A Conference I wish I could go to

The Analogy of Being:
Invention of the Anti-Christ or the Wisdom of God?

A Theological Symposium

Date: April 4—6, 2008

Place: Pope John Paul II
Cultural Center
3900 Harewood Road, NE
Washington, DC 20017

Synopsis of the Conference

Is there any ‘natural’ knowledge of God available to the human person, apart from Christian revelation, or is all knowledge of God given to human beings uniquely in Christ? Is Christianity irrevocably wed to the classical metaphysical tradition, or can God’s nature and character be rethought in distinctly modern ways, based upon a renewed reading of Scripture? What relationship or likeness, if any, exists between created nature and the grace of God? Does Christian theology presuppose a natural philosophical ‘capacity’ for knowledge of God in the human person?

All of these fundamental theological questions are situated at the heart of the famous 20th century debate between Erich Przywara S.J. and Karl Barth, and were treated in Przywara’s famous work Analogia Entis. These topics were also revisited by Hans Urs von Balthasar in his ecumenical landmark, The Theology of Karl Barth. On the occasion of a forthcoming English translation of Analogia Entis by John Betz and David Bentley Hart, this symposium will invite contemporary theologians indebted to Aquinas, Przywara, Barth and Balthasar to discuss these issues. Is the theological concept of the ‘analogy of being’ in fact an ‘invention of the anti-Christ’ as Karl Barth suggested, or is it a truth about creation revelatory of the wisdom of God?

Fr. Norris Clarke: 1915-2008

I have just learned that Fr. Norris Clarke died in June. His impressive vitae is still available here. Anyone who knows me, or who reads my blog, will quickly figure out that I have been greatly influenced by Fr. Clarke's The One and the Many: A Contemporary Thomistic Metaphysics. Praise God for his life and work.

Lux æterna luceat eis, Domine,
cum sanctis tuis in æternum,
quia pius es.
Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine;
et lux perpetua luceat eis ;
cum Sanctis tuis in aeternum,
quia pius es.

Quote:"Existential" and "Sapiential" Theologians

"...While Luther can be described as an "existential" theologian focused on our experience of ourselves as sinners graced through Christ, Thomas can be seen as a "sapiential" theologian focused on God the creator, transforming his creatures into friends."

from "Martin Luther: Separated 'Son' of Augustine," by Michael J. Scanlon, O.S.A.

Today is the Feastday of St. Thomas

Happy Feastday of St. Thomas! In honor of the Angelic Doctor:

Learn about St. Thomas:

G.K. Chesterton's St. Thomas Aquinas
St. Thomas Aquinas, at the Catholic Forum

Think with St. Thomas:

Thomistic Philosophy Page

"Believing is an act of the intellect assenting to the divine truth by command of the will moved by God through grace."

"Hence we must say that for the knowledge of any truth whatsoever man needs divine help, that the intellect may be moved by God to its act. But he does not need a new light added to his natural light, in order to know the truth in all things, but only in some that surpasses his natural knowledge."

Laugh with St. Thomas

The Five Ways of Proving Santa Claus
Is God made of Soap?

Get your own St. Thomas Action Figure

Pray with St. Thomas

Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you. Amen.

Most loving Lord, grant me a steadfast heart which no unworthy desire may drag downards; an unconquered heart which no hardship may wear out; an upright heart which no worthless purpose may ensnare. Impart to me also, O God, the understanding to know you, the diligence to seek you, a way of life to please you, and a faithfulness that may embrace you, through Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen.

Creator of all things,
true source of Light and Wisdom,
lofty source of all Being,
graciously let a ray of Your Brilliance
penetrate into the darkness of my understanding
and take from me the double darkness in which I have been born,
sin and ignorance.
Give me a sharp sense of understanding,
a retentive memory,
and the ability to grasp things correctly and fundamentally.
Grant me the talent of being exact in my explanations,
and the ability to express myself with thoroughness and charm.
Point out the beginning,
direct the progress,
help in the completion.
Through Christ, Our Lord.

Sing with St. Thomas

Pange Lingua

Sing, my tongue, the Savior's glory,
of His flesh the mystery sing;
of the Blood, all price exceeding,
shed by our immortal King,
destined, for the world's redemption,
from a noble womb to spring.
Of a pure and spotless Virgin
born for us on earth below,
He, as Man, with man conversing,
stayed, the seeds of truth to sow;
then He closed in solemn order
wondrously His life of woe.
On the night of that Last Supper,
seated with His chosen band,
He the Pascal victim eating,
first fulfills the Law's command;
then as Food to His Apostles
gives Himself with His own hand.
Word-made-Flesh, the bread of nature
by His word to Flesh He turns;
wine into His Blood He changes;
what though sense no change discerns?
Only be the heart in earnest,
faith her lesson quickly learns.

Tantum Ergo

Down in adoration falling,
Lo! the sacred Host we hail;
Lo! o'er ancient forms departing,
newer rites of grace prevail;
faith for all defects supplying,
where the feeble senses fail.
To the everlasting Father,
and the Son who reigns on high,
with the Holy Ghost proceeding
forth from Each eternally,
be salvation, honor, blessing,
might and endless majesty.
Amen. Alleluia.