In regard to humility, one tendency I have found among Christians today is when asked about the truth of Christ, to say that they believe in Christ, but they could very well be wrong. They seem to think that saying something is true is lack of humility. One does want to avoid arrogance, but I think the guard against arrogance is to realize that it is not you who has come up with the truth, but that it has been given to us by the grace of God and taught to us by the church, so we can take no pride in it.
"I had offered myself, for some time now, to the Child Jesus as His little plaything. I told Him not to use me as a valuable toy children are content to look at but dare not touch, but to use me like a little ball of no value which He could throw on the ground, push with His foot, pierce, leave in a corner, or press to His heart if it pleased Him; in a word, I wanted to amuse little Jesus, to give Him pleasure; I wanted to give myself to his childish whims." Story of A Soul - St. Therese of Lisieux.
I loved this discussion, and as always I love all the built-in reassurances that are somehow always perfectly conveyed by Fr Jacob Bertrand’s deadpan humor!! ❤️ Thank you both!
Thanks for taking a stab at my chat question at 47:55. It was difficult to phrase well with the character limit and all, I'm sorry about that. Fr. Gregory did break up a bit during the reply so I figured I'd follow up here (with some of the proper context as well). My question was regarding Summa Sup. Q71.A5.R5 (it also appears in Aquinas' commentary on the sentences, Sent. IV.D45.Q2.A2.Q1.R5). The section is regarding "Whether suffrages profit those who are in hell?", St. Thomas says: "Obj. 5: Further, the Damascene in the same sermon relates that Gregory, while praying for Trajan, heard a voice from heaven saying to him: I have heard thy voice, and I pardon Trajan: and of this fact the Damascene adds in the same sermon, the whole East and West are witnesses. Yet it is clear that Trajan was in hell, since he put many martyrs to a cruel death. Therefore, the suffrages of the Church avail even for those who are in hell. ... "Reply Obj. 5: Concerning the incident of Trajan it may be supposed with probability that he was recalled to life at the prayers of blessed Gregory, and thus obtained the grace whereby he received the pardon of his sins and in consequence was freed from punishment. The same applies to all those who were miraculously raised from the dead, many of whom were evidently idolaters and damned. For we must say likewise of all such persons that they were consigned to hell, not finally, but as was actually due to their own merits according to justice: and that according to higher causes, in view of which it was foreseen that they would be recalled to life, they were to be disposed of otherwise. Or we may say with some that Trajan’s soul was not simply freed from the debt of eternal punishment, but that his punishment was suspended for a time, that is, until the judgment day. Nor does it follow that this is the general result of suffrages, because things happen differently in accordance with the general law from that which is permitted in particular cases and by privilege. Even so the bounds of human affairs differ from those of the miracles of the divine power, as Augustine says (On the Care of the Dead 16)." St. Thomas is clearly talking about the hell of the damned here, because this would have taken place after the harrowing of hell. I had previously assumed, as Fr. Gregory said, that one could not be consigned to the hell of the damned temporarily. But St. Thomas is apparently saying that those who are not consigned to hell of the damned as their "final end" could be consigned there temporarily. He offers an alternative explanation regarding Emperor Trajan specifically, but the curious thing is that he doesn't seem to have a problem with the first explanation conceptually, nor does he note any conflict with it and the councils. I couldn't find any commentary addressing this online and it surprised me, which prompted the question. Am I reading this correctly? Thanks again; God bless you.
"Jesus tends to ruin your life." This is 100% my experience! The first time I heard this I literally threw my hands out and said, "Yes!! He does!" This is one of Fr. Gregory's best quotes. I totally understand what his friend experienced. Not only did I thirst for more, but He decided to come crashing into my life last summer in a way that changed me from a faithful, Sunday Catholic, to a daily Mass-going consumed-with-Him Catholic. I can't stop reading because I just want more, and time spent in prayer is...a lot.
Godbless fr gregory and fr jacob. Very practically saintly advice on humility and growing in humility as part of everday life... and best advice i heard on how to take care of blasphemous thoughts. Have Perfect advent season OPs. Thank you.
So you both but Mainly Fr. Gregory has to Thank OUR LORD to gave him More Millions of interconnections between Brain Cells that makes him so brilliant in explanation of the Tomistic subjects, as he did in my "foundation videos" "Powers Of The Soul" & "Powers O The Soul (A Closer Look)" I must confess that being a simple layperson sometimes I have to "rewind" the video in some parts and also stop to find a precise meaning of a word on the dictionary.
