"Error Has No Rights"

The Last Laugh of Alfredo Ottaviani by George Weigel
Cardinal Ottaviani Responds to George Weigel by Peter Crenshaw

MosPat: Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem venerates the shrines of Valamo Monastery’s Cathedral of the Holy Transfiguration

Sandro Magister: Even Peter Puts His Money in the Bank

The objectives of the Holy See in the financial field and the future of the IOR, in an address by Pope Francis and in a report by the Vatican supervisory authority

The Common Good and Scale

Thaddeus Kozinski and James Chastek respond to the Robert George-Michael Hannon debate on the common good. Maybe I will eventually write my own post, which will be a rehash of things I've already written before...

Thomas Aquinas: A Portrait

Yale University Press

Thomistica.net: Denys Turner on Aquinas the materialist

I hope a [prominent] Dominican will write a book review. Aidan Nichols's Discovering Aquinas uses the same painting for its cover as well; someone should be drawing icons of St. Thomas Aquinas, whether in imitation of Fra Angelico or not.

The Telegraph: Pope Francis shunned official papal apartments to live 'normal life'

Cappella Romana - Lament for the Fall of Constantinople

Symposium: THE NATURE AND ROLE OF DEACONS, OR THE FULLNESS OF PRIESTHOOD

The author advances the following:

"The bishop possesses the fullness of the priestly ministry, while those he ordains priest act vicariously on his behalf – analogous to being his hands at the Altar – and the deacons something more like his feet, as they go into the highways and byways in search of the poor and those in need."

So - is the diaconate distinguished by its ministry of works of mercy? Or, is it distinguished rather by their preaching? (the thesis advanced by another author)

A explanation of the curriculum at St. John's College: Reflections on St. John’s College: The Conservative Contrarian

Vatican News: Pope Francis on “rethinking solidarity” at Centesimus Annus conference

Fondazione Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice

Chiesa: Vatican Diary / The identity cards of the last two popes

Zenit: Pope Francis Celebrates Sunday Mass at Roman Parish
Parishioners Moved by Pontiff's Visit on Solemnity of the Holy Trinity

Reaction at Rorate Caeli: Trinity Sunday's papal Mass: liturgical note

"Reality Is Seen from the Suburbs"


Are Italian suburbs as disordered as American ones? Less or equally unsustainable? And should they be included in the same diocese as the urban "core" or center?

Still, Pope: Culture of economic comfort deprives us of closeness to the Lord

“Culture of economic wellbeing and attraction towards the provisional prevent us from following Jesus”
Francis said this during this morning’s mass in St. Martha’s House, co-celebrated with the Archbishop of Lyon, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin

Leitourgia: Book review: The Typikon Decoded by Archimandrite Job Getcha (St. Vladimir's Seminary Press)

A book that I've been meaning to get...

God and Cosmological Fine-Tuning - Robert J. Spitzer, PhD

CNA: Papal encyclicals expected on faith and poverty, bishop reveals

CNS: Icons: A creation story

The Unknown Mission of Sts. Cyril and Methodius by Sergei Milov
An interview with Anatoly Arkadyevich Turilov

io9: If Earth Had a Ring Like Saturn

Elder Zacharias regarding the Spiritual Life

Should Pro-Lifers Be Anti-Death? by John Zmirak
Defending the innocent doesn't mean foregoing justice

What Is It?

Huge submerged mystery structure in Sea of Galilee stumps dry-docked Israeli archaeologists
Ancient Structure Under Sea of Galilee

Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia on Elder Sophrony of Essex

Metropolitan Kallistos Ware - Orthodox Catholic Relations

From Feb. 2011

Photographs of various Byzantine-rite monasteries (most of which are Orthodox, one is Catholic) taken by Father Anthony Falsarella: Father Anthony's Monastery Journal

A Conversation on the Philokalia with Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware)

Renewing the Presence of Love in the World (Metropolitan Merkury of Rostov and Novocherkassk)

This is not because God is retreating from us. God’s presence among people is becoming impoverished because people are not open to God and to one another; man’s will often opposes God’s will and he is not in a condition to accept God in his life. This is because, by accepting God in his life, man accepts an enormous responsibility before both God and his neighbors. It is much easier to live irresponsibly, because nothing will disturb you apart from your own evil, your own personal pleasures, needs, and prosperity. When one’s entire human core is directed towards this, then of course one becomes removed from God, since one is not in a condition to accept God in one’s life. Accepting God into oneself means that one will have to change the vicious structure of one’s life.

If we do not seek to live in friendship with others, we should understand that this is not "normal" but rather a sickness that requires an intervention by the Divine Physician. Most people are not completely anti-social, but they do need to open their hearts more to those around them.

Dr. Marcus Plested: Aquinas, between East and West.

He is the author of Orthodox Readings of Aquinas.

Graduate Christian Union, University of Oxford

The Feast of Pentecost

Holy Resurrection Monastery Divine Liturgy at IRL Event Mundelein, Illinois

Bright Friday


The homily has sparked some controversy on FB.

My comment on the use of intellectual history:

"Too often intellectual history is used (poorly) as a substitute for real philosophy/theology - and in the case of theology, what is needed is an engagement with the sources and authorities so that these are understood well. Undoubtedly a good Latin theologian familiar with the various schools or traditions in Western Christendom will dispute the points made in Abbot Nicholas's homily, and I personally think it might have been better if he had refrained from attempting a comparison within the homily, and just focused on the "positive." But as someone who seeks to bring healing, he may have felt justified in making this correction, though we would disagree with his diagnosis."

Vultus Christi: Cenobites, Anchorites, Sarabites, and Gyrovagues (via Tea at Trianon)

More New Offerings from Angelico Press

I had not noticed that these were available, in addition to the latest from Stratford Caldecott -

Behold the Heritage: Foundations of Education in the Dominican Tradition by Sister Matthew Marie Cummings (Editor), O.P., Sister Elizabeth Anne Allen, O.P.
Our Way and Our Life: Christ in His Mysteries by Blessed Columba Marmion
With Christ - An Anthology of the Writings of Blessed Columba Marmion

A review of one of the last book: Catholic Thursday: With Christ - An Anthology of the Writings of Blessed Columba Marmion

Apparently no one has republished his Christ, the Ideal of the Monk yet.

It looks like the company is distributing works by Wolfgang Smith. (I don't think it is republishing them.) Here is one:
Ancient Wisdom and Modern Misconceptions: A Critique of Contemporary Scientism by Wolfgang Smith

Vatican Inside: Bartholomew says he felt “moved” by his meeting with Pope Francis

One to One: Picture of the Day: East Meets West by Greg Kandra

Cardinal Cleemis Mar Baselios, major archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Church, visits with Cardinal Timothy Dolan...

Teaching the Natural Sciences

James Chastek, Classical education and the math/science problem

Re: teaching the natural sciences - I have not seen Dr. Rizzi's textbook yet - it might be useful for secondary level students. I think beyond learning the general principles of the natural sciences, students should become familiar with living things that are relevant to their own lives - animals and plants they eat, and so on. As for non-living things - some knowledge of certain chemicals/substances, but any modelling will be educated opinion. Even the use of experiments may lead only to educated opinion, at best, and so we should probably resign ourselves to the limits to the knowledge we who do not have the laboratory or materials can obtain through the analysis to elements, etc.



A book has been written based on his text - First Physics, by Murray Daw. (St. Augustine's Press)

Just saw this blog, again - no recent entries - Real Physics TM.

And something pertinent to this post - Ite Ad Thomam: Dr. Romero's Translation of Hugon's Cosmology Now in Print!!!

Medievalists.net: Medieval Academy of America rocked by resignations of Executive Directors

What future for medieval studies in Uhmerica?

Orthodoxy & Heterodoxy: “Who is a Christian?”: A Discussion with Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick on Ancient Faith Today - podcast

Les Béatitudes - Chœur Des Moines De Chevetogne

Fox News: Stunning Byzantine mosaic uncovered in Israel

This has been making the rounds today on FB: Infant Communion: The Ancient Western Tradition

Pater Noster: 10 Lessons the Orthodox Church can learn from their rapprochement with the Miaphysites

Byzantine, TX

Fr. Phillips's Introduction to Holy Scripture

Interview with Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk

Salt and Light TV


He will be coming to California for this year's Napa Institute summer conference, along with Bishop Borys Gudziak.

Pope Tawadros II Visits Pope Francis

Zenit: Historic Meeting Takes Place Between Pope Francis and Coptic Pope Tawadros II
Emphasize Promotion of Ecumenical Dialogue Between Both Churches

Pope Francis' Address to Coptic Pope Tawadros II

Coptic Pope proposes to celebrate feast for Catholics and Coptic Christians on May 10


Previously...
Pope Francis to meet with Coptic Orthodox pope, Tawadros II, to mark key anniversary

MosPat: Metropolitan Hilarion celebrates Paschal service at the church of the ‘Joy to All the Afflicted” Icon of the Mother of God

"Concelebrating were schema-archimandrite Gabriel (Bunge) from the Korsun diocese..."

Marriage and Celibacy

Eastern Catholic Spiritual Renewal: I Dream of Celibacy
OCN: Sacrament of Marriage - mp3

A Rebuttal to Archimandrite Taft

CWR: "Sister Churches": A Clarification by Michael J. Miller

And an Orthodox responds to some remarks made by Pope Francis: Pope Francis: Without me there is no Church

MoJ: Catholicism and Liberalism: Raz or Rawls?

Law's Virtues: Exploring the Tensions Between Laws and Values in the United States

Vatican Insider: Pope Francis is attached to traditional devotions and is not afraid to show it

Κυριε εκεκραξα

Angelico Publishes Another Book by Stratford Caldecott

Stratford Caldecott, The Radiance of Being: Dimensions of Cosmic Christianity

The Imaginative Conservative has an excerpt.

From Public Discourse:
Truth, Responsibility, and Love
by Ryan T. Anderson on May 6th, 2013
The Regent University 2013 Commencement Address, delivered May 4, 2013.

After Beauty
by Mark Signorelli on May 3rd, 2013
Just as our culture’s rejection of an essential human nature wreaked havoc on our moral thought, so too our rejection of the concept of form has made our artwork incoherent.

All Things Made New: Announcing a new book
Second Spring

A New Book by Lauren Pristas

Which will feature much of her previously published material on the collects of the Roman rite. Chant Cafe: An Item for the Book Budget

Pravmir: Encyclical for Holy Pascha of Patriarch Bartholomew
Paschal Message of His Holiness Kirill Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew: Orthodox Easter Resurrection: The Gift of Liberation and Call to Compassion [HuffPo]
Encyclical of Archbishop Demetrios for Holy Pascha
Paschal Message of His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon
Paschal Message of His Eminence Hilarion Metropolitan of Eastern and America
Paschal Letter of His Beatitude John X, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East

CWR: Benedict and Francis: A Lesson in Apostolic Continuity

Is it possible to acquire the virtue of obedience if one's expression of masculinity has been inhibited or deformed?

Христос воскрес!

KoC: "Our Eastern Brothers"

An interview with Archbishop Stefan Soroka about Eastern Catholicism, Orthodoxy and traditions by Alton J. Pelowski

CWR: Pope Francis: “There can be no dialogue with the prince of this world”

There has been some discussion of whether the requirement for clerical celibacy will be relaxed in the Roman rite (i.e. the Patriarchate of Rome). Some may saythat for an increase in vocations prayer, penance, and sacrifice, along with the presence of an "orthodox" bishop (with a seminary and vocations director to back him up) suffice. But if the local Church is to be instantiated according to a more human scale (1 priest per 150 families, let's say), will there be enough priests?

A Calvinist Responds to Feser and Kozinski

via TK: TWO ENDS OR TWO KINGDOMS? by Peter Escalante

Related: “We Hold These Truths to be Self-Evident”: A Dialogue

Cardinal Newman Society: New Book Features Pope Benedict XVI's Talks on Education and Culture

Rome Reports: Pope welcomes Benedict XVI to the Vatican


Zenit: Pope Francis' Reform

In the West, the new evangelization and renewal of the local Church must involve the renewal of communal life in the parishes. This cannot happen until a proper and concerted response to the modern nation-state, and the political economy upon which it is built, especially its gradually assumed dependence upon cheap energy, is undertaken by Christians - I believe this response will include a movement towards voluntary simplicity.

Shopping Our Way to Sustainability - Really?
Ready for Rationing? Why We Should Put the Brakes on Consumption If We Want to Survive
Mutual Aid Medical Care

Fr. Janko Zagar, O.P. Passes

A Model of Dominican Life

Wipf and Stock have reprinted his book, Acting on Principles, available. (The editor is Fr. Augustine.)

More from George Weigel

First Things: The Bishop of Rome as Christian Radical by George Weigel

One More for the Medieval Geek

The classical trivium: the place of Thomas Nashe in the learning of his time by Marshall McLuhan (his Ph.D. dissertation)

Someone posted a link to an essay which referenced McLuhan in its discussion of the trivium and how various authors differed as to the importance of rhetoric. I wasn't sure if I could find the link again, but I did - Thinking Trivially about Radical Orthodoxy. I had forgotten McLuhan had converted to Catholicism.

eighth day books blog

DSPT: Book Launch: “Unlocking Divine Action: Contemporary Science and Thomas Aquinas” by Fr. Michael Dodds, OP

Video of the presentation is now available:

Feast of St. Joseph the Worker

CWR: Full text: Pope Francis’ Wednesday Audience address on the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker
“Work is fundamental to the dignity of a person.”

CWR Interview with Fr. Taft

CWR: Building Bridges Between Orthodox and Catholic Christians by Christopher B. Warner
An interview with Archimandrite Robert Taft, SJ, prominent Byzantine liturgical theologian and lifelong healer of Christian relations between East and West