Saint Albert the Great
“There are three witnesses who bear witness on earth: the spirit, the water and the blood” (1 John 8); the spirit, which Jesus gave to his Father in the midst of pain; the water, which flows from his side; and the blood, which he shed from his heart, are the witnesses of his most ardent love. (...) By the blood of his Heart and on his side, the Lord watered the garden of his Church, because he made the sacraments of his Heart gush out at the same time. (...) His Heart overflowed with love to be able to unite with us, and fill our heart with joy and joy. “
Saint Albert the Great, Sermon 27-28 of Eucharist
Saint Albert, born in Germany around 1200 in the family of the Counts of Bollstadt, was sent to study in Padua, Bologna, and Venice. These cities, renowned for their excellent teaching, made him into a brilliant student with a sharp mind. He deepened his theological studies in Cologne, then left for Italy, where he came into contact with the Dominicans, the Order of Preachers. With them, Albert discovered his vocation: he took the habit. He received it directly from the hands of Blessed Jordan of Saxony, successor of Saint Dominica. He was sent to Cologne and then to Paris in 1245, where he held the chair of theology of a university. There he met Saint Thomas Aquinas, who was his most gifted student. Together, they founded a theological institute.
Saint Albert devoted his life to teaching theology, glorifying God, and restoring greatness in the Catholic faith in troubled times.
Let us learn from this Saint to spread the teachings and love of Jesus.
Thoughts and writings of the Dominican, Albert the Great
From 1244 to 1248, while teaching theology, Saint Albert undertook to write a scientific and philosophical encyclopedia, based on a study of Aristotle. At a time when the public reading of Aristotle's writings was prohibited by the Church, it was a very bold idea. The Dominican's intention was clear. He wished to make all the disciplines taught by the philosopher intelligible to the romance-language-speaking people, from his biological analyses to metaphysical speculations. The theologian saw the full and healthy balance of faith in the autonomous development of the secular sciences. His teaching was driven by an affective vision of faith and the idea that all men have a tendency to return to the Creator. Many disciples of Albert the Great would follow this path. Moreover, Albert found the meeting point between Dionysius and Aristotle on the doctrine of the soul. Our soul, offered by Christ, expresses itself in knowledge, despite the darkness of the human being. This is how it reveals its nature and its divine origin. It was with this synthesis between the Wisdom of the Saints, human knowledge, and the study of nature that Albert impressed a profound mystical orientation on the Order to which he belonged.
The Dominican left behind a considerable body of work: commentaries on Scripture, the basic text of the teaching of theology; commentaries on the Book of Sentences by Peter Lombard and the works of Dionysius; a collection of disputed questions, collected in treatises and sums; commentaries on Aristotle, and a sum of theology. His work was so precious and essential for the Catholic faith and the sciences that he received, during his lifetime, the qualification of “Great.”
Pray with Saint Albert the Great
Two beautiful prayers by Saint Albert
“Teach me, in temptation and tribulation, to know the time of your visit: that I see my sins and that I weep for those who, in the days of temporal peace, have remained hidden from the eyes of my heart; that the crowd of my enemies the demons, the beauty of temporal things and carnal pleasures do not circumvent me, that they do not suffocate me and throw me to the ground, with my children, that is to say the feeling, the reason and the affections that are in me, destroying the army of my virtues. Reject from my soul the lie and the simulation, the jactance that traffics in your grace, so that I may become a temple of preaching, a house of prayer in the present and of your praises in the future. So be it.”
“O Trinity! Most high, most merciful, most beneficent God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, One God, I hope in You. Teach me, lead me, support me. O Father! By your infinite Power, fix my memory in You and fill it with holy and divine thoughts. O Son, by your eternal Wisdom, enlighten my understanding, grant it the knowledge of your sovereign Truth and of my own meanness. O Holy Spirit, who are the Love of the Father and the Son! By your incomprehensible Goodness, carry my will into You and ignite it with the inextinguishable Fire of your Charity. O my Lord and my God! O my principle and my end, O essence sovereignly simple, sovereignly tranquil and sovereignly amiable! O abyss of sweetness and delights! O my kind light and sovereign happiness of my soul! Ocean of inexpressible joys! Perfect fullness of all good, my God and my All, what more do I need when I possess You? You are my unique and immutable good. I should only look for You. I seek and desire only You. Lord, draw me after You. I knock, Lord: open to me. Open to an orphan who implores You. Plunge me into the abyss of your divinity. Give me back one spirit with You, so that I may, within me, possess your delights. Amen.”
Prayer to invoke Saint Albert
“We pray to you Saint Albert the Great, passionate seeker of the truth, which is the same for the body and for the spirit. Help us to keep our bodies and our hearts pure. Keep away from us the poisons that the wickedness of men spreads in the world, and support us on our way so that we can one day see our Creator. Amen”
Continue your prayer to Saint Albert the Great with Hozana!
Saint Thomas Aquinas gave a very beautiful explanation of the Our Father. Pray with him and Saint Albert the Great for the glory of the Father.
During his youth, Saint Albert questioned his faith. It was the Blessed Virgin Mary who helped him to remain under the gaze of God, so pray with him to our Heavenly Mother!
