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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.

-Thomas Aquinas

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Sacred Scripture, Since It

Thomas Aquinas

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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.

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It Is Only God Who Creates. Man Merely Rearranges.

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

Miracles Are Signs Not To Them That Believe, But To Them That Believe Not.

Speaking In Tongues

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

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.

Friendship Is The Source Of The Greatest Pleasures, And Without Friends Even The Most Agreeable Pursuits Become Tedious.

It Would Be Superfluous To Receive By Faith, Things That Can Be Known By Natural Reason

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.

Practical Sciences Proceed By Building Up; Theoretical Science By Resolving Into Components.

The Image Of God Always Abides In The Soul, Whether This Image Be Obsolete And Clouded Over As To Amount To Almost Nothing; Or Whether It Be Obscured Or Disfigured, As Is The Case With Sinners; Or Whether It Be Clear And Beautiful As Is The Case With The Just.

Temperance Is Simply A Disposition Of The Mind Which Binds The Passion.

Godhead Here In Hiding, Whom I Adore Masked By These Bare Shadows, Shape And Nothing More, See, Lord, At Thy Service Low Lies Here A Heart Lost, All Lost In Wonder At The God Thou Art

Charity Is Love; Not All Love Is Charity.

He Who Does Not Embrace The Teaching Of The Church Does Not Have The Habit Of Faith.

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

Better To Illuminate Than Merely To Shine; To Deliver To Others Contemplated Truths Than Merely To Contemplate.

The Knowledge Of God Is The Cause Of Things. For The Knowledge Of God Is To All Creatures What The Knowledge Of The Artificer Is To Things Made By His Art.

Knowledge Of God

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.

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.

To Love God Is Something Greater Than To Know Him.

When The Devil Is Called The God Of This World, It Is Not Because He Made It, But Because We Serve Him With Our Worldliness.

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

Law; An Ordinance Of Reason For The Common Good, Made By Him Who Has Care Of The Community.

Whatever Is In Motion Must Be Put In Motion By Another. If That By Which It Is Put In Motion Be Itself Put In Motion, Then This Also Must Needs Be Put In Motion By Another, And That By Another Again. But This Cannot Go On To Infinity, Because Then There Would Be No First Mover, And, Consequently, No Other Mover; Seeing That Subsequent Movers Move Only Inasmuch As They Are Put In Motion By The First Mover; As The Staff Moves Only Because It Is Put In Motion By The Hand. Therefore It Is Necessary To Arrive At A First Mover, Put In Motion By No Other; And This Everyone Understands To Be God.

Grace Does Not Destroy Nature, It Perfects It.

The Greatest Kindness One Can Render To Any Man Consists In Leading Him From Error To Truth.

Good Can Exist Without Evil, Whereas Evil Cannot Exist Without Good.

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 Ought To Cherish The Body. Our Body's Substance Is Not From An Evil Principle, As The Manicheans Imagine, But From God. And Therefore, We Ought To Cherish The Body By The Friendship Of Love, By Which We Love God.

In The End, We Know God As Unknown.

Law Has The Power To Compel: Indeed, The Ability To Enforce Is A Condition Of The Ability To Command.

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.

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.

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

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.

To Restore Man, Who Had Been Laid Low By Sin, To The Heights Of Divine Glory, The Word Of The Eternal Father, Though Containing All Things Within His Immensity, Willed To Become Small. This He Did Not By Putting Aside His Greatness But By Taking To Himself Our Littleness.

Whatever A Man Has In Superabundance Is Owed, Of Natural Right, To The Poor For Their Sustenance. So Ambrosius Says, And It Is Also To Be Found In The Decretum Gratiani: The Bread Which You Withhold Belongs To The Hungry: The Clothing You Shut Away, To The Naked: And The Money You Bury In The Earth Is The Redemption And Freedom Of The Penniless.

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

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

The Highest Manifestation Of Life Consists In This: That A Being Governs Its Own Actions. A Thing Which Is Always Subject To The Direction Of Another Is Somewhat Of A Dead Thing.

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.

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

Since Faith Rests Upon Infallible Truth, And Since The Contrary Of A Truth Can Never Be Demonstrated, It Is Clear That The Arguments Brought Against Faith Cannot Be Demonstrations, But Are Difficulties That Can Be Answered.

The Blessed Eucharist Is The Perfect Sacrament Of The Lord's Passion, Since It Contains Christ Himself And His Passion.

The Existence Of A Prime Mover- Nothing Can Move Itself; There Must Be A First Mover. The First Mover Is Called God.

[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.

The Fact That The Evil Ones, As Long As They Live, Can Be Corrected From Their Errors Does Not Prohibit That They May Be Justly Executed, For The Danger Which Threatens From Their Way Of Life Is Greater And More Certain Than The Good Which May Be Expected From Their Improvement.

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

Concerning Perfect Blessedness Which Consists In A Vision Of God.

A Person Is Disposed To An Act Of Choice By An Angel ... In Two Ways. Sometimes, A Man's Understanding Is Enlightened By An Angel To Know What Is Good, But It Is Not Instructed As To The Reason Why ... But Sometimes He Is Instructed By Angelic Illumination, Both That This Act Is Good And As To The Reason Why It Is Good.

If There Were Some Solitary Or Feral Man, The Passions Of The Soul Would Be Sufficient For Him; By Them He Would Be Conformed To Things In Order That He Might Have Knowledge Of Them. But Because Man Is Naturally Political And Social, There Is Need For One Man To Make His Conceptions Known To Others, Which Is Done With Speech. So Significant Speech Was Needed If Men Were To Live Together. Which Is Why Those Of Different Tongues Do Not Easily Live Together.

An Act Of Love Always Tends Towards Two Things; To The Good That One Wills, And To The Person For Whom One Wills It.

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

Whatever A Man Has In Superabundance Is Owed, Of Natural Right, To The Poor For Their Sustenance.

Jewish Community

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)

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.

Obedience Unites Us So Closely To God That It In A Way Transforms Us Into Him, So That We Have No Other Will But His. If Obedience Is Lacking, Even Prayer Cannot Be Pleasing To God.

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.

Charity Brings To Life Again Those Who Are Spiritually Dead.

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

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

There Is Nothing On This Earth More To Be Prized Than True Friendship.

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.

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

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.

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

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

Because The Divine Goodness Could Not Be Adequately Represented By One Creature Alone, God Produced Many And Diverse Creatures, That What Was Wanting In One In The Representation Of The Divine Goodness Might Be Supplied By Another. For Goodness, Which In God Is Simple And Uniform, In Creatures Is Manifold And Divided. Thus The Whole Universe Together Participates In The Divine Goodness More Perfectly And Represents It Better Than Any Single Creature.

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 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.

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

Not Everything That Is More Difficult Is More Meritorious.

What Can Be Accomplished By A Few Principles Is Not Effected By Many. But It Seems That Everything We See In The World Can Be Accounted For By Other Principles, Supposing God Did Not Exist. For All Natural Things Can Be Reduced To One Principle, Which Is Nature, And All Voluntary Things Can Be Reduced To One Principle, Which Is Human Reason, Or Will. Therefore There Is No Need To Suppose God's Existence.

Don't Ask Who Said It? Ask What They Said.

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

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

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.

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

A Man's Heart Is Right When He Wills What God Wills.

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

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

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.

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.

Humility Is The Mark Of A Genuine Disciple.

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.

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

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

God Answered The Prayers Of Animals.

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.

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.

Well-ordered Self-love Is Right And Natural.

An Angel Can Illumine The Thought And Mind Of Man By Strengthening The Power Of Vision And By Bringing Within His Reach Some Truth Which The Angel Himself Contemplates.

Hold Firmly That Our Faith Is Identical With That Of The Ancients. Deny This, And You Dissolve The Unity Of The Church.

Moral Science Is Better Occupied When Treating Of Friendship Than Of Justice.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

The Church Has Ever Proved Indestructible. Her Persecutors Have Failed To Destroy Her; In Fact, It Was During Times Of Persecution That The Church Grew More And More; While The Persecutors Themselves, And Those Whom The Church Would Destroy, Are The Very Ones Who Came To Nothing. . . .again, Errors Have Assailed Her; But In Fact, The Greater The Number Of Errors That Have Arisen, The More Has The Truth Been Made Manifest. . . . Nor Has The Church Failed Before The Assaults Of Demons: For She Is Like A Tower Of Refuge To All Who Fight Against The Devil.

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.

To Virginity Is Awarded The Tribute Of The Highest Beauty

Better To Illuminate Than Merely To Shine.

If, Then, You Are Looking For The Way By Which You Should Go, Take Christ, Because He Himself Is The Way.

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

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

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

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.

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

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?

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.

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.

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

I Answer That, Even, As In The Blessed In Heaven There Will Be Most Perfect Charity, So In The Damned There Will Be The Most Perfect Hate.

Inspirational Life

God's Precepts Are Light To The Loving, Heavy To The Fearful.

Now This Relaxation Of The Mind From Work Consists On Playful Words Or Deeds. Therefore It Becomes A Wise And Virtuous Man To Have Recourse To Such Things At Times.

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.

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

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.

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

Justice Is In Subjects As Well As In Rulers.

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.

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.

The Apostles And Their Successors Are God's Vicars In Governing The Church Which Is Built On Faith And The Sacraments Of Faith. Wherefore, Just As They May Not Institute Another Church, So Neither May They Deliver Another Faith, Nor Institute Other Sacraments.

The Light Of Faith Makes Us See What We Believe.

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.

The Proper Effect Of The Eucharist Is The Transformation Of Man Into God.

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.

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.

The Soul Is Known By It's Acts.

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

...[sacred] Doctrine Is Especially Based Upon Arguments From Authority, Inasmuch As Its Principles Are Obtained By Revelation: Thus We Ought To Believe On The Authority Of Those To Whom The Revelation Has Been Made. Nor Does This Take Away From The Dignity Of This Doctrine, For Although The Argument From Authority Based On Human Reason Is The Weakest, Yet The Argument From Authority Based On Divine Revelation Is The Strongest.

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

O Saving Victim, Opening Wide The Gate Of Heaven To Man Below, Our Foes Press On From Every Side, Thine Aid Supply, Thy Strength Bestow.

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

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.

Beware Of The Person Of One Book.

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

Beware The Man Of A Single Book.

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

Characteristics Which Define Beauty Are Wholeness, Harmony And Radiance.

The Angel's Bread Is Made The Bread Of Man Today.

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.

Secondly, Man Sins Against Nature When He Goes Against His Generic Nature, That Is To Say, His Animal Nature. Now, It Is Evident That, In Accord With Natural Order, The Union Of The Sexes Among Animals Is Ordered Towards Conception. From This It Follows That Every Sexual Intercourse That Cannot Lead To Conception Is Opposed To Man's Animal Nature.

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

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.

One Faith, St. Paul Writes (eph. 4:5). Hold Most Firmly That Our Faith Is Identical With That Of The Ancients. Deny This, And You Dissolve The Unity Of The Church ... We Must Hold This For Certain, Namely: That The Faith Of The People At The Present Day Is One With The Faith Of The People In Past Centuries. Were This Not True, Then We Would Be In A Different Church Than They Were In And, Literally, The Church Would Not Be One.

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

Venial Sin Becomes Mortal Sin When One Approves It As An End. . .

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

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

Human Salvation Demands The Divine Disclosure Of Truths Surpassing Reason.

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.

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

Man Can Sin Against Nature In Two Ways. First, When He Sins Against His Specific Rational Nature, Acting Contrary To Reason. In This Sense, We Can Say That Every Sin Is A Sin Against Man's Nature, Because It Is Against Man's Right Reason.

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

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

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.

The Soul Is Perfected By Knowledge And Virtue.

To Love Is To Will The Good Of The Other.

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

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 Loving Draws Us More To Things Than Knowing Does, Since Good Is Found By Going To The Thing, Whereas The True Is Found When The Thing Comes To Us.

Give, Expecting Nothing There Of.

We Are Like Children, Who Stand In Need Of Masters To Enlighten Us And Direct Us; God Has Provided For This, By Appointing His Angels To Be Our Teachers And Guides.

Rarely Affirm, Seldom Deny, Always Distinguish.

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.

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.

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

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.

You Change People By Delight, By Pleasure.

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

The Meaning Of What Is Said Is According To The Motive For Saying It: Because Things Are Not Subject To Speech, But Speech To Things. Therefore We Should Take Account Of The Motive Of The Lawgiver, Rather Than Of His Very Words.

Wonder Was The Motive That Led People To Philosophy ... Wonder Is A Kind Of Desire In Knowledge. It Is The Cause Of Delight Because It Carries With It The Hope Of Discovery.

Charity, By Which God And Neighbor Are Loved, Is The Most Perfect Friendship.

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

Mercy Without Justice Is The Mother Of Dissolution; Justice Without Mercy Is Cruelty.

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.

In Order For A War To Be Just, Three Things Are Necessary. First, The Authority Of The Sovereign... Secondly, A Just Cause... Thirdly... A Rightful Intention.

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.

Anything Done Against Faith Or Conscience Is Sinful.

As Mariners Are Guided Into Port By The Shining Of A Star, So Christians Are Guided To Heaven By Mary.

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.

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

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

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.

Faith Does Not Quench Desire, But Inflames It.

A Thing Is Lovable According As It Is Good. But God Is Infinite Good. Therefore He Is Infinitely Lovable.

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

Every Cell In Us Worships God.

Charity Is The Form, Mover, Mother And Root Of All The Virtues.

Love Works In A Circle, For The Beloved Moves The Lover By Stamping A Likeness, And The Lover Then Goes Out To Hold The Beloved Inreality. Who First Was The Beginning Now Becomes The End Of Motion.

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

It Is Requisite For The Relaxation Of The Mind That We Make Use, From Time To Time, Of Playful Deeds And Jokes.

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.

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

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.

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