A constant struggle of mine is not allowing my self-hate to overwhelm me. Recently I have been struggling with my bipolar more than usual and I become deeply depressed without knowing why. I become angry at myself because of this. There is nothing more frustrating than not being able to control your own emotions. Often this frustration overflows into my interactions with others, especially my family. Lack of control is not only frustrating but also embarrassing. Everyone can see it. They know something is wrong. But when they reach out and try to help, I lash back. I cannot stand other's knowing my problems. It is an issue of pride. I don't want others to see me as weak. Ironically this feeling is strongest when dealing with those who know my weaknesses the best; my parents. When I lash out with silence or shouting I feel worse. Why can't I just tell them what's wrong? I'm a horrible son, a horrible friend. I feed my self-hatred by trying to displace it. How does one overcome self-hatred? How can I see past my mistakes? Do my mistakes define me?
My faith tells me I am good by my very nature, and yet I am so clearly imperfect. I struggle with the smallest of tasks, such as remembering to take my medication or drinking enough water. My inability to be consistent in such menial tasks assures me of the immense effort I must expend in attaining control over my emotions. But does the struggle eliminate the possibility of success? Only if I let it. Despair is a vicious cycle. I pretend to be content with my failings when I long for perfection. Is this desire rooted in a false hope? An important part of our human nature is our will guided by the intellect and put into action by our creativity. None can deny the existence of such faculties. If they try, they have uprooted the foundation of social life. As Americans we idolize our ability to choose. This ability loses it's meaning if we cannot choose the good. When registering for classes next semester I will most likely have a choice between two professors for any one class. If a distinction between goods is not involved in my choice, what purpose does my ability to choose serve? I might as well choose a professor at random. And yet we only do this when we perceive the two choices to be equal in value.
I need not accept by faith alone that there are attainable goods in this world. But what of virtue? Is this good attainable? Virtue is different from other goods in that it is not material and dependent on something outside of ourselves, like money or praise. Virtue is dependent upon our present actions and attitudes. I may have been honest yesterday, but I can be a liar today. It can be very difficult to recognize virtue in ourselves because we often look to our past to define ourselves. Virtue requires the opposite. I must look forward to new challenges and struggles, recognizing my ability to learn from my mistakes and choose the good today in place of the evil I chose yesterday.
But some people seem to be able to do the good without thinking, while I must struggle to be virtuous everyday. Does the fact that I must struggle with temptation make me a wicked person by nature? As we have already discussed virtue is affected by our current choices, and therefore it is the choices I make while being tempted, not the temptation itself, that determine what I will become. It is true that some people have attained virtue in the form of habit. Habits can be either good or bad. Seeing others attain good habits gives me hope that I can rise above my habit of making mistakes. It should not make me despair in my own situation. If I despair it is because of a false perception of the term habit. A habit is not innate. It is formed during one's lifetime as a result of conditioning. It is true that some attain virtuous habits more quickly than others because of their environment, but this does not mean it is impossible for those who cultivated bad habits when they were young to form new and good habits. I am capable of choosing our influences. Community is important to attaining virtue. The more I surround myself with virtuous friends and influences, the easier it becomes to attain virtuous habits.
So how does this help me overcome my self-hate? Perhaps the one take away from this discussion is that cultivating bad habits leads to self-hate. I cannot love that which is not lovable. But I am not bound by my past. I am able to direct my future, for better or worse. Just because I fall does not mean that I must remain fallen. Cultivating good habits, acting in a dignified way, makes me see more readily my innate dignity.
Monday, September 16, 2013
Friday, August 9, 2013
Letting Go
One of the most inspiring stories of the Old Testament is that of the birth of Moses. At the time of his birth, Pharaoh had decreed that all newborn Hebrew males be cast into the Nile (Exodus 1:22, RSV). The mother of Moses, no longer able to hide her son, put her trust in God and cast him into the very river she had tried to keep him from. It is very easy to get caught up in situations we can control. In my recent experience in breaking up with my girlfriend, I tried too hard to keep a close relationship that was not possible. I wanted her to open up to me when she couldn't, and by repeatedly trying to make her do so, I only caused myself more pain. Sometimes we have to let things go to a point of total trust and give up all illusions of control. The thing I've feared most about this break up is losing my best friend. But if she is unable to open up to me, to really trust me, do we even have a friendship? I need to let go of our friendship and trust that God will take control and help us both to grow.
Monday, August 5, 2013
"The Quest for Personal Excellence"
"Magnanimity is always prudent, patient, and realistic. If you set exorbitantly high standards, you could discourage employees and might even hurt them. Leaders should not set their people up for a fall, nor should they drive or coerce them. Such behavior is imprudent and unjust. It retards personal progress in trying to compel it." - Alexandre Havard
This common sense advice is something I too often take for granted. It should not only strike deep into the hearts and minds of CEO's and politicians. No, this advice is also for interactions among family and friends. We are all called to be leaders in that we are called to grow in personal virtue and help others do the same (Havard, 2007, p.XIV). Too often, however, I grow impatient at another's seeming immaturity, lashing out to show that I am just as immature. It is far too easy to see someone else's faults and expect them to grow up, but without patience they cannot grow. It is impossible to change another person. They must change themself, and my reaction to their behavior facilitates that change. Patience provides a nurturing environment. However, patience is nothing without prudence. Prudence determines when the patient person acts. Without prudence, patience becomes tolerance. And it is not enough to tolerate a friend's faults, for by virtue of our love for them we are called to help them grow in personal excellence.
SOURCE(S):
Havard, A. (2007) Virtuous Leadership: An Agenda for Personal Excellence. New York: Scepter Publishers, Inc.
This common sense advice is something I too often take for granted. It should not only strike deep into the hearts and minds of CEO's and politicians. No, this advice is also for interactions among family and friends. We are all called to be leaders in that we are called to grow in personal virtue and help others do the same (Havard, 2007, p.XIV). Too often, however, I grow impatient at another's seeming immaturity, lashing out to show that I am just as immature. It is far too easy to see someone else's faults and expect them to grow up, but without patience they cannot grow. It is impossible to change another person. They must change themself, and my reaction to their behavior facilitates that change. Patience provides a nurturing environment. However, patience is nothing without prudence. Prudence determines when the patient person acts. Without prudence, patience becomes tolerance. And it is not enough to tolerate a friend's faults, for by virtue of our love for them we are called to help them grow in personal excellence.
SOURCE(S):
Havard, A. (2007) Virtuous Leadership: An Agenda for Personal Excellence. New York: Scepter Publishers, Inc.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Faith & Works
I have a terrible habit of procrastinating. I think of some great way to spend my time and then I do something far less productive, and this usually leads me to leave projects half finished. This post is a great example. I've had the idea for this post sitting on my computer for over a month. Ironically this post covers the best way to combat procrastination.
The idea for this post came from the readings of the June 16th Sunday Mass (so long ago, I know, but still relevant). The theme for these readings is faith and its relation to forgiveness. In light of this, I wish to cover the most controversial reading first. In Paul's letter to the Galatians he says, "We ourselves, who are Jew by birth and not Gentile sinners, yet who know that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no flesh be justified."*(1) Here it may seem as though Paul is saying we are saved by faith and not good works. I have seen some protestants use this as a way to justify bad habits: "It's okay if we mess up, as long as we believe."
However, in the letter of James it says, "What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and filled,' without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead."*(2) So how do we reconcile these two seemingly contradictory verses? The first way is by looking to the context of Paul's letter to the Galatians. Throughout Chapter 2 Paul makes clear that he is distinguishing between the New Law and the Old. In early Christianity there was conflict between those of Jew and gentile descent, largely over the practice of circumcision. Christians of Jewish descent would argue that to be saved one must follow all practices outlined in the Old Law. Paul is rebuking this heresy, not denying the connection between faith and works. In Galatians Chapter 5, Paul states, "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love."*(3) Here Paul both rebukes the heresy that Christians must follow Jewish custom, and confirms faith living through works.
But here is the really exciting part! Not only can we know this through revelation, but also through
As a student of psychology, I always get super excited when I find faith supported by scientific research. Over this summer I have been taking online classes at my local community college. I thought they would be horrible and boring. However, the book we have been reading for Social Psychology, written by David Myers, has been amazing. Besides being a political leftist, Myers was able to keep his work generally unbiased and let the research do all the talking. In chapter 4 of his book, Myers covers the relationship between behaviors and attitudes. "It's true that we sometimes stand up for what we believe. But it's also true that we come to believe what we stand up for."*(4)
Probably the most convincing study on this subject comes from Dr. Philip Zimbardo's simulated prison experiment.*(5) Randomly selecting college aged men to either play prison guards or prisoners, Zimbardo made a startling discovery: it is not always bad people who do bad things, but good people in a bad place. To ensure that they did not allow any psychopaths ruin the authenticity of the experiment, Zimbardo and his colleagues administered a psychological test to screen perspective participants. Both prisoners and prison guards scored equally on the test, and all participants had an equal chance of ending up with either role, making personality a low predictor of behavior. With a simulated prison built in the basement of Stanford University, prison guards were ordered to treat the prisoners how they would be treated in a real prison. The results of a two week experiment were so horrifying that Zimbardo was forced to call it off after only six days. The prisoners became depressed, many going absolutely insane at the thought that they could not escape. The guards took to actively humiliating the prisoners whenever possible, and even Zimbardo himself became completely immersed in his role as "prison warden".
This experiment shows the power of both circumstances and behavior upon our attitudes. None of the prison guards expected to treat the prisoners so inhumanely. Their attitudes were completely reversed by their actions. To me, this completely verifies the relationship between faith and works. If we allow bad habits to creep in, do we really believe what we say we do? If behaviors have such a powerful influence on our attitudes, behaving sinfully will facilitate sinful beliefs. And expressing a sinful belief strengthens that belief. "People often adapt what they say to please their listeners...Nevertheless, they begin to believe what they are saying - provided they weren't bribed or coerced into doing so. When there is no compelling external explanation for one's words, saying becomes believing."*(6) Maybe you think social pressure is a compelling enough explanation to leave your beliefs unchanged. But consider the following experiment, "Tory Higgins and his colleagues...had university students read a personality description of someone and then summarize it for someone else, who was believed either to like or dislike the person. Students wrote a more positive description when the recipient liked the person. Having said positive things, they also then liked the person more themselves. Asked to recall what they had read, they remembered the description as more positive than it was."*(7)
As Christians in the modern world, social pressure is an extremely powerful motivator. Social media, such as Facebook and Youtube, constantly throw varying beliefs at us along with asking us to proclaim our own. When hiding behind the computer screen it is easier to take a more radical position than we would in person. This depersonalization, however, works both ways. The commitment that normally accompanies public proclamation loses some of its power through seeming anonymity. What we defend on the internet we may attack in person. My own problems with sexuality are evidence enough for me. It is easy for me to defend abstinence and purity on Facebook while turning around to watch porn and masturbate while I think no one is watching. It takes more than belief to conquer sin. You cannot think your way up the hill to die with Christ, you must walk.
But here is the really exciting part! Not only can we know this through revelation, but also through
Probably the most convincing study on this subject comes from Dr. Philip Zimbardo's simulated prison experiment.*(5) Randomly selecting college aged men to either play prison guards or prisoners, Zimbardo made a startling discovery: it is not always bad people who do bad things, but good people in a bad place. To ensure that they did not allow any psychopaths ruin the authenticity of the experiment, Zimbardo and his colleagues administered a psychological test to screen perspective participants. Both prisoners and prison guards scored equally on the test, and all participants had an equal chance of ending up with either role, making personality a low predictor of behavior. With a simulated prison built in the basement of Stanford University, prison guards were ordered to treat the prisoners how they would be treated in a real prison. The results of a two week experiment were so horrifying that Zimbardo was forced to call it off after only six days. The prisoners became depressed, many going absolutely insane at the thought that they could not escape. The guards took to actively humiliating the prisoners whenever possible, and even Zimbardo himself became completely immersed in his role as "prison warden".
This experiment shows the power of both circumstances and behavior upon our attitudes. None of the prison guards expected to treat the prisoners so inhumanely. Their attitudes were completely reversed by their actions. To me, this completely verifies the relationship between faith and works. If we allow bad habits to creep in, do we really believe what we say we do? If behaviors have such a powerful influence on our attitudes, behaving sinfully will facilitate sinful beliefs. And expressing a sinful belief strengthens that belief. "People often adapt what they say to please their listeners...Nevertheless, they begin to believe what they are saying - provided they weren't bribed or coerced into doing so. When there is no compelling external explanation for one's words, saying becomes believing."*(6) Maybe you think social pressure is a compelling enough explanation to leave your beliefs unchanged. But consider the following experiment, "Tory Higgins and his colleagues...had university students read a personality description of someone and then summarize it for someone else, who was believed either to like or dislike the person. Students wrote a more positive description when the recipient liked the person. Having said positive things, they also then liked the person more themselves. Asked to recall what they had read, they remembered the description as more positive than it was."*(7)
As Christians in the modern world, social pressure is an extremely powerful motivator. Social media, such as Facebook and Youtube, constantly throw varying beliefs at us along with asking us to proclaim our own. When hiding behind the computer screen it is easier to take a more radical position than we would in person. This depersonalization, however, works both ways. The commitment that normally accompanies public proclamation loses some of its power through seeming anonymity. What we defend on the internet we may attack in person. My own problems with sexuality are evidence enough for me. It is easy for me to defend abstinence and purity on Facebook while turning around to watch porn and masturbate while I think no one is watching. It takes more than belief to conquer sin. You cannot think your way up the hill to die with Christ, you must walk.
FOOT NOTES:
1) Galatians 2:15-16 RSV. Here I varied a bit from the reading in mass, as the reading did not include verse 15. This inclusion was done for the sake of context.
2) James 2:14-17 RSV
3) Galatians 5:6
4) David Myers, Social Psychology (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013) p.126
5) http://www.prisonexp.org/
6) David Myers, Social Psychology (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013) p.128
7) Ibid, p.128
3) Galatians 5:6
4) David Myers, Social Psychology (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013) p.126
5) http://www.prisonexp.org/
6) David Myers, Social Psychology (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013) p.128
7) Ibid, p.128
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Love Is Not Enough
So, the other day I broke up with my girlfriend whom I had been dating for five years. When discussing this with her I completely understood why it had to happen. We had been sexually active when she didn't want to be, and both of us have had major problems we have to deal with. She has difficulties with body image, and struggles to understand how anyone could love, even God. I have my problems with pornography, masturbation, and depression. It was a destructive relationship ultimately. My false expectations of her sexuality caused constant trouble, leading to depression and suppressed feelings for the both of us. Eventually it came to the point where neither of us trusted each other. She could no longer trust me to treat her properly and respect her. In addition to this I treated myself poorly, threatening suicide on multiple occasions, making it impossible for her to tell me how I had hurt her without the fear that I might hurt myself. Before the breakup I had always thought that I trusted her to make good decisions and do what she thought was right. I was proud of her for having the courage to tell me she needed space, but when she said that she may never want to be in another relationship I lost it. I kept telling myself this would be a temporary thing, that once she was able to love herself we would be back together. The thought of never getting back together hurt. I thought my best friend, the person I could talk to the most was abandoning me. I got angry, and attacked her for it. I tried to guilt her back into the relationship. In doing this I provoked a true but painful statement from her. I had never respected her or her ability to make decisions. I was always overbearing. I hate the fact it took so long for me to find this out. It was always easy to deny this truth. Reflecting back I can see where I went wrong. Whenever she had to make a major life decision I always had my own opinion and argued for it forcefully. I thought I was being supportive. When she was graduating high school, she told me that she thought she would go to Case for nursing. I supported this, telling her that Case was the perfect school for her to do that. However, when she changed her mind, I didn't support her new decision right away. I argued that she would do better at case than Franciscan. When she decided she wanted to change her major from nursing to theology and writing, I argued again. When she had doubts of wanting to go to college at all, I argued again. When she wanted to drop her theology major, I argued again. Every decision she ever made, I argued. While I thought I was being supportive, she took it as sign that I couldn't trust her to direct her own life, to find her vocation that God alone could give her. I realize now I was too controlling. I wanted a certain thing for her life, for her to marry me and be a mother. I was selfish. I was trying to be a god. I put myself before the only person who could help her, thinking I was the one God would use to determine her steps, not her own reason.
This post is meant as an apology. I am so sorry I wasn't the trusting friend you need, Liz. I am so sorry for trying to control your life. And I am so proud of you and so thankful that you gave me the slap in the face I needed to wake up and realize I am not the man I need to be. I pray for your safety, your salvation, and that you find where God needs you to be in this life. If that means losing a romantic relationship with you for good, than so be it. But please know I will always be your friend, and I will try my hardest to love you as such. And to anyone else reading this, I pray you don't make the mistakes I did.
"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." - Proverbs 16:9
This post is meant as an apology. I am so sorry I wasn't the trusting friend you need, Liz. I am so sorry for trying to control your life. And I am so proud of you and so thankful that you gave me the slap in the face I needed to wake up and realize I am not the man I need to be. I pray for your safety, your salvation, and that you find where God needs you to be in this life. If that means losing a romantic relationship with you for good, than so be it. But please know I will always be your friend, and I will try my hardest to love you as such. And to anyone else reading this, I pray you don't make the mistakes I did.
"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." - Proverbs 16:9
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Why Blog?
"Bear ye one another's burdens; and so you shall fulfill the law of Christ"
- Galatians 6:2
On Good Friday my family traditionally will gather together as the day is ending, and those mature enough will watch Mel Gibson's movie The Passion. This year I was unable to make it home for Easter break, and so I missed watching this amazing representation of salvation history with my family. However, my household brothers and sisters invited me to join them to watch it. I'll admit, I find that film very hard to watch at points. It's shows the human aspect of Christ so well, which other passion representations lack. Every step caused him physical and mental pain. Betrayed by a people he would save, a people he showed nothing to but love, healing their sick and raising their dead.
However, the most difficult part of the movie comes at the end when Christ has died and is laying in arms of his mother. She looks up and stares directly into the camera. Directly at me. Saying with her eyes, "What more could you possibly want. What more could he possibly give."
More startling and more real than anything possibly portrayed by Mel Gibson, is Christ's sacrifice present on the altar during the Mass. How is it that Christ would come in flesh and blood, humbly masked behind bread and wine, that I might receive him? I often wonder about this mystery, and in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament pray for understanding. Understanding of why a God so powerful would choose to die for me, a broken and sinful man. Understanding of how a piece of bread could contain the God of the universe, when I am not even sure of how my body could have a soul.
At first, the lack of the direct answer or sign I thought I deserved bothered me. It shook my faith in God's existence, my relationship with my girlfriend and others, and my choice in career and school. But when the world becomes darker, the stars shine brighter. And the words of Augustine's City of God rang clearly in my mind. For Augustine says, "A people is the association of a multitude of rational beings united by a common agreement on the objects of their love."*(1) I experienced the truth of this statement. I had fallen from love of God, and so I lost community with all my friends who loved him.
Love is a powerful thing. It determines all our actions. As Christ says in Mark 7:21, "For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery..." (RSV). Love in the sense used by Augustine, as indicated by this passage, does not mean Love the virtue, or Charity. It means an inclination, or desire, of the will.*(2) In psychology we call these values. Regardless of the name, what we love or value in life drives our actions.
In light of this, it should be clear why people act in certain ways. More specifically, it should be clear why Christians are called to evangelization, preaching their faith. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI wrote in his address to Catechists and Religion Teachers that evangelization is "to teach the art of living."*(3) And true life can only be found in Christ, and Christ's embracing of the cross.*(4) This is the reason for the passage I chose for the title of my blog. Really it is the reason I chose to blog at all (I always thought blogging was silly until I read my girlfriend's blog which impacted my life greatly). As a Christian I cannot evangelize, show others how to live, without living myself; an act which can only be achieved by uniting myself to the love of Christ, and participating in his cross.*(5) This is achieved not only in receiving the sacrament of the Eucharist, but also in acting in accord with God's will for my daily life, and taking on daily struggles out of love of him.
This passage from Galatians calls to mind that while showing others how to live, I myself am still on the path to true life. I have not attained it fully. I fall short of my Christian calling daily, and anything good I do does not come from my own strength, but from the grace of God.*(6) We are reminded his grace manifests itself not only through increasing our personal virtues, but through our relationships as well. We are all being forged by our trials to be the best we can be, and we are not forced to go alone. We are given friends and family to help us on our journey; to ease pain, laugh with, and to join with in prayer.
This blog is to be used as a place to discuss issues that not only affect my own daily life, but those of others. It is intended to be a place of honesty, where you can feel free to leave comments or questions about personal issues. We can then discuss these, and help one another gain insight into how we might live our lives better.
*FOOT NOTES
(1) St. Augustine, City of God, trans. Henry Bettenson (New York: Penguin Classics, 2003) p.890
(2) St. Thomas Aquinas, Introduction to St. Thomas Aquinas, ed. Anton Pegis (New York: Random House, 1948) p.361-364
(3) http://www.ewtn.com/new_evangelization/Ratzinger.htm
(4) Romans 8:1-4 (RSV)
(5) http://www.ewtn.com/new_evangelization/Ratzinger.htm
(6) 1 Corinthians 15:10 (RSV)
More startling and more real than anything possibly portrayed by Mel Gibson, is Christ's sacrifice present on the altar during the Mass. How is it that Christ would come in flesh and blood, humbly masked behind bread and wine, that I might receive him? I often wonder about this mystery, and in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament pray for understanding. Understanding of why a God so powerful would choose to die for me, a broken and sinful man. Understanding of how a piece of bread could contain the God of the universe, when I am not even sure of how my body could have a soul.
At first, the lack of the direct answer or sign I thought I deserved bothered me. It shook my faith in God's existence, my relationship with my girlfriend and others, and my choice in career and school. But when the world becomes darker, the stars shine brighter. And the words of Augustine's City of God rang clearly in my mind. For Augustine says, "A people is the association of a multitude of rational beings united by a common agreement on the objects of their love."*(1) I experienced the truth of this statement. I had fallen from love of God, and so I lost community with all my friends who loved him.
Love is a powerful thing. It determines all our actions. As Christ says in Mark 7:21, "For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery..." (RSV). Love in the sense used by Augustine, as indicated by this passage, does not mean Love the virtue, or Charity. It means an inclination, or desire, of the will.*(2) In psychology we call these values. Regardless of the name, what we love or value in life drives our actions.
In light of this, it should be clear why people act in certain ways. More specifically, it should be clear why Christians are called to evangelization, preaching their faith. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI wrote in his address to Catechists and Religion Teachers that evangelization is "to teach the art of living."*(3) And true life can only be found in Christ, and Christ's embracing of the cross.*(4) This is the reason for the passage I chose for the title of my blog. Really it is the reason I chose to blog at all (I always thought blogging was silly until I read my girlfriend's blog which impacted my life greatly). As a Christian I cannot evangelize, show others how to live, without living myself; an act which can only be achieved by uniting myself to the love of Christ, and participating in his cross.*(5) This is achieved not only in receiving the sacrament of the Eucharist, but also in acting in accord with God's will for my daily life, and taking on daily struggles out of love of him.
This passage from Galatians calls to mind that while showing others how to live, I myself am still on the path to true life. I have not attained it fully. I fall short of my Christian calling daily, and anything good I do does not come from my own strength, but from the grace of God.*(6) We are reminded his grace manifests itself not only through increasing our personal virtues, but through our relationships as well. We are all being forged by our trials to be the best we can be, and we are not forced to go alone. We are given friends and family to help us on our journey; to ease pain, laugh with, and to join with in prayer.
This blog is to be used as a place to discuss issues that not only affect my own daily life, but those of others. It is intended to be a place of honesty, where you can feel free to leave comments or questions about personal issues. We can then discuss these, and help one another gain insight into how we might live our lives better.
*FOOT NOTES
(1) St. Augustine, City of God, trans. Henry Bettenson (New York: Penguin Classics, 2003) p.890
(2) St. Thomas Aquinas, Introduction to St. Thomas Aquinas, ed. Anton Pegis (New York: Random House, 1948) p.361-364
(3) http://www.ewtn.com/new_evangelization/Ratzinger.htm
(4) Romans 8:1-4 (RSV)
(5) http://www.ewtn.com/new_evangelization/Ratzinger.htm
(6) 1 Corinthians 15:10 (RSV)
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