Prima Secundae
207. Aquinas on Venial and Mortal Sin (Summa I-II, Q. 88, Articles 2–3): the Temptation of Christ, the Spirit of Error, and Contempt for Order
Class of 2015-03-05
https://berquistcourse.com/course/theology/11-prima-secundae/207-aquinas-on-venial-and-mortal-sin-summa-i-ii-q-88-articles/

[0:00] Name of the Father, the Son, Holy Spirit. Amen. Thank you, God. Thank you, guardian angels. Thank you, Thomas Aquinas. Deo gratias. God, our enlightenment, guardian angels, strengthen the lights of our minds, or to illumine our images, and arouse us to consider more quickly. Saint Thomas Aquinas, angelic doctor.

[0:28] Father Son Holy Spirit I was reading the question on the teacher, right, in the De Veritate question disputatae, and there's there's four articles, right. And the first one says, can man also be a teacher, or only God, right? Because Christ says, Christ our teacher. The second one, very surprising, is whether man can be a teacher of himself. Because Thomas I said he's going to deny this, I know, but one of the objections is pretty good, you know.

[1:08] So the teacher enlightens the students, right? Well, we all have this act of understanding which enlightens us. Therefore, we teach ourselves, right? So how you going to answer this one?

[1:24] And then, but then the third article is whether the angel can teach man, right? And then you get the idea how he can strengthen the light of our mind and move our images and so on, right? Now, and the fourth one is whether it belongs to the active or the contemplative life teaching. Kind of interesting, though. I said, oh, this medieval debate, whether man can teach himself, you know, or whether an angel can teach him, you know.

[1:57] Well, just because I had to pull in here about the temptation of Christ down a little bit of that side, you know, but but what's the order of the three temptations of Christ? huh? Depends on the gospel. Gospel of Matthew, we're talking about now. That's all we're reading now. First is the bread. Yes. Yeah.

[2:26] All the kingdoms of the world Yeah. And then he took him to the pinnacle of the temple Yeah, Yeah. And this then corresponds to the three things here in John's first epistle, right? Read the English text here. For all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, right? And the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, right? So in the Greek, there, huh?

[2:52] The epithumia, right? Tes sarkos huh? The flesh, and the epithumia, ton ophthalmon right? And the alazoneia tou biou, right? Isn't that the order in which Christ is tempted, right? First, he turned the stones into bread so he could eat, right? That's the flesh, right? Huh? And then he shows him all the kingdoms of the world, right? That's kind of avarice, right? Huh? And then finally, what? Pride, right?

[3:26] Huh? Okay. Now, talking a little bit about the the names as you go in here, right? Who led Christ out to be what? Tempted. In Matthew's gospel? Yeah. The Holy Spirit. Yeah, yeah. But what is he called there?

[3:49] What is he called there? What? Spirit of God. I'm not sure. No. No. The Spirit, yeah. The Spirit. Yeah, and of course the Thomas comes here and says, you know, it is the Holy Spirit, right? But here you're calling the the Holy Spirit just the Spirit, period, right? Because the name Spirit, you know, with breath and so on, is tied up more with, but proper to the name of the Holy Spirit, right?

[4:14] What his his proceeding is, right? Um, but now who's tempting him, right? Evil spirit. No, he's not called evil spirit there. The devil. Yeah, it's the diabolus, right? Huh? Okay. But he's also called by antonomasia the what?

[4:38] The tempter, The tempter ho peirazon right? The tempter one who's doing the tempting, right? He really knows how to tempt, right? He's he's a master at this, you know. The rest of us are amateurs, right? But but he really knows how to tempt, right? Huh? Um, so throughout the temptation, it said the diabolus did this. The diabolus led him up the top of the temple. The diabolus, you know.

[5:02] Okay. Now, does Christ there ever call him by name? The last one, right? But does he call him the diabolus there at the end? What does he call him? Satan. Satan. Yeah, yeah. So you have these two names, the devil, right? Diabolus and satana, right? Which I guess he says in Hebrew, and diabolus comes in the Greek. Um, what do those two names mean? What is their etymology, so to speak?

[5:34] The diabolus, right, which usually translates the devil, right? And satana, Satan, right. Does Satan mean adversary. Or opponent or something Yeah. Satan means usually gives adversary, which could also say enemy, right? Because that's your adversary is your enemy. And what does diabolus mean, huh? I'm not sure It's Greek Yeah, means slanderer. Oh wow So diabole, you know, Greek is slander, right? Huh? And I was thinking, you know, I can see why he's called the enemy, right?

[6:07] Satan, right? It's interesting that Christ, only calls them by name, at the third one, which is the temptation for pride, right? The alazoneia right? In the third one in John's epistle, there, right, first epistle. And what Christ's doing, I really—that's the the supreme tempt, right? And the most serious thing for pride, huh? And then he calls them enemy, right? Huh? Okay.

[6:39] Now, I was saying before, in this other text was it from John. that he speaks of the Spirit of Truth, right, which is the Holy Spirit, and how I can understand that as being both the one who teaches us in some way, right, but also the one who proceeds from the truth itself, right. Okay. And in other words, called the pneuma planes, the Spirit of error, right?

[7:13] So in the Supreme Court, there, you know, decided on the abortion there back in the 70s right? There, the pneuma planes is quite active, right? This is a great error, or to use English word, mistake, right? Huh? Now, am I justified in saying the pneuma planes, right, is the devil or Satan?

[7:42] Are you mistaken in saying that? Yeah, or am I correct in saying that? What do you think? I think. Okay. Well, I ran across an interesting text here in the twelfth chapter of the Apocalypse, right? And people are familiar with the first part of it because it's about the Blessed Virgin, you know, and he's spoken there as the dragon, right? Right, and he wants to you know consume the her her her son, right, her flesh, huh?

[8:13] And he's you know after one flees, right, and the woman fled into the wilderness where she hath a place prepared of God, so on. And there was what? War in heaven. Yeah, there was war in heaven, right? And Michael, now you should be interested in that, you know, that's that's your hero, I know. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, right? And the dragon fought and his angels.

[8:48] Now, dragon seems to be maybe a metaphor for the the devil, right? Huh. Um. And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out. And the old—that old serpent, huh? Well, that goes back to what? Yeah. Of course, the serpent is one who deceived what? Eve, right? Huh? Okay. That old serpent called the devil and Satan, right? See.

[9:22] So he says in the Greek there, huh? Um. Kai eblethe, huh, was cast, huh? Ho drakon, the dragon, right? Ho megas, the great dragon, huh? Ho ophis huh? Ophis huh? That's the serpent, huh? Ho archaios, the old serpent, huh? Okay. Okay Ho calumenas the one called Diabolus huh? Diabolus Kai ho satanas, right? Of course. um Ho satanas, right? That's saying the enemy. By antonymous here, right? Huh. But then he adds the next part of the sentence.

[10:06] I read in the English first here. That old serpent called the devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world. Ho planon now that's a Greek word. Now I get the word planet down from the word plano because they wander. Okay. Ho planon ten oikumene. Now that's the the earth, right? The holen the whole earth, right? Well, it seems to me he's right to be the pneuma planis, right?

[10:40] He's a spirit because he's bodiless. Well, scripture there. So we're up to Article Two here, I believe, in Question 88 to the second one goes forward. Thus, it seems that venial and mortal sin do not differ in genus, huh? Such that some that something is a mortal sin from its genus, right, the kind of sin it is, and something is venial from its what genus, huh? You know what Thomas is up to here, you know?

[11:37] Giving top of his logic, right? Playing tricks trying to trip us up. Well, he says good and evil from genus is taken in human what acts by comparison to their matter or to their object, right?

[12:01] But according to any object or matter, it is possible to sin mortally and what Venially, huh? For any changeable good, man is able to love either below God, right, which is to sin venially, or above God, which is to sin mortally, huh?

[12:28] Therefore, venial sin and mortal do not differ in genus, right? So is candy an object of venial mortal sin? Well, if I love God more than candy, then it's only venial. I love candy. If I love candy more than God, then it's a mortal sin, right?

[12:50] I love gold more than God, right? I love God more than gold, but then i love gold is only, that's an interesting argument, right?

[13:07] Moreover, as has been said above, a mortal sin is said to be what irreparable, a venial sin to be repairable. But to be irreparable belongs to sin that comes about from malice, right? Which, according to some people, is said to be irremissible, right? Say, as opposed to sin that you do from weakness or something of that sort or ignorance.

[13:39] So Paul said he was ignorant, right? He persecuted the church, right? So that could be repaired. Repairable, but when it comes to infirmity or ignorance, which is said to be remissible. Therefore, mortal and venial sin do not differ as what? They do differ. Oh yeah, yeah. What is committed from malice, or what is committed from weakness or ignorance? But according to this, the sins don't differ in genus, on their object, right?

[14:15] Their matter, but their cause. Therefore, venial and mortal sin do not differ in genus. So you got to know Porphyry, right? to know what a genus is, right?

[14:31] Moreover, it is said that sudden motions, both of sensuality and reason, are venial sins, right? So to doubt, you know, sudden doubt, you know, something comes in your mind, huh? Well, that doesn't make a mortal sin, does it? Right now, it's not a.

[14:51] But sudden motions are found in every genus of sin. Therefore, there are not any venial sins from what genus, huh? Okay. Well, Thomas says again, but tied us up, right, huh? And I'm. Think you might like to see this little picture here, huh? Oh, yes. You seen that? Yes, I do. I like this very much.

[15:26] So we need, we need to pray to our lady to untie the knot. Yeah, to untie our knots, huh? He's tied us up, so she. can untie. Yeah.

[15:38] Pope being a Jesuit there doesn't apply it to this matter, but I am. It's the version, untying the knots, right? So you get really, you know, at times you used to fall down and pray. you know, he had a knot he was trying to untie.

[15:59] He's untying a knot there, right? It's inspired apparently a prayer there by by Pope Francis, right? But I'm applying it now to our question. of these things here.

[16:26] Okay, but against this is what Augustine says in his sermon about what purgatory, huh? Where he enumerates certain genera of venial sins and certain genera of mortal sins, huh? So he must have thought this other way. Now we're really tied up, huh? Answer it should be said that peccatum veniale is said from what? Forgiveness. Yeah.

[17:05] Now a sin can be said to be venial in one way because it is it has obtained forgiveness, right? And thus Ambrose says that every sin through penance becomes what venial, right?

[17:24] And this is said to be venial from the event, huh? The outcome. In another way, it is said to be venial because it does not have in itself, whence forgiveness would not follow, right? Either totally or in part. In part, because since it has something in itself diminishing the guilt, right, huh? As when it comes to be from what infirmity, weakness, or ignorance, and this is said to be venial ex causa, right?

[18:08] So ex causa and ex eventu are the first two distinctions, huh? In in toto ultimum from this that it does not take away the order to the last what end, whence it does not merit eternal punishment but temporal punishment. And about this venial sin, we what intend for the present, right? So can you bear in mind those three distinctions, right?

[18:48] Because even a mortal sin could become in the first sense what venial ex eventu, right, huh? Okay. Now about the first two, it stands to reason that they do not have some determined genus, right? So even a mortal sin could be the first sense, right? And even you know, the one from infirmity or ignorance could still be, very serious matter, right? But there's some diminishing. What do they say in the courtroom?

[19:32] What do they say in the courtroom? Diminishing circumstance. I get the exact term now. As the, As the famous courtroom case was, the guy said, "I blacked out."Yeah.

[20:07] So you don't have a determined genus for the first two, right? But venial in the third way said can have a what determined genus, right, huh?

[20:25] In that some sin is said to be venial from genus, and some mortal from its genus, according as genus or species of the act is are determined from the what object, right? I think when your little boys going you know, learning to do a confession, that that was the distinction made, right, huh? They're talking about venial and mortal in this third sense, weren't they? Is that more a venial sin, right?

[20:57] The father's leg moved. That was a sign that you had confessed a mortal sin. Yeah, I know. He got three only three of us and I got ten.

[21:17] For when the will is carried towards something that, as such, right, Secundum se, right, is repugnant to charity, right, through which man is or by which man is ordered to the last end, right, the sin from its very object as that it be mortal,

[21:43] whence it is mortal from its genus, whether it be either against the what love of God as blasphemy, blasphemia, perjury, right, huh, and things of this sort, right,

[22:01] or it is against the love of one's neighbor as and it gives the two main examples there, homicide and adultery, right, and things of this sort. When sins of this sort are mortal, ex genere right, because they have an opposition to what charity, and therefore they separate us from God, and therefore we die. Okay, that's what they're called mortal.

[22:32] Whenever the will of the sinner is carried towards that which in itself contains some disorder, right, but is not, however, contrary to the love of God and neighbor, huh? Just as an idle word, right, superfluous laugh, and others of the sort. Huh? This serious stuff here. And such sins are venial from their what? Genus, huh?

[23:13] So that's clear enough, huh? Distinction of three senses of venial, right? In one sense, in which he says that they do differ in genus, right? And that's this here, right? But the object that is makes a sin mortal from genus in this third sense is one that is contrary to either the love of God or the love of what neighbor, huh? And so blasphemy and perjury, right?

[23:44] And homicide and adultery, right, huh? But he's going to go on add something. And because moral acts receive the aspect of good and bad not only from their object, right, but also from some disposition of the agent,

[24:11] as has been said above, or had before. It happens that sometimes that which is a what venial sin from genus by reason of its object is becomes mortal on the side of the what agent. What does this mean? Well, because either in it one constitutes his what ultimate end.

[24:39] So superfluous laughter is my end in life, huh? Voltaire, or something like that. Or because he orders it to something that is a mortal sin ex genere, right? As when someone orders an idle word to committing what adultery, superfluous rei, right, and so on.

[25:09] Likewise, also on the side of the agent, it can happen that some sin that is mortal from its what genus becomes venial, right? On account of this, that the act is what. Yeah. That is not deliberated by reason, right? Which is the beginning of a what bad act, right?

[25:39] Has been said above about sudden motions of what infidelity, right, huh? I think Thomas said that not believing God, or like say Eve didn't believe God, right? When she believed the

[25:59] yeah the old something yeah the tempter, right, huh? You know. So that seems to me to be a mortal sin, from genus, right? If you had a sudden doubt, you know, because of some difficulty, right? And that would not be necessarily mortal sin, because it's sudden and not really deliberated, right?

[26:27] You know, when people swear, you know, that's always a mortal sin. I mean, there might be some. I hear people use the word even Jesus, you know, sometimes in conversation, which one cannot prove, you know, but they kind of use it like just like a thought, thinking about what it is, you know.

[26:43] But isn't necessarily mortal sin there, right? Hard things to judge, of course, but. More obvious in the case of you smash your finger with something and pull off some whatever that's something. That's much more.

[27:12] Okay. To the first, therefore, it should be said that from this that someone chooses that which is repugnant to divine what charity, he is convicted to prefer that to what divine charity, and consequently to love it for himself more than what God. And therefore, some sins from genus, which are themselves repugnant to charity, have something what that is loved above God, right? And thus they are mortal from their very genus.

[27:55] And the second and third ones were taken from what these two other things, huh? To the second, should be said that that argument proceeds from the venial sin, ex causa, right? And to the third, that argument proceeds from the sin that is venial on account of the imperfection of the what act, huh? Used to teach us that in the early days, didn't they? Huh? At full consent, so to speak, or.

[28:28] Yeah. Okay. No. Article three, whether venial sin is is a disposition to mortal sin. To the third one precedes us. It seems that venial sin is not a disposition to mortal what sin.

[28:54] Oh yeah, he'll do that. He'll do that. He'll convince me that he'll undo it. Yeah, yeah. You get into these other articles which are about a article of the faith, right? And and you got to argue against that, right? Why convinces me. I mean, that's a subitus sudden motion, right? That sounds pretty good. Our mind has the stability of a wind sock

[29:25] That's an image from Wizard of Oz A wind sock Well the first objection: one opposite does not dispose to another, right? But venial sin and mortal sin are divided by opposites. Therefore, venial sin is not a disposition for mortal sin. That's thoroughly convincing, I think. Yeah, where is that woman? I didn't say who did this painting on, but. No, I have I have the title of it in French.

[30:06] I'm not sure if it's a German painting, maybe a German painting, but I forget. I've never seen before. Just just Grant Pratt said this last since last class, yeah. Oh really? Yeah. Yeah, I know Pope Francis mentioned it. Where shortly after he got elected, he mentioned this devotion that he has had it for years. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But I think it's German. Yeah.

[30:37] Moreover, acts disposed to something like in species to itself, right? Hence, it is said in the second book of the Nicomachean Ethics that from like acts are generated like what dispositions and habits. But mortal and venial sin differ in genus or species. This has been said, right? And therefore, venial sin does not dispose to mortal. Concedo. I can't can't defend the truth here.

[31:12] Moreover, if a sin is called venial that disposes for the mortal, it is necessary that whenever whichever one, right, disposed to mortal sin, whatever disposes to mortal sin would be a what venial sin, right?

[31:33] But all good works dispose for mortal sin, for as Augustine says in the Rule, that pride, insidiously works into good works, right? So that's something I had to think. Also, Augustine says, I think I've seen it before. Augustine, you know that

[31:55] pride arises from good things, right? I did something really good, you know. Now, now it's a matter of pride. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's insidiatur right?

[32:24] Ergo, ergo, therefore, also, good works are venial sins, which is inconvenience. Oh my God. Okay. But against this is what is said in Ecclesiasticus, chapter nineteen, verse one: Who, what neglects little things, right? Bit by bit, he what Falls away, falls away. falls away? Yeah.

[32:53] But the one who sins venially would seem to what despise? You might say, right? To cast aside little things to neglect them. Therefore, bit by bit, is he disposed for this that be totally what falls down to mortal sin?

[33:26] This disposing cause. Answer should be said that the one disposing something is in some way a what cause. Whence, according to a twofold way of cause, there is a twofold mode of what disposition. For there is a cause which is moving directly to the effect, as the hot heats. There is also a cause indirectly moving by removing the prohibiting. It's one kind of accidental cause. Just as the one removing the column is said to remove the what Set down set above.

[34:19] set above, yeah. And according to this, the act of sin in two ways disposes to something, right? In one way, directly, and thus it disposes to an act which is like in species.

[34:46] And in this way, primo et per se, first and through itself, venial sin does not. What is a venial sin? ex genere right, right? Does not dispose to the mortal ex genere because they're different species, right? Different genera,

[35:05] since they differ in species. But through this way, or in this way, by this way, a venial sin is able to dispose through a certain what consequence to the sin which is mortal on the side of the agent, huh?

[35:32] For the being increased, you might say, the disposition or habit through the acts of what venial sins to such an extent that the desire of sinning grows, right? The libido, I guess, a strong desire of sinning increases. So that the one who sins constitutes his end in what venial sin, huh?

[36:03] For to each one having to each one having a habit, as such, the end is to act according to that habit. That's a nice fundamental thing, right?

[36:16] And thus those sinning many times venially are disposed for what mortal sin, huh? Does Augustine say we should say to our Father every day, you know, to seek forgiveness for our venial sins? Huh? More sense to me, but I mean for the venial sins, right? Lest they they produce a habit, right, huh?

[36:49] When Aristotle saw the need of what the moral virtues for what prudence, right? Because the principle of prudence, the beginning of prudence, is the end, right? And you have to not only know the end in some way, but you have to what be in your desiring powers attracted to it, right? Huh? So if you're in desiring powers, you're being attracted to it. attracted to something other than the last end.

[37:17] Well, then it could become so powerful, right, that you would choose something other than what is in fact the last end in place of it, huh?

[37:39] You're getting a habit of so much for candy, right? That finally becomes the purpose of your life to eat candy. That's what they say about Robert. Somehow, was addicted. I don't know some kind of game or something online. He was so addicted to it that wherever the family would go, he would have to stop the car and get connected. Every every few miles or every few minutes, he'd like have a nervous breakdown if he couldn't get a connection to do the next thing, whatever it was in the game or something.

[38:17] Yeah, I think that's what's missing. But when they get alcoholic, you know, where he gets a you know taste for alcohol, and then it becomes habitual, right? And his whole life is taken up, you know. Maybe he's ruining his marriage and whatever else, is his job and everything, you know. And then it becomes really, you know, obsession. Yeah. Another one I heard about father. I was some guy who invented the intermittent windshield wipers, and he tried to get a patent.

[38:46] He hadn't got the patent on or something. He sold it to some car manufacturer, and they ripped him off. They paid him some money, but they ripped him off, and they wouldn't give him, you know, what he deserved. So he went to court, and he fought, and he made his life's cause was to win that case. And I think he eventually won it, but he destroyed his whole life.

[39:04] Yeah. Because he was just thick. That was his goal in life: right that wrong. I thought, wow, one greedy man ruining, ruining himself for another greedy man.

[39:15] Well, it's got says that's where the Scotch are, you know. They're caught up with this idea, you know. That's a their whole life revolves around this, you know, repeated attempts in the court to get justice, you know.

[39:57] Okay, so before he comes down to the second thing of removens prohibens right, he's already seeing a way that venial sin can dispose, right?

[40:10] In? Another way a human acts disposed to something by removing what prevents, huh? And in this way, a venial sin from its genus can dispose for mortal sin from its genus, huh? For the one who sins venially in genus overlooks or sets aside some order, right? And from this, he is what accustomed for his will in minor things, right, lesser things, to not be subject to a suitable what order, and therefore he's disposed that his will be not subject to what.

[40:55] Order of things. last ten. Choosing that which is a mortal sin from its what genus, huh? You get a disrespect for what order, right? That's a bad thing. You tell me where here's what minor. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. See how Shakespeare says you should be looking before and after, right? Just looking for order, right? Helpful. Helpful. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[41:32] I can see in the life of the mind, even you know, that people get a little bit sloppy, and as far as order is concerned, you know, and they go further and further away, right? And then they proceed without any order, huh?

[41:47] Now, going back to that thing I was talking about earlier, the pneuma planes, right? The spirit of what error, right? Where the word error comes from what? Wandering. Yeah, yeah. And wander signifies a disordered movement, right? And so when you speak of the mind wandering, right, it wanders into what? Error. Yeah. When Shakespeare's played there, the comedy of errors, right? You know, he has the lines in there.

[42:20] And now we wander in illusion. But you know, these people on favor of, you know, having marriage between, you know, people of that same sex and so on, you know, they wander in illusions, right? They're really pathetic, you know. But. It's one thing. It's one thing when you your mind wanders, but when your will wanders, it might because your will follows whatever your heart or

[42:50] gender might hold. Yeah. Has Mother's Day been officially changed to a woman's day? What? Has the name Mother's Day been officially changed to Woman's Day? I wouldn't be surprised, given the given the way. I saw something on the weather site on the internet today, and it was talking about Women's Day coming up. And isn't Mother's Day coming up in May? It's in May Yeah. But uh I was wondering if.

[43:20] Yeah, that sounded. I hate it. Heard something like that. Maybe. No, I didn't know. He's never known. We have we have the drugstore, the next to the family pharmacy, and they have an image. Yeah. These androgynous two adult figures with a child figure. You can't tell if they're male. You know, those men. or female it doesn't matter

[43:40] We wonder when these, you know, some of the states have tried to say that marriage between a man and a woman, right? You know, what do they give as a reason why it's between a man and woman? You have to do so in terms of the what child, right? That that's the purpose of marriage, right? That's the purpose that defines marriage, right?

[44:08] I mean, the the love of of the the man the woman is not the primary purpose of marriage, right? It's it's the children, right? Huh? And they're really the what common good of the mother and father, right? Huh? And the and the nation, the community. Yes. Yeah.

[44:33] A little bit of a side here, but I was admiring my friend there, Washington Irving, right? His last work was this magnificent biography of George Washington, right? And it's a beautiful guy, beautiful, very well written. Of course, he was named after Washington, right? And I guess as a little boy, you know, his his nurse or something took him into this store, right? And it's in New York because at that time that's where the capital was, New York, before Philadelphia and then Philadelphia and then Washington.

[45:04] But anyway, George Washington was in there looking at the books or something, and and oh, she saw him also. She said, "This is the one named after you, you know." And Washington put his hand on him, you know, like that. And I don't know if if Washington Irving remembered that as a little boy. You know, he's pretty small. I'm sure he was told about if he didn't remember it, you know, as a little boy, and he felt this responsibility, you know.

[45:25] But if you should honor your father and mother, you should honor the father of your country, right? He wrote this beautiful thing, you know. And of course, the last page he has to say, you know, give a eulogy, you know, at the end. He doesn't do it himself; he takes it from an English author, you know, praising Washington, you know. You know that's what he fought against, of course, you know, and so that's you know having your having your enemy.

[45:49] Beautifully, he does it, you know, huh? But magnificent biography, you know. Great respect for Washington. And some of the men in the politics department at Assumption, they had beautiful statement from of Jefferson, you know, what was Washington's really character, you know, and it's really magnificent, you know. He'd never known him ever to swerve from what was right, you know, and and to be influenced by you know personal things, you know, and he was making decisions.

[46:17] Really beautiful. I don't, you know, don't have it, but but said very well by Jefferson. And there, you know, there was some conflict between them, you know, but had tremendous respect for Washington, you know. So

[46:37] I'm, you know, I'm surprised, and I'm surprised by him. I'm pleased that my friend Washington Irving, right, he would write this beautiful and do that in the last part of his life when he was already. He'd always tried to do it, you know, but he couldn't get around to do it until the end and so on.

[47:02] Here's a biography of of Columbus too, you know, which is yeah, and of course Columbus is kind of the discoverer of our country, so let's make it up. Yeah, yeah. So he's kind of making his point that without the faith they wouldn't have Yeah, yeah. I was thinking about the Canary Islands there, because that's where Lincoln—I mean, where Columbus would leave, right, for America, right? And he'd go to church there, you know, and stayed one of the houses there.

[47:46] So, and there's one place he got his ship there, and you know, a model of it there, you know, in you know, cement or whatever it is, you know, but you know, just in the center of the town, you know, because he had left—that's one of the places he had left from, you know, to go to the the New World. It was kind of this place to be.

[48:03] You get the trade winds or something, you know, get the right things. Okay. I think it's interesting that Thomas sees that, though. You know that thing I gave you, thing of austerity there, you know, about the music of Mozart in the Baroque period, you know. represents emotions in a ordered state, right? Why what the romantics will not agree to, you know, is that the emotion should be what ordered by reason, right?

[48:44] And Aristotle says on the rule of reason over the emotions should be like the rule of the father over the son, not like that of the master over the slave, right? But the father rules the son for the good of the son, right? So actually, for the good of the emotions, right? As my old teacher Kasurik could say, you know, about this, the romantic music, it tears you out, he says.

[49:14] And it is true, you know. My wife and I turn on the classical music station there in the car sometimes, you know. And if there's there's a romantic music, you know, a lot of times you might say, well, this is too much. It tears you out, you know. I mean, you're getting accustomed to what disorder, right? You know, and you can imagine what this rock and roll and that stuff does, you know.

[49:46] What's name that band? Grateful Dead, was it? I told you, I was working in the package store, you know that. I'd see I'd see people coming in a Grateful Dead, you know, and I didn't know nothing about that name of a band, you know. I just said, what a sick thing to be walking around. Put me out of my misery. I got to be Grateful Dead, you know.

[50:05] He knows a band, but I didn't know it was a band but you know, but people go around, you know, to some of they follow these bands around the country, right? They see they're and they're on concert tour or something like that, and and they they happy the name calling deadheads, right? Well, you're being introduced to disorder there, right? Aristotle, you know, he talks about the the best city there in the last books of the the politics, right?

[50:34] He has a nice section there on on music and how important music is, right? He says paintings, you know, there's some paintings you shouldn't look at, right? But it's even more important, he says, the music, you know, even than the paintings, right? That you have the right music, huh? And

[50:53] the disorder in this country, you know, with the music, it's just terrible. Yeah, what's interesting is that with the movies now they combine the disorder of music with the disorder of images. Yeah, It's just like insanity Yeah, yeah, yeah. So this is removens prohibens, Thomas says, right?

[51:12] You're taking away the respect for order, right? Anything goes, huh? And that's what it is. You take away order, anything goes, huh? They're alternatives to rationality. Yeah, yeah. Aristotle usually calls philosophy, you know, a methodos, right? Which means knowledge over a road, and road is taken from the idea of order, there, right? As we speak of a road.

[51:45] One time, Monsignor Dionne says, "You know, how come you don't pay more attention to this other professor?" I said, "He doesn't have the order that you and De Koninck have." So he let it go at that.

[52:12] Now, to the first, it should be said that venial and mortal sin are not divided ex opposito as two species of one what genus, like black and white or hot and cold, right? But as we saw before, as accident is divided against what? Remember that in the previous article. I mean, the first article, I should say, the first one we read last week.

[52:45] Yeah, He was talking about what It was not univocal, right? huh? Okay. Whence, just as accident can be a disposition for substantial form, so venial sin for mortal. Rest my case, right?

[53:17] To the second, it should be said that venial sin is not like mortal sin in species. Is nevertheless like it in what? Yeah, in so far as both imply a defect of the suitable order, although in different ways, right? It's a much more disorder, and obviously the mortal sin, right?

[53:42] Yeah, that's very much set up with that, removens prohibens, right? Where you have what removed this respect for order, right? And then you go on, yeah, everything goes. The name of a song or something. Everything goes. Yeah, Anything goes That's what that's what um Yeah, that's why so many people who. This is my impression, anyway. The reason why the gay agenda is winning out with everybody is because they've already bought the sexual revolution, and they can't possibly have an objection to this now.

[54:20] Yeah. Because they already bought that Yeah. yeah. So there's no prohibition Yeah There's nothing left to stop them Yeah Yeah Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It shows that people have the decency not to want to be a hypocrite, and so that's so reliable. Maybe it's something we can work on. Oh, I see.

[54:47] But it happened in regard to marriage. You see, you begin to make the the love of the of the spouses, right, or their mutual enjoyment, or whatever it is, equal to the children as being the end, right? And that's already disorder, right? And then finally, you know, it becomes kind of the main thing in marriage and so on. And why not if they enjoy each other and so on?

[55:12] You know, I mean, you know, if marriage was just for two people to enjoy each other, right? Well, that opens up a lot of things, right? That's been the trend for so long. Yeah. How many professional couples who don't want children they just have a dog as a surrogate child, which is very nauseating thing to see. Yeah. But it's so incredibly common. Yeah.

[55:36] We talk about television. I've been getting this advertisement on the radio. You know, when I turn on to listen to Rush Limbaugh on the way up here or something like that, and they're always talking about you know seminars here on divorce, right? Huh? And all the questions you you want about divorce will be answered, right? Like who gets the dog? That's that's a. That is an important question No it's a.

[55:59] stiff of the tongue right You know who gets the dog I don't know how you decide that who gets the dog do you I mean there must be someone decided you know who loves the dog more Who introduced the dog into the family Yes Yeah who took the dog to the bathroom more But you have to pay dog alimony Well that's what somebody said about around here somebody in favor of the same sex marriage Can it be abhorrent that two people of the same sex would wish to experience that emotional and physical closeness that marriage offers I said is that all that marriage is Emotional and physical closeness Yeah

[56:46] That's what they think these days That's yeah That's what they've been indoctrinated to say Yeah because really for a society you know you need a common good right And the common good in the family is the child right And if you don't have that you know you don't really have the basis for a society Yeah It's amazing how children aren't valued like you see in other cultures Yeah And how did that happen Yeah yeah Distraction Selfishness Distraction I.

[57:27] Can't think of the guy now. The Hollywood actor. He says anybody who hates kids can't be all wrong. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's W. C. Fields. Yeah,

[57:42] yeah. He said, "He said, 'Why does God play in the street? Why does God play in traffic? '" Well, that's what somebody used to say. But our Lord's comment is, "Suffer the children and come to me." The emphasis is on suffer.

[58:01] I had an ultra progressive boss back in New York who hated kids. He just wanted one child. Child is by choice. I got it, but he just couldn't stand kids. Just such a odd thing. But yet, it's not so uncommon in the professional problem Selfish people are not loving. people

[58:26] Get to the third now objection. um. That a good work is not a per se disposition to mortal sin. Thank God for that. We'd really be hard up.

[58:47] It is nevertheless able to be what the matter or occasion. Thomas Aquinas used the word occasion when he's talking about accidental cause, right? Of a mortal sin per accidens, right? eh?

[59:01] Um, but a venial sin per se disposes for what mortal? Yeah, yeah. So if a woman is beautiful, she might become what proud over her beauty, right?

[59:17] But beauty is something good, right? So it doesn't per se, not per se a cause of pride, right? But it can be occasion for pride, right? Being excited or something Yeah, yeah, Yeah. Or you're you know discovered a great theorem or something, you know. You can that that's good, that's very good. But that can be the occasion for pride, right? But it's not the per se cause, right?

[59:50] Okay, watch out for that bright you didn't cause. huh? It was a Federal Express commercial where there's this young, not too bright office worker who comes up with the idea. Well, we could save a lot of money if we use Federal Express, and that the boss loved the idea, and the company saved a lot of money, got a promotion, and that became the the core of his life.

[1:00:12] He was recounting to everybody, and the commercial shows how he you know goes through the rest of his life. That was a shining moment of his life. when he's boasting about it with the guys at the bar, and finally he's an old man, and he's got all his family, and he has this big Federal Express sort of poster commemorating that great day at work, you know, fifty years ago before, Yeah sort of an example there too.

[1:00:33] Yeah.