Summa Contra Gentiles Book I: God, in Willing Himself, Also Wills Other Things

From Contemplating History

Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 7 March 1274), was a Doctor of the Church, Philosopher, Theologian, Jurist, Dominican Friar, and Priest. Known as Doctor Angelicus "Angelic Doctor," and the Doctor Communis "Universal Doctor" his writings serve as a defense and proof of the validity of Christ's authority over all. The Summa contra Gentiles (also known as Liber de veritate catholicae fidei contra errores infidelium, "Book on the truth of the Catholic faith against the errors of the unbelievers"). The Summa contra Gentiles consists of four books. The structure of Saint Thomas's work is designed to proceed from general philosophical arguments for monotheism, to which Muslims and Jews are likely to consent even within their own respective religious traditions, before progressing to the discussion of specifically Christian doctrine. Book I begins with general questions of truth and natural reason, and from chapter 10 investigates the concept of a monotheistic God. Chapters 10 to 13 are concerned with the existence of God, followed by a detailed investigation of God's properties (chapters 14 to 102). When demonstrating a Truth about God which can be known through reason, St. Thomas gives multiple arguments, each proving the same Truth in a different way. Whether you are a history enthusiast, a student of religion, or simply curious about the impact of the Roman Catholic Church on the world, this playlist is designed to provide an informative and engaging journey through its captivating past. Subscribe to the Contemplating History channel for more educational content and immerse yourself in the rich tapestry of history.

The Catholic Church and AI: Pope Leo's First Encyclical Explained

From Godsplaining, with Fr. Patrick Briscoe, OP.

In this installment of Godsplaining Reacts, Fr. Patrick unpacks Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, an in-depth reflection on artificial intelligence, technology, truth, work, power, and the dignity of the human person. More than merely “the AI encyclical,” Fr. Patrick argues that Magnifica Humanitas is fundamentally about anthropology: who are we and what are we for? Drawing from Scripture, Catholic social teaching, and the Christian understanding of transcendence, Fr. Patrick sheds light on the Church’s engagement with technology, from the Vatican’s Minerva Dialogues to recent teachings on AI ethics and digital life. As it turns out, the most serious challenge with AI is not technological, but spiritual. What questions do you have regarding Magnifica Humanitas? Let us know in the comments for a chance to have your questions answered in the next installment of Godsplaining Reacts. Read Magnifica Humanitas here: https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xi...

The Holy Rosary

Wednesday, the Glorious Mysteries, in Latin with Cardinal Burke.

Was Anne Boleyn a Mistress or a Wife? Controversial Royal Marriage

From History Calling

WAS ELIZABETH I ILLEGITIMATE? The answer to that depends on whether Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII were really married in 1532/3 and if Elizabeth’s mother was a mistress or a wife. In this six wives documentary from History Calling we’ll look at this controversial royal marriage from its beginning to its end (and beyond) to ascertain if Anne Boleyn was ever really the Queen of England and if her daughter was legally a Tudor, or an illegitimate Boleyn. Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I both suffered irreparable damage at the hands of Henry VIII, but were they ever really his wife and legitimate heiress to begin with? In the course of this video we’ll look at stories of a precontract between Anne Boleyn and Henry Percy; the complications caused by Henry’s first marriage to Catherine of Aragon (widow of his brother Prince Arthur Tudor) and whether it was really annulled; the ramifications of Henry VIII’s affair with Mary Boleyn, sister of Anne; the questions of when Henry married Anne and when was Elizabeth I conceived (was it before or after her parents wed?) and how Anne’s fall affected her status as Queen and her daughter’s as Princess of England. Having cast his second wife aside and voided their marriage, Henry declared his 2 year old daughter illegitimate, but was he right to do so and what should we make of his decision, seven years later to place her back in the line of succession to the English throne without reversing that illegitimacy? Finally, we’ll think about how his sole surviving son, Edward VI, along with his big sisters, Mary and Elizabeth Tudor treated the Aragon and Boleyn marriages during their reigns and whether they undertook any actions which retroactively affected Anne and Elizabeth’s legal positions. We’ll also look at stories that Elizabeth wasn’t even a Tudor by blood, for even during her lifetime some wondered, who was Elizabeth I’s father? The story of Elizabeth I and her remarkable life and reign began in a Tudor scandal of epic proportions and it is one we’re still trying to unpack today. The History Hit documentary I discussed today was ‘Becoming Anne Boleyn’, hosted by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb.

Catholic Scientists Who Changed the World

From Aleteia

From the smallest atom to the largest stars in the galaxy, Catholic scientists have searched for God’s wonders for centuries. Meet some of the greatest scientists in history! Read more: 10 Saints who were leading scientists https://bit.ly/Aleteia_FBSaintsAndSci...

Can a Catholic Be “De-Baptised”?

Despite their wishes, those seeking to void their baptism are out of luck. Baptism imparts an ontological character which nothing can remove.

From Aleteia

By Philip Kosloski

Baptism has a spiritual potency that can never be wiped away.In recent years there has been a small movement in Europe and elsewhere where individuals seek to be “de-baptized” and removed from a church’s baptismal registry. The act is done to formally “renounce” a person’s upbringing, completely severing ties with the Catholic Church.

Is it possible to be “de-baptized”?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms that “Incorporated into Christ by Baptism, the person baptized is configured to Christ. Baptism seals the Christian with the indelible spiritual mark (character) of his belonging to Christ. No sin can erase this mark, even if sin prevents Baptism from bearing the fruits of salvation. Given once for all, Baptism cannot be repeated” (CCC 1272).

This means that even if a person sins against God by renouncing him in an official manner, that act can never erase the spiritual mark left by baptism.

The Catechism adds that, “The Holy Spirit has marked us with the seal of the Lord (‘Dominicus character’) ‘for the day of redemption.’ ‘Baptism indeed is the seal of eternal life.’ The faithful Christian who has ‘kept the seal’ until the end, remaining faithful to the demands of his Baptism, will be able to depart this life ‘marked with the sign of faith'” (CCC 1274). The seal of baptism does not guarantee a “ticket” to Heaven, but it does forever mark a person’s soul and they will be judged by God according to that seal.

With this in mind, a pastor is not able to remove a person from their baptismal registry because of the permanent nature of baptism.

This is also why a person can never be baptized a second time. Provided that the first baptism was valid, a Catholic who officially renounced his/her faith does not need to be baptized a second time to be readmitted into the flock. A faithful reception of the sacrament of confession (along with the full satisfaction of any type of penance connected to those sins) has the power to wipe away all sins and restore that person’s baptismal innocence. 

Atheists and satanists who repent of their sins are gladly welcomed back into the fold of Jesus Christ and do not need to be baptized again.

God is very patient and even when we stray far from our baptismal promises, he never stops pursuing us. He is the “Hound of Heaven” and will seek us out. It is up to us to allow ourselves to be found by God and accept his love into our lives.

Eastern Bishop Asks Pope Leo To Launch Vatican III

A heretic bishop no less, Aram I of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Bishop Strickland Issues Sorrowful Response To Leo's Encyclical

Magnificent Humanity isn't such a magnificent encyclical.

Did the Anglo-Saxons Have a “High King?”

From Studium Historiae

Before the Viking invasions of the late ninth century, Anglo-Saxon England was divided into multiple smaller kingdoms. And yet, some kings are said to have ruled over many others, with titles like "Bretwalda" being used to describe them in modern history books. Were these kings anything like the high kings of Ireland or other lands? Was this an official position in Anglo-Saxon society? As usual, the truth is a little more complicated. Follow me on Instagram:   / studium.historiae   Recommendations for further reading: -B. Yorke, "The Vocabulary of Anglo-Saxon Overlordship," in Anglo-Saxon Studies in Archaeology and History, 2 (1981): 171-200. -D.P. Kirby, The Earliest English Kings (1991). -N.J. Higham, An English Empire: Bede and the Early Anglo-Saxon Kings (1995). -N.J. Higham, The Convert Kings: Power and Religious Affiliation in Early Anglo-Saxon England (1997). -Patrick Wormald, The Times of Bede: Studies in Early English Christian Society and its Historian (2006). -Damian Tyler, "An Early Mercian Hegemony: Penda and Overkingship in the Seventh Century," in Midland History, 30 n.1 (2005), pp.1-19. -Alexander Langlands and Ryan Lavelle, eds., The Land of the English Kin: Studies in Wessex and Anglo-Saxon England in Honour of Professor Barbara Yorke (2020).

Traditional Catholic Morning Prayers in English | May

Traditional Catholic morning prayers to help start your day in a godly way! The month of May is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. May our devotion to the Blessed Mother increase more and more and help us to love her divine Son, Jesus, more and more. We've included the Memorare, the litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and a Spiritual Communion. Begin your May with daily morning prayer. This video is a compilation of many traditional morning prayers Catholics say, and should not be considered a replacement for those who have an obligation to pray the Divine Office morning prayers.

The Country That Converted Itself to Catholicism

From Totus Catholica

In the 1780s, a group of Korean Confucian scholars got their hands on a single Catholic book written by Jesuit Matteo Ricci. No missionary had ever entered Korea. They read it, debated it against the most sophisticated philosophy in East Asia, and concluded Catholic teaching was true. They baptised one another, founded a church, and over the next 80 years, more than 10,000 of their countrymen were tortured and killed rather than deny what those scholars had discovered through reason alone. The Confucian concept of Cheon, the mandate of heaven, prefigured what the Church teaches as divine providence. The ancestral rites of Jesa, setting a table for the beloved dead, foreshadowed the mass. What Korean families were reaching for across that ancestral table, the Eucharist actually accomplishes. In 1984, Pope John Paul II canonised 103 Korean martyrs in Seoul, the first canonisation ever held outside Rome, declaring the Korean Church unique in all of Christianity for its lay origins. Truth does not need an army. CHAPTERS: 0:00 The Country That Converted Itself 1:00 The Question You Need to Sit With 2:11 John 1:9, Romans 1:19-20 and CCC 36-38 3:06 The Silhak Movement and Matteo Ricci 3:38 Cheon and the Mandate of Heaven 4:07 Justin Martyr and the Logos Spermatikos 4:38 Yi Seung-hun and the Lay Founding of the Korean Church 5:06 Jesa and the Mass: Communion With the Dead 6:01 They Converted Against Every Social Pressure 6:41 Grace Perfects Nature: Aquinas 7:05 Was It Still a European Import? 7:44 Pope John Paul II and the 103 Korean Martyrs 8:40 The Colonialism Objection Answered 🌍 Website: https://totuscatholica.org/ 📿 Rosary Guide: https://totuscatholica.org/rosary ✉️ Contact: https://totuscatholica.org/contact 🔍 Examination of Conscience: https://catholicexaminationofconscien... 📚 Free eBooks: https://buymeacoffee.com/totuscatholi... 👥 Become a Totus Insider: https://buymeacoffee.com/totuscatholi...

Why Is St Bede Always Called “Venerable”?

Today is the Feast of the Venerable Bede. Why "Venerable", since he's already a Saint? Mr Kosloski explains the reasoning behind the epithet.

From Aleteia

By Philip Kosloski

St. Bede was called "venerable" during the first centuries after his death, though this title shouldn't be confused with the "venerable" status of those on the road to sainthood.

Often saints will acquire various titles or nicknames after their death, and St. Bede was one of them. He was quickly labeled "venerable," a title that can be confusing, as the modern canonization process recognizes men and women who lived a heroic life as "venerable."

In the current procedure to canonize someone, the individual will first be labeled a, "Servant of God," and then when their live was proven contain, "heroic virtue," they are officially declared, "Venerable."

When it comes to "Venerable Bede," this name has nothing to do with the canonization process and was simply a nickname he earned.

St. Bede the Venerable

St. Bede was called "venerable" rather quickly after his death, and a legend was formed that helped explain the title.

The Catholic Encyclopedia explains this legend and why St. Bede was called "venerable."

The title Venerabilis [Venerable] seems to have been associated with the name of Bede within two generations after his death. There is of course no early authority for the legend repeated by Fuller of the "dunce-monk" who in composing an epitaph on Bede was at a loss to complete the line: Hac sunt in fossa Bedae . . . . ossa and who next morning found that the angels had filled the gap with the word venerabilis [venerable]. The title is used by Alcuin, Amalarius and seemingly Paul the Deacon, and the important Council of Aachen in 835 describes him as venerabilis [venerable] et modernis temporibus doctor admirabilis Beda.

In St. Bede's case, "venerable" simply refers to his holiness and character, rather than a part of an official cause of canonization.