Blaise Pascal was a French scientist, philosophe, and mathematician during the early 1600’s. He made many contributions to science and math. In 1653, Pascal’s conversion to Catholicism made him more passionate about religious matters. In one of his famous works, Pensées (Thoughts), he talks...
It was not until the 13th century, with Saint Thomas Aquinas’ engagement with the works of scholars such as Maimonides, that Aristotelian philosophy was rediscovered and integrated into Christian theology. Aquinas’ synthesis of Christian doctrine with Aristotelian thought reinvigorated theological discour...
This text, a virtual paraphrase of its source, but with a Saint's imprimatur, was often quoted and copied during succeeding centuries. Martin of Bracara's 6th-centuryFormula Honestae Vitae, which often appears asDe Quattuor Virtutibus, partook heavily ofDe Officiisand also was enormously ...
two of the most common theodicies are the "free will" theodicy and the "soul-making" theodicy.1 Free will theodicies, championed by numerous Christian thinkers from Saint Augustine to Saint Thomas Aquinas and Richard Swinburne (1998), hold that human beings suffer primarily as a result of ...
The custom of the pope wearing white is believed to have begun with Pope Saint Pius V, Michael Ghislieri, who was a Dominican friar and priest before his election as successor to the chair of Saint Peter in 1565. He was an extremely pious and austere pon
Steven claims that the only appropriate way for the Apostles to bind and loose was by seeing what God had already bound or loosed in a public manner. (19′-20′) He gives some examples of cases where God had manifest His will, and St. Peter made ecclesial decisions based on some publi...
He claims to have a thorough understanding of the teaching of the Reformed faith. He says:To be sure, I was fully aware how Protestant theologians made their case, and I was capable of following their reasoning. But I no longer found their case convincing.6...
(1483-1546), the founder of the Protestant Reformation. These men were at first inclined to be sympathetic to each other, but then fell out when they realized how different their purposes and sensiblities were. Erasmus, indeed, was essentially a rationalist ("Pray for us, Saint Socrates," ...
Also, the Ark of the Covenant was made of wood. from Saint Thomas Aquinas Summa theologiae III q. 46, a. 4. As you can see, the crucifixion of Christ our Lord is layered with meaning and symbolism. It is a conclusion to the mystery that we could have never guessed! If you like ...
a sudden early death in 1968 and was unable to accomplish his goal. But somewhere between 1968 and 1978, Richard Foster picked up the mantle of Thomas Merton and carried it forward.* Now today, untold numbers of churches (and millions of people) are going forth with Thomas...