Paper on the Imago Dei

Image, Likeness, and Trace

in St. Thomas Aquinas's Theological Anthropology

Within St. Thomas's treatise on human nature in the prima pars of the Summa Theologiæ (qq. 75-102), question 93 is dedicated to the "end or terminus of man's production," which St. Thomas explicitly relates to man's being "made to the image and likeness of God." In the course of the nine articles contained in this question, St. Thomas refers frequently to the various concepts of image (imago), likeness or similitude (similitudo), and trace or vestige (vestigium). Through the interplay of these three concepts St. Thomas sets forth a richly theological understanding of man as a creature who images God in his nature and who is ordained to perfect this image through grace unto glory.

Read on via the link on the sidebar.

Good Bye Betsy

I dropped Betsy off at the Vienna airport this morning, and by now she's probably in Dublin. Four weeks sure went by fast. We'll miss her, but I know she is excited to see all her friends and family back in the USA.

Schleierfalls

The standard Sunday afternoon activity around here (when the weather is decent) is hiking. Our destination is usually to see the cows, and then from there we continue on to circle our little town of Gaming. This time, however, we were a little more ambitious and headed out to find Schleierfalls, which is a pretty long walk from downtown Gaming, and all slightly uphill on the way there. The falls are very impressive, and the water was very cold; despite which you can seeBetsy in the last picture having waded out to the big rock in the middle of the pool at the bottom.

A sunny day in Vienna

Nearing the end of her stay here, we finally took Betsy into Vienna for the day. It was a perfect day - about 65 degress, clear blue sky, with some cool breezes to keep things from getting too hot. A few pictures for starters:

A view of Schloss Schoenbrunn from within the palace gardens.

Betsy in the Heldenplatz.

Two very sleepy children.

Dinner with Aristotle

Signs that the end of the semester approacheth:

I think that's the Nicomachean Ethics over a pot of rice.

Wine

I found a delightful paragraph of our Holy Father today while reading through some of his homilies from the past few years. We are rather fond of wine, and now we know why:

"The reading from the Prophet Isaiah and today's Gospel set before our eyes one of the great images of Sacred Scripture: the image of the vine. In Sacred Scripture, bread represents all that human beings need for their daily life. Water makes the earth fertile: it is the fundamental gift that makes life possible. Wine, on the other hand, expresses the excellence of creation and gives us the feast in which we go beyond the limits of our daily routine: Wine, the Psalm says, gladdens the heart. So it is that wine and with it the vine have also become images of the gift of love in which we can taste the savour of the Divine."

~ Homily of Pope Benedict XVI on the Opening Mass of the 11th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (Sunday October 2, 2005).

Happy Birthday, Aunt Betsy!

Katie managed to acquire some Kartausenbrau dunkel bier for Betsy's birthday dinner. She was kind enough to share some with the rest of us, and it was great with the spicy chicken wings. For dessert, Irish cream sundaes.

Mariazell

We drove down to Mariazell this afternoon to take Betsy to see the Great Mother of Austria, our Lady of Mariazell. The basilica is quite beautiful - with an especially impressive organ - and the 850 year old statue of our Lady is royally robed and enthroned in splendor befitting her majesty.

It was a little on the cool side, but we still couldn't resist having some ice cream. Maria hesitated not at all in choosing her flavor: "I want blue!"

On our way there, we passed by the Erlaufsee and parked the car to get out (both to admire the view and to relieve the carsickness, it's quite a rolling drive). Our two kids with two of their Aunts: 

Fourth Anniversary

Four years ago today we saw the white smoke issue from the sistine chapel and we heard the bells of St. Peter's ringing joyfully to announce to the waiting Church the elevation of Joseph Ratzinger to the See of Peter. May we be blest with many more years under the happy rule of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.

Let us pray for our Pontiff Benedict

Quasi modo Sunday

Some pictures of Aunt Betsy and the kids:

Essay

The Christological Foundation for the Veneration of Holy Icons

The two great periods of Iconoclasm (εικονοκλασμος, image-breaking) in the East run parallel to each other in many ways, and not the least in their respective defenders of the orthodox faith and practice. St. Nicephorus, the holy patriarch of Constantinople (806-829), followed the example of his worthy predecessor St. Germanus I (715-730) in standing firm against the Iconoclastic emperors; and St. Theodore (759-826), the abbot of the Studite monastery at Constantinople, continued the work of St. John of Damascus (676-749) by writing refutations of Iconoclasm corresponding to the Damascene’s defenses of icon worship. Each of these defenders of icon worship rests his argument firmly on the fact of the Incarnation; each stresses the same two important distinctions: between adoration and veneration, and between proper and relative worship.

The rest of the paper is available via the link on the sidebar.

Solemn High Mass at the ITI

There was scheduled for tonight a lecture on the Roman Rite: Old and New, and the lecturer, a priest from Venice, was also going to offer the traditional Latin Mass for the ITI. Unfortunately, he had to cancel, but the administration was able to scramble about at the last minute for another priest who knows the Old Rite. One of the Servants of Jesus and Mary from Blindenmarkt accepted the invitation and came to offer the Mass for us (although there was no lecture following, which is really quite a shame).

Above: The entrance procession.

The Church did fill up, people here are just chronically late.

Above: Prayers at the foot of the altar.

Above: The offertory prayers.

Above: The reading of the Last Gospel.