Sort of. This is from a little book called The Ways of God from Sophia Institute Press, though it appears to be out of print now. They are having a big sale now, by the way, and you should probably check them out.
Anyway, we aren't entirely sure if St. Thomas wrote this, but it's attributed to him anyway. I found this bit particularly instructive given the popular views on the Church right now:
Among the ways of God there is another perfection, which is that the malice of one person never damages, in the judgement of God, the good that is in another. Thus the fall of Lucifer did not harm the Archangel Michael; and the perfidy of Judas did not lessen the charity of the blessed Peter.
But we, miserable as we are, if a monk is guilty of some excess, we reproach the whole convent and the entire Order and even every monk without exception, with the fault of a single one.
If one of our enemies offends us, we pursue a great number of innocent people with our hatred, all his descendants, his friends and associates. That is something that the Law of God forbids. "The soul that sins, the same shall die, the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, and the father shall not bear the iniquity of the son; the justice of the just shall be upon him, and he wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him." (Ezekiel 18:20). "For everyone shall bear his own burden" (Galatians 6:5).
But we, miserable as we are, if a monk is guilty of some excess, we reproach the whole convent and the entire Order and even every monk without exception, with the fault of a single one.
If one of our enemies offends us, we pursue a great number of innocent people with our hatred, all his descendants, his friends and associates. That is something that the Law of God forbids. "The soul that sins, the same shall die, the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, and the father shall not bear the iniquity of the son; the justice of the just shall be upon him, and he wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him." (Ezekiel 18:20). "For everyone shall bear his own burden" (Galatians 6:5).
And then he drops in this bit, which nicely sums up where the secularists are trying to drive this whole conversation:
And how often does it not happen, when our soul is troubled, that we blame God himself, who certainly does not deserve it—for then we no longer wish to sing nor study, nor read nor pray.
Don't doubt for a moment that the most significant element behind this recent attack is the desire to lead mankind to abandon God. Worse than that, by returning us all to the Garden, and convincing us that, since God is who is holding us down, we should aspire to our own godhood. The lie is the same:
You shall be as gods.
Genesis 3:5
2 comments:
Ironic that the Serpent should have tempted our first parents with the very same thing God wished for us all along.
As many of the early Fathers say: we are to be by grace, what God is by nature.
Excellent point
Post a Comment