Rome

Posted on September 18, 2012 by smb72

The Council of Constance called for frequent and regular holding of general councils as a pre-eminent means of cultivating the Lord’s vineyard. Under this principle, the Council of Basel first assembled (A.D. 1431). However, neither Pope Martin V nor Eugene IV demonstrated a strict observance of the Council of Constance’s dictates in regard to the holding of councils. Further, in its struggle to extinguish the Western Schism, the Council of Constance had declared that even the Pope was subject to the authority of a general council. Such a statement is no doubt true when it is unclear whom the true Pope is but otherwise seems a contradiction of Boniface VIII’s Bull Unam Sanctam and of Tradition. Thus, at Basel, a struggle soon ensued between those who espoused conciliar primacy and those who maintained papal predominance. In order to accommodate the participation of the Greeks, Eugene IV ordered the Council be transferred to Ferrara. Nevertheless, apparently, the two thirds majority assent needed (as per the Council of Constance) for such a transfer to take place was not attained. Hence, those opposed to the Pope remained at Basel and those loyal removed to Ferrara. At Ferrara and later at Florence, discussions and negotiations with the Greeks finally led to a decree of union between the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches. Subsequently in Florence and later in Rome, decrees of union with the Armenian and Coptic Churches and with the Bosnians, Syrians, Chaldeans, and Maronites of Cypress were approved. Nonetheless, the decrees of union bore little fruit and were generally not embraced by the clergy and peoples of the various non-Latin communities involved. Those who remained in Basel went on to elect an antipope but were later reconciled to Rome during the pontificate of Nicholas V in 1449. Image above links to Tanner translation of the Council’s decrees. ISBN recommendation: 0-87840-490-2

Council of Constance

Posted on September 13, 2012 by smb72

The Council of Constance (A.D. 1414-18) was assembled for the eradication of the Western Schism, elimination of errors and heresies, and reform of the Church. During the Council, articles of John Wyclif and John Hus were condemned and it was decreed John Hus be relinquished to secular court for judgment. Also, Martin V (Oddone Colonna) was unanimously elected Pope – thus ending the schism. Image above links to Tanner translation of the Council decrees. ISBN recommendation: 0-87840-490-2

Council of Vienne

Posted on September 5, 2012 by smb72

The Crusades began in 1095 with the call, by the Church of Rome, to the use of force in aid of the eastern Christians against the Turks and to recapture those lands and Churches of the eastern Empire under Muslim control. By 1231, use of deadly force against heretics within Christendom was monitored and allowed by the Holy See. By 1307, when King Philip IV of France seized the Knights Templar of his realm and commanded they be rigorously examined by the Inquisitors, use of force (torture) to obtain information was considered legitimate and expedient in Renaissance Europe. Under pressure of King Philip, Pope Clement V approved a general inquisitorial investigation of the Order of Templars. In the French realm, a large group of Templars, who recanted their forced confessions, were burned alive. The issue of the Knights Templar was the primary concern of the Council of Vienne (A.D. 1311-12). After much deliberation among the bishops but with no final decision, a papal bull suppressing the Order of Templars was, at length, delivered to the Council for approval. The bull was approved and the immense wealth of the Order redistributed. At a sentencing following the Council, the Grand Master of the Order, Jacques de Molay, and one of his associates abjured their coerced confessions. They were thus ordered by King Philip to be burned at the stake. It is said that Jacques de Molay, in the midst of the flames, summoned both Philip and Clement to appear, in the course of the year, before the Tribunal of GOD. Philip and Clement both died soon thereafter. Image above links to Tanner translation of the Council decrees. ISBN recommendation: 0-87840-490-2. See also Appendix I, Memory and Reconciliation, for a reflection upon historic grave violations of charity by representatives of the Catholic community.

Second Council of Lyons

Posted on August 30, 2012 by smb72

The Second Council of Lyons (A.D. 1274) was convoked by Pope Gregory X for the sake of union with the Greeks, the crusade, and reform of the Church. Representatives of Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus and the Greek Orthodox Church participated. In the fourth session, union between the Greek and Latin Churches was agreed upon and defined. The union, however, soon dissolved. Image above links to Tanner translation of the decrees. ISBN recommendation: 0-87840-490-2

St. Thomas Aquinas: Summa Theologica

Posted on August 28, 2012 by smb72

Aquinas’ deep and exhaustive synthesis of Catholic doctrine and philosophic thought which continues to exert a dominant influence over Roman Catholic theology. Officially recognized as a Doctor of the Church, Aquinas labored on the Summa Theologica from 1265 to 1274, dying before its completion. Image links to Aquinas Institute translation. ISBN recommendation: 0870610635

St. Bonaventure: The Journey of the Mind to God

Posted on August 27, 2012 by smb72

Bonaventure’s stairway of contemplation from the exterior world, to the interior, to the Eternal. Conceived by the “Seraphic Doctor” in 1259 while contemplating, at Mt. Alverna, the stigmata of St. Francis; Journey of the Mind to God (Itinerarium mentis in Deum) is perhaps his defining work. Image links to translation derived from Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Hardcopy recommendation: The Works of Bonaventure, Mystical Opuscula, translated by Jose de Vinck, St. Anthony Guild Press.

St. Bonaventure: The Breviloquium

Posted on August 24, 2012 by smb72

In 1257 Bonaventure was elected General Minister of the Franciscan Order, effectively ending his teaching career at the University of Paris. That same year he completed the Breviloquium, a brief synthesis of theology and a concise summary of his mature teaching: “The first Principle created this perceptible world as a means of self-revelation so that, like a mirror of God or a divine footprint, it might lead man to love and praise his
Creator… the universe is like a book reflecting, representing, and describing its Maker,
the Trinity.” Bonaventure stands out as a teacher of seeing God by means of creation/nature. Image links to an online library copy of de Vinck translation. Hardcopy recommendation: The Works of Bonaventure, The Breviloquium, translated by Jose de Vinck, St. Anthony Guild Press.

St. Bonaventure: Retracing the Arts to Theology

Posted on August 24, 2012 by smb72

As summarized by Bonaventure himself: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights, says James in the first chapter of his epistle. These words of Sacred Scripture not only indicate the source of all illumination but they likewise point out the generous flow of the manifold rays which issue from that Fount of light. Notwithstanding the fact that every illumination of knowledge is within, still we can with reason distinguish what we may call the external light, or the light of mechanical art; the lower light, or the light of sense perception; the inner light, or the light of philosophical knowledge; and the higher light, or the light of grace and of Sacred Scripture. The first light illumines in regard to structure of artifacts; the second, in regard to natural forms; the third, in regard to intellectual truth; the fourth and last, in regard to saving truth.” Image links to translation of unknown origin. Hardcopy recommendation: The Works of Bonaventure, Opuscula, Second Series, translated by Jose de Vinck, St. Anthony Guild Press.

First Council of Lyons

Posted on August 22, 2012 by smb72

The First Council of Lyons (A.D. 1245) was convoked by Pope Innocent IV “that the Church, through the salutary counsel of the faithful and their fruitful help, may have the dignity of its proper position; that assistance may speedily be brought to the unhappy crisis in the Holy Land and the sufferings of the Eastern Empire; that a remedy may be found against the Tartars and other enemies of the faith and persecutors of the Christian people; further, for the issue between the Church and the Emperor”. During this Council, Innocent IV formally pronounced Frederick II as deprived of kingdom and empire. Image above links to Tanner translation of the Council decrees. ISBN recommendation: 0-87840-490-2

Fourth Lateran Council

Posted on August 21, 2012 by smb72

The Fourth Lateran Council (A.D. 1215) was convoked by Pope Innocent III “to eradicate vices and to plant virtues, to correct faults and to reform morals, to remove heresies and to strengthen faith, to settle discords and to establish peace, to get rid of oppression and to foster liberty, to induce princes and Christian people to come to the aid and succour of the Holy Land”. The Constitutions present a dogmatic formulation on Transubstantiation. Image above links to Tanner translation of the Council decrees. ISBN recommendation: 0-87840-490-2

Libri aurei

A proposed reading list for Catholics