Cardinal Burke on Scotus

Cardinal Burke was in Wisconsin blessing a statue of Scotus.  Here is his homily on the occasion, here is the video.

Reality

So reverse your way of thinking, or you will be left deprived of God, like the people at festivals who by their gluttony stuff themselves with things which it is not lawful for those going in to the gods to take, thinking that these are more obviously real than the vision of the god for whom they ought to be celebrating the festival, and take no part in the rites within. Yes, in these our rites also the god, since he is not seen, creates disbelief in his existence in those who think that that alone is obviously real which they see only with the flesh; as if people who slept through their life thought the things in their dreams were real and obvious, but, if someone woke them up, disbelieved in what they saw with their eyes open and went to sleep again.

- Plotinus, Ennead V.5.11, trans. Armstrong

Confession Once a Year

In his Sent. IV.17.2.2.1, St Bonaventure is discussing the obligation of all Christians to go to Confession at least once a year. Why should this be? The sacrament of penance is the "second plank" if one falls out of the Ark of salvation by sinning mortally after baptism. But what if one is very good and hasn't sinned this year?

To preface these remarks, remember that St Bonaventure was so holy those knowing him said they could believe that Adam never sinned in him. But here he says: "So long as we are in this life, one guilt succeeds another; and so it is necessary that confession and penitence need to be repeated . . . I believe that it is impossible, in the state of a viator, that anyone could go through a week or even a day without the gnawing of venial sin; but that someone should go a whole year, this I think is really impossible, and I scarcely believe that this gift was in anyone, except in Christ and his Mother, and therefore everyone is either aware of sin or ought to be, and ever hour to ask "Forgive us our trespasses", etc. For scarcely can anyone in this life be without venial sin, whether on account of its frequency, because the uproar of vices and venial sins always resound in the ears of our heart; or on account of ignorance, because we sin venially in many things and don't know it or think about it . . ."

We are not obliged to confess every venial sin, and if we have not sinned mortally in the last year, we should be grateful. But we remain sinners, and we are obliged to sacramentally confess our sinfulness and the multitude of minor sins every year, at least.

Of course, for those of us who don't have the problem of wondering whether we are too good for confession, we should be grateful that the second plank is available much more than once a year, and avail ourselves of it as often as we can.

Bonavanture and the Intellectual Life

Clearly, Bonaventure was an intellectual. But just as clearly, he saw the point of intellectual training to be integrated within a wider vision of the human person and the goal of human life. Outside the world of the biblical revelation the nature of that goal remains always an open question. But within the world of revelation, faith opens the vision of a final destiny with God that transcends even what the great Plato and Aristotle were able to think of as the final destiny of humanity.

Learning, therefore, is an important element in the spiritual journey, at least for certain people; though non necessarily for all. But even for those whose way to God includes the discipline of the intellectual life, the goal of intellectual culture is not knowledge for the sake of knowledge. Nor is it knowledge for the sake of the market place. Nor is it knowledge for the sake of fame and popularity. . . . It is clear that Bonaventure had a high regard for the intellectual life, but he never envisioned knowledge independently of the only goal that the human person finally has: loving union with God.

--Zachary Hayes, Introduction to On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology

Ora Pro Nobis

In honor of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Redeemer of Scotists and Thomists:

Hoc etiam opus, ut iam cetera, Virigini Sanctae, quam in ipsis huius voluminis initiis Stellam Matutinam, Stellam Maris, Reginam mundi, Virginem incorruptam, Sanctam Dei Genetricem vocare volumus, offerimus. Astronomicus etiam caelus quodammodo ab Ipsa regitur et sancificatur, ex eo temporis praecipue, cum, in caelum assumpta, Imperatrix et Mediatrix Begigna totiu mundi effecta est. Sed caelus, qui vere suus dici potest, longe altior est; in quem, Ea intercedente, nobis bona ac firma spes est perveniendi, si fideles nos exhibuerimus Dei verbis, quae, etsi caeli et terra parteribunt, ipsa numquam praeteribunt.

This lovely dedication is by Fr Raymond Spiazzi O.P., the editor of the Marietti edition of the Leonine text of St Thomas' In Aristotelis Libros De Caelo et Mundo, De Generatione et Corruptione, Meteorologicorum.