St. Thomas on Chapel Veils

St. Thomas on Chapel Veils

Link to article on traditioninaction.org.

Aquinas on the Ordination of Women

Aquinas on the Ordination of Women

From Summa Theologiae, Suppl.39.1:

Article 1. Whether the female sex is an impediment to receiving Orders?

Objection 1. It would seem that the female sex is no impediment to receiving Orders. For the office of prophet is greater than the office of priest, since a prophet stands midway between God and priests, just as the priest does between God and people. Now the office of prophet was sometimes granted to women, as may be gathered from 2 Kings 22:14. Therefore the office of priest also may be competent to them.

Objection 2. Further, just as Order pertains to a kind of pre-eminence, so does a position of authority as well as martyrdom and the religious state. Now authority is entrusted to women in the New Testament, as in the case of abbesses, and in the Old Testament, as in the case of Debbora, who judged Israel (Judges 2). Moreover martyrdom and the religious life are also befitting to them. Therefore the Orders of the Church are also competent to them.

Objection 3. Further, the power of orders is founded in the soul. But sex is not in the soul. Therefore difference in sex makes no difference to the reception of Orders.

On the contrary, It is said (1 Timothy 2:12): "I suffer not a woman to teach (in the Church),* nor to use authority over the man." [The words in parenthesis are from 1 Corinthians 14:34, "Let women keep silence in the churches."]

Further, the crown is required previous to receiving Orders, albeit not for the validity of the sacrament. But the crown or tonsure is not befitting to women according to 1 Corinthians 11. Neither therefore is the receiving of Orders.

I answer that, Certain things are required in the recipient of a sacrament as being requisite for the validity of the sacrament, and if such things be lacking, one can receive neither the sacrament nor the reality of the sacrament. Other things, however, are required, not for the validity of the sacrament, but for its lawfulness, as being congruous to the sacrament; and without these one receives the sacrament, but not the reality of the sacrament. Accordingly we must say that the male sex is required for receiving Orders not only in the second, but also in the first way. Wherefore even though a woman were made the object of all that is done in conferring Orders, she would not receive Orders, for since a sacrament is a sign, not only the thing, but the signification of the thing, is required in all sacramental actions; thus it was stated above (Question 32, Article 2) that in Extreme Unction it is necessary to have a sick man, in order to signify the need of healing. Accordingly, since it is not possible in the female sex to signify eminence of degree, for a woman is in the state of subjection, it follows that she cannot receive the sacrament of Order. Some, however, have asserted that the male sex is necessary for the lawfulness and not for the validity of the sacrament, because even in the Decretals (cap. Mulieres dist. 32; cap. Diaconissam, 27, qu. i) mention is made of deaconesses and priestesses. But deaconess there denotes a woman who shares in some act of a deacon, namely who reads the homilies in the Church; and priestess [presbytera] means a widow, for the word "presbyter" means elder.

Reply to Objection 1. Prophecy is not a sacrament but a gift of God. Wherefore there it is not the signification, but only the thing which is necessary. And since in matters pertaining to the soul woman does not differ from man as to the thing (for sometimes a woman is found to be better than many men as regards the soul), it follows that she can receive the gift of prophecy and the like, but not the sacrament of Orders.

And thereby appears the Reply to the Second and Third Objections. However, as to abbesses, it is said that they have not ordinary authority, but delegated as it were, on account of the danger of men and women living together. But Debbora exercised authority in temporal, not in priestly matters, even as now woman may have temporal power.

   

Is St. John the Baptist Greater Among the Saints than St. Joseph?

Is St. John the Baptist Greater Among the Saints than St. Joseph?

Videtur quod non. St. Joseph seems to be greater than St. John, as he lived and died in the greatest proximity to Our Lord, the fountain of holiness.  The theological manuals attest to the fact that, after Our Lady, St. Joseph is the greatest among the saints.


Sed contra, (1) Our Lord Says: "Amen I say to you, there hath not risen among them that are born of women a greater (maior inter natos mulierum) than John the Baptist: yet he that is the lesser in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he" (Mt. 11:11).


(2) The liturgy treats St. John as higher than all the saints after Our Lady: "Confiteor... Beatae Mariae semper virgini... beato Joanni Baptistae, beatis apostolis Petro et Paulo...."  Similarly in the Litany of the Saints.

Respondeo dicendum, with Bl. Idelfonso Schuster, that:

As Our Lord Himself explains, even "he that is the lesser in the kingdom of heaven [in the Church of the New Covenant] is greater than [John the Baptist]" (Mt. 11:11).

The Early Modern Theory of Heat: "Calor ut Octo"? Historians, Please Help!

The Early Modern Theory of Heat: "Calor ut Octo"? Historians, Please Help!

As many of you know, I'm working on an English translation of Edouard Hugon's Cursus Philosophiae Thomisticae ("Thomistic  Philosophy Course"). I'm enjoying it immensely and I'm learning lots. But there is one passage with which I'm struggling; in particular, it's the expression "calor ut octo," which appears in a quote taken from John of St. Thomas, which is giving me trouble.  I have been able to figure out so far that it has to do with early-modern theories of the degrees of heat. I've consulted a number of reference works and experts on Thomistic thought, but I have nowhere found an explanation of this theory.  Doing a word study over some of the early modern Scholastics has led me to realize that each degree of heat is defined by some qualitative difference in the hot object (for example, if something is ignited, it is in the eight degree, but if it is just as warm as an animal's body, it is only in the first degree), and not by some quantitative difference (e.g., so many joules of kinetic energy, as we measure it today).  I have also come to the conclusion that "calor ut octo" should be translated as "heat in the eight degree."  Nonetheless, my curiosity has been aroused and I would like to learn more about the theory behind it.  So I'm throwing it out in the open hoping that some sage will illumine me, or at least that people who might have some knowledge  (or guess) on the topic can give me their two cents.

Here's the context of the expression "calor ut octo."  Speaking of the last disposition (ultima dispositio) that is required to be present in a subject for something new to be generated, Hugon points out that:

[...] Ultima dispositio procedit effective a forma genita et in novo composito recipitur, disponit tamen ad formam illam; unde posterior est forma in genere causae efficientis, prior vero in genere causae dispositivae et materialis.

Probatur. Accidentia sunt effective ab illa forma cujus sunt passiones et a qua dependent in esse. Atqui "ultima dispositio, v.g., calor ut octo, est accidens connexum cum forma ignis, ab illaque dependens in esse tanquam propria passio in ejus radice contenta, sicut clare videmus quod ignis genitus habet calorem ut octo tanquam proprietatem" (Joannes a S. Thoma, De generatione, q. I, art. VII).  Ergo ultima dispositio procedit effective a forma genita, et consequenter in novo composito suscipitur.

Here's what I have so far:

The last disposition proceeds from the generated form as from an efficient cause and is received in the new composite, but it is a disposition for that form; hence, the form is posterior in the genus of efficient cause, but it is prior in the genus of dispositive and material cause.

Proof. Accidents are proceed, as from an efficient cause, from the form of which they are passions and on which they depend in being (esse). But “the last disposition, e.g., heat in the eight degree is an accident connected with the form of fire, and is dependent upon that form in being (esse) as a proper passion contained in its root, as we clearly see that generated fire has heat in the eight degree as a property” (John of St Thomas, De generatione, q. I, art. VII).  Therefore, the last disposition proceeds effectively from the generated form, and consequently, it is received in the new composite.

Further, I did a word study of "gradus caloris" and "calor* ut" in a few early modern Scholastic authors, and I've found some interesting points:

-John of St. Thomas (1589-1644), author of the quote above, mentions in passing that:

(a) "calor ut octo includes many degrees," presumably all the other seven degrees. (Cursus philosophicus t. III, L. 4, C. 2: Sicut quia ad ignem requiritur calor ut octo tota illa dispositio per modum unius comparatur ad informationem formae ignis, licet calor ut octo plures gradus includat).

(b) "calor ut octo is in itself divisible but it is received indivisibly by the form of fire" (Ibid.: ... calor ut octo divisibilis est in se, et modo indivisibili respicitur a forma ignis).

(c) He also gives us an interesting explanation of how calor ut octo is transferred from an external object to our flesh and to our nerves.  (Cursus philosophicus t. III, L. 9, C. 7: "etiam calor ut octo potest sentiri, non solum qui est in ipso igne, sed qui communicatur carni antequam nervo. Communicatur autem carni comburendo illam, et sic cum incipit comburi, incipit quoque diffundi species caloris ut octo ad sensum et fit acerrimus dolor. Ut enim species transeat ad nervum, non requiritur, quod alteratio fiat in ipsomet nervo, sed sufficit, quod in ipsa carne ei coniuncta. In corporibus autem damnatis ignis applicatus carni sine alteratione physica et combustione speciem  caloris ut octo immittet in nervum, et praesertim quia ignis ille, ut diximus, etiam intra corpus ingredietur per poros.")

-The Salmanticenses (17th Century) imply that "calor ut octo" is the degree of heat needed for something to ignite (Cursus theologicus, T. 5, Tract. XIV, Q. 109).

-Cornelius a Lapide, SJ (1567-1637), the great biblical commentator, states that "all theologians hold with [St. Augustine], that the act or perfect contrition which includes the entire surrender of the heart to God, precedes, but at once brings with it justification and forgiveness of sin as its final result, in the same way as a certain amount of heat (calor ut octo) applied to wood, as a result produces actual fire in that wood."

-Francisco Suarez, SJ (1548-1617) is perhaps the most prolific on the subject:

(a) He states that calor ut octo is incompatible with water. (Disputatio XLV, Sectio II: "Et similiter calor ut octo videtur contrarius formae substantiali aquae, quam proinde expellit.")

(b) He speaks of different degrees of heat: calor ut unum, calor ut duo, calor ut tria, etc., calor usque ad quartum gradum, etc. (Ibid.: "Tertia ratio est quia, si tota forma mutaretur in intensione, impossibile esset alterationem esse continuam, quod infra probabimus esse falsum. Sequela patet, nam supponamus esse in subiecto calorem ut unum et intendi usque ad quartum gradum; si ergo calor ille, quando fit ut duo, amittitur omnino, et alius ut duo totus introducitur, et rursus, ut ille calor ut duo fiat ut tria, debet ipse expelli et alius perfectior introduci, interrogo quantum temporis duret in subiecto calor ut duo. Si enim duravit per aliquod tempus, ergo toto illo tempore cessavit alteratio, neque ultra processit, et ita non est continua intensio. Si vero duravit solum per instans, procedet ulterius argumentum ad gradum tertium; tunc enim impossibile est calorem ut tria durare tantum per instans, quia non dantur duo instantia immediata, et ideo necesse est quod duret per aliquod tempus intermedium inter duo instantia inceptionis et desitionis, in quo tempore non procedet intensio; nam, si procederet, iam corrumperet calorem ut tria ex dicta hypothesi; ergo impossibile est intensionem esse continuam, si in illa fit commutatio totius formae.)

(c) He questions the general view that the different degrees of heat are distinct qualities.  (Disputatio XLVI, Sectio I: [...] Et confirmatur ac explicatur; nam, si calor ut unum est qualitas indivisibilis, et similiter calor ut duo est etiam indivisibilis qualitas distincta a priori et perfectior illa eamque expellens a tali subiecto, et sic de caeteris gradibus, interrogo rursus an inter calorem ut unum et ut duo sit alia qualitas media perfectior quam calor ut unum et minus perfecta quam ut duo; idemque interrogandum erit in singulis gradibus, scilicet, an inter calorem ut duo et ut tria detur aliquod aliud medium, etc. Si enim non dantur aliae qualitates mediae, sed immediate fit transitus a prima qualitate, quae dicitur ut unum, ad secundam ut duo, et ab hac ad tertiam, et sic de aliis, evidens est alterationem non esse continuam, sed fieri quasi per tot saltus seu mutationes indivisibiles quot dicuntur esse gradus qualitatis, quia, cum omnes illae qualitates indivisibiles sint, ex natura rei indivisibiliter fiunt in eodem subiecto, et ideo fieri non possunt nisi per mutationes intrinsece indivisibiles, ex quibus non potest componi continua successio. Si autem inter qualitates primi et secundi gradus datur qualitas media, quaeram rursus an inter calorem ut unum et illam mediam qualitatem detur alia qualitas media [...]. Tertio sequitur ex dicta sententia, calorem, verbi gratia, ut unum, sicut potest facere plures calores ut unum in diversis subiectis, ita in uno et eodem posse; et consequenter non solum posse facere aequalem calorem, sed etiam intensiorem se. Sequela pases, quia illi calores sunt eiusdem omnino rationis, et diversitas subiectorum accidentaria est agenti, dummodo in uno et eodem sit capacitas. Dices non sufficere capacitatem sine privatione et dissimilitudine passi ad agens. Postquam vero calidum ut unum fecit unum gradum caloris in passo, iam illud est simile agenti et non habet privationem talis caloris et ideo pati non potest ab illo agente. Sed hoc non satisfacit, quia passum illud habet privationem alterius gradus, alias a nullo agente posset illum recipere; ergo ex hac parte non impeditur actio.Dissimilitudo autem inter agens et patiens ideo necessaria est quia, si passum habet totam formam similem formae agentis, non potest aliam omnino similem recipere; si autem hoc posset, nulla esset ratio aut fundamentum cur illa conditio esset necessaria. Ergo in praesenti, si idem subiectum est capax plurium graduum caloris omnino similium, etiamsi unum habeat, et in illo iam sit simile agenti, non est cur illa similitudo ulteriorem actionem impediat; nam, quatenus alio simili gradu caret, est sufficienter dissimile ut illum possit recipere. Atque ita fit ut calidum ut unum possit efficere calorem ut duo, et consequenter ut octo, si aliunde non sit maior resistentia passi. Fit etiam consequenter ut duo calida ut unum possint se invicem augere in caloreetiam usque ad ignitionem quae consequitur ad calorem ut octo. Immo etiam sequitur quod idem calor ut unum possit ex vi solius caloris se intendere usque ad duos et tres et quoscumque gradus, ut patet applicando argumentum factum. Nam quod suppositum aut pars eius agat in se, non erit impedimentum, si aliunde supponitur (ut revera illa sententia supponit) idem subiectum secundum idem posse simul esse in actu formali respectu unius gradus et in potentia etiam formali ad alium gradum omnino similem.)

Any input would be appreciated!

Blessed Idelfonso Schuster on the Vigil of St. John the Baptist

Blessed Idelfonso Schuster on the Vigil of St. John the Baptist

From Bl. Idelfonso Schuster, The Sacramentary, Vol. 4, pp. 262-3:

The Night of June 23

The Holy Vigil in Honour of St. John the Baptist

Station at the Lateran

The Roman populace still keeps unchanged the custom of spending the night hours awake in the neighborhood of the campus lateranensis. At one time the faithful did this in order to take part devoutly in the nocturnal vigils which in the Middle Ages were held in the Basilica of the Saviour. When, however, this practice was given up, the people still kept to the tradition, but finding the doors of the basilica closed they repaired to the wine-shops instead....

The melody of the Antiphon for the Introit is one of the most exquisite examples of Gregorian art, as the music of nearly all the vigilary Masses usually is, in preference to that of the Masses of the feast themselves. Such an anomaly may, perhaps, astonish us, but it will cease to cause us any surprise when we consider that the vigilary Mass which we now celebrate with scanty and penitential rites on the day preceding the feast was celebrated in the time of our fathers as the solemn sacrifice at the end of the night vigil, and was the festive Mass of general Communion. Indeed, in very early days it was the only Mass that was celebrated on great festival days.

     

1579th Anniversary of the Opening of the Council of Ephesus (AD 431)

1579th Anniversary of the Opening of the Council of Ephesus (AD 431)

From the Council of Ephesus (AD 431), "Second Letter of St. Cyrill to Nestorius":

[...] The holy and great synod, therefore, stated that:

1. "the only begotten Son, begotten of God the Father according to nature, true God from true God, the light from the light, the one through whom the Father made all things, came down, became incarnate, became man,

2. suffered, rose on the third day and ascended to heaven."

We too ought to follow these words and these teachings and consider what is meant by saying that (2) the Word from God took flesh and became man. For we do not say that the nature of the Word was changed and became flesh, nor that he was turned into a whole man made of body and soul. Rather do we claim that the Word in an unspeakable, inconceivable manner united to himself hypostatically flesh enlivened by a rational soul, and so became man and was called son of man, not by God's will alone or good pleasure, nor by the assumption of a person alone. Rather did two different natures come together to form a unity, and from both arose one Christ, one Son. It was not as though the distinctness of the natures was destroyed by the union, but divinity and humanity together made perfect for us one Lord and one Christ, together marvelously and mysteriously combining to form a unity. So he who existed and was begotten of the Father before all ages is also said to have been begotten according to the flesh of a woman, without the divine nature either beginning to exist in the holy virgin, or needing of itself a second begetting after that from his Father. (For it is absurd and stupid to speak of the one who existed before every age and is coeternal with the Father, needing a second beginning so as to exist.) The Word is said to have been begotten according to the flesh, because for us and for our salvation he united what was human to himself hypostatically and came forth from a woman. For he was not first begotten of the holy virgin, a man like us, and then the Word descended upon him; but from the very womb of his mother he was so united and then underwent begetting according to the flesh, making his own the begetting of his own flesh.

In a similar way we say that (2) he suffered and rose again, not that the Word of God suffered blows or piercing with nails or any other wounds in his own nature (for the divine, being without a body, is incapable of suffering), but because the body which became his own suffered these things, he is said to have suffered them for us. For he was without suffering, while his body suffered. Something similar is true of his dying. For by nature the Word of God is of itself immortal and incorruptible and life and life-giving, but since on the other hand his own body by God's grace, as the Apostle says, tasted death for all, the Word is said to have suffered death for us, not as if he himself had experienced death as far as his own nature was concerned (it would be sheer lunacy to say or to think that), but because, as I have just said, his flesh tasted death. So too, when his flesh was raised to life, we refer to this again as his resurrection, not as though he had fallen into corruption--God forbid--but because his body had been raised again.

So we shall confess one Christ and one Lord. We do not adore the man along with the Word, so as to avoid any appearance of division by using the word "with". But we adore him as one and the same, because the body is not other than the Word, and takes its seat with him beside the Father, again not as though there were two sons seated together but only one, united with his own flesh. If, however, we reject the hypostatic union as being either impossible or too unlovely for the Word, we fall into the fallacy of speaking of two sons. We shall have to distinguish and speak both of the man as honoured with the title of son, and of the Word of God as by nature possessing the name and reality of sonship, each in his own way. We ought not, therefore, to split into two sons the one Lord Jesus Christ. Such a way of presenting a correct account of the faith will be quite unhelpful, even though some do speak of a union of persons. For Scripture does not say that the Word united the person of a man to himself, but that he became flesh. The Word's becoming flesh means nothing else than that he partook of flesh and blood like us; he made our body his own, and came forth a man from woman without casting aside his deity, or his generation from God the Father, but rather in his assumption of flesh remaining what he was.

This is the account of the true faith everywhere professed. So shall we find that the holy fathers believed. So have they dared to call the holy virgin, mother of God, not as though the nature of the Word or his godhead received the origin of their being from the holy virgin, but because there was born from her his holy body rationally ensouled, with which the Word was hypostatically united and is said to have been begotten in the flesh. These things I write out of love in Christ exhorting you as a brother and calling upon you before Christ and the elect angels, to hold and teach these things with us, in order to preserve the peace of the churches and that the priests of God may remain in an unbroken bond of concord and love.

    

The Masters of the Crisis: Freemasonry

The Masters of the Crisis: Freemasonry

From Plinio Correa de Oliveira, Revolution and Counter-Revolution, pp. 37-9:

Online Source: www.tfp.org

The Agents of the Revolution: Freemasonry and Other Secret Forces

Since we are studying the driving forces of the Revolution, we must say a word about its agents.

We do not believe that the mere dynamism of the passions and errors of men could coordinate such diverse means to achieve a single end, namely, the victory of the Revolution.

The production of a process as consistent and continuous as that of the Revolution amid the thousand vicissitudes of centuries fraught with surprises of every kind seems impossible to us without the action of successive generations of extraordinarily intelligent and powerful conspirators. To think that the Revolution could have reached its present state in the absence of such conspirators is like believing that hundreds of letters thrown out a window could arrange themselves on the ground to spell out a literary piece, Carducci's "Ode to Satan," for instance.

Heretofore, the driving forces of the Revolution have been manipulated by most sagacious agents, who have used them as means for carrying out the revolutionary process.

Generally speaking, one can classify as agents of the Revolution all the sects - whatever their nature - engendered by it, from its origin to our days, to disseminate its thought or to concatenate its plots. The master sect, however, around which all the others are organized as mere auxiliaries - sometimes consciously and other times not - is Freemasonry, as clearly follows from the pontifical documents, especially Leo XIII's encyclical Humanum genus, of April 20, 1884.

The success of these conspirators, and particularly Freemasonry, is due not only to their indisputable capacity to organize and conspire, but also to their clear understanding of the Revolution's profound essence and of the use of natural laws-the laws of politics, sociology, psychology, art, economics, and so forth - to advance the attaining of their goals.

In this way, the agents of chaos and subversion are like a scientist who, instead of merely relying on his own strength, studies and activates natural forces a thousand times more powerful than he.

Besides largely explaining the success of the Revolution, this provides an important indication for the soldiers of the Counter-Revolution.

   

122nd Anniversary of Pope Leo XIII's Libertas Praestantissimum

122nd Anniversary of Pope Leo XIII's Libertas Praestantissimum

From Pope Leo XIII's Encyclical on the Nature of Human Liberty, Libertas Praestantissimum:

15. What naturalists or rationalists aim at in philosophy, the supporters of liberalism, carrying out the principles laid down by naturalism, are attempting in the domain of morality and politics. The fundamental doctrine of rationalism is the supremacy of the human reason, which, refusing due submission to the divine and eternal reason, proclaims its own independence, and constitutes itself the supreme principle and source and judge of truth. Hence, these followers of liberalism deny the existence of any divine authority to which obedience is due, and proclaim that every man is the law to himself; from which arises that ethical system which they style independent morality, and which, under the guise of liberty, exonerates man from any obedience to the commands of God, and substitutes a boundless license. The end of all this it is not difficult to foresee, especially when society is in question. For, when once man is firmly persuaded that he is subject to no one, it follows that the efficient cause of the unity of civil society is not to be sought in any principle external to man, or superior to him, but simply in the free will of individuals; that the authority in the State comes from the people only; and that, just as every man's individual reason is his only rule of life, so the collective reason of the community should be the supreme guide in the management of all public affairs. Hence the doctrine of the supremacy of the greater number, and that all right and all duty reside in the majority. But, from what has been said, it is clear that all this is in contradiction to reason. To refuse any bond of union between man and civil society, on the one hand, and God the Creator and consequently the supreme Law-giver, on the other, is plainly repugnant to the nature, not only of man, but of all created things; for, of necessity, all effects must in some proper way be connected with their cause; and it belongs to the perfection of every nature to contain itself within that sphere and grade which the order of nature has assigned to it, namely, that the lower should be subject and obedient to the higher.

16. Moreover, besides this, a doctrine of such character is most hurtful both to individuals and to the State. For, once ascribed to human reason the only authority to decide what is true and what is good, and the real distinction between good and evil is destroyed; honor and dishonor differ not in their nature, but in the opinion and judgment of each one; pleasure is the measure of what is lawful; and, given a code of morality which can have little or no power to restrain or quiet the unruly propensities of man, a way is naturally opened to universal corruption. With reference also to public affairs: authority is severed from the true and natural principle whence it derives all its efficacy for the common good; and the law determining what it is right to do and avoid doing is at the mercy of a majority. Now, this is simply a road leading straight to tyranny. The empire of God over man and civil society once repudiated, it follows that religion, as a public institution, can have no claim to exist, and that everything that belongs to religion will be treated with complete indifference. Furthermore, with ambitious designs on sovereignty, tumult and sedition will be common amongst the people; and when duty and conscience cease to appeal to them, there will be nothing to hold them back but force, which of itself alone is powerless to keep their covetousness in check. Of this we have almost daily evidence in the conflict with socialists and members of other seditious societies, who labor unceasingly to bring about revolution. It is for those, then, who are capable of forming a just estimate of things to decide whether such doctrines promote that true liberty which alone is worthy of man, or rather, pervert and destroy it.

   

Dominica IV post Pentecosten, Evangelium & Homilia

Dominica IV post Pentecosten, Evangelium & Homilia

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, Gospel & Homily

Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to Luke (5:1-11)

At that time, when the multitude pressed upon Jesus to hear the word of God, He stood by the lake of Genesareth. And He saw two ships standing by the lake; but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets; and going up into one of the ships that was Simon's, He desired him to draw back a little from the land: and sitting He taught the multitudes out of the ship. Now when He had ceased to speak, He said to Simon: Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon, answering, said to Him: Master, we have laboured all the night, and have taken nothing, but at Thy word I will let down the net. And when they had done this, they enclosed a very great multitude of fishes; and their net broke: and they beckoned to their partners that were in the other ship, that they should come and help them; and they came, and filled both the ships, so that they were almost sinking. Which when Simon Peter saw, he fell down at Jesus's knees, saying: Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was wholly astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of fishes which they had taken: and so were also James and John the Sons of Zebedee, who were Simon's partners. And Jesus saith to Simon: Fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And having brought their ships to land, leaving all things they followed him.

Sequentia sancti Evangelii secúndum Lucam (5:1-11)

In illo témpore: Cum turbæ irrúerent in Jesum, ut audírent verbum Dei, et ipse stabat secus stagnum Genésareth. Et vidit duas naves stantes secus stagnum: piscatóres autem descénderant et lavábant rétia. Ascéndens autem in unam navim, quæ erat Simónis, rogávit eum a terra redúcere pusíllum. Et sedens docébat de navícula turbas. Ut cessávit autem loqui, dixit ad Simónem: Duc in altum, et laxáte rétia vestra in captúram. Et respóndens Simon dixit illi: Præcéptor, per totam noctem laborántes, nihil cépimus: in verbo autem tuo laxábo rete. Et cum hoc fecíssent, conclusérunt píscium multitúdinem copiósam: rumpebátur autem rete eórum. Et annuérunt sóciis, qui erant in ália navi, ut venírent et adjuvárent eos. Et venérunt, et implevérunt ambas navículas, ita ut pene mergeréntur. Quod cum vidéret Simon Petrus, prócidit ad génua Jesu, dicens: Exi a me, quia homo peccátor sum, Dómine. Stupor enim circumdéderat eum et omnes qui cum illo erant, in captúra píscium quam céperant: simíliter autem Jacóbum et Joánnem, fílios Zebedæi, qui erant sócii Simónis. Et ait ad Simónem Jesus: Noli timére: ex hoc jam hómines eris cápiens. Et subdúctis ad terram návibus, relíctis ómnibus, secúti sunt eum.

Κλῆσις τῶν πρώτων μαθητῶν

ΕΓΕΝΕΤΟ δὲ ἐν τῷ τὸν ὄχλον ἐπικεῖσθαι αὐτῷ τοῦ ἀκούειν τὸν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ αὐτὸς ἦν ἑστὼς παρὰ τὴν λίμνην Γεννησαρέτ, 2 καὶ εἶδε δύο πλοῖα ἑστῶτα παρὰ τὴν λίμνην· οἱ δὲ ἁλιεῖς ἀποβάντες ἀπ᾿ αὐτῶν ἀπέπλυναν τὰ δίκτυα. 3 ἐμβὰς δὲ εἰς ἓν τῶν πλοίων, ὃ ἦν τοῦ Σίμωνος, ἠρώτησεν αὐτὸν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ἐπαναγαγεῖν ὀλίγον· καὶ καθίσας ἐδίδασκεν ἐκ τοῦ πλοίου τοὺς ὄχλους. 4 ὡς δὲ ἐπαύσατο λαλῶν, εἶπε πρὸς τὸν Σίμωνα· ἐπανάγαγε εἰς τὸ βάθος καὶ χαλάσατε τὰ δίκτυα ὑμῶν εἰς ἄγραν. 5 καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ Σίμων εἶπεν αὐτῷ· ἐπιστάτα, δι᾿ ὅλης τῆς νυκτὸς κοπιάσαντες οὐδὲν ἐλάβομεν· ἐπὶ δὲ τῷ ρήματί σου χαλάσω τὸ δίκτυον. 6 καὶ τοῦτο ποιήσαντες συνέκλεισαν πλῆθος ἰχθύων πολύ· διερρήγνυτο δὲ τὸ δίκτυον αὐτῶν. 7 καὶ κατένευσαν τοῖς μετόχοις τοῖς ἐν τῷ ἑτέρῳ πλοίῳ τοῦ ἐλθόντας συλλαβέσθαι αὐτοῖς· καὶ ἦλθον καὶ ἔπλησαν ἀμφότερα τὰ πλοῖα, ὥστε βυθίζεσθαι αὐτά. 8 ἰδὼν δὲ Σίμων Πέτρος προσέπεσε τοῖς γόνασιν ᾿Ιησοῦ λέγων· ἔξελθε ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ, ὅτι ἀνὴρ ἁμαρτωλός εἰμι, Κύριε· 9 θάμβος γὰρ περιέσχεν αὐτὸν καὶ πάντας τοὺς σὺν αὐτῷ ἐπὶ τῇ ἄγρᾳ τῶν ἰχθύων ᾗ συνέλαβον, 10 ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ᾿Ιάκωβον καὶ ᾿Ιωάννην, υἱοὺς Ζεβεδαίου, οἳ ἦσαν κοινωνοὶ τῷ Σίμωνι. καὶ εἶπε πρὸς τὸν Σίμωνα ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς· μὴ φοβοῦ· ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν ἀνθρώπους ἔσῃ ζωγρῶν.   11 καὶ καταγαγόντες τὰ πλοῖα ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν, ἀφέντες ἅπαντα ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ.

From Matins of the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
Online Source: www.breviary.net

Third Nocturn
Absolutio: A vínculis peccatórum nostrórum absólvat nos omnípotens et miséricors Dóminus. R.  Amen.	Absolution:  May the Lord Almighty and merciful break the bonds of our sins and set us free. R.  Amen.
V.  Jube domne, (Dómine) benedícere.	V.  Vouchsafe, Reverend Father (O Lord), thy blessing.
Benedíctio 7: Evangélica léctio sit nobis salus et protéctio. R.  Amen.	Benediction 7:  May the Gospel's holy lection be our safeguard and protection. R.  Amen.
Lesson vii
Léctio sancti Evangélii secúndum Lucam	The Lesson is taken from the Holy Gospel according to Luke
Chap. 5, 1-11
In illo témpore : Cum turbæ irrúerent in Jesum, ut audírent verbum Dei, et ipse stabat secus stagnum Genésareth.  Et réliqua.	At that time : As the people pressed upon Jesus, to hear the Word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret.  And so on, and that which followeth.
Homilía sancti Ambrósii Epíscopi	A Homily by St. Ambrose the Bishop
Liber 4 in Lucæ cap. 5, prope finem libri
Ubi Dóminus multis impartívit vária génera sanitátum, nec témpore, nec loco pótuit ab stúdio sanándi turba cohibéri.  Vesper incúbuit sequebántur : stagnum occúrrit, urgébant : et ídeo ascéndit in Petri navim.  Hæc est illa navis, quæ adhuc secúndum Matthæum flúctuat, secúndum Lucam replétur píscibus : ut et princípia Ecclésiæ fluctuántis, et posterióra exuberántis agnóscas.  Pisces enim sunt, qui hanc enávigant vitam.  Ibi adhuc discípulis Christus dormit, hic præcipit ; dormit enim tépidis, perféctis vígilat.	When the Lord wrought so many works of healing, neither time nor place could restrain the people from seeking health.  Evening came, and they still followed him ; he went down to the lake, and they still pressed upon him ; for which reason he entered into Peter's ship.  This is that ship, which spiritually up to this very hour, according to the expression of Matthew, is buffeted by tempests ; but still, according to Luke, is filled with fishes.  By all this is signified that for a while things are troublous for the Church, but afterwards fruitful.  And the fishes are those Christians which are as yet in the troublous waters of human life.  In this ship also spiritually doth Christ, for the sake of his disciples, still sleep, and still command, for he sleepeth for the lukewarm, and watcheth for the perfect.
V.  Tu autem, Dómine, miserére nobis. R.  Deo grátias.	V.  But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us. R.  Thanks be to God.
R.  Peccávi super númerum arénæ maris, et multiplicáta sunt peccáta mea : et non sum dignus vidére altitúdinem cæli præ multitúdine iniquitátis meæ : quóniam irritávi iram tuam, * Et malum coram te feci.V.  Quóniam iniquitátem meam ego cognósco : et delíctum meum contra me est semper, quia tibi soli peccávi. R.  Et malum coram te feci.	R.  I have sinned above the number of the sands of the sea ; yea, I am not worthy to look up toward heaven because of the  multitude of mine iniquities ; against thee only have I sinned ;  *   And done this evil in thy sight.V.  I acknowledge my faults, and my sin is ever before me ; against thee only have I sinned. R.  And done this evil in thy sight.
V.  Jube domne, (Dómine) benedícere.	V.  Vouchsafe, Reverend Father (O Lord), thy blessing.
Benedíctio 8: Divínum auxílium máneat semper nobíscum. R.  Amen.	Benediction 8: May help divine be with us all, for ever abiding. R.  Amen.
Lesson viii
Non turbátur hæc navis, in qua prudéntia návigat, abest perfídia, fides aspírat.  Quemádmodum enim turbári póterat, cui præerat is, in quo Ecclésiæ firmaméntum est?  Illic ergo turbátio, ubi módica fides ; hic secúritas, ubi perfécta diléctio.  Et si áliis imperátur ut laxent rétia sua, soli tamen Petro dícitur : Duc in altum ; hoc est, in profúndum disputatiónum.  Quid enim tam altum, quam altitúdinem divitiárum vidére, scire Dei Fílium, et professiónem divínæ generatiónis assúmere?  Quam licet mens non queat humána plene ratiónis investigatióne comprehéndere, fídei tamen plenitúdo compléctitur.	No fear, then, for the ship where wisdom steereth, where false teaching is not known, where faith swelleth the sails.  How shall she be troubled, whose Lord is himself the Church's sure Foundation?  It is where faith is weak that there is fear ; where love is perfect, there is safety.  To many it is commanded to loose their nets, but to Peter also is said : Launch out into the deep : which may be interpreted as the depths of doctrine.  What indeed is there so deep, as to gaze upon the depth of all riches, to recognize the Son of God, and to take up the confession of his divine generation?  This is a thing which the mind is not able to grasp by the searchings of man's reason, but which is embraced by a hearty faith.
V.  Tu autem, Dómine, miserére nobis. R.  Deo grátias.	V.  But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us. R.  Thanks be to God.
R.  Duo Séraphim clamábant alter ad álterum : *Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus Dóminus Deus Sábaoth : * Plena est omnis terra glória ejus.V.  Tres sunt qui testimónium dant in cælo : Pater, Verbum, et Spíritus Sanctus : et hi tres unum sunt. R.  Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus Dóminus Deus Sábaoth.V.  Glória Patri, et Fílio, et Spirítui Sancto. R.  Plena est omnis terra glória ejus.	R.  The two Seraphim did cry the One to the Other : * Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of Hosts : * The whole earth is full of his glory.V.  For there are Three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost : and these Three are One. R.  Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of Hosts.V.  Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. R.  The whole earth is full of his glory.
V.  Jube domne, (Dómine) benedícere.	V.  Vouchsafe, Reverend Father (O Lord), thy blessing.
Benedíctio 9: Ad societátem cívium supernórum perdúcat nos Rex Angelórum. R.  Amen.	Benediction 9: May the King of Angels give us fellowship with all the citizens of heaven. R.  Amen.
Lesson ix
Nam, etsi non licet mihi scire quemádmodum natus sit, non licéte tamen nescíre quod natus sit.  Sériem generatiónis ignóro ; sed auctórem generatiónis agnósco.  Non interfúimus cum ex Patre Dei Fílius nascerétur ; sed interfúimus cum a Patre Dei Fílius dicerétur.  Si Deo non crédimus, cui credémus?  Omnia enim quæ crédimus, vel visu crédimus, vel audítu : visus sæpe fállitur, audítus in fide est.	For, albeit, it is not given unto me to know how the Son of God was born, yet of the fact that he was begotten, I may not be ignorant.  What the order of his generation was, I know not, but the Source of his generation, I do acknowledge.  None hath beheld the Begetting of the Son of God by the Father, but the Church hath stood by to hear the Father testify that this is his beloved Son.  If we believe not God, whom shall we believe?  For whatsoever we believe cometh either by sight or hearing ; sight is oftentimes deceived, but faith cometh by hearing.
V.  Tu autem, Dómine, miserére nobis. R.  Deo grátias.	V.  But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us. R.  Thanks be to God.
TE DEUM LAUDAMUS	TE DEUM