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Now It Seems That Everything In The World Stems From Sources Other Than God, Since The Products Of Nature Have Their Source In Nature; Deliberate Effects Can Be Traced Back To Human Reason Or Will As Their Source. There Is No Need Then To Assume That God Exists.

-Thomas Aquinas

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Now It Seems That

Thomas Aquinas

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Now It Seems That Everything In The World Stems From Sources Other Than God, Since The Products Of Nature Have Their Source In Nature; Deliberate Effects Can Be Traced Back To Human Reason Or Will As Their Source. There Is No Need Then To Assume That God Exists.

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Now It Seems That Everything In The World Stems From Sources Other Than God, Since The Products Of Nature Have Their Source In Nature; Deliberate Effects Can Be Traced Back To Human Reason Or Will As Their Source. There Is No Need Then To Assume That God Exists.

Likewise Grace And Glory Are Referred To The Same Genus, Since Grace Is Nothing Other Than A Certain First Beginning Of Glory In Us.

Here 'neath Veils, My Saviour Darkly I Behold; To My Thirsting Spirit All Thy Light Unfold; Face To Face In Heaven Let Me Come To Thee, And The Blessed Vision Of Thy Glory See.

If You Can Live Amid Injustice Without Anger, You Are Immoral As Well As Unjust.

Faith Will Tell Us Christ Is Present, When Our Human Senses Fail.

He Who Is Drawn To Something Desirable Does Not Desire To Have It As A Thought But As A Thing.

Devotion Is A Certain Act Of The Will By Which Man Gives Himself Promptly To Divine Service.

Perfection Of Moral Virtue Does Not Wholly Take Away The Passions, But Regulates Them.

Charity Is Not A Potency Of The Soul, Because If It Were It Would Be Natural. Nor Is It A Passion, Because It Is Not In A Sensitive Potency In Which Are All Passions. Nor Is It A Habit, Because A Habit Is Removed With Difficulty; Charity, However, Is Easily Lost Through One Act Of Mortal Sin. Therefore Charity Is Not Something Created In The Soul.

Fear Is Such A Powerful Emotion For Humans That When We Allow It To Take Us Over, It Drives Compassion Right Out Of Our Hearts.

Right Faith Is Of Necessity Required For Baptism, Since It Is Said: "the Justice Of God Is By Faith In Jesus Christ" (romans 3:22) ... Therefore, Baptism Without Faith Avails Nothing And Thus We Must Recall That Without Faith No One Is Acceptable To God.

There Is, Therefore, A More Perfect Intellectual Life In The Angels. In Them The Intellect Does Not Proceed To Self-knowledge From Anything Exterior, But Knows Itself Through Itself.

They Also Have At That Critical Point Of Death The Opportunity To Be Converted To God Through Repentance. And If They Are So Obstinate That Even At The Point Of Death Their Heart Does Not Draw Back From Malice, It Is Possible To Make A Quite Probable Judgment That They Would Never Come Away From Evil.

Down In Adoration Falling, Lo! The Sacred Host We Hail; Lo! O'er Ancient Forms Departing, Newer Rites Of Grace Prevail; Faith For All Defects Supplying, Where The Feeble Senses Fail.

Eternity Is Called Whole, Not Because It Has Parts, But Because It Is Lacking In Nothing.

A Scrap Of Knowledge About Sublime Things Is Worth More Than Any Amount About Trivialities.

I Receive Thee Ransom Of My Soul. For Love Of Thee Have I Studied And Kept Vigil Toiled Preached And Taught.

We Should Love Others Truly, For Their Own Sakes Rather Than Our Own.

To Pretend Angels Do Not Exist Because They Are Invisible Is To Believe We Never Sleep Because We Don't See Ourselves Sleeping.

Faith Has To Do With Things That Are Not Seen And Hope With Things That Are Not At Hand.

Anything Done Against Faith Or Conscience Is Sinful.

Natural Inclinations Are Present In Things From God, Who Moves All Things. So It Is Impossible For The Natural Inclinations Of A Species To Be Toward Evil In Itself. But There Is In All Perfect Animals A Natural Inclination Toward Carnal Union. Therefore It Is Impossible For Carnal Union To Be Evil In Itself.

If Forgers And Malefactors Are Put To Death By The Secular Power, There Is Much More Reason For Excommunicating And Even Putting To Death One Convicted Of Heresy.

The Things We Love Tell Us Who We Are.

Every Judgement Of Conscience, Be It Right Or Wrong, Be It About Things Evil In Themselves Or Morally Indifferent, Is Obligatory, In Such Wise That He Who Acts Against His Conscience Always Sins.

The Blessed In The Kingdom Of Heaven Will See The Punishments Of The Damned, In Order That Their Bliss Be More Delightful For Them.

If... The Motion Of The Earth Were Circular, It Would Be Violent And Contrary To Nature, And Could Not Be Eternal, Since ... Nothing Violent Is Eternal .... It Follows, Therefore, That The Earth Is Not Moved With A Circular Motion.

Love Follows Knowledge.

If All The Sins Of The Flesh Are Worthy Of Condemnation Because By Them Man Allows Himself To Be Dominated By That Which He Has Of The Animal Nature, Much More Deserving Of Condemnation Are The Sins Against Nature By Which Man Degrades His Own Animal Nature.

The Truth Of Our Faith Becomes A Matter Of Ridicule Among The Infidels If Any Catholic, Not Gifted With The Necessary Scientific Learning, Presents As Dogma What Scientific Scrutiny Shows To Be False.

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.

If A Man Deliberately Abstains From Wine To Such An Extent That He Does Serious Harm To His Nature, He Will Not Be Free From Blame.

Thus Angels' Bread Is Made The Bread Of Man Today: The Living Bread From Heaven With Figures Doth Away: O Wondrous Gift Indeed! The Poor And Lowly May Upon Their Lord And Master Feed.

To Convert Somebody Go And Take Them By The Hand And Guide Them.

It Is Not Possible To Be Ignorant Of The End Of Things If We Know Their Beginning.

To Virginity Is Awarded The Tribute Of The Highest Beauty

There Is But One Church In Which Men Find Salvation, Just As Outside The Ark Of Noah It Was Not Possible For Anyone To Be Saved.

Man Cannot Live Without Joy; Therefore When He Is Deprived Of True Spiritual Joys It Is Necessary That He Become Addicted To Carnal Pleasures.

Baptism Is The Sacrament Of Faith. Now, Dead Faith Does Not Suffice For Salvation .. .therefore, The Sacrament Of Baptism Cannot Give Salvation To A Man Whose Will ... Expels The Form Of Faith.

The Theologian Considers Sin Mainly As An Offence Against God; The Moral Philosopher As Contrary To Reasonableness.

Sacred Scripture, Since It Has No Science Above Itself, Can Dispute With One Who Denies Its Principles Only If The Opponent Admits Some At Least Of The Truths Obtained Through Divine Revelation; Thus We Can Argue With Heretics From Texts In Holy Writ, And Against Those Who Deny One Article Of Faith We Can Argue From Another. If Our Opponent Believes Nothing Of Divine Revelation, There Is No Longer Any Means Of Proving The Articles Of Faith By Reasoning, But Only Of Answering His Objections - If He Has Any - Against Faith.

Love Takes Up Where Knowledge Leaves Off.

The Soul Is Like An Uninhabited World That Comes To Life Only When God Lays His Head Against Us.

Without Doubt One Is Allowed To Resist Against The Unjust Aggressor To One's Life, One's Goods Or One's Physical Integrity; Sometimes, Even 'til The Aggressor's Death... In Fact, This Act Is Aimed At Preserving One's Life Or One's Goods And To Make The Aggressor Powerless. Thus, It Is A Good Act, Which Is The Right Of The Victim.

The Truth Of The Christian Faith Surpasses The Capacity Of Reason.

So, To Detract From The Perfection Of Creatures Is To Detract From The Perfection Of Divine Power.

To Love God Is Something Greater Than To Know Him.

The Same Fire" (which He Decides To Be Material) " Torments The Damned In Hell And The Just In Purgatory...the Least Pain In Purgatory Exceeds The Greatest In This Life.

Bestow Upon Me, O Lord My God, Understanding To Know Thee, Diligence To Seek Thee, Wisdom To Find Thee, And A Faithfulness That May Finally Embrace Thee.

No Man Truly Has Joy Unless He Lives In Love.

To Love Is To Will The Good Of The Other.

O How Unspeakable Is This Sacrament Which Sets Our Affections Ablaze With Charity. ... It Is The Fulfillment Of Christ's Mystical Body.

Suppose A Person Entering A House Were To Feel Heat On The Porch, And Going Further, Were To Feel The Heat Increasing, The More They Penetrated Within. Doubtless, Such A Person Would Believe There Was A Fire In The House, Even Though They Did Not See The Fire That Must Be Causing All This Heat. A Similar Thing Will Happen To Anyone Who Considers This World In Detail: One Will Observe That All Things Are Arranged According To Their Degrees Of Beauty And Excellence, And That The Nearer They Are To God, The More Beautiful And Better They Are.

Justice Is A Certain Rectitude Of Mind Whereby A Man Does What He Ought To Do In The Circumstances Confronting Him.

Man Has Free Choice, Or Otherwise Counsels, Exhortations, Commands, Prohibitions, Rewards And Punishments Would Be In Vain.

For It Is Necessary In Every Practical Science To Proceed In A Composite (i.e. Deductive) Manner. On The Contrary In Speculative Science, It Is Necessary To Proceed In An Analytical Manner By Breaking Down The Complex Into Elementary Principles.

Scientific Method

It Seems That God Does Not Exist; Because If One Of Two Contraries Be Infinite, The Other Would Be Altogether Destroyed. But The Word "god" Means That He Is Infinite Goodness. If, Therefore, God Existed, There Would Be No Evil Discoverable; But There Is Evil In The World. Therefore God Does Not Exist.

Love Is A Binding Force, By Which Another Is Joined To Me And Cherished By Myself.

Jesus Lord, Kind Pelican, Cleanse My Filth With Thy Blood, One Drop Of Which Can Save The Whole World From All Its Sin

Charity Is Love; Not All Love Is Charity.

Unbelief Is The Greatest Of Sins.

The Study Of Philosophy Is Not That We May Know What Men Have Thought, But What The Truth Of Things Is.

The Last End Of Every Maker, As Such, Is Himself, For What We Make We Use For Our Own Sake; And If At Any Time A Man Make A Thing For The Sake Of Something Else, It Is Referred To His Own Good, Whether His Use, His Pleasure, Or His Virtue.

Nothing Which Implies Contradiction Falls Under The Omnipotence Of God.

The Celestial Bodies Are The Cause Of All That Takes Place In The Sublunar World.

Because Philosophy Arises From Awe, A Philosopher Is Bound In His Way To Be A Lover Of Myths And Poetic Fables. Poets And Philosophers Are Alike In Being Big With Wonder.

Nothing Created Has Ever Been Able To Fill The Heart Of Man. God Alone Can Fill It Infinitely.

Man Is Closer To God According To His Existence In Grace Than He Is According To His Existence In Nature.

Wonder [admiratio Astonishment, Marvel] Is A Kind Of Desire For Knowledge. The Situation Arises When One Sees An Effect And Does Not Know Its Cause, Or When The Cause Of The Particular Effect Is One That Exceeds His Power Of Understanding. Hence, Wonder Is A Cause Of Pleasure Insofar As There Is Annexed The Hope Of Attaining Understanding Of That Which One Wants To Know. ... For Desire Is Especially Aroused By The Awareness Of Ignorance, And Consequently A Man Takes The Greatest Pleasure In Those Things Which He Discovers For Himself Or Learns From The Ground Up.

Beauty Adds To Goodness A Relation To The Cognitive Faculty: So That "good" Means That Which Simply Pleases The Appetite; While The "beautiful" Is Something Pleasant To Apprehend.

Three Conditions Are Necessary For Penance: Contrition, Which Is Sorrow For Sin, Together With A Purpose Of Amendment; Confession Of Sins Without Any Omission; And Satisfaction By Means Of Good Works.

The Soul Is Perfected By Knowledge And Virtue.

[it Is Appropriate That The Body And Blood Of Christ Be Truly Present In This Sacrament] Because Of The Perfection Of The New Covenant. The Sacrifices Of The Old Covenant Contained The True Sacrifice Of Christ's Passion Only In Symbol....therefore It Was Necessary That The Sacrifice Of The New Covenant, Instituted By Christ, Have Something More, Namely, That It Contain Christ Himself Who Has Suffered And Contain Him Not Only In Symbol But In Reality.

Mary Means Star Of The Sea, For As Mariners Are Guided To Port By The Ocean Star, So Christians Attain To Glory Through Mary's Maternal Intercession.

The Splendor Of A Soul In Grace Is So Seductive That It Surpasses The Beauty Of All Created Things.

If Anyone Without The Right Faith Receives Baptism Outside The Church, He Does Not Receive It Unto Salvation ... From The Comparison Of The Church To Paradise, We Learn That Men Can Receive Her Baptism Even Outside Her Fold, But That Out There No One Can Receive Or Keep The Salvation Of The Blessed.

Characteristics Which Define Beauty Are Wholeness, Harmony And Radiance.

Christ Was Either Liar, Lunatic, Or Lord!

It Is Necessary For The Perfection Of Human Society That There Should Be Men Who Devote Their Lives To Contemplation.

To Teach In Order To Lead Others To Faith Is The Task Of Every Preacher And Of Each Believer.

The Human Race Was In Need Of Salvation Because Of The Perversity Of Sin. For When People Who Are Ill Are Cured From Their Illness, They Are Called "saved." Therefore, The Lord Says: "your Faith Has Saved You.

The Celebration Of Holy Mass Is As Valuable As The Death Of Jesus On The Cross.

The Magnitude Of The Punishment Matches The Magnitude Of The Sin. Now A Sin That Is Against God Is Infinite; The Higher The Person Against Whom It Is Committed, The Graver The Sin-it Is More Criminal To Strike A Head Of State Than A Private Citizen-and God Is Of Infinite Greatness. Therefore An Infinite Punishment Is Deserved For A Sin Committed Against Him.

The Test Of The Artist Does Not Lie In The Will With Which He Goes To Work, But In The Excellence Of The Work He Produces.

Whatever Is Received Is Received According To The Nature Of The Recipient.

I Cannot Understand How Anyone Conscious Of Mortal Sin Can Laugh Or Be Merry.

We Can't Have Full Knowledge All At Once. We Must Start By Believing; Then Afterwards We May Be Led On To Master The Evidence For Ourselves.

Even As He Would Be Guilty Of Falsehood Who Would, In The Name Of Another Person, Proffer Things That Are Not Committed To Him, So Too Does A Man Incur The Guilt Of Falsehood Who, On The Part Of The Church, Gives Worship To God Contrary To The Manner Established By The Church Or Divine Authority, And According To Ecclesiastical Custom.

All That Is True, By Whomsoever It Has Been Said Has Its Origin In The Spirit.

The Happy Man In This Life Needs Friends.

Just As In One Man There Is One Soul And One Body, Yet Many Members; Even So The Catholic Church Is One Body, Having Many Members. The Soul That Quickens This Body Is The Holy Spirit; And Therefore In The Creed After Confessing Our Belief In The Holy Spirit, We Are Bid To Believe In The Holy Catholic Church.

The Soul, Which Is The First Principle Of Life, Is Not A Body, But The Act Of A Body; Just As Heat, Which Is The Principle Of Calefaction, Is Not A Body, But An Act Of A Body.

There Being An Imminent Danger For The Faith, Prelates Must Be Questioned, Even Publicly, By Their Subjects.

Happiness Is Secured Through Virtue; It Is A Good Attained By Man's Own Will.

To Disparage The Dictate Of Reason Is Equivalent To Contemning The Command Of God.

God Is Not Related To Creatures As Though Belonging To A Different "genus," But As Transcending Every "genus," And As The Principle Of All "genera.

Now, Nothing Can Be Brought From Potentiality To Actual Existence Except Through Something Actually Existing

Just As A Man Cannot Live In The Flesh Unless He Is Born In The Flesh, Even So A Man Cannot Have The Spiritual Life Of Grace Unless He Is Born Again Spiritually. This Regeneration Is Effected By Baptism: "unless A Man Is Born Again Of Water And The Holy Spirit, He Cannot Enter Into The Kingdom Of God" (jn 3:5)

All Men Are Equal In Nature, And Also In Original Sin. It Is In The Merits And Demerits Of Their Actions That They Differ.

The Sacrament Of The Body Of The Lord Puts The Demons To Flight, Defends Us Against The Incentives To Vice And To Concupiscence, Cleanses The Soul From Sin, Quiets The Anger Of God, Enlightens The Understanding To Know God, Inflames The Will And The Affections With The Love Of God, Fills The Memory With Spiritual Sweetness, Confirms The Entire Man In Good, Frees Us From Eternal Death, Multiplies The Merits Of A Good Life, Leads Us To Our Everlasting Home, And Re-animates The Body To Eternal Life

Future Contingents Cannot Be Certain To Us, Because We Know Them As Such. They Can Be Certain Only To God Whose Understanding Is In Eternity Above Time. Just As A Man Going Along A Road Does Not See Those Who Come After Him; But The Man Who Sees The Whole Road From A Height Sees All Those Who Are Going Along The Road At The Same Time.

He That Obstinately Denieth The Truth Before Men Upon Earth, Wilfully Refuseth His Soul's Health In Heaven.

I Would Rather Feel Compassion Than Know The Meaning Of It. I Would Hope To Act With Compassion Without Thinking Of Personal Gain.

One Aspect Of Neighbourly Love Is That We Must Not Merely Will Our Neighbours Good, But Actually Work To Bring It About.

It Is Necessary To Posit Something Which Is Necessary Of Itself, And Has No Cause Of Its Necessity Outside Of Itself But Is The Cause Of Necessity In Other Things. And All People Call This Thing God.

God Should Not Be Called An Individual Substance, Since The Principle Of Individuation Is Matter.

Distinctions Drawn By The Mind Are Not Necessarily Equivalent To Distinctions In Reality.

Pain Itself Can Be Pleasurable Accidentally In So Far As It Is Accompanied By Wonder, As In Stage-plays; Or In So Far As It Recalls A Beloved Object To One's Memory, And Makes One Feel One's Love For The Thing, Whose Absence Gives Us Pain. Consequently, Since Love Is Pleasant, Both Pain And Whatever Else Results From Love, In So Far As They Remind Us Of Our Love, Are Pleasant.

Sloth Is Sluggishness Of The Mind Which Neglects To Begin Good...it Is Evil In Its Effect, If It So Oppresses Man As To Draw Him Away Entirely From Good Deeds.

One Cannot Use An Evil Action With Reference To A Good Intention.

Art Is Right Reason In The Doing Of Work.

Because Of The Diverse Conditions Of Humans, It Happens That Some Acts Are Virtuous To Some People, As Appropriate And Suitable To Them, While The Same Acts Are Immoral For Others, As Inappropriate To Them.

A Song Is The Exultation Of The Mind Dwelling On Eternal Things, Bursting Forth In The Voice.

To Live Well Is To Work Well, To Show A Good Activity.

That The Saints May Enjoy Their Beatitude And The Grace Of God More Abundantly They Are Permitted To See The Punishment Of The Damned In Hell.

The Proper Task Of The Savior Is That He Is A Savior; Indeed, For This He Came Into The World: To Seek And Save What Was Lost.

In The End, We Know God As Unknown.

If A Thing Can Be Done Adequately By Means Of One, It Is Superfluous To Do It By Means Of Several; For We Observe That Nature Does Not Employ Two Instruments [if] One Suffices.

Every Truth Without Exception- And Whoever May Utter It- Is From The Holy Spirit.

Of All The Pursuits Open To Men, The Search For Wisdom Is Most Perfect, More Sublime, More Profitable, And More Full Of Joy.

He Suddenly Announced That He Could Not Write Any More Since "all That I Have Written Seems Like Straw To Me."

Concerning Perfect Blessedness Which Consists In A Vision Of God.

In A False Person, Sacraments Do Not Produce Any Effect.

It Must Be Understood That Prime Matter, And Form As Well, Is Neither Generated Nor Corrupted, Because Every Generation Is From Something To Something. Now That From Which Generation Proceeds Is Matter, And That To Which It Proceeds Is Form. So That, If Matter Or Form Were Generated, There Would Be A Matter For Matter And A Form For Form, Endlessly. Whence, There Is Generation Only Of The Composite, Properly Speaking.

We Can Open Our Hearts To God, But Only With Divine Help.

Give, Expecting Nothing There Of.

Even As In The Blessed In Heaven There Will Be Most Perfect Charity, So In The Damned There Will Be The Most Perfect Hate. Wherefore As The Saints Will Rejoice In All Goods, So Will The Damned Grieve For All Goods. Consequently The Sight Of The Happiness Of The Saints Will Give Them Very Great Pain.

It Would Seem That The Ingratitude, Whereby A Subsequent Sin Causes The Return Of Sins Previously Forgiven, Is A Special Sin. For, The Giving Of Thanks Belongs To Counter Passion, Which Is A Necessary Condition Of Justice. But Justice Is A Special Virtue. Therefore This Ingratitude Is A Special Sin. Thanksgiving Is A Special Virtue. But Ingratitude Is Opposed To Thanksgiving. Therefore Ingratitude Is A Special Sin.

As The Saints Will Rejoice In All Goods, So Will The Damned Grieve For All Goods.

Sorrow Can Be Alleviated By Good Sleep, A Bath And A Glass Of Wine.

Peace Is The Work Of Justice Indirectly, In So Far As Justice Removes The Obstacles To Peace; But It Is The Work Of Charity (love) Directly, Since Charity, According To Its Very Notion, Causes Peace.

There Would Not Be A Perfect Likeness Of God In The Universe If All Things Were Of One Grade Of Being.

Those Who Are More Adapted To The Active Life Can Prepare Themselves For Contemplation In The Practice Of The Active Life, While Those Who Are More Adapted To The Contemplative Life Can Take Upon Themselves The Works Of The Active Life So As To Become Yet.

Contemplative Life

Do Not Wish To Jump Immediately From The Streams To The Sea, Because One Has To Go Through Easier Things To The More Difficult.

If You Seek Patience, You Will Find No Better Example Than The Cross. Great Patience Occurs In Two Ways: Either When One Patiently Suffers Much, Or When One Suffers Things Which One Is Able To Avoid And Yet Does Not Avoid. Christ Endured Much On The Cross, And Did So Patiently, Because When He Suffered He Did Not Threaten; He Was Led Like A Sheep To The Slaughter And He Did Not Open His Mouth.

A Man Should Remind Himself That An Object Of Faith Is Not Scientifically Demonstrable, Lest Presuming To Demonstrate What Is Of Faith, He Should Produce Inconclusive Reasons And Offer Occasion For Unbelievers To Scoff At A Faith Based On Such Ground.

For Creation Is Not A Change, But That Dependence Of The Created Existence On The Principle From Which It Is Instituted, And Thus Is Of The Genus Of Relation; Whence Nothing Prohibits It Being In The Created As In The Subject. Creation Is Thus Said To Be A Kind Of Change, According To The Way Of Understanding, Insofar As Our Intellect Accepts One And The Same Thing As Not Existing Before And Afterwards Existing.

The World Of Pure Spirits Stretches Between The Divine Nature And The World Of Human Beings; Because Divine Wisdom Has Ordained That The Higher Should Look After The Lower, Angels Execute The Divine Plan For Human Salvation: They Are Our Guardians, Who Free Us When Hindered And Help To Bring Us Home.

The Highest Perfection Of Human Life Consists In The Mind Of Man Being Detached From Care, For The Sake Of God.

It Must Be Said That Charity Can, In No Way, Exist Along With Mortal Sin.

Behold Our Refutation Of The Error. It Is Not Based On Documents Of Faith, But On The Reasons And Statements Of The Philosophers Themselves. If Then Anyone There Be Who, Boastfully Taking Pride In His Supposed Wisdom, Wishes To Challenge What We Have Written, Let Him Not Do It In Some Corner Nor Before Children Who Are Powerless To Decide On Such Difficult Matters. Let Him Reply Openly If He Dare. He Shall Find Me There Confronting Him, And Not Only My Negligible Self, But Many Another Whose Study Is Truth.

The Principal Act Of Courage Is To Endure And Withstand Dangers Doggedly Rather Than To Attack Them.

"the Jews Should Not Be Allowed To Keep What They Have Obtained From Others By Usury; It Were Best That They Were Compelled To Worked So That They Could Earn Their Living Instead Of Doing Nothing But Becoming Avaricious."

To Bear With Patience Wrongs Done To Oneself Is A Mark Of Perfection, But To Bear With Patience Wrongs Done To Someone Else Is A Mark Of Imperfection And Even Of Actual Sin.

All The Efforts Of The Human Mind Cannot Exhaust The Essence Of A Single Fly.

Theology Is Taught By God, Teaches God, And Leads To God.

The Minister To Whom Confession Is Made Is The Delegate Of Christ, Who Is The Judge Of The Living And The Dead.

The Perfection Of The Effect Demonstrates The Perfection Of The Cause, For A Greater Power Brings About A More Perfect Effect. But God Is The Most Perfect Agent. Therefore, Things Created By Him Obtain Perfection From Him. So, To Detract From The Perfection Of Creatures Is To Detract From The Perfection Of Divine Power.

One Day When Thomas Aquinas Was Preaching To The Local Populace On The Love Of God, He Saw An Old Woman Listening Attentively To His Every Word. And Inspired By Her Eagerness To Learn More About Her God Whom She Loved So Dearly, He Said To The People: It Is Better To Be This Unlearned Woman, Loving God With All Her Heart, Than The Most Learned Theologian Lacking Love.

It Is Due To Neither Impotence Nor Ignorance On God’s Part That Evils Occur In The World, But It Is Owing To The Order Of His Wisdom And To The Greatness Of His Goodness, Whence Come The Many And Divers Grades Of Goodness In Things, Many Of Which Would Be Lacking Were He To Allow No Evil To Exist. Thus There Would Be No Good Of Patience Without The Evil Of Persecution, Nor The Good Of The Preservation Of Its Life In A Lion, Without The Evil Of The Destruction Of The Animals On Which It Lives.

The Eucharist Is The Sacrament Of Love; It Signifies Love, It Produces Love. The Eucharist Is The Consummation Of The Whole Spiritual Life.

It Is Clear That He Does Not Pray, Who, Far From Uplifting Himself To God, Requires That God Shall Lower Himself To Him, And Who Resorts To Prayer Not To Stir The Man In Us To Will What God Wills, But Only To Persuade God To Will What The Man In Us Wills.

The Cross To Me Is Certain Salvation. The Cross Is That Which I Ever Adore. The Cross Of The Lord Is With Me. The Cross Is My Refuge.

We Set Forth Our Petitions Before God, Not In Order To Make Known To Him Our Needs And Desires, But Rather So That We Ourselves May Realize That In These Things It Is Necessary To Turn To God For Help.

Clearly The Person Who Accepts The Church As An Infallible Guide Will Believe Whatever The Church Teaches.

One Will Observe That All Things Are Arranged According To Their Degrees Of Beauty And Excellence, And That The Nearer They Are To God, The More Beautiful And Better They Are.

How Is It They Live In Such Harmony The Billions Of Stars - When Most Men Can Barely Go A Minute Without Declaring War In Their Minds About Someone They Know.

A Man Does Not Always Choose What His Guardian Angel Intends.

It Would Seem That Zeal Is Not An Effect Of Love. For Zeal Is A Beginning Of Contention.

Mistakes Are Made On Two Counts: An Argument Is Either Based On Error Or Incorrectly Developed.

But Man Is Freer Than All The Animals, On Account Of His Free-will, With Which He Is Endowed Above All Other Animals.

There Can Be No Joy In Living Without Joy In Work.

Give Us, O Lord, A Steadfast Heart, Which No Unworthy Affection May Drag Downwards; Give Us An Unconquered Heart, Which No Tribulation Can Wear Out; Give Us An Upright Heart, Which No Unworthy Purpose May Tempt Aside. Bestow Upon Us Also, O Lord Our God, Understanding To Know You, Diligence To Seek You, Wisdom To Find You, And A Faithfulness That May Finally Embrace You; Through Jesus Christ Our Lord.

Baptism Is The Door Of The Spiritual Life And The Gateway To The Sacraments.

Prostitution In The Towns Is Like The Cesspool In The Palace; Take Away The Cesspool And The Palace Will Become An Unclean And Evil Smelling-place.

Anger And The Like Are Attributed To God On Account Of A Similitude Of Effect. Thus, Because To Punish Is Properly The Act Of An Angry Man, God's Punishment Is Metaphorically Spoken Of As His Anger.

To One Who Has Faith, No Explanation Is Necessary. To One Without Faith, No Explanation Is Possible.

There Is Within Every Soul A Thirst For Happiness And Meaning.

It Is Only God Who Creates. Man Merely Rearranges.

First, I Say That He Draws Near To Those Who Make Peace With Him. For God Is The One Who Brings About Peace; And Where Else Should Peace Dwell Than In Peace?

Baptism Is Not To Be Conferred On A Man Who Is Unwilling To Give Up His Other Sins, So Neither Should Baptism Be Given To One Who Is Unwilling To Renounce His Unbelief. Nevertheless, Each Of Them Receives The Sacrament If It Is Conferred On Him, Although Not Unto Salvation.

Beware Of The Person Of One Book.

What Does It Take To Become A Saint? Will It.

To The Everlasting Father, And The Son Who Made Us Free And The Spirit, God Proceeding From Them Each Eternally, Be Salvation, Honour, Blessing, Might And Endless Majesty.

Most Men Seem To Live According To Sense Rather Than Reason.

The Greater The Charity Of The Saints In Their Heavenly Home, The More They Intercede For Those Who Are Still On Their Journey And The More They Can Help Them By Their Prayers; The More They Are United With God, The More Effective Those Prayers Are. This Is In Accordance With Divine Order, Which Makes Higher Things React Upon Lower Things, Like The Brightness Of The Sun Filling The Atmosphere.

It Is A Sin To Regard The Fact That God Cannot Do The Impossible As A Limitation On His Powers.

All My Words Are But Chaff Next To The Faith Of A Simple Man.

See To Whom Jesus Is Drawing Near, Three Kinds Of People: To Those Who Make Peace With Him, To Those Who Are Devoted To God, And To Those Who Are Kind To Their Neighbors.

Grace Renders Us Like God And A Partaker Of The Divine Nature.

Not Everyone Who Is Enlightened By An Angel Knows That He Is Enlightened By Him.

In The Life Of The Body A Man Is Sometimes Sick, And Unless He Takes Medicine, He Will Die. Even So In The Spiritual Life A Man Is Sick On Account Of Sin. For That Reason He Needs Medicine So That He May Be Restored To Health; And This Grace Is Bestowed In The Sacrament Of Penance.

We Must Love Them Both, Those Whose Opinions We Share And Those Whose Opinions We Reject, For Both Have Labored In The Search For Truth, And Both Have Helped Us In Finding It.

The Things That We Love Tell Us What We Are.

Pray Thee, Spare, Thyself At Times: For It Becomes A Wise Man Sometimes To Relax The High Pressure Of His Attention To Work.

God Answered The Prayers Of Animals.

Reasoning Is Compared To Understanding As Movement Is To Rest, Or Acquisition To Possession.... Since Movement Always Proceeds From Something Immovable, And Ends In Something At Rest, Hence It Is That Human Reasoning, In The Order Of Inquiry And Discovery, Proceeds From Certain Things Absolutely Understood--namely, The First Principles; And, Again, In The Order Of Judgment, Returns By Analysis To First Principles, In The Light Of Which It Examines What It Has Found. Now It Is Clear That Rest And Movement Are Not To Be Referred To Different Powers, But To One And The Same.

Grant Me, O Lord My God, A Mind To Know You, A Heart To Seek You, Wisdom To Find You, Conduct Pleasing To You, Faithful Perseverance In Waiting For You, And A Hope Of Finally Embracing You. Amen.

Sin Is A Spiritual Illness; Thus Sinners Are In Need Of Salvation.

God Himself Would Not Permit Evil In This World If Good Did Not Come Of It For The Benefit And Harmony Of The Universe.

If The Highest Aim Of A Captain Were To Preserve His Ship, He Would Keep It In Port Forever.

If Someone Knows From Experience That Daily Communion Increases Fervor Without Lessening Reverence, Then Let Him Go Every Day. But If Someone Finds That Reverence Is Lessened And Devotion Not Much Increased, Then Let Him Sometimes Abstain, So As To Draw Near Afterwards With Better Dispositions.

For In Order That Man May Do Well, Whether In The Works Of The Active Life, Or In Those Of The Contemplative Life, He Needs The Fellowship Of Friends.

Contemplative Life

It Is Possible To Demonstrate God's Existence, Although Not A Priori, Yet A Posteriori From Some Work Of His More Surely Known To Us.

Whenever God Wakes In Us, Our Thinking Becomes Clear - Nothing Is Missing.

Far Graver Is It To Corrupt The Faith That Is The Life Of The Soul Than To Counterfeit The Money That Sustains Temporal Life.

In The Realm Of Evil Thoughts None Induces To Sin As Much As Do Thoughts That Concern The Pleasure Of The Flesh.

Purity And Love

How Can We Live In Harmony? First We Need To Know We Are All Madly In Love With The Same God.

Gods Are Called Many By The Error Of Some Who Worshipped Many Deities, Thinking As They Did The Planets And Other Stars Were Gods, And Also The Separate Parts Of The World.

Without Sanctifying Grace It Is Not Possible To Refrain Long From Mortal Sin.

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