It is absurd for a heretic to say that he believes in Jesus Christ. To believe in a person is to give our full consent to his Word and to all he teaches. True faith, therefore, is absolute belief in Jesus Christ and in all he taught. Hence, he who does not adhere to all that Jesus Christ has prescribed to our salvation has no more the doctrine of Jesus Christ and of his Church, than the pagans, Jews and Turks have."
Saint Thomas Aquinas
#quotes #aquinas #heresy
Saint Thomas Aquinas
#quotes #aquinas #heresy
Saint Thomas Aquinas
On the Trinity
CHAPTER 4
WHAT THE DOCTRINE OF THE CATHOLIC FAITH IS CONCERNING THE TRINITY
7. All those Catholic expounders of the divine Scriptures, both Old and New, whom I have been able to read, who have written before me concerning the Trinity, Who is God, have purposed to teach, according to the Scriptures, this doctrine, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit intimate a divine unity of one and the same substance in an indivisible equality; and therefore that they are not three Gods, but one God: although the Father hath begotten the Son, and so He who is the Father is not the Son; and the Son is begotten by the Father, and so He who is the Son is not the Father; and the Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son, but only the Spirit of the Father and of the Son, Himself also co-equal with the Father and the Son, and pertaining to the unity of the Trinity. Yet not that this Trinity was born of the Virgin Mary, and crucified under Pontius Pilate, and buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven, but only the Son. Nor, again, that this Trinity descended in the form of a dove upon Jesus when He was baptized; nor that, on the day of Pentecost, after the ascension of the Lord, when “there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind,” the same Trinity “sat upon each of them with cloven tongues like as of fire,” but only the Holy Spirit. Nor yet that this Trinity said from heaven, “Thou art my Son,” whether when He was baptized by John, or when the three disciples were with Him in the mount, or when the voice sounded, saying, “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again;” but that it was a word of the Father only, spoken to the Son; although the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as they are indivisible, so work indivisibly. This is also my faith, since it is the Catholic faith.
#aquinas #doctrine #trinity
On the Trinity
CHAPTER 4
WHAT THE DOCTRINE OF THE CATHOLIC FAITH IS CONCERNING THE TRINITY
7. All those Catholic expounders of the divine Scriptures, both Old and New, whom I have been able to read, who have written before me concerning the Trinity, Who is God, have purposed to teach, according to the Scriptures, this doctrine, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit intimate a divine unity of one and the same substance in an indivisible equality; and therefore that they are not three Gods, but one God: although the Father hath begotten the Son, and so He who is the Father is not the Son; and the Son is begotten by the Father, and so He who is the Son is not the Father; and the Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son, but only the Spirit of the Father and of the Son, Himself also co-equal with the Father and the Son, and pertaining to the unity of the Trinity. Yet not that this Trinity was born of the Virgin Mary, and crucified under Pontius Pilate, and buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven, but only the Son. Nor, again, that this Trinity descended in the form of a dove upon Jesus when He was baptized; nor that, on the day of Pentecost, after the ascension of the Lord, when “there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind,” the same Trinity “sat upon each of them with cloven tongues like as of fire,” but only the Holy Spirit. Nor yet that this Trinity said from heaven, “Thou art my Son,” whether when He was baptized by John, or when the three disciples were with Him in the mount, or when the voice sounded, saying, “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again;” but that it was a word of the Father only, spoken to the Son; although the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as they are indivisible, so work indivisibly. This is also my faith, since it is the Catholic faith.
#aquinas #doctrine #trinity
Christ willed to be tempted:
1. That he might assist us against our own temptations.
2. To warn us that no man, however holy he be, should think himself safe and free from temptation.
3. To give us an example how we should overcome the temptations of the devil.
4. To fill and saturate our minds with confidence in His mercy. For we have not a high-priest who cannot have compassion on our infirmities, but one tempted in all things, like as we are, without sin. (Heb. 4:15)
- St.Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae
#aquinas #lent
1. That he might assist us against our own temptations.
2. To warn us that no man, however holy he be, should think himself safe and free from temptation.
3. To give us an example how we should overcome the temptations of the devil.
4. To fill and saturate our minds with confidence in His mercy. For we have not a high-priest who cannot have compassion on our infirmities, but one tempted in all things, like as we are, without sin. (Heb. 4:15)
- St.Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae
#aquinas #lent
On the third head it is to be noted, that in three ways we ought to stand perfect.
1) In purity of heart and body:
"Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God,"
2) In the keeping of the commandments of God:
"If ye fulfil the royal law according to the Scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well; but if ye have respect to persons ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, etc. thou art become a transgressor of the law,"
3) In the reformation of the tongue:
"If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and also able to bridle the whole body," In love towards God and one's neighbour: "Perfect love casteth out fear," "But I say unto you, Love your enemies. Bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you, that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect;"
An extract from 'Homilies for the Sundays by St. Thomas Aquinas'
#aquinas #spirituallife
1) In purity of heart and body:
"Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God,"
2) In the keeping of the commandments of God:
"If ye fulfil the royal law according to the Scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well; but if ye have respect to persons ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, etc. thou art become a transgressor of the law,"
3) In the reformation of the tongue:
"If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and also able to bridle the whole body," In love towards God and one's neighbour: "Perfect love casteth out fear," "But I say unto you, Love your enemies. Bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you, that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect;"
An extract from 'Homilies for the Sundays by St. Thomas Aquinas'
#aquinas #spirituallife
Audiobook
https://librivox.org/summa-contra-gentiles-first-book-on-god-by-saint-thomas-aquinas/
Summa Contra Gentiles by St. Thomas Aquinas
First Book (On God).
https://forum.librivox.org/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=85593
Summa Contra Gentiles, Second Book (On Creation), by Saint Thomas Aquinas
The Summa Contra Gentiles was composed by Thomas Aquinas between 1259 and 1265, in four books broadly covering teachings on God, on Creation, on Providence, and on tenets specific to Christianity. This Summa is not to be confused with his final Summa, the Summa Theologiae. The latter is specifically "theological" and directed to a Christian audience (hence Summa "Theologica"), whereas the former, as the "Contra Gentiles" indicates, is directed toward "non-Christian" thinkers. Implicitly a defence of the Catholic Christian faith, the first three books constitute a sort of rational apology of Christian thought, where philosophical arguments are deployed to defend Christian beliefs and usually only evoke Scripture in a latter instance to show its concordance with these largely-rational conclusions.the fourth book, however, is theological in character given that its content deals primarily with topics derived from Christian revelation. Although Thomas Aquinas certainly aims to discredit pagan, Jewish, Muslim or Christian-"heretical" positions incompatible with the Catholic Christian religion in this work, at the same time he incorporates whatever is salvageable from their thought, thus often quoting in his favor the very authors he discredits on other positions: therefore the "Contra Gentiles" of this Summa is not to be understood as an outright rejection of non-Christian thought, but rather as a sort of "rational purification" unto its Catholic assimilation, in disposing open minds to revealed Christian truths.
#audiobook #aquinas
https://librivox.org/summa-contra-gentiles-first-book-on-god-by-saint-thomas-aquinas/
Summa Contra Gentiles by St. Thomas Aquinas
First Book (On God).
https://forum.librivox.org/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=85593
Summa Contra Gentiles, Second Book (On Creation), by Saint Thomas Aquinas
The Summa Contra Gentiles was composed by Thomas Aquinas between 1259 and 1265, in four books broadly covering teachings on God, on Creation, on Providence, and on tenets specific to Christianity. This Summa is not to be confused with his final Summa, the Summa Theologiae. The latter is specifically "theological" and directed to a Christian audience (hence Summa "Theologica"), whereas the former, as the "Contra Gentiles" indicates, is directed toward "non-Christian" thinkers. Implicitly a defence of the Catholic Christian faith, the first three books constitute a sort of rational apology of Christian thought, where philosophical arguments are deployed to defend Christian beliefs and usually only evoke Scripture in a latter instance to show its concordance with these largely-rational conclusions.the fourth book, however, is theological in character given that its content deals primarily with topics derived from Christian revelation. Although Thomas Aquinas certainly aims to discredit pagan, Jewish, Muslim or Christian-"heretical" positions incompatible with the Catholic Christian religion in this work, at the same time he incorporates whatever is salvageable from their thought, thus often quoting in his favor the very authors he discredits on other positions: therefore the "Contra Gentiles" of this Summa is not to be understood as an outright rejection of non-Christian thought, but rather as a sort of "rational purification" unto its Catholic assimilation, in disposing open minds to revealed Christian truths.
#audiobook #aquinas
Aquinas on Degrees of Love of Neighbor
A summary of Aquinas's division of love of neighbor in his work On the Perfection of the Spiritual Life. His aim here is explaining the perfection of the religious state and the episcopal state.
Necessary love of neighbor
The basic commandments is "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." From these follows three points regarding the love of our neighbor we must have:
First, it must be true love, that is, we must love him or her not in the sense that we may love chocolate or wine. When we love these we refer them to ourselves, whom we properly love. We must love our neighbors so as to will them good for their own sake, and not only inasmuch as they are pleasant or helpful to use.
Secondly, we must love our neighbor with an ordered love. Everyone loves his spiritual nature more than his bodily nature. This is evident from the fact that no one would prefer being an idiot to being blind. So also we must love the spiritual good of our neighbor more than his bodily good, and again, we must love his bodily good more than his external goods.
Thirdly, we must love our neighbors with a holy love, inasmuch as we must love both ourselves and them as made in the likeness of God, as ordered to God, and as called to communion with him. Since what is ordered to God is called holy, loving our neighbor for God's sake is a holy love.
Fourthly, we must love our neighbor with an efficacious love, that is, a love that proves itself by deeds, as St. John says, "let us not love in word or in speech, but in deed and in truth."
Perfect love of neighbor that is counseled
Love of neighbor can be perfect in three ways which are not obligatory
1. Love can be perfect with respect to its extensiveness, when we show love to all men, even when we are not strictly required to do so. Aquinas distinguishes three degrees of love with respect to extension: (1) the lowest degree is when we love only those who are close to us; (2) the second degree is when we love not only those who are relatives or are close to us in some other way, but men and women everywhere; (3) the third degree is when we show love even to our enemies, to those who hurt us–even when we wouldn't be obliged to show a particular love for them. E.g., when we could with justice wait for them to make amends, to go out of our way to seek reconciliation.
2. Love of neighbor can be perfect with respect to its intensity. This perfection is shown by what a person is ready to give up for the sake of his neighbor. Thomas distinguishes three levels here, corresponding to the three evangelical counsels: (1) some give up possessions for the sake of their fellow men and women; (2) some expose their body labor and fatigue, or to persecution for the sake of others; (3) some lay down their life for others; the closest thing to this dying for others is giving up one's own will for the sake of others. For since to be alive means to act on one's own, to give up one's will is like a kind of death.
3. Love of neighbor can be perfect with respect to its works. (1) Some procure the bodily good of others, by feeding them, clothing them, or healing them; (2) some procure the spiritual good of others, as by teaching, but such spiritual good as is on man's own level; (3) some procure the spiritual good of others that is on a divine level–giving them the divine teaching, bestowing the sacraments, etc. This belongs above all to bishops.
#aquinas #love #charity
A summary of Aquinas's division of love of neighbor in his work On the Perfection of the Spiritual Life. His aim here is explaining the perfection of the religious state and the episcopal state.
Necessary love of neighbor
The basic commandments is "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." From these follows three points regarding the love of our neighbor we must have:
First, it must be true love, that is, we must love him or her not in the sense that we may love chocolate or wine. When we love these we refer them to ourselves, whom we properly love. We must love our neighbors so as to will them good for their own sake, and not only inasmuch as they are pleasant or helpful to use.
Secondly, we must love our neighbor with an ordered love. Everyone loves his spiritual nature more than his bodily nature. This is evident from the fact that no one would prefer being an idiot to being blind. So also we must love the spiritual good of our neighbor more than his bodily good, and again, we must love his bodily good more than his external goods.
Thirdly, we must love our neighbors with a holy love, inasmuch as we must love both ourselves and them as made in the likeness of God, as ordered to God, and as called to communion with him. Since what is ordered to God is called holy, loving our neighbor for God's sake is a holy love.
Fourthly, we must love our neighbor with an efficacious love, that is, a love that proves itself by deeds, as St. John says, "let us not love in word or in speech, but in deed and in truth."
Perfect love of neighbor that is counseled
Love of neighbor can be perfect in three ways which are not obligatory
1. Love can be perfect with respect to its extensiveness, when we show love to all men, even when we are not strictly required to do so. Aquinas distinguishes three degrees of love with respect to extension: (1) the lowest degree is when we love only those who are close to us; (2) the second degree is when we love not only those who are relatives or are close to us in some other way, but men and women everywhere; (3) the third degree is when we show love even to our enemies, to those who hurt us–even when we wouldn't be obliged to show a particular love for them. E.g., when we could with justice wait for them to make amends, to go out of our way to seek reconciliation.
2. Love of neighbor can be perfect with respect to its intensity. This perfection is shown by what a person is ready to give up for the sake of his neighbor. Thomas distinguishes three levels here, corresponding to the three evangelical counsels: (1) some give up possessions for the sake of their fellow men and women; (2) some expose their body labor and fatigue, or to persecution for the sake of others; (3) some lay down their life for others; the closest thing to this dying for others is giving up one's own will for the sake of others. For since to be alive means to act on one's own, to give up one's will is like a kind of death.
3. Love of neighbor can be perfect with respect to its works. (1) Some procure the bodily good of others, by feeding them, clothing them, or healing them; (2) some procure the spiritual good of others, as by teaching, but such spiritual good as is on man's own level; (3) some procure the spiritual good of others that is on a divine level–giving them the divine teaching, bestowing the sacraments, etc. This belongs above all to bishops.
#aquinas #love #charity
Budziszewski,_Thomas_Aquinas_on_Marriage,_Fruitfulness,_and_Faithful.pdf
190.9 KB
Article
Thomas Aquinas on Marriage, Fruitfulness, and Faithful Love
J. Budziszewski
In this essay, I wish to present Thomas Aquinas’s teachings about love and matrimony as a background for the teachings of Humanae vitae.
First, though, let us consider why this is necessary, and to this end, let us review
the current status of matrimony in the popular culture.
St. Thomas Aquinas’s doctrine of marriage is often caricatured. According to this distortion, he considers matrimony merely
a necessary evil, a reluctant concession to the sinfulness of human beings, and
the need to continue the human race. One version has it that the only justification for the spouses to have sexual intercourse is that they are trying to make babies. Another has it that there is a second justification as well, for a wife should submit grimly to intercourse just so that her husband will not be tempted to seek sex elsewhere. Neither of these two views allows love to be a part of the picture.
#marriage #aquinas
Thomas Aquinas on Marriage, Fruitfulness, and Faithful Love
J. Budziszewski
In this essay, I wish to present Thomas Aquinas’s teachings about love and matrimony as a background for the teachings of Humanae vitae.
First, though, let us consider why this is necessary, and to this end, let us review
the current status of matrimony in the popular culture.
St. Thomas Aquinas’s doctrine of marriage is often caricatured. According to this distortion, he considers matrimony merely
a necessary evil, a reluctant concession to the sinfulness of human beings, and
the need to continue the human race. One version has it that the only justification for the spouses to have sexual intercourse is that they are trying to make babies. Another has it that there is a second justification as well, for a wife should submit grimly to intercourse just so that her husband will not be tempted to seek sex elsewhere. Neither of these two views allows love to be a part of the picture.
#marriage #aquinas
Ecce Verbum
Charity as Friendship According to St. Thomas Aquinas.pdf
love_and_charity_in_thomas_aquinas_the_perfection_of_intelligent.pdf
314.3 KB
Article
"Love and charity in Aquinas: The perfection of intelligent will"
Bradley R. Cochran
The strategy of this inquiry into Thomistic charity will be as follows. Since Charity is a
species of love, examining Aquinas’s doctrine of love will immerse us into his Aristotelian
anthropology and help set the stage to attain better clarity on his doctrine of charity. It only
makes sense to understand the answer to the question “What is love?” before understanding “What kind of love is charity?” After looking at several ways Aquinas defines love, we will begin to penetrate a much larger picture of his overall anthropology that assigns an interdependent relationship between the intellect and will. Exploring the dynamics of love will underscore how central love is to human nature in Thomistic anthropology—it is in fact the very principle of human life and, in a certain sense, the very essence of the human soul.
#charity #aquinas
"Love and charity in Aquinas: The perfection of intelligent will"
Bradley R. Cochran
The strategy of this inquiry into Thomistic charity will be as follows. Since Charity is a
species of love, examining Aquinas’s doctrine of love will immerse us into his Aristotelian
anthropology and help set the stage to attain better clarity on his doctrine of charity. It only
makes sense to understand the answer to the question “What is love?” before understanding “What kind of love is charity?” After looking at several ways Aquinas defines love, we will begin to penetrate a much larger picture of his overall anthropology that assigns an interdependent relationship between the intellect and will. Exploring the dynamics of love will underscore how central love is to human nature in Thomistic anthropology—it is in fact the very principle of human life and, in a certain sense, the very essence of the human soul.
#charity #aquinas
Ecce Verbum
Bellum Iustum St Augustine believed that the only just reason to go to war was the desire for peace: "We do not seek peace in order to be at war, but we go to war that we may have peace. Be peaceful, therefore, in warring, so that you may vanquish those…
Justice/Violence
On whether it is licit for a person to kill another while defending himself.
Saint Thomas Aquinas says that personal self- defense, in which the agent’s intention is not to kill but to preserve his life, can be licit, although some acts of personal self-defense are illicit, as when the agent uses more violence than is appropriate to that same end.
"Wherefore if a man, in self-defense, uses more than necessary violence, it will be unlawful: whereas if he repel force with moderation his defense will be lawful, because according to the jurists [Cap. Significasti, De Homicid. volunt. vel casual.], “it is lawful to repel force by force, provided one does not exceed the limits of a blameless defense.” Nor is it necessary for salvation that a man omit the act of moderate self-defense in order to avoid killing the other man, since one is bound to take more care of one’s own life than of another’s."
Summa Theologiae 2-2.64.7
ST 2-2.64.7
[1]
#aquinas #justice #ethics
On whether it is licit for a person to kill another while defending himself.
Saint Thomas Aquinas says that personal self- defense, in which the agent’s intention is not to kill but to preserve his life, can be licit, although some acts of personal self-defense are illicit, as when the agent uses more violence than is appropriate to that same end.
"Wherefore if a man, in self-defense, uses more than necessary violence, it will be unlawful: whereas if he repel force with moderation his defense will be lawful, because according to the jurists [Cap. Significasti, De Homicid. volunt. vel casual.], “it is lawful to repel force by force, provided one does not exceed the limits of a blameless defense.” Nor is it necessary for salvation that a man omit the act of moderate self-defense in order to avoid killing the other man, since one is bound to take more care of one’s own life than of another’s."
Summa Theologiae 2-2.64.7
ST 2-2.64.7
[1]
#aquinas #justice #ethics