Jon Aquino's Mental Garden

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Friday, July 24, 2015

Capsule summaries of Shakespeare's plays

The Comedies

  • The Comedy of Errors. Twins, separated at birth, take the same name. Thumbs up.
  • Love's Labor's Lost. Three gentlemen vow to abstain from food, women, and sleep for three years, devoting the time to study. Thumbs down.
  • The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Proteus tries to steal his friend Valentine's Sylvia. Thumbs down.
  • The Taming of the Shrew. Petruchio must somehow tame the shrewish Katharina. Thumbs up.
  • A Midsummer Night's Dream. Demetrius and Lysander are in love with Hermia; Helena is in love with Demetrius. Thumbs up.
  • The Merchant of Venice. Antonio owes Shylock a pound of his flesh for not repaying the debt he incurred for his friend. Thumbs up.
  • Much Ado About Nothing. Hero is falsely accused of cheating on her fiance, the night before their wedding day. Thumbs up.
  • The Merry Wives of Windsor. Falstaff, short of cash, tries to woo two rich, married women, who are too clever for him. Thumbs up.
  • As You Like It. Orlando (brother of Oliver) and Rosalind (daughter of Duke Senior) are banished from Duke Frederick's kingdom to the Forest of Arden. Thumbs up.

Thursday, July 09, 2015

Ephesians 1:3-14

Ephesians 1:3-14 is the second reading at Mass next Sunday (which I will be reading).

I see in this passage the purpose of humankind:

  1. to "live for the praise of [God's] glory" (praise, faith)
  2. "to be holy and blameless before him in love" (good works, avoiding evil)
  3. "the mystery of his will" and his "plan for the fullness of time" (the purposes that only God knows)

Also in this passage are ways that God equips us for our purpose:

  1. "every spiritual blessing" (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, etc.)
  2. "the forgiveness of our trespasses" (right relationship with him)
  3. "the seal of the promised Holy Spirit" (God's guidance)

Wednesday, July 01, 2015

The Council of Trent on the relationship of good works to justification

From the Decree Concerning Justification:

  • "...Christ Jesus was given by God to men [not only] as a redeemer in whom to trust, [but also] as a legislator whom to obey..."
  • "...the justice received [is] preserved [and] increased before God through good works..."
  • "...the just [ought] for the good works done in God to expect and hope for an eternal reward from God through His mercy and the merit of Jesus Christ, if by doing well and by keeping the divine commandments they persevere to the end..."
  • "...he who has fallen after baptism [can] by the grace of God rise again[; he] can indeed recover again the lost justice [with] the sacrament of penance..."
  • "...after the reception of the grace of justification [a] debt of temporal punishment remains to be discharged either in this world or in purgatory before the gates of heaven can be opened..."
  • "...the good works of the one justified are in such manner the gifts of God [and] also the good merits of him justified; [the] one justified by the good works that he performs by the grace of God and the merit of Jesus Christ, whose living member he is, [truly merits] an increase of grace, eternal life, and in case he dies in grace, the attainment of eternal life itself and also an increase of glory..."

Here is how I interpret the Decree:

Not State of Grace State of Grace
1. Before you were baptized, all hope was lost. 2. After you were baptized, all hope was gained.
3. When you committed a mortal sin, all hope was lost. 4. When you underwent the Sacrament of Penance/Confession, all hope was gained.
5. When you failed to perform the good works that God gave you the grace to do, all hope was lost. 6. When you performed the good works that God gave you the grace to do, all hope was gained.

 

If you die in the state of grace, then by God's grace, you merit the attainment of eternal life. (A debt of temporal punishment remains to be discharged, either in this world or in purgatory, before one would enter heaven to be with God.)