tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596708332568087278.post7565614654462284729..comments2024-01-24T10:39:27.668-05:00Comments on Coming Untrue: Do We Need Revival?Dr. S. L. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06303707167715370504noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596708332568087278.post-5750405102985204732017-10-24T00:21:19.574-04:002017-10-24T00:21:19.574-04:00Your Particular Gifts
It is written in praise of ... Your Particular Gifts<br /><br />It is written in praise of the Church (Ps. 44:10) that she is surrounded with variety; and a gloss on these words says that the Queen, namely the Church, is bedecked with the teaching of the Apostles, the confessions of martyrs, the purity of virgins, the sorrowing of penitents. — ST, II-II, Q. 183, art. 2 What are the states of God’s union?<br /><br />When Thomas completed his study of the virtues common to all, he began his treatises on things of God pertaining to some people and not to others. After explaining the need to examine the gratuitous graces and the differences between the contemplative and active life, he noted: “A third difference corresponds to the various duties and states of life, as expressed in Eph. 4:11, And He gave some apostles; and some prophets; and others some evangelists; and others some pastors and doctors; and this pertains to diversity of ministries, of which it is written (1 Cor. 12:5): There are diversities of ministries.”<br /><br />While the Church is one, she is perfected in her unity by people playing many different roles. Though God’s own perfection is simple and uniform, (173) it exists in the universe “in a multiform and manifold manner, so too, the fullness of grace, which is centered in Christ as head, flows forth to His members in various ways, for the perfection of the Church.” (174) States of life may differ in terms of their approach to spiritual perfection (beginners, the proficient, and the perfect); in terms of the actions or duties of those in various states, such as married people, secular priests, or members of religious orders; and in terms of the order of ecclesiastical beauty seen in the hierarchical arrangement of the offices of the Church. <br /><br />From: Vost, Kevin. One-Minute Aquinas: The Doctor's Quick Answers to Fundamental Questions. Sophia Institute Press. Kindle Edition. <br />qmannoreply@blogger.com