reason, whereby human acts reach their due end through appropriate means. Commentary on the Posterior Analytics of Aristotle Foreword p 1 Now reason is not only able to direct the acts of the lower powers but is also director of its own act: for what is peculiar to the intellective part of man is its ability to reflect upon itself. For the intellect knows itself. In like manner reason is able to reason about its own act. Therefore just as the art of building or carpentering, through which man is enabled to perform manual acts in an easy and orderly manner, arose from the fact that reason reasoned about manual acts, so in like manner an art is needed to direct the act of reasoning, so that by it a man when performing the act of reasoning might proceed in an orderly and easy manner and without error. And this art is logic, i.e., the science of reason. And it concerns reason not only because it is according to reason, for that is common to all arts, but also because it is concerned with the very act of reasoning as with its proper matter. Therefore it seems to be the art of the arts, because it directs us in the act of reasoning, from which all arts proceed. Consequently one should view the parts of logic according to the diversity among the acts of reason. Commentary on the Posterior Analytics of Aristotle Foreword p 1 Now there are three acts of the reason, the first two of which belong to reason regarded as an intellect. One action of the intellect is the understanding of indivisible or uncomplex things, and according to this action it conceives what a thing is. And this operation is called by some the informing of the intellect, or representing by means of the intellect. To this operation of the reason is ordained the doctrine which Aristotle hands down in the book of Predicaments, [i.e., Categories]. The second operation of the intellect is its act of combining or dividing, in which the true or the false are for the first time present. And this act of reason is the subject of the doctrine which Aristotle hands down in the book entitled On Interpretation. But the third act of the reason is concerned with that which is peculiar to reason, namely, to advance from one thing to another in such a way that through that which is known a man comes to a knowledge of the unknown. And this act is considered in the remaining books of logic. Commentary on the Posterior Analytics of Aristotle Foreword p 2 It should be noted that the acts of reason are in a certain sense not unlike the acts of nature: hence so far as it can, art imitates nature. Now in the acts of nature we observe a threefold diversity. For in some of them nature acts from necessity, i.e., in such a way that it cannot fail; in others, nature acts so as to succeed for the most part, although now and then it fails in its act. Hence in this latter case there must be a twofold act: one which succeeds in the majority of cases, as when from seed is generated a perfect animal; the other when nature fails in regard to what is appropriate to it, as when from seed something monstrous is generated owing to a defect in some principle. Commentary on the Posterior Analytics of Aristotle Foreword p 2 These three are found also in the acts of the reason. For there is one process of reason which induces necessity, where it is not possible to fall short of the truth; and by such a process of reasoning the certainty of science is acquired. Again, there is a process of reason in which something true in most cases is concluded but without producing necessity. But the third process of reason is that in which reason fails to reach a truth because some principle which should have been observed in reasoning was defective. Commentary on the Posterior Analytics of Aristotle Foreword p 2 Now the part of logic which is devoted to the first process is called the judicative part, because it leads to judgments possessed of the certitude of science. And because a certain and sure judgment touching effects cannot be obtained except by analyzing them into their first principles, this part is called analytical, i.e., resolvent. Furthermore, the certitude obtained by such an analysis of a judgment is derived either from the mere form of the syllogism--and to this is ordained the book of the Prior Analytics which treats of the syllogism as such--or from the matter along with the form, because the propositions employed are per se and necessary [cf. infra, Lectures 10, 13]--and to this is ordained the book of the Posterior Analytics which is concerned with the demonstrative syllogism. Commentary on the Posterior Analytics of Aristotle Foreword p 2 To the second process of reason another part of logic called investigative is devoted. For investigation is not always accompanied by certitude. Hence in order to have certitude a judgment must be formed, bearing on that which has been investigated. But just as in the works of nature which succeed in the majority of cases certain levels are achieved--because the stronger the power of nature the more rarely does it fail to achieve its effect--so too in that process of reason which is not accompanied by complete certitude certain levels are found accordingly as one approaches more or less to complete certitude. For although science is not obtained by this process of reason, nevertheless belief or opinion is sometimes achieved (on account of the provability of the propositions one starts with), because reason leans completely to one side of a contradiction but with fear concerning the other side. The Topics or dialectics is devoted to this. For the dialectical syllogism which Aristotle treats in the book of Topics proceeds from premises which are provable. Commentary on the Posterior Analytics of Aristotle Foreword p 3 At times, however, belief or opinion is not altogether achieved, but suspicion is, because reason does not lean to one side of a contradiction unreservedly, although it is inclined more to one side than to the other. To this the Rhetoric is devoted. At other times a mere fancy inclines one to one side of a contradiction because of some representation, much as a man turns in disgust from certain food if it is described to him in terms of something disgusting. And to this is ordained the Poetics. For the poet's task is to lead us to something virtuous by some excellent description. And all these pertain to the philosophy of the reason, for it belongs to reason to pass from one thing to another. Commentary on the Posterior Analytics of Aristotle Foreword p 3 The third process of reasoning is served by that part of logic which is called sophistry, which Aristotle treats in the book On Sophistical Refutations. b. enters the religious sphere for God[base ']s purposing of evil against a sinful people, or for the purposing of evil against the Lord (cf. Jer. 18:8; Nah. 1:9, 11). Rather different is the reckoning of faith as righteousness in Gen. 15:6, the imputing of sin in Ps. 32:2, and cultic crediting in Lev. 7:18 and 17:4. In cultic imputing the basis is God[base ']s will but there is also something of the commercial sense of charging. 2. logismoés. The noun has the same basic senses as the verb but finds special applications in mathematics and logic. It thus comes to denote the supreme human function, with an ethical orientation in Stoicism. It is reason in its concrete form in the consciousness and as worked out in action. The law is its basis in 4 Maccabees. In the LXX the word also has the common sense of [base "]plan,[per thou] good when it is God[base ']s plan to save, but usually bad (Ezek. 38:10). In Wisdom it is self-vaunting reason apart from God (1:3). B. The Word Group in the NT. Paul uses logiízesthai in all its nuances, though bending it to his own purposes, logismoés occurs only twice in Paul. In the rest of the NT logiízesthai is rare and weak, and logismoés is never used at all. 1. Thought Taken Captive to Christ. Paul expresses the popular philosophical idea of thought in his use of logismoés. In Rom. 2:15, where he stands on common ground with the diatribe, he has logismoés in a positive sense for the thoughts which, on the basis of moral law, either accuse or excuse. Its function, however, is only judicial. In 2 Cor. 10:4, where the logiízesthai of v. 2 is hostile to Paul and reflects an overestimation of reason, the situation is different. The logismoií are the thoughts of arrogant reason which can be subdued, not by reason[base ']s own weapons, but only by God[base ']s power as this is set forth at the cross (cf. Lk. 22:37 quoting Is. 53:12). The logismoií are not destroyed but reoriented to divine reality. Hence logiízesthai can become a term for the judgment of faith in Rom. 3:28; Phil. 3:13. This is an obedient logiízesthai in which we judge on the basis of the justifying efficacy of Christ[base ']s work (Rom. 3:28) or consider that present suffering is not to be compared with future glory (8:18). It is also unconditionally valid; there can be no objection when Paul thinks he is not inferior {p. 537} as an apostle (2 Cor. 11:5), or when he considers that he has not yet achieved perfection (Phil. 3:13), or when he calls us to consider that we are dead to sin and should act accordingly (Rom. 6:11), or even when the weak think things to be unclean (14:14). 2. logiízesthai in the Apostle[base ']s Ministry. In the estimation of his work in 2 Cor. 3:5 Paul uses logiízesthai in a broader sense than that of thought. As in 1 Cor. 13:11 and 2 Cor. 10:2, judgment involves commitment to action. 3. logiízesthai in the Community[base ']s Life. In Phil. 4:8 Paul is not asking for mere reflection but for the practical consideration that leads to action. The same applies in 1 Cor. 13:5, where what is at issue in this very un-Greek combination is not reflecting on a principle but living according to the fact of salvation (Phil. 2:5ff.). When Christ is normative, logiízesthai involves the power to live. It is not arbitrarily or aimlessly impelled to action, but unfolds in the community and comes to fulfilment in the edification of the community (1 Cor. 12 and 14). 4. logiízesthai as God[base ']s Saving Act. a. God imputes faith (cf. Jms. 2:23; Rom. 4:3ff.; Gal. 3:6). This imputing sets up a relation between salvation and faith and raises the question of merit. In Gen. 15:6 God reckons faith as righteousness because he is pleased to do so and not because it has intrinsic worth. Yet a tendency develops, especially among the rabbis, to remove the judgment from God[base ']s personal will and turn it into general recognition. The Greek term logiízesthai fits in with this trend, for while it embraces the idea of imputation, it also carries with it the idea of recognition, which implies that faith is also a merit. Jms. 2:23 breaks with this trend by stressing, not the meritoriousness of faith, but its commitment to action. Paul makes an even more decisive break in Rom. 4:3ff., where he is plainly playing off the Hebraic logiízesthai of the LXX against the Greek use, as may be seen by his contrasting of gift and debt (v. 4). The presupposition here is that the very question why faith should be reckoned for righteousness is a false one unless an answer is sought in the grace of the cross. The point of faith is that in it believers subject themselves to divine judgment and mercy and are ready to live by divine grace. On the basis of the cross righteousness is now the true reality, so that this imputation is no fiction. The reality of God[base ']s assessment thus serves as a norm of action. Believers become new creatures by God[base ']s logiízesthai, which carries with it the imparting of the Spirit (Gal. 3:2ff.). Paul, then, restores Gen. 15:6 to its true sense, corrects the trend supported by the Greek sense of logiízesthai, and presents dikaiouén and logiízesthai as complementary terms whereby God the Judge is also God the Father. b. The reverse side of the imputing of faith is the nonimputing of sin (Rom. 4:7-8; 2 Cor. 5:19; cf. Ps. 32:2). The intrusion of grace into divine justice offends the Greeks linguistically and the Jews materially. The cross is the point of union, for if God does not impute sin to us, it is because Christ has been made sin for us. logiízesthai is here again a judgment of grace, but it is the only connecting point between Gen. 15:6 and Ps. 32:2, for the imputing of faith obviously embraces much more than the nonimputing of sin. Justin Dialogue 141.2-3 rather misses the point when he suggests that repentance is the ground of nonimputation (cf. faith in 1 Clem. 10.6). [H. W. HEIDLAND, IV, 284[^]92]

Where is the Word?

Mon, 14 Mar 2005 14:21:05 GMT
IN TEH BEGINNING WAS THE WORD [Jn. 1:1] When beginning his commentary on the Gospel fo St. John Aquinas first shows that it is important to first understand how the intellect comes to form a word within itself. First he shows the two operations of the intellect: one which composes and divides; the other, which understands indivisibles. He then goes on to show how the word formed by the intellect in a rational creature is different from the WORD which is God in the mind of the Eternal Father-the Only-Begotten Son. In a sense we mirror in our understanding what we understand our word to be and extrapolate of thru proportional analogy come to some faint understanding of what the WORD which contains all reality is. IP CRL

Fri, 11 Mar 2005 19:04:19 GMT
THE PROMPTINGS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN AMERICA Let us start with this passage from St. Thomas Aquinas in the Summa Contra Gentiles regarding the effects of the Holy Spirit on creatures: [scg.bk.4.ch.20.par.1.sent.1] Hence the Holy Ghost is the cause of the creation: and this is indicated (Ps. ciii. 30): Send forth thy Spirit and they shall be created. [scg.bk.4.ch.20.par.1.sent.1] Also, seeing that the Holy Ghost proceeds by way of love, and that love is an impelling and moving force, any movement that God causes in things is rightly appropriated to the Holy Ghost. CHILDREN BORN INTO FREEDOM As Aquinas brings to our attention that it is the Holy Spirit that makes possible creation, which means that at every instant in whcih we 'reside' in creation we are his debtors. In every possible phase of our life it is the Creator Spirit that calls us out of nothingness into being, that ratifies our existence and our existence among other in human society and among all God's creation. As we look at the many kinds of freedom that are available to God's creatures we see more deeply into the working of the Holy Spirit in giving us a 'choice' among the many good things that come to us daily. Freedom in America has always been understood as the ability to make one's dream come true, speaking simply as a national dream come true, but there are also more deep considerations in the word freedom which we have been given: the freedom to pursue happiness, the pursuit of religious freedom, the freedom of speech. Each one of these freedoms has also some responsibilities to them. But the essential consideration is: what is the source of our freedom? Where does it come from? Does our freedom in America have at its root a different source than freeodm of the European peoples, the African people's, the Asian people's, etc? It doesn't seem reasonable that someone would consider that human freedom is absolutely equal to American freedom. At the same time, there must be essential differences between human freedom as it is in itself, availabel to every man and woman and American freedom available to only Americans. I PLACE BEFORE YOU LIFE AND DEATH, CHOOSE LIFE In the Bible God tells his Chosen people, I place before you today life and death, choose life. So we know where the WORD of GOD stands in reference to the use of our freedom, he stands for life. In the passage above, we have St. Thomas advocating the God of life who being the principle of life moves each and every human to life not death. Someone may want to understand more clearly what this life is in which God speaks about. On the other hand, it cannto be a life that it devoid of reason or is discordant to reason otherwise the God of life who is the exemplar of every good and who places the desire of these good things in mankind would be working against himself, which is impossible. God is truth. Therefore, the God of Life who advocates life not death must be in accordance with the demans of reason and not irrational desires. Furthermore, life means growth and change. The God of life and freedom would advocate growth and change in the human good which is also in accord with reason; that is, where we see the possibility of choosing the grades of life over death God would have to be present. For example, for a child with learning disabilities to have the freedom in school to change form one curriculm to another more challenging one according to his potential to learn would be a reasonable desire uphelp by God's laws and the freedom of an American student with learning disabilities. Take for another example the rights every American citizen has to pursue his own education. A personn has a choice to make. He can choose between different universities, different places according to his likes or expenses; today there are online universities where a person can learn form the comfort of their home or at a local trade school, 2 or 4 year college. Lastly, a person can pursue graduate adn post graduate degrees in many fields. All of these possibilities are within the 'choices' of an American citizen. Do these choices bring one freedom? Can any one of these choices bring a person to that true freedom which is available to every person, regardless of age, race or color; that is, anyone who may be or become a citizen of the United States? In this respect I think that Thomas Aquinas gives to us something which we have to consider here; that is, that the essence of and the substance of our very freedom apart from the Constitutions come form a higher power altogether. Furthermore, that this very power which granted to the United States founding fathers was of this same power; that is, the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the reason for quoting at the beginning of our reflecitons here that our essential cause for being a citizen in the United States is the Holy Spirit. As Aquinas clearly presents: [scg.bk.4.ch.20.par.1.sent.1] Also, seeing that the Holy Ghost proceeds by way of love, and that love is an impelling and moving force, any movement that God causes in things is rightly appropriated to the Holy Ghost. I mean that the love which moved the founding fathers of this country to start what they considered a land of freedom and democracy was itself a derivative of the freedom of choice that is given to every human being. What Aquinas calls an essential charater of love as an 'impelling and moving force' must be looked at more carefully in order to establish what teh Holy Spirit was accomplishing in the early founding of America. Then perhaps other questions could be faced: Is America in conjunction with the original freedom of choice which the founding Fathers experienced and understood and judged and took responsibility for when they established this democratic society we call the United States of America? I do not say that I have an answer for this altogether. What I do say is that without the Holy Spirit, according to the teaching of the CatholicChurch and the Fathers of the Church there cannot be true freedom nor a true expression of it. On the other hand, how does someone know when he is making a free choice that is in accord with the Holy Spirit? the Apostles had this problem. After Jesus died and was not yet revealed as arisen from the dead the Apostles decided to return fishing. It seems that they had the use of natural reason, but perhaps they could not see further than this. There was some significant event that took place, which is detailed in the Acts of the Apostles which is reltated to as Pentecost. There was a profound change in the Apostles and followers fo Jesus at this time and it was something that, according to the promise of Jesus, would take place. But there was a period of preparation, of gestation. Is it right to ask, has America had its Pentecost? Some say it has? Surely the gift of giving birth to a nation that is as poweful as America is today, as such a world power cannot go unnoticed. In other words, something very powerful gave the power to each of the founding fathers, 'impelled them and move them,' again using the words of Aquinas, to produce in their minds and hearts for the future generation in which they were doing this to circumvent and outline in advance such a nation as they conceived it to be and to become. There must be admitted that this force was greater than anyone of them and all together. But what they created was not opposed to human reason nor the fond hearts of every person pursuing the good of life; that is, they sought what every man would naturally seek. On the other hand it does not seem to fit within the category of reasonableness to consider some of the things that America has produced within itself to fall within this boundary of the overall human good, though 'some' may call these events happiness or freedom. Perhaps the judiciary system comes into play in this consideration; that is, there is a dialectic that take splace in the interaction of human freedoms; that is individuals who have a common freedom but desire to ecxpress it in different ways. We cann ot imagine that the founding Fathers had in mind every possible freedom that would ever be expressed in America adn all that this would mean. I believe that this brings into play the very significant role of religion in America. That elements which cannot be fully explained by human reason alone, but yet is at work in our freedom. Of course this is the age-old question which has been asked hundreds of years before America was born. The Europeans, Asians, Meditteranean peoples all have always asked this question. IP CRL

Fri, 11 Mar 2005 11:44:49 GMT
The Love of God has been poured into our Heart [Rom. 5:3-5] +God has given to us every spiritual blessing in the heavens. +God has given to us what we need to live Holy and spotelss in His sight.. +God has given to us a santifying Spirit... +God has given to us infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. Ps. 4:1 I called to Him and he asnwered me, the God of my justification. Ps. 8:1 I called to Him and he answered me, the God who 'renewed the face of the earth.' Ps. 4:1 I called to Him and He set my feet upon a rock and gave me spacious freedom. IP CRL

Mon, 07 Mar 2005 15:14:34 GMT
Union, Mo. Monday, March 07, 2005 Immaculata Publishing ©2005 The Philokalia Vol. 1-IV faber & faber [1979-1995] 'God is one, unoriginate, incomprehensible, possessing completely the total potentiality of being, altogether excluding notions of when and how, inaccessible to all, and not to be known through image by any creature.' ST. MAXIMOS THE CONFESOR [Vol. II, PG. 114] This is how St. Maximos starts his Centuries on Theology and the INCARNATE DISPENSATION of the Son of God. In a similar introduction St. Thomas Aquinas opens his summa contra gentiles by stating that God Himself cannot be known, but by way of remotion we can know what he is not' tha tis, by removing all that he is not, we can peer into the scriptures revelation and contemplate the beauty of who he has revelaed Himslf to be; Aquinas relies upon sacred scripture as a rule, just as Pseudo-Dionysius did in the opening paragraph of the Divien Names, as the only way in which God can be gazed upon, in faith, and in darkness of revelation. Both in teh natural order of reason and in the supernatural order of Divein Revelation, Maximos puts forth these stepping stones to the reality of God in order to set a foundation for Theological thinking in the Divine Dispensation and to reveal the Son of God. He says He is One, since Unity and simplicity is part of God's nature, 'God is Spirit.' Even Augustine opens his great book , the Confession, extolling the greatness fo God by naming his essential attributes.' As the Catholic Church teaches, 'all the Divine Attributes are identical among themselves and with the Divine Essence.' Now, the Theotokos, she bore this Sacred Humanity in her womb and gave birth to Him, the WORD. So seeing this WORD leap down from Heaven within her womb at the OVERSHADOWING of the HOLY SPIRIT was the INCARNATION. Who could comprehend this 'God form God, Light form Light, True God from TRue God, ' taking flesh adn living among us, so much so that St. John could say, 'what our eyes have seen and our hands have touched, the Word of life.' So MAximos says, 'incomprehensible' to signify that every created intrellect or intellection cannot encompass what is above it, but only from afar contemplate the reality that has been revelaed in jesus Christ 'as in a darkly mirror.' IP CRL

Fri, 04 Mar 2005 10:52:13 GMT
Union, March 04, 2005 St. Augustine of Hippo Just For Today ISSN 1553-561X [base "]Let me not weary as I confess to you those acts of mercy by which you plucked me from all my evil ways[per thou] (I, 15, 24) Who, St. Augustine, would not be moved by your words, when asking Our Divine Lord for the grace to not be weary in confessing his acts of mercy towards you. And, YOU, My God, the God of St. Augustine, whom you drew to yourself, first for his own salvation and then for our edification and instruction to sinners who need your Mercy. Divine Lord, it is you who see all men as sinners, but those who confidently acknowledge their weakness know what it is to be loved and held by your mercy. Even when we are erring because of our weaknesses, You , in Your infintie Wisdom show us the way to you. St. Augustine, I feel touched by your sincerity in your prayer to My God, the God whom you stood before then and whom I address now in your presence, for just as you addressed Him then, so I address Him now in the eternal time which is now in faith, 'the simultaneously perfect possession of interminable life.' The 'time' of eternity which you experience in the Beatific Vision and in which you experience His unchanging Mercy towards you, experiencing that from which you were 'plucked' by his mercy then, but now is to you an eternal plucking of a now which will have no end. For me as I address you in His presence I hope as you once said, that the 'egg' shell of my hope will become a desire of my minid that will grow larger and larger until it encompasses of Him as much as I am enabled by this Merciful God, both to you as you pray for my journey and for you as you grow in ever widening vision of His eternal presence. Dear God, you are ever renewing our strength in ever more constant manifestations of your glory. I am told by another Saint in your presence, St. Thomas Aquinas in his work which gives you glory today, in his Summa Contra Gentiles about how you desire to answer those prayers which are in accord with your Divine Providence and Will. Hear, the words which you hold in your Divine mind: 'Further. We proved that God fittingly fulfils the desire of the rational creature on account of its being near to God. Now a man approaches to God by contemplation, devout affections, and humble but firm resolutions. A prayer, therefore, that lacks these conditions in its approach to God, does not deserve to be granted by Him. Hence it is said in the Psalm (ci. 18): He hath had regard to the prayer of the humble; and (James i. 6): Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.' [New City Press, 1997] You ask that we ask but not waver in asking, and this is why I am moved by your servants, Augustine in his Confessions now at the beginning in his prayer to you and Thomas Aquinas in his speaking about you. Both prayed to you and both of their lives were a confession of your Mercy; Augustine as Bishop of Hipo and Thomas Aquinas as a learned and wise theologian who brought forth from the cupboard of his mind and heart both the old and the new and placed them before us on the table of your Holy Church which you established. They are in your presence, you who are eternally 'ever ancient and ever new.' We, here on earth, as members of your body await the doors of death, which you opened in triumph thru your victory on the Cross and gathered together before your Holy Throne all the elect from every nation and language. We have to pass thru this door and be judged as you judged Augustine about his deeds in the flesh. WE too, are part of that judgment, both for our own sins and the sins of our fathers. All of us look to your Mercy. You choose the weak things of this world to confound the strong, we are weak. So today, I , too, come before you and Augustine and Thomas Aquinas and so many others united in communion with you, both herre on earth and in your triumphant Church in Heaven. 'How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, God of Hosts!' Grant that we , too, may join THEM and thanking you for having plucked us form our evil ways and 'set us upon a ROCK that is the cornerstone and the eternal vision of your Glory, the 'Lord Man,' Jesus Christ, who is the Rock of Peter, Our Holy Father , the visible vicar of your Church; who is the strength of your people, who ,put on himself 'sackcloth' the humble covering of flesh- 'born of a woman under the law to delliver form the law those who were subjected to it. ' It is this subjection that Augustine speaks of when I hear him say, 'you have plucked me from my evil ways.' For it is not only his alone, but ours that you have plucked us from. For we lilke the sinful woman brought before you sometime when you walked the face of the earth and placed in your sight and were ashambed to raise her head to you who was caught in adultery, we too, shamefaced, lift our eyes to you and say, 'no one, sir.' No one who is true to the sin that lies in our lives and that we are all born into and that you alone rescued us from adn that we are free to accept or reject form your merciful hands. We do desire it, 'we do belived, help our unbelief!' Let this be our prayer, let this be our desire to give you praise, to give you the glory for we too, like the hardhearted who faced that woman to stone her, we , too, after seeing your merciful gaze fall upon our sins, beign to walk away one by one leaving this poor woman before you. Yet, the woman is both us and her persecutors. One part of ourselves shrinks from you the other is wholly humbled at your presence to us ,your mercy to us. Yet, when you say, 'go and sin no more,' how could we gather strength unless you alone did sustain us both in the effort and in the setting our footsteps behind yours to humbly follow you? Now on us, O Lord, have mercy! IP CRL

Thu, 03 Mar 2005 21:23:21 GMT
Union, Mo. March 3, 2005 02/18/2005 Padre Pio: Learning to Freely Choose Christ ISBN O9764809-0-5 Saints Alive Series Immaculata Publishing 2005© Summa Contra Gentiles Bk 3b Ch 95 & 96 p 40 Topic: What is the purpose of holy desire in relation to Divine Providence? Topic: Did Padre Pio Summa Contra Gentiles Bk I ch 68 p 146 Topic: Spiritual Creatures: Padre Pio: Freely Choosing Christ Divine Providence and the Usefulness of Prayer SEE Bookmark The Subject Choosing the First Truth ppio.letters.1.359.sgr.11.sept.1916 [ sgr San Giovanni Rotondo ] [let.I.359.par1.s1(.a)]"No slightest comfort (b) penetrates my soul.[let.I.359.par1.s2.a] I have become quite blind; (b) the only thing I see clearly, (c) if it can be called seeing, (d) is my nothingness, on the one hand, (e) and God's goodness (f) and greatness on the other.[let.I.359.par1.s3.a] I see God within me and (b) far from satisfying my longing, (c) this increases my desire." Taken form the Summa Contra Gentiles of St. Thomas Aquinas THAT THE UNCHANGEABLENESS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE DOES NOT EXCLUDE THE USEFULNESS OF PRAYER We must also observe that as the unchangeableness of providence does not impose necessity on things foreseen, so neither does it exclude the usefulness of prayer. For we do not pray that the external disposition of His providence may be changed, since this is impossible, but that He may grant what we desire. For it is fitting that God should assent to the pious yearnings of the rational creature, not that our desires have the effect of changing a God who is unchangeable, but as an effect befitting His goodness in granting our desires. Because since all things naturally desire the good, as we have proved,[integral]3 and since it belongs to the supereminent divine goodness to bestow being and well-being on all things in a certain order, it follows that He fulfils, according to His goodness, the pious desires of which our prayers are the expression. Here, Aquinas gives a very real understanding of our holy desires in relationship to God's Divien Goodness in His Providential care for each of us. St. Pio understood the relationship of Providence and used all the measn whcih God provided for him. At the same time, St. Pio understood more than anyone regarding the graces that he received that in view of the Divien Goodness he was but a weak creature and powerless. The more he saw God within himself the more he longed for the complete union with Him, which he now enjoys in heaven and prays for all his spiritual children to join him. When the subject views itself in the hands of God it experiences that unique gift of fear of the Lord which is known to those who have faith; they understand their weaknesses as also a gift to be transformed into his strength; their judge that they have no recourse but to accept ALL form his Almight hand; lastly, they take responsibility for who they are as God reveals both their weakness without God and the strength that comes from being united to Jesus in grace thru the workings of the theological virtues. This continual transcendence to the Divine is what Jesus meant when he said, 'if I am lifted up I will draw all things to myself.' This is the spirit at the heart of the communion of the saints, both in heaven and on earth. Our sharing in the Eucharist daily, our union with the Mother of God, the Theotokos, and our constantly remembering in our hearts that 'pour hearts are restless until they rest in you,' keeps the faithful soul humble and totally dependent upon Our Fathe rwho provides all for each even before a word is on our tongue. IP CRL

Sun, 13 Feb 2005 02:45:30 GMT
February 12, 2005 CST 9:23 Union, Mo. USA 'It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of God.' If one is to think about falling in to the hands of God, we should readily call to mind the very great Mother of God, the Theotokos. Much more than falling into God's hands form the beginning as the 'wisdom of God,' and the tabernacle where he would place his Only-Begotten, the Theotokos also shares in OUR humanity. Form, in its widest meaning, has as its meaning, that which makes a thing what it is, but how do you name a form which contains the formless ONE of all forms. Truly she us nearest the very 'power and wisdom of God' (1 Cor. 1:24); but the nearness comes from of her role as MOTHER of GOD. Being Mother she is also contains within hereself in a Mysterious way that which she gave birth to, yet He who she gave birth to contained her befroe she gave birth to Him. Just as Jesus could say, 'before Abraham I AM; so Mary could say, 'before I gave birth to Him, HE gave birth to me.' Now this giving birth and you are being given birth is very unique to the Immaculata Conception of Mary. It was into the spotless womb of Mary that Jesus Christ made his entrance into the world. How did Mary experience and understand her experience of the 'Son of God Most High.' What was her infused knowledge of this reality when she said, 'let it be done to me as you say.' Or on hearing the words from the Archangel Gabriel, 'Hail, Full of grace.' Mary''s life was truly sheltered within the 'hands of God.' The late Fr. Faber says in his book Foot of the Cross that the law of the Incarnation was the law of suffering;' that is, that those came to know Christ had to follow the Lord in suffering in the redemption fo the world. Surely Christ came 'to make our joy complete;' on the other hand, there is no following the 'way, the truth, and the life, ' without denying your very self. If we make our home in Mary, thru sincere prayer we will find that her earnest prayer for us reaches to the very core of our being and lead us to the intimate union with the Blessed Trinity within-not without a cost to ouorselves, but despite ourselves and thru grace we will find Christ. crl IPNews