Beholding the Beauty

The 16th Council of Toledo, held in AD 693, gave us (among other things) the following: 296 Let the designation of this "holy will"-although through a comparative similitude of the Trinity, where it is called memory, intelligence, and will-refer to the person of the Holy Spirit; according to this, however, what applies to itself, is predicated substantially. For the will is the Father, the will is the Son, the will is the Holy Spirit; just as God is the Father, God is the Son, God is the Holy Spirit and many other similar things, which according to substance those who live as protectors of the Catholic faith do not for any reason hesitate to say. And just as it is Catholic to say: God from God, light from light, life from life, so it is a proved assertion of true faith to say the will from the will; just as wisdom from wisdom, essence from essence, and as God the Father begot God the Son, so the Will, the Father, begot the Son, the Will. Thus, although according to essenc...

The pattern of things in the heavens was shadowed in the pattern of the things of the Law (Heb. 10:1), and Christ, being the very image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15) is the Beginning and End ( Rev 1:8 ; 21:6 ; 22:13 ) of those things which are to come , the End of the Law ( Rom 10:4 ), and the Beginning of the Kingdom of Heaven ( Col 1:18 ). Christ, therefore, Who is shadowed in the Law, is revealed to us in it when the veil of unbelief is taken away from our eyes by faith ( 2 Cor. 3:13-18 ). He was not alone. Eternally He was without mother ( Heb 7:3 ), yet He was not alone, but with the Father ( 1 John 1:2 ) in the bosom of the Father ( John 1:14, 18 ; Heb 1:5 ). He came among us without father ( Heb 7:3 ), yet He was not alone, but from His mother, born of a woman ( Luke 1:35; 2:7 ; Gal 4:4 ), being found with Mary His mother ( Matt 2:11 ) by the wise men. They did not find Him only, but Him together with Mary. They fell down, it says, and worshiped H...