Choose a topic from Part 3a:

10. The Beatific Knowledge in Christ

1. The human soul of Christ is as perfect as a human soulcan be, but it is always a finite soul. Hence this soul,enjoying the beatific vision, does not comprehend the divineEssence in the full and accurate meaning of the wordcomprehend. For to say that the human soul of Christcomprehends the divine Essence would be to say that afinite soul perfectly compasses the infinite; and this is quiteimpossible.

2. Christ as man knows all things in the divine Word, forChrist is the divine Word as well as true and creaturalman. The human mind of Christ does not itself know all thingspossible; here again we should have a case of finite encompassinginfinite. But the human mind of Christ does know, in the Word, allthat is actually said or thought or done by anyone at any time,past, present, or to come.

3. The human soul of Christ knows its own power, and allthat this power can accomplish. And therefore Christ knows that hispower can go on cleansing souls from sin and doing good to man,without limit; it can be said, in this sense, that Christ as man"knows infinite things."

4. The human soul of Christ is united to the Word inPerson; therefore it is more fully enlightened by the Word than anyother creature. Therefore, the human soul of Christ beholds thedivine Essence in vision more perfectly than any other creature inheaven.

"When the devil has failed in making a man fall, he puts forward all his energies to create distrust between the penitent and the confessor, and so by little and little he gains his end at last."
St Philip Neri

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"God speaks to us without ceasing by his good inspirations."
The Cure D'Ars

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"A person who rails at God in adversity, suffers without merit; moreover by his lack of resignation he adds to his punishment in the next life and experiences greater disquietude of mind in this life."
St Alphonsus de Liguori

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