DOCSLIB.ORG

Augustinian Sexuality: a Reevaluation of His Doctrine on Concupiscence

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Augustinian Sexuality: a Reevaluation of His Doctrine on Concupiscence KOREA PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY Vol. 42 Augustinian Sexuality: A Reevaluation of His Doctrine on Concupiscence Gyeung-Su Park, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Historical Theology Presbyterian College and Theological Seminary, Korea I. Introduction II. The Meaning of Concupiscence III. The Contexts of Augustine’s Doctrine of Concupiscence IV. Conclusion Korea Presbyterian Journal of Theology Vol. 42, 101-118 102 KOREA PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY Vol. 42 Abstract St. Augustine is one of those few individuals whose mind provided a foundation on which philosophers and theologians have built from his own day to ours. Augustine has also greatly influenced the development of Christian sexual ethics. In dealing with human sexuality, Augustine frequently used the words concupiscentia in connection with sexual de- sire. Many contemporary theologians have charged that Augustine’s ap- proach is too negative and pessimistic toward human sexuality. However, my argument in this paper is that Augustine did not re- gard concupiscence itself as evil, but carnal concupiscence, which came after the fall is evil. In order to understand rightly Augustine’s teach- ing on concupiscence, one should consider three important contexts: Augustine’s experiential background, the Manichaean context, and the Pelagian context. For this purpose, I explored Augustine’s teachings on concupiscence expressed in his writings and examined many scholars’ interpretations on the subject. Keywords Augustine, Concupiscence, Sexuality, Manichaeism, Pelagianism Augustinian Sexuality: A Reevaluation of His Doctrine on Concupiscence 103 I. INTRODUCTION It is a well-known fact that Augustine has greatly influenced the development of Christian sexual ethics up to the present day. The re- mark of Daniel D. Williams may be true: “Theology in western Chris- tianity has been a series of footnotes to Augustine.”1 The study of Au- gustine’s doctrine of sexuality has been acknowledged not only as an important subject in Augustinian study but also as a starting point in understanding Christian sexual ethics. Many contemporary theologians have charged that Augustine’s approach is too negative and pessimistic toward human sexuality. He has been accused of having a very nega- tive view of humankind’s state. For example, G. Guinn judged that Au- gustine’s identification of sex with original sin “threw a dim light on the subject of sex and marriage for more than a thousand years in the West.”2 Moreover Barton S. Babbage caustically criticized: “Augustine is chiefly responsible for the disastrous identification of sexuality with sin,… There is a strain of morbidity verging on the pathological in the thought of the celebrated Bishop of Hippo: He deplores the fact that God ever created sex, and he is embarrassed by the fact that he ordained it as the means of human reproduction.”3 Vernon Bourke says that the responsibility of these accusations lies chiefly with Augustine: Augustine himself was in good part responsible. Both his love of rhetori- cal exaggeration and his zeal in controversy led him to make sweeping statements that were open to mistaken emphasis and to misinterpreta- tion. In opposing what he regarded as errors of doctrine he frequently swung to the opposite extreme of the pendulum and wrote things that were well meant but excessive. Nowhere is this more evident than in his writings on sexuality, concupiscence, marriage, human freedom, and the general sinfulness of all descendants of Adam.4 1 Daniel D. Williams, “TheS ignificance ofS t. Augustine Today,” in A Companion to the Study of St. Augustine, ed. Roy W. Battenhouse (New York: Oxford University Press, 1955), 4. 2 G.J. Quinn, “A New Look at Christian Marriage,” Journal of Religion and Health vol. 10 no. 4 (1971), 387-98. Quoted from James B. Weidenaar, “Augustine’s Theory of Concupiscence in City of God, Book XIV,” Calvin Theological Journal 30 (1995), 53. 3 Barton S. Babbage, “Literature Has Its Manichaeans,” Reformed Theological Review 22 (1963), 13-22. Quoted from James B. Weidenaar, 53. 4 Vernon Bourke, Joy in Augustine’s Ethics (Villanova: Villanovea University Press, 1979), 9. 104 KOREA PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY Vol. 42 As Bourke points out, Augustine’s doctrine on human sexuality was formed in the context of controversies with heresies such as Man- ichaeism and Pelagianism. I believe that we cannot understand and in- terpret rightly Augustine’s doctrine on sexuality without consideration of his experiential and controversial background. If we do not consider these contexts, we might risk misinterpreting Augustine. My argument in this paper is that Augustine did not regard sex and concupiscence as evil from the beginning, and his position was gradually formed in the course of controversies against Manichaeism and Pelagianism. In dealing with human sexuality, Augustine frequently used the words concupiscentia and libido in connection with sexual desire.5 In this paper, I want to focus on Augustine’s doctrine on concupiscence. The purpose of this paper is to discover what exactly Augustine said, and what were the influences of Manichaeism and Pelagianism on Au- gustine concerning human sexuality and concupiscence. For this pur- pose, I will explore the meaning of concupiscence, the effect of personal experience, and the influences of Manichaeism and Pelagianism onA u- gustine. I think this study is significant because through this study we can understand properly Augustine’s doctrine on sexuality and concu- piscence. II. THE MEANING OF CONCUpiSCENCE G.I. Bonner accomplished a leading investigation of the meaning of “concupiscence” and “libido” in Augustine in 1962.6 Bonner explains the differences of these two words in his article. While libido is a classi- cal and common word in Latin literature, concupiscence is a Christian technical term used exclusively by Christian writers. While libido has a neutral sense of desire, concupiscence has generally a sexual connota- tion. Libido has a broader meaning than concupiscence. Concupiscence 5 According to J. van Oort, Concupiscentia and libido occur in the corpus augus- tinianum 3032 and 1034 times respectively. Consultation of the computer concordance of the Augustinis-Lexikon also reveals that, when employed to describe sexual desire, the words Concupiscentia and libido are practically synonyms. J. van Oort, “Augustine on Sex- ual Concupiscence and Original Sin,” Studia Patristica 22 (Lewven: Peeters Press, 1989), 382-86. 6 G. I Bonner, “Libido and Concupiscentia in St. Augustine,” Studia Patristica 6 (Ber- lin: Akademie-Verlag, 1962), 303-14. Augustinian Sexuality: A Reevaluation of His Doctrine on Concupiscence 105 and libido, nevertheless, are practically equivalent words when used to describe sexual desire. It is important to note that the term concupiscence has not always negative sexual connotation. Bonner acknowledged that Augustine used concupiscence in a positive sense in the second book of the De Nuptiis et Concupiscentia (Marriage and Concupiscence). In this book, Augus- tine says “there is a concupiscence of the spirit, which craves wisdom.”7 David F. Kelly also pointed out in his distinguished study on Augustine’s sexuality and concupiscence that Augustine spoke of a “good” concu- piscence, and for Augustine, concupiscence is a far wider reality than sexual desire.8 In order to understand rightly Augustine’s sexual ethics, it is necessary to define exactly the meaning of concupiscence in his writings. I think the meaning of concupiscence in Augustine’s writings can be summed up under two arguments. First, sex and concupiscence are not evil in themselves, but carnal concupiscence which came from af- ter the Fall is evil. He distinguished carnal concupiscence from general concupiscence. According to Augustine, carnal concupiscence is the punishment for primordial sin. Paul Ramsey’s article shows Augustine’s view of the impact of the Fall on human sexuality.9 Before the Fall, our first parents in Paradise were free from all disturbance. In City of God, Augustine describes the state of Adam and Eve before the Fall as fol- lows: Their love to God was unclouded, and their mutual affection was that of faithful and sincere marriage; and from this love flowed a wonderful delight, because they always enjoyed what was loved. Their avoidance of sin was tranquil; and, so long as it was maintained, no other ill at all could invade them and bring sorrow.10 Augustine believed that before the Fall, the sexual organs operated 7 Augustine, Marriage and Concupiscence II, 52, trans. Peter Holmes in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series Vol. 5, ed. Philip Schaff (Grand Rapids: WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1956), 304. 8 David F. Kelly, “Sexuality and Concupiscence in Augustine,” The Annual of the Society of Christian Ethics (1983), 81-116. 9 Paul Ramsey, “Human Sexuality in the Hisory of Redemption,” The Journal of Religious Ethics 16 (1988), 56-86. 10 Augustine, The City of God XIV, 10, trans. Marcus Dods in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series Vol. 2, ed. Philip Schaff (Grand Rapids: WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1956), 271. 106 KOREA PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY Vol. 42 under the control of the will as the other members do.11 In that state, love rather than concupiscence would have initiated sexual activity. Be- fore the Fall, “the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed” (Gen. 2:25, NRSV). Unfortunately, however, our first parents fell into the sin of dis- obedience to God because of their pride. The first sin
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Preface Thomism and the Challenge of Integral Ecology
    Preface Thomism and the Challenge of Integral Ecology The late Fr. Richard John Neuhaus said that a “Thomist of the Strict Observance,” was one who believed that the thought of the Angelic Doctor is the intellectual hardware that can run any software. He was thinking, he said, of the Jesuit scholar Norris Clarke, whose phil- osophical work aimed at showing how Thomas Aquinas could make sense even of the process philosophers Alfred North Whitehead and Charles Hartshorne. At Fordham University my then-girlfriend Cathy (now my wife) would take me to lunch with Father Clarke, then in his late eighties, a spry gnome-like character who would re- gale us with his intellectual adventures of bringing St. Thomas to every conceivable endeavor. Upon his mentioning a lunch date with the Dalai Lama, I asked him what he had said. Father Clarke looked at us and said very seriously, “I told him, ‘You have wonderful medi- tative practices, but your metaphysics are terrible!’” The Thomist of the Strict Observance then attempted, well, to enlighten him. I’m not sure I agreed with everything Father Clarke said about metaphysics or Thomas Aquinas, but that impulse to bring Thomism to bear on intellectual projects and problems out there in the world was remarkable to me. The tribe of old-fashioned Thomists is often logos 21:4 fall 2018 6 logos fiercely protective of their master in such a way as to ward off any- body attempting to bring him out of the thirteenth, the greatest of centuries, and into our own milieu. I do not doubt the intellectual seriousness, the learning, or the rigor of their work.
    [Show full text]
  • Summa Theologiae with Reference to Contemporary Psychological Studies
    Concept of Happiness in Summa Theologiae with Reference to Contemporary Psychological Studies Von der Fakultät für Geisteswissenschaften der Universität Duisburg-Essen zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades Doktor der Philosophie (Dr. phil.) genehmigte Dissertation von Jaison Ambadan Chacko Ambadan aus Areekamala, Kerala, Indien Erster Gutachter: Prof. Dr. Ralf Miggelbrink Zweiter Gutachter : Prof. Dr. Markus Tiwald Vorsitzender des Prüfungsausschusses: Prof. Dr. Neil Roughley Tag der Disputation: 02.07.2018 1 Concept of Happiness in Summa Theologiae with Reference to Contemporary Psychological Studies General Introduction 6 Chapter I The Ethical Perspective of Happiness in Aquinas´s Concept of Human Acts Introduction 27 1. Human Acts 31 1.1 Voluntary 52 1.2 Involuntary 53 1.3 Circumstances 54 1.3.1 Nature of Circumstance 55 1.3.2 Role Circumstances in Moral Evaluation 56 1.4 Cognitive Participation 57 1.4.1 Three Acts of the Speculative Intellect 58 1.4.2 Three Acts of the Practical Intellect 60 1.5 The Will 62 1.5.1 Cause of the Movement of the Will 62 1.5.2 Manner in which the Will Moves 63 1.5.3 Characteristics of the Act of the Will 64 1.5.3.1 Enjoyment 65 1.5.3.2 Intention 65 1.5.3.3 Choice 67 1.5.3.4 Counsel 68 1.5.3.5 Consent 68 1.5.3.6 Use 69 1.6 Human Acts Commanded by the Will 70 1.6.1 Good and Evil in Human Acts 71 1.6.2 Goodness and Malice in Human Acts 72 1.6.3 Impact of the Interior Act 75 1.6.4 Impact of the External Act 76 1.6.5 Impact of Disposition 77 Conclusion 79 2 Chapter II Thomas Aquinas´s Cognition of Passion and Happiness Introduction 82 2.
    [Show full text]
  • Pontifical John Paul Ii Institute for Studies on Marriage & Family
    PONTIFICAL JOHN PAUL II INSTITUTE FOR STUDIES ON MARRIAGE & FAMILY at The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. ACADEMIC CATALOG 2011 - 2013 © Copyright 2011 Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at The Catholic University of America Cover photo by Tony Fiorini/CUA 2JOHN PAUL II I NSTITUTE TABLE OF CONTENTS MISSION STATEMENT 4 DEGREE PROGRAMS 20 The Master of Theological Studies NATURE AND PURPOSE in Marriage and Family OF THE INSTITUTE 5 (M.T.S.) 20 The Master of Theological Studies GENERAL INFORMATION 8 in Biotechnology and Ethics 2011-12 A CADEMIC CALENDAR 10 (M.T.S.) 22 The Licentiate in Sacred Theology STUDENT LIFE 11 of Marriage and Family Facilities 11 (S.T.L.) 24 Brookland/CUA Area 11 Housing Options 11 The Doctorate in Sacred Theology Meals 12 with a Specialization in Medical Insurance 12 Marriage and Family (S.T.D.) 27 Student Identification Cards 12 The Doctorate in Theology with Liturgical Life 12 a Specialization in Person, Dress Code 13 Marriage, and Family (Ph.D.) 29 Cultural Events 13 Transportation 13 COURSES OF INSTRUCTION 32 Parking 14 FACULTY 52 Inclement Weather 14 Post Office 14 THE MCGIVNEY LECTURE SERIES 57 Student Grievances 14 DISTINGUISHED LECTURERS 57 Career and Placement Services 14 GOVERNANCE & A DMINISTRATION 58 ADMISSIONS AND FINANCIAL AID 15 STUDENT ENROLLMENT 59 TUITION AND FEES 15 APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION ACADEMIC INFORMATION 16 MAGNUM MATRIMONII SACRAMENTUM 62 Registration 16 Academic Advising 16 PAPAL ADDRESS TO THE FACULTY OF Classification of Students 16 Auditing
    [Show full text]
  • Malebranche's Augustinianism and the Mind's Perfection
    University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations Spring 2010 Malebranche's Augustinianism and the Mind's Perfection Jason Skirry University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the History of Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation Skirry, Jason, "Malebranche's Augustinianism and the Mind's Perfection" (2010). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 179. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/179 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/179 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Malebranche's Augustinianism and the Mind's Perfection Abstract This dissertation presents a unified interpretation of Malebranche’s philosophical system that is based on his Augustinian theory of the mind’s perfection, which consists in maximizing the mind’s ability to successfully access, comprehend, and follow God’s Order through practices that purify and cognitively enhance the mind’s attention. I argue that the mind’s perfection figures centrally in Malebranche’s philosophy and is the main hub that connects and reconciles the three fundamental principles of his system, namely, his occasionalism, divine illumination, and freedom. To demonstrate this, I first present, in chapter one, Malebranche’s philosophy within the historical and intellectual context of his membership in the French Oratory, arguing that the Oratory’s particular brand of Augustinianism, initiated by Cardinal Bérulle and propagated by Oratorians such as Andre Martin, is at the core of his philosophy and informs his theory of perfection. Next, in chapter two, I explicate Augustine’s own theory of perfection in order to provide an outline, and a basis of comparison, for Malebranche’s own theory of perfection.
    [Show full text]
  • Love: a Thomistic Analysis
    See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277139836 Love: A Thomistic Analysis Article · January 2012 CITATIONS READS 7 153 1 author: Diana Cates University of Iowa 19 PUBLICATIONS 63 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE All content following this page was uploaded by Diana Cates on 25 May 2015. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Journal of Moral Theology, Vol. 1, No. 2 (2012): 1-30 Love: A Thomistic Analysis DIANA FRITZ CATES HRISTIANS ARE ENJOINED to love God above all things and their neighbors as themselves. The faithful of every genera- tion must determine what it means for them to be bound by a law of love. To begin with, Christians need a good idea of whatC love is. They need a conception that is informed by the tradition and by the best and worst of their own experiences, which they re- flect upon in light of broader humanistic and scientific inquiry. Without an adequate conception of love, one cannot meaningfully say that one is acting from obedience to the love command, choosing to act in light of love as an end, acting from love as a motive, or seek- ing to become a more loving person. CHRISTIAN ETHICS OF LOVE The language of love appears frequently in the history of Christian thought, but prior to the 20th century few thinkers sought to define love or specify how it is best conceived by persons who identify as Christians.1 Over the past century, more attention has been focused on clarifying what love is, sorting out its various forms, and arguing about which form best represents the Christian ideal.
    [Show full text]
  • Translated by Harold J. Grimm, Taken from Luther's 97 Theses
    Translated by Harold J. Grimm, taken from Luther’s 97 Theses: Disputation Against Scholastic Theology (Scholasticism) on the Contend Earnestly blog. (These 97 theses were composed and publically displayed prior to the famous “95 Theses.” They did not have the impact Luther hoped they would have, but in the second document he attacked indulgences and the nuclear explosion called the Reformation detonated.) 1. To say that Augustine exaggerates in speaking against heretics is to say that Augustine tells lies almost everywhere. This is contrary to common knowledge. 2. This is the same as permitting Pelagians1 and all heretics to triumph, indeed, the same as conceding victory to them. 3. It is the same as making sport of the authority of all doctors of theology. 4. It is therefore true that man, being a bad tree, can only will and do evil [Cf. Matt. 7:17–18]. 5. It is false to state that man’s inclination is free to choose between either of two opposites. Indeed, the inclination is not free, but captive. Tiffs is said in opposition to common opinion. 6. It is false to state that the will can by nature conform to correct precept. This is said in opposition to Scotus2 and Gabriel.3 7. As a matter of fact, without the grace of God the will produces an act that is perverse and evil. 8. It does not, however, follow that the will is by nature evil, that is, essentially evil, as the Manichaeans4 maintain. 9. It is nevertheless innately and inevitably evil and corrupt. 10.
    [Show full text]
  • Confessions, by Augustine
    1 AUGUSTINE: CONFESSIONS Newly translated and edited by ALBERT C. OUTLER, Ph.D., D.D. Updated by Ted Hildebrandt, 2010 Gordon College, Wenham, MA Professor of Theology Perkins School of Theology Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas First published MCMLV; Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 55-5021 Printed in the United States of America Creator(s): Augustine, Saint, Bishop of Hippo (345-430) Outler, Albert C. (Translator and Editor) Print Basis: Philadelphia: Westminster Press [1955] (Library of Christian Classics, v. 7) Rights: Public Domain vid. www.ccel.org 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction . 11 I. The Retractations, II, 6 (A.D. 427) . 22 Book One . 24 Chapter 1: . 24 Chapter II: . 25 Chapter III: . 25 Chapter IV: . 26 Chapter V: . 27 Chapter VI: . 28 Chapter VII: . 31 Chapter VIII: . 33 Chapter IX: . 34 Chapter X: . 36 Chapter XI: . 37 Chapter XII: . 39 Chapter XIII: . 39 Chapter XIV: . 41 Chapter XV: . 42 Chapter XVI: . 42 Chapter XVII: . 44 Chapter XVIII: . 45 Chapter XIX: . 47 Notes for Book I: . 48 Book Two . .. 50 Chapter 1: . 50 Chapter II: . 50 Chapter III: . 52 Chapter IV: . 55 Chapter V: . 56 Chapter VI: . 57 Chapter VII: . 59 Chapter VIII: . 60 Chapter IX: . .. 61 3 Chapter X: . 62 Notes for Book II: . 63 Book Three . .. 64 Chapter 1: . 64 Chapter II: . 65 Chapter III: . 67 Chapter IV: . 68 Chapter V: . 69 Chapter VI: . 70 Chapter VII: . 72 Chapter VIII: . 74 Chapter IX: . .. 76 Chapter X: . 77 Chapter XI: . 78 Chapter XII: . 80 Notes for Book III: . 81 Book Four . 83 Chapter 1: . 83 Chapter II: . 84 Chapter III: .
    [Show full text]
  • Self-Mastery and the Gift of Self
    SELF-MASTERY AND THE GIFT OF SELF John Paul II’s Re-presentation of Chastity from the Perspective of the Moral Wisdom of St. Thomas Aquinas Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Theology of the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) For the Degree of Doctor in Theology by Fr. Alan O’Sullivan O.P. Fribourg, Switzerland September 2012 This thesis has been approved by the Faculty of Theology at the University of Fribourg on 09 November 2012 on the recommendation of: Prof. Michael S. Sherwin, O.P. (1st Reader); Prof. Michael Waldstein, Ave Maria University (2nd Reader); Prof. Franz Mali (Dean). 2 Table of Contents LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................................ 7 GENERAL INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 8 1. LOVE, CHASTITY, AND THE PERSON ............................................................................... 10 1.1 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS ................................................................................................................. 10 1.2 CULTURE, CHASTITY, THE PERSON ..................................................................................................... 10 1.2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 10 1.2.2 Chastity, Culture, Resentment ......................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • The Metaphysics of the Concupiscence
    ICOANA CREDINȚEI No. 10, Year 5/2019 http://revistaicoanacredintei.com/ ISSN 2501-3386, ISSN-L 2393-137X https://doi.org/10.26520/icoana.2019.10.5.31-48 THE METAPHYSICS OF THE CONCUPISCENCE Mathew VIVAN, University of Abuja, Abuja, NIGERIA, Email: [email protected] ABSTRACT A post-concupiscence Eucharistic theology written to provide clarity to the human consciousness against the force of concupiscence which is explained to be the cause of psychological dullness that causes the imbalance of man in nature. This psychological dullness among people makes them unable to have consciousness and clarity from the clarity provided by the Eucharist. Written to explain the temporal nature of the force of concupiscence and how through instincts, it controls material properties in the world, especially animals and plants in static renewable energies in a cycle of birth, procreation and death. Man unfortunately entered into the control of this force by disobeying God at the Garden of Eden (cf. Genesis 3:1-7), even though man was created in the world from dust, he was not subject to the laws of the world in its renewable form because of his image of God and the immortality of his soul (cf. Genesis 1:26). The dust material of his body fell to the control of this law that out of its dullness, the human body becomes corrupted and liable to death. Out of love and pity, God sent the image of God through whom man was created to bring man back to the image of God and rescue man from this dull atmosphere (cf.
    [Show full text]
  • Humility and Virtue Part 3 St
    Fr. Bill Peckman 3/11/18 SS. Peter & Paul, Boonville Pastor’s Pen: Humility and Virtue Part 3 St. Joseph, Fayette Having gone through the cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude and their relationship to humility in the Catholic life, I now turn my attention to the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and love. What differentiates as cardinal virtue from a theological virtue, is the theological virtues require the assistance of God, through grace, to develop and reach their full potential. What is Faith? In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, section 1814, we read “Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that He has said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief, because He is truth itself. “ It is easily evident why we need God’s assistance in the development of this virtue. Faith is a response to revelation. Notice, that true faith requires a submission of will to ALL Christ has said and revealed through His Church. This runs contrary to so much of what we see in our culture that would have us treat Christ and His Church as a buffet of beliefs that are picked over and chosen based on what does or does not accommodate the compromises we wish to make with the Catholic life. Without faith, we will gravitate toward a buffet mentality that will always leave us feeling shorted of the spiritual nutrition necessary to grow in faith. This lack of faith will lead to a form of syncretism.
    [Show full text]
  • Ia Iiae Q. 77 A. 5 Whether Concupiscence of the Flesh
    Whether concupiscence of the flesh, concupiscence of the eyes, and pride of life are Ia IIae q. 77 a. 5 fittingly described as causes of sin? Objection 1. It would seem that “concupiscence of and the inordinate appetite of such things is called “con- the flesh, concupiscence of the eyes, and pride of life” cupiscence of the flesh.” The other is spiritual concu- are unfittingly described as causes of sin. Because, ac- piscence, and is directed to those things which do not cording to the Apostle (1 Tim. 6:10), “covetousness∗ is afford sustentation or pleasure in respect of the fleshly the root of all evils.” Now pride of life is not included senses, but are delectable in respect of the apprehen- in covetousness. Therefore it should not be reckoned sion or imagination, or some similar mode of percep- among the causes of sin. tion; such are money, apparel, and the like; and this Objection 2. Further, concupiscence of the flesh is spiritual concupiscence is called “concupiscence of the aroused chiefly by what is seen by the eyes, according eyes,” whether this be taken as referring to the sight it- to Dan. 13:56: “Beauty hath deceived thee.” There- self, of which the eyes are the organ, so as to denote fore concupiscence of the eyes should not be condivided curiosity according to Augustine’s exposition (Confess. with concupiscence of the flesh. x); or to the concupiscence of things which are proposed Objection 3. Further, concupiscence is desire for outwardly to the eyes, so as to denote covetousness, ac- pleasure, as stated above (q.
    [Show full text]
  • Amen, I Say to You
    NCCW N E W U L M D I O C E S A N C O U N C I L O F C A T H O L I C W O M E N “CCW: Catholic Women United in Prayer, Study, & Service” Volume 1, No. 52, Fall 2016 New Ulm, MN AMEN, I SAY TO YOU. WHATEVER YOU DID FOR ONE OF THESE LEAST BROTHERS OF MINE. YOU DID FOR ME. MATTHEW 25:40 As Catholics, we are encouraged to be virtuous people. Pope Francis returns to this theme often, stating that we should be people of virtue. The most important virtue that he stresses is humility. There are human or moral virtues that we can develop that help us to live a good life. The development of virtue is important because so often our lives seem so conflicted and scattered. We struggle to decide what we must do in order to live a life that is true and good. Living the virtues can help us in our struggles and to make our lives more balanced and stable, more peaceful and calm: lives that are true and good. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church , the human virtues “…are firm attitudes, stable dispositions, habitual perfections of intellect and will. The human or moral virtues are stable dispositions of the intellect and the will that govern our acts, order our passions, and guide our conduct in accordance with reason and faith” (CCC, 1804). Among the many human virtues, there are four that we can develop to help us.
    [Show full text]