the Enchiridion, by Augustine All of nature, therefore, is good, since the Creator of all nature is supremely good. But nature is not supremely and immutably good as is the Creator of it. Thus the good in created things can be diminished and augmented. For good to be diminished is evil; still, however much it is diminished, something must remain of its original nature as long as it exists at all. For no matter what kind or however insignificant a thing may be, the good which is its "nature" cannot be destroyed without the thing itself being destroyed. There is good reason, therefore, to praise an uncorrupted thing, and if it were indeed an incorruptible thing which could not be destroyed, it would doubtless be all the more worthy of praise. When, however, a thing is corrupted, its corruption is an evil because it is, by just so much, a privation of the good. Where there is no privation of the good, there is no evil. Where there is evil, there is a corresponding diminution of the good. As long, then, as a thing is being corrupted, there is good in it of which it is being deprived; and in this process, if something of its being remains that cannot be further corrupted, this will then be an incorruptible entity [natural incorruptibility], and to this great good it will have come through the process of corruption. But even if the corruption is not arrested, it still does not cease having some good of which it cannot be further deprived. If, however, the corruption comes to be total and entire, there is no good left either, because it is no longer an entity at all. Wherefore corruption cannot consume the good without also consuming the thing itself. Every actual entity is therefore good; a greater good if it cannot be corrupted, a lesser good if it can be. Yet only the foolish and unknowing can deny that it is still good even when corrupted. Whenever a thing is consumed by corruption, not even the corruption remains, for it is nothing in itself, having no subsistent being in which to exist. From this it follows that there is nothing to be called evil if there is nothing good. A good that wholly lacks an evil aspect is entirely good. Where there is some evil in a thing, its good is defective or defectible. Thus there can be no evil where there is no good. This leads us to a surprising conclusion: that, since every being, in so far as it is a being, is good, if we then say that a defective thing is bad, it would seem to mean that we are saying that what is evil is good, that only what is good is ever evil and that there is no evil apart from something good. This is because every actual entity is good. Nothing evil exists in itself, but only as an evil aspect of some actual entity. Therefore, there can be nothing evil except something good. Absurd as this sounds, nevertheless the logical connections of the argument compel us to it as inevitable. At the same time, we must take warning lest we incur the prophetic judgment which reads: "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil: who call darkness light and light darkness; who call the bitter sweet and the sweet bitter." Moreover the Lord himself saith: "An evil man brings forth evil out of the evil treasure of his heart." What, then, is an evil man but an evil entity [natura mala], since man is an entity? Now, if a man is something good because he is an entity, what, then, is a bad man except an evil good? When, however, we distinguish between these two concepts, we find that the bad man is not bad because he is a man, nor is he good because he is wicked. Rather, he is a good entity in so far as he is a man, evil in so far as he is wicked. Therefore, if anyone says that simply to be a man is evil, or that to be a wicked man is good, he rightly falls under the prophetic judgment: "Woe to him who calls evil good and good evil." For this amounts to finding fault with God's work, because man is an entity of God's creation. It also means that we are praising the defects in this particular man because he is a wicked person. Thus, every entity, even if it is a defective one, in so far as it is an entity, is good. In so far as it is defective, it is evil. Actually, then, in these two contraries we call evil and good, the rule of the logicians fails to apply. No weather is both dark and bright at the same time; no food or drink is both sweet and sour at the same time; no body is, at the same time and place, both white and black, nor deformed and well-formed at the same time. This principle is found to apply in almost all disjunctions: two contraries cannot coexist in a single thing. Nevertheless, while no one maintains that good and evil are not contraries, they can not only coexist, but the evil cannot exist at all without the good, or in a thing that is not a good. On the other hand, the good can exist without evil. For a man or an angel could exist and yet not be wicked, whereas there cannot be wickedness except in a man or an angel. It is good to be a man, good to be an angel; but evil to be wicked. These two contraries are thus coexistent, so that if there were no good in what is evil, then the evil simply could not be, since it can have no mode in which to exist, nor any source from which corruption springs, unless it be something corruptible. Unless this something is good, it cannot be corrupted, because corruption is nothing more than the deprivation of the good. Evils, therefore, have their source in the good, and unless they are parasitic on something good, they are not anything at all. There is no other source whence an evil thing can come to be. If this is the case, then, in so far as a thing is an entity, it is unquestionably good. If it is an incorruptible entity, it is a great good. But even if it is a corruptible entity, it still has no mode of existence except as an aspect of something that is good. Only by corrupting something good can corruption inflict injury. But when we say that evil has its source in the good, do not suppose that this denies our Lord's judgment: "A good tree cannot bear evil fruit." This cannot be, even as the Truth himself declareth: "Men do not gather grapes from thorns," since thorns cannot bear grapes. Nevertheless, from good soil we can see both vines and thorns spring up. Likewise, just as a bad tree does not grow good fruit, so also an evil will does not produce good deeds. From a human nature, which is good in itself, there can spring forth either a good or an evil will. There was no other place from whence evil could have arisen in the first place except from the nature--good in itself--of an angel or a man. This is what our Lord himself most clearly shows in the passage about the trees and the fruits, for he said: "Make the tree good and the fruits will be good, or make the tree bad and its fruits will be bad." This is warning enough that bad fruit cannot grow on a good tree nor good fruit on a bad one. Yet from that same earth to which he was referring, both sorts of trees can grow.
I think, Padraig, that you might need to email that to the UN Security Council. If I had any nukes I would happily decommission them. Do you think the leaders of China, the US, North Korea, Britain, France, India, Pakistan, Israel and wherever else would care? I think it would take an armageddon type war to convince most of them. Meanwhile, best to pray that none of them gets trigger happy.
I loved reading this story, thank you for sharing FP. I have heard other similar stories over the years. One that really impressed me was from a woman I know who lives on the Atlantic coast of France. She got up to pray the rosary in the early hours of December 26, 1999. She closed her eyes and prayed, oblivious to the "storm of the century" that started raging outside, which was not forecast and was unexpected. When she opened her eyes after finishing, she looked outside and saw that a huge tree on her neighbours property was no longer there! She thought she was hallucinating but she went outside and saw destruction on other people's property, but not on hers. Then she and her family went out on the street and saw that huge trees had fallen on the street, crushing or damaging every single car parked on the street......except theirs, their children's and family's cars, also parked there as they were home for Christmas. There is also the story of Myrna Nazzour's home in Damascus, that has been spared from many attacks over the years. I saw a photo once of an unexploded mortar that went through her house and when they went to retrieve it, they found a red rosary wrapped around it! The Lord and Our Mother really do protect their children! Safe in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
Great testimony Tom. One more thing to do though. Hang a brown scapular on your doors. We all should do this!! In May of 1957, a Carmelite priest in Germany published the unusual story of how the Scapular saved a home from fire. An entire row of homes had caught fire in Westboden, Germany. The pious inhabitants of a two-family home, seeing the fire, immediately fastened a Scapular to the main door of the house. Sparks flew over it and around it but stayed unharmed. Within 5 hours 22 homes were reduced to ashes and ruins. This one stood unharmed midst the destruction. Hundreds of people came to see the place Our lady had saved.
The Brown Scapular I received at the end of our 33 Day Consecration hangs around my neck. Sometimes I wear it all night as well. I hang them over the beds of our youngest children since they don't wear them. I wonder if they make children sized ones, I guess I could just cut the cord to shorten them. I forgot to say that when I saw the radar of the storm decimating the island, I just knew our home was gone. Was sure of it. Doubting Thomas So I don't think this was about saving our home, that was to be our retirement home and a getaway to enjoy with our family until then. I think this was more about a lesson to learn to trust God, that even in the midst of a raging storm, we are safe if we stay in His Grace. And my wife thinks the home was spared so we didn't have to focus our efforts on dealing with major repairs, insurance claims, etc. that would take our attention away from the other mission He wants us working on. Speaking of which, I was very happy to see BrianK urge everyone to prepare with physical things. I think that is wise and am working on preparations with all the spare time I have.
Here is the speech of the President of the European Parliament regarding Russia etc. We, ordinary people, we have nothing to say anymore... Did they ever ask our opinion ? http://www.europarl.europa.eu/the-p...lz-at-the-european-council-of-20-october-2016 Time for Trump to become President ! But he risks to be shot, if we do not pray for him...
I'm sick of those eurocrats. They only care about money and increasing their own power. On one of the British news channels the reporter from Iraq said that the plan to take Mosul in Iraq is not to kill off all the ISIS fighters but to leave a channel open for them to move into Syria. We know that Islamic terrorists like ISIS always hide among civilians using women and children as human shields which means many more civilian deaths. I'm still wary that a President Trump could make any real changes but he couldn't be any worse than Clinton. If all the news sources are to be believed he has only a very remote chance of being elected.
Birds of a feather! Communists of the world, unite....apparently that now includes "AOC" too!! Russia Sends "Security Contractors" To Venezuela To Protect Maduro As the international community splits along governments who continue to back embattled Venezuelan ruler Nicolas Maduro and governments, led by the US, who have officially recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country's legitimate head of state, Reuters reported that a group of Russian mercenaries with ties to the Kremlin have been sent to Venezuela to provide security for Maduro as he struggles with the biggest threat to his rule in his six years in power. The contractors are believed to be from the Wagner Group, a group of private contractors who have performed secret missions on behalf of the government, including fighting in Syria and the Ukraine (which brings to mind this incident from last February when US-backed forces killed 100 Russian mercenaries in what was the closest thing to a direct proxy conflict between Russia and the US in Syria). It's unclear when the contractors arrived, or when they intend to leave. Russia has offered to mediate the conflict between Maduro and Guaido, while joining with China to criticize the US for interfering in Venezuelan affairs. Russia, which has invested billions of dollars in the Maduro regime, pledged to stand by the embattled socialist leader this week. Yevgeny Shabayev, leader of a local chapter of a paramilitary group told Reuters he had heard the number of security contractors in Venezuela is roughly 400. Russia's defense ministry and Venezuela's information ministry haven't responded to requests for comment. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said we have "no such information" when asked about the contractors. The contractors traveled to Venezuela on private chartered flights that first landed in Cuba. The contractors have been charged with stopping opposition sympathizers or members of Maduro's own forces from detaining him. "Our people are there directly for his protection," Shabayev said, in light of the attempted revolt staged by rogue military officers earlier this week. One source said a group of contractors had arrived in Venezuela before elections last year where Maduro won a second six year term, but another group had arrived "more recently." Public flight tracking data suggests the latest batch of contractors arrived some time betwee mid-December and this past week. Asked if the deployment was linked to protecting Maduro, the source said: "It's directly connected." The contractors flew to Venezuela not from Moscow but from third countries where they were conducting missions, he added. The third source, who is close to the private military contractors, said there was a contingent in Venezuela but he could not provide further details. "They did not arrive in a big crowd," he said. Publicly-available flight-tracking data has shown a number of Russian government aircraft landing in or near Venezuela over past weeks, though there was no evidence the flights were connected to military contractors. A Russian Ilyushin-96 flew into Havana late on Wednesday after starting its journey in Moscow and flying via Senegal and Paraguay, the data showed. The aircraft, a civilian jet, is owned by a division of the Russian presidential administration, according to a publicly-available procurement contract relating to the plane. Between Dec. 10 and Dec. 14 last year, an Antonov-124 heavy cargo aircraft, and an Ilyushin-76 transport aircraft, carried out flights between Russia and Caracas, flight-tracking data showed. Another Ilyushin-76 was in Caracas from Dec. 12 to Dec. 21 last year. All three aircraft belong to the Russian air force, according to the tracking data. Since Guaido declared himself the acting president, Maduro has sought to expel US diplomats while vowing not to step aside. He has threatened violence against those who back the opposition. Maduro still retains control of the levers of power, including the country's energy industry and its military, though while military commanders have largely backed him, the allegiance of the troops on the ground remains somewhat less clear. Maduro has accused the US of agitating for the Venezuelan opposition to move against him. https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-25/russia-sends-security-contractors-venezuela-protect-maduro
ETA, Russia is at it again with this mercenary group, Wagner and they sent these guys to Venezeula long before the recent statements from the Trump administration verbally backing Juan Guaido. I wonder if this situation will prompt Pope Francis to travel to Moscow.
I doubt it, Carol. If the masses starving in Venezuela for so long, w/ the help of Russia for their tyrant, didn't make all that much difference at the Vatican, I doubt if this would matter any more to P. Francis. What may irk him more now is that conditions may actually see some light in the tunnel with the support from the various democracies of the world siding with newly declared leader there...remember he was one of the few who sent a rep. for Maduro's latest con win. It makes one wonder what would matter to the Pope to make him make a move to Russia other than if Putin's threats would effect the NWO folks since Putin, while he is many things, is not one of them...and it appears that this Pope could be....and they, even within the Vatican would put pressure on him. Since the prophecy says that his visit wouldn't have an effect since it says that upon his return the chaos of war would begin then there's not much respect for him from Putin.
"Russia may act in a surprise way, when you least expect it… [God's] justice will begin in Venezuela. - The Bridge to Heaven: Interviews with Maria Esperanza of Betania"
The only problem in this analysis here though is that the current leading "socialists" don't mind the few ultra rich controllers of their socialist message or those beginning to take over systems that will manipulate delivery of survival goods and the means of payment, like Twitter, Face Book, Amazon, Google, You Tube, Wash. Post/NYT, et al, deciding which messages get communicated through their powerful social media; and those politicians pushing "socialism for all but themselves" also continue their corrupt power masquerading as concern for the poor while using their influence to offer state secrets to highest bidders within our sworn enemies, and directing their now weaponized agencies of government towards the very foundations of this once Christian country. Revisiting A Prophecy Mysterious it seemed thirty years ago when, during an interview in Caracas (see The Bridge to Heaven), mystic Maria Esperanza, whose apparition site was formally approved by the Church, said about her own homeland of Venezuela: “It will start here.” We have revisited that apparently prophetic utterance several times because the situation has consistently escalated in her homeland and each time we do, what she was referring seems clearer. A headline today: As Venezuela’s two presidents face off, children scavenge for food and soldiers run out of patience+ It started with the rise of a socialist leader, then deep economic problems after the collapse of Venezuela’s oil industry. Within years a situation in which stores were empty, men hunted stray dogs for food, desperate women turned to prostitution to sustain their families, and hundreds of thousands fled the nation has been in the news. The United Nations estimates two million people will leave Venezuela this year, joining the more than three million already scattered around South America. There has been rioting. There is currently a chance of upheaval — civil war. There was street violence: crowds confronting police. In a word, chaos reigned. While the situation may finally be coming to a head, with a possible return to sustainability, one can parse Esperanza’s words and note she did not say “it” — chaos, social unrest, extreme poverty — would end in Venezuela, but start there. There are glimmerings of that same trend around the world, including in the United States, which is now watching as a powerful tide toward socialism rises in reaction to wanton capitalism (the rich are now richer than ever, the top percent of wealthy controlling more than half the money) and there is a general sense of political, social, and economic chaos (see the government shutdown, or the passage of a drastic abortion law in New York State — a constitutional right there to kill a baby right up to the minute of birth, to the applause of all in the chamber). Everywhere is the divisiveness and everywhere signs of deep unsettlement, with most people in one recent major survey saying they are unhappy with the course of the country, as standoffs and indictments dominate in Washington, D.C. Many also are watching as the demographics radically shift and the “minorities” will soon out-populate European Caucasians. Another mystic, Howard Storm, said he was shown a vision in 1985 in which he saw America turn into a third-world country with upheaval and chaos as a chastisement for not extending its wealth and its technology to third-world peoples. If America didn’t go out to the third world, he said long ago, the third-world would come to the United States. Each time we revisit that prophecy, the signs of what he and Esperanza predicted further evolve. Will Venezuela’s socialist dictatorial leader be overthrown, and the nation head for economic recovery? Will there be conflict with Russia over it? A coup? Civil war? Who is the real president in that nation? Even if it reverses course, Venezuela already has provided a prophetic template for what may be coming soon to Western nations. [resources: The Bridge to Heaven and Michael Brown retreats: Tampa and New Orleans] https://spiritdailyblog.com/commentary/revisiting-a-prophecy
Yes, seeing Venezuela's plight over the past few years reminded me of Maria Esperanza's prophecy. Nevertheless, I'm inclined to hold back a ringing endorsement of the people who look like they will replace Maduro. Sometimes the replacement can be as bad if not worse than what was replaced. We saw that in Egypt and some other countries. Time will tell with Venezuela.
Excellent point, Dolours. The question is, have the people of Venezuela learned the lessons that socialism in all of its many forms, does not work. The poor and working class people of Venezuela, wanted this type of government. They wanted the nationalization of all businesses, and as a swift result they found that farms don't run themselves, so you had food shortages. Now they are starving, a once richest nation in South America. They chose the wrong solution to their economic woes. Yes the needs and economic opportunities of the poor and disenfranchised did need to be addressed, but not with communism as the solution. Now they got the equality they asked for, they are all equally starving, except Maduro and his henchmen.
Maduro seems to still have a fair bit of support, so evidently his supporters haven't rejected socialism. I could be wrong because I know little or nothing about Venezuela, but I wonder what was it that made socialism so popular. Could it have been the type of capitalism practiced there? A particular corrupt type of capitalism perhaps? While everybody is rooting for Maduro's opposition, does anyone know enough about them to be so confident that they will be better? I see nothing wrong with a country nationalising a natural resource like oil. As far as I know, Norway did that, and Norway has survived. What matters is how the resource is managed, especially in good times, and whether provision is made for low prices, etc. I read that Chavez let everything else, like farming, go to the wall while acting like Santa Claus with the oil revenue. I also read that although Venezuela has huge oil reserves, it has no refinery. Without a refinery, they had to export the crude oil at low prices and buy refined oil in US$ when their own currency was at rock bottom. You may be sure that the Socialists in Venezuela will blame other countries, especially the US, for interfering in their internal affairs and sabotaging their economy because Chavez was a socialist helping the poor and that the established (read US) oil industry didn't want Venezuelans to get the full benefit of their oil revenue. In fairness, some of those big oil companies don't have a stellar track record in their dealings with developing nations. Norway seems to have been careful about its management of its oil resources, but Norway wasn't as poor as Venezuela when the oil was discovered. I must reiterate here my ignorance of what's happening now and what led up to the trouble in Venezuela. It's just that the nice package of good-v-evil doesn't always turn out to be so great when the unpackaging begins. Hard to imagine anything worse than Maduro but populist movements often diverge and begin fighting each other soon after gaining power, and the core Chavez devotees aren't going away. We'll see what transpires.
