…bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Saint Anselm is a towering figure in monastic, theological and philosophical circles whose works take diligence in getting your mind around. Even centuries later he speaks with precision. Saint Anselm of Canterbury (c. 1033-1109) an Italian by birth, Anselm held various academic and ecclesial titles; he was the archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 until his […]
In Honor of Our Lady’s Nativity Saint Anselm of Canterbury Vouchsafe that I may praise thee, O sacred Virgin; give me strength against thine enemies, and against the enemy of the whole human race. Give me strength humbly to pray to thee. Give me strength to praise thee in prayer with all my powers, through […]
Whoever does not pay to God his honor due Him dishonors Him and removes from Him what belongs to Him; and this removal, or dishonoring, constitutes a sin. However as long as he does not repay what he has stolen, he remains guilty. Saint Anselm of Canterbury, Cur Deus Homo
For these three persons do not have will or power according to their relationships but rather according to the fact that each single person is God. Saint Anselm of Canterbury, Letter 129
…[freedom] is so powerful that as long as a man wills to use it nothing is able to remove from him the … uprightness (i.e., justice) which he has. By contrast, justice is not a natural possession. Saint Anselm, De Concordia
Suppose you were to find yourself in the presence of God and someone were to give you the command: “Look in that direction.” And suppose that, on the contrary, God were to say: “I am absolutely unwilling for you to look.” Ask yourself in your heart what there is, among all existing things, for the […]
Justice/rectitude requires reason because “… a nature which does not know rightness is not able to will it.” Saint Anselm, De Veritate
Uprightness is the sole and complete honor which we owe to God and which God demands from us. Saint Anselm, Cur Deus Homo
Pope Benedict XVI wrote to Cardinal Giacomo Biffi, retired archbishop of Bologna, on the occasion of the ninth centenary of the death of Saint Anselm. I find this letter to be an amazing testimony to the operative graces at work in the Church 900 years ago and today. What is said by the Holy Father […]
Lo, a brave bishop, lo, a monk most faithful, Crowned with laurel, flourisheth as a Doctor:Now let our chorus vie in joyful anthems,Singing to Anselm. Filllled with wisdom, ere he grew to manhood,Earth’s fleeting beauty prudently he feared:Then, through the leading of his master, Lanfranc,Entered the cloister. High to the secret of the Word he […]