Te Deum

Te Deum laudamus, Gregoriano, T. Simplex; SCHOLA GREGORIANA MEDIOLANENSIS, Giovanni Vianini, Milano.It.

"The Te Deum. PLENARY INDULGENCE when recited publicly on the last day of the year. Otherwise partial. (Enchiridion indulgentiarum, 60)"

Do some Catholics mistakenly hold to a Pelagian mindset? (I'm not addressing Pope Francis on this question.) A mentality of
"works righteousness"? Does an extreme focus on indulgences in some forms of popular spirituality help us grow in charity? Or does it lead us to wrongly focus on subjective rewards instead? A truncated Christian spirituality... Orthodox/Eastern Catholics are puzzled by talk about indulgences; some even think the doctrine erroneous. How do we properly motivate people to prayer and acts of charity?

Tick Tock

VN, CMT, and PT - here to stay? Or has the realization of irrelevance not hit us yet? It may take a generation or two for a certain Uhmerican mindset to go away.

Orthodox Georgian Psaltic Chant

Derived from Byzantine chant, I think.

More on Icon "Writing"

A Symptom of Modern Blindness – Further Thoughts on the Phrase “To Write an Icon” by Andrew Gould

The Guardian: Peter Geach obituary by Jane O'Grady
Prominent Catholic philosopher admired for his mastery of logic and work on ethics

Martyrdom

Saints Cyril & Athanasius of Alexandria Institute for Orthodox Studies
February 2014 Symposium: Martyrdom - Past, Present and Future
San Francisco: February 15-16 (there is also an event in Riverside, CA)

Early registration ends on December 31. ($20 discount)


This has been making the rounds on Facebook, a talk by Cardinal Burke on the call to martyrdom.

Antiphon Articles on Bouyer

In 16.2 of Antiphon: Keith Lemna, “The Liturgical and Ascetical Heart of Louis Bouyer’s Trinitarian Theology” - Should see if I can find this article somewhere.

In 16.1: Alcuin Reid, “The Reformed Liturgy: A ‘Cadaver Decomposed’? Louis Bouyer and Liturgical Ressourcement”

Fr. Gabriel Bunge Explains His Journey to Orthodoxy

Pravoslavie: "WE HAVE TO RETURN TO OUR ROOTS." A CONVERSATION WITH FR. GABRIEL BUNGE

He recounts reading various history books and how he came to see what were the exaggerated claims of the papacy. Do such claims destroy its credibility or authority? What is official teaching? What is affirmation or interpretation of the Tradition? Can problematic statements be reconciled with a more 'moderate' understanding of the primacy of Rome?

What is the proper use of history in this case? What is its relation to the theological virtue of Faith? (That is a problem, how is the teaching authority of the Church to be understood with respect to the pope?) A historical study is necessary for us to understand how the papal office was exercised in the first millennium, what claims were made by bishops of Rome and what was accepted by other bishops.


Position of the Moscow Patriarchate on the problem of primacy in the Universal Church

Updated
FIRST WITHOUT EQUALS
The Russian Veto Against Francis and Bartholomew

Thinking a question through to a tentative answer... who doesn't enjoy doing that? There are days when I miss "doing philosophy."

Divine Personhood and the Critique of Substance Metaphysics - Fr. Dominic Holtz OP

INTRO to the Divine Liturgy of EASTERN CATHOLICS: Byzantine : St.John Chrysostom

Divine Liturgy at Monastery of the Transfiguration, Ellwood City

Divine Liturgy - Sunday before Nativity


2nd Day of the Nativity Divine Liturgy


Monastery of the Transfiguration

Canon of The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ in different languages (the 9th ode)

1st ode

GOARCH: Encyclical of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew for Christmas 2013

Mary Lowell on "Write" versus "Paint"

Is “Write” Wrong?: A Discussion of Iconology Lingo

Rev. Fr. James Cox

A Shepherd of the Jobless by Mark Barrett

First Things: Celibacy as Political Resistance by Grant Kaplan
Explaining Johann Möhler’s political theology to subvert state domination.

God is With Us!

Bread, A Substance?

Or an aggregate/mixture, even if it is one made through human skill? Of what relevance is the question? Transubstantiation. A doctrine of the Latin churches, or a theologoumenon given much weight? If bread is not a substance, I would think that Trent's teaching would need to be reconsidered, as the 'physics' is inaccurate, or "substance" as applied to bread would need to be understood analogously, as referring more properly to the components of bread that are substances in themselves.

The Antiquity of the Doctrine of Transubstantiation

Καλά Χριστούγεννα!

χριστός γεννάται! δοξάσατε! Christ is born! Glorify Him!

Peter Geach, R.I.P. by John Schwenkler

Fr. Augustine Thompson, O.P. on the Date of Christmas

Why December 25th??

An affirmation of the possibility of Peter Faber being a relevant example today - St. Peter Faber: Model for a New Reformation by William Doino Jr.

More Modelling

‘Impossible’ Sodium Chlorides Challenge Foundation of Chemistry

NLM: Point and Counterpoint: Was the Liturgical Reform a Success?
New Website Makes Available All of the Documents of the Vatican II Liturgical Commission

Fr. Hunwicke's Stowe Test

'Organic Development' yet again

60 Minutes on Egypt's Copts

Here

Eastern Christian Books: Constantinopolitan and Byzantine Architecture

Katherine of Alexandria Official Trailer

BBC: Medieval Latin Dictionary Completed After 100 Years - Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources

Jesuit Favoritism?

Pope Francis Set to Declare Jesuit Priest a Saint

He should be honored for his tireless apostolic work during the Catholic Counter-Reformation, but is there any local or universal cult to him? The age of the Protestant Reformation (and the Catholic Counter-Reformation) is gone and one might think that the reforms needed then are not complete still. He might still be relevant, an example for us now?

Cathen
NCR Blog
Ignatian Spirituality

Edit. Vatican News

Fr. Z Pope approves canonization of St. Peter Faber, waiving the usual process

RR


RR

Mathematical Models...

Nature: Simulations back up theory that Universe is a hologram by Ron Cowen
A ten-dimensional theory of gravity makes the same predictions as standard quantum physics in fewer dimensions.

A book
The Holographic Principle

Pravmir: Contextual and Pastoral by Archpriest Michael Oleksa
An Essay on the 30th Anniversary of the Repose of Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann

Pravmir: The 30th Anniversary of the Repose of Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann

Post by Orthodoxy and the World.

His last homily.

How can there be "decentralization" within the Western patriarchate (the model being used here for convenience, not because it necessarily corresponds to ecclesial reality - we could just say the Roman-rite churches) if the metropolitans and bishops don't do what they can now, with the authority they've always had, to reform their dioceses first (and if necessary, to create new dioceses from within old ones)? How can members of a national conference of bishops discuss "national" questions if they do not even properly understand the problems besetting the local church?

Rorate Caeli: For the record: The stunning situation of the Franciscans of the Immaculate
Apostolic Commissioner: problem with FI is its "crypto-lefebvrian and definitely traditionalist drift"
* Seminary closed * no ordinations for one year * ordinands must take an oath accepting the Novus Ordo

Bishop of Rome as Universal Teacher?

A proof text which applies not only to the apostles collectively but to Peter singularly? Matthew 28: 19-20 Euntes ergo docete omnes gentes, baptizantes eos in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti, docentes eos servare omnia, quaecumque mandavi vobis. Et ecce ego vobiscum sum omnibus diebus usque ad consummationem saeculi.

Greek

Archdiocesan Byzantine Choir Presents "Blessed are the Peacemakers" - November 30, 2013

CNA: Focolare Movement asks that founder's cause be opened

Chiesa: Liturgical Reform, a History to Rewrite
Half a century after “Sacrosanctum Concilium,” all of the preparatory texts are being made available to the general public for the first time. For a new comparison with the ways in which that document has been put into practice

The Federalist Option of the Bishop of Rome
More autonomy for the national episcopal conferences. And more room for different cultures. The two points on which “Evangelii Gaudium" most distinguishes itself from the magisterium of the previous popes

The Good Shepherd

Post by News.va English.

Orthodox Arts Journal: “The Icon is Making its Way in America”, an interview with Ksenia Pokrovsky

New Aidan Nichols Book from Ignatius Press

Insight Scoop: New: "Figuring out the Church: Her Marks, and Her Masters" by Aidan Nichols, OP - IP

The Drama Continues?

The Eponymous Flower: "Absolute War" Against the Franciscans of the Immaculata? The Unspeakable "Blemish"

The Liturgical Institute Summer School for 2014 features Fr. Uwe Michael Lang who will be teaching the course "Eucharist: Origins and Structure." Also teaching: Sr. Sara Butler ("Eucharist: Theological Issues") and Denis McNamara ("The Liturgical Movement").



Not to be confused with the Liturgy Institute.

The Reform of the Liturgy and the Position of the Celebrant at the Altar by Uwe Michael Lang
Latinitatis Corpus, Reginaldo Procuratore

Consecration of Bishop Kurt R. Burnette

Video streaming by Ustream

Eparchy of Passaic
New Byzantine Catholic bishop in Passaic continues 1,000-year tradition
Fr. Kurt Burnette made head of Ruthenian Eparchy of Passaic

50 Years After Sacrosanctum Concilium

The Liturgy, Fifty Years after Sacrosanctum Concilium by Dom Alcuin Reid
NLM: Is Your Liturgy Like What Vatican II Intended? by Peter Kwasniewski
Fr. Z: 50 years ago today: BUGNINICARE!
A Council Not Yet Fully Realized by Kathleen Pluth
Sacrosanctum Concilium Turns 50

Then you get the stuff over at a certain blog...
V2-50th Anniversary III: “A Reflection on the Ecumenical Impact of Sacrosanctum Concilium“
Pray Tell Live – Massimo Faggioli Interview

Sacrosanctum Concilium

Sound Bites, Even From 'Ecclesial' Sources, Are Annoying

Vatican Radio: Laity called to more formation, greater responsibility

“The lack of formation among the laity is a real serious issue because lay people are not equipped to take their full responsibility in the Church and in the world,” said Donna Orsuto, professor of theology and lay spirituality at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

Parishes have a big responsibility to form the laity, she said, not only for service in the Church but also in civil society.

“The first thing is that we need a change of mindset,” she said. “When people come to church on Sunday, the primary commitment is to help them to be equipped to go out and share the Gospel in social, political and economic sectors and in their families. Even parish life and homilies... need to be constantly inviting lay people to be nourished by parish life but then to go out into the world and to share the Good News.”

St. Sabbas

Post by Holy Fathers.

† Our Venerable, Godbearing Father Sabbas the Sanctified (533)

DSPT: Dominican Colloquia in Berkeley: Philosophers & Theologians in Conversation
What Has Athens to Do with Jerusalem?
DSPT - Philosophy and Theology Colloquium
Dialogue between Philosophy and Theology in the 21st Century

July 16-20, 2014, Berkeley, California

Registration to begin January, 2014

St. John Damascene

The LAST Church Father: 7 things to know and share

† Our Righteous Father John of Damascus (760)

Byzantine Concert at Balamand Monastery P3: Hymns for St John of Damascus

St. John of Damascus, Doctor of Christian Art

Random:

The Counter-Attack?

Continuing the revolution started by the Consilium.

From Liturgical Press (what else?):
Beyond Pius V: Conflicting Interpretations of the Liturgical Reform by Andrea Grillo

It reminds me of Piero Marini's memoirs and his being a disciple of Bugnini - Challenging Reform: Realizing the Vision of the Liturgical Renewal, 1963-1975 - the old guard of the Pauline (and Pian?) reform.

This might be a more even-handed treatment of the current state of affairs in the Roman rite (and Pope Benedict XVI's efforts):
Care for the Church and Its Liturgy: A Study of Summorum Pontificum and the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite by William H. Johnston

The 450th Anniversary of the Council of Trent

NCR: Church Marks the 450th Anniversary of Council of Trent
The Reformation-era council has shaped the life of the Church for nearly half a millennium.

The Tridentine Masterpiece by Donald S. Prudlo

Too Romanocentric a pov? What would an Byzantine or Eastern Christian say of Trent and its response to the Protestants?

From 2011: Amateur Photographer Shoots Largest Ever True Color Photo of the Night Sky

Zenit: Council of Cardinals Begins 2nd Set of Meetings in Rome
Continues Examination of the Roman Curia, Congregation of Divine Worship

Post by Zenit News Agency.

Visually Depicting God the Father?

via ByzTx

What Is It to Think With the Church? - DSPT 2014 Convocation of the College of Fellows

Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, Berkeley, CA - Saturday, February 1, 2014 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm

AVAILABLE VIA LIVE-STREAMING
"We should not even think,” Pope Francis has said, “that ‘thinking with the church’ means only thinking with the hierarchy of the church.” What then, does it mean?
Join us in person or via live-streaming for a conversation exploring this question. Speakers include DSPT Fellows:
- Michael Naughton, Director of John A. Ryan Institute for Catholic Social Thought and Alan W. Moss Endowed Chair in Catholic Social Thought at University of St. Thomas;
- Gregory Wolfe, publisher and editor-in-chief of the journal Image, writer in residence at Seattle Pacific University, where he teaches English literature and creative writing; Founder and Director of the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at SPU;
- Richard Gallagher, Emeritus Scientist of Cancer Control Research at the British Columbia Cancer Agency and Clinical Professor at the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia.

RSVP

FB event

Cantori Gregoriani

Chiesa: Masterpieces of Gregorian Chant / A New Release in Six Tracks
The introits of the Sundays of Advent, Christmas, and the Epiphany presented on www.chiesa in a brand-new performance by one of the most distinguished choirs in the world

Masterpieces of Gregorian Chant / "Ad te levavi"
It is the introit of the first Sunday of Advent. In a brand-new performance presented to us by the "Cantori Gregoriani" and their Maestro

Faith in the Year of Faith: The Early Proposal of Joseph Ratzinger by Fr. Pablo Sarto (via Insight Scoop)

Feast of St. Andrew... Yesterday

Saint Andrew the Apostle
Pope's message to Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew trusts Francis’ visit to Jerusalem will herald a new season of ecumenical dialogue

A Greek Summa

I have not looked at De Fide Orthodoxa by St. John Damascene for some time. If a Thomistic summa were reworked so that the Trinity is covered first, then the Oneness of God, would Latin scholasticism be more palatable for the Greeks? How do the manuals of Byzantine scholasticism differ in their order of exposition from Latin scholastic manuals? What if one were to attempt to harmonize Latin theology (medieval or otherwise) with Byzantine theology in Latin and in Greek?

In a new summa, it seems that the question of scriptural interpretation would have to come in the beginning, in the treatment of Divine Revelation. And a discussion of liturgical theology would come under Divine Revelation or sources of Tradition? As well as under the topic of theology itself = theologia prima vs. theologia secunda. One of the questions at the very beginning...

Liturgy at the Jerusalem Church Metochion in Moscow

Post by Митрополит Иларион Алфеев (Metropolitan Hilarion).

Valaam - Α Step to the Skies

Theodore of Mopsuestia and his writings were declared anathema by an ecumenical council, even though the pope was reluctant to do this, preferring rather to condemn only part of his writings and leaving untouched reputation of the man(who was considered orthodox while he was alive). Was the pope's opinion on this matter a better one? After all, if excommunication primarily manifests the medicinal aspect of punishment and is a call of repentence, what point is there to anathematizing or excommunicating other than to express a strong disapproval of a person (or his teachings)? How can he be condemned after death, when he has already before the judgment seat of God but was also considered orthodox while he was alive?

Distributism for Orthodox Christians

Distributism: A Primer for Orthodox Christians

Fixing a Hole: On Distributism and Orthodoxy
Orthodox Christians Discover Distributism
Distributism in Eastern Europe
Distributism and Orthodoxy

For a Roman-rite Catholic, seeing the faithful of the Byzantine rite bowing or showing reverence to the icon of our Lord to the right of the royal doors might be a bit puzzling - the icon represents Christ but why not reverence the Blessed Sacrament or in the direction of the altar instead? Originally Christ was depicted on the wall/ceiling of the apse but gradually a depiction of the Theotokos replaced it, as the main depiction of Christ was moved to the central dome. (Correct?) It might make more sense for a Roman-rite Catholic to show reverence to the crucifix at or above the altar. How does one harmonize worshipping Christ through the icon on the iconostasis with praying East? Would it make more sense to a Roman Catholic for there to be a depiction of Christ on the apse as well? The Byzantine use of sacred space and icons in worship may be puzzling to a Roman Catholic at first, but adjusting things so that they make more sense to a Roman Catholic may not actually be better.

MoJ: Fr. Aidan Nichols, Quas Primas, the Social Kingship of Christ, etc. - Did Vatican II usher in our secular age?

From Earlier This Week

Post by Risu English.

Byzantine Liturgy at St. Peter's Basilica
Рим. 25 листопада 2013 р. Б.
Pope Francis greets Ukrainian pilgrims
UGCC Head participates in the Plenary Meeting of the Congregation of Eastern Churches

Universal not Uniform

Diversity is Not a Catholic Value by Wolfgang Grassl

For Thanksgiving

The Akathist of Thanksgiving





Psalm 135 (136)

Coffee with Sister Vassa (Thanksgiving Day / Eucharist)

Pravmir: Celebration of 78th birthday of Metropolitan Vladimir are held in Kiev

Post by Митрополит Иларион Алфеев (Metropolitan Hilarion).

MosPat photos

The Responsibility of Pius XII for the Reform of the Roman Rite

Fr. John Hunwicke: 'The Council' and the Liturgy: an alternative narrative

Links Pertaining to Liberty, The God That Failed

R. Cort Kirkwood has a review in the December issue of Chronicles.

Ryan Grant review: part 1 and part 2
James Heaney's review
John Rao interview
Forward Boldly interview
Video

NLM: The Ongoing Saga of “the Hermeneutic of Continuity” by Peter Kwasniewski

Let us be reminded of this post on Pope Francis's words on adoration and worship -
Aleteia: How Do You Solve a (Liturgical) Problem Like Maria? by Elyse Buffenbarger
If beauty and formality tells us “this matters,” its absence tells us that “this doesn’t.”

Related: The Eternal Liturgy vs. Contemporary Worship

World Over - 2013-11-21 -- Jim Caviezel EXCLUSIVE, Michael Coren, Joseph Pearce with Raymond Arroyo

Catholic Artists Society: David Clayton’s lecture – Forming the Artist, November 16, 2013 – full audio

RT: MP seeks to establish Orthodox Christianity as national Constitution basis

The Virtue and the Corporal Act

Rorate Caeli: For the record: Francis on the importance of adoration in the liturgy
"Adoration is what is most important: the whole community together look at the altar where the sacrifice is celebrated and adore"
AsiaNews

Worship & adoration - chant, ritual and so on should be customary expressions of that interior disposition. And there is also the aesthetic aspect of external worship. If it is not beautiful (founded upon logos - word and reason, not mawkish sentimentality) our reaction when it is associated with God will have deleterious effects. (It may be believed that contemporary liturgical music places a great importance on the lyrics, which often can be criticized for being very poor theologically, but it seems that its adherence to a certain musical style, which supplants the lyrics by its very form, is even more problematic.)

Two Popes, One 'Year of Faith'


Chiesa: Even the Pope Critiques Himself. And Corrects Three Errors
Rorate Caeli: Francis, writing on the Council of Trent, explicitly affirms the authority of the 'hermeneutic of reform in continuity'
Again HUGE news: Pope Francis explicitly endorses Benedict XVI’s “hermeneutic of continuity”

Rome Reports: Pope to Eastern Catholics: Never a Middle East without Christians

Good Guys Wear Black: Priest

Yesterday: “I will not resign myself to a Middle East without Christians,” says Pope Francis
Today the Pope met with representatives of the various Catholic Churches of the Eastern Rite and spoke about the need for transparency in the management of assets. “Our priests are entitled to our good example,” he added

We need more photos from the gathering.

His Beatitude Svjatoslav Shevchuk: “Ecumenism from the bottom up: Now Vatican II is coming into effect”

Now uploaded and available at Friburg: Susan Waldstein, Mercy and Self-Gift: Exploring the Intrinsic Connections Between Charles De Koninck’s Evolutionary Biology and his Theological Principles (PDF, 2.8mb)

NLM: Update on the Publication of the Opera Omnia of Thomas Aquinas by Peter Kwasniewski

What would MB make of this article? First Things: T. F. Torrance and the Latin Heresy by Douglas Farrow
Praising and critiquing one of the twentieth century’s greatest theologians.

Available to subscribers only.

IPS: Fr. Romanus Cessario, O.P.’s Tribute to Fr. Benedict Ashley, O.P.

John Tavener - Song for Athene

A New Direction for Thomism

With respect to theology - "ressourcement" Thomism may be a necessary step, but what's next after that?

What if...
Aquinas had been fluent in Greek and had access to Aristotle and the Greek Fathers in Greek? How would his theological synthesis have turned
out differently? Would his hardened Greek critics be more receptive to his work? How would Aquinas have responded to Saint Maximos the Confessor or Gregory of Palamas?

A living Thomism engaged with both the Latin and Greek theological traditions.

Are Western theological languages too tied to Latin? Could 'native' words be adapted to Greek nuances, or would we
have to use transliterated words for the vocabulary instead?

Do most of our lay academic theologians possess an adequate grasp of Greek and the Greek Fathers? Most are not even familiar with the Latin theological tradition, in Latin or in English. Theologians in religious orders may be more qualified to undertake this work, but even then, how many of them have a proper grasp of Latin and Greek? How much Greek do Dominicans study, for example?

I find it amusing now that traditionalist Roman Catholics will cite the story about the emissaries of St. Vladimir talking about the Divine Liturgy to support their claims regarding the EF of the Roman rite, when those emissaries were referring to the Byzantine Rite. In fact they were actually not impressed by what they saw when they visited the Romans and the Franks.

His feast day was just last week... Alberti Magni e-corpus.

DSPT: Theology Without Philosophy: A View From the Box-Canyon of Religious Studies by F. Russell Hittinger

Domenico Cardinal Bartolucci Has Passed

Chant Cafe: Funeral Mass for Cardinal Bartolucci, 9:30 am Eastern Time, Wednesday, November 13


NLM: Cardinal Bartolucci Interviewed on the Liturgical Reform and Sacred Music - An NLM Exclusive
(Rorate Caeli)

From 2009 - Rorate Caeli: A bombshell of an interview. Mons. Domenico Bartolucci on the liturgical reforms and the reform of the reform.

Sandro Magister: A Synod As Francis Commands

Fr. Z: “The book on Augustine which Pope Benedict would have wanted to write”… revisited.

OUP interview with the author.

Tonight Fr. David briefly touched upon involuntary sin, the concept of which was baffling to the Roman Catholics in the room - a sin which we do involuntarily? What could that mean? Fr. David emphasized that sin was not the same as culpability or guilt - which would seem to mean that with respect to involuntary sin, "sin" is being used analogically. If that is the case, and involuntary sin is a part of the Greek tradition, can we not say that the use of "sin" analogically is not foreign to the tradition? And that there is room for harmonizing the Latin teaching on original sin with the Greek tradition, on its own terms?

Joseph Shaw on the Roman Rite and the Christian East

NLM has the links: The Traditional Mass and the Christian East: A Series by Joseph Shaw of the Latin Mass Society

Brian Goodwin

Yesterday I took a look to see if anything new by him had been published; I found out he had passed away in 2009.



A Tribute at Schumacher College




A course at Schumacher College.






Coherence

AICN: IN SATURN'S RINGS is dedicated to Carl Sagan and Stanley Kubrick... here's its trailer!

Whispers in the Loggia: "Be Witnesses" – As Francis Looms Large, The Nuncio Upstages Elvis

Sir John Tavener: Mother of God, here I stand - Exultate Singers

Eternal Memory.



Orpheus Complex: We Must Always Keep Our Orthodox Roots: An Interview with Sir John Tavener
Sell Cleverness, Buy Wonder: The Music of Sir John Tavener

Vatican Radio: Pope Meets With Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Hilarion

Nikodimos Kabarnos in Spain

info about the concert

Ross Douthat on the New Pontificate Thus Far

NYT: The Francis Era: Synthesis or Civil War?

Roman Catholics want more? Where is the ressourcement they should be embracing?

Related:
The Synod’s three paths for remarried divorcees
“Müller cannot stop discussions” relating to remarried divorcees

CRC: The truth about the Saint Peter's tomb

Related: Peter’s relics to be officially exhibited for the first time

A Jesuit, Not a Franciscan

Cheisa: The Unfinished Symphony of the Composer Francis

The conversation begun by the pope in "La Civiltà Cattolica" continues in many voices. Here are two examples: an authoritative clarification on Bergoglio the "mystic" and the open letter of a New York theologian

SVOTS: Surprise Announcements at 75th Anniversary Gala - more photos

Eclectic Orthodoxy: The Iconic and the Apophatic: Charles Williams and the Two Ways

Cardinal Ratzinger on the Liturgical Crisis and Crisis of the Faith

From an old The World Over interview:



The full interview:

TAC: Dr. Ronald P. McArthur: Essays & Videos

Mospat: Metropolitan Hilarion celebrates the Divine Liturgy in the Russian general consulate in Busan

The Jesus Prayer The Monastic Choir of the Valaam Monastery

The Divine Liturgy in the Greek Orthodox Rite (Narrated in English)

Rome Reports: Is Latin making a comeback? Vatican launches Latin journal

Post by Vatican Radio - English Section.

Educated Latins should know Latin and Greek; some should even study Aramaic.

Rome Reports: Vatican will display relics of St. Peter for first time ever, to mark end of the Year of Faith

The Jewish Roots of Orthodox Christian Worship

(via Byzantine Texas)

Eastern Christian Books: Prayers from the East - Lights From the East: Pray for Us

Holy Transfiguration Monastery:

Post by Holy Transfiguration Monastery, the Monks of Mount Tabor.

First Things: Eastern Orthodox Unity by Ivan Plis

Garrigou-Lagrange & Leibnitz? by Steven Long (via Edward Feser)

Should We Be Worried Yet?

I try not to pay attention to what's going on in Rome these days; the traditionalists and others are concerned because of what is being reported here: The Council's "Unfinished Business," The Church's "Return to Jesus"... and Dreams of "The Next Pope" – A Southern Weekend with Francis' "Discovery Channel"

Rod Dreher reacts. (He links to John Zmirak's and Fr. Dwight Longenecker's responses as well.)

Related:
The side of Ratzinger "Ratzingerians" forgot about

Catholic Exchange: The Biblical Roots of the Sign of the Cross by Stephen Beale

The Imaginative Conservative: Finding Wisdom: Orthodox Monasticism by Stratford Caldecott

Dominican House of Studies Releases CD

"In Medio Ecclesiae"


OP East
New Liturgical Movement
Rorate Caeli
Chant Cafe

Rorate Caeli: Documenting the journey of Marcel Lefebvre

Where to find a good, portable copy of the scriptures in Greek? Someone associated with GOARCH would probably know the publishers.?

Ain't It Cool: Copernicus On The Science Of GRAVITY!!

SVOTS: “For The Life of the World” Conference Explores Fr. Alexander Schmemann's Celebrated Work

Contemplative Shock Troops: Dominican Renewal after Vatican II by Br. Thomas Aquinas Pickett, O.P. o

Vatican Insider: “Reform is going to go deep” by Alver Metalli
Chilean cardinal Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa - one of the members of Francis’ eight-member advisory Council - guarantees this

LAT: Science has lost its way, at a big cost to humanity
Researchers are rewarded for splashy findings, not for double-checking accuracy. So many scientists looking for cures to diseases have been building on ideas that aren't even true.

The Raven: "Year of Faith" Celebrations at St. Elias

The Raven: "Year of Faith" Celebrations at St. Elias: Bishop Stephen was here for Hierarchical Divine Liturgy marking our Eparchy-wide conclusion of Year of Faith and 1025th Anniversary of Bapti...

Representative of the reaction of Latin Catholics to Fr. Taft's interview from earlier this year? The combox for Reunion not a “Return to Rome”: On Catholic-Orthodox Ecumenism.

OP East: All Saints Vigil: Twentieth-Century Saints and Sanctity

Another Torrell Book in Translation

Published by Paulist! PRIESTLY PEOPLE: Baptismal Priesthood and Priestly Ministry

Vaitcan Insider: Pell dismisses traditionalist leader's attack on Pope

Zenit: Summit of the Oriental Churches of the Middle East Announced For November

Is to think that one should be free from sadness a feeling of entitlement or its result, only a symptom of narcissism or disordered self-love? Is sadness an evil, not just a sensible reaction to some evil or to a privation/deprivation? (Let us focus exclusively on the privation of necessary goods, rather than what is superfluous. We would not feel sad if we did not attain something we desired that was not truly necessary for our well-being.) Did God desire for us to feel or experience sadness? In a creation rightly ordered, would there be sadness? Everyone would be acting virtuously, and there would be no physical evils. There is no feeling or experience of sadness in heaven. What of feeling sad because of social discord or enmity? Are friends luxuries rather than a good that is necessary to us and our flourishing?

Pravmir: What the Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council Have Done For Our Salvation and Sanctification by Archimandrite John Krestiankin (+2006)

Holy Mass for the Family Day in the Year of Faith

Vatican Radio: Pope Francis Presents 2013 Ratzinger Prize

Byzantine Studies Association of North America (BSANA) FB: ·

It is a great pleasure to announce to the members of the Byzantine Studies Association an upcoming conference, titled "Lives, Relics, and Beneficial Tales in Byzantium and Beyond", organized in honor of John Duffy, Emeritus Professor of Byzantine Philology and Literature in the Department of the Classics at Harvard University, and Senior Fellow in Byzantine Studies at Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. With the generous support of the Department of the Classics and Dumbarton Oaks, we have brought together ten speakers who will offer papers on a topic that has been a great research interest of John's for much of his career.

The conference will take place at Harvard on Friday, November 8, and Saturday, November 9. The event is free and open to the public. In addition to the scheduled papers, there will be a celebratory reception at the Harvard Faculty Club on Friday, November 8, from 5:30-7 p.m, where all participants are warmly invited to join us in raising a glass to John, a valued scholar and teacher in the field of Byzantine Studies, and a much-loved member of the Harvard community.

Attached please find the conference program. To monitor any updates or changes to the schedule, please check the website of the Department of the Classics at Harvard (http://classics.fas.harvard.edu/), where final program information will be available closer to the event through the "announcements" sidebar. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me by email (Sarah_Insley@brown.edu) or Saskia Dirkse (sdirkse@fas.harvard.edu).

Oxford University Byzantine Society: International Graduate Conference 2014 - The City & the cities: From Constantinople to the frontier
28th February – 1st March 2014

Q&A Session with Archimandrite Gabriel

Pravmir. A continuation of what was posted here.

James Chastek: The Trinity understood through typical male-female corruptions

Masculinity corrupts the self by seeking to subordinate everything to itself: the male self is the one that seeks to be utterly set apart with all beneath him, gazing upward in admiration. There is, however, a contrary corruption of the self that is more typical of the feminine: namely to so identify with the expectations and beliefs of the group that any personal desire is altogether lost. One of the dark sides of the feminine traits we praise is that, when pushed to an extreme, they all lead to a dissolution of the self through an identity with others. Empathy with others carries to the extent of loss of the self; tenderness of affection leads to an ontological softness that blurs any distinction between self and other.

This might be true of some married women of the previous generation, their total "giving" to their children; but I have not seen any examples of this not accompanied by a neglect of the marriage and their husbands. Such seeming "self-giving" can actually be a form of disordered self-love.

Even the herd thinking that exemplifies contemporary feminism is tied to modern narcissism, etc.

There are distinct forms of male and female pride; male pride is discussed here, but female pride, which is a more characteristic vice of women, is not.

Benedictine Monks on Athos in the XXth century by Fr Antoine Lambrechts (Chevetogne, Belgium)

Vitaly Permiakov on the Meaning and Structure of the All-night Vigil

10.13.13. Meaning and structure of the All-night Vigil. Lecture by Vitaly Permiakov

MYOCN: Comparing the Oriental Orthodox Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church (mp3)

Pravmir: The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony by Protopresbyter John Meyendorff

Robert Louis Wilken, "The Church's Way of Speaking"

First Things

The unique gift of liturgy, Roman Guardini wrote in his Spirit of the Liturgy, is to “create a universe brimming with fruitful spiritual life.” Liturgy does not “exist for the sake of humanity, but for the sake of God.” If the Bible is the lexicon of Christian speech, then the liturgy is its grammar, a place to come to know and practice the Christian idiom and to be formed by it. For Augustine, the reciting of the Psalms was a way of making the words of the psalmist his own, and he talked about what the words of the Psalms “had done to me.”

Pravmir: In search of a spiritual pearl. St. Isaac the Syrian and his works. Presentation by Metropolitan Hilarion at the First International Patristics Conference of the Ss. Cyril and Methodius Theological Institute of Post-Graduate Studies St. Isaac the Syrian and His Spiritual Legacy

Interview with Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev

Без галстука: с митрополитом Иларионом

East of Byzantium

website, blog, FB

While I am not in accord with traditionalist Roman Catholic ecclesiology and their understanding of Tradition, I can see why the most recent news pertaining to the Franciscans of the Immaculate would be cause for worry: The purging and exile of traditionalists. Are the Orthodox paying attention to Pope Francis's actions towards traditionalist Roman Catholics?

A Round-up of Stuff Pertaining to the La Civiltà Cattolica Interview with Pope Francis

Christopher Blosser (via Pertinacious Papist)

Conférence liturgie et foi par le R.P. Crignon F.S.V.F.

The Bishop of Rome as the Teacher of the Universal Church

The consequences of always aiming for a global audience?

U.S.: Conservative Catholics not convinced by Bergoglio's approach

Growth of the Papal Office

Robert Louis Wilken, The First Thousand Years: "The Council of Sardica ended in schism, with each side excommunicating the other, but its significance in the history of the papacy far outstrips the ecclesiastical wars of the fourth century. For the bishops gathered there adopted a set of canons affirming that the bishop of Rome would have the privilege of serving as a court of appeal. That is, Rome acquired what has been called "appellate jurisdiction": the right to adjudicate disputes among other bishops. The term 'appellate' is significant; Rome was called upon to act as judge, not as teacher. Only in the fifth century did Rome begin to see itself charged with responsibility to instruct the church at large." (166-7)

Though he became Catholic, Wilken gives a short (too short, in my opinion) summary of the changes in how the bishops of Rome conceived of their role with respect to the Church Universal during the first millenium. He should write a history and development of the papacy as well. The implications of such a history for the ongoing dialogue between Catholic and Orthodox cannot be overstated, since this was what the next step requires.

The Role of the Bishop of Rome in the Communion of the Church in the First Millennium
Joint Coordinating Committee for the Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church
Aghios Nikolaos, Crete, Greece, September 27 - October 4, 2008

"The Pope Is the First Among the Patriarchs." Just How Remains to Be Seen

The teaching role of the bishop of Rome, apart from an ecumenical council, with respect to the Church Universal has consequences on how we are to understand papal infallibility.

UGCC Head: It is important that all European bishops realize that Europe breathes through two lungs: that of the Eastern and the Western Church

The Papal Resignation by Roberto de Mattei

I think I've posted this before, either here or elsewhere. I think it is representative of what traditionalist Catholics think of the papacy, and how it is tied to an ultramontane conception of the office, even though they would seek to limit the damage caused by an understanding of canon law that is explained by legal positivism, or even of a papacy that is opposed to 'tradition.'

Rod Dreher: Bishop Fellay Lets Pope Francis Have It

Father David Petras Explains Why Be a Byzantine Catholic

Communio

Edit. Some have been critical of his credibility given his involvement in liturgical reform for the Ruthenian ("Byzantine Catholic") churches.

Pravmir: The Three Ages of the Spiritual Life
Schema-Archimandrite Gabriel (Bunge)

video

Romano Guardini

Did some Goggling on him... found the following to be of interest:

David Foote, Romano Guardini - The Essence of a Catholic Worldview

Silvano Zucal, The Intellectual Relationship between Joseph Ratzinger and Romano Guardini

Sandro Magister links to another essay by Silvano Zucal Benedict XVI Has a Father, Romano Guardini

Guardini's The Spirit of the Liturgy is available online - (no clue about the quality of the translation)

John Allen, Benedict's Final Theologian Quote

Apparently Jorge Bergoglio is a fan as well.

The Divine Liturgy of the Armenian Apostolic Church

Sandro Magister: Alms and Liturgy. How Francis Wants Them
He has sent his almoner to Lampedusa, among the refugees. He has plunged into dismay the lovers of tradition. The call of alarm of a "Ratzingerian" liturgist

Authentic Pluralism, Diversity, and Multiculturalism

Rome Reports: Our differences make the Church beautiful: Pope Francis during General Audience

New TAC Vid

Divine Filiation

Province of St. Joseph
Chant Cafe

KEYNOTE ADDRESS ARCHBISHOP J. AUGUSTINE DI NOIA, O.P. Vice President of the Pontifical Commission, Ecclesia Dei from Aaron Huisman on Vimeo.

Sandro Magister, Encyclicals Have a New Format: The Interview

It is the modality preferred by Pope Francis for speaking to the faithful and to the world. With all of the risks of the instance. Pietro De Marco analyzes critically the first acts of this “magisterium”

Regina Magazine: The Fast-Growing Friars
The Eastern Province of the Dominicans

Sandro Magister, The Francis Transformation

He has unveiled the true program of his pontificate in two interviews and a letter to an atheist intellectual. With respect to the popes who preceded him the separation appears ever more clear. In words and in deeds

(Rorate Caeli)

Five Appointments Made to Pope's Liturgical Celebrations Office (4141)

The office plans the ceremonies of papal liturgies.


From 2008: New appointments mark bold papal move for Liturgical reform

Fr. Thomas Hopko: Women Readers in the Divine Liturgy (mp3) (see also The Apostle Reading - mp3)

Byzantine, Texas: The Church and wedding vows

Vocations Weekend for the Western Province

November 1-3

Post by Western Dominican Province.

Catherine de Hueck Doherty - A Bridge Between East and West - Fr. Bob Wild

The Remnant on Pope Francis

Chris Ferrera

Vatican II: Recalling Our Past, Looking To Our Future
Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Second Vatican Council

Public Lectures Series
The academic year 2013-2014 brings with it a fresh lecture series to celebrate Vatican II. John Baldovin, S.J., will speak on Vatican II and the Renewal of Liturgy on October 16, 2013. For more information on this upcoming lecture, view the event's page.

BC prof.

Pravmir: St. Vladimir's Seminary Founded 75 Years Ago Today

Video from the Book Launch

Book Launch: "Saint Francis de Sales, Life and Spirit" by Fr. Joseph Boenzi, SDB

Eagle Eye Ministries - Life on the Rock

Fr. Mark and Doug welcome Fr. Nathan Cromly of Eagle Eye Ministries, to discuss their focus on Christian charity as a giving of oneself and living it out through "prayer, study, fraternal charity and apostolic serive."

Song for Wisdom

Vultus Christi: Blessed Columba Marmion

MoJ: "Pragmatic Eudaimonism"

Pope Against Pope? by Joshua Gonnerman

April 27 for Canonizations of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II

Edward Pentin

More:
Vatican News
Rome Reports

Medievalists.net: New book examines the controversy over clerical marriage in the Middle Ages

I have not yet read the thesis by Fr. Maximos Davies on involuntary sin, but I am curious whether it might be related to what I have been thinking about formal and material cooperation and "structural" or "social" sin.

The Imaginative Conservative: Male and Female Souls by Stratford Caldecott

"If the soul is the “form” of the body, one might assume that masculinity and femininity are characteristics of the soul before they are of the body."

Characteristics of the soul? I don't like the wording here, though I agree with the point he is making - being "female" or "male" is not outside of the soul.

"It seems to me that not enough attention was given to the fact that in Genesis 3:16 man’s ruling over woman is identified as a consequence of the Fall, rather than as part of the original order of things."

Ruling over women? Or lording it over women like the gentiles?

Why use "gender" instead of "sex"?

Would we say that Dr. Caldecott is trapped in the categories of late 20th ce thought?

Rorate Caeli: Traditionalism and academic censorship - a personal experience and a very grave episode by Dr. John Lamont

Forget that it is an academic journal; the editors might argue that it is a Catholic theological journal and must be held to different standards, in which case is there a danger of causing scandal or harm to the reputation of the journal if they were to publish an article by someone who is publicly associated with the SSPX?

Apparently there are some complaints about the editorial choices made by the American edition of Nova et Vetera concerning traditionalist perspectives. Will try to catch up and write a few thoughts on traditionalists tomorrow.

Chinese Philosophy Lifts Off in America by Carlin Romano

(via Warp, Weft, and Way)

NCRegister: Benedict XVI Publicly Responds to Atheist’s Critique

CSMonitor: Why it matters that Jews are standing on the Temple Mount by Christa Case Bryant
Jews are increasingly staking a claim to the Muslim-controlled Temple Mount, testing the Israeli government's resolve to avoid conflict by protecting Muslim sovereignty over the site.

The Fifth Marian Dogma: The Church’s Unused Weapon by Dr. Mark Miravalle and Richard L. Russell

Properly understood, it would not cause difficulties for Protestants (probably) or Orthodox, but is it an opportune moment to exercise papal infallibility through a dogmatic definition again? And would it really do much to solve the practical problems within the Roman Catholic churches?

Padre Pio - Celebrates the Eucharist

Philosophical Knowledge of God - Most Rev. Charles Morrerod

There are some fretting over the content of Pope Francis's interview that was published this week. Some of the bloggers write for free, but what about those for websites like Patheos?

The Order and Thomism in the Service of the Church's Intellectual Life and Universal Mission

Pravmir: Getting Married at the Bottom of the World: Trinity Church in Antarctica

Some more info.

Norcia: From Silence to Love by Fr. Cassian DiRocco, O.S.B.

OP: Holy Father Receives Master of Order

Risu: LVIV CELEBRATES 650TH ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN CATHEDRAL - photos

A Movie on the Council of Nicaea?

Website

A Catholic Case Against MOOCs by Jonathan Malesic

Fr. Michael Plekon on Fr. Lev Gillet

Jacob's Well: Father Lev Gillet: The Monk in the City, a Pilgrim in many worlds

Troparion of the Holy Cross in different languages

Troparion of the Holy Cross in different languages


Troparion of the Holy Cross (by SEM and Vatopedi Choirs)

"The Church as Societas Perfecta in the Schemata of Vatican I" by Patrick Granfield
From 1979 - anything more recent featuring Tametsi Deus?

An Impatient Patience: Achieving Orthodox Unity and Canonical Normalization in the West

Ancient Faith Radio podcast - mp3

Collecting some thoughts on indulgences and whether popular strains of Latin spirituality have become too focused on them, replacing communion with God with a form of works righteousness that may be orthodox with respect to God's initiative and our complete dependence upon His grace, and yet nonetheless promotes a tit-for-tat or transactional relationship with God.

Long week, no time even for a perfunctory link...

I usually don't post from America Magazine...

A School for Eastern Christians
September 9-16, 2013 Podcast - mp3

James McCann, S.J., talks about the work of the Pontifical Oriental Institute and how the school's students have been affected by the turmoil in the Middle East. This interview was recorded in May 2013.

Another From Nathaniel McCallum

Orthodoxy & Heterodoxy: Original Sin and Ephesus: Carthage’s Influence on the East

Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom at the 2013 Napa Institute Conference

Thanks to EWTN.


Celebrants: Rt. Rev. Mitered Protopresbyter Andriy Chirovsky, Fr. David Anderson, Fr. Ted Wroblicky, and Fr. James Bankston, along with Deacon Alex Wroblicky and Deacon Sabatino Carnazzo.


Related:
Fabric of faith: Many wear their religion – literally – on their sleeves

Pope Francis: Prayer Vigil for Atonement

Monachesimo PERFECTIO CONVERSATIONIS

DSPT: Book Launch: "Saint Francis de Sales, Life and Spirit" by Fr. Joseph Boenzi, SDB
Wednesday, October 2, 7.30 pm

DeSales Resource and Ministries

Chiesa: Peace Made Between Müller and Gutiérrez. But Bergoglio Isn't Falling For It

Ancient Prayer: Simple Guidelines on Saying the Jesus Prayer

Philip Jenkins: Syria's Christians Risk Eradication

NCReg: Report: Pope Francis Says John Paul II to Be Canonized April 27

Fr. Andrew Damick: The Acceptable Year of the Lord: Time and Orthodox Christianity (Sermon Sept. 1, 2013). (mp3)

The Dominican Charism

Order of Preachers Vocations

An Example of East Meets West in the New World

New Mexico, specifically - Orthodox Arts Journal: Recent Design Work for Orthodox New Mexico

All Saints of North America (OCA) in Albuquerque
St. Michael the Archangel (OCA) in Canones, NM

Aleteia: Windows to Eternity: Decoding the Symbolism in the Icon Tradition by Karen Andrews

Rome Reports: Pope Francis names Spanish priest as Vatican City's number two man

Chiesa: Vatican Diary / Another Venetian at the top, after more than three centuries

Jeffrey Tucker on Msgr. Schuler

The Hero of the Mighty Musical Struggle

America Magazine: Readings: The Real Bergoglio

Orthodox Arts Journal: Seat of Wisdom by Jonathan Pageau

(see also Can Statuary Act as Icon? by Aidan Hart)

Rorate Caeli Review of John Senior's Posthumously Published Last Book

Rorate book review: The Remnants

Gotta get a copy.

CNN: Greenland Megacanyon

Andrew Louth's Introductory Book on Orthodoxy

Introducing Eastern Orthodox Theology

Eastern Christian Books: Andrew Louth on Orthodoxy

Related:
ACEOT: Eastern Orthodox Theology: a Personal Introduction
NOT ANOTHER INTRODUCING ORTHODOXY BOOK!
londinoupolis
A Vow of Conversation

Coffee with Sister Vassa (September 2)

(via Byzantine, Texas)

the YT channel

Seems like this will be a weekly feature.

Vatican Insider: That modernist "heretic" friend of Pope John XXIII’s

Beauty, Chant Bring Life to Monastery

Via the Monks of Norcia:

Vatican Radio: Pope Francis celebrates Saint Augustine

The Ignatius Press edition of Restless Heart should be available on DVD soon, in both "theatrical" and "extended" (or original uncut) versions.

Related:
Order of Preachers Vocations: In Praise of the Rule of St. Augustine