“The Master has appointed you [Peter] as director not of tabernacles, but of the Church throughout the whole world. Your disciples, your sheep, the Good Chief Shepherd has put into your hands.” (St. John of Damascus, Homily on the Transfiguration [c. A.D. 675-749]). “But why did He [Jesus] take along Peter and James and John? Peter, because he wanted to show him that the witness, which [Peter] had truly borne, was now confirmed by the witness of hte Father, and to make credible His [i.e. Jesus’] own statement that the heavenly Father had revealed this to him [i. e. Peter]; and because as president he was also receiving the oars of the entire Church.” (St. John of Damascus, Homily on the Transfiguration #9; J.P. Migne, Patrolgoia Graeca, 96:560). “Christ did not give to kings the power to bind and to loose, but to the apostles, (Mt. 18.18) and to their successors and pastors and teachers.” (Apolgoia Against Those Who Decry Holy Images). < Proof of the Papacy Tool St. John of Damascus Chief of the Apostles, St. Peter, Shepherd “The Master has appointed you [Peter] as director not of tabernacles, but of the Church throughout the whole world. Your disciples, your sheep, the Good Chief Shepherd has put into your hands.” (St. John of Damascus, Homily on the Transfiguration [c. A.D. 675-749]). “But why did He [Jesus] take along Peter and James and John? Peter, because he wanted to show him that the witness, which [Peter] had truly borne, was now confirmed by the witness of hte Father, and to make credible His [i.e. Jesus’] own statement that the heavenly Father had revealed this to him [i. e. Peter]; and because as president he was also receiving the oars of the entire Church.” (St. John of Damascus, Homily on the Transfiguration #9; J.P. Migne, Patrolgoia Graeca, 96:560). “Christ did not give to kings the power to bind and to loose, but to the apostles, (Mt. 18.18) and to their successors and pastors and teachers.” (Apolgoia Against Those Who Decry Holy Images). Proof of the Papacy Tool

"My predecessor, Pope Agatho, of apostolic memory, together with this honorable council, preached this norm of the right apostolic tradition. This he sent by letter...to your piety by his own legates...And now the holy and great council...has accepted it and embraced it in all things with us, as recognizing in it the pure teaching of blessed Peter the prince of the apostles...And because, as we have said, it has perfectly preached the definition of the true faith which the apostolic see of blessed Peter the apostle (whose office we unworthily hold), also reverently receives, therefore we...wholly and with full agreement do consent to the definitions made by it, and by the authority of blessed Peter, do confirm them..." (Mansi, v. 11, p. 721) In the following three epistles, Pope St. Leo II changes the 6th Ecumenical Councils' charge against Pope Honorius I from heresy to negligence (that Honorius wasn’t a heretic is also the belief of many saints, most notably St. Maxiumus the Confessor). These are also the letters in which he approves the Council’s acts. “Honorius, who did not immediately extinguish the flame of the heretical teaching, as would befit the apostolic authority, but supported it by his negligence.” (Pope Leo II to the Bishops of Spain [Pope from A.D. 682-83]). “Honorius of Rome, who allowed the immaculate rule of apostolic tradition that he had received from his predecessors to be stained…” (Pope Leo II to the king of Spain). “And, we in like manner, anathemized the inventors of the new error, namely, Theodore, Bishop of Pharan, Cyrus of Alexandria, Sergius, Phyrrus … and also Honorius, who did not purify this apostolic Church by the doctrine of the apostolic tradition, but rather he allowed the immaculate [Church] to be stained by profane treason” (Pope Leo II to the Roman emperor). < Proof of the Papacy Tool Pope Saint Leo II Apostolic See, Papal Authority, Prince of the Apostles, St. Peter "My predecessor, Pope Agatho, of apostolic memory, together with this honorable council, preached this norm of the right apostolic tradition. This he sent by letter...to your piety by his own legates...And now the holy and great council...has accepted it and embraced it in all things with us, as recognizing in it the pure teaching of blessed Peter the prince of the apostles...And because, as we have said, it has perfectly preached the definition of the true faith which the apostolic see of blessed Peter the apostle (whose office we unworthily hold), also reverently receives, therefore we...wholly and with full agreement do consent to the definitions made by it, and by the authority of blessed Peter, do confirm them..." (Mansi, v. 11, p. 721) In the following three epistles, Pope St. Leo II changes the 6th Ecumenical Councils' charge against Pope Honorius I from heresy to negligence (that Honorius wasn’t a heretic is also the belief of many saints, most notably St. Maxiumus the Confessor). These are also the letters in which he approves the Council’s acts. “Honorius, who did not immediately extinguish the flame of the heretical teaching, as would befit the apostolic authority, but supported it by his negligence.” (Pope Leo II to the Bishops of Spain [Pope from A.D. 682-83]). “Honorius of Rome, who allowed the immaculate rule of apostolic tradition that he had received from his predecessors to be stained…” (Pope Leo II to the king of Spain). “And, we in like manner, anathemized the inventors of the new error, namely, Theodore, Bishop of Pharan, Cyrus of Alexandria, Sergius, Phyrrus … and also Honorius, who did not purify this apostolic Church by the doctrine of the apostolic tradition, but rather he allowed the immaculate [Church] to be stained by profane treason” (Pope Leo II to the Roman emperor). Proof of the Papacy Tool

“They too, again, at their deaths committed and delivered to their disciples after them whatsoever they had received from the apostles; also what James had written from Jerusalem, and Simon from the city of Rome…. that the epistles of an apostle might be received and read in the churches that were in every place, just as the achievements of their Acts, which Luke wrote.” ([c. A.D. 100]). < Proof of the Papacy Tool Teachings of the Apostles (Syriac) Historical Evidence “They too, again, at their deaths committed and delivered to their disciples after them whatsoever they had received from the apostles; also what James had written from Jerusalem, and Simon from the city of Rome…. that the epistles of an apostle might be received and read in the churches that were in every place, just as the achievements of their Acts, which Luke wrote.” ([c. A.D. 100]). Proof of the Papacy Tool

< Videos What Happens When You Say Merry Christmas to 100+ People? Vlog Pay It Forward Share

< Videos Claim What God Desires for You! Pay It Forward Share

The Third Council of Constantinople, counted as the Sixth Ecumenical Council by the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches, as well as by certain other Western Churches, met in 680–681 and condemned monoenergism and monothelitism as heretical and defined Jesus Christ as having two energies and two wills (divine and human). 06. The Third Council of Constantinople, 680-681. A.D. The Third Council of Constantinople, counted as the Sixth Ecumenical Council by the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches, as well as by certain other Western Churches, met in 680–681 and condemned monoenergism and monothelitism as heretical and defined Jesus Christ as having two energies and two wills (divine and human). Read the Documents of the Council Source: Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Council_of_Constantinople

“If indeed any questions have arisen beyond the faith, on which there might be much dissension, I have not passed judgement as the originator of any dogma, as if I had definite authority for this ; but whatever I have derived from the fountain of the apostles and.prophets, I have offered for approval to the iudgement of your apostolate; so that if by chance any error of ignorance has crept in, human as we are, it may be corrected by your sentence.” (Writing to the Pope, Libellus. Preserved in Augustine’s De Pecc.) < Proof of the Papacy Tool Celestius Papal Authority “If indeed any questions have arisen beyond the faith, on which there might be much dissension, I have not passed judgement as the originator of any dogma, as if I had definite authority for this ; but whatever I have derived from the fountain of the apostles and.prophets, I have offered for approval to the iudgement of your apostolate; so that if by chance any error of ignorance has crept in, human as we are, it may be corrected by your sentence.” (Writing to the Pope, Libellus. Preserved in Augustine’s De Pecc.) Proof of the Papacy Tool

An article from St. Alphonus Liguori's "The History of Heresies and Their Refutation" < Heresies Tool The Sinner Is Not Justified by Faith Alone 28. The sectarians say, that the sinner, by means of Faith, or confidence in the promises of Jesus Christ, and believing with an infallible certainty, that he is justified, becomes so, for the justice of Jesus Christ is extrinsically imputed to him, by which his sins are not indeed concealed, but covered, and are thus not imputed to him, and they found this dogma on the words of David: "Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord hath not imputed sin, and in whose spirit there is no guile" (Psalm xxxi, 1, 2). 29. The Catholic Church, however, condemns and anathematizes the doctrine, that as man is absolved from his sins, by Faith alone, that he is justified. Hear the Council of Trent on this subject (Sess. vi, can. 14): " Si quis dixerit, hominem a peccatis absolvi, ac justificari ex eo quod se absolvi ac justificari certo credat; aut neminem vere esse justificatum, nisi qui credat se esse justificatum, et hac sola fide absolutionem, et justificationem perfici; anathema sit." The Church, besides, teaches, that in order that the sinner should become justified, it is necessary that he be disposed to receive Grace. Faith is necessary for this disposition, but Faith alone is not sufficient. The Council of Trent (Sess. vi, cap. 6), says, that acts of hope, of love, of sorrow, and a purpose of amendment are also necessary, and God then finding the sinner thus disposed, gives him gratuitously his Grace, or intrinsic justice (ibid. cap. 7), which remits to him his sins, and sanctifies him. 30. We shall now examine the points on which the supposition of our adversaries rests. In the first place, they say, that by means of faith in the merits and promises of Jesus Christ, our sins are not taken away, but are covered. This supposition is, however, totally opposed to the Scriptures, which teach that the sins are not alone covered, but are taken away and cancelled in a justified soul: "Behold the lamb of God, behold him who taketh away the sins of the world" (John, i, 29); " Be penitent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out" (Acts, iii, 19); " He will cast all our sins into the bottom of the sea" (Micheas, vii, 19); "So also Christ was offered once, to exhaust the sins of many" (Heb. ix, 28). Now that which is taken away, which is blotted out, which is annihilated, we cannot say exists any longer. We are also taught that the justified soul is cleansed and delivered from its sins: "Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed, thou shalt wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow" (Psalm 1, 9); " You shall be cleansed from all your filthiness" (Ezech. xxxvi, 25); " And such some of you were, but you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified" (I. Cor. vi, 11); " But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, you have your fruit unto sanctification" (Rom. vi, 22). It is on this account that Baptism, by which sin is remitted, is called regeneration and renovation: " He saved us by the laws of regeneration and renovation of the Holy Ghost" (Tit. iii, 5); " Unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John, iii, 3). The sinner, therefore, when he is justified, is generated again, and re-born to Grace, so that he is changed in all, and renovated from what he was before. 31. How is it, then, that David says our sins are covered? " Blessed are they whose sins are covered." St. Augustine, explaining this Psalm says, that wounds may be covered both by the sufferer and the physician; the sufferer himself only covers them, but the physician both covers them with a plaister and heals them: "Si tu tegere volueris erabescens (says the Saint) Medicus non sanabit; Medicus tegat, et curet." Our sins, by the infusion of Grace, are covered at the same time and healed, but the heretical opinion is, that they are covered, but not healed; they are covered only inasmuch as God does not impute them to the sinner. If sins remained in the soul as far as the fault was concerned should not God impute them to us? God judges according to truth: " For we know the judgment of God is according to truth" (Rom. ii, 2); but how could God judge according to the truth, judging that man not to be culpable, who is in reality culpable? These are truly some of Calvin’s mysteries which surpass our comprehension. The Scripture says, " To God the wicked and his wickedness are equal alike" (Wisdom, xiv, 9). If God hates the sinner on account of the sin that reigns in him, how can he love him as a child, because he is covered with the justice of Christ, while he is still a sinner all the while? Sin, by its very nature, is contrary to God, so it is impossible that God should not hate it as long as it is not taken away, and he must also hate the sinner as long as he retains it. David says: " Blessed is the man to whom the Lord hath not imputed sin." We understand by this not that God does not impute sin by leaving sin in the soul, and not pretending to see it, but that he does not impute it because he cancels and remits it, and hence David says, in the very same passage, " Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven." The sins that are forgiven to us are not imputed to us. 32. They say, in the second place, that in the justification of a sinner intrinsic justice is not infused into him, but the justice of Christ alone is imputed to him, so that the wicked man does not become just, but remains wicked still, and is reputed just alone by the extrinsic justice of Christ which is imputed to him. This is, however, an evident error, for the sinner cannot become a friend of God if he does not receive justice of his own, which will renovate him internally, and change him from being a sinner to become one of the just, and as he was previously hateful in the eyes of God, now having acquired this justice, he is agreeable to him. Hence St. Paul exhorts the Ephesians to become renewed in spirit, " And be renewed in the spirit of your mind" (Eph. iv, 23). And hence the Council of Trent says that by the merits of Christ internal justice is communicated to us: " Qua renovamur spiritus mentis nostræ, et non modo reputamur, sed vere etiam justi nominanur, et sumus" (Sess. vi, cap. 7). The Apostle says in another place, that the sinner, by justification, " is renewed unto knowledge according to the image of him who created him" (Col. iii, 10); so that the sinner, by the merits of Christ, returns back to that state from which he fell by sin, and becomes sanctified as a temple in which God dwells, and hence the Apostle, admonishing his disciples, says: " Fly fornication know you not that your members are the temple of the Holy Ghost" (I. Cor. vi, 18, 19). What is more surprising than all is, that Calvin himself knew that man never can be reconciled with God unless internal and inherent justice is given to him: " Nunquam reconciliamur Deo, quin simul donemur inhserente justitia" (1). These are his own words, and how can he afterwards say that through Faith alone we are justified with the imputative justice of Christ, which is not ours, nor is in us, neither does it belong to us, and is totally extern to us, and is merely extrinsically imputed to us, so that it does not make us just, only to be reputed just? This has been justly condemned by the Council of Trent (Sess. v, can. 10): " Si quis dixerit, homines sine Christi justitia, per quam nobis meruit, justificari; aut per eam ipsam formaliter justos esse; anathema sit." (Can. 11): "Si quis dixerit homines justificari vel sola imputatione justitiæ Christi, vel sola peccatorum remissione, exclusa gratia, et caritate, quæ in illis inhæreat anathema sit." 33. They object, first, the text (Rom. iv, 5): " But to him that worketh not, yet belie veth in him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reputed to justice." We answer, briefly, that here the Apostle says that faith should be imputed to justice, to teach us that the sinner is justified, not by his own works, but by his faith in the merits of Christ; but he does not say, that in virtue of this faith the justice of Christ is extrinsically imputed to the sinner who, without being just, is reputed so. 34. They object, secondly, that St. Paul says to Titus: "Not by the works of justice which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us by the labour of regeneration and renovation of the Holy Ghost, whom he hath poured forth upon us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour" (Tit. iii, 5, 6). Therefore, they say, God justifies us by his mercy, and not by the works, which we allege are necessary for justification. We reply, that our works, as hope, charity, and repentance, with a purpose of amendment, are necessary to render us disposed to receive grace from God; but when the Almighty gives it to us, he does so not for our works, but through his mercy alone, and the merits of Jesus Christ. Let them particularly remark the words " renovation of the Holy Ghost, whom he hath poured forth abundantly upon us, through Jesus Christ our Saviour;" so that when God justifies us, he infuses upon us, not away from us, the Holy Ghost, who renews us, changing us from sinners unto Saints. (1) Calvin, l. de vera rat. Reform. Eccles. 35. They object, thirdly, another text of St. Paul: " But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and justice, and sanctification, and redemption" (I. Cor. i, 30). Behold, they exclaim, how Jesus Christ is made our justice. We do not deny that the justice of Jesus Christ is the cause of our justice; but we deny that the justice of Christ is our justice itself, no more than we can say that our wisdom is the wisdom of Christ; and as we do not become wise because of the wisdom of Christ imputed to us, neither do we become just because his justice is imputed to us, as the sectarians teach: " He is made unto us wisdom, and justice, and sanctification." All this is to be understood not imputatively, but effectively, that is, that Jesus Christ, by his wisdom, and justice, and sanctity, has made us become effectively wise, and just, and holy. It is in the same sense we say to God: " I will love thee, Lord, my strength" (Psalm xvii, 1); " For thou art my patience, O Lord" (Psalm lxx, 5); " The Lord is my light and my salvation" (Psalm xxvi, 1). How is God our strength, our patience, our light? is it imputatively alone? By no means; he is effectively so, for it is he who strengthens, enlightens, and renders us patient; and who saves us. 36. They object, fourthly, that the Apostle says: " Put on the new man, who according to God is created in justice and holiness of truth" (Ephes. iv, 24). Here, say they, it is plain that we, in the justification by faith, clothe ourselves with the justice of Christ as with a garment, which is extrinsic to us. Behold how all heretics boast of not following anything but the pure Scriptures, and will not listen to Tradition, nor the definitions of Councils, nor the authority of the Church. The Scripture, they cry, is our only rule of faith; and why so? Because they distort it, and explain it each after his own fashion, and thus render the Book of Truth a fountain of error and falsehood. In answer to the objection, however, we reply, St. Paul in that passage, does not speak of extrinsic, but intrinsic justice, and he, therefore, says: " Be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man," &c, . (Ephes. iv, 23). He means that clothing ourselves with Jesus Christ, we should renew ourselves internally in spirit with intrinsic and inherent justice, as Calvin himself admitted; for, otherwise, remaining sinners, we could not renew ourselves. He says: " Put on the new man," because, as a garment is not properly a thing belonging to the body itself, or part of it, so grace or justice does not properly belong to the sinner, but is gratuitously given to him by the mercy of God alone. The Apostle says in another place: " Put on bowels of mercy" (Col. iii, 13). Now, as in this passage he does not speak of extrinsic and apparent mercy, but of that which is real and intrinsic, so when he says: " Put on the new man," he means that we should strip ourselves of the old vicious and graceless man, and put on the new man enriched not with the imputative justice of Jesus Christ, but with intrinsic justice belonging to ourselves, though given us through the merits of Jesus Christ.

The Council of Florence is the seventeenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held between 1431 and 1449. It was convoked as the Council of Basel by Pope Martin V shortly before his death in February 1431 and took place in the context of the Hussite Wars in Bohemia and the rise of the Ottoman Empire. At stake was the greater conflict between the conciliar movement and the principle of papal supremacy. The Council entered a second phase after Emperor Sigismund's death in 1437. Pope Eugene IV translated the Council to Ferrara on 8 January 1438, where it became the Council of Ferrara and succeeded in drawing some of the Byzantine ambassadors who were in attendance at Basel to Italy. Some Council members rejected the papal decree and remained at Basel: this rump Council suspended Eugene, declared him a heretic, and then in November 1439 elected an antipope, Felix V. After becoming the Council of Florence (having moved to avoid the plague in Ferrara), the Council concluded in 1445 after negotiating unions with the various eastern churches. This bridging of the Great Schism proved fleeting, but was a political coup for the papacy. In 1447, Sigismund's successor Frederick III commanded the city of Basel to expel the Council of Basel; the rump Council reconvened in Lausanne before dissolving itself in 1449. 17. The Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence, 1431-45 A.D. The Council of Florence is the seventeenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held between 1431 and 1449. It was convoked as the Council of Basel by Pope Martin V shortly before his death in February 1431 and took place in the context of the Hussite Wars in Bohemia and the rise of the Ottoman Empire. At stake was the greater conflict between the conciliar movement and the principle of papal supremacy. The Council entered a second phase after Emperor Sigismund's death in 1437. Pope Eugene IV translated the Council to Ferrara on 8 January 1438, where it became the Council of Ferrara and succeeded in drawing some of the Byzantine ambassadors who were in attendance at Basel to Italy. Some Council members rejected the papal decree and remained at Basel: this rump Council suspended Eugene, declared him a heretic, and then in November 1439 elected an antipope, Felix V. After becoming the Council of Florence (having moved to avoid the plague in Ferrara), the Council concluded in 1445 after negotiating unions with the various eastern churches. This bridging of the Great Schism proved fleeting, but was a political coup for the papacy. In 1447, Sigismund's successor Frederick III commanded the city of Basel to expel the Council of Basel; the rump Council reconvened in Lausanne before dissolving itself in 1449. Read the Documents of the Council Source: Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Florence

“The Church of Rome is above the rest and must always be consulted on matters of faith. Scripture and doctrine are authenticated by Rome.” (likely written by St. Alcuin, Libri Carolini 1.6; Edward James Martin, a History of the Iconoclastic Controversy). < Proof of the Papacy Tool The Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne Papal Supremacy “The Church of Rome is above the rest and must always be consulted on matters of faith. Scripture and doctrine are authenticated by Rome.” (likely written by St. Alcuin, Libri Carolini 1.6; Edward James Martin, a History of the Iconoclastic Controversy). Proof of the Papacy Tool

“We recognize in the letter of your holiness [Pope Siricius] the vigilance of the good shepherd. You faithfully watch over the gate entrusted to you, and with pious care you guard Christ’s sheepfold [John 10:7], you that are worthy to have the Lord’s sheep hear and follow you.” (The Synod of St. Ambrose, Synodal Letter to Pope Siricius [A.D. 389]). < Proof of the Papacy Tool Council of Aquileia, 381 Shepherd “We recognize in the letter of your holiness [Pope Siricius] the vigilance of the good shepherd. You faithfully watch over the gate entrusted to you, and with pious care you guard Christ’s sheepfold [John 10:7], you that are worthy to have the Lord’s sheep hear and follow you.” (The Synod of St. Ambrose, Synodal Letter to Pope Siricius [A.D. 389]). Proof of the Papacy Tool

< Videos Fr. Mike: This Is Why You Should Listen to Others Pay It Forward Share

“I therefore beseech your holiness to persuade the most holy and blessed bishop (Pope Leo) to use his Apostolic power, and to order me to hasten to your Council. For that most holy throne (Rome) has the sovereignty over the churches throughout the universe on many grounds.” (Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrus in Syria, Tom. iv. Epist. cxvi. Renato, p. 1197 [A.D. 450]). “If Paul, the herald of the truth, the trumpet of the Holy Spirit, hastened to the great Peter, to convey from him the solution to those in Antioch, who were at issue about living under the law, how much more do we, poor and humble, run to the Apostolic Throne (Rome) to receive from you (Pope Leo) healing for wounds of the the Churches? For it pertains to you to have primacy in all things; for your throne is adorned with many prerogatives. For other cities get a name for size or beauty or population, and some that are devoid of these advantages are compensated by certain spiritual gifts: but your city has the fullest abundance of good things from the Giver of all good. For she is of all cities the greatest and most famous, the mistress of the world and teeming with population. And besides this she has created an empire which is still predominant and has imposed her own name upon her subjects. But her chief decoration is her Faith, to which the Divine Apostle is a sure witness when he exclaims your faith is proclaimed in all the world Romans 1:8; and if immediately after receiving the seeds of the saving Gospel she bore such a weight of wondrous fruit, what words are sufficient to express the piety which is now found in her? She has, too, the tombs of our common fathers and teachers of the Truth, Peter and Paul, to illumine the souls of the faithful. And this blessed and divine pair arose indeed in the East, and shed its rays in all directions, but voluntarily underwent the sunset of life in the West, from whence now it illumines the whole world. These have rendered your See so glorious: this is the chief of all your goods. And their See is still blessed by the light of their God's presence, seeing that therein He has placed your Holiness to shed abroad the rays of the one true Faith. “After such toils and troubles I am condemned without a hearing….However, I wait for the verdict of your apostolic throne, and beg and pray your holiness to help me, when I appeal to your right and just tribunal, and to bid me come to you and show that my teaching follows in the apostolic track. . . . I beseech you not to spurn my petition, nor to overlook the insults heaped upon me. “Before all, tell me whether I ought to acquiesce in this unrighteous deposition or not. I awaityour verdict; and if you bid me abide by my condemnalion, I will do so, and will trouble no one hereafter, but await the unerring verdict of our God and Saviour. . . “. . . . I entreat your holiness . . . to consider my slandered position, so falsely attacked, to be worthy of your protection. Above all I beseech you to defend with all your might the faith that is now plotted against, and to keep the hereditary doctrine intact for the churches. So shall your holiness receive from the bountiful Master a full reward.” (Theodoret Epistle to Pope Leo, preserved in the 52 Epistle of Leo the Great.) “For that all holy throne has the office of heading the Churches of the whole world, for many reasons; and, above all others, because it has remained free of the communion of heretical taint, and no one holding heterodox sentiments ever sat in it, but it has preserved the Apostolic grace unsullied.” (Theodoret, Epist Renato) “Hasten to your Apostolic See in order to receive from you a cure for the wounds of the Church. For every reason it is fitting for you to hold the first place, inasmuch as your see is adorned with many priviledges. I have been condemned without trial. But I await the sentence of your Apostolic See. I beseech and implore Your Holiness to succor me in my appeal to your fair and righteous tribunal. Bid me hasten to you and prove to you that my teaching follows in the footsteps of the Apostles.” (Theodoret to Pope Leo, Ep. 113). “The great foundation of the Church was shaken, and confirmed by the Divine grace. And the Lord commanded him to apply that same care to the brethren. ‘And thou,’ He says, ‘converted, confirm thy brethren.’”(Tom. iv. Haeret. Fab. lib. v.c. 28 (A.D. 450)) “‘For as I,’ He says, ‘did not despise thee when tossed, so be thou a support to thy brethren in trouble, and the help by which thou was saved do thou thyself impart to others, and exhort them not while they are tottering, but raise them up in their peril. For this reason I suffer thee also to slip, but do not permit thee to fall, thus through thee gaining steadfastness for those who are tossed.’ So this great pillar supported the tossing and sinking world, and permitted it not to fall entirely and gave it back stability, having been ordered to feed God’s sheep. ” (Theodoret, Oratio de Caritate in J. P. Minge, ed., Partrologiae Curses Completus: Series Graeca). “The whole world, dearly-beloved, does indeed take part in all holy anniversaries, and loyalty to the one Faith demands that whatever is recorded as done for all men's salvation should be everywhere celebrated with common rejoicings. But, besides that reverence which today's festival has gained from all the world, it is to be honoured with special and peculiar exultation in our city, that there may be a predominance of gladness on the day of their martyrdom in the place where the chief of the Apostles met their glorious end. For these are the men, through whom the light of Christ's gospel shone on you, O Rome, and through whom you, who was the teacher of error, was made the disciple of Truth. These are your holy Fathers and true shepherds, who gave you claims to be numbered among the heavenly kingdoms, and built you under much better and happier auspices than they, by whose zeal the first foundations of your walls were laid: and of whom the one that gave you your name defiled you with his brother's blood. [Romulus was the traditional founder of Rome. He murdered his brother, Remus.] These are they who promoted you to such glory, that being made a holy nation, a chosen people, a priestly and royal state 1 Peter 2:9, and the head of the world through the blessed Peter's holy See you attained a wider sway by the worship of God than by earthly government. For although you were increased by many victories, and extended your rule on land and sea, yet what your toils in war subdued is less than what the peace of Christ has conquered.” (Sermon 82). “But I await the sentence of your Apostolic See. I beseech and implore your holiness to succour me in my appeal to your fair and righteous tribunal.” (Letter 113 to St. Pope Leo the Great). With these and similar arguments, they attacked the vacant mind of the emperor and persuaded him to expel Athanasius from the Church. But he, having discovered the plot, withdrew and went to the West. The Eusebians had falsely accused Athanasius to the bishop of Rome (just then Julius was shepherding that church). He therefore, obtying the law of the Church, summoned the accuselrs to come to Rome, and called the devout Athanasius to trial. And he, accepting the call, set out at once ; but the false accusers, seeing that the lie would easily be detected, did not go to Rome. (Church History, Book 2). “Twenty-six years I have been a bishop ; I have undergone countless labours ; I have struggled hard for the truth; have freed tens of thousands of heretics and brought them to the Saviour, and now they have stripped me of my priesthood, and are exiling me from the city. They have no respect for my old age, or for my hairs grown grey in the truth. Wherefore I beseech your sanctity to persuade the very sacred and holy Archbishop Leo to bid me hasten to your council. For that holy see has precedence of all churches in the world, for many reasons; and above all for this, that it is free from all taint of t heresy, and that no bishop of false opinions has ever sat upon its throne, but it has kept the grace of the apostles undefiled.” (Ep. 116, to Renatus thepresbyter [A.D. 449). “Dioscorus is turning the see of blessed Mark upside down ; and this he does, well knowing that the metropolis of Antioch possesses the throne of the great Peter, who was teacher of blessed Mark, and first and leader of the choir of the apostles.” (Epistle 86, to Flavian). [Quoting Luke 22. 31, 32.1 "For as I ", he says, " did not despise thee when tossed, so be thou a support to thy brethren in trouble, and the help by which thou wast saved do thou thyself impart to others, and exhort them not while they are tottering, but raise them up in their peril. For this reason I suffer thee also to slip, but do not permit thee to fall, [thus] through thee gaining steadfastness for those who are tossed." So this great pillar supported the tossing and sinking world, and permitted it not to fall entirely and gave it back stability, having been ordered to feed God's sheep. (Oratio de Caritate). < Proof of the Papacy Tool St. Theodoret of Cyrus Apostolic See, Chief of the Apostles, Foundation of the Church, St. Peter, Shepherd “I therefore beseech your holiness to persuade the most holy and blessed bishop (Pope Leo) to use his Apostolic power, and to order me to hasten to your Council. For that most holy throne (Rome) has the sovereignty over the churches throughout the universe on many grounds.” (Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrus in Syria, Tom. iv. Epist. cxvi. Renato, p. 1197 [A.D. 450]). “If Paul, the herald of the truth, the trumpet of the Holy Spirit, hastened to the great Peter, to convey from him the solution to those in Antioch, who were at issue about living under the law, how much more do we, poor and humble, run to the Apostolic Throne (Rome) to receive from you (Pope Leo) healing for wounds of the the Churches? For it pertains to you to have primacy in all things; for your throne is adorned with many prerogatives. For other cities get a name for size or beauty or population, and some that are devoid of these advantages are compensated by certain spiritual gifts: but your city has the fullest abundance of good things from the Giver of all good. For she is of all cities the greatest and most famous, the mistress of the world and teeming with population. And besides this she has created an empire which is still predominant and has imposed her own name upon her subjects. But her chief decoration is her Faith, to which the Divine Apostle is a sure witness when he exclaims your faith is proclaimed in all the world Romans 1:8; and if immediately after receiving the seeds of the saving Gospel she bore such a weight of wondrous fruit, what words are sufficient to express the piety which is now found in her? She has, too, the tombs of our common fathers and teachers of the Truth, Peter and Paul, to illumine the souls of the faithful. And this blessed and divine pair arose indeed in the East, and shed its rays in all directions, but voluntarily underwent the sunset of life in the West, from whence now it illumines the whole world. These have rendered your See so glorious: this is the chief of all your goods. And their See is still blessed by the light of their God's presence, seeing that therein He has placed your Holiness to shed abroad the rays of the one true Faith. “After such toils and troubles I am condemned without a hearing….However, I wait for the verdict of your apostolic throne, and beg and pray your holiness to help me, when I appeal to your right and just tribunal, and to bid me come to you and show that my teaching follows in the apostolic track. . . . I beseech you not to spurn my petition, nor to overlook the insults heaped upon me. “Before all, tell me whether I ought to acquiesce in this unrighteous deposition or not. I awaityour verdict; and if you bid me abide by my condemnalion, I will do so, and will trouble no one hereafter, but await the unerring verdict of our God and Saviour. . . “. . . . I entreat your holiness . . . to consider my slandered position, so falsely attacked, to be worthy of your protection. Above all I beseech you to defend with all your might the faith that is now plotted against, and to keep the hereditary doctrine intact for the churches. So shall your holiness receive from the bountiful Master a full reward.” (Theodoret Epistle to Pope Leo, preserved in the 52 Epistle of Leo the Great.) “For that all holy throne has the office of heading the Churches of the whole world, for many reasons; and, above all others, because it has remained free of the communion of heretical taint, and no one holding heterodox sentiments ever sat in it, but it has preserved the Apostolic grace unsullied.” (Theodoret, Epist Renato) “Hasten to your Apostolic See in order to receive from you a cure for the wounds of the Church. For every reason it is fitting for you to hold the first place, inasmuch as your see is adorned with many priviledges. I have been condemned without trial. But I await the sentence of your Apostolic See. I beseech and implore Your Holiness to succor me in my appeal to your fair and righteous tribunal. Bid me hasten to you and prove to you that my teaching follows in the footsteps of the Apostles.” (Theodoret to Pope Leo, Ep. 113). “The great foundation of the Church was shaken, and confirmed by the Divine grace. And the Lord commanded him to apply that same care to the brethren. ‘And thou,’ He says, ‘converted, confirm thy brethren.’”(Tom. iv. Haeret. Fab. lib. v.c. 28 (A.D. 450)) “‘For as I,’ He says, ‘did not despise thee when tossed, so be thou a support to thy brethren in trouble, and the help by which thou was saved do thou thyself impart to others, and exhort them not while they are tottering, but raise them up in their peril. For this reason I suffer thee also to slip, but do not permit thee to fall, thus through thee gaining steadfastness for those who are tossed.’ So this great pillar supported the tossing and sinking world, and permitted it not to fall entirely and gave it back stability, having been ordered to feed God’s sheep. ” (Theodoret, Oratio de Caritate in J. P. Minge, ed., Partrologiae Curses Completus: Series Graeca). “The whole world, dearly-beloved, does indeed take part in all holy anniversaries, and loyalty to the one Faith demands that whatever is recorded as done for all men's salvation should be everywhere celebrated with common rejoicings. But, besides that reverence which today's festival has gained from all the world, it is to be honoured with special and peculiar exultation in our city, that there may be a predominance of gladness on the day of their martyrdom in the place where the chief of the Apostles met their glorious end. For these are the men, through whom the light of Christ's gospel shone on you, O Rome, and through whom you, who was the teacher of error, was made the disciple of Truth. These are your holy Fathers and true shepherds, who gave you claims to be numbered among the heavenly kingdoms, and built you under much better and happier auspices than they, by whose zeal the first foundations of your walls were laid: and of whom the one that gave you your name defiled you with his brother's blood. [Romulus was the traditional founder of Rome. He murdered his brother, Remus.] These are they who promoted you to such glory, that being made a holy nation, a chosen people, a priestly and royal state 1 Peter 2:9, and the head of the world through the blessed Peter's holy See you attained a wider sway by the worship of God than by earthly government. For although you were increased by many victories, and extended your rule on land and sea, yet what your toils in war subdued is less than what the peace of Christ has conquered.” (Sermon 82). “But I await the sentence of your Apostolic See. I beseech and implore your holiness to succour me in my appeal to your fair and righteous tribunal.” (Letter 113 to St. Pope Leo the Great). With these and similar arguments, they attacked the vacant mind of the emperor and persuaded him to expel Athanasius from the Church. But he, having discovered the plot, withdrew and went to the West. The Eusebians had falsely accused Athanasius to the bishop of Rome (just then Julius was shepherding that church). He therefore, obtying the law of the Church, summoned the accuselrs to come to Rome, and called the devout Athanasius to trial. And he, accepting the call, set out at once ; but the false accusers, seeing that the lie would easily be detected, did not go to Rome. (Church History, Book 2). “Twenty-six years I have been a bishop ; I have undergone countless labours ; I have struggled hard for the truth; have freed tens of thousands of heretics and brought them to the Saviour, and now they have stripped me of my priesthood, and are exiling me from the city. They have no respect for my old age, or for my hairs grown grey in the truth. Wherefore I beseech your sanctity to persuade the very sacred and holy Archbishop Leo to bid me hasten to your council. For that holy see has precedence of all churches in the world, for many reasons; and above all for this, that it is free from all taint of t heresy, and that no bishop of false opinions has ever sat upon its throne, but it has kept the grace of the apostles undefiled.” (Ep. 116, to Renatus thepresbyter [A.D. 449). “Dioscorus is turning the see of blessed Mark upside down ; and this he does, well knowing that the metropolis of Antioch possesses the throne of the great Peter, who was teacher of blessed Mark, and first and leader of the choir of the apostles.” (Epistle 86, to Flavian). [Quoting Luke 22. 31, 32.1 "For as I ", he says, " did not despise thee when tossed, so be thou a support to thy brethren in trouble, and the help by which thou wast saved do thou thyself impart to others, and exhort them not while they are tottering, but raise them up in their peril. For this reason I suffer thee also to slip, but do not permit thee to fall, [thus] through thee gaining steadfastness for those who are tossed." So this great pillar supported the tossing and sinking world, and permitted it not to fall entirely and gave it back stability, having been ordered to feed God's sheep. (Oratio de Caritate). Proof of the Papacy Tool

“The Emperors Theodosius and Valentinian [the third] to Aetius, Master of the Military and Patrician. It is certain that for us the only defence lies in the favour of the God of heaven; and to deserve it our first care is to support the Christian faith and its venerable religion. Inasmuch then as the primacy of the apostolic see is assured, by the merit of S. Peter, who is chief of the episcopal order, by the rank of the city of Rome, and also by the authority of a sacred synod, let no one presume to attempt any illicit act contrary to the authority of that see. For then at length will the peace of the churches be maintained everywhere, if the whole body acknowledges its ruler. Hitherto these customs have been observed without fail ; but Hilary of Arles, as we are informed by the trustworthy report of that venerable man Leo, Pope of Rome, has with contumacious daring ventured upon certain unlawful proceedings ; and therefore the churches beyond the Alps have been invaded by abominable disorders, of which a recent example particularly bears witness. For Hilary who is called bishop of Arles, without consulting the pontiff of the church of the city of Rome, has in solitary rashness usurped his jurisdiction by the ordination of bishops. He has removed some without authority, and indecently ordained others who are unwelcome and repugnant to the citizens. Since these were not readily received by those who had not chosen them, he has collected to himself an armed band and in hostility has either prepared a barrier of walls for a blockade or embarked on aggression. Thus he has led into war those who prayed for peace to the haven of rest. Such men have been admitted contrary to the dignity of the empire and contrary to the reverence due to the apostolic see ; and after investigation they have been dispersed by the order of that pious man the Pope of the city. The sentence applies to Hilary and to those whom he has wickedly ordained. This same sentence would have been valid through the Gauls without imperial sanction; for what is no allowed in the Church to the authority of so great a pontiff? Hilary is allowed still to be called a bishop, only by the kindness of the gentle president ; and our just command is, that it is not lawful either for him or for anyone else to mix church affairs with arms or to obstruct the orders of the Roman overseer. By such deeds of daring, confidence, in, and respect for, our empire is broken down. Not only then do we put away so great a crime ; but in order that not even the least disturbance may arise amongst the churches, nor the discipline of religion appear in any instance to be weakened, we decree by this eternal law that it shall not be lawful for the bishops of Gaul or of the other provinces, contrary to ancient custom, to do aught without the authority of the venerable Pope of the eternal city. And whatever the authority of the apostolic see has sanctioned, or may sanction, shall be the law for all; so that if any bishop summoned to trial before the pontiff of Rome shall neglect to come, he shall be compelled to appear by the governor of that province. Those things which our divine parents conferred on the. Roman church are to be upheld in every way. Wherefore your illustrious and eminent magnificence is to cause what is enacted above to be observed in virtue of this present edict and law . . .” (Certum Est [A.D. July 8, 445]). “Your piety therefore will do well, as soon as the approaching feast of Easter shall be passed, to repair to Ephesus so as to be ready by the day of Pentecost; you will bring with you such bishops as you shall think necessary, providing that a sufficient number remain to conduct the business of the province, and that so many as shall be sufficient may come to the council. . . . In the meantime no one shall introduce privately any innovation until the holy synod be assembled and until the common sentence of the same is given by all. . .” (Epistle to Cyril). “. . We wish the sacred doctrine to be discussed and examined in a holy synod, and that which seems to conform to the right faith to be ratified, whether those who are defeated are granted indulgence by the fathers or not. Further we by no 1 means permit the cities and churches to be disturbed ; but since we do not allow the doctrine to remain in dispute, they ought to be judges of this affair who preside over the priesthood everywhere, and through whom we ourselves are or shall be professing the truth.” (To Cyril and to all Metropolitans. Constantinople, Mansi 4.11 [A.D. November 19, 430]). < Proof of the Papacy Tool Emperors Theodosius and Valentinian Apostolic See, Papal Authority, Chief of the Apostles, Universal Jurisdiction, St. Peter “The Emperors Theodosius and Valentinian [the third] to Aetius, Master of the Military and Patrician. It is certain that for us the only defence lies in the favour of the God of heaven; and to deserve it our first care is to support the Christian faith and its venerable religion. Inasmuch then as the primacy of the apostolic see is assured, by the merit of S. Peter, who is chief of the episcopal order, by the rank of the city of Rome, and also by the authority of a sacred synod, let no one presume to attempt any illicit act contrary to the authority of that see. For then at length will the peace of the churches be maintained everywhere, if the whole body acknowledges its ruler. Hitherto these customs have been observed without fail ; but Hilary of Arles, as we are informed by the trustworthy report of that venerable man Leo, Pope of Rome, has with contumacious daring ventured upon certain unlawful proceedings ; and therefore the churches beyond the Alps have been invaded by abominable disorders, of which a recent example particularly bears witness. For Hilary who is called bishop of Arles, without consulting the pontiff of the church of the city of Rome, has in solitary rashness usurped his jurisdiction by the ordination of bishops. He has removed some without authority, and indecently ordained others who are unwelcome and repugnant to the citizens. Since these were not readily received by those who had not chosen them, he has collected to himself an armed band and in hostility has either prepared a barrier of walls for a blockade or embarked on aggression. Thus he has led into war those who prayed for peace to the haven of rest. Such men have been admitted contrary to the dignity of the empire and contrary to the reverence due to the apostolic see ; and after investigation they have been dispersed by the order of that pious man the Pope of the city. The sentence applies to Hilary and to those whom he has wickedly ordained. This same sentence would have been valid through the Gauls without imperial sanction; for what is no allowed in the Church to the authority of so great a pontiff? Hilary is allowed still to be called a bishop, only by the kindness of the gentle president ; and our just command is, that it is not lawful either for him or for anyone else to mix church affairs with arms or to obstruct the orders of the Roman overseer. By such deeds of daring, confidence, in, and respect for, our empire is broken down. Not only then do we put away so great a crime ; but in order that not even the least disturbance may arise amongst the churches, nor the discipline of religion appear in any instance to be weakened, we decree by this eternal law that it shall not be lawful for the bishops of Gaul or of the other provinces, contrary to ancient custom, to do aught without the authority of the venerable Pope of the eternal city. And whatever the authority of the apostolic see has sanctioned, or may sanction, shall be the law for all; so that if any bishop summoned to trial before the pontiff of Rome shall neglect to come, he shall be compelled to appear by the governor of that province. Those things which our divine parents conferred on the. Roman church are to be upheld in every way. Wherefore your illustrious and eminent magnificence is to cause what is enacted above to be observed in virtue of this present edict and law . . .” (Certum Est [A.D. July 8, 445]). “Your piety therefore will do well, as soon as the approaching feast of Easter shall be passed, to repair to Ephesus so as to be ready by the day of Pentecost; you will bring with you such bishops as you shall think necessary, providing that a sufficient number remain to conduct the business of the province, and that so many as shall be sufficient may come to the council. . . . In the meantime no one shall introduce privately any innovation until the holy synod be assembled and until the common sentence of the same is given by all. . .” (Epistle to Cyril). “. . We wish the sacred doctrine to be discussed and examined in a holy synod, and that which seems to conform to the right faith to be ratified, whether those who are defeated are granted indulgence by the fathers or not. Further we by no 1 means permit the cities and churches to be disturbed ; but since we do not allow the doctrine to remain in dispute, they ought to be judges of this affair who preside over the priesthood everywhere, and through whom we ourselves are or shall be professing the truth.” (To Cyril and to all Metropolitans. Constantinople, Mansi 4.11 [A.D. November 19, 430]). Proof of the Papacy Tool

< Back to Collection Cantate Domino Category Renaissance Composer About

“…Mark, who was also called Stubfinger because he had shorter fingers with regard to the other dimensions of the body. He had been the disciple and recorder of Peter, whom he followed, just as he had heard him relating. Having been asked by the brethren in Rome, he wrote this short Gospel in the regions of Italy. When Peter heard about it, he approved and authorized it to be read to the church with [his own] authority. But after the demise of Peter, taking this Gospel that he had composed he journeyed to Egypt, and being ordained the first bishop of Alexandria he founded the church there, preaching Christ. He was a man of such great learning and austerity of life that he induced all the followers of Christ to imitate his example.” (Old Latin Prologue to Mark [c. A.D. 175]). < Proof of the Papacy Tool Old Latin Prologue to Mark Papal Authority, St. Peter “…Mark, who was also called Stubfinger because he had shorter fingers with regard to the other dimensions of the body. He had been the disciple and recorder of Peter, whom he followed, just as he had heard him relating. Having been asked by the brethren in Rome, he wrote this short Gospel in the regions of Italy. When Peter heard about it, he approved and authorized it to be read to the church with [his own] authority. But after the demise of Peter, taking this Gospel that he had composed he journeyed to Egypt, and being ordained the first bishop of Alexandria he founded the church there, preaching Christ. He was a man of such great learning and austerity of life that he induced all the followers of Christ to imitate his example.” (Old Latin Prologue to Mark [c. A.D. 175]). Proof of the Papacy Tool

< Videos Prepare Your Heart This Advent (Trailer) Pay It Forward Share

An article from St. Alphonus Liguori's "The History of Heresies and Their Refutation" < Heresies Tool The Heresy of Macedonius, Who Denied the Divinity of the Holy Ghost 1. Though Arius did not deny the Divinity of the Holy Ghost, still it was a necessary consequence of his principles, for, denying the Son to be God, the Holy Ghost, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, could not be God. However, Aezius, Eunomius, Eudoxius, and all those followers of his, who blasphemously taught that the Son was not like unto the Father, attacked also the Divinity of the Holy Ghost, and the chief defender and propagator of this heresy was Macedonius. In the refutation of the heresy of Sabellius, we will prove, in opposition to the Socinians, that the Holy Ghost is the Third Person of the Trinity, subsisting and really distinct from the Father and the Son; here we will prove that the Holy Ghost is true God, equal and consubstantial to the Father and the Son. THE DIVINITY OF THE HOLY GHOST PROVED FROM SCRIPTURES, FROM THE TRADITIONS OF THE FATHERS, AND FROM GENERAL COUNCILS. 2. We begin with the Scriptures. To prove that this is an article of Faith, I do not myself think any more is necessary than to quote the text of St. Matthew, in which is related the commission given by Christ to his Apostles: " Go, ye, therefore, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Matt, xxviii, 19). It is in this belief we profess the Christian religion, which is founded on the mystery of the Trinity, the principal one of our Faith; it is by these words the character of a Christian is impressed on every one entering into the Church by Baptism; this is the formula approved by all the Holy Fathers, and used from the earliest ages of the Church: " I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." As the three Persons are named consecutively, and without any difference, the equality of the authority and power belonging to them is declared, and as we say, " in the name," and not " in the names," we profess the unity of essence in them. By using the article " and in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," we proclaim the real distinction that exists between them; for if we said, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, the latter expression, Holy Ghost, might be understood, not as a substantive, as the proper name of one of the Divine Persons, but as an epithet and adjective applied to the Father and the Son. It is for this reason, Tertullian says (15), that our Lord has commanded to make an ablution, in the administration of Baptism, at the name of each of the Divine Persons, that we may firmly believe that there are three distinct Persons in the Trinity. "Mandavit ut tingerent in Patrem et Filium, et Spiritum Sanctum; non in unum nec semel sed ter ad singula nomina in personas singulas tingimur." 3. St. Athanasius, in his celebrated Epistle to Serapion, says, that we join the name of the Holy Ghost with the Father and the Son in Baptism, because, if we omitted it, the Sacrament would be invalid: " He who curtails the Trinity, and baptizes in the name of the Father alone, or in the name of the Son alone, or omitting the Holy Ghost, with the Father and Son, performs nothing, for initiation consists in the whole Trinity being named." The Saint says that if we omit the name of the Holy Ghost the Baptism is invalid, because Baptism is the Sacrament in which we profess the Faith, and this Faith requires a belief in all the three Divine Persons united in one essence, so that he who denies one of the Persons denies God altogether. (15) Tertullian, con. Praxeam, c. 26. " And so," follows on St. Athanasius, " Baptism would be invalid, when administered in the belief that the Son or the Holy Ghost were mere creatures." He who divides the Son from the Father, or lowers the Spirit to the condition of a mere creature, has neither the Son nor the Father, and justly, for as it is one Baptism which is conferred in the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and it is one Faith in Him, as the Apostle says, so the Holy Trinity, existing in itself, and united in itself, has, in itself, nothing of created things. Thus, as the Trinity is one and undivided, so is the Faith of three Persons united in it, one and undivided. We, therefore, are bound to believe that the name of the Holy Ghost, that is, the name of the Third Person expressed by these two words, so frequently used in the Scriptures, is not an imaginary name, or casually invented, but the name of the Third Person, God, like the Father and the Son. We should remember, likewise, that the expression, Holy Ghost, is, properly speaking, but one word, for either of its component parts might be applied to the Father or the Son, for both are Holy, both are Spirit, but this word is the proper name of the Third Person of the Trinity. " Why would Jesus Christ," adds St. Athanasius, " join the name of the Holy Ghost with those of the Father and the Son, if he were a mere creature? is it to render the three Divine Persons unlike each other? was there any thing wanting to God that he should assume a different substance, to render it glorious like unto himself?" 4. Besides this text of St. Matthew, already quoted, in which our Lord not only orders his disciples to baptize in the name of the three Persons, but to teach the Faith: " Teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father," &c., we have that text of St. John: " There are three who give testimony in heaven, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one" (John, I. Epis. v, 7). These words (as we have already explained in the Refutation of Sabellianism, n. 9), evidently prove the unity of Nature, and the distinction of the three Divine Persons (16). The text says, " These three are one;" if the three testimonies are one and the same, then each one of them has the same Divinity, the same substance, for otherwise, how, as St. Isidore (17) says, could the text of St. John be verified? " Nam cum tria sunt unum sunt." St. Paul says the same, in sending his blessing to his disciples in Corinth: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the charity of God, and the communication of the Holy Ghost be with you all" (II. Cor. xiii, 13). (16) St. A than. Epis. ad Serassion, n. 6. (17) St. Isidore, l. 7; Etymol. c. 4. 5. We find the same expressions used in those passages of the Scriptures which speak of the sending of the Holy Ghost to the Church, as in St. John (xiv, 16): "I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Paraclete, that he may abide with you for ever." Remark how our Lord uses the words, " another Paraclete," to mark the equality existing between himself and the Holy Ghost. Again, he says, in the same Gospel (xv, 26): " When the Paraclete cometh, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth, who proceedeth from the Father, he shall give testimony of me." Here Jesus says, " he will send" the Spirit of Truth; now this Spirit which he will send is not his own Spirit, for his own Spirit he could communicate or give, but not "send," for sending means the transmission of something distinct from the person who sends. He adds, "Who proceeds from the Father;" and " procession," in respect of the Divine Persons, implies equality, and it is this very argument the Fathers availed themselves of against the Arians, to prove the Divinity of the Word, as we may see in the writings of St. Ambrose (18). The reason is this: the procession from another is to receive the same existence from the principle from which the procession is made, and, therefore, if the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father, he receives the Divinity from the Father in the same manner as the Father himself has it. 6. Another great proof is, that we see the Holy Ghost called God in the Scriptures, like the Father, without any addition, restriction, or inequality. Thus Isaias, in the beginning of his 6th chapter, thus speaks of the Supreme God: " I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and elevated; upon it stood the seraphim, and they cried to one another, Holy, Holy, Holy, the Lord God of Hosts, all the earth is full of his glory; and I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Go, and thou shalt say to this people, hearing, hear and understand not. Blind the heart of this people, and make their ears heavy." (18) St. Ambrose, l. 1 ,de Spir. S. c. 4. Now, St. Paul informs us that this Supreme God, of whom the Prophet speaks, is the Holy Ghost. Here are his words: " Well did the Holy Ghost speak to our fathers by Isaias the Prophet, saying: " Go to this people, and say to them, with the ear you shall hear" &c. (Acts, xxviii, 25, 26). So we here see that the Holy Ghost is that same God called by Isaias the Lord God of Hosts. St. Basil (19) makes a beautiful reflection regarding this expression, the Lord God of Hosts. Isaias, in the prayer quoted, refers it to the Father. St. John (cap. 12), applies it to the Son, as is manifest from the 37th and the following verse, where this text is referred to, and St. Paul applies it to the Holy Ghost: " The Prophet," says the Saint, " mentions the Person of the Father, in whom the Jews believed, the Evangelist the Son, Paul the Holy Spirit" " Propheta inducit Patris in quem Judei credebant personam Evangelista Filii, Paulus Spiritus, ilium ipsum qui visus fuerat unum Dominum Sabaoth communiter nominantes. Sermonem quem de hypostasi instituerunt distruxere indistincta manente in eis de uno Deo sententia." How beautifully the Holy Doctor shows that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, are three distinct Persons, but still the one and the same God, speaking by the mouth of his Prophets. St. Paul, also, speaking of that passage in the Psalms (xciv, 9), " Your fathers tempted me," says, that the God the Hebrews then tempted was the Holy Ghost; " therefore," says the Apostle, " as the Holy Ghost saith your fathers tempted me" (Heb. iii, 7, 9). 7. St. Peter confirms this doctrine (Acts, i, 16), when he says that the God who spoke by the mouth of the Prophets is the Holy Ghost himself: " The Scripture must be fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost spoke before by the mouth of David." And in the second Epistle (i, 21), he says: " For prophecy came not by the will of man at any time, but the holy men of God spoke, in spired by the Holy Ghost." St. Peter, likewise, calls the Holy Ghost God, in contradistinction to creatures. When charging Ananias with a lie, he says: " Why hath Satan tempted thy heart, that thou shouldst lie to the Holy Ghost thou hast not lied to man, but to God" (Acts, v, 4). (19) St. Basil, l 5, con. Eunom. It is most certain that St. Peter, in this passage, intended to say that the Third Person of the Trinity was God, and thus St. Basil, St. Ambrose, St. Gregory Nazianzen (20), and several other Fathers, together with St. Augustine (21), understood it so. St. Augustine says: " Showing that the Holy Ghost is God, you have not lied," he says, " to man, but to God. 8. Another strong proof of the Divinity of the Holy Ghost is, that the Scriptures attribute to him qualities which belong alone by nature to God: First Immensity, which fills the world: " Do not I fill the heaven and the earth, saith the Lord?" (Jer. xxiii, 24). And the Scripture then says that the Holy Ghost fills the world: " For the Spirit of the Lord hath filled the whole world" (Wisdom, i, 7). Therefore the Holy Ghost is God. St. Ambrose says (22): " Of what creature can it be said what is written of the Holy Ghost, that he filled all things? I will pour forth my Spirit over all flesh, &c., for it is the Lord alone can fill all things, who says, I fill the heaven and the earth." Besides, we read in the Acts (ii, 4), " They were all filled with the Holy Ghost." " Do we ever hear," says Didimus, "the Scriptures say, filled by a creature? The Scriptures never speak in this way." They were, therefore, filled with God, and this God was the Holy Spirit. 9. Secondly God alone knows the Divine secrets. As St. Ambrose says, the inferior knows not the secrets of his superior. Now, St. Paul says, " The Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God, for what man knoweth the things of a man, but the spirit of a man that is in him? So the things also that are of God no man knoweth but the Spirit of God" (I. Cor. ii, 10, 11). The Holy Ghost is, therefore, God; for, as Paschasius remarks, if none but God can know the heart of man, " the searcher of hearts and reins is God" (Ps. vii, 10). Much more so must it be God alone who knows the secrets of God. This, then, he says, is a proof of the Divinity of the Holy Spirit. St. Athanasius proves the consubstantiality of the Holy Ghost with the Father and the Son from this same passage, for as the spirit of man, which knows the secrets of man, is nothing foreign from him, but is of the very substance of man, so the Holy Ghost, who knows the secrets of God, is not different from God, but must be one and the same substance with God. (20) St Basil, l 1, con. Eunom. et lib. de. Sp. S. c. 16; St. Ambrose l.1, de Spir. S. c. 4; St. Gregor. Nazianz. Orat. 37. (21) St. Augus. l 2, con. Maximin. c. 21. (22) St. Ambrose, l. 1, de S. S. c. 7. " Would it not be the height of impiety to say that the Spirit who is in God, and who searches the hidden things of God, is a creature? He who holds that opinion will be obliged to admit that the spirit of man is something different from man himself" (23). 10. Thirdly God alone is omnipotent, and this attribute belongs to the Holy Ghost. " By the word of the Lord the heavens were established, and all the power of them by the Spirit of his mouth" (Psalms, xxxii, 7). And St. Luke is even clearer on this point, for when the Blessed Virgin asked the Archangel how she could become the mother of our Saviour, having consecrated her virginity to God, the Archangel answered: " The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee because no word shall be impossible with God." Hence we see the Holy Ghost is all-powerful, that to him there is nothing impossible. To the Holy Ghost, likewise, is attributed the creation of the universe: " Send forth thy Spirit, and they shall be created" (Psalms, ciii, 30). And in Job we read: " His Spirit has adorned the heavens" (Job, xxvi, 13). The power of creation belongs to the Divine Omnipotence alone. Hence, concludes St. Athanasius (24), when we find this written, it is certain that the Spirit is not a created, but a creator. The Father creates all things by the Word in the Spirit, inasmuch as when the Word is there, the Spirit is, and all things created by the Word have, from the Spirit, by the Son, the power of existing. For it is thus written in the 32nd Psalm: " By the Word of the Lord the heavens were established, and all the power of them by the Spirit of his mouth." There can, therefore, be no doubt but that the Spirit is undivided from the Son. 11. Fourthly It is certain that the grace of God is not given unless by God himself: " The Lord will give grace and glory" (Psalms. Ixxxiii, 12). Thus, also, it is God alone who can grant justification. It is God " that justifieth the wicked" (Prov. xvii, 15). Now both these attributes appertain to the Holy Ghost. " The charity of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, who is given to us" (Romans, v, 5). (23) St. Athanas. Epis. 1, ad Serapion. n. 22. (24) St. Athanas. ibid, Didimus (25) makes a reflection on this: The very expression, he says, " poured out," proves the uncreated substance of the Holy Ghost; for whenever God sends forth an angel, he does not say, I will " pour out" my angel. As to justification, we hear Jesus says to his disciples: " Receive ye the Holy Ghost; whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven" (John, xx. 22, 23). If the power of forgiving sins comes from the Holy Ghost, he must be God. The Apostle also says that it is God who operates in us the good we do; " the same God who worketh all in all" (I. Cor. xii, 6). And then in the llth verse of the same chapter he says that this God is the Holy Ghost: " But all those things one and the same Spirit worketh, dividing to every one according as he will." Here then, says St. Athanasius, the Scripture proves that the operation of God is the operation of the Holy Ghost. 12. Fifthly St. Paul tells us that we are the temples of God. " Know you not that you are the temple of God" (I. Cor. iii, 16). And then further on in the same Epistle he says that our body is the temple of the Holy Ghost: " Or know you not that your members are the temple of the Holy Ghost, who is in you" (vi, 19). If, therefore, we are the temples of God and of the Holy Ghost, we must confess that the Holy Ghost is God, for if the Holy Ghost were a creature, we would be forced to admit that the very temple of God was the temple of a creature. Here are St. Augustine’s (26) words on the subject: " If the Holy Ghost be not God, he would not have us as his temple for if we would build a temple to some Saint or Angel, we would be cut off from the truth of Christ and the Church of God, since we would be exhibiting to a creature that service which we owe to God alone. If, therefore, we would be guilty of sacrilege, by erecting a temple to any creature, surely he must be true God to whom we not only erect a temple, but even are ourselves his temple." (25) Dydim. l. de St. San. (27) St. Augus. in I. Cor. c. 6; Coll. cum Maximin. in Arian. Hence, also, St. Fulgentius (27), in his remarks on the same subject, justly reproves those who deny the Divinity of the Holy Ghost: " Do you mean to tell me," says the Saint, " that he who is not God could establish the power of the heavens that he who is not God could sanctify us by the regeneration of Baptism that he who is not God could give us charity that he who is not God could give us grace that he could have as his temples the members of Christ, and still be not God? You must agree to all this, if you deny that the Holy Ghost is true God. If any creature could do all these things attributed to the Holy Ghost, then he may justly be called a creature; but if all these things are impossible to a creature, and are attributed to the Holy Ghost, things which belong to God alone, we should not say that he is naturally different from the Father and the Son, when we can find no difference in his power of operating." We must then conclude, with St. Fulgentius, that, where there is a unity of power, there is a unity of nature, and the Divinity of the Holy Ghost follows as a necessary consequence. 13. In addition to these Scripture proofs, we have the constant tradition of the Church, in which the Faith of the Divinity of the Holy Ghost, and his consubstantiality with the Father and the Son, has been always preserved, both in the formula of administering Baptism, and in the prayers in which he is conjointly invoked with the Father and the Son, especially in that prayer said at the conclusion of all the Psalms and Hymns: " Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost," or, " Glory to the Father, by the Son, in the Holy Ghost," or, " Glory to the Father, with the Son and the Holy Ghost," all three formulæ having been practised by the Church. St. Athanasius, St. Basil, St. Ambrose, St. Hilary, Didimus, Theodoret, St. Augustine, and the other Fathers, laid great stress on this argument when opposing the Macedonians. St. Basil (28), remarks that the formula, " Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost," was rarely used in his time in the Church, but generally " Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, with the Holy Ghost." However, it all amounts to the same thing, for it is a general rule, in speaking of the Trinity, to use the words " from whom," " by whom," " in whom," (as when we say of the Father, " from whom are all things;" of the Son, " by whom are all things;" of the Holy Ghost, " in whom are all things,") in the same sense. (27) St. Fulgentius, l. 3, ad Trasimund, c. 35. (28) St. Basil, l. 1, de S. Sancto, c. 25. There is no inequality of Persons marked by these expressions, since St. Paul, speaking of God himself, says: " For of him, and by him, and in him, are all things; to him be glory for ever. Amen" (Rom. xi, 36). 14. This constant faith of the Church has been preserved by the Holy Fathers in their writings from the earliest ages. St. Basil, one of the most strenuous defenders of the Divinity of the Holy Ghost (29), cites a passage of St. Clement of Rome, Pope: " The ancient Clement," he says, " thus spoke: The Father lives; he says, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. " Thus, St. Clement attributes the same life to the three Divine Persons equally, and therefore believed them all three to be truly and substantially God. What makes this stronger is, that St. Clement is contrasting the three Divine Persons with the Gods of the Gentiles, who had no life, while God in the Scriptures is called " the living God." It is of no importance either, that the words quoted are not found in the two Epistles of St. Clement, for we have only some fragments of the second Epistle, and we may, therefore, believe for certain, that St. Basil had the whole Epistle before him, of which we have only a part. 15. St. Justin, in his second Apology, says: " We adore and venerate, with truth and reason, himself (the Father), and he who comes from him the Son and the Holy Ghost," Thus St. Justin pays the same adoration to the Son and the Holy Ghost as to the Father. Athenagoras, in his Apology, says: "We believe in God, and his Son, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, united in power For the Son is the mind, the word, and the wisdom of the Father, and the Spirit is as the light flowing from fire." St. Iræneus (30) teaches that God, the Father, has created and now governs all things, both by the Word and by the Holy Ghost. " For nothing," he says, " is wanting to God, who makes, and disposes, and governs all things, by the Word and by the Holy Ghost." We here see, according to St. Iræneus, that God has no need of any thing; and he afterwards says, that he does all things by the Word and by the Holy Ghost. (29) St. Basil, l. de S. Sancto, c. 29. (30) St. Iræn, l. 1, ad Hæres. c. 19. The Holy Ghost is, therefore, God the same as the Father. He tells us, in another part of his works (31), that the Holy Ghost is a creator, and eternal, unlike a created spirit. " For that which is made is," he says, " different from the maker; what is made is made in time, but the Spirit is eternal." St. Lucian, who lived about the year 160, says, in a Dialogue, entitled Philopatris, attributed to him, addressing a Gentile, who interrogates him: " What, then, shall I swear for you?" Triphon, the Defender of the Faith, answers: " God reigning on high the Son of the Father, the Spirit proceeding from the Father, one from three, and three from one." This passage is so clear that it requires no explanation. Clement of Alexandria says (32): " The Father of all is one; the Word of all is also one; and the Holy Ghost is one, who is also every where." In another passage he clearly explains the Divinity and Consubstantiality of the Holy Ghost with the Father and the Son (33): " We return thanks to the Father alone, and to the Son, together with the Holy Ghost, in all things one, in whom are all things, by whom all things are in one, by whom that is which always is." See here how he explains that the three Persons are equal in fact, and that they are but one in essence. Tertullian (34) professes his belief in the " Trinity of one Divinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost;" and, in another place (35), he says: " We define, indeed, two, the Father and the Son, nay, three, with the Holy Ghost; but we never profess to believe in two Gods, although the Father is God, the Son God, and the Holy Ghost God, and each one is God," &c. St. Cyprian (36), speaking of the Trinity, says: " When the three are one, how could the Holy Ghost be agreeable to him, if he were the enemy of the Father or the Son?" And, in the same Epistle, he proves that Baptism administered in the name of Christ alone is of no avail, for " Christ," he says, " orders that the Gentiles should be baptized in the full and united Trinity." (31) St. Iræn. l. 5, c. 12. (32) Clem. Alex. Pædag. l. 1, c. 6.. (33) Idem, l. 3, c. 7. (34) Tertul. de Pudic. c. 21.(35) Idem, con. Praxeam, c. 3 (36) St. Cyp. Ep. ad Juba. St. Dionisius Romanus, in his Epistle against Sabellius, says: " The admirable and Divine unity is not, therefore, to be divided into three Deities; but we are bound to believe in God, the Father Almighty, and in Christ Jesus, his Son, and in the Holy Ghost." I omit the innumerable testimonies of the Fathers of the following centuries; but I here merely note some of those who have purposely attacked the heresy of Macedonius, and these are St. Athanasius, St. Basil, St. Gregory Nazianzen, St. Gregory of Nyssa, St. Epiphanius, Didimus, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, St. Cyril of Alexandria, and St. Hilary (37). These Fathers, immediately on the appearance of the Macedonian heresy, all joined in condemning it a clear proof that it was contrary to the Faith of the Universal Church. 16. This heresy was condemned, besides, by several Councils, both General and Particular. First It was condemned (two years after Macedonius had broached it) by the Council of Alexandria, celebrated by St. Athanasius, in the year 372, in which it was decided that the Holy Ghost was Consubstantial in the Trinity. In the year 377, it was condemned by the Holy See, in the Synod of Illiricum; and about the same time, as Theodoret (38) informs us, it was condemned in two other Roman Synods, by the Pope, St. Damasus. Finally, in the year 381, it was condemned in the First Council of Constantinople, under St. Damasus; and this Article was annexed to the symbol of the Faith: " We believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life, proceeding from the Father, and with the Father and the Son to be adored and glorified, who spoke by the Prophets." He to whom the same worship is to be given as to the Father and the Son, is surely God. Besides, this Council has been always held as Ecumenical by the whole Church, for though composed of only one hundred and fifty Oriental Bishops, still, as the Western Bishops, about the same time, defined the same Article of the Divinity of the Holy Ghost, under St. Damasus, this decision has been always considered as the decision of the Universal Church; and the subsequent General Councils that is, the Council of Chalcedon, the Second and Third of Constantinople, and the Second of Nice confirmed the same symbol. Nay more, the Fourth Council of Constantinople pronounced an anathema against Macedonius, and defined that the Holy Ghost is consubstantial to the Father and to the Son. Finally, the Fourth Council of Lateran thus concludes: " We define that there is but one true God alone, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, three Persons, indeed, but only one Essence, Substance, or simple Nature And that all these Persons are consubstantial, omnipotent, and co-eternal, the one beginning of all things." (37) St. Athan. Ep. ad Scrap.; St. de S. San.; St. Cyril, Hieros. Cat. Basil, l. 3, 5, cont. Eunom. & l. de 16, 17; St. Cyril, Alex. l. 7, de Spi. S.; St. Greg. Naz. l. 5, de Trin. & I de S. Sane.; St. Hil. de Theol.; St. Greg. Nys. l. ad Eust.; Trinit. St. Epiphan. Hier. 74; Didimus, l. (38) Theodoret, l. 2, Hist. c. 22. II-ANSWER TO OBJECTIONS 17. First, the Socinians, who have revived the ancient heresies, adduce a negative argument. They say that the Holy Ghost is never called God in the Scriptures, nor is ever proposed to us to be adored and invoked. But St. Augustine (1) thus answers this argument, addressing the Macedonian Maximinus: " When have you read that the Father was not born, but self-existing? and still it is no less true," &c. The Saint means to say that many things in the Scriptures are stated, not in express terms, but in equivalent ones, which prove the truth of what is stated, just as forcibly; and, for a proof of that, the reader can refer to N. 4 and 6, where the Divinity of the Holy Ghost is incontestibly proved, if not in express, in equivalent, terms. 18. Secondly, they object that St. Paul, in his first Epistle to the Corinthians, speaking of the benefits conferred by God on mankind, mentions the Father and the Son, but not the Holy Ghost. We answer, that it is not necessary, in speaking of God, that we should always expressly name the three Divine Persons, for, when we speak of one, we speak of the three, especially in speaking of the operations, ad extra, to which the three Divine Persons concur in the same manner. (1) St. Augus. l. 2, alias 3, coiit. Maxim, c. 3. " Whosoever is blessed in Christ," says St. Ambrose (2), " is blessed in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, because there is one name and one power; thus, likewise, when the operation of the Holy Ghost is pointed out, it is referred, not only to the Holy Ghost, but also to the Father and the Son." 19. They object, thirdly, that the primitive Christians knew nothing of the Holy Ghost, as we learn from the Acts of the Apostles, when St. Paul asked some newly-baptized, if they had received the Holy Ghost, they answered: " We have not so much as heard if there be a Holy Ghost" (Acts, xix, 2). We reply that the answer to this is furnished by the very passage itself, for, St. Paul hearing that they knew nothing of the Holy Ghost, asked them: " In what, then, were you baptized;" and they answered, " in John’s Baptism." No wonder, then, that they knew nothing of the Holy Ghost, when they were not even as yet baptized with the Baptism instituted by Christ. 20. They object, fourthly, that the Council of Constantinople, speaking of the Holy Ghost, does not call him God. We answer that the Council does call him God, when it says he is the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, and who, with the Father and the Son, should be adored and glorified. And the same answer will apply, when they object that St. Basil (or any other Father) has not called the Holy Ghost God, for they have defended his Divinity, and condemned those who called him a creature. Besides, if St. Basil, in his sermons, does not speak of the Holy Ghost as God, it was only an act of prudence in those calamitous times, when the heretics sought every occasion to chase the Catholic Bishops from their Sees, and intrude wolves into their places. St. Basil, on the other hand, defends the Divinity of the Holy Ghost in a thousand passages. Just take one for all, where he says, in his Fifth Book against Eunomius, tit. 1: " What is common to the Father and the Son is likewise so to the Holy Ghost, for wherever we find the Father and the Son designated as God in the Scripture, the Holy Ghost is designated as God likewise. (2) St. Amb. l. 1, de Sanc. c. 3. 21. Fifthly, they found objections on some passages of the Scripture, but they are either equivocal or rather confirmatory of the Divinity of the Holy Ghost. They lay great stress especially on that text of St. John: " But when the Paraclete cometh, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth who proceedeth from the Father" (John, xv, 26). Now, they say, when the Holy Spirit is sent, it is a sign that he is inferior, and in a state of subjection, or dependence; therefore, he is not God. To this we answer, that the Holy Ghost is not sent by a command, but sent solely by a procession from the Father, and the Son, for from these he proceeds. Mission, or being sent, means nothing more in Divinis, than this, the presence of the Divine Person, manifested by any sensible effect, which is specially ascribed to the Person sent. This, for example, was the mission of the Holy Ghost, when he descended into the Cenaculum on the Apostles, to make them worthy to found the Church, just as the eternal Word was sent by the Father to take flesh for the salvation of mankind. In the same way we explain that text of St. John: " He shall not speak of himself, but what thingssoever he shall hear, he shall speak he shall glorify me, because he shall receive of mine" (John, xvi, 14, 15). The Holy Ghost takes from the Father and the Son, the knowledge of all things, not by learning them, but proceeding from them without any dependence, as a necessary requirement of his Divine Nature. And this is the very meaning of the words: " He shall receive of mine;" since through the Son, the Father communicates to the Holy Ghost, together with the Divine Essence, wisdom, and all the attributes of the Son. " He will hear from him," says St. Augustine (3), " from whom he proceeds. To him, to hear, is to know, to know, is to exist. Because, therefore, he is not from himself, but from him from whom he proceeds, from whom he has his essence, from him he has his knowledge. Ab illo igitur audientia, quod nihil est aliud, quam scientia." St. Ambrose expresses the same sentiments (4). 22. They object, sixthly, that St. Paul says: " The Spirit himself asketh for us with unspeakable groanings" (Rom. viii, 26). Therefore, the Holy Ghost groans and prays, as an inferior. But St. Augustine thus explains the text: "He asketh with groanings that we should understand that he causes us to ask with groanings" (5). Thus St. Paul wishes to instruct us, that by the grace we receive, we become compunctious and groaning, making us pray with " unspeakable groanings," just as God makes us triumph, when he says that Jesus Christ triumphs in us: " Thanks be to God, who always makes us triumph in Christ Jesus" (II. Cor. ii, 14). (3) St. Augus. Trac. 99, in Joan. (4) St. Ambrose, l. 2, de Sp. San. c. 12. (5) St. Augus. Coll. cum Maxim. 23. They object, seventhly, another passage of St. Paul: " The Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God" (I. Cor. ii, 10); and they then say that the word, " searcheth," shows that the Holy Ghost is ignorant of the Divine secrets; but we answer, that this expression does not mean seeking or inquiring, but the simple comprehension which the Holy Ghost has of the whole of the Divine Essence, and of all things, as it is said of God: " That he searcheth the heart and the reins" (Psalms, vii, 10); which means that God comprehends all the thoughts and affections of mankind. Hence, St. Ambrose (6) concludes: " The Holy Ghost is a searcher like the Father, he is a searcher like the Son, and this expression is used to show that there is nothing which he does not know." 24. They object, eighthly, that passage of St. John: "All things were made by him, and without him was made nothing that was made" (John, i, 3); therefore, the Holy Ghost was made by him, and is consequently a creature. We answer, that in this sense, it cannot be said that all things were made by the Word, for in that case, even the Father would be made by him. The Holy Ghost is not made, but proceeds from the Father and the Son, as from one principle, by the absolute necessity of the Divine Nature, and without any dependence. (6) St. Ambrose, l. de Sp. San. c.

"To the Supreme Father and Apostolic Pontiff, who holds the power and authority of Peter, Prince of the Apostles, Boniface, the lowest servant of the servants of God, warm greetings in the love of Christ. “Ever since I dedicated myself, nearly thirty years ago, to the service of the Apostolic See, which I did at the instance and with the approval of Pope Gregory II, it has been my custom to relate to the Supreme Pontiff all my joys and sorrows so that in joy we might unite together to praise God and in sorrow I might be comforted by his counsel. Let it be so now. I come as a suppliant to Your Holiness, for the Scripture says: 'Ask thy Father and he will instruct thee, thy elders and they will tell thee.” < Proof of the Papacy Tool Lateran Synod of 749 Papal Supremacy, Apostolic See, Papal Authority, Prince of the Apostles, St. Peter "To the Supreme Father and Apostolic Pontiff, who holds the power and authority of Peter, Prince of the Apostles, Boniface, the lowest servant of the servants of God, warm greetings in the love of Christ. “Ever since I dedicated myself, nearly thirty years ago, to the service of the Apostolic See, which I did at the instance and with the approval of Pope Gregory II, it has been my custom to relate to the Supreme Pontiff all my joys and sorrows so that in joy we might unite together to praise God and in sorrow I might be comforted by his counsel. Let it be so now. I come as a suppliant to Your Holiness, for the Scripture says: 'Ask thy Father and he will instruct thee, thy elders and they will tell thee.” Proof of the Papacy Tool

< Back to Collection Kyrie Eleison Category Renaissance Composer Giovanni Animuccia About