"the cause of all created things, whether in heaven or on earth, whether visible or invisible, is nothing other than the goodness of the Creator, who is the one and the true God.Further, the Christian believes that nothing exists save God himself and what comes from him; and he believes that God is t"
"In this universe, even what is called evil, when it is rightly ordered and kept in its place, commends the good more eminently, since good things yield greater pleasure and praise when compared to the bad things. Evil is not substance. Thus, every entity, even if it is a defective one, in so far as "
"…the cause of everything pertaining to our good is nothing other than the bountiful goodness of God himself. The cause of evil is the defection of the will of a being who is mutably good from the Good which is immutable. This happened first in the case of the angels and, afterward, that of man."
"And this is not of yourselves, rather it is a gift of God--not because of works either, lest any man should boast."
"This helps us to understand that] the whole import of the sacraments of salvation has to do more with the hope of future goods than with the retaining or attaining of present goods."
"All the divine precepts are, therefore, referred back to love, of which the apostle says, Now the end of the commandment is love, out of a pure heart, and a good conscience and a faith unfeigned. Thus every commandment harks back to love. For whatever one does either in fear of punishment or from so"