Albert the Great, prostrate in death as in life

"when one asked, out of devotion, to see his body in its tomb, one found it, not lying on its back, as it had been laid out according to custom, but prostrate, face to the earth, in the attitude that [Master Albert] adopted in life for prayer."

     L'histoire de saint Thomas d'Aquin de Guillaume de Tocco:  Traduction française du dernier état du texte (1323), chap. 14 (Sagesses chrétiennes, trans. Claire Le Brun-Gouanvic (Paris:  Les Éditions du Cerf, 2005), 44).

"Cuius corpus pre deuotionis gratia requisitum in tumba quod positum fuerat, ut est consuetudo, supinum, inuentum est, ut sibi moris erat dum uiueret, quasi in oratione procumbens,"

     Ystoria sancti Thome de Aquino de Guillaume de Tocco (1323), chap. 14, ed. Claire le Brun-Gouanvic, Studies and texts 127 (Toronto:  Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies, 1996), 119.  According to le Brun-Gouanvic, these lines were not present in the first (of the four) "editions" of Tocco's text, as represented by F (Florence, Biblioteca Nazionale, Conv. Soppr. J. VII.27).  Cf. the Ystoria sancti Thome de Aquino ed. Prümmer, chap. 13 (=Fontes vitae S. Thomae Aquinatis, vol. 2, p. 80).

Greene, on violence as potentially "an imperfection of charity"

"'The Church is in the world, it is part of the suffering in the world, and though Christ condemned the disciple who struck off the ear of the high priest's servant, our hearts go out in sympathy to all who are moved to violence by the suffering of others.  The Church condemns violence, but it condemns indifference more harshly. Violence can be the expression of love, indifference never. One is an imperfection of charity, the other the perfection of egoism.  In the days of fear, doubt, and confusion, the simplicity and loyalty of one apostle advocated a political solution.  He was wrong, but I would rather be wrong with Saint Thomas than right with the cold and the craven.  Let us go up to Jerusalem and die with him.'"

     The priest at the "Mass for Joseph and the other dead men (all three were Catholics), and Jones, whose beliefs were not known," on Jn 11:16, in Graham Greene, The comedians III.iv.4 ((New York:  Viking Press, 1966), 305).

"blood libel"

     "This pre-Christian material suggests that Anidjar's main argument is indefensible.  The documentary record discredits Blood at every crucial point."

     David Van Dusen on "the superficiality of [Anidjar's] knowledge", in a review of Blood:  a critique of Christianity (New York:  Columbia University Press, 2014) entitled "Red cells and grey," Times literary supplement no. 5818 (October 3, 2014):  32.

"According to the free and gracious will of God the eternal Son of God is Jesus Christ as He lived and died and rose again in time, and none other."

"Der ewige Sohn Gottes ist nach Gottes freiem gnädigem Willen Jesus Christus, wie er in der Zeit lebte, starb und auferstand, und nur er."

     Karl Barth, Church dogmatics IV/1, trans. Bromiley & Torrance, p. 52 (German of KD IV/1, p. 55, from the Digital Karl Bath Library).

Radner on Reilly

     "Reilly’s story, then, is inadequate.  As such, it undermines the credibility of many of his judgments.  Would that it didn’t!  Despite contextual missteps, Reilly rightly hammers home the deep logical and ethical pathology of the new moral consensus.  The fear of imposing any moral limits has led to the dismembering of human community and individual dignity.  This ought to be of profound concern to everyone.  It remains incomprehensible that advocates of sexual liberation within our churches have simply failed to take this seriously and oppose it openly and vigorously—so craven have they become to the advancement of their own personal interests.

     "In the end, Reilly’s abbreviated framework is inadequate because original sin has been airbrushed out.  It is in facing the realities of embedded disorders, pathologies, deformities, and evil that the [Aristotelian] ‘natural’ can best be understood.  The movements Reilly criticizes are marked by a failure to confront embedded sin honestly and self-critically.  That he deliberately avoids dealing with sin is unfortunate.  Ultimately, it is not nature with which we have to deal, but the God of nature—indeed, not only ultimately but immediately.  We must not suppose that, because Christian arguments have no purchase on cultural decision-making, we should mute their most explicitly Christian elements."

     Ephraim Radner, "Sin's nature," First things no. 247 (November 2014):  66 (65-66).

Psalm 46 in Luther ("A mighty fortress is our God") and Calvin

Ein feste burg ist unser Gott,
Ein gute wehr und waffen. 
Er hilfft unns frey aus aller not,  
die uns ytzt hat betroffen. 
   Der altböse feind,  
   mit ernst ers ytzt meint, 
   gros macht und viel list  
   sein grausam rüstung ist; 
   auf erd ist nicht seins gleichen. 

Mit unser macht ist nichts gethan, 
wir sind gar bald verloren. 
Es streit fur uns der rechte man, 
den Gott hat selbs erkoren. 
   Fragstu wer das ist? 
   Er heist Jhesu Christ, 
   der Herr Zebaoth, 
   Und ist kein ander Gott; 
   das felt mus er behalten. 

Und wenn die welt vol Teuffel wehr 
unnd wolt uns gar verschlingen, 
So fürchten wir uns nicht zu sehr. 
Es sol uns doch gelingen. 
   Der Fürst dieser welt, 
   wie saur er sich stellt, 
   thut er unns doch nicht, 
   das macht: er ist gericht. 
   Ein wörtlin kann yhn fellen. 

Das wort sie sollen lassen stahn 
unnd kein danck dazu haben. 
Er ist bey unns wol auff dem plan 
mit seinem geist und gaben. 
   Nemen sie den leib, 
   gut, ehre, kindt unnd weib, 
   las fahren dahin; 
   sie habens kein gewin; 
   das reich mus uns doch bleiben.

     Martin Luther, "Deus noster refugium et virtus" ("Ein feste burg ist unser God"), as reproduced out of Luthers geistliche Lieder und Kirchengesänge: Vollständige Neuedition in Ergänzung zu Band 35 der Weimarer Ausgabe, Archiv zur Weimarer Ausgabe der Werke Martin Luthers, Texte und Untersuchungen 4, bearbeitet von Markus Jenny (Köln:  Böhlau Verlag, 1985), pp. 247-249 and 100-101.  For the text of this hymn as reproduced in WA 35, see pp. 455 ff.

     It doesn't appear to me that Calvin's own 46th Psalm (CO 6 =CR34, cols. 211-212) was a translation of the above.  So from this alone (for I have done no real research) it's not clear to me that Calvin "invariably sang and cherished it".  Cf. here and here ("Nôtre dieu nous et un bon fort" (1722), and "C’est un rampart que notre Dieu" (1861)).  The following was "Copié sur le texte de 1542, qui est reproduit sans variantes dans l’édition de 1545, mais avec une orthographe différente. Il est remplacé dans l'édition de  1547 et toutes les suivantes par le Psaume de Cl. Marot:  Dez qu'adversité nous offense":

   Nostre Dieu nous est ferme appuy, 
Vertu, fortresse et seur confort; 
Auquel aurons en nostre ennuy 
Present refuge et tresbon port. 
Dont certaine asseurance aurons, 
Mesmes quand la terre verrons 
Par tremblement se desrocher, 
Et mons en la mer se cacher. 

   Quand la mer bruyant et tonnant, 
Comme par courroux s'enflera, 
Et les grandz rochers estonnant 
De vagues les esbranlera. 
Car la Cité qu'a Dieu esleu, 
Qui pour sa maison luy a pleu, 
Son ruisseau doulx et clair aura, 
Qui tousiours la resiouira. 

   Le Seignour y est au milieu, 
Pourtant ferme elle se tiendra: 
Pour l'aider en temps et en lieu 
De grand matin il veillera. 
Les peuples se sont tempestez, 
Royaulmes en trouble ont estez: 
Mais Dieu les tensant de sa voix 
Les rend en un moment tous coix. 

   Dieu des armées conducteur, 
Le Dieu de Iacob est pour nous: 
Pourtant nous sera protecteur 
Contre noz adversaires tous: 
Pourtant venez apercevoir, 
Chascun de vous s'applique à veoir 
Les merveilles que Dieu a faict, 
Quand ses ennemis a desfaict.

   C'est luy qui par son seul edict 
Peult toute la terre appaiser, 
Et au monde, sans contredict, 
Toute bataille faict cesser. 
C'est luy qui peult les arez briser, 
Lances en pieces menuiser. 
De sa flambe va consummant 
Les chariotz, les abysmant. 

   Pourtant, faict à tous à sçavoir 
Qu'il est celuy qui redoubté 
Doit estre pour son grand pouvoir, 
Et en tout le monde exalté. 
Dieu, des armées le Recteur, 
Nous sera tousiours pour tuteur. 
Le Dieu de Iacob nous sera
Pour refuge et nous gardera.

"quaerentes inter nos apud praesentem veritatem"

"We were asking one another in the presence of the Truth"

     Augustine, Confessions IX.x.23, as translated in the Office of Readings, Liturgy of the hours.