tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578980753063154388.post3925409357202347966..comments2024-03-25T17:14:03.066-07:00Comments on The New Theological Movement: St. Thomas Aquinas, Master of the Sacred PageFather Ryan Erlenbushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07557817305024750902noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578980753063154388.post-2096395569104766112012-03-10T11:45:14.012-08:002012-03-10T11:45:14.012-08:00@Steve R. and I am not Spartacus,
While I do beli...@Steve R. and I am not Spartacus,<br /><br />While I do believe that Pope Benedict (now and in the past) is no Thomist, and further that he is in many respects quite anti-Thomistic and anti-Scholastic (hence, he is no Bonaventurian either [whatever anyone may say]); he is most certainly not a heretic.Father Ryan Erlenbushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07557817305024750902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578980753063154388.post-17758083265551673732012-03-09T17:32:25.902-08:002012-03-09T17:32:25.902-08:00I am Not Sparticus,
Ah, yes it might seem as thoug...I am Not Sparticus,<br />Ah, yes it might seem as though our blessed Pope Benedict XVI has made an error regarding our most Holy Sacrament, Christ Himself, the Way, the Life, and the Truth; however, as you may like to see Fr. Erlenbush so well puts it in his post:<br /><br />The only difference between Christ's body in heaven and Christ's body in the Eucharist<br />http://newtheologicalmovement.blogspot.com/2011/06/only-difference-between-christs-body-in.html<br /><br />that Pope Benedict XVI's quote on the Body and Blood of Christ not effecting a purely physical change is quite correct, however this does not mean it is not a real change as our good priest has mentioned in his post, it is a metaphysical change wherein the species, the appearance, of the bread and wine remains, and even the physical properties may remain but they have been changed metaphysically, they have mysteriously been taken up and transformed into Christ's Body and Blood.<br /><br />Perhaps I am wrong regarding this matter, because the Eucharist is a very mysterious Sacrament to me. I defer to Fr. Erlenbush's wisdom on the matter.Steven Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12601858164034778521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578980753063154388.post-71409135118518142062012-03-09T12:21:52.278-08:002012-03-09T12:21:52.278-08:00It is certainly true that Our Holy Father was not ...It is certainly true that Our Holy Father was not trained as a Thomist for no Thomist would make the following startling assertions:<br /><br />God and the World, Believing and Living in Our Time (2000)<br /><br />In their discussion of the Real Presence, Mr. Seewald makes the following statement concerning Cardinal Ratzinger’s proclaimed belief in transubstantiation and the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist: “But anyone can see that the wine remains wine…” <br /><br />Cardinal Ratzinger’s reply is as follows:<br /><br />“But this is not a statement of physics. It has never been asserted that, so to say, nature in a physical sense is being changed. The transformation reaches down to a more profound level. Tradition has it that this is a metaphysical process. Christ lays hold upon what is, from a purely physical viewpoint, bread and wine, in its inmost being, so that it is changed from within and Christ truly gives himself in them <br /><br />God Is Near Us: The Eucharist, The Heart of Life (2003)<br /><br />“The transformation happens, which affects the gifts we bring by taking them up into a higher order and changes them, even if we cannot measure what happens. When material things are taken into our body as nourishment, or for that matter whenever any material becomes part of a living organism, it remains the same, and yet as part of a new whole it is itself changed. Something similar happens here. The Lord takes possession of the bread and the wine; he lifts them up, as it were, out of the setting of their normal existence into a new order; even if, from a purely physical point of view, they remain the same , they have become profoundly different.” <br /><br />That certainly reads more like the doctrine of of one Martin Luther than Catholic Dogma.<br /><br />So, maybe there was a prudential error made by Pope Blessed John Paul II when , for the first time in more than 100 years, he chose as the Prefect of The CDF a Prelate who had not mastered the basics of Thomism and Being, and Substance, and Accidents, etc etcMick Jagger Gathers No Mosquehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12879499915093940176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578980753063154388.post-47749133948990463902012-03-08T12:13:01.128-08:002012-03-08T12:13:01.128-08:00Fr. Ryan,
As a lover of philosophy, theology, and...Fr. Ryan,<br /><br />As a lover of philosophy, theology, and the Scriptures; as a fan of the Angelic Doctor; and as a student of virtuous living effected by prayer, thank you for this post. You have reminded me, again, why clear philosophy, theology, and the Bible are core elements of my spirituality.Derekhttp://www.lifeofvirtue.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578980753063154388.post-90004655767014183072012-03-08T11:45:55.361-08:002012-03-08T11:45:55.361-08:00I am Not Sparticus,
I don't think it's nec...I am Not Sparticus,<br />I don't think it's necessarily bad that then Cardinal Ratzinger and now Pope Benedict XVI is not a Thomist, but I would not state that he is anti-Thomist or rejects Thomism. Pope Benedict XVI was more thoroughly interested in St. Bonaventure and St. Augustine, two Doctors of the Church, and the Pope's addresses to the people strike me as particularly Augustinian in their emphasis on the new life to be had in Christ, and the deep life in prayer that transfigures us into what we must become. I do not think this sort of thought is absent at all in St. Thomas, but I know the Pope has been quite a blessing to me in his very faithful and cogent addresses.<br /><br />Riverside,<br />You can find a Franciscan website that has a project of translating the Sentences of Peter Lombard into English. They are free online:<br />http://www.franciscan-archive.org/lombardus/<br /><br />If you want to purchase an English translation you can find some on amazon.com, but they are not cheap:<br /><br />The Sentences Book One: The Mystery of the Trinity<br />http://www.amazon.com/Sentences-Book-Mystery-Mediaeval-Translation/dp/0888442920<br /><br />The Sentences Book Two: On Creation<br />http://www.amazon.com/Sentences-Book-Creation-Mediaeval-Translation/dp/0888442939<br /><br />The Sentences Book Three: On the Incarnation of the Word<br />http://www.amazon.com/Sentences-Book-Incarnation-Mediaeval-Translation/dp/0888442955<br /><br />The Sentences Book Four: On the Doctrine of Signs<br />http://www.amazon.com/The-Sentences-Book-Mediaeval-Translation/dp/0888442963/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331235577&sr=1-1<br /><br />I post all these long links because it's very hard to actually find these books on amazon.com unless you put in the titles of each of the Four Books of the Sentences of Peter Lombard.<br /><br />God bless,<br />Steven ReyesSteven Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12601858164034778521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578980753063154388.post-60992022952850673312012-03-08T07:46:33.861-08:002012-03-08T07:46:33.861-08:00@I am not Spartacus,
Well, most of what passes fo...@I am not Spartacus,<br /><br />Well, most of what passes for modern philosophy these days is anti-rational. Perhaps John Paul II figured that in order to fight the enemy, he needed someone who knew the enemy.Rob B.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578980753063154388.post-75165561040952539862012-03-08T06:25:49.077-08:002012-03-08T06:25:49.077-08:00This man has been my life-long delight, for in dis...This man has been my life-long delight, for in disputation and analysis, scripture trumps. But above all that is the Church in the final analysis, for he said that if the Church told him to he would instantaneously put a match to all his writings. Viva Thomas!-the quintessential Catholic.William J Quinnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578980753063154388.post-37275943687860037292012-03-08T02:50:09.254-08:002012-03-08T02:50:09.254-08:00Hi. It would be really nice if you could add my bl...Hi. It would be really nice if you could add my blog to your blogroll.<br /><br />www.catholicheritage.blogspot.com<br /><br />God bless you!<br /><br />MaeveShandon Bellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08054708322584874701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578980753063154388.post-59981936781475847232012-03-07T17:56:10.351-08:002012-03-07T17:56:10.351-08:00Is there a realiable English translation of the Se...Is there a realiable English translation of the Sentences?Riversidehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14003319517645605870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578980753063154388.post-34366622753181226052012-03-07T14:44:27.213-08:002012-03-07T14:44:27.213-08:00Pope Pius IX; Studiorum Ducem,
“We so heartily ap...Pope Pius IX; Studiorum Ducem, <br />“We so heartily approve the magnificent tribute of praise bestowed upon this most divine genius that We consider that Thomas should be called not only the Angelic, but also the Common or Universal Doctor of the Church; for the Church has adopted his philosophy for her own, as innumerable documents of every kind attest. It would be an endless task to explain here all the reasons which moved Our Predecessors in this respect, and it will be sufficient perhaps to point out that Thomas wrote under the inspiration of the supernatural spirit which animated his life and that his writings, which contain the principles of, and the laws governing, all sacred studies, must be said to possess a universal character"<br /><br />George Weigel, “Witness to Hope,”... "John Paul did not appoint a medievalist or a patristics scholar as Prefect of CDF. He appointed a theologian who had been deeply and critically engaged with contemporary philosophy and ecumenical theology. Cardinal Ratzinger was the first man in his position in centuries who did not take Thomas Aquinas as his philosophical and theological master. The Pope respected Thomism and Thomists, but he broke precedent by appointing a non-Thomistic Prefect of CDF...."<br /><br />Prudential Error to appoint as Prefect of The CDF a man who was not a Thomist?Mick Jagger Gathers No Mosquehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12879499915093940176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578980753063154388.post-29780563198875757562012-03-07T12:54:28.661-08:002012-03-07T12:54:28.661-08:00@Michael1,
Yes, you are right to emphasize the imp...@Michael1,<br />Yes, you are right to emphasize the importance of the Sentences of the Master ... still, do not forget that St. Thomas' inaugural lecture as a Master was on Scripture (namely, on the unity of the whole of Scripture) ... Fr. Torrell points this out.<br /><br />Further, the dogmatic work and systematic study of the Sentences was principally taught to beginners ... but the expert and most advanced classes would generally deal primarily with Biblical Exegesis.<br /><br />[this is why his Summa Theologica is for beginners, and the commentaries on Paul's Epistles were for the more advanced students]<br /><br />But, as I say, thank you for pointing out the importance of the Sentences as well.Father Ryan Erlenbushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07557817305024750902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578980753063154388.post-47158669166329112392012-03-07T12:03:01.765-08:002012-03-07T12:03:01.765-08:00You are right to stress the significance of work o...You are right to stress the significance of work on Scripture in obtaining the degree of Master at Paris. Nevertheless, the most significant part of work for the final degree was to provide a commentary on the Sentences of Peter Lombard. It was Aquinas' detailed - and absolutely massive - Commentary, a theological rather than exegetic work, which earned him both his degree and his European reputation. I have always felt sorrow for later students at Paris who were still required to say something new in their theses. The Sentences remained the compulsory text for several hundred years.Michael1https://www.blogger.com/profile/07151796462917567945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5578980753063154388.post-25451048801030284512012-03-07T09:33:47.643-08:002012-03-07T09:33:47.643-08:00As a teacher, I consider Aquinas to be one of my p...As a teacher, I consider Aquinas to be one of my patron saints. What I find fascinating about him is that he was both a rationalist and a mystic. He combined the two great paths to spiritual knowledge in his own life, especially when he said, "I can write no more. Compared with what I have seen, what I have written seems as straw."Rob B.noreply@blogger.com