Epigraph, In Defense of Philosophy, Josef Pieper
Many indispensable and important things, such as justice, are in themselves unprotected. They have to be defended by those in power, who in doing so, not only fulfill their duty but also find their own justification. The power of the mind, however, for good or evil, consists in argumentation.
Prologue, ¶ 4 (Itinerarium Mentis in Deum)
In his Prologue to The Journey of the Mind into God, St. Bonaventure explains how to read theologically: Therefore, from the outset, I invite the reader to the pining of prayer through Christ crucified, through whose blood we are cleansed of the filth of vice; otherwise we might believe that reading would suffice without anointing, vigilance […]
ST III 68.10 Whether Children of Jews or Other Unbelievers Should Be Baptized Against the Will of Their Parents?
St. Thomas first sets forth three objections tending toward the conclusion that children of unbelievers should be baptized against the will of their parents. He then turns to elaborate his response: On the contrary, it is written in the Decretals (Dist. xlv), quoting the council of Toledo: In regard to the Jews the holy synod commands that […]
Conference Five, ¶ 1 (Collations on the Hexaemeron)
1. God saw the light, that is was good, and [God] divided the light from the darkness, etc. It was said [in the preceding conference] that intellectual light (intellectualis lux) is truth, shining upon the understanding, whether human or angelic, and which shines forth inextinguishably because [the light] cannot be thought not ‘to Be’. … As the […]
Guest of Our Soul (Leonidas)
A dense and dynamic book presenting a Dominican spirituality is The Presence of God, by Fr. Anselm Moynihan O.P. Here Fr. Moynihan presents an illustration from early Christian practice in a chapter, “Guest of Our Soul”: The realization the early Christians had of God’s real indwelling in the heart of the just is vividly illustrated […]
Conference Four, ¶¶ 21-25 (Collations on the Hexaemeron)
¶ 21. The third shining forth (irradiatio) is that by which the mind (mens) is enlightened (illustratur) to persuade or incline the soul (animum); this is done by rhetoric. Hence it is fitting that the orator provide for the civic good, where there can be danger because of the dissension of souls (animorum). And [the […]
Sayings About the Law
“The law and the prophets lasted until John, but from then on the kingdom of God is proclaimed, and everyone who enters does so with violence. It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for the smallest part of a letter of that law to become invalid. Luke 16:16-17
The one, the few, and the many; scrambled by popular sovereignty.
The categorization of the one, the few, and the many is often used to describe configurations of rulers in a society. The unit across comparisons is the same: “person.” The one refers to one person; the few refers to a few persons; and the many refers to many persons. What happens, though, if we scramble […]
We don’t talk about Bruno
Not much, anyway. After a certain age, neither did St. Bruno do much casual speaking himself. But we do hear about, and pray for the intercession of, St. Bruno on this his feast day. For a taste of the monastic life of his Carthusian sons, you can watch a trailer for Into the Great Silence.
“A reasonable proposition: How faith and reason coexist” — The CUA President on the mission of a Catholic faith-based university
One of the most dynamic places in American higher education is The Catholic University of America. A few weeks ago, CUA President Peter Kilpatrick authored an op-ed for Deseret News as part of a series on faith-based higher education. Read the whole thing: At The Catholic University of America, where I am president, we take […]
