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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.

-Thomas Aquinas

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See To Whom Jesus

Thomas Aquinas

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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.

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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.

Better To Illuminate Than Merely To Shine.

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

This Blood That But One Drop Of Has The Power To Win All The World Forgiveness Of Its World Of Sin.

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

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

It Is Not Theft, Properly Speaking, To Take Secretly And Use Another's Property In A Case Of Extreme Need: Because That Which He Takes For The Support Of His Life Becomes His Own Property By Reason Of That Need

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

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.

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.

The Happy Man In This Life Needs Friends.

"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."

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

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.

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

Angels Transcend Every Religion, Every Philosophy, Every Creed. In Fact Angels Have No Religion As We Know It... Their Existence Precedes Every Religious System That Has Ever Existed On Earth.

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

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

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

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.

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

Christ Was Either Liar, Lunatic, Or Lord!

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 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.

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)

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

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

Not Everything That Is More Difficult Is More Meritorious.

Sing, My Tongue, The Saviour's Glory, Of His Flesh, The Mystery Sing; Of The Blood, All Price Exceeding, Shed By Our Immortal King, Destined, For The World's Redemption, From A Noble Womb To Spring.

Whatever Was In The Human Nature Of Christ Was Moved At The Bidding Of The Divine Will; Yet It Does Not Follow That In Christ There Was No Movement Of The Will Proper To Human Nature, For The Good Wills Of Other Saints Are Moved By God's Will... For Although The Will Cannot Be Inwardly Moved By Any Creature, Yet It Can Be Moved Inwardly By God.

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

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

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.

It May Well Happen That What Is In Itself The More Certain On Account Of The Weakness Of Our Intelligence, Which Is Dazzled By The Clearest Objects Of Nature; As The Owl Is Dazzled By The Light Of The Sun. Hence The Fact That Some Happen To Doubt About Articles Of Faith Is Not Due To The Uncertain Nature Of The Truths, But To The Weakness Of Human Intelligence; Yet The Slenderest Knowledge That May Be Obtained Of The Highest Things Is More Desirable Than The Most Certain Knowledge Obtained Of Lesser Things.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

Faith Is God's Work Within Us.

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

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.

There Is No Leisure About Politics.

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

Love Follows Knowledge.

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.

Believing Is An Act Of The Intellect Assenting To The Divine Truth By Command Of The Will Moved By God Through Grace.

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.

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.

Reason In Man Is Rather Like God In The World.

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

Unbelief Is The Greatest Of Sins.

He Who Achieves Power By Violence Does Not Truly Become Lord Or Master.

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

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.

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.

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.

The Only-begotten Son Of God, Wanting To Make Us Sharers In His Divinity, Assumed Our Nature, So That He, Made Man, Might Make Men Gods.

Every Cell In Us Worships God.

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.

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.

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

Jewish Community

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.

Charity Brings To Life Again Those Who Are Spiritually Dead.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

...[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.

Evil Denotes The Lack Of Good. Not Every Absence Of Good Is An Evil, For Absence May Be Taken Either In A Purely Negative Or In Aprivative Sense. Mere Negation Does Not Display The Character Of Evil, Otherwise Nonexistents Would Be Evil And Moreover, A Thing Would Be Evil For Not Possessing The Goodness Of Something Else, Which Would Mean That Man Is Bad For Not Having The Strength Of A Lion Or The Speed Of A Wild Goat. But What Is Evil Is Privation; In This Sense Blindness Means The Privation Of Sight.

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

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

He (mohammed) Seduced The People By Promises Of Carnal Pleasure To Which The Concupiscence Of The Flesh Urges Us. His Teaching Also Contained Precepts That Were In Conformity With His Promises, And He Gave Free Rein To Carnal Pleasure. In All This, As Is Not Unexpected; He Was Obeyed By Carnal Men. As For Proofs Of The Truth Of His Doctrine, He Brought Forward Only Such As Could Be Grasped By The Natural Ability Of Anyone With A Very Modest Wisdom. Indeed, The Truths That He Taught He Mingled With Many Fables And With Doctrines Of The Greatest Falsity.

Religion Of Islam

Arrive At Knowledge Over Small Streamlets, And Do Not Plunge Immediately Into The Ocean, Since Progress Must Go From The Easier To The More Difficult.

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.

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

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

Art Is Right Reason In The Doing Of Work.

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

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

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

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 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 Things We Love Tell Us Who We Are.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

The Greatness Of The Human Being Consists In This: That It Is Capable Of The Universe.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

It [covetousness] Is A Sin Against God, Just As All Mortal Sins, In As Much As Man Condemns Things Eternal For The Sake Of Temporal Things.

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

You Change People By Delight, By Pleasure.

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.

By The Divine Providence [animals] Are Intended For Man's Use... Hence It Is Not Wrong For Man To Make Use Of Them, Either By Killing Or In Any Other Way Whatsoever.

Because We Cannot Know What God Is, But Only What He Is Not, We Cannot Consider How He Is But Only How He Is Not.

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

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

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

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

God Destines Us For An End Beyond The Grasp Of Reason.

The Servants Of God...whether Provoked By Word Or Work, By Keeping Themselves Tranquil And Peaceful, Evince A Perfect Nobleness Of Soul.

Justice Is In Subjects As Well As In Rulers.

Any Error About Creation Also Leads To An Error About God.

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.

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

Grace Does Not Destroy Nature, It Perfects It.

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

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.

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.

To Be United To God In Unity Of Person Was Not Fitting To Human Flesh, According To Its Natural Endowments, Since It Was Above His Dignity; Nevertheless, It Was Fitting That God, By Reason Of His Infinite Goodness, Should Unite It To Himself For Human Salvation.

Humility Is The Mark Of A Genuine Disciple.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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

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

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

Give, Expecting Nothing There Of.

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.

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 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

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.

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

Just As In A Physical Body The Operation Of One Member Contributes To The Good Of The Whole Body, So It Is In A Spiritual Body Such As The Church. And Since All The Faithful Are One Body, The Good Of One Member Is Communicated To Another; Everyone Members, As The Apostle Says, Of One Another [eph 4:25]. For That Reason, Among The Points Of Faith Handed Down By The Apostles, Is That There Is A Community Of Goods In The Church, And This Is Expressed In The Words Communion Of Saints.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

Speaking In Tongues

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

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

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.

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.

Love Takes Up Where Knowledge Leaves Off.

No Man Truly Has Joy Unless He Lives In Love.

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

For Although The Will Cannot Be Inwardly Moved By Any Creature, Yet It Can Be Moved Inwardly By God.

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

He Who Is Not Angry When There Is Just Cause For Anger Is Immoral. Why? Because Anger Looks To The Good Of Justice. And If You Can Live Amid Injustice Without Anger, You Are Immoral As Well As Unjust.

A Man Has Free Choice To The Extent That He Is Rational.

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.

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

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

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

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

To Love Is To Will The Good Of The Other.

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.

In Questions Of This Sort There Are Two Things To Be Observed. First, That The Truth Of The Scriptures Be Inviolably Maintained. Secondly, Since Scripture Doth Admit Of Diverse Interpretations, That No One Cling To Any Particular Exposition With Such Pertinacity That, If What He Supposed To Be The Teaching Of Scripture Should Afterward Turn Out To Be Clearly False, He Should Nevertheless Still Presume To Put It Forward, Lest Thereby The Sacred Scriptures Should Be Exposed To The Derision Of Unbelievers And The Way Of Salvation Should Be Closed To Them.

Sacred Scripture

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

[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 Soul Is Perfected By Knowledge And Virtue.

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

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

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

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

Being Born He Have Himself As Our Companion, Eating With Us He Gave Himself As Food, Dying He Became Our Ransom, Reigning He Gives Himself As Our Reward

As Regards The Individual Nature, Woman Is Defective And Misbegotten, For The Active Power Of The Male Seed Tends To The Production Of A Perfect Likeness In The Masculine Sex; While The Production Of A Woman Comes From Defect In The Active Power.

Three Things Are Necessary For The Salvation Of Man: To Know What He Ought To Believe; To Know What He Ought To Desire; And To Know What He Ought To Do.

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 Things That We Love Tell Us What We Are.

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.

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

Beware The Man Of A Single Book.

Anything Done Against Faith Or Conscience Is Sinful.

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

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.

Wonder Is The Desire Of Knowledge.

By Nature All Men Are Equal In Liberty, But Not In Other Endowments.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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