Tuesday, January 28, 2014

January 28th (Post-Conciliar Calendar): St. Thomas Aquinas, O.P.

Francisco de Zurbarán, The Apotheosis of St. Thomas Aquinas (1631).  See here for an article about this painting.
Happy feast day to my friend and illustrious brother in St. Dominic, Thomas Aquinas.  On the pre-conciliar calendar, his feast is on March 7th.  Though I went through a large part of my life without a particular devotion to the Angelical, I have reason to believe that he has been quietly and secretly taking care of me in a special way.

Here is the Summa Theologica, available online in its entirety.

Here is Leo XIII's 1879 encyclical Aeterni Patris, on the restoration of Christian philosophy, in which the Pope discusses the monumental importance of Aquinas and his teaching.

Here is a pretty good sermon about Thomas Aquinas, delivered in 2006.  To be well-grounded in Aquinas, says the priest, is a sure safeguard against heresy.  The hatred and denigration of Aquinas, on the other hand, is an unmistakable sign of a modernist.

And, last but not least, the Litany of Thomas of Aquin.


O THOU, the Most High, have mercy on us.
Mighty One of Jacob, have mercy on us.
Divine Spirit, have mercy on us.
Great Triune God, have mercy on us.

Glorious Mother of the King of kings, pray for us.
Saint Thomas of Aquin, pray for us.
Worthy child of the Queen of Virgins...
Aquinas most chaste...
Aquinas most patient...
Prodigy of science...
Silently eloquent...
Reproach of the ambitious...
Lover of that life which is hidden with Christ in God...
Fragrant flower in the parterre of St. Dominic...
Glory of Friars Preachers...
Illlumined from on high...
Angel of the Schools...
Oracle of the Church...
Incomparable scribe of the Man-God...
Satiated with the odour of His perfumes...
Perfect in the school of His Cross...
Intoxicated with the strong wine of His charity...
Glittering gem in the cabinet of the Lord...
Model of perfect obedience...
Endowed with the true spirit of holy poverty...

Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world: have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world: have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world: grant us peace.

Ant.— Oh, how beautiful is the chaste generation with glory, for the memory thereof is immortal, because it is known with God and man, and it triumpheth crowned for ever.
V. Oh! what have I in heaven, or what do I desire on earth?
R. Thou art the God of my heart, and my portion for ever.

Prayer:

O God, who hast ordained that blessed Thomas should enlighten Thy Church, grant that through his prayers we may practise what he taught, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Monday, January 06, 2014

Random Thoughts

-- If you work, then from time to time, you need a rest.  Hence the wisdom of things like keeping holy the Lord's Day and the seventh-year jubilee.  If you refuse to take time off, then sooner or later, your body is going to overrule you.  This, I believe, is one of the reasons I am out sick with a nice cold.  So, if you need the time off, you are going to get it, one way or the other; the question is whether you will enjoy it.

-- If, on the other hand, you are doing nothing for no good reason, then put down the doobie, turn off World of Warcraft, start keeping regular hours and get busy.

-- I grew up in a part of the country where 40 above was considered heavy coat weather, so even after nearly two decades spent living in Idaho, I find myself sorely tried in winter.  Yet I am fortunate compared to much of the rest of the country: in all the years I've lived here, I have never had to try and function in temperatures approaching 40 below, like the midwest is having right now.

-- I love Christmas lights, especially the small, white ones, and I'm all for keeping them -- as distinguished from Christmas trees -- up all winter, to illuminate the the long winter nights.  I despise the dim "energy-saving" "lights," with their cold, bluish cast, that illuminate nothing.  In the past, the Idaho state Christmas tree used to stand at the top of the Capitol steps and be covered from top to bottom with strings of white lights that could be seen all the way from the old Boise Depot; now, they use those "energy saving" "lights," and the tree is almost invisible until you stand right underneath it.  They also used to put up alternating red and green lights in the Capitol dome; they have now quit doing that.  If there is one thing that should not be doled out with an eyedropper in these times of both physical and spiritual frigidity, it's Christmas cheer.

-- Priests and bishops are fathers to their flocks, and sometimes it is a father's duty to say "no" to his children.  Some priests and bishops reserve their "no"s exclusively for their children of traditional bent who try to be faithful Catholics.  But this is altogether too easy: these children respect the authority of their fathers and submit, even though it is painful.  I would challenge such priests and bishops to try saying "no" to their "progressive" children: the ones who do not respect their fathers' authority; the ones with the all money that they use to try to blackmail the Church into giving them their way on everything; the ones who organize protest campaigns; the ones who write letters and contact the local media, and even file lawsuits; in short, the ones who, by their words and actions, show that they do not believe the Church or her hierarchy to be of divine institution.  Say "no" to these, firmly and consistently, come what may, and your authority will shine out all the brighter.  Besides which, these are the ones who most need to be told "no."

-- If you are disconcerted by a lot of the things Pope Francis is doing and saying -- and I number myself among such -- then listen to this.

-- By the way, the name is Pope Francis, not Pope Francis I.  There will be no such thing as "Pope Francis I" unless and until another Pope takes the regnal name of Francis.

-- Some people in my immediate circle have commented on what a bad P.R. move it is for the Obamacare juggernaut to pit itself against a religious congregation with a name like the Little Sisters of the Poor.  I think it's just a sign that the Obama regime has gone past the point of caring what the American people think.  In fact, it has gone past even bothering with the pretense of caring what the American people think.  That means we are in for even rockier times.

-- Here is a point for meditation in these rocky times.  Compare and contrast the pagan titan Atlas -- huge, muscle-bound, struggling to hold up the heavens on his shoulders -- with the Infant of Prague, small, delicate under His kingly crown and mantle, yet holding the whole world effortlessly, like a ball, in the palm of his little hand.

Sunday, January 05, 2014

The First Post of 2014...

...is to announce that I have officially been stricken by whatever the crud is that's been going around at work.  All you people who have been associating with me the last few days need to start taking your zinc and vitamin C.

I will now go back to my regularly scheduled nose-blowing.