• Bls. Ralph Milner & Roger Dickenson (1591). Martyr. (Historical)
• St. Willibald (786). Bishop. (Historical)
• Sts. Cyril & Methodius (885). Bishop, Religious. (Traditional) Apostles to the Slavs, invented the Cyrillic alphabet, brothers

THIS learned father and apostolic man flourished in the second century. He was by birth a Sicilian, by profession a Stoic philosopher. His esteem for virtue led him into an acquaintance with the Christians, and being charmed with the innocence and sanctity of their conversation, he opened his eyes to the truth. He studied the Holy Scriptures under the disciples of the apostles, and his thirst after sacred learning brought him to Alexandria, in Egypt, where the disciples of St. Mark had instituted a celebrated school of the Christian doctrine. Pantænus sought not to display his talents in that great mart of literature and commerce; but his great progress in sacred learning was after some time discovered, and he was drawn out of that obscurity in which his humility sought to bury itself. Being placed at the head of the Christian school some time before the year 179, by his learning and excellent manner of teaching he raised its reputation above all the schools of the philosophers, and the lessons which he read, and which were gathered from the flowers of the prophets and apostles, conveyed light and knowledge into the minds of all his hearers. The Indians who traded at Alexandria entreated him to pay their country a visit, whereupon he forsook his school and went to preach the Gospel to the Eastern nations. St. Pantænus found some seeds of the faith already sown in the Indies, and a book of the Gospel of St. Matthew in Hebrew, which St. Bartholomew had carried thither. He brought it back with him to Alexandria, whither he returned after he had zealously employed some years in instructing the Indians in the faith. St. Pantænus continued to teach in private till about the year 216, when he closed a noble and excellent life by a happy death.

REFLECTION: “Have a care that none lead you astray by a false philosophy,” says St. Paul, for philosophy without religion is a vain thing.

WORD OF THE DAY

INTELLECTUAL VIRTUES. Good habits of the mind, enabling it to be a more efficient instrument of knowledge. They are distinguished from the moral virtues, since they do not, as such, make one a better person. They make one more effective in the use of what he or she knows and, to that extent, contribute to the practice of moral virtue. According to Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas, there are five intellectual virtues: three pertaining to the theoretical or speculative intellect concerned with the contemplation of the true; and two pertaining to the practical intellect, concerned with the two forms of action, making and doing.

The three speculative intellectual virtues are understanding, science, and wisdom. Understanding (Greek nous, intuitive mind) is the habit of first principles. It is the habitual knowledge of primary self-evident truths that lie at the root of all knowledge. Science (Greek episteme, knowledge) is the habit of conclusions drawn by demonstration from first principles. It is the habitual knowledge of the particular sciences. Wisdom (Greek sophia, wisdom) is the habit of knowing things in their highest causes. It is the organized knowledge of all principles and conclusions in the truth called philosophy.

The two practical intellectual virtues are art and prudence. Art (Greek techne, craftsmanship) is the habit of knowing how to make things, how to produce some external object. As a practical virtue, it includes the mechanical and fine arts and most liberal arts. Prudence (Greek phronesis, practical wisdom) is the habit of knowing how to do things, how to direct activity that does not result in tangible products. It enables one to live a good human life and is the only one of the intellectual virtues that cannot exist apart from the moral virtues.

Modern Catholic Dictionary, Fr. John Hardon SJ (Get the real one at Eternal Life — don’t accept an abridged or edited version of this masterpiece!)

July, Month of the Precious Blood

The Precious BIood of Jesus – Short Meditations for July. July 7th — Types of the Precious Blood: (4) The Offerings for Sins of Ignorance.