Bede: The Great Litanies: Luke 11:9-13

 

Bede: The Great Litanies: Luke 11:9-13

 

We must not be apprehensive that, we seek the gift of love from the Lord with deep devotion, if we say from the bottom of our hearts, Give us today our daily bread, he will permit our hearts to be narrowed by the rigidity of hatred.  Indeed, he implies this the hardness of the stone, when he says, which one of you, if (his son] asks his father for bread, will give him a stone?

 

We must not be afraid that, if we entreat him for strength loc against the temptations of the ancient enemy, saying with our whole heart, 'Lord, increase our faith, ' he will allow to perish from the venom of unbelief. By the word ‘serpent’ the poison of unbelief with which he race is rightfully represented, when it is said,  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent in place of a fish? If we implore the Lord for the hope of heavenly goods through which we may be able to scorn both adversity and prosperity in the present, we must not fear that he will turn away his ears, and allow us, in our despair over what is to come, to look back, that is, to look for the poisonous advantages of the tottering world which we have left behind, The harmful change of a good intention, and the turning back to  fleshly concupiscence, is rightly compared to the venom of a scorpion which it carries behind, that is, in its tail, when it is said, 'Or if he asks for an egg, will hand him a scorpion’?

 

Accordingly, dearly beloved, let us ask those things of the Lord, that he may grant the fresh nourishment of pure charity, sincere faith, and certain hope; and take from us the hardness of hatred, the poison faithlessness, the sting of despair which tends to tends to drag us back to the things that pass. Without any doubt we will receive what we ask for.

St. Mechthild of Hackeborn

St. Mechthild of Hackeborn

How the blessed Virgin should be greeted:  First, hers was the purest heart, so she was the first to make a vow of virginity. Second, the most humble. Third, the most devout and desiring. Fourth, the most fervent in love of God and neighbor. Fifth, the most loyal. Sixth, the most patient in suffering. Seventh, the most faithful, for accepting her Son's death. Eighth, most solicitous in prayer. Ninth, most assiduous in contemplation.

Adapted from: St. Mechthil of Hackeborn

Pope Benedict XVI: Saint Matilda of Hackeborn

 

Pope Benedict XVI: Saint Matilda of Hackeborn

BENEDICT XVI

GENERAL AUDIENCE

Saint Peter's Square

Wednesday, 29 September 2010

 

 

Saint Matilda of Hackeborn

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today I want to talk to you about St Matilda of Hackeborn, one of the great figures of the convent of Helfta, who lived in the 13th century. Her sister, St Gertrude the Great, tells of the special graces that God granted to St Matilda in the sixth book of Liber Specialis Gratiae (Book of Special Grace), which states : "What we have written is very little in comparison with what we have omitted. We are publishing these things solely for the glory of God and the usefulness of our neighbour, for it would seem wrong to us to keep quiet about the many graces that Matilda received from God, not so much for herself, in our opinion, but for us and for those who will come after us" (Mechthild von Hackeborn, Liber specialis gratiae, vi, 1).

This work was written by St Gertrude and by another sister of Helfta and has a unique story. At the age of 50, Matilda went through a grave spiritual crisis, as well as physical suffering. In this condition she confided to two of her sisters who were friends the special graces with which God had guided her since childhood. However, she did not know that they were writing it all down. When she found out she was deeply upset and distressed. However, the Lord reassured her, making her realize that all that had been written was for the glory of God and for the benefit of her neighbour (cf. ibid., II, 25; V, 20). This work, therefore, is the principal source to refer to for information on the life and spirituality of our Saint.

With her we are introduced into the family of Baron von Hackeborn, one of the noblest, richest and most powerful barons of Thuringia, related to the Emperor Frederick ii, and we enter the convent of Helfta in the most glorious period of its history. The Baron had already given one daughter to the convent, Gertrude of Hackeborn (1231/1232 - 1291/1292). She was gifted with an outstanding personality. She was Abbess for 40 years, capable of giving the spirituality of the convent a particular hallmark and of bringing it to an extraordinary flourishing as the centre of mysticism and culture, a school for scientific and theological training. Gertrude offered the nuns an intellectual training of a high standard that enabled them to cultivate a spirituality founded on Sacred Scripture, on the Liturgy, on the Patristic tradition, on the Cistercian Rule and spirituality, with a particular love for St Bernard of Clairvaux and William of Saint-Thierry. She was a real teacher, exemplary in all things, in evangelical radicalism and in apostolic zeal. Matilda, from childhood, accepted and enjoyed the spiritual and cultural atmosphere created by her sister, later giving it her own personal hallmark.

Matilda was born in 1241 or 1242 in the Castle of Helfta. She was the Baron's third daughter. When she was seven she went with her mother to visit her sister Gertrude in the convent of Rodersdorf. She was so enchanted by this environment that she ardently desired to belong to it. She entered as a schoolgirl and in 1258 became a nun at the convent, which in the meantime had moved to Helfta, to the property of the Hackeborns. She was distinguished by her humility, her fervour, her friendliness, the clarity and the innocence of her life and by the familiarity and intensity with which she lived her relationship with God, the Virgin and the Saints. She was endowed with lofty natural and spiritual qualities such as knowledge, intelligence, familiarity with the humanities and a marvellously sweet voice: everything suited her to being a true treasure for the convent from every point of view (ibid, Proem.). Thus when "God's nightingale", as she was called, was still very young she became the principal of the convent's school, choir mistress and novice mistress, offices that she fulfilled with talent and unflagging zeal, not only for the benefit of the nuns but for anyone who wanted to draw on her wisdom and goodness.

Illumined by the divine gift of mystic contemplation, Matilda wrote many prayers. She was a teacher of faithful doctrine and deep humility, a counsellor, comforter and guide in discernment. We read: "she distributed doctrine in an abundance never previously seen at the convent, and alas, we are rather afraid that nothing like it will ever be seen again. The sisters would cluster round her to hear the word of God, as if she were a preacher. "She was the refuge and consoler of all and, by a unique gift of God, was endowed with the grace of being able to reveal freely the secrets of the heart of each one. Many people, not only in the convent but also outsiders, religious and lay people, who came from afar, testified that this holy virgin had freed them from their afflictions and that they had never known such comfort as they found near her. "Furthermore, she composed and taught so many prayers that if they were gathered together they would make a book larger than a Psalter" (ibid., VI, 1).

In 1261 a five year old girl came to the convent. Her name was Gertrude: She was entrusted to the care of Matilda, just 20 years of age, who taught her and guided her in the spiritual life until she not only made her into an excellent disciple but also her confidant. In 1271 or 1272, Matilda of Magdeburg also entered the convent. So it was that this place took in four great women two Gertrudes and two Matildas the glory of German monasticism. During her long life which she spent in the convent, Matilda was afflicted with continuous and intense bouts of suffering, to which she added the very harsh penances chosen for the conversion of sinners. In this manner she participated in the Lord's Passion until the end of her life (cf. ibid., VI, 2). Prayer and contemplation were the life-giving humus of her existence: her revelations, her teachings, her service to her neighbour, her journey in faith and in love have their root and their context here. In the first book of the work, Liber Specialis Gratiae, the nuns wrote down Matilda's confidences pronounced on the Feasts of the Lord, the Saints and, especially, of the Blessed Virgin. This Saint had a striking capacity for living the various elements of the Liturgy, even the simplest, and bringing it into the daily life of the convent. Some of her images, expressions and applications are at times distant from our sensibility today, but, if we were to consider monastic life and her task as mistress and choir mistress, we should grasp her rare ability as a teacher and educator who, starting from the Liturgy, helped her sisters to live intensely every moment of monastic life.

Matilda gave an emphasis in liturgical prayer to the canonical hours, to the celebrations of Holy Mass and, especially, to Holy Communion. Here she was often rapt in ecstasy in profound intimacy with the Lord in his most ardent and sweetest Heart, carrying on a marvellous conversation in which she asked for inner illumination, while interceding in a special way for her community and her sisters. At the centre are the mysteries of Christ which the Virgin Mary constantly recommends to people so that they may walk on the path of holiness: "If you want true holiness, be close to my Son; he is holiness itself that sanctifies all things" (ibid., I, 40). The whole world, the Church, benefactors and sinners were present in her intimacy with God. For her, Heaven and earth were united.

Her visions, her teachings, the events of her life are described in words reminiscent of liturgical and biblical language. In this way it is possible to comprehend her deep knowledge of Sacred Scripture, which was her daily bread. She had constant recourse to the Scriptures, making the most of the biblical texts read in the Liturgy, and drawing from them symbols, terms, countryside, images and famous figures. She had a special love for the Gospel: "The words of the Gospel were a marvellous nourishment for her and in her heart stirred feelings of such sweetness that, because of her enthusiasm, she was often unable to finish reading it.... The way in which she read those words was so fervent that it inspired devotion in everyone. "Thus when she was singing in the choir, she was completely absorbed in God, uplifted by such ardour that she sometimes expressed her feelings in gestures.... "On other occasions, since she was rapt in ecstasy, she did not hear those who were calling or touching her and came back with difficulty to the reality of the things around her" (ibid., VI, 1). In one of her visions, Jesus himself recommended the Gospel to her; opening the wound in his most gentle Heart, he said to her: "consider the immensity of my love: if you want to know it well, nowhere will you find it more clearly expressed than in the Gospel. No one has ever heard expressed stronger or more tender sentiments than these: "As my father has loved me, so I have loved you (Jn 15: 9)'" (ibid., I, 22).

Dear friends, personal and liturgical prayer, especially the Liturgy of the Hours and Holy Mass are at the root of St Matilda of Hackeborn's spiritual experience. In letting herself be guided by Sacred Scripture and nourished by the Bread of the Eucharist, she followed a path of close union with the Lord, ever in full fidelity to the Church. This is also a strong invitation to us to intensify our friendship with the Lord, especially through daily prayer and attentive, faithful and active participation in Holy Mass. The Liturgy is a great school of spirituality.

Her disciple Gertrude gives a vivid pictures of St Matilda of Hackeborn's last moments. They were very difficult but illumined by the presence of the Blessed Trinity, of the Lord, of the Virgin Mary and of all the Saints, even Gertrude's sister by blood. When the time came in which the Lord chose to gather her to him, she asked him let her live longer in suffering for the salvation of souls, and Jesus was pleased with this further sign of her love.

Matilda was 58 years old. The last leg of her journey was marked by eight years of serious illness. Her work and the fame of her holiness spread far and wide. When her time came, "the God of majesty... the one delight of the soul that loves him... sang to her: Venite vos, benedicti Patris mei.... Venite, o voi che siete i benedetti dal Padre mio, venite a ricevere il regno... and he united her with his glory" (ibid., VI, 8).

May St Matilda of Hackeborn commend us to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to the Virgin Mary. She invites us to praise the Son with the Heart of the Mother, and to praise Mary with the Heart of the Son: "I greet you, O most deeply venerated Virgin, in that sweetest of dews which from the Heart of the Blessed Trinity spread within you; I greet you in the glory and joy in which you now rejoice forever, you who were chosen in preference to all the creatures of the earth and of Heaven even before the world's creation! Amen" (ibid., I, 45)

Ember Saturday in Advent: why the Lord's face is compared to the sun: Mechthild of Hackeborn

During the Mass Veni et ostende (come and show) as she prayed for all who long with their whole heart for the face of God, she saw the Lord standing in the midst of the choir. His face radiant as a thousand suns, illumed each person  with a ray of sunlight. When she asked why his face had the form of the Sun, he answered "Because the Sun has three properties that can be compared to me: it warms, it fructifies, and it illumines. The Sun warms; so those who approach me are warmed by love, and their hearts melt at my presence like wax in the fire. The sun makes every fruitful; so my presence makes a soul virtuous and fruitful in good works. The sun also illumines; so I illumine everyone who comes to me with the light of divine knowledge.  

St. Thomas the Apostle

The feast of St. Thomas in the new Roman rite has been moved to July 3, as if it is impossible to think of the birth of Jesus and his resurrection  all at once. Not only is it possible, it is required. 

 The Apostle Thomas, called Didymus, or the Twin, was a Galilean. After the descent of the Holy Ghost, he went into many provinces to preach Christ's Gospel. He gave knowledge of the rules of Christian faith and life to the Parthians, Medes, Persians, Hyrcanians, and Bactrians. He went last to the East Indies. Here he provoked the anger of one of the idolatrous kings, because the holiness of his life and teaching, and the number of his miracles, drew many after him, and brought them to the love of Christ Jesus. He was therefore condemned, and slain with lances. He crowned the dignity of the Apostleship with the glory of martyrdom, on the Coromandel coast, not far from Madras.

Sermon of St. Gregory, Pope
Sermon 30 on the Gospels
It is written: By His Spirit the Lord hath adorned the heavens. Job xxvi. 13. Now the ornament of the heavens are the godly powers of preachers, and this ornament, what it is, Paul teaches us thus To one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another diverse kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But all these worketh that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will.

So much power then as have preachers, so much ornament have the heavens. Wherefore again it is written By the word of the Lord were the heavens made. Ps. xxxii. 6. For the Word of the Lord is the Son of the Father. But, to the end that all the Holy Trinity may be made manifest as the Maker of the heavens, that is, of the Apostles, it is straightway added touching God the Holy Ghost: you and all the host of them by the Breath of His mouth. Therefore, the might of the same heavens is the might of the Spirit, for they had not braved the powers of this world, unless the strength of the Holy Ghost had comforted them. For we know what manner of men the Teachers of the Holy Church were before the coming of this Spirit and since He came we see in Whose strength they are made strong.

Homily by Pope St. Gregory the Great.
26th on the Gospels
Dearly beloved brethren, what is it in this passage which particularly claimeth our attention? Think ye that it was by accident that this chosen Apostle was not with them when Jesus came? or, when he came, heard? or, when he heard, doubted? or, when he doubted, felt? or when he had felt, believed? All these things were not accidental, but Providential. It was a wonderful provision of Divine mercy, that this incredulous disciple, by thrusting his fingers into the bodily Wounds of his Master, should apply a remedy to the spiritual wounds of unbelief in our souls. The doubts of Thomas have done us more good than the faith of all the disciples that believed. While he feels his way to faith, our minds are freed from doubt, and settled in faith.

Even as the Lord before His birth willed that Mary should be espoused, and yet never lose her virginity, so, after His Resurrection, He willed that His disciple should doubt, and yet not lose his faith. For, even as the espoused husband was the keeper of the virginity of the Mother, so was the disciple who doubted and felt, the witness of the truth of the Resurrection. He felt, and cried out My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed. When the Apostle Paul saith Heb. xi. i: Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, he plainly means that faith is the evidence of things that cannot be seen. When they are seen, there remains not faith, but knowledge.

Thomas, then, sees, and believes. Why is it said to him Because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed? The truth is, he saw one thing, and so believed another. To mortal man it is not given to see God. He therefore saw only the Manhood, and yet had faith in the Godhead: My Lord and my God. This he said, seeing and believing, seeing Perfect Man, and yet believing in Perfect God, Whom he could not see. O what a comfort are the words which follow! Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. These words are specially meant for us, who have not seen even the Flesh, and who yet do believe. They are specially meant for us if we believe and do not, by our lives, give the lie to our belief. He only hath a saving faith, whose faith bears fruit.

Ambrosian /Carthusian: Little Office BVM at Matins

 

Ambrosian /Carthusian: Little Office BVM at Matins

 

Mysterium Ecclesiæ

Hymnum Christo referimus,

Quem genuit Puerpera

Verbum Patris in Fílium.

 

Sola in sexu femina

Electa es in saeculo,

Et meruísti Dominum

Sancto portáre in utero.

 

Vates antíqui temporis

Prædíxerat quod factum est:

Quia Virgo conciperet,

Et páreret Emmanuel.

 

Mysterium hoc magnum est,

Mariæ quod concessum est,

Ut Deum per quem omnia

Ex se videret progredi.

 

*Pastores qui audierant

Cantari Deo gloriam

Cucurrerunt in Bethlehem

Natum videre Dominum.

 

*Sic Magi ab ortu solis

Per sideris indicium

Portantes typum Gentium

Primi obtulerunt munera.

 

Rogemus ergo, Populi

Dei Matrem et Virginem

Ut ipsa nobis impetret

Pacem et indulgentiam.

 

Jesu, Tibi sit gloria

Qui natus es de Virgine, etc.

 

The mystery of the Church, we offer a hymn to Christ, the Word of the Father in the Son, to whom the Mother gave birth. Alone among womankind, you were chosen in eternity, who was worthy to bear the holy Lord in your womb. The prophets of ancient times foretold that this would happen that a virgin would conceive and give birth to Emmanuel. This is a great mystery, which was granted to Mary, that she should bring to us from her very self peace and pardon. The shepherds, when they heard glory being sung to God, ran to Bethlehem to see the new born Lord. So the Magi at rising of the sun, through the sign of the star, the type of the nations, first brought and offered gifts.  Therefore, we ask, O Mother of God and of the people, that you pray for us the gifts of peace and pardon.

 

*These Christmas verses are often omitted.

St. Eusebius

Eusebius was born in Sardinia a lector at Rome, and later bishop of Vercelli, fought so bravely against Arianism that his unconquerable faith supplied encouragement and new life to the Pope. Because of his profession of the Catholic faith, Eusebius was sent to Scythopolis by emperor Constantius, where he suffered hunger, thirst, beatings and many other kinds of torment. From there he was sent away to Cappadocia and endured hardships of exile until Constantius' death. When he was allowed to return to his own Church, Italy put off her garments of mourning. Here he published his own expurgated Latin translation of the Greek commentaries of Origen and those of Eusebius of Cesarea on all the psalms. At Vercelli, during the reign of Valentinian and Valens, he went to the Lord to receive the unfading crown of glory earned by his great labors and hardship.

Deus, qui nos beáti Eusébii Mártyris tui atque Pontíficis ánnua solemnitáte lætíficas: concéde propítius; ut, cuius natalícia cólimus, de eiúsdem étiam protectióne gaudeámus.
Per Dóminum

O God, who year by year dost gladden us by the solemn feast day of thy Blessed Martyr and Bishop Eusebius, mercifully grant that we who keep his birthday, may ever feel the joyful effects of his protection. Through our Lord Jesus Christ

Virginis Proles: hymn

 

St. Lucy

1. Virginis Proles, Opifexque Matris,
2. Virgo quem gessit, peperitque Virgo;
   Virginis festum canimus beatæ,
      Accipe votum.
3. Hæc enim palmæ duplicis beata
   Sorte, dum gestit fragilem domare
   Corporis sexum, domuit cruentum
      Cæde tyrannum.
4. Unde nec mortem, nec amica mortis
   Mille pœnarum genera expavescens,
   Sanguine effuse meruit serenum
      Scandere cœlum.
5. Hujus oratu Deus alme nobis
   Debitas pœnas scelerum remitte;
   Ut tibi puro resonemus almum
      Pectore carmen.
6. Sit decus Patri, genitæque Proli,
   Et tibi compar utriusque virtus
   Spiritus semper, Deus unus omni
      Temporis ævo.

1. Son of a Virgin, Maker of Thy Mother,
   Thou, Rod and Blossom from a Stem unstained,
   Now while a Virgin fair of fame we honor,
      Hear our devotion!
2. Lo, on Thy handmaid fell a twofold blessing,
   Who, in her body vanquishing the weakness,
   In that same body, grace from heaven obtaining,
      Bore the world witness.
3. Death, no the rending pains of death appalled her;
   Bondage and torment found her undefeated:
   So by the shedding of her blood attained she
      Heavenly guerdon.
4. Fountain of mercy, hear the prayers she offers;
   Purge our offences, pardon our transgressions,
   So that hereafter we to Thee may render
      Praise with thanksgiving.
5. Thou, the All-Father, Thou, the One-Begotten,
   Thou, Holy Spirit, Three in One co-equal
   Glory be henceforth Thine through all the ages,
      World without ending.

Author: Unknown, 8th cent. Meter: Sapphic and Adonic. Translation by Laurence Housman. There are eight translations. Liturgical Use: Hymn for Matins in the Common of Virgins. To be more explicit, the five stanzas of this hymn are used as follows:

The complete hymn for Virgin-Martyrs. Stanzas 1, 4, 5, for Virgins. Stanzas 4, 5, for Holy Women.

1. “O Offspring of a Virgin and Creator of Thy Mother, whom a Virgin carried in her womb, and to whom a Virgin gave birth; we celebrate in song the Feast of a Virgin; hear Thou our prayer.” The Virgin mentioned in the first two lines is our Blessed Lady; the Virgin mentioned in the third line is the Saint whose Feast is being celebrated. For a Virgin-Martyr the last two lines read:

   Virginis partos canimus decora Morte triumphos.

   “We sing of the triumphs obtained by the glorious death of a Virgin.”
2. “For she was blessed with the portion of a twofold palm of victory; while she strove to overcome the frailty of her sex, she overcame also the tyrant red with slaughter.” Cædes, slaughter, carnage, the blood shed in slaughter. The “twofold palm” is that of virginity and martyrdom. The word “martyr” means a witness, i.e., one who by his death bears witness to the truth of the Christian religion.
3. “She feared neither death nor the accompaniments of death, the countless methods of torture; having shed her blood she merited to ascend to an untroubled heaven.” Amica mortis, things pertaining to, or accompanying death.
4. “At her intercession, O gracious God, remit the punishment of our sins due to us, that with a pure heart we may raise aloft a sweet song to Thee.”
5. “Glory be to the Father and to the incarnate Son, and to Thee, Holy Spirit, ever the co-equal power of both, One God. forever and ever.”

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Our Lady of Guadalupe

In Mexico, on the hill of Tepeyac, in the year 1531, the God-bearing Virgin Mary, as is piously handed down, appeared to the neophyte Juan Diego, and gave him a command for Bishop Juan de Zumarraga, which she urgently repeated, that a church was to be constructed in her name at that location. The bishop, however, requested a sign. Then, while he was seeking the sacraments for his dying uncle far from the place of the apparition, his loving Mother favored the neophyte with a third vision, assured him of his uncle's health, and after he had gathered roses into his cloak that had blossomed out of season, she ordered him to take them to the bishop. The roses having spilled out in the sight of the bishop, an image of Mary, impressed upon the cloak itself, according to the tradition, appeared to those present in a wondrous manner. At first kept in the bishop's chapel, then transferred to a shrine constructed on the hill of Tepeyac, it was finally moved to a magnificent temple, to which Mexicans increasingly began to gather in droves, for reasons of veneration and frequency of miracles. And therefore as an ever-present defense, the Mexican bishops, to the applause of the whole people, chose the Blessed Virgin Mary of Guadalupe as the first Patroness of the Mexican people, which was duly confirmed by the apostolic authority of Benedict XIV. Leo XIII adorned the sacred image with a golden crown on Columbus Day, 1895, by the agency of the archbishop of Mexico. And St. Pius X declared the blessed Guadalupan Virgin as the Patroness of all Latin America.

Deus, qui sub beatíssimæ Vírginis Maríæ singulári patrocínio constitútos perpétuis benefíciis nos cumulári voluísti: præsta supplícibus tuis; ut, cuius hódie commemoratióne lætámur in terris, eius conspéctu perfruámur in cælis. Per Dóminum.

O God, who hast placed us under the special patronage of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, and hast been pleased to shower perpetual blessings upon us: grant to Thy suppliants; that, as we are brought joy on earth by the commemoration today, we may enjoy her sight in heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Aquinas on Charity

 

Aquinas on Charity

 

I.                   Charity: The Latin word caritas is frequently used in the Vulgate (Latin)translation of the Bible to translate the Greek word agape.

A.     Faith and hope pass away, A. holds with St. Paul but not charity,  the greatest theological virtue.

1.       For A., it is charity that most unites us to God since it amounts to loving God for God's sake and to loving those whom God loves.

2.      The discussion of charity in the Summa is a long one (longer than the discussion of faith and hope put together) and it represents what Aquinas has been working toward all along.

3.      A's treatment of charity draws on his reading of the New Testament and on the tradition of post-biblical theology he inherited, the writings of St. Augustine being a key example.

a.      1 Cor. 13.13: ‘now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love’.

b.      Romans 5.5: ‘God's love has been poured into our hearts through
the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.’

B.     For A. we have charity not just because we are actively concerned with the welfare of other people, but because we love what God loves and as God loves it.

1.       A. thinks that God is essentially loving because of the love between God the Father and God the Son.

2.      God from eternity loves the supremely lovable and the life of  God consists of this love even without reference to creatures.

3.      A. thinks of charity in people as a sharing in this eternal divine love; A. always
lays stress on the difference between God and creatures, but, he holds, God
has miraculously graced people with a way of being like or at one with the
divine nature, a way that involves them living as divinely as any creature can
do.

4.       "The divine essence itself is charity even as it is wisdom and goodness. Now we are said to be good with the goodness which is God, and wise with the wisdom which is God, because the very qualities which make us formally so are participations in the divine goodness and wisdom. So, too, the charity by which we formally love our neighbour is a sharing in the divine charity."

 

II.                Friendship with God: the theological virtue of charity enables us to love God, and he represents this love in terms of the notion of friendship with God.

A.     Generally speaking, A. with Aristotle takes friendship to be a relationship between equals:  "It makes no sense to talk of some- body being friends with wine or a horse."

1.       One might, therefore, reasonably expect Aquinas to recoil from the thought that God and human beings can be friends with each other.

2.      Instead, though, he takes his lead from John 15”15, in which Jesus, after having washed the feet of his disciples, declares: "I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my father."

B.     A's main idea here is that charity amounts first of all to a full and proper love of God, and then, based on this, to a full and proper love of what we ought to love in the realm of creatures.  

C.     "Charity is our friendship for God arising from our sharing in eternal happiness and therefore charity is beyond the resources of nature and therefore cannot be something natural, nor acquired by natural powers.

D.     Hence we have it neither by nature, nor as acquired, but as infused by the Holy Spirit, who is the love of the Father and tlie Son; our participation in this love is creaturely charity itself.

E.     Charity is the greatest of all virtues since it amounts to a sharing in God's life, because there can be no true virtue without charity since true virtue directs us to God and since charity directs us to God perfectly.

1.       Charity "directs the acts of all the other virtues to our final end.

2.      Accordingly, it shapes all these acts and to this extent is said to be the form of
the virtues"

3.       “Charity impresses its form on other true virtues; it supports and nourishes them and directs them to its own end; this is so, A.holds, even though charity can grow in people over time and even though charity can be lost by mortal sin.

 

III.             Is charity simply a matter of loving God? Aquinas clearly thinks that love of
God lies at the heart of charity, but he also insists that it has other objects.

A.     Pet lovers will, perhaps, be disgruntled to find that A. denies that charity
can extend to "irrational creatures." -- He does not think that we can seriously
be friends with them-friendship demanding equality and common purpose.

B.      He is clear, though, that human beings are proper objects of charity and he argues that charity includes loving our neighbor, loving charity itself , loving oneself, loving our bodies. loving sinners, loving our enemies , and loving angels), though not devils.

St. Damasus

Damasus was a Spaniard of great eminence and learned in the Sacred Scriptures. He called the first Council of Constantinople, in which he abolished the evil heresy of Eunomius and Macedonius. He repeated the condemnation, already pronounced by Liberius, of the Council of Rimini. A proclamation of that council, chiefly due, as writhed by St. Jerome, to the intrigues of Valens and Ursacius, had condemned the faith of Nicaea. Damasus built two basilicas: one dedicated to St. Lawrence near the theatre of Pompey, the other on the Ardeatine Way at the Catacombs. He decreed that, as was already the custom in many places, Psalms should be sung day and night in all churches by alternate choirs, and that at the end of each Psalm should be repeated the words: "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost." It was at his command that St. Jerome revised the translation of the New Testament to make it faithful to the Greek text. He discovered many bodies of holy Martyrs and celebrated their memory in verses. When he was nearly eighty years old and famous for his virtue, learning and prudence, he fell asleep in the Lord, during the reign of Theodosius the Great. 

Gregem tuum, Pastor ætérne, placátus inténde: et per beátum Dámasum Summum Pontíficem perpétua protectióne custódi; quem totíus Ecclésiæ præstitísti esse pastórem.
Per Dóminum

Look forgivingly on thy flock, Eternal Shepherd, and keep it in thy constant protection, by the intercession of blessed Damasus thy Sovereign Pontiff, whom thou didst constitute Shepherd of the whole Church. Through our Lord Jesus Christ

Universal Prayer

 

A portrait of Pope Clement XI painted by Pier Leone Ghezzi, circa 1708. The Universal Prayer is attributed to Clement XI. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

I believe, O Lord, but may I believe more firmly; I hope, but may I hope more securely; I love, but may I love more ardently; I sorrow, but may I sorrow more deeply. I adore you as my first beginning; I long for you as my last end; I praise you as my constant benefactor; I invoke you as my gracious protector. By your wisdom direct me, By your righteousness restrain me, By your indulgence console me, By your power protect me. I offer you, Lord, my thoughts to be directed to you, my words, to be about you, my deeds, to respect your will, my trials, to be endured for you. I will whatever you will, I will it because you will it, I will it in the way you will it, I will it as long as you will it. Lord, enlighten my understanding, I pray: arouse my will, cleanse my heart, sanctify my soul. May I weep for past sins, repel future temptations, correct evil inclinations, nurture appropriate virtues. Give me, good God, love for you, hatred for myself, zeal for my neighbor, contempt for the world. May I strive to obey my superiors, to help those dependent on me, to have care for my friends, forgiveness for my enemies. The Universal Prayer Attributed to Pope Clement XI May I conquer sensuality by austerity, avarice by generosity, anger by gentleness, lukewarmness by fervor. Render me prudent in planning, steadfast in dangers, patient in adversity, humble in prosperity. Make me, O Lord, attentive at prayer, moderate at meals, diligent at work, steadfast in intent. May I be careful to maintain interior innocence, outward modesty, exemplary behavior, a regular life. May I be always watchful in subduing nature, in nourishing grace, in observing your law, in winning salvation. May I learn from you how precarious are earthly things, how great divine things, how fleeting is time, how lasting things eternal. Grant that I may prepare for death, fear judgment, flee hell, gain paradise. Through Christ our Lord. Amen

Verbum supernum prodiens,

 

1. Verbum supernum prodiens,

Nec Patris linquens dexteram,

Ad opus suum exiens,

Venit ad vitæ vesperam.

2. In mortem a discipulo

Suis tradendus æmulis,

Prius in vitæ ferculo

Se tradidit discipulis.

3. Quibus sub bina specie

Carnem dedit et sanguinem;

Ut duplicis substantiæ

Totum 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 Domino

Sit sempiterna gloria:

Qui vitam sine termino

Nobis donet in patria.