Italian philosopher and theologian
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March 7th, 2025: St Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor of the Church; Aquinas vs. Modernism, Faith & Reason over Heresy; Overcome Evil with Good; St Thomas Aquinas - Angelic Purity and Clarity
With the bestselling book, When Harry Became Sally now back on Amazon, author Ryan Anderson joins with the unique backstory. He also expounds on why we must keep technology as a supplement, never a substitute in our daily lives, especially for the sake of our kids. Father Dominic Legge also joins, discussing the life of St. Thomas Aquinas with the recent image trending of the doctor of the church being recreated based on analysis of the skull. The study also points to the true cause of death of the Angelic Doctor. Msgr. Roger Landry discusses the Shrine of the North American Martyrs as it received national recognition by the USSCB this month. Catch the show every Saturday at 7amET/5pmET on EWTN radio!
Full Text of ReadingsMemorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church Lectionary: 318The Saint of the day is Saint Thomas AquinasSaint Thomas Aquinas' Story By universal consent, Thomas Aquinas is the preeminent spokesman of the Catholic tradition of reason and of divine revelation. He is one of the great teachers of the medieval Catholic Church, honored with the titles Doctor of the Church and Angelic Doctor. At five he was given to the Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino in his parents' hopes that he would choose that way of life and eventually became abbot. In 1239, he was sent to Naples to complete his studies. It was here that he was first attracted to Aristotle's philosophy. By 1243, Thomas abandoned his family's plans for him and joined the Dominicans, much to his mother's dismay. On her order, Thomas was captured by his brother and kept at home for over a year. Once free, he went to Paris and then to Cologne, where he finished his studies with Albert the Great. He held two professorships at Paris, lived at the court of Pope Urban IV, directed the Dominican schools at Rome and Viterbo, combated adversaries of the mendicants, as well as the Averroists, and argued with some Franciscans about Aristotelianism. His greatest contribution to the Catholic Church is his writings. The unity, harmony, and continuity of faith and reason, of revealed and natural human knowledge, pervades his writings. One might expect Thomas, as a man of the gospel, to be an ardent defender of revealed truth. But he was broad enough, deep enough, to see the whole natural order as coming from God the Creator, and to see reason as a divine gift to be highly cherished. The Summa Theologiae, his last and, unfortunately, uncompleted work, deals with the whole of Catholic theology. He stopped work on it after celebrating Mass on December 6, 1273. When asked why he stopped writing, he replied, “I cannot go on…. All that I have written seems to me like so much straw compared to what I have seen and what has been revealed to me.” He died March 7, 1274. Reflection We can look to Thomas Aquinas as a towering example of Catholicism in the sense of broadness, universality, and inclusiveness. We should be determined anew to exercise the divine gift of reason in us, our power to know, learn, and understand. At the same time we should thank God for the gift of his revelation, especially in Jesus Christ. Saint Thomas Aquinas is a Patron Saint of: Catholic Colleges and UniversitiesEducators/TeachersPhilosophers/TheologiansStudents Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media
Happy feast of St. Thomas Aquinas! On today's show, Matt Swaim and Anna Mitchell discuss the life and witness of the man known as the Angelic Doctor. Guests include Fr. Boniface Hicks with more thoughts on personal prayer, and Kris McGregor from Discerning Hearts to reflect on the Office of Readings. Plus news, weather, sports and more...
Happy feast of St. Thomas Aquinas! On today’s show, Matt Swaim and Anna Mitchell discuss the life and witness of the man known as the Angelic Doctor. Guests include Fr. Boniface Hicks with more thoughts on personal prayer, and Kris McGregor from Discerning Hearts to reflect on the Office of Readings. Plus news, weather, sports and more… ***** Prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas for Students Come, Holy Spirit, Divine Creator, true source of light and fountain of wisdom! Pour forth your brilliance upon my dense intellect, dissipate the darkness which covers me, that of sin and of ignorance. Grant me a penetrating mind to understand, a retentive memory, method and ease in learning, the lucidity to comprehend, and abundant grace in expressing myself. Guide the beginning of my work, direct its progress, and bring it to successful completion. This I ask through Jesus Christ, true God and true man, living and reigning with You and the Father, forever and ever. Amen. ***** Dr. Steven Cheeseman is online at NCEA.org. Brady Stiller, author of Your Life is a Story Steven Crampton is online at thomasmoresociety.org. Full list of guestsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Angelic Doctor
St. Thomas Aquinas was one of the most brilliant human beings ever. He wrote with clarity and depth about our Catholic Faith, and we are beginning to see a rediscovery of his works among young adult Catholics. Why is it so important to study the Angelic Doctor, and what can he teach us about the intersection of faith and reason? Tune in to hear Fr. Joseph and Paul interview Fr. Ambrose Little, OP, who runs the popular Youtube series Aquinas 101!
Thomas Aquinas is also known as the "Angelic Doctor," but he was quite capable of coming down from the heavens and getting practical. In two selections from his work included in Richard M. Gamble's The Great Tradition, we find some of Thomas' advice and outlook for students and teachers, including a discussion of whether teaching is an inherently contemplative or active pursuit.Richard M. Gamble's The Great Tradition: https://amzn.to/3Q4lRnONew Humanists episode Education that Makes Aquinas Look Modern, feat. John Peterson: https://newhumanists.buzzsprout.com/1791279/12698279-education-that-makes-aquinas-look-modern-feat-john-peterson-episode-xlviPope Leo XIII's Aeterni Patris: https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_04081879_aeterni-patris.htmlAugustine's De Magistro (The Teacher): https://amzn.to/4cUbVZ4A.G. Sertillanges's The Intellectual Life: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780813206462Homer Camp: https://ancientlanguage.com/homer-camp/Bible Camp: https://ancientlanguage.com/bible-camp/New Humanists is brought to you by the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/Links may have referral codes, which earn us a commission at no additional cost to you. We encourage you, when possible, to use Bookshop.org for your book purchases, an online bookstore which supports local bookstores.Music: Save Us Now by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com
This lecture was given on June 16th, 2023, at Glencomeragh House, Ireland. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events Fr. Conor McDonough, O.P. (Dominican House of Studies, Dublin) is a Dominican friar from Galway. He studied science and theology at the University of Cambridge and taught theology at secondary school before joining the Dominicans in 2009. He was ordained priest in 2016 and undertook further studies in theology at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland), focussing on the writings of St Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin. He is currently based in Dublin where he teaches theology to the students at the Dominican House of Studies in Dublin.
Full Text of ReadingsFourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 71The Saint of the day is Saint Thomas AquinasSaint Thomas Aquinas' Story By universal consent, Thomas Aquinas is the preeminent spokesman of the Catholic tradition of reason and of divine revelation. He is one of the great teachers of the medieval Catholic Church, honored with the titles Doctor of the Church and Angelic Doctor. At five he was given to the Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino in his parents' hopes that he would choose that way of life and eventually became abbot. In 1239, he was sent to Naples to complete his studies. It was here that he was first attracted to Aristotle's philosophy. By 1243, Thomas abandoned his family's plans for him and joined the Dominicans, much to his mother's dismay. On her order, Thomas was captured by his brother and kept at home for over a year. Once free, he went to Paris and then to Cologne, where he finished his studies with Albert the Great. He held two professorships at Paris, lived at the court of Pope Urban IV, directed the Dominican schools at Rome and Viterbo, combated adversaries of the mendicants, as well as the Averroists, and argued with some Franciscans about Aristotelianism. His greatest contribution to the Catholic Church is his writings. The unity, harmony, and continuity of faith and reason, of revealed and natural human knowledge, pervades his writings. One might expect Thomas, as a man of the gospel, to be an ardent defender of revealed truth. But he was broad enough, deep enough, to see the whole natural order as coming from God the Creator, and to see reason as a divine gift to be highly cherished. The Summa Theologiae, his last and, unfortunately, uncompleted work, deals with the whole of Catholic theology. He stopped work on it after celebrating Mass on December 6, 1273. When asked why he stopped writing, he replied, “I cannot go on…. All that I have written seems to me like so much straw compared to what I have seen and what has been revealed to me.” He died March 7, 1274. Reflection We can look to Thomas Aquinas as a towering example of Catholicism in the sense of broadness, universality, and inclusiveness. We should be determined anew to exercise the divine gift of reason in us, our power to know, learn, and understand. At the same time we should thank God for the gift of his revelation, especially in Jesus Christ. Saint Thomas Aquinas is a Patron Saint of: Catholic Colleges and UniversitiesEducators/TeachersPhilosophers/TheologiansStudents Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media
St Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor of the Church *Aquinas vs. Modernism, Faith and Reason over Heresy *Overcome Evil with Good *St Thomas Aquinas - Angelic Purity and Clarity Subscribe and Rate on Apple Podcasts
Commemorate the 750th anniversary of Saint Thomas Aquinas and discover what we can learn from the Angelic Doctor. And much more.
Walking with the Saints l Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, The Angelic Doctor, Patron Saint of Universities and Scholars l January 28 St. Thomas Aquinas besides being a theologian is called The Angelic Doctor because of his angelic wisdom, angelic piety, and his writing on Angels. Thomas, son of Landulph, Count of Aquino, was born in 1224 in Roccasecca, Kingdom of Sicily, Italy. At five years of age, he was place at the Monastery in Monte Casino for his Education. Later, he was sent to the University of Naples where he studied philosophy. While studying, he kept himself pure and virtous. At age seventeen, he entered the Dominican Order, but his parents opposed it, since the order live in absolute poverty and renunciation. He was abducted and was kept at home for two years. Once, his brothers, who wanted to dissuade him from becoming a priest, brought a prostitute I his room. But Thomas refused to touch her and immediately drove her out with a torch. In 1245, when he was set free, Thomas went to Paris and studied Theology and Philosophy at a Dominican Monastery under the future Saint albert the Great (Albertus Magnus). “In 1252, he obtained his doctorate in Theology. Due to his modesty, he was often silent called him the “dumb ox,” Albert the great came to his defense and said: “You call this young man a “dumb ox” but his writings in due time will resound throughout the world. “Thomas was able to reconcile theology and philosophy (faith and reason), saying that they are compatible and collaborate with each other in proving the existing of God. One morning in 1273 he had a vision. He heard a voice coming from the Crucifix saying: “Thou hast written well of me, Thomas, what reward wilt thou have? “He answered: “None, other than thyself, Lord.” In January 1274, he travelled to Lyon, France, on foot, to serve at the Second Council, but he fell ill and lodged at the Cisterian Monastery in Fossanova, Italy, where he died on March 7, 1274. St Thomas wrote some 60 important and popular works. Foremost among his books are: Summa Theologiae and Summa Contro Gentiles. There are about 6,000 written commentaries about hid works. He also wrote a Beautiful Eucharistichymns. St Thomas is also called the Universal teacher for the breathed and depth of his teachings. He was canonized by Pope John XXll on July 18, 1323. His Feast day is January 28. Virtue: Angelic piety, angelic purity, modesty, fortitude, wisdom. Prayer: Let us pray the prayer of St Thomas. “Grant to me, O Lord God, vigilant heart that no subtle speculation may ever lead me from You; a noble heart that no unworthy affection may draw me from you; an upright heart that no evil purpose may turn me from you.”
Fr. Conor McDonough, O.P. (Dominican House of Studies, Dublin) is a Dominican friar from Galway. He studied science and theology at the University of Cambridge and taught theology at secondary school before joining the Dominicans in 2009. He was ordained priest in 2016 and undertook further studies in theology at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland), focussing on the writings of St Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin. He is currently based in Dublin where he teaches theology to the students at the Dominican House of Studies in Dublin.
This week on The Open Door (November 1st), panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Valerie Niemeyer discuss India, religious freedom, and Thomism. Our distinguished and welcome guest is Prof. Timothy Samuel Shah of the University of Dallas. By training and personal passion, he is a scholar of politics and political philosophy, specializing in religion and global politics, religious freedom, and the history of moral and political theory. With his wife, Rebecca Shah, he is based in Bangalore, India. With Rebecca, he has established several initiatives in partnership with the University of Dallas, including a Jacques and Raïssa Maritain Program on Catholicism, Public Life and World Affairs. Under the auspices of the Maritain Program, Prof. Shah coordinates a monthly online Thomistic Study Circle, which involves numerous expert and amateur Thomists from around the world, and which seeks to re-enliven an appreciation of the Angelic Doctor's timeless teaching and relevance, especially for public affairs. Most recently, he and Rebecca established a Program for Indo-American Understanding and Friendship at the Gupta College of Business at the University of Dallas. The program, among other things, seeks to promote deep dialogue and genuine understanding between Hinduism and Catholic Christianity. In addition to serving as a Distinguished Research Scholar in the Politics Department at the University of Dallas, Shah also serves as Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Center for Shared Civilizational Values, an organization he founded with senior leaders of the world's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama in Indonesia, in order to strengthen and preserve a rules-based international order founded upon respect for the equal rights and dignity of every human being.1. Prof. Shah, Tim if we may, how can Americans better understand India, now the most populous nation in the world?2. What might Mahatma Gandhi think of India today?3. Commentators are calling attention to the political and military implications of the developing relations between India and the United States. Can you explain for us something of what's at stake?4. India's Supreme Court recently declined to recognize same sex marriage, insisting that it was a matter for the legislature. What factors went into this decision?5. How did you come to have a special interest in religious freedom? What are some of the key challenges to religious freedom today?6. Could you tell us about how you came to the University of Dallas? How is it a distinctive institution?7. At the yearly conference of the American Maritain Association you presented a paper warning of the “siren song” of Catholic integralism. Why are you critical of this phenomenon?8. It has been said that everyone is born either a Platonist or an Aristotelian. But you are a keen Thomist. How did this happen? Were you, perhaps, trying to combine the best of Plato and of Aristotle?9. Is there a Catholic-Hindu dialogue in India? Is there a Catholic-Muslim dialogue in India?10. Pope Francis has said that we are already in the midst of World War III. What do you think he meant? Do you agree with him?
Today we talk about the greatest theologian possibly of all time. Could he really be the GOAT of theology? Probably.First, I give a little background of his life and holiness.Second, I describe his teaching about the only possible way to talk about God: through analogy.Third, I share a story at the end of the life, lest we forget the fullness of the proclamation of who God is.
St Thomas Aquinas: https://catholicnovenaapp.com/novenas/st-thomas-aquinas-novena/ Saint and Doctor of the Church Dominican who lived in the 1200s His parents did not want him to enter the Dominicans, one of the new mendicant Orders, so they imprisoned him for a year, sent in a prostitute to seduce him, whom he drove away with a burning iron from the fireplace, but he ultimately escaped and entered the Dominicans. Most brilliant scholar who ever lived In the so-called Dark Ages, yet really this was the time of the Glory of Christendom, and we have not equalled it in scholarship, nor architecture, nor faith. His landmark work, the Summa Theologica, he wrote for "beginning students," yet now only advanced doctoral students in philosophy, theology, and political science study it, which shows how far we have diminished in our scholastic achievement. That said, I recommend reading the Summa, a bit at a time, as the concepts are presented so logically, that most Catholics can understand them at least in part. Some of the language and words have precise, technical meanings which will elude you, but that is okay. Highly recommend Louis de Wohl's historical fiction book about St Thomas, called The Quiet Light. It brings St Thomas Aquinas to life. St Thomas is now the patron of students and universities. There's a great prayer that he composed for students that says things like .... He also composed some of the most beautiful hymns in the Church, including Pange Lingua... He is known as the Angelic Doctor due to the sublimity of his thought, and because two angels assisted him when he drove out the prostitute to remain celibate. You can pray an excellent nine-day novena to St Thomas Aquinas from my website and mobile app here: https://pray.app.link/saintthomasaquinasnovena
Some principles for life from the Angelic Doctor
Full Text of ReadingsMemorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church Lectionary: 322The Saint of the day is Saint Thomas AquinasSaint Thomas Aquinas' Story By universal consent, Thomas Aquinas is the preeminent spokesman of the Catholic tradition of reason and of divine revelation. He is one of the great teachers of the medieval Catholic Church, honored with the titles Doctor of the Church and Angelic Doctor. At five he was given to the Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino in his parents' hopes that he would choose that way of life and eventually became abbot. In 1239, he was sent to Naples to complete his studies. It was here that he was first attracted to Aristotle's philosophy. By 1243, Thomas abandoned his family's plans for him and joined the Dominicans, much to his mother's dismay. On her order, Thomas was captured by his brother and kept at home for over a year. Once free, he went to Paris and then to Cologne, where he finished his studies with Albert the Great. He held two professorships at Paris, lived at the court of Pope Urban IV, directed the Dominican schools at Rome and Viterbo, combated adversaries of the mendicants, as well as the Averroists, and argued with some Franciscans about Aristotelianism. His greatest contribution to the Catholic Church is his writings. The unity, harmony, and continuity of faith and reason, of revealed and natural human knowledge, pervades his writings. One might expect Thomas, as a man of the gospel, to be an ardent defender of revealed truth. But he was broad enough, deep enough, to see the whole natural order as coming from God the Creator, and to see reason as a divine gift to be highly cherished. The Summa Theologiae, his last and, unfortunately, uncompleted work, deals with the whole of Catholic theology. He stopped work on it after celebrating Mass on December 6, 1273. When asked why he stopped writing, he replied, “I cannot go on…. All that I have written seems to me like so much straw compared to what I have seen and what has been revealed to me.” He died March 7, 1274. Reflection We can look to Thomas Aquinas as a towering example of Catholicism in the sense of broadness, universality, and inclusiveness. We should be determined anew to exercise the divine gift of reason in us, our power to know, learn, and understand. At the same time we should thank God for the gift of his revelation, especially in Jesus Christ. Saint Thomas Aquinas is a Patron Saint of: Catholic Colleges and UniversitiesEducators/TeachersPhilosophers/TheologiansStudents Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media
St Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor of the Church *Aquinas vs. Modernism, Faith and Reason over Heresy *Overcome Evil with Good *St Thomas Aquinas - Angelic Purity and Clarity
The Feast of the Angelic Doctor is a great opportunity to reflect on the relationship between faith and reason. A meditation by Fr James Hurley, curate of Our Lady Queen of Peace parish in Dublin
Walking with the Saints Podcast | January 28, Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, Patron Saint of Catholic Schools and Students St. Thomas Aquinas besides being a Theologian is called The Angelic Doctor because of his angelic wisdom, angelic piety, and his writing on Angels. Thomas, son of Landulph, Count of Aquino, was born in 1224 in Roccasecca, Kingdom of Sicily, Italy. At five years of age, he was placed at the Monastery in Monte Casino for his Education. Late, he was sent to the University of Naples where he studied philosophy. While studying, he kept himself pure and virtuous. At age seventeen, he entered the Dominican Order, but his parents opposed it since the order live in absolute poverty and renunciation. He was abducted and kept at home for two years. Once, his brothers, who wanted to dissuade him from becoming a priest, brought a prostitute I his room. But Thomas refused to touch her and immediately drove her out with a torch. In 1245, when he was set free, Thomas went to Paris and studied Theology and Philosophy at a Dominican Monastery under the future Saint Albert the Great (Albertus Magnus). “In 1252, he obtained his doctorate in Theology. Due to his modesty, he was often silent and called him the “dumb ox,” Albert the Great came to his defense and said: “You call this young man a “dumb ox” but his writings in due time will resound throughout the world. “Thomas was able to reconcile theology and philosophy (faith and reason), saying that they are compatible and collaborate with each other in proving the existence of God. One morning in 1273 he had a vision. He heard a voice coming from the Crucifix saying: “Thou hast written well of me, Thomas, what reward wilt thou have? “He answered: “None, other than thyself, Lord.” In January 1274, he traveled to Lyon, France, on foot, to serve at the Second Council, but he fell ill and lodged at the Cisterian Monastery in Fossanova, Italy, where he died on March 7, 1274. St Thomas wrote some 60 important and popular works. Foremost among his books are Summa Theologiae and Summa Contro Gentiles. There are about 6,000 written commentaries about his works. He also wrote Beautiful Eucharistic hymns. St Thomas is also called the Universal teacher for the breathed and depth of his teachings. He was canonized by Pope John XXll on July 18, 1323. His Feast day is January 28. Let us pray the prayer of St Thomas. “Grant to me, O Lord God, a vigilant heart that no subtle speculation may ever lead me from You; a noble heart that no unworthy affection may draw me from you; an upright heart that no evil purpose may turn me from you.” Do I pray to my Guardian Angel to protect me from unworthy affections and from impure thoughts and behavior?
Blessed John Duns Scotus (1265-1308), the Franciscan friar known as the "Subtle Doctor", is one of the most important theologians and philosophers of the Middle Ages, yet over the centuries he has fallen into disrepute, or at least neglect, by comparison with the "Angelic Doctor", St. Thomas Aquinas. Interest in Scotus has revived somewhat in part due to his beatification by Pope St. John Paul II, who called him the "defender of the Immaculate Conception" and "minstrel of the Incarnation". Indeed, Scotus's greatest legacy is his argument for Mary's having been conceived without original sin, a controversial position at the time, yet vindicated centuries later when this was proclaimed a dogma by Pope Bl. Pius IX. This is good enough reason to get to know Scotus, even if he ultimately takes a back seat to Aquinas. Thomas Ward, author of Ordered by Love: An Introduction to John Duns Scotus, joins the podcast to discuss aspects of Scotus's thought, and his context in the early history of the Franciscan order. Thomas Ward, Ordered by Love https://angelicopress.org/ordered-by-love-thomas-ward This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio
Topics: Scripture, Gospels, Apostles, Early Church Fathers, Saints, Theology, St. Thomas Aquinas, Gospel of John, St. Jerome, Virgins, Defense of the FaithThe beginning of the end is nigh! We conclude Aquinas' Prologue on the Gospel of John. We also talk on Jerome's Prologue with Aquinas to talk about why John is fit to be the author of this Gospel. Do you want Theology, Great Insight into Scripture, and some controversial quotes from the Angelic Doctor himself then get ready for this podcast.End of Aquinas' Prologue - St. John's Merits to write this Gospel 1 His Name = “In Whom is Graced”* Divinity cannot be seen except by those whom have grace 2 His Virtue = Virginity * He was a virgin 3 His Symbol = An Eagle* John is relieved as an eagle in the Book of Revelation. John is given the symbol as an eagle because, “flies like an eagle above the clouds of human weakness and looks upon the light of unchanging truth” 4 His Privilege = Christ loved him more then the other disciples * “John refers to himself below as the beloved disciple”St. Jerome's ProloguePart 1- John's Life - Aquinas as View's Jerome's prologue Section 1: Lord Chose John as a virgin Section 2: Two Fold Testimony of virginity Fold 1: He is called beloved above all the other disciples Fold 2: To him the Lord entrusted his mother Section 3: John is an inaugurating work of the Incorruptible WordPart 2 – John's Death - Aquinas as View's Jerome's prologue Section 4: And this is John, who knew he was about to die Section 5: Mary urged John to write a Gospel Thomas' Explosion of Jerome's PrologueJerome writes his prologue to prove two things: 1 the authority of the Gospel and 2 John was qualified to write it. Jerome does this in two parts: Part 1 Describing John Life (which is broken into two parts) ---- First he describe the author (This is broken down into two things) 1 Jerome show the illustriousness of the author -1 By His Name “This is John” -2 According to his office as an Evangelist -3 According to his dignity as a Disciple of the Lord -4 According to his virtue of chastity -5 By election as he was chosen by the Lord -6 By the manner of his calling “he called him form his wedding” 2 He prove it where is says “a two fold testimony is given in this Gospel” -Fold 1 By his sign of greater love “this is that disciple who gives testimony of these things and has written of these things” -Fold 2 Jesus entrusted his mother to John “so that a virgin should protect a virgin” ---- Second showing the gifts conferred on him in life (does this in 4 ways) 1 – the beginning of this Gospel begins with the incorruptible word, which is fitting because as the incorruptible man should discussed 2 – the prelude of the miracle at the wedding which Aquinas clarifies 3 – the order in which the book is written as the last written book of scripture 4 – this is John Part 2 Describing John DeathThis is John describes the author in two ways 1 show the illustriousness of John's death: “the privilege of his death is wondrous and unique, for he experienced no suffering in death” 2 fleetingness of the order of the GospelSupport the show
IntroductionToday we are exploring one of the most important topics in human history: the Incarnation of the Word of God. What we celebrate on the Solemnity of the Annunciation and then nine months later on December 25th is the most marvelous of mysterious miracles. What does the Church definitively teach about the Incarnation? What is the Hypostatic Union? Is Jesus half-God and half-man or fully God and fully man? How does that work? What are some of the heresies about Christ?This week's episode will exclusively focus on the fact, nature, and truth of the Incarnation. There is far more to say about the nature of Christ than I can cover in one short episode. So, know that there is more to say, more distinctions to draw, and more fruitful reflection to be had! Next week, in a second part, we will explore the effects of the Incarnation on Christ Himself as well as the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas on the fittingness of the Incarnation. As well, we will look at the effects of the Incarnation on humanity and the world. In other words, what is the significance of Christmas for you and I personally? The Marvelous Fact of the IncarnationTwo thousand years ago, the Eternal Word of God took on Flesh. In the Nicene Creed, Christians acclaim that: “For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit, he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and was made man.” Belief in the Incarnation of the Son of God, the second Person of the Blessed Trinity, is distinctively Christian. No other religion claims something so seemingly outlandish: that the Almighty God would condescend to share in His creation. Yet, this is the truth. The Incarnation is a marvelous fact, a “unique and altogether singular event (CCC 464)” to borrow the language of the Catechism. This marvelous reality is not simple to understand, nor is it something intuitively grasped by our feeble human intellect. However, there is much that God has revealed to us and unpacked through the guidance of the Holy Spirit over the centuries. The “Incarnation is… the mystery of the wonderful union of the divine and human natures in the one person of the Word (CCC 483).” We will walk through the Divinity of Jesus Christ then His human nature, and then we will be able to talk with some level of clarity on the Hypostatic Union. I am going to try hard to keep this simple without watering anything down. I will also try to define any technical terms that I use. My hope is that this will remain accessible while faithful and accurately explaining the Church's perennial teachings on the nature of the Incarnation. The Divinity of Jesus ChristTwo thousand years ago, Jesus of Nazareth was conceived and born, a real person of history. Historical consensus confirms this reality. We also have the faithful witness of the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament, the Psalms, the Wisdom Literature, and the Prophets all speak of the coming Messiah. The Jewish people at the time of Jesus were waiting for the Messiah, an anointed one, who would take the throne of King David and rule as a militaristic warrior to expel the Romans from the Holy Land. In the New Testament, St. Matthew traces the genealogy of Jesus back to Adam and St. Luke traces the genealogy of Jesus back to God Himself. St. Matthew's genealogy also particularly centers Jesus as the expected heir of David's throne. From the perspective of today, we, of course, know that Jesus did not come as a militaristic warrior-king. But, how do we know that Jesus Christ is God, that He is Divine?In the beginning of the Holy Gospel according to St. John, there is no genealogy. Instead, the prologue of John identifies Jesus with the uncreated Word of God through which all things were made: the Logos. The Word of God has become man and pitched His tent among us. He is the Emmanuel foretold by the Prophet Isaiah. The Gospels firmly show that Jesus is not merely another anointed one (messias), He is the Divine Messiah (cf. Mt. 1:23, 2:6; Mk. 1:2, Lk. 7:27). He is God's own Son (cf. Mt. 16:13; Jn. 10:36; Mk. 14:62; Lk. 1:35). And, finally, He is God. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God… (cf. Jn. 1:1).” There is a phenomenal exploration of the claim to divinity of Jesus in the New Testament by Dr. Brant Pitre entitled: The Case for Jesus: The Biblical and Historical Evidence for Christ. I highly recommend reading that book, if you are interested!The remainder of the New Testament further solidifies the Divinity of Jesus Christ and this fact is upheld by the Fathers of the Church in the first millennium of the Church as well. By a singular miracle, the uncreated Son of God, consubstantial with the Father was made man and dwelt among us. He is, thus, truly and appropriately called a Divine Person. As the Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D. put it: “We confess that our Lord Jesus Christ is not parted or divided into two persons, but is one and the same only-Begotten Son and Word of God (Chalcedon, Part ii, act. 5).”Modern academics of all stripes will try to poke holes in the doctrine of the divinity of Christ. This makes sense for those who wish to conform God to their viewpoint rather than be conformed by Him. If Jesus Christ is God, then everything He said carries the full authority of Almighty God.The Human Nature of Jesus ChristJesus Christ is fully God. But Jesus Christ is fully man, with flesh supplied from the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He is a Divine Person, not a human person. However, He possesses a full and complete human nature: body and soul. As St. Thomas Aquinas puts it: “Although Christ is not the human nature, He has human nature (ST III, q. 10, a. 10, ad. 1).”The human nature of Christ is difficult to wrap our minds around. Some in the history of the Church, for example, have tried to claim that Jesus' human body was an illusion. To this, St. Augustine answers: "If the Body of Christ was a fancy, then Christ erred; and if Christ erred, then He is not the Truth. But Christ is the Truth; hence His Body was not a fancy' (Augustine, QQ. lxxxiii, q. 14; P.L., XL, 14).”Just as we acknowledge wholeheartedly that Jesus Christ is truly God, we also acknowledge that a true human soul animates the truly human body of Jesus. St. Thomas Aquinas explains:“The body is not said to be animated save from its union with the soul. Now the body of Christ is said to be animated, as the Church chants: ‘Taking an animate body, He deigned to be born of a Virgin' [Feast of the Circumcision, Ant. ii, Lauds]. Therefore in Christ there was a union of soul and body (cf. ST III, q. 2, a. 5, s.c.).”The Hypostatic UnionFully God and fully man, Jesus Christ is the God-Man. The central mystery within the mystery of the Incarnation is how the divinity and humanity of Jesus interact. This mystery is called the hypostatic union. Hypostasis is the Greek word for person. St. John Damascene teaches that “In our Lord Jesus Christ we acknowledge two natures, but one hypostasis composed from both (De Fide Orth. iii, 3, 4, 5). The Catholic Encyclopedia explains of this union:“We speak here of no moral union, no union in a figurative sense of the word; but a union that is physical, a union of two substances or natures so as to make One Person, a union which means that God is Man and Man is God in the Person of Jesus Christ (CE).”St. Thomas Aquinas speaks at length about the nature of the hypostatic union, but one insight that I find most helpful is the difference between assumption and uniting. He speaks of assumption as an action - the Word of God assumed human flesh. This is not wrong to say, but St. Thomas prefers the idea of uniting or becoming. The Word of God became flesh or united with the human flesh of Jesus at His first moment of existence. Here we can already run into problems if we are not careful. Did Jesus have a beginning? Yes! Did the Son of God have a beginning? No! He is begotten, not made, eternal and consubstantial with God the Father. As St. Thomas concisely explains: “Whatever has a beginning in time is created. Now this union was not from eternity, but began in time. Therefore the union is something created (ST III, q. 2, a. 7, s.c.).”There is a true union of divinity and humanity in Christ. But we should not think that the divinity of Christ overpowers and consumes the humanity of Christ. Pope Alexander III, in the 12th Century, quipped: “Since Christ is perfect God and perfect man, what foolhardiness have some to dare to affirm that Christ as man is not a substance?" In other words, the metaphysical substance of the human nature of Christ is real and persists, completely and perfectly united to His divine nature.How did this happen? How were the divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ united, in time? It is by God's grace! It is a true miracle, a unique and singular event. St. Thomas Aquinas echoes St. Augustine when he teaches: “Augustine says (De Praed. Sanct. xv): ‘By the same grace every man is made a Christian, from the beginning of his faith, as this man from His beginning was made Christ.' But this man became Christ by union with the Divine Nature. Therefore this union was by grace (ST III, q. 2, a. 10, s.c.).”Thank you for reading Will Wright Catholic. This post is public so feel free to share it.False Natures of the Incarnation - Heresies about ChristThere is no shortage of false teachings about Jesus Christ. Catholic orthodoxy is a thin line which has been guarded as a precious jewel from apostolic times. Without the authentic measure of orthodoxy provided by the Catholic Church, then any opinion would be fair game. In fact, this is unfortunately the state of affairs in many Protestant communions. Before we further clarify what the Catholic Church teaches truly about Jesus Christ, it is helpful to look at some of the heresies about Christ in the early Church. By looking at what the incarnation is not, we can come to a better understanding of what it is. There is a lot to be said about these heretics and heresies, but I am going to try to keep it brief.ArianismArius was a priest in Constantinople in the late 3rd Century and early 4th Century. He believed that God the Father was uniquely God and Christ was subordinate in every way to the Father. He denied the hypostatic union and believed that Christ was the highest of the creatures of God. No small historical issue, there was a time when the majority of the Church's episcopacy was Arian in belief. Suffice it to say, Catholic orthodoxy was victorious. The Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D., led by the great Saint Athanasius formulated the first version of the Nicene Creed that is professed on Sundays. We believe in “one Lord Jesus Christ… true God of true God… Who took Flesh, became Man and suffered.”NestorianismIn 428 A.D. the Patriarch of Constantinople was a man named Nestorius. He called the union of the two natures a mysterious and an inseparable joining, but would admit no unity in the strict sense of the word to be the result of this joining. The union of the two natures, to Nestorius, is not physical but moral. As he put it “the Word indwells in Jesus like as God indwells in the just.” There is not a true, physical and lasting union of divinity and humanity. To explain his view he said that Mary is the Mother of Christ (Christotokos) but not the Mother of God (Theotokos)Nestorius denied the hypostatic union but, unlike Arius before him, did acknowledge the divinity of Christ. He just did not believe that there was a physical union or substantial union of humanity and divinity. So, to Nestorius, when Christ suffered, He did so in His humanity, not in His divinity. On the contrary, Saint Athansius taught (against Apollinarius) that: “They err who say that it is one person who is the Son that suffered, and another person who did not suffer ...; the Flesh became God's own by nature [kata physin], not that it became consubstantial with the Divinity of the Logos as if coeternal therewith, but that it became God's own Flesh by its very nature [kata physin] (Contra Apollinarium, I, 12, in P.G., XXVI, 1113).”The Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D. condemned Nestorius as a heretic and defined that Mary was mother in the flesh of God's Word made Flesh. In this way, it is right to call her Theotokos or God-bearer. The specific anathema against Nestorianism was written by St. Cyril of Alexandria who wrote extensively on the nature of Christ. He said:“If in the one Christ anyone divides the substances, after they have been once united, and joins them together merely by a juxtaposition [mone symapton autas synapheia] of honour or of authority or of power and not rather by a union into a physical unity [synode te kath henosin physiken], let him be accursed (can. iii).”MonophysitismThe Christological heresies, so-called, did not end with the Council of Ephesus. Eutyches took part in that Council of Ephesus and was fiercely opposed to the teachings of Nestorius. However, he went too far in the other direction. He developed the heresy of Monophysitism which held that there was only one Person in Christ (which is true) but he only held one nature in Christ (which is heretical). His denial was that Christ was “consubstantial with us men” as St. Cyril of Alexandria held. Eutyches was stressing Christ's uniqueness, not intended to deny Christ's full manhood. The error of Eutyches is the cautionary tale of not swinging too far in our refutations.This heresy was condemned by the Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D. It was formulated in this way:Jesus Christ remained, after the Incarnation, “perfect in Divinity and perfect in humanity… consubstantial with the Father according to His Divinity, consubstantial with us according to His humanity… one and the same Christ, the Son, the Lord, the Only begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures not intermingled, not changed, not divisible, not separable (cf. Denzinger, n. 148).”MonothelitismThe next heresy of monothelitism began orthodox enough. The monothelitists defended the union of two natures in one Divine Person. They went off the rails in saying that this Divine Person only had one divine will - they denied the human will of Jesus.Sacred Scripture teaches us that Jesus Christ has a human will. He performed acts of adoration, humility, and reverence. In the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed to the Father that the “cup” of His sacrifice and death pass without His drinking it. Praying to the Father in this way, He showed His human aversion to death but also the human act of the will of obedience in saying: “not my will, but thine be done.”Monothelitism was condemned by the Third Council of Constantinople in 680 A.D. They defined that in Christ there were two natural wills and two natural activities, the Divine and the human, and that the human will was not at all contrary to the Divine, but rather perfectly subject thereto (cf. Denzinger, n. 291).The Truth About the Incarnation - Catholic TeachingBy way of summary, what then does the Church authentically teach about the nature of Christ and the hypostatic union? Jesus Christ is a Divine Hypostasis - a Divine Person. The unique hypostatic union of Jesus Christ is the complete union of two natures, one divine and one human, in one Divine Person without change, division, separation, or the like. When the Eternal Word of God took Flesh, there was no change in the Word. All the change that took place was in the Holy Flesh of Christ. At the moment of conception, in the womb of the Blessed Mother, through the forcefulness of God's activity, the human soul of Christ was created and the Word became the man that was conceived. Next Time on WWCNext time on WWC, we will explore the second part of this series on the incarnation. Namely, we will be looking at the effects of the Incarnation on Christ Himself, on the world, and on us! We will also look briefly at what St. Thomas Aquinas had to say on the fittingness of the Incarnation. For example, if mankind had not sinned, would God have still become incarnate?! Stop on by next time and see what the Angelic Doctor had to say. The next part of the series should also be a fruitful reflection for us entering into Christmas! Thanks for reading. See you next time on Will Wright Catholic!Thanks for reading Will Wright Catholic! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willwrightcatholic.substack.com
New Series! I am starting a new series on Thomas' Aquinas' Commentary on the Gospel of John and this is the first episode! This episode goes over the the first part of Aquinas' Prologue, and in the prologue, we start to come to understand contemplation as the Angelic Doctor sees it. Aquinas breaks down John's contemplation into 3 parts as to its height, its fullness, and its perfection. This episode cover the height of John's contemplation, which is further broken down into 4 parts, a height of Authority, a height of Eternity, a height of Nobility, and a height of Incomprehensibility. Support the show
Link to music (courtesy of CCWatershed)St. Thomas Aquinas was a theologian, a philosopher, and one of the greatest intellects of all time. He is known as the Angelic Doctor of the Church. But did you know he is also regarded as one of the greatest Catholic poets of all time? And he only wrote 5 poems – 38 stanzas of poetry.In 1264, Pope Urban IV established the Solemnity of The Body of Christ, and asked St. Thomas Aquinas to write the texts for the Mass and the Divine Office for this new feast. Although St. Thomas was known for his scholarly – not poetical – work, he produced five of the best, known, best loved hymns in history:Adoro Te DevoteSacris Solemniis (Known for the final two verses: “Panis angelicus…”)Verbum Supernum Prodiens (Known for the final two verses: “O salutaris hostia…”)Pange Lingua (Known for the final two verses: “Tantum ergo…”)Lauda Sion (Known for its final verses: “Ecce panis angelorum…”)We're finally to the end of our series on St. Thomas' great hymns! In this episode we learn the great sequence for the Feast of Corpus Christi.ZION, PRAISE YOUR SAVIOR. Praise your Savior. Praise your leader and shepherd in hymns and canticles. Praise him as much as you can, for he is beyond all praising and you will never be able to praise him as he merits. But today a theme worthy of particular praise is put before us—the living and life-giving bread that, without any doubt, was given to the Twelve at table during the holy supper. Therefore let our praise be full and resounding and our soul's rejoicing full of delight and beauty, for this is the festival day to commemorate the first institution of this table.At this table of the new King, the new law's new Pasch puts an end to the old Pasch. The new displaces the old, the reality the shadow and light the darkness. Christ wanted what he did at the supper to be repeated in his memory. And so we, in accordance with his holy directions, consecrate bread and wine to be salvation's Victim.Christ's followers know by faith that bread is changed into his flesh and wine into his blood. Man cannot understand this, cannot perceive it; but a lively faith affirms that the change, which is outside the natural course of things, takes place. Under the different species, which are now signs only and not their own reality, there lie hid wonderful realities. His body is our food, his blood our drink. And yet Christ remains entire under each species. The communicant receives the complete Christ—uncut, unbroken and undivided. Whether one receive or a thousand, the one receives as much as the thousand. Nor is Christ diminished by being received. The good and the wicked alike receive him, but with the unlike destiny of life or death. To the wicked it is death, but life to the good. See how different is the result, though each receives the same. Last of all, if the sacrament is broken, have no doubt. Remember there is as much in a fragment as in an unbroken host. There is no division of the reality, but only a breaking of the sign; nor does the breaking diminish the condition or size of the One hidden under the sign.Behold, the bread of angels is become the pilgrim's food; truly it is bread for the sons, and is not to be cast to dogs. It was prefigured in type when Isaac was brought as an offering, when a lamb was appointed for the Pasch and when manna was given to the Jews of old.Jesus, good shepherd and true bread, have mercy on us; feed us and guard us. Grant that we find happiness in the land of the living. You know all things, can do all things, and feed us here on earth. Make us your guests in heaven, co-heirs with you and companions of heaven's citizens. Amen. Alleluia.
“How does an angel get it wrong?” Rev. John D. Corbett asked during his lecture to students and faculty on January 27 at Christendom College. Rev. Corbett's talk discussed the nature of angels and how such high beings could have fallen from God's grace. A moral theologian currently teaching at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception, Rev. Corbett explained that the fall of the angels is “a bit of a theological conundrum.”
“How does an angel get it wrong?” Rev. John D. Corbett asked during his lecture to students and faculty on January 27 at Christendom College. Rev. Corbett's talk discussed the nature of angels and how such high beings could have fallen from God's grace. A moral theologian currently teaching at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception, Rev. Corbett explained that the fall of the angels is “a bit of a theological conundrum.”
Link to the musicHappy Solemnity of Corpus Christi! We present another one of St. Thomas's amazing hymns for this solemnity - Sacris Solemniis. St. Thomas Aquinas was a theologian, a philosopher, and one of the greatest intellects of all time. He is known as the Angelic Doctor of the Church. But did you know he is also regarded as one of the greatest Catholic poets of all time? And he only wrote 5 poems – 38 stanzas of poetry.In 1264, Pope Urban IV established the Solemnity of The Body of Christ, and asked St. Thomas Aquinas to write the texts for the Mass and the Divine Office for this new feast. Although St. Thomas was known for his scholarly – not poetical – work, he produced five of the best, known, best loved hymns in history:Adoro Te DevoteSacris Solemniis (Known for the final two verses: “Panis angelicus…”)Verbum Supernum Prodiens (Known for the final two verses: “O salutaris hostia…”)Pange Lingua (Known for the final two verses: “Tantum ergo…”)Lauda Sion (Known for its final verses: “Ecce panis angelorum…”)LYRICS:SACRIS solemniis iuncta sint gaudia, et ex praecordiis sonent praeconia; recedant vetera, nova sint omnia, corda, voces, et opera.AT this our solemn feast let holy joys abound, and from the inmost breast let songs of praise resound; let ancient rites depart, and all be new around, in every act, and voice, and heart.Noctis recolitur cena novissima, qua Christus creditur agnum et azyma dedisse fratribus, iuxta legitima priscis indulta patribus.Remember we that eve, when, the Last Supper spread, Christ, as we all believe, the Lamb, with leavenless bread, among His brethren shared, and thus the Law obeyed, of all unto their sire declared.Post agnum typicum, expletis epulis, Corpus Dominicum datum discipulis, sic totum omnibus, quod totum singulis, eius fatemur manibus.The typic Lamb consumed, the legal Feast complete, the Lord unto the Twelve His Body gave to eat; the whole to all, no less the whole to each did mete with His own hands, as we confess.Dedit fragilibus corporis ferculum, dedit et tristibus sanguinis poculum, dicens: Accipite quod trado vasculum; omnes ex eo bibite.He gave them, weak and frail, His Flesh, their Food to be; on them, downcast and sad, His Blood bestowed He: and thus to them He spake, "Receive this Cup from Me, and all of you of this partake."Sic sacrificium istud instituit, cuius officium committi voluit solis presbyteris, quibus sic congruit, ut sumant, et dent ceteris.So He this Sacrifice to institute did will, and charged His priests alone that office to fulfill: in them He did confide: to whom it pertains still to take, and the rest divide.Panis angelicus fit panis hominum; dat panis caelicus figuris terminum; O res mirabilis: manducat Dominum pauper, servus et humilis.Thus Angels' Bread is made the Bread of man today: the Living Bread from heaven with figures dost away: O wondrous gift indeed! the poor and lowly may upon their Lord and Master feed.Te, trina Deitas unaque, poscimus: sic nos tu visita, sicut te colimus; per tuas semitas duc nos quo tendimus, ad lucem quam inhabitas.Thee, therefore, we implore, o Godhead, One in Three, so may Thou visit us as we now worship Thee; and lead us on Thy way, That we at last may see the light wherein Thou dwellest aye.
Link to MusicSt. Thomas Aquinas was a theologian, a philosopher, and one of the greatest intellects of all time. He is known as the Angelic Doctor of the Church. But did you know he is also regarded as one of the greatest Catholic poets of all time? And he only wrote 5 poems – 38 stanzas of poetry.In 1264, Pope Urban IV established the Solemnity of The Body of Christ, and asked St. Thomas Aquinas to write the texts for the Mass and the Divine Office for this new feast. Although St. Thomas was known for his scholarly – not poetical – work, he produced five of the best, known, best loved hymns in history:Adoro Te DevoteSacris Solemniis (Known for the final two verses: “Panis angelicus…”)Verbum Supernum Prodiens (Known for the final two verses: “O salutaris hostia…”)Pange Lingua (Known for the final two verses: “Tantum ergo…”)Lauda Sion (Known for its final verses: “Ecce panis angelorum…”)Inspired by a hymn written 800 years earlier, St. Thomas's Pange Lingua is considered the most beautiful of his hymns for Corpus Christi.ENGLISH (literal)Sing, O my tongue, and praise the mystery of the glorious body and the most precious blood, shed to save the world by the King of the nations, the fruit of a noble womb. Unto us he was given, he was born unto us of a Virgin untainted and pure; he dwelt among us in the world, sowing the seeds of God's word; and he ended the time of his stay on earth in the most wondrous of fashions. On his last night at supper, reclining at table in the midst of his brethren disciples, He fully observed the Ancient Law and partook of the Passover meal; and then, with his own hands, he gave himself up as food for the group of the Twelve.The Word made flesh, by a simple word, makes of his flesh the true bread; the blood of Christ becomes our drink; and though senses cannot perceive, for confirming pure hearts in true belief, faith alone suffices. In face of so great a mystery, therefore, let us bow down and worship; let precepts of the Ancient Law give way to the new Gospel rite; and let faith assist us and help us make up for what senses fail to perceive. Unto the Father and the Son, our praise and our joyful singing; unto whom saving power, honor and might, and every holy blessing; and to the Spirit who proceeds from both, an equal tribute of glory. Amen. LATINPANGE, lingua, gloriosi Corporis mysterium, Sanguinisque pretiosi, quem in mundi pretium fructus ventris generosi Rex effudit Gentium.Nobis datus, nobis natus ex intacta Virgine, et in mundo conversatus, sparso verbi semine, sui moras incolatus miro clausit ordine.In supremae nocte cenae recumbens cum fratribus observata lege plene cibis in legalibus, cibum turbae duodenae se dat suis manibus.Verbum caro, panem verum verbo carnem efficit: fitque sanguis Christi merum, et si sensus deficit, ad firmandum cor sincerum sola fides sufficit.Tantum ergo Sacramentum veneremur cernui: et antiquum documentum novo cedat ritui: praestet fides supplementum sensuum defectui.Genitori, Genitoque laus et iubilatio, salus, honor, virtus quoque sit et benedictio: procedenti ab utroque compar sit laudatio. Amen. Alleluia.
Learning from one of historic Christianity's giants
Tobit is the only time in Scripture that we meet the Archangel Raphael, whose name means “God Heals.” It is also the only time we get to see an angel up close and personal in the Bible. In this episode, we unpack the following questions:What are Angels? What is the purpose of their existence? What are their roles in the Salvation History? And in our lives?To answer these questions, I turn to the Catechism of the Catholic Church or the CCC, as well as insights from St Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor, in his Treatise on Angels, from his Summa Theologica.The Bible I am reading from is the New American Bible online version taken from the USCCB website: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/tobit/5 Show Notes: https://www.settingapart.com/episodesTestimonials: https://www.settingapart.com/testimonialsComments/Feedback: https://www.settingapart.com/contactYouTube Chanel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz5czCybnGHCRDS7hb-5DKwYouTube Episode: https://youtu.be/md0OxlNbissPopular PodcastsApple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsSpotify
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Known as the Angelic Doctor of the ChurchSupport the show (http://stceciliachurch.org/donate)
“Hypocrites seduce souls in order to have followers and honors." Happy Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas. We celebrate the occasion with the Angelic Doctor's very own sermon on how to detect false prophets. Beware! Article on Aquinas' preaching style: “What Lessons Do Thomas Aquinas' Sermons Hold For Modern Preachers?” https://www.hprweb.com/2017/06/what-lessons-do-thomas-aquinass-sermons-hold-for-modern-preachers/ Translation courtesy of Catholic University of America Press: https://www.hfsbooks.com/books/the-academic-sermons-aquinas-hoogland/ Go to http://www.catholicculture.org/getaudio to register for FREE access to the full archive of audiobooks beyond the most recent 15 episodes. Theme music: 2 Part Invention, composed by Mark Christopher Brandt, performed by Thomas Mirus. ©️2019 Heart of the Lion Publishing Co./BMI. All rights reserved.
Full Text of ReadingsMemorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church Lectionary: 321All podcast readings are produced by the USCCB and are from the Catholic Lectionary, based on the New American Bible and approved for use in the United States _______________________________________The Saint of the day is Saint Thomas AquinasBy universal consent, Thomas Aquinas is the preeminent spokesman of the Catholic tradition of reason and of divine revelation. He is one of the great teachers of the medieval Catholic Church, honored with the titles Doctor of the Church and Angelic Doctor. At five he was given to the Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino in his parents' hopes that he would choose that way of life and eventually became abbot. In 1239, he was sent to Naples to complete his studies. It was here that he was first attracted to Aristotle's philosophy. By 1243, Thomas abandoned his family's plans for him and joined the Dominicans, much to his mother's dismay. On her order, Thomas was captured by his brother and kept at home for over a year. Once free, he went to Paris and then to Cologne, where he finished his studies with Albert the Great. He held two professorships at Paris, lived at the court of Pope Urban IV, directed the Dominican schools at Rome and Viterbo, combated adversaries of the mendicants, as well as the Averroists, and argued with some Franciscans about Aristotelianism. His greatest contribution to the Catholic Church is his writings. The unity, harmony, and continuity of faith and reason, of revealed and natural human knowledge, pervades his writings. One might expect Thomas, as a man of the gospel, to be an ardent defender of revealed truth. But he was broad enough, deep enough, to see the whole natural order as coming from God the Creator, and to see reason as a divine gift to be highly cherished. The Summa Theologiae, his last and, unfortunately, uncompleted work, deals with the whole of Catholic theology. He stopped work on it after celebrating Mass on December 6, 1273. When asked why he stopped writing, he replied, “I cannot go on…. All that I have written seems to me like so much straw compared to what I have seen and what has been revealed to me.” He died March 7, 1274. Reflection We can look to Thomas Aquinas as a towering example of Catholicism in the sense of broadness, universality, and inclusiveness. We should be determined anew to exercise the divine gift of reason in us, our power to know, learn, and understand. At the same time we should thank God for the gift of his revelation, especially in Jesus Christ. Saint Thomas Aquinas is a Patron Saint of: Catholic Colleges and Universities Educators/Teachers Philosophers/Theologians Students Saint of the DayCopyright Franciscan Media
The story goes that the church sacristan overheard Thomas Aquinas speaking in prayer before the crucifix. Thomas was asking whether all he had written about the Christian faith was correct. “You have spoken well of me, Thomas,” came the audible answer, “What is your reward to be.” Thomas replied, “Non nisi te, Domini. Nothing but You, Lord.” On January 28 we celebrate the Feast Day of St. Thomas Aquinas and while most Catholics know that he has a special place in the Church, we may not appreciate how great a place he occupies. Dr. Michael Bolin has been studying Thomas Aquinas at least a far back as his undergraduate days at Thomas Aquinas College. This week, he'll give us a kind of crash course in the life and teaching of The Angelic Doctor.
https://tinyurl.com/verbumsupernumprodiensSt. Thomas Aquinas was a theologian, a philosopher, and one of the greatest intellects of all time. He is known as the Angelic Doctor of the Church. But did you know he is also regarded as one of the greatest Catholic poets of all time? And he only wrote 5 poems – 38 stanzas of poetry.In 1264, Pope Urban IV established the Solemnity of The Body of Christ, and asked St. Thomas Aquinas to write the texts for the Mass and the Divine Office for this new feast. Although St. Thomas was known for his scholarly – not poetical – work, he produced five of the best, known, best loved hymns in history:Adoro Te DevoteSacris Solemniis (Known for the final two verses: “Panis angelicus…”)Verbum Supernum Prodiens (Known for the final two verses: “O salutaris hostia…”)Pange Lingua (Known for the final two verses: “Tantum ergo…”)Lauda Sion (Known for its final verses: “Ecce panis angelorum…”)This hymn, Verbum Supernum Prodiens provides the hymn traditionally sung at the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament: “O Salutaris Hostia.” The setting, if you will, of this hymn is the Last Supper. Christ had reached the “eventide” of his life, the culmination of his ministry before his Passion was to institute the Eucharist for his disciples, and then his church. Before he was given over to evil men, he gave himself to his disciples. As we mentioned, this hymn was produced as part of the divine office for the new feast of Corpus Christi, but it would serve very well to be sung during Holy Week around Holy Thursday.The heavenly Word proceeding forth,Yet leaving not his Father's side,And going to His work on Earth,Has reached at length life's eventide.By false disciple to be givenTo foemen for His blood athirst,Himself, the living bread from heaven,He gave to his disciples first.In twofold form of sacrament,He gave His flesh, He gave His blood,That man, of soul and body blent,Might wholly feed on mystic food.In birth man's fellow-man was He,His meat while sitting at the board;He died, our ransomer to be,He reigns to be our great reward.O SAVING VICTIM, opening wideThe gate of heaven to man below;Our foes press hard on every side,Thine aid supply, Thy strength bestow.All praise and thanks to thee ascendFor evermore, blessed One in Three;O grant us life that shall not end,In our true native land with Thee.1. Verbum supernum prodiens,Nec Patris linquens dexteram,Ad opus suum exiens,Venit ad vitæ vesperam.2. In mortem a discipuloSuis tradendus æmulis,Prius in vitæ ferculoSe tradidit discipulis.3. Quibus sub bina specieCarnem dedit et sanguinem;Ut duplicis substantiæTotum cibaret hominem.4. Se nascens dedit socium,Convescens in edulium,Se moriens in pretium,Se regnans dat in præmium.5. O SALUTARIS HOSTIA,Quæ cæli pandis ostium,Bella premunt hostilia;Da robur, fer auxilium.6. Uni trinoque DominoSit sempiterna gloria:Qui vitam sine terminoNobis donet in patria.
Link to sheet music: https://tinyurl.com/adoroteSt. Thomas Aquinas was a theologian, a philosopher, and one of the greatest intellects of all time. He is known as the Angelic Doctor of the Church. But did you know he is also regarded as one of the greatest Catholic poets of all time? And he only wrote 5 poems – 38 stanzas of poetry.In 1264, Pope Urban IV established the Solemnity of The Body of Christ, and asked St. Thomas Aquinas to write the texts for the Mass and the Divine Office for this new feast. Although St. Thomas was known for his scholarly – not poetical – work, he produced five of the best, known, best loved hymns in history:1. Adoro Te Devote2. Sacris Solemniis (Known for the final two verses: “Panis angelicus…”)3. Verbum Supernum Prodiens (Known for the final two verses: “O salutaris hostia…”)4. Pange Lingua (Known for the final two verses: “Tantum ergo…”)5. Lauda Sion (Known for its final verses: “Ecce panis angelorum…”)“Eucharist” is Greek for “Thanksgiving”. I think it's fair to say that the original Thanksgiving Day was night of the Last Supper. And the ultimate Thanksgiving feast will be the Wedding Banquet in Heaven! In the meantime, we're going to enjoy some Turkey and stuffing…LATIN:ADORO te devote, latens Deitas, quae sub his figuris vere latitas: tibi se cor meum totum subiicit, quia te contemplans totum deficit.Visus, tactus, gustus in te fallitur, sed auditu solo tuto creditur; credo quidquid dixit Dei Filius: nil hoc verbo Veritatis verius.In cruce latebat sola Deitas, at hic latet simul et humanitas; ambo tamen credens atque confitens, peto quod petivit latro paenitens.Plagas, sicut Thomas, non intueor; Deum tamen meum te confiteor; fac me tibi semper magis credere, in te spem habere, te diligere.O memoriale mortis Domini! panis vivus, vitam praestans homini! praesta meae menti de te vivere et te illi semper dulce sapere.Pie pellicane, Iesu Domine, me immundum munda tuo sanguine; cuius una stilla salvum facere totum mundum quit ab omni scelere.Iesu, quem velatum nunc aspicio, oro fiat illud quod tam sitio; ut te revelata cernens facie, visu sim beatus tuae gloriae. Amen.ENGLISH:Godhead here in hiding, whom I do adore, Masked by these bare shadows, shape and nothing more, See, Lord, at Thy service low lies here a heart Lost, all lost in wonder at the God thou art.Seeing, touching, tasting are in thee deceived: How says trusty hearing? that shall be believed; What God's Son has told me, take for truth I do; Truth Himself speaks truly or there's nothing true.On the cross Thy godhead made no sign to men, Here Thy very manhood steals from human ken: Both are my confession, both are my belief, And I pray the prayer of the dying thief.I am not like Thomas, wounds I cannot see, But can plainly call thee Lord and God as he; Let me to a deeper faith daily nearer move, Daily make me harder hope and dearer love.O thou our reminder of Christ crucified, Living Bread, the life of us for whom he died, Lend this life to me then: feed and feast my mind, There be thou the sweetness man was meant to find.Bring the tender tale true of the Pelican; Bathe me, Jesu Lord, in what Thy bosom ran Blood whereof a single drop has power to win All the world forgiveness of its world of sin.Jesu, whom I look at shrouded here below, I beseech thee send me what I thirst for so, Some day to gaze on thee face to face in light And be blest for ever with Thy glory's sight. Amen.
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In this episode, Matt Emerson, Luke Stamps, and Tyler Wittman summarize and discuss the main points of Aquinas' Summa Theologiae, the seventh recommended read for the CBR Theology Classics Reading Challenge.Summa TheologiaeThomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae (a selection), 1265-74: The magnum opus of the “Angelic Doctor,” this work leaves almost no topic relevant to theology untouched. This massive summary of Christian learning is one of the most important works of theology in the Western church. Buy here.Subscribe to the CBR podcast: Apple | Spotify | YouTubeFollow us:Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
On this Fourth Sunday of Easter, the Word of God presents us with the image of Christ as the Good Shepherd. The word that St. John uses in Greek to describe the shepherd is kalos, which does not exactly mean “good”, as we usually translate it, but rather, “beautiful”. Truly, our Shepherd is the most beautiful of all the sons of men. It is love above all that makes him beautiful: “This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life.” I remember reading in St. Thomas Aquinas' Commentary on the Gospel of John something that has always done me a lot of good. The Angelic Doctor said that Jesus did not want to share the title of shepherd with his disciples. Think, for example, of the "light of the world”. Jesus uses it to refer to himself, when he affirms: "I am the light of the world; he who follows me does not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (Jn 8:12) When he speaks of his followers, he attributes this also to them: "You are the light of the world, a candle set in a bushel basket cannot be hidden." (Mt 5:14) It is, so to speak, a property of his by nature and ours by participation. However, Christ never said to His Apostles, "You are shepherds." Rather, He wants to emphasize the fact that there is no shepherd other than Him. In today's Gospel He tells us: “there will be one flock, one shepherd.” In his appearance by Lake Tiberias (Sea of Galilee), the Risen Lord says three times to St. Peter, "feed my sheep." (Jn 21:15-17) In other words, the Lord wanted to make it very clear to his disciples that the sheep are his, not theirs; that he was the only Shepherd. So why is it said of priests that they are shepherds? Well, this is where the wisdom of the saints always astounds us. St. Thomas Aquinas writes: “officium pastoris caritas est.” The duty of the pastor is charity.” When the priest loves with the love of charity, then it is no longer he, but Christ who shepherds his sheep in him. Isn't this beautiful? We priests are not important. The only important one is the One who, in us, feeds you. He who, in us, heals your wounds. He who, in us, teaches you, and in doing so, leads you to the green pastures of Paradise. He who, in us, loves you. I was thinking more about this in recent days, because Father Job has been transferred to another parish. The Bishop is sending him to Saint Jerome Parish in July. We are going to miss him very much because Father Job is a priest with the heart of a servant. He won us over with his simplicity, his joy and his serenity. I am so grateful to him... And, thinking about his departure and this message I am sharing with you, I thought to myself, "In reality, the only pastor of St. Anne and of any parish is Jesus. He always remains, even if we priests come and go. St. Anne has had many pastors, but only one shepherd. It has had many priests, but only one "good shepherd". We are unimportant details, secondary actors in the drama of human redemption. The great protagonist, the only shepherd, the one who always remains, is Jesus Christ." This is a very consoling idea for me, and it should be for you as well. You will always have with you the only Good Shepherd. The same one who has taken care of you until now in the priests who came before and who will take care of you in those who will come after. He will not fail in his word, for he is always faithful. (2 Tim 2:13) What I have said also applies to parents and catechists. Remember that your children are not yours, they do not belong to you. Your children are Jesus' sheep. Your mission as parents and educators is to feed the Lord's sheep, to let Him love them in you, to protect them through you. "The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep." Lay down your life for them too, or better: let him, by being one with Christ, lay down his life for them in you. All of this is very beautiful, very comforting, very profound. Let us ask the Lord in this Holy Mass where the Shepherd becomes pasture and feeds us with himself, where instead of carrying the sheep on his shoulders, it is we who carry him in our hearts, that when we receive Holy Communion, He will make us one with him through charity so that, as priests, parents, educators and children of God, we may be living images of Jesus Christ. the Good Shepherd, who in dying, gives his life for us.
In this episode of The Catholic Talk Show, the guys are joined by Matt Fradd discuss to discuss The Angelic Doctor, Saint Thomas Aquinas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
There is no philosopher or theologian with as significant an impact on Catholic social doctrine as the Angelic Doctor, St. Thomas Aquinas.
With the help of the Angelic Doctor, we try to understand the significance of spiritual communion in relation to the Eucharist
If you need to figure out how to be truly happy, you can't get a better guide than St. Thomas Aquinas. In today's episode, Michael welcomes Dr. Kevin vost to discuss what the Angelic Doctor taught about the good life and what we can do to live more at peace (hint: it involves Jesus). Check out our links below:12 Life Lessons from St. Thomas Aquinas is Dr. Vost's latest book, which covers much more than we could. http://bit.ly/VostPodCheck out Dr. Vost's website at http://drvost.com/Dr. Vost is a long-time friend of Catholic Exchange. You can find his articles at podcasts here: https://catholicexchange.com/author/kevin-vostSupport the show (https://catholicexchange.com/donate)
Fr. Thomas Petri, OP presents “St. Thomas Aquinas on the Blessed Mother: Her Genius, Her Beauty, Her Freedom, and Her Love.” The lecture was given January 28, 2020 at St. Cecilia Motherhouse, Nashville, Tennessee, part of a week-long celebration of the Angelic Doctor, St. Thomas Aquinas at Aquinas College. Fr. Petri entered the Order of Preachers in 2004 and was ordained a priest in 2009. He holds a Doctorate in Sacred Theology from The Catholic University of America and has been a professor of Moral Theology and the Dean of the Pontifical Faculty at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. since 2013. Prior to his appointment in Washington, he was a professor of theology at Providence College in Rhode Island. He has published articles in Nova et Vetera and in The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly. He is also a frequent contributor to The Catholic News Agency and The National Catholic Register. His book, Aquinas and the Theology of the Body: The Thomistic Foundations of John Paul II’s Anthropology, was published by CUA Press in 2016. In addition to his academic responsibilities, he is currently a co-host of The Church Alive on EWTN Radio which airs Saturdays at 7am and 1pm Eastern Time. He is an active presence on Twitter @PetriOP.
In this episode Fr. Bonaventure and Fr. Gregory discuss the quest for the historical Jesus and how we can find resources for identify the Jesus of History and the Christ of Faith in the writings of the Angelic Doctor.
In this episode Fr. Bonaventure and Fr. Gregory discuss the quest for the historical Jesus and how we can find resources for identify the Jesus of History and the Christ of Faith in the writings of the Angelic Doctor.
23 June 2019 The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ Luke 11B-17 + Homily 15 Minutes 32 Seconds Link to the Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/062319.cfm (New American Bible, Revised Edition) From the parish bulletin: Jacques Pantaléon was an unlikely candidate for the papacy, being neither a cardinal nor Italian, since he was the son of a French cobbler. Nonetheless he became Pope Urban IV after having acquitted himself well as Patriarch of Jerusalem. His attentions also involved him in concerns from Constantinople to Germany and Denmark. Two months before his death in 1264, he commissioned Saint Thomas Aquinas to write hymns for a new feast honoring the Eucharistic Presence of Christ. There used to be many hymnodic “Sequences,” but over the years they were trimmed down to Easter and Pentecost and, later, Corpus Christi. Although Aquinas had written so sublimely about the Real Presence, Urban wanted song more than prose. Thus we have Pange Lingua, Tantum Ergo, Panis Angelicus, and O Salutaris Hostia. As they have endured nearly nine centuries so far, they are likely to outlast the musical kitsch that guitar-strumming grey heads of a dying Woodstock generation persist in thinking are the heraldic sounds of a New Age. Unlike the works of those more recent composers, whose absent Latin and poor English only serve to express a low Eucharistic theology, the classical hymnody of Aquinas can best be sung in the original and, if sung in translation, needs translators who are accomplished Latinists and masters of English. Two Anglican converts of the nineteenth century, Edward Caswall and Gerard Manley Hopkins, qualified for that. The ineffable mystery of the Blessed Sacrament will always be prey to minds smaller than the Doctors of the Church, as they try to reduce mystery to mere human puzzle whose pieces can be arranged according to limited human intelligence. Even in Pope Urban’s age, which by many standards of architecture and scholarship was golden, confusion about the Real Presence in the Mass was spreading. One priest, Father Peter of Prague, while en route to Rome was granted what the Church considers a miracle: blood emanating from the Host. Pope Urban was in nearby Orvieto and sent delegates to inspect the phenomenon. The Feast of Corpus Christi soon followed. At the last Supper, our Lord did not subject his apostles to a lecture on how he could give them his Body to eat and Blood to drink. He simply commanded, “Do this.” This is not to deny the vocation of theologians ever since to describe the Heavenly Banquet, but the best of them have known the difference between apprehending and comprehending. “Faith for all defects supplying, Where the feeble senses fail.” A Baptist hymn writer in the nineteenth century, Robert Lowry, would certainly have been a bit uncomfortable in the presence of the Dominican master Thomas Aquinas, but one suspects that the Angelic Doctor would have fully empathized with the confidence of Lowry’s hymn: The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart, A fountain ever springing; All things are mine since I am his— How can I keep from singing?
The name of Garrigou-Lagrange has long been a byword for a fusty, rigid Thomism of days gone by, allegedly more concerned with centuries of accretions built up by scholastic commentators than with the original teaching of the Angelic Doctor himself. Only in traditionalist circles was his name still spoken with respect. But recent years have seen a wider reevaluation of this French Dominican priest and theologian, and a new translation of his work The Sense of Mystery: Clarity and Obscurity in the Intellectual Life shows that Garrigou has been unfairly dismissed as a purveyor of airless theology. The translator of this work, Matthew K. Minerd, joins the podcast to discuss Fr. Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange's legacy and some of the book's central themes. These include mystery from on high and from below (not only spirit but also matter is mysterious), the importance of common sense for philosophy, the different senses in which we use the word “to be”, the supernaturality of faith, and the eminence of the Deity beyond any of His attributes insofar as we know and name them by reason. Through all these topics it becomes abundantly clear that only by preserving the distinction between natural and supernatural can theology remain itself. Links Buy The Sense of Mystery: Clarity and Obscurity in the Intellectual Life http://www.emmausacademic.com/publications/2018/5/18/sense-of-mystery An excellent article on chastity by Matthew https://www.hprweb.com/2017/10/on-the-lowly-yet-vital-importance-of-chastity/ This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio
On this episode of 5 Minutes in Church History, Dr. James Dolezal joins Dr. Stephen Nichols in the studio to discuss the breadth and depth of Thomas Aquinas’ writings. Read the transcript.
You can't just make it up.
Original Air Date: March 2, 2013 On this episode of the Flagship Show, we will discuss St. Thomas Aquinas – scholar and saint. While St. Thomas Aquinas has remained a highly controversial figure in the Church's intellectual battles ever since he died, and is a shibboleth, almost, in terms of discovering neo-modermists before Vatican II, it is sometimes forgotten that as well as being the Universal Doctor of the Church he is also its Angelic Doctor, and a great saint and mystic – indeed shortly before he died he abandoned work on his Summa, because he felt that the spiritual revelations that had been given to him made his intellectual work into so much "straw." In this show we are very pleased to welcome back His Excellency, Bishop Daniel Dolan of St. Gertrude the Great Catholic Church in West Chester, Ohio to discuss St. Thomas the man and saint, and to try to get a fuller picture of the man in the context of his times, and his deeply felt spirituality. Original Air Date: March 2, 2013 Show Run Time: 1 hour 28 minutes Show Guest(s): Bishop Daniel Dolan Show Host(s): Dr. Piers Hugill Season 2 Sponsor: Novus Ordo Watch - http://novusordowatch.org/ Episode page: https://www.truerestoration.org/season-2-flagship-show-episode-21-st-thomas-aquinas/ The Flagship Show: https://www.truerestoration.org/category/radio/the-flagship-show/ Become a member: https://www.truerestoration.org/member-signup/ The Flagship Show℗ is a production of the Restoration Radio Network. Copyright 2013. All Rights are Reserved.
Pints With Aquinas: 50+ Deep Thoughts From the Angelic Doctor - https://www.amazon.com/Pints-Aquinas-Thoughts-Angelic-Doctor/dp/0692752404/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1477940120&sr=8-1&keywords=pints+with+aquinas PintsWithAquinas.com --- Follow Emma Fradd and Heaps Good Friends: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heapsgoodfriends/?fref=ts Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/user-48196662/cry-like-a-psycho --- Objection 1. It would seem that the star which appeared to the Magi belonged to the heavenly system. For Augustine says in a sermon on the Epiphany (cxxii): "While God yet clings to the breast, and suffers Himself to be wrapped in humble swaddling clothes, suddenly a new star shines forth in the heavens." Therefore the star which appeared to the Magi belonged to the heavenly system. Objection 2. Further, Augustine says in a sermon on the Epiphany (cci): "Christ was made known to the shepherds by angels, to the Magi by a star. A heavenly tongue speaks to both, because the tongue of the prophets spoke no longer." But the angels who appeared to the shepherds were really angels from heaven. Therefore also the star which appeared to the Magi was really a star from the heavens. Objection 3. Further, stars which are not in the heavens but in the air are called comets, which do not appear at the birth of kings, but rather are signs of their approaching death. But this star was a sign of the King's birth: wherefore the Magi said (Matthew 2:2): "Where is He that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east." Therefore it seems that it was a star from the heavens. On the contrary, Augustine says (Contra Faust. ii): "It was not one of those stars which since the beginning of the creation observe the course appointed to them by the Creator; but this star was a stranger to the heavens, and made its appearance at the strange sight of a virgin in childbirth." I answer that, As Chrysostom says (Hom. vi in Matth.), it is clear, for many reasons, that the star which appeared to the Magi did not belong to the heavenly system. First, because no other star approaches from the same quarter as this star, whose course was from north to south, these being the relative positions of Persia, whence the Magi came, and Judea. Secondly, from the time [at which it was seen]. For it appeared not only at night, but also at midday: and no star can do this, not even the moon. Thirdly, because it was visible at one time and hidden at another. For when they entered Jerusalem it hid itself: then, when they had left Herod, it showed itself again. Fourthly, because its movement was not continuous, but when the Magi had to continue their journey the star moved on; when they had to stop the star stood still; as happened to the pillar of a cloud in the desert. Fifthly, because it indicated the virginal Birth, not by remaining aloft, but by coming down below. For it is written (Matthew 2:9) that "the star which they had seen in the east went before them, until it came and stood over where the child was." Whence it is evident that the words of the Magi, "We have seen His star in the east," are to be taken as meaning, not that when they were in the east the star appeared over the country of Judea, but that when they saw the star it was in the east, and that it preceded them into Judea (although this is considered doubtful by some). But it could not have indicated the house distinctly, unless it were near the earth. And, as he [Chrysostom] observes, this does not seem fitting to a star, but "of some power endowed with reason." Consequently "it seems that this was some invisible force made visible under the form of a star." Wherefore some say that, as the Holy Ghost, after our Lord's Baptism, came down on Him under the form of a dove, so did He appear to the Magi under the form of a star. While others say that the angel who, under a human form, appeared to the shepherds, under the form of a star, appeared to the Magi. But it seems more probable that it was a newly created star, not in the heavens, but in the air near the earth, and that its movement varied according to God's will. Wherefore Pope Leo says in a sermon on the Epiphany (xxxi): "A star of unusual brightness appeared to the three Magi in the east, which, through being more brilliant and more beautiful than the other stars, drew men's gaze and attention: so that they understood at once that such an unwonted event could not be devoid of purpose." Reply to Objection 1. In Holy Scripture the air is sometimes called the heavens--for instance, "The birds of the heavens [Douay: 'air'] and the fishes of the sea." Reply to Objection 2. The angels of heaven, by reason of their very office, come down to us, being "sent to minister." But the stars of heaven do not change their position. Wherefore there is no comparison. Reply to Objection 3. As the star did not follow the course of the heavenly stars, so neither did it follow the course of the comets, which neither appear during the daytime nor vary their customary course. Nevertheless in its signification it has something in common with the comets. Because the heavenly kingdom of Christ "shall break in pieces, and shall consume all the kingdoms" of the earth, "and itself shall stand for ever" (Daniel 2:44). ST III, Q. 36, A. 8. --- Read Chrysostom's homily Aquinas refers to here - http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/200106.htm
Gomer gets to interview Matt Fradd, America's Favorite Austrailian, for the show. I thought we would talk about his amazing new book, Pints With Aquinas: 50+ Deep Thoughts from the Angelic Doctor, the entire time, but it turns out he wanted to talk about how to argue philosophically without being a jerk. Only slightly choice language in this episode.http://mattfradd.com/http://theporneffect.com/http://integrityrestored.com/PINTS WITH AQUINASPints with Aquinas the book: http://amzn.to/2ckAuoVPints with Aquinas the podcast: http://mattfradd.com/new-book/pints-with-aquinas/ Thanks to BenSound.com for the royalty free music!
Get my book. Pints With Aquinas, 50+ Deep Thoughts From the Angelic Doctor https://www.amazon.com/Pints-Aquinas-Thoughts-Angelic-Doctor/dp/0692752404/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1470878727&sr=1-1&keywords=pints+with+aquinas Image of St. Bonaventure tearing up his manuscript. http://www.catholickingdom.com/People/Dominique/Archive/inline/ff_17_pic.gif
Ever met someone who can trace their lineage back to some famous people? My dad's family had an ancestor on the Mayflower. My in-laws brag they're related to Stonewall Jackson. I recently discovered one of my relatives actually translated the spiritual masterpiece The Imitation of Christ a few hundred years ago. Family lines are very important and interesting. While not tied through bloodlines, there's a Catholic family that can trace it's lineage for 800 years...the Dominicans. And the offspring of the great St. Dominic has had an unbelievable impact on the Catholic faith. Just think of all the towering Dominican figures in our history: St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Catherine of Siena, and St. Rose of Lima, among others. In this episode of the Art of Catholic I'm joined by Br. Tim Danaher O.P., to talk a little about the history and impact of this amazing order. Among other things we'll discuss: The heresy that led to the founding of the Dominicans Why Dominicans are called "Hounds of the Lord" and "Black Friars" How St. Dominic gave us the rosary The impact of the Angelic Doctor, St. Thomas Aquinas St. Albertus Magnus and why was he so important What makes Dominicans different from other orders in the Church (not better, just different:) All that and more on this episode of The Art of Catholic! God bless! Matthew P.S. Don't forget to grab your FREE copy of my quick guide to deeper prayer 8 Ways To Jumpstart Your Prayer Life! It's an easy step-by-step guide to help you rocket to God! Don't miss a show! Subscribe to The Art of Catholic by clicking this link and then clicking "View in iTunes" under the picture and then "Subscribe"! Android user? You can listen to The Art of Catholic on the Beyond Pod app from the Google Play Store. Want to experience Catholic Europe? Join Matthew on his pilgrimage to Fatima, Lourdes, Avila, and many other amazing holy sites this October 23rd to November 1st. Click here for details.
Your browser does not support the audio element. Podcast (21m07s): Play in new window | Download Sacred MusicPart I: Chant and Instruments Singing the Mass vs. Singing at MassSacred music by its very nature is music that is set apart for the sacred liturgy. It is different from secular (worldly) music. We speak of sacred and profane music. The word profane does not mean wicked, sinful, or evil; rather, it means, literally "outside the temple" (from the Latin fanum, temple). Music that is admitted into the Mass is considered sacred music, in one way or another. When most Latin Catholics go to Mass, they hear lots of hymns: an opening hymn, an offertory hymn, a communion hymn, a recessional hymn. Hymns are poetic texts sung to simple melodies by the whole congregation. Although 20th century magisterial texts encouraged hymns (for instance, Pius XII in Musicae Sacrae) for their ability to inspire devotion among the faithful, hymns are not actually part of the Mass. But there is music that is part of the Mass. In fact, the Mass itself is a song. The most basic sung portion of the Mass are the calls and responses between the priest and the people: "Dominus vobiscum", the Lord be with you; "Et cum spiritu tuo", and with your spirit, and so forth. But other music belongs to the Mass as well. Chants such as the Gloria or the Gradual are examples of music sung by the choir and sometimes the people that are part of the Mass. In its 1958 Instruction on Sacred Music, the Congregation for Rites made a list of Sacred music, that is music admissible to the Mass: Gregorian ChantSacred Polyphony"Modern" Sacred Music (such as Mozart)Sacred instrumental music (mostly organ solos)HymnsIt also speaks of Religious Music, which is music that by its nature isn't appropriate for Mass, but is useful in other circumstances to raise the mind and heart to God. Among these categories, the first three include music for the texts of the Mass, and among those three, Gregory Chant holds a special place. Sacrosanctum Concilium (116), the constitution of Vatican II on the Sacred Liturgy, summarizes this nicely: The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as proper to the Roman liturgy: therefore, other things being equal, it is to be given the first place in liturgical services.The word proper means its own. Gregorian Chant is not separate from the Roman Mass: the two grew up together. It is the Mass's own music. It's not a mere decoration of the Mass: it's part of the Mass. And so, all things being equal, it must be given the first place. But in the Middle Ages, the chant was decorated and sometimes replaced by music with multiple voices and music accompanied by instruments. In the High Middle Ages, vocal music reached such perfection in polyphony, that the Church made polyphony her own for the Roman Mass, particularly in the music of Palestrina. Later on, the music was enriched with orchestral music and other types of music. The Church permitted some of this, but never fully embraced it. Popes attempted to eliminate the operatic and the worldly or profane from this music. Still, it was never entirely forbidden.Instruments at MassThe apostolic Christians did not use instruments. Some of the Church Fathers spoke especially negatively about them. Even at the time of Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor considers them to be banned in the Sacred Liturgy. This ban continues to this day in some Eastern Churches, but in the West, they were gradually allowed, but only insofar as the could sustain, imitate, augment, and decorate the human voice. The organ became the first and only instrument fully embraced by the Church when it had suitably developed so that it had a similar subtlety to the human voice.There are some historical reasons for this, but the principle reasons why the voice is the liturgical instrument par excellence are theological, namely that the Word become flesh and sent the Holy Spirit who makes nimble the tongue.Christian worship is logos-centric. It is centered on the word, in honor of the Word of God. The Holy Spirit who spoke through the prophets also loosens the tongues of Christians to proclaim the glories of God, giving to the human voice the power to express even what is beyond words. Thus worship with words is the most spiritual worship. It is our logike latria our word-centered/rational/logical/spiritual worship.In admitting instruments to the Mass, the Church has never forgotten the word-centeredness of her worship. In fact, Pius XI writes in Divini Cultus:Voices should be preferred to instruments for no instrument, however perfect, however excellent, can surpass the human voice in expressing human thought, especially when it is used by the mind to offer up prayer and praise to Almighty God.and Benedict IX in Annus Qui in 1749 permitted certain stringed and wind instruments "only for adding some support to the singing, so that the meaning of the prayers is more clearly brought to the minds of the listeners and the souls of the faithful are moved to a contemplation of spiritual things, and are aroused to a love of God and of things divine."We can never leave behind Gregorian Chant! Its very rhythms and spirit define Sacred Music for the Roman Mass. We can never leave behind the human voice. And when we introduce new music into the Liturgy, it must be truly sacred.
In the post-Conciliar, Novus Ordo calendar today is the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas (+1274). Let’s hear two prayers from the Angelic Doctor, his Prayer Before Mass and Communion and his Prayer After Mass and Communion in both Latin and English. Some … Continue reading →
High on a rocky ledge in what was once the kingdom of Sicily, this cousin of the emperor Frederick II contemplated his future while a prisoner in his own family's castle. Who would have thought that he would come to be recognized as one of the greatest minds of the Catholic Church. . .The quiet demeanor of this humble giant of a man led others to believe he was a dunce. But Aquinas's theology and writings were anything but simple. Tune in to hear the life story of "the Angelic Doctor" of the Catholic Church, author of some of the Church's most beloved hymns, and perhaps the greatest theologian in the history of Christianity. Try your hand at this week's St. Jeopardy quiz, and win a T-shirt. Feedback and more. Catholic Under the Hood Podcast with Fr. Seraphim Beshoner Relic of St. Desiderius Magnatune.com Print your SaintCast flyers for posting here
Today’s PODCAzT brings a reading from St. Thomas Aquinas on the Eucharist. This is a selection used in the Office of Readings and also in the pre-Conciliar Breviarium Romanum. It is from the Angelic Doctor’s Opusculum 57, on the … Continue reading →
This Episode is titled “God's Ox.”I begin with a thanks to those who've given a review of CS on the iTunes store where many subscribe to the podcast. While iTunes is just one outlet for the podcast world, it turns out to be THE MAJOR venue for rating and promoting podcasts.Look, what we're doing here is ultra-amateur. CS is a labor of love and makes no claim at being a scholarly review of history. I share these episodes in the hope others can tag along and learn alongside me. I make no claim that this is exhaustive. On the contrary; it's a cursory account meant to give a brief overview of Church history; a kind of verbal fly-over; with occasional moments when we linger over something interesting. I aim to give listeners a basic sense of when events occurred in relation to each other; who some of the main actors and actresses were with the part they played. And as I've said before, the episodes are intentionally short to make it easy to listen in the brief snatches as people are working out, doing chores, going for a walk, driving to work. What's a kick is to hear about all the ways people HAVE connected to CS. Several have queued up a bunch of episodes and listened as they drive across country or fly overseas.I was at a conference a while back, talking quietly to some friends when a guy sitting in the row in front of me turned around and said, “Are you Lance? Do you have the podcast, Communio Sanctorum?” He recognized my voice. We had a great time getting to know each other better. Another time while on a tour of Israel, I met a guy in the dining room of one of our hotels who's a fan of the podcast. What a kcick that was.Anyway – I appreciate it when people leave comments on the FB page or send an email. But best of all is to rate the podcast and write a quick review on iTunes, then tells your friends to give us a listen.Now, back to the Scholastics.Though fueled by the work of Abelard and Anselm, Scholasticism reached its zenith when the Greek philosopher Aristotle was re-discovered by scholars in Europe. The Crusades made contact with Muslim scholars who debated Aristotle's philosophy. Their thoughts returned with the Crusaders and were passed on to the theological schools located in the mendicant orders of the Dominicans and Franciscans. These were the groups the Church had invested with the study of theology. During the mid-13th C, there was something of an Aristotelian revival in these schools. It's interesting that at the dawn of the 13th C, the reading of Aristotle was banned! After all, he was a pagan Greek. What could Christians learn from him? But, as any college knows, there's one way to make sure something gets read. Ban it, place a prohibition on it. So a couple decades later, portions of Aristotle were allowed to be read. By mid-Century, he was required reading and both he and his mentor Plato and his teacher Socrates were unofficially baptized and made over into pre-Christian saints.It makes sense that Aristotle's philosophy would be resurrected when we remember the goal of the Scholastics was to apply reason to faith; to seek to understand with the rational mind what the spirit already believed. It was Aristotle who'd developed the rules of formal logic.During the Middle Ages in Europe, all learning took place under the watchful eye of the Church. Theology reigned supreme among the sciences. Philosophers like Aristotle, the Muslim Averroes [ah-ver-O –ee], and Jewish Maimonides were studied alongside the Bible. Scholars were especially fascinated by Aristotle. He seemed to have explained the entire universe, not by using Scripture but by his powers of observation and reason.For some ultra-conservatives, this emphasis on reason threatened to undermine traditional belief. Christians had come to think that knowledge could come only through God's revelation, that only those to whom God chose to reveal truth could understand the universe. How could this be squared with the knowledge taught by these newly re-discovered philosophies?The pinnacle of Scholastic theology arrived with Thomas Aquinas. His work forever shaped the direction of Catholicism. His influence was so profound he was given the title “Dr. Angelicus – the Angelic Doctor.” His magnum opus was Summa Theologica in which he said philosophical reasoning and faith were perfect complements: Reason leads to faith.He was born in Italy to Count Lundulf of Aquino and his wife Theodora. It became clear at a young age that Thomas would be a physically large child. At 5 he was sent to a school at the nearby monastery of Monte Cassino that Benedict had started 700 yrs before. At 14, Thomas went to the University of Naples, where his Dominican teacher so impressed him Thomas decided he too would join the new, study-oriented Dominican order.His family fiercely opposed this, hoping he'd become a wealthy abbot or archbishop rather than take the mendicant's vow of poverty. Thomas's brothers kidnapped and confined him for over a year. His family tempted him with a prostitute and an offer to buy him the archbishopric of Naples. Thomas would have none of it. He went to Paris, medieval Europe's HQ of theological study. There it was that he came under the spell of the scholar Albert the Great.When Thomas began his studies, no one would suspect the future that lay before him. He was colossally obese, much of his size due to suffering from edema, AKA dropsy. He had one huge eye that dwarfed the other and gave his face a distorted aspect many found disconcerting. Socially, he was anything but the dynamic, charismatic figure some might assume; you know – something to make up for his awkward physical appearance. Aquinas was introspective and silent most of the time. When he did speak, what he said often had nothing to do with the conversation at hand. In college his classmates called him “the dumb ox,” a title that seemed apropos for both appearance and behavior.What people didn't realize till later was the incredibly keen mind behind the unassuming exterior, and the brilliant way he was able to marshal his thoughts into persuasive language others could understand. Remember that the goal of the Scholastics was to provide a rational understanding to what Christians believe. Aquinas gave critical support to such doctrines as the attributes of God, the Resurrection, and ex-nihilo creation; creation out of nothing. While these are things most Christians hold to, Aquinas also provided support for distinctly Roman beliefs; such as the veneration of Mary, purgatory, the role of human merit in salvation, and the seven sacraments by which God conveys grace through the Roman clergy. He also gave much support to Transubstantiation, the idea that the Communion elements are turned into the actual, literal body and blood of Christ in the Mass.His theological and philosophical thoughts consumed him. According to one account, he was dining with King Louis IX of France. While others engaged in conversation, Thomas stared off into space, lost in thought. Forgetting or not caring where he was, he slammed his fist on the table and shouted, “Ah! There's an argument that will destroy the Manicheans!” -- a heretical group from ages before.At the beginning of his Summa Theologica, Thomas distinguished between philosophy and theology, between reason and revelation. Contrary to what some had claimed, true theology and philosophy don't contradict each other. They are each avenues of knowledge ordained by God.Following Aristotle's lead, Thomas proposed that reason is based on what our senses tell us—what we can see, feel, hear, smell, and touch. Revelation is based on more. While reason can lead us to belief in God—something that other theologians like Anselm had already said—only revelation can show us God as He really is, the God of the Bible. Philosophy makes clear the existence of God. But only theology based on Revelation tells us what the God Who exists is like.Thomas accepted Aristotle's principle that every effect has a cause, every cause a prior cause, and so on back to the First Cause. He declared creation traces back to a divine First Cause, the Creator. However, the full knowledge of God—the Trinity, for example—comes only through revelation. From this knowledge we discover man's origin and destiny.Aquinas went on: Man is a sinner in need of special grace from God. Jesus Christ by his sacrifice has secured the reconciliation of man and God. All who receive the benefits of Christ's work are justified, but the key, as in traditional Catholic teaching, lies in the way the benefits of Christ's work are applied. Christ won grace; but the Church imparts it. Aquinas taught that Christians need the constant infusion of “cooperating grace,” whereby the Christian virtues are stimulated in the soul. Assisted by this cooperating grace a Christian can do works that please God and gain special merit in God's sight.This grace, said Aquinas, comes to men only through the divinely appointed sacraments placed in the keeping of the Church; that is the visible, organized Roman Church, led by the Pope. So convinced was Aquinas of the divine authority of the papacy he insisted that submission to the pope was necessary for salvation.Following an earlier Scholastic, Peter of Lombard, Aquinas held to seven sacraments as a means by which the Church imparts grace to people. He said since sin remains a problem for the baptized believer, God provided penance, a sacrament that made for spiritual healing.With some caution, Thomas also accepted the practice of indulgences that had gained acceptance during the Crusades. Aquinas taught that thanks to the work of Christ and the meritorious deeds of the saints, the Church had access to a “treasury of merit”—a kind of great spiritual reservoir of excess goodness. Priests were able to draw from this reservoir to aid Christians who had insufficient merit of their own. We'll take a closer look at indulgences later when we get to the Reformation.Aquinas said the wicked pass into hell while the faithful who've wisely used the means of grace pass immediately to heaven. But the bulk of Christians who'd followed Christ inadequately, had to suffer purification in purgatory before ascending to the joys of heaven. Thankfully, these souls are not beyond the help of the Church on Earth, Aquinas reasoned. Prayers to the saints and special masses could relieve the pains of souls in purgatory.Now, there was nothing new in all this. It'd been said many times before. But Thomas set the traditional teachings of the Church in a cosmic framework.Thomas's writings, and there were more than what was contained in the Summa, were attacked before he was in his grave. In 1277, the archbishop of Paris tried to have Thomas condemned, but the Roman clergy put a stop to it. Though Thomas was canonized in 1325, it took another 200 years before his teaching was hailed as pre-eminent and a major rebuttal to Protestantism. His writings played a prominent role in the Counter-Reformation's Council of Trent.In 1879, a papal bull endorsed Aquinas's theology, today known as Thomism, as an authentic expression of doctrine and said it should be studied by all students of theology. Both Protestant and Catholic scholars study his work deeply.Thomas himself would probably not be pleased. Toward the end of his life, he had a vision that forced him to drop his pen. Though he'd experienced such visions for years, this was different. His secretary begged him to pick up his pen and continue, but Aquinas replied, “I cannot. Such things have been revealed to me that what I have written seems but straw.” His Summa Theologica, one of the most influential writings in Church history was left unfinished when he died three months later.
In this week's Mic'd Up, Michael Voris interviews Matt Fradd, author of How To Be Happy: Saint Thomas’ Secret to a Good Life.
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