Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 1.djvu/32

ABANA Abana. See .

Abandonment (more properly, .) a term used by writers of ascetical and mystical books to signify the first stage of the union of the soul with God by conforming to His Will. It is described as the first step in the unitive or perfect way of approaching God by contemplation, of which it is the prelude. It implies the passive purification through which one passes by accepting trials and sufferings permitted by God to turn souls to Him. It implies also the desolation which comes upon the soul when relinquishing what it prizes inordinately in creatures, the surrender of natural consolations in order to seek God, and the loss for a time of the consciousness of strong and ardent impulses of the virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity; and finally aridity or a lack of fervent devotion in prayer and in other spiritual actions. According to some, it is equivalent to the "obscure night," described by St. John of the Cross, or the darkness of the soul in a state of purgation, without light, amid many uncertainties, risks, and dangers. It is also misused to express a quietistic condition of the soul, which excludes not only all personal effort, but even desires, and disposes one to accept evil with the fatalistic motive that it cannot be helped. (See .)



Abarca,, theologian, born in Aragon in 1619; died 1 October, 1693, at Palencia. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1641, and passed almost all his religious life as professor of scholastic, moral, and controversial theology, chiefly in the University of Salamanca. Though not mentioned by Hurter in the "Nomenclator," he has left many theological works, among which are five volumes in quarto on the Incarnation and the Sacraments; one in quarto on Grace, and several minor treatises on moral and dogmatic subjects. He wrote also extensively on points of history, via: "The Historical Annals of the Kings of Aragon," "The First Kings of Pampeluna," and has left many manuscripts and one work, which he withheld, about the Church of del Pilar.



Abarim (Heb. hár hā'ăbhārîm, hārê hā'ăbhārîm; Sept. ), mountain Abarim, mountains of Abarim, a mountain range across Jordan, extending from Mount Nebo in the north, perhaps to the Arabian desert in the south. The Vulgate (Deut., xxxii, 49) gives its etymological meaning as "passages." Its northern part was called Phasga, (or Pisgah) and the highest peak of Phasga was Mount Nebo (Deut., iii, 27; xxxiv, 1; xxxii, 49; Num., xxiii, 14; xxvii, 12; xxi, 20; xxxiii, 47). Balaam blessed Israel the second time from the top of Mount Phasga (Num., xxiii, 14) from here Moses saw the Land of Promise, and here Jeremias hid the ark (II Mach., ii, 4, 5). (See, .)



Abba is the Aramaic word for "father." The word occurs three times in the New Testament (Mark, xiv, 36; Rom., viii, 15; Gal., iv, 6). In each case it has its Greek translation subjoined to it, reading in the Greek text; abba, pater in the Latin Vulgate, and "Abba, Father" in the English version. St. Paul made use of the double expression in imitation of the early Christians, who, in their turn, used it in imitation of the prayer of Christ. Opinions differ as to the reason for the double expression in our Lord's prayer: (1) Jesus himself used it; (2) St. Peter added the Greek translation in his preaching, retaining the archaic direct address; (3) the Evangelist added the Greek translation; (4) St. Mark conformed to an existing Christian custom of praying by way of hysteron proteron.



Abbacy. See .

Abbadie,, astronomer, geodetist, genographer, physician, numismatist, philologian, born 1810; died March 20, 1897. While still a young man, he conceived the project of exploring Africa. Having prepared himself by six years' study, he spent ten years exploring Ethiopia, and achieved scientific results of the greatest value. D'Abbadie was a fervent Catholic, and during his explorations in Ethiopia made every effort to plant there the Catholic Faith. It was at his suggestion and that of his brother Arnauld, companion and colabourer of Antoine, that Gregory XVI sent missionaries to carry on the work. He published in the "Revue des Questions Scientifiques," the organ of the society, a work on the abolition of African slavery. He gave his estate, called Abbadia, in southern France, to the Academy of Sciences of Paris, to carry on research. His will provided, furthermore, for the establishment of an observatory at Abbadia, where a catalogue of 500,000 stars must be made, the work to be confided to religious and to be completed before 1950. His principal writings are: "Catalogue raisonné de manuscrits éthiopiens" (Paris, 1859); "Résumé Géodésique des positions déterminées en Ethiopie" (Paris, 1859); "Géodésie d'Ethiopie ou Triangulation d'une partie de la haute Ethiopie" (4 vols., Paris, 1860–73); "Observations relatives à la physique du globe, faites au Brésil et en Ethiopie" (Paris, 1873); "Dictionnaire de la langue Amariñña."—II. , geographer, younger brother of preceding, b. in Dublin, Ireland, 1815; d. 8 November, 1893. In 1837 he accompanied his brother's expedition to Abyssinia, where he soon acquired considerable influence, and never failed to employ it in the interest of the Catholic missions. His most important work is "Douze ans dans la haute Ethiopie" (Paris, 1868).



Abban, name of. St. Abban (Murneave or Murnevin), nephew of St. Ibar, the apostle of Wexford (a predecessor and contemporary of St. Patrick), flourished 570–620. He was the son of Cormac, King of Leinster, and he founded numerous churches in the district of Ui Cennselaigh, almost conterminous with the present County Wexford and Diocese of Ferns, His principal monastery was at Magheranoidhe, subsequently known as "Abbanstown," today, Adamstown; but he also founded an abbey at Rosmie-treoin, or New Ross, which afterwards became famous as a scholastic<section end="Abban"/>