Old Sandals

By revealing himself, God wishes to make [men] capable of responding to Him, and of knowing Him, and of loving Him far beyond their own natural capacity.”

God makes capable…beyond our capacity. In Adam’s fall, we have all fallen into a deep pit, as it were, and cannot get out of it on our own. ‘…Who redeems your life from the pit.’ Psalm 103:2.

Whatever adjective is used to describe God’s gracious rescue, our being made capable is the very essence of our salvation in Christ.

Amen.

From the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: “God is “the inexpressible, the incomprehensible, the invisible, the ungraspable”.

All praise to God, which is certainly His due, is above us, as Tom Coleman once told me.

Amen.

“…men…suppress the truth unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” Romans 1:18-20.

“The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament shows His handiwork.…There is no speech nor language
where their voice is not heard.” Psalm 19:1-3.

The Catechism affirms that man, even in his fallen state, has the capacity (albeit limited) to know God according to the “natural light of reason”, it is basically referring to to the truth expressed in these two passages from Scripture.

So it happens that men in such matters easily persuade themselves that what they would not like to be true is false or at least doubtful.. This is because men “suppress the truth in unrighteousness.

Amen.

“‘For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made” (Romans 1:29-20)…Man’s faculties make him capable of coming to a knowledge of the existence of a personal God. But for man to be able to enter into real intimacy with him, God willed both to reveal himself to man and to give him the grace of being able to welcome this revelation in faith. The proofs of God’s existence, however, can predispose one to faith and help one to see that faith is not opposed to reason.”

The beauty and grandeur of creation around him, and the stirring of conscience within him, both attest to the existence of God, so that man is without excuse.

Amen.

“For if man exists, it is because God has created him through love, and through love continues to hold him in existence….You yourself encourage [men] to delight in your praise, for [quoting St. Augustine] you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”

Love is why. Rest, rest in that glorious truth!

II.5 “Catechesis is an education in the faith of children, young people, and adults.”

Catechesis is a very good thing. The constitutions and decrees of the Council of Trent are extolled as a model of catechesis, and serve as the foundation for this modern compendium of Roman Catholic doctrine.

I’m keeping an open mind. I would be both discerning and teachable…

I.3  “All Christ’s faithful are called to hand it on (i.e., the gospel) from generation to generation, by professing the faith, by living it in fraternal sharing, and by celebrating it in liturgy and prayer.”

Beautifully written. Amen!

Cardinal Robert Bellarmine (16th century). Clever title, in that the ‘Art of Dying Well’ is really a treatise on living well. As he says over and over again, you can’t expect to die well if you don’t live well.

Living well is living a life of devotion to Christ. I was surprised to read of his disapproval of many Catholics who, though baptized as infants, had proven by their actions to have rejected the faith, ?”scarcely before reaching the age of reason”. What good is it, he asks, to recite the Apostles Creed if there is no desire to live out the faith it proclaims?

He warns against concupiscence, advising men especially to ‘bounce their eyes?’. He doesn’t use that phrase, but his point is the same as Steve Arterburn in his book, ‘Every Man’s Battle’.

Audiobook: Kenneth Collins

Take-aways:

Just five foot three

Post-millennial

He thought the early church erred in condemning outright Montanus and his teaching

Entire sanctification (ET) is ultimately a gift, like justification.

Holy love

‘Holiness, without which no one shall see the Lord’ refers to ET.

No purgatory, but ET necessary to enter heaven. Most believers experience at or near moment of death.

‘He who is born of God does not commit sin’ – he took very literally. He emphasized personal holiness. He was ever concerned about an antinomian attitude infecting the minds and hearts of believers.

Quite nuanced in his thinking – ‘degree to which’, ‘in a certain sense’, etc.

Agreed with Calvin regarding the Lord’s Supper.

Toward the end of his life, he wrote of a passing anxiety regarding his experience after death, not that he would be condemned, but that there would be nothing, nothing at all.

According to St. Thomas Aquinas, God’s justice is never without His mercy and His mercy is never without His justice (see Article 4 of Question 21 in his Summa Theologica).

This should be both a bit jarring and comforting to us. It means that even when it seems God is at His angriest with us…His mercy is not too far away. But it also means that His mercy doesn’t occur without also making things right. Put another way: there is no mercy without repentance and renouncing of sin and self.

Stephen Beale
Catholic Exchange
July 10, 2017