OMER
251
OMNIPOTENCE
ber of delightful sketches of noted Catholic men and
women. " Madame Mohl, her Salon and her Friends,
a Study of Social Life in Paris" (London, 1885; an-
other edition, Boston, 1886) presents with a nice sense
of discrimination a delightful picture of that unique in-
stitution, the Parisian Salon, introducing the men and
women who were leaders in the social, literary, and
political world. "Thomas Grant, First Bishop of
Southwark" (London, 1874) besides doing justice
to a noble character that was much misunderstood,
gives within a brief compass a clear straightforward
account of the restoration of the Catholic hierarchy
in England. "Frederick Ozanam, Professor at the
Sorbonne, His Life and Works" (Edinburgh, 1876)
is a deeply interesting narrative and is proof of the
author's genius for biography. Had she written
nothing else, this would entitle her to distinction. No
better book can be placed in the hands of a young man
to quicken his sympathies and bring out the good that
is in him. Her last work "The Venerable Jean Bap-
tiste Vianney, Cur6 d'Ars" (London, 1891) was not
published fill after her death. She was Paris corre-
spondent of "The Tablet ", and a frequent contributor
to American magazines, such as the "Atlantic
Monthly" and the "Ave Maria".
Ave Maria (March, 1889); Irish Monthly (October, 1889); Tab- let (London. 17 Nov., 18S8); Times (London, 13 and 14 Nov., 1888).
Matthew J. Flaherty.
Omer, Saint, b. of a distinguished family towards the close of the sixth or the beginning of the seventh century, at Guldendal, Switzerland; d. c. 670. After the death of his mother, he, with his father, entered the monastery of Luxeuil in the Diocese of Besangon, probably about 615. Under the direction of Saint Eustachius, Omer studied the Scriptures, in which he acquired remarkable proficiency. When King Dago- bert requested the appointment of a bishop for the important city of Terouenne, the capital of the ancient territory of the Morini in Belgic Gaul, he was ap- pointed and consecrated in 637.
Though the Morini had received the Faith from Saints Fuscian and Victoricus, and later Antimund and Adelbert, nearly every vestige of Christianity had disappeared. When Saint Omer entered upon his episcopal duties the .Abbot of Luxeuil sent to his assist- ance several monks, among whom are mentioned Saints Bertin, Mommolin, and Ebertran, and Saint Omer had the satisfaction of seeing the true religion firmly estab- lished in a short time. About 654 he founded the Abbey of Saint Peter (now Saint Berlin's) in Sithiu, soon to equal if not surpass the old monastery of Lux- euil for the number of learned and zealous men edu- cated there. Several years later he erected the church of Our Lady of Sithiu, with a small monastery adjoin- ing, which he turned over to the monks of Saint Ber- tin. The exact date of his death is unknown, but he is believed to have died about the year 670. The place of his burial is uncertain; most probably he was laid to rest in the church of Our Lady which is now the cathedral of Saint Omer's. His feast is celebrated on 9 September — when and by whom he was raised to the altar cannot be ascertained.
BoLLANDisTe, Acta S. S„ September, III; Bdtler, Lives of the Saitits, III (Baltimore), 437-9.
Francis J. O'Boyle.
Omer, College of Saint. See Saint Omer's' College.
Omission (Lat. omittere, to lay aside, to pass over) is here taken to be the failure to do something which one can and ought to do. If this happens advertently and freely a sin is committed. Moralists took pains formerly to show that the inaction implied in an omis- sion was quite compatible with a breach of the moral law, for it is not merely because a person here and now does nothing that he offends, but because he neg-
lects to act under circumstances in which he can
and ought to act. The degree of guilt incurred by an
omission is measured like that attaching to sins of
commission, by the dignity of the virtue and the mag-
nitude of the precept to which the omission is opposed
as well as the amount of deliberation. In general, ac-
cording to St. Thomas, the sin of omission consisting
as it does in a leaving out of good is less grievous than
a sin of commission which involves a positive taking up
with evil. There are, of course, cases in which on
account of the special subject matter and circum-
stances it may happen that an omission is more hei-
nous. It may be asked at what time one incurs the
guilt of a sin of omission in case he fails to do some-
thing which he is unable to do by reason of a cause for
which he is entirely responsible. For instance, if a
person fails to perform a duty in the morning as a re-
sult of becoming inebriated the previous night. The
guilt is not incurred at the time the duty should be
performed because while intoxicated he is incapable of
moral guilt. The answer seems to be that he becomes
responsible for the omission when having sufficiently
foreseen that his neglect will follow upon his intoxica-
tion he does nevertheless surrender himself to his
craving for liquor.
RicKABY. Aquinas Ethicus (London, 1896); Bouquillon, The- ologia moralis fundamentalis (Brugea, 1903); St. Thomas Aqui- nas, Summa Theologica (Turin, 1885).
Joseph F. Delany.
Omnipotence (Latin omnipotentia, from omnia and poliiix, :ibli' to do all things) is the power of God to effect whatevi>r is not intrinsically impossible. These last words of the definition do not imply any imper- fection, since a power that extends to every possi- bility must be perfect. The universaUty of the object of the Divine power is not merely relative but abso- lute, so that the true nature of omnipotence is not clearly expressed by saying that God can do all things that are possible to Him; it requires the further state- ment that all things are possible to God. The in- trinsically impossible is the self-contradictory, and its mutually exclusive elements could result only in nothingness. "Hence", says St. Thomas (Summa I, Q. XXV, a. 3), "it is more exact to say that the intrinsi- cally impossible is incapable of production, than to say that God cannot produce it." To include the con- tradictory within the range of omnipotence, as does the Calvinist Vorstius, is to acknowledge the absurd as an object of the Divine intellect, and nothingness as an object of the Divine will and power. "God can do all things the accomplishment of which is a mani- festation of power", says Hugh of St. Victor, "and He is almighty because He cannot be powerless" (De sacram., I, ii, 22).
As intrinsically impossible must be classed: (1) Any action on the part of God which would be out of har- mony with His nature and attributes, (a) It is im- possible for God to sin. — Man's power of preferring evil to good is a sign not of strength, but of infirmity, since it involves the liability to be overcome by un- worthy motives; not the exercise but the restraint of that power adds to the freedom and vigour of the will. "To sin", says St. Thomas, "is to be cai)able of fail- ure in one's actions, which is incompatible with omnip- otence" (Summa, I, Q. xxv, a. 3). (b) The decrees of God cannot be reversed. — From eternity the pro- duction of creatures, their successive changes, and the manner in which these would occur were determined by God's free will. If these decrees were not irrevo- cable, it would follow either that God's wisdom was variable or that His decisions sprang from caprice. Hence theologians distinguish between the absolute and the ordinary, or regulated, power of God (polcntia ahsoluta; potentia ordinaria). The absolute power of God extends to all that is not intrinsically impossible, while the ordinary power is regulated by the Divine decrees. Thus by His absolute power God could
