tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578980753063154388.post8322586457866456058..comments2024-03-05T11:44:26.154-08:00Comments on The New Theological Movement: Know thyself, you are like a boatFather Ryan Erlenbushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07557817305024750902noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578980753063154388.post-13717734069486921892012-05-22T11:57:13.688-07:002012-05-22T11:57:13.688-07:00Darren wonders:
So, realizing the deep interior a...Darren wonders:<br /><br />So, realizing the deep interior and precious cargo, God, involves a suspension or, better, a letting go in our identification with the faculties of the soul and allowing or assenting to being dropped into a void which which we are incapable of seeing: the Dark Night? And we do this as an act of faith, faith which we do not naturally possess, but which the Holy Spirit gives us so that we can agree to what would otherwise seem to be our annihilation?ColdStandinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08309476438059947636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578980753063154388.post-71225445713434873922012-03-12T12:23:10.374-07:002012-03-12T12:23:10.374-07:00Right, and for the Fruits this makes sense.
For t...Right, and for the Fruits this makes sense.<br /><br />For the Beatitudes, though, it almost seems like those describe not just acts, but patterns of acts. Not in the sense of the habit which produces the act, but in the sense of a character of many acts. There is a difference between one pull of the oars or gust of wind in the sails...and sailing along smoothly and constantly, I assume.<br /><br />For example, "meekness" doesn't just sound like one act of meekness, it sounds like a description of a person who consistently makes such acts. Same thing with being "pure of heart" or "hungering and thirsting after righteousness"...these sound like stable characteristics describing a pattern of acts, not just as single act (single acts seem to be, in themselves, described as Fruits).A Sinnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05083094677310915678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578980753063154388.post-54867593036418606092012-03-12T09:36:06.861-07:002012-03-12T09:36:06.861-07:00@A Sinner,
You are correct, the fruits and beatitu...@A Sinner,<br />You are correct, the fruits and beatitudes are acts (not dispositions or habits) which proceed from the virtues and gifts.<br /><br />As to why the names (in some cases) seem to refer to dispositions rather than actions ... St. Thomas explains:<br />"Sometimes the names of the virtues are applied to their actions: thus Augustine writes (Tract. xl in Joan.): "Faith is to believe what thou seest not"; and (De Doctr. Christ. iii, 10): "Charity is the movement of the soul in loving God and our neighbor." It is thus that the names of the virtues are used in reckoning the fruits." (ST I-II, q.70, a.1, ad 3)<br /><br />Hope that helps! Great question. +Father Ryan Erlenbushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07557817305024750902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578980753063154388.post-81619266305733106732012-03-12T07:55:29.963-07:002012-03-12T07:55:29.963-07:00Father, it would be very helpful if you could then...Father, it would be very helpful if you could then explain the relationship of these things to the Fruits and to the Beatitudes.<br /><br />As I understand it, Aquinas seems to indicate that the Fruits and Beatitudes are sort of like the "acts" preformed by fully formed virtues and gifts (which are habits), but I'm still not entirely clear, as the Beatitudes seem described as dispositions too, albeit dispositions of acting.A Sinnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05083094677310915678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578980753063154388.post-89586612361615532242012-03-11T18:22:41.181-07:002012-03-11T18:22:41.181-07:00Great post Father,
Your explanation of the soul an...Great post Father,<br />Your explanation of the soul and its relation to God was excellent. I think this is why St. Augustine became one of the greatest Fathers of the Church, because he prayed earnestly and constantly to know nothing but God and the soul (see Soliloquies and Confessions).<br /><br />God bless!Steven Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12601858164034778521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578980753063154388.post-53102731446365733922012-03-11T05:03:01.345-07:002012-03-11T05:03:01.345-07:00Father,
Thank you for your thoughtful writing. I...Father,<br /><br />Thank you for your thoughtful writing. I need to read this piece more than once (or twice). <br /><br />Can you please recommend additional reading for a good, orthodox explanation of the soul? You seem to reference a model of the soul in this piece that I'm sorry to say I'm not familiar with (e.g., "the soul has a center ... deeper than the imagination ... the intellect and the will"). I've previous read the entry in Catholic Encyclopedia on New Advent and found it difficult to understand. I'd appreciate any recommendations you have.<br /><br />Two quick side notes:<br />1) Dr. Liles at Beginning to Pray has a similar train of thought with the ships/sailing analogy in the end of his current Heaven in Faith piece - "Freed from their prison, they sail on the Ocean of Divinity without any creature being an obstacle or hindrance to them."<br />2) I loved your comment on Mark Shea's piece on St. Louis de Montfort.<br /><br />Yours in Christ,<br />MarkAMarkAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578980753063154388.post-79813998910332341342012-03-10T13:39:21.457-08:002012-03-10T13:39:21.457-08:00@hansursvanme,
Good eye!
Yes, fortitude is both a ...@hansursvanme,<br />Good eye!<br />Yes, fortitude is both a cardinal virtue and a gift of the Holy Spirit.<br />Rather, there is both a virtue and a gift called "fortitude".<br />However, just as infused fortitude and acquired fortitude are essentially two different virtues, so too the virtue of fortitude and the gift of fortitude are essentially different realities.<br /><br />So, there are three "things" in the soul which is in the state of grace called "fortitude": An acquired virtue, an infused virtue, and a gift of the Holy Spirit.<br /><br />[they share the same name by way of a certain analogy ... all of them relate to being strong in the face of external trials]<br /><br />Hope that makes sense! +Father Ryan Erlenbushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07557817305024750902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578980753063154388.post-35507347910707846152012-03-10T13:33:56.395-08:002012-03-10T13:33:56.395-08:00Dear Father,
Thank you for the blog work that yo...Dear Father, <br /><br />Thank you for the blog work that you do. I am a big fan. I couldn't help but notice that fortitude is a cardinal virtue as well as a gift of the Holy Spirit. Can you please explain?<br /><br />Many thanks,hansursvanmenoreply@blogger.com