Folia Theologica 21. (2010)
Barbour Hugh O.Praem.: The Cosmology of Catholic Communications: Postmodern Kerygma? A Reflection by a Disciple of SS. Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas
THE COSMOLOGY OF CATHOLIC 157 He goes on in the same discourse to speak of a Catholic use of the media in which men may find "news wedded to remembrance, information wedded to wisdom, and entertainment wedded to joy" whereby the Christian use of the media could be what he called a "friendly companion" to those in search of God. Yet is this comparison of the medieval cosmology and the ancient technology of the codex with the modern science of communications anything more than just that, a comparison? Or is the comparison indicative of an intrinsic similarity? For this we need to continue to consider the text of another doctor of Christian wisdom, St. Thomas' teacher St. Albert the Great. In his Speculum Astronomiae quoted at the beginning of this conference, St. Albert sets out to give a summary of all the works available in the twelfth century which concerned astronomy, both speculative and judicial. This is a surely authentic work of the great bishop of Regensburg. He is especially concerned in the case of judicial astronomy, or astrology, to distinguish those works which are contrary to Christian faith and morals from those which may be safely or at least indifferently used by Catholics. Let us hear his apology for the value of judicial astrology for the concinator, or preacher, such as he was as a member of the Sacred Order of Preachers: Secunda magna sapientia, quae similiter astronomia dicitur, est scientia iudiciorum astrorum, quae est ligamentum naturalis philosophiae et metaphy- sicae. Si enim sic ordinavit Deus altissimus sua summa sapientia mundum istum, ut ipse qui est Deus vivus, Deus caeli non vivi, velit operari in rebus creatis, quae inveniuntur in his quattor elementis inferioribus, per stellas surdas et mutas, sicut per instrumenta... quid desideratius concinatori quam habere mediam scientiam, quae doceat nos qualiter mundanorum ad hoc vel ad illud mutatio caelestium fiat corporum mutatione? Numquid et haec una est ex praecipuis probationibus, quod non ist nisi unus Deus gloriosus et sublimis in caelo et in terra, si videlicet motus inferior motui inferiori oboedit? (...) Non enim diligetur incognitus, neque cum sit primus, cognoscetur per prius, cum sit incomprehensibilis. Restat ergo quod per posterius, per suos scilicet gloriosos effectus. Hi autem sunt homo et ordinatio universi ad ipsum, videlicet supercaelestium, ut praebeant ductum rationalibus, et elementorum, in quibus sumptus rationalium mensurentur, quam universi ordinationem nulla scientia humana perfecte attingit, sicut scientia iudiciorum astrorum.7 7 Speculum Astronomiae, 3.
