Saturday, February 28, 2015
Psychosomatic Unity Realized in Prayer
Stand, Bow, Prostrate: The Prayerful Body of Coptic Christianity
Coptic monastics were indeed wary of the hesychastic practices of the Jesus Prayer that developed later in the Eastern churches, and it may seem that such suspicion is somehow a teaching against engaging the body in formalized asceticism – for example, of sitting in silence and using the recommended breathing exercises. Yet the suspicion of hesychastic practice is not, in fact, a suspicion of the use of the body in prayer, but instead simply a rejection of the complicated system of hesychasm. Fr. Matta el-Meskeen, for instance, in his book on Orthodox Prayer Life, comments that hesychasm made the method of unceasing prayer lose its former simplicity. He claims that the method of unceasing prayer “shifted from its ascetical position as a humbling practice by itself to a mystical position, with programs, stipulations, technical and mechanical bases, degrees, objectives, results…”[4] Instead, he prefers the simplicity of praying while working and in common human duties, which is likewise a practice found in both Eastern and Western Christian monasticism, stating that this allows for God to share in human work, and helps the person to discern God’s calling in regards to work.[5] It is believed that work by itself does not help to save a monk or nun from distractions and temptations, but that the necessity of repeating short prayers along with working helps to keep the mind occupied. Labor mingled with constant prayer, whether short formulas of Psalms or the Jesus Prayer, allows the person to express his love for God continuously. This practice of praying unceasingly while working became one of the accepted forms of prayer in the Coptic Church.
Friday, February 27, 2015
Thursday, February 26, 2015
A Nice Ecumenical Gesture or a Papal Act That Deserved Second Thoughts?
St. Gregory of Narek: Was the New Doctor of the Church a Catholic? by Dr. R. Jared Staudt
St. Gregory is the first Doctor of the Church to have lived outside direct communion with the Bishop of Rome.
Maybe some Latin traditionalists have been receptive to the news because they think this increases the possibility of Msgr. Lefebvre being canonized some day?
St. Gregory is the first Doctor of the Church to have lived outside direct communion with the Bishop of Rome.
Maybe some Latin traditionalists have been receptive to the news because they think this increases the possibility of Msgr. Lefebvre being canonized some day?
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
The Burden Is on the Ukrainians First
Let them go in peace. How many Ukrainians really want to sacrifice their men to keep under their government those who wish to leave? Or is this really about territory and resources?
Post by Risu English.
Still Too Early in the Pontificate
Making Sense of Pope Francis by Carrie Gress, Ph.D.
Austen Ivereigh’s The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope offers many insights into Francis, but does have a serious weakness
(via Insight Scoop)
Austen Ivereigh’s The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope offers many insights into Francis, but does have a serious weakness
(via Insight Scoop)
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Patriarch John X Visits Patriarch Kirill
Patriarch of Great Antioch and All the East arrives in Moscow
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill meets with the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Antioch
Primates of Antiochian and Russian Orthodox Churches celebrate Liturgy at Cathedral of Christ the Saviour on Forgiveness Sunday
Patriarch John X of Antioch’s homily on Sunday of Forgiveness
Primate of Orthodox Church of Antioch completes his visit to Russia
Misc.
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill meets with the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Antioch
Primates of Antiochian and Russian Orthodox Churches celebrate Liturgy at Cathedral of Christ the Saviour on Forgiveness Sunday
Patriarch John X of Antioch’s homily on Sunday of Forgiveness
Primate of Orthodox Church of Antioch completes his visit to Russia
Misc.
Theotokos Institute for Catholic Studies
Vatican Observers Observing
Chiesa: Vatican Diary / Kangaroo hunt and other stories
Australian cardinal Pell encircled by adversaries. Sant’Egidio eclipsing the secretariat of state. A new Argentine vicar for Opus Dei
Australian cardinal Pell encircled by adversaries. Sant’Egidio eclipsing the secretariat of state. A new Argentine vicar for Opus Dei
Monday, February 23, 2015
Ecumenism According to Joseph Ratzinger
Ecumenism according to Ratzinger: Pluriform unity
In a speech delivered in 1993 the then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith talked about the path toward unity between the Churches and about possible “intermediate solutions” before full communion could be achieved: “There is a duty to let oneself be purified and enriched by the other”
ANDREA TORNIELLI
In a speech delivered in 1993 the then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith talked about the path toward unity between the Churches and about possible “intermediate solutions” before full communion could be achieved: “There is a duty to let oneself be purified and enriched by the other”
ANDREA TORNIELLI
A Nice Gesture But..
Do we need these sort of honorary titles given by papal fiat if we are working towards reconciliation? It may strike some to be more of the mindset of promoting "diversity" in a Rome-centered Church that guides the selection of cardinals. Does the Christian East pay any attention to such titles?
Vatican Insider
Armenian Weekly
Vatican Insider
Armenian Weekly
Why can't we have temples like this in the U.S.?
Supposedly this is a photo of Resurrection Church in Kfarakka, Lebanon.
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Magister Follows a Certain Line on Ukraine
Assaulted by Moscow and Abandoned by Rome
In Russian-occupied Ukraine, there is persecution of the Catholics once again. But for them Pope Francis has had words not of comfort, but of reproof. The Putin factor at the Vatican
Peter Hitchens: A (not so) Brief History of Crimea
Edit.
In Russian-occupied Ukraine, there is persecution of the Catholics once again. But for them Pope Francis has had words not of comfort, but of reproof. The Putin factor at the Vatican
Peter Hitchens: A (not so) Brief History of Crimea
Edit.
Friday, February 20, 2015
Peter Hitchens: Putin's Bite is Worse than His Bark - should we have been surprised?
I fear that if the political situation in Ukraine is more complex than Ukrainian nationalists claim it is that the Ukrainian Catholic Church will suffer a loss in credibility if it is continuing to join its voice to theirs.
Next Monday: The Head of the UGCC is holding a press-conference in Vatican
I fear that if the political situation in Ukraine is more complex than Ukrainian nationalists claim it is that the Ukrainian Catholic Church will suffer a loss in credibility if it is continuing to join its voice to theirs.
Next Monday: The Head of the UGCC is holding a press-conference in Vatican
Aquinas v. Suarez on Natural Law
J. Budsizewski: Is Natural Law Really Law?
(Unfortunately his blog format does not allow for a direct link to this post, so I have copied and pasted instead.)
Mondays are for letters from students. This one is a doctoral candidate in Dallas.
Question
Since discovering your online writings and lectures I have read and listened to a fair bit of your work and talks. I’m writing to ask about the difference between St. Thomas Aquinas’s and Francisco Suarez’s views of natural law. St. Thomas has a clear understanding of natural law and much to contribute. But if Suarez is right about what law is, then it strikes me that the St. Thomas’s ethics and politics are not natural law theory simply, but something more like Aristotelian virtue ethics. In the De Legibus, Book 5 and Book 6 , Suarez argues that Natural Law isn’t divine law by virtue of its having been promulgated by a lawgiver; rather it comes from God as efficient cause. This seems a rather radical disagreement.
I gather from other writers that Suarez is more nearly the father of the early modern views of natural law. That implies that there must be two streams or traditions of natural law theory, one which views God as a lawgiver and one which does not. Could you point me in a direction that would explain your thinking on this?
Reply
Right: Though Suarez holds natural law in great esteem, he argues that it is not literally law, except insofar as God verbally commands it – something which does not happen except through revelation. One might then say that the natural law is produced by God -- since He is the First Cause of everything -- but not promulgated by God. Many of the Enlightenment thinkers took a view something like this too. For them the natural laws were not laws in the sense of commands; they were more like the empirical generalizations of the sciences. So, just as you suggest, there was a split in the natural law tradition in the early modern era. The classical tradition epitomized by St. Thomas continued to develop, and is experiencing a modest renaissance in our own times. But the revisionist tradition turned out to be a dead end – or so I would argue (long story).
St. Thomas agrees with Suarez that law must be promulgated to be law. Yet he disagrees with Suarez too, because he thinks natural law is promulgated. Natural law is the finite manner in which the eternal law, the Wisdom of God’s own mind, is reflected in the mind of the rational creature.
One might expect St. Thomas to say that natural law does not have to be promulgated verbally, because it is promulgated through the structure of creation. And he could have said that, for as he points out, sometimes we use the term "word" in a figurative sense, not for the word itself, but for that which the word means or brings about. For example, we say "The word of the king is that such and such be done." This way of speaking collapses the Suarezian distinction between what God produces and what He promulgates. So St. Thomas might have argued that just by being an effect of God as First Cause, the natural law is figuratively spoken to us.
But what he actually says is more intriguing. Natural law is promulgated verbally -- and not in a figurative sense, but literally. In saying this, St. Thomas is not referring to sounds made by the mouth (or for that matter characters formed of ink). He argued that the expression "word" has three proper senses. The most fundamental sense is "the interior concept of the mind," because a vocal sound is not a word unless it signifies this interior concept. In natural law, our minds receive an impression of the idea in the mind of God. We receive this impression through the natural disposition of the mind called synderesis, deep conscience, which is put to work by conscientiae, conscience in action.
So St. Paul’s remark in the letter to the Romans that the law is “written on our hearts” turns out to be precisely true. As St. Thomas points out in his commentary on the letter, “conscience does not dictate something to be done or avoided, unless it believes that it is against or in accordance with the law of God. For the law is applied to our actions only by means of our conscience.” In other words, when we enter the court of conscience and listen closely, the voice we are trying to hear is the voice of God – whether or not we fully realize that we are trying to do so.
If you want to follow up, take a look especially at Summa Theologiae, I-II, Q. 90; Q. 91, Art. 1, ad 2; Q. 94, Art. 1, ad 2 ; and Q. 94, Art. 6. I discuss all of these texts in detail in my Commentary on St. Thomas’s Treatise on Law. My quotation from the Commentary on the Letter to the Romans is from the Fabian Larcher translation, Chap. 4, Lect. 2, Sec. 1120, which I also take up there.
(Unfortunately his blog format does not allow for a direct link to this post, so I have copied and pasted instead.)
Regeneration
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy?: “Born Again” Experience or Baptismal Regeneration? by Robert Arakaki
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Interfaith Gestures?
Why would one ask Muslims to fast unless he thought it were an efficacious gesture to God? What would that imply about the status of Muslims with respect to their "standing" with God, as this invitation was made without qualification? That they are just like Christians, even if their faith is different?
Dietrich von Hildebrand on the Promulgation of the New Missal
The Remnant Scrapbook History ~ In The Beginning (via Pertinacious Papist)
In a letter dated April 27, 1970, von Hildebrand wrote a letter to Walter Matt’s brother, the new editor of The Wanderer, summing up, in effect, the meat of the matter that had separated the two Matt brothers. Von Hildebrand wrote:
Dear Mr. Alphonse Matt:
I thank you very much for your kind letter. But I believe that there is some misunderstanding. You assume that the new ordo missae and especially the rubrics constitute for me merely a personally painful change by replacing something very beautiful and perfect with something less beautiful and less perfect. But unfortunately it is my conviction that the new ordo missae is the greatest pastoral mistake and that its consequences for the Church may be disastrous.
I agree however completely with you that it is a grave problem, whether one should criticize it publicly or only intra muros. Concerning this problem every one must follow his conscience. But I frankly cannot understand that you do not only abstain from a public criticism of the new ordo missae but make the “Wanderer” an instrument for propagating and praising the new ordo. You even suggest in your letter, dear Mr. Matt, that I should join this propaganda. As you say that you agreed with my article in “Triumph” in which I stress that obedience to practical decisions of the Pope does not imply approval of them – it is difficult for me to understand why you expect me to utter a univocal approval of something which seems to be, from the purely religious point of view, a “suicidal” practical decision. I do not believe that a mere loyalty to the present Pope who does not act against those who destroy the Catholic faith daily more and more – like Kueng, Schillebecks, Padovano, Greeley and many others – and who does not use the means by which the Church survived through 2000 years: anathema and excommunication – can preserve Catholic faith untarnished.
Dear Mr. Matt, it is painful for me to disagree with you because of my sincere admiration for the “Wanderer” throughout the past years and our warm personal union in Christ. This disagreement, however should in no way affect our friendly relations.
Faithfully yours in Christ
Dietrich von Hildebrand
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Magister Looks to Benedict XVI for Good Homiletics
Chiesa: Lenten Homilies. A Single-Author Anthology
Exercises in liturgical preaching for Ash Wednesday and for the five Sundays in preparation for Easter. From the archive of Benedict XVI. In obedience to Pope Francis
by Sandro Magister
"The homilies for Lent of cycle B do not represent the summit of the homiletics of Benedict XVI, which is instead found in those of the Christmas and Easter season"
Exercises in liturgical preaching for Ash Wednesday and for the five Sundays in preparation for Easter. From the archive of Benedict XVI. In obedience to Pope Francis
by Sandro Magister
"The homilies for Lent of cycle B do not represent the summit of the homiletics of Benedict XVI, which is instead found in those of the Christmas and Easter season"
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Monday, February 16, 2015
Sunday, February 15, 2015
If True, How Will It Be Spun?
Rorate Caeli: BREAKING: Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate Commissioner Volpi admits guilt of defamation and lies
Must pay 20,000 euros, make public apology
Will Pope Francis allow what's left of the FFI to survive?
Must pay 20,000 euros, make public apology
Will Pope Francis allow what's left of the FFI to survive?
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Saint Jean Daniélou?
My Homosexual Brother by Sandro Magister
As his spiritual diary reveals, Cardinal Jean Daniélou took upon himself the sins of his beloved brother Alain, so that his soul might be saved. The life lesson of one of the greatest theologians of the twentieth century
As his spiritual diary reveals, Cardinal Jean Daniélou took upon himself the sins of his beloved brother Alain, so that his soul might be saved. The life lesson of one of the greatest theologians of the twentieth century
Friday, February 13, 2015
One Lust Hurrah from Karl Keating?
Circling the New Geocentrists: An Interview with Karl Keating by Carl E. Olson
A new book by the founder of Catholic Answers addresses the scientific mistakes, theological errors, and conspiracy-minded promoters of geocentrism
He doesn't name Robert Sungenis in the interview; does he do so in the book? How about Wolfgang Smith? Does he even know who Wolfgang Smith is?
Galileo Was Wrong hasn't been updated for a while.
A new book by the founder of Catholic Answers addresses the scientific mistakes, theological errors, and conspiracy-minded promoters of geocentrism
He doesn't name Robert Sungenis in the interview; does he do so in the book? How about Wolfgang Smith? Does he even know who Wolfgang Smith is?
Galileo Was Wrong hasn't been updated for a while.
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Byzanfest
Orthodox Arts Journal: Byzanfest, an Orthodox short-film festival.
The festival is on Youtube: Orthodox Filmmakers and Artists
The festival is on Youtube: Orthodox Filmmakers and Artists
An Orthodox Response to FSG
But it, like Catholic socon essays, is unaware of the psychological dynamic involved in sexual attraction and desire, and how feminism has distorted it.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Monday, February 09, 2015
Another Brave Latin Bishop in Kazakhstan
His Excellency Archbishop Jan Pawel Lenga,
Rorate Caeli: RORATE EXCLUSIVE: Open letter by Archbishop on the crisis in the Church
His brother bishop, Athanasius Schneider: Bishop Schneider to visit U.S., speak on liturgy
Related:
Five New Ideas On How To Select Bishops by Sandro Magister
They are proposed by an Australian theologian and economist, in an open letter to Pope Francis. A simple and concrete contribution to the reform of the curia that is in the works
Someone needs to argue for "decentralization"....
Curia reform: C9 holds meeting in view of the Consistory
Rorate Caeli: RORATE EXCLUSIVE: Open letter by Archbishop on the crisis in the Church
His brother bishop, Athanasius Schneider: Bishop Schneider to visit U.S., speak on liturgy
Related:
Five New Ideas On How To Select Bishops by Sandro Magister
They are proposed by an Australian theologian and economist, in an open letter to Pope Francis. A simple and concrete contribution to the reform of the curia that is in the works
Someone needs to argue for "decentralization"....
Curia reform: C9 holds meeting in view of the Consistory
Didn't We Know This Already?
Liberalism and its logical consequences...
Recognizing the "culture of rationalism" at work by Kevin C. Walsh
Recognizing the "culture of rationalism" at work by Kevin C. Walsh
Sunday, February 08, 2015
Saturday, February 07, 2015
Friday, February 06, 2015
Thursday, February 05, 2015
BTS Politickin'
Between One Synod and Another, the Battle Continues by Sandro Magister
The most active are the cardinals, the bishops, the theologians who want to innovate in Church doctrine and practice on marriage and homosexuality. But in the first round of elections for the next synod, the defenders of tradition are much more numerous
The most active are the cardinals, the bishops, the theologians who want to innovate in Church doctrine and practice on marriage and homosexuality. But in the first round of elections for the next synod, the defenders of tradition are much more numerous
Wednesday, February 04, 2015
Tuesday, February 03, 2015
An "Interest" Choice of Academics
Classical Theism Workshop Call for Papers
Confirmed Participants in the 2015 Workshop Include:
Richard Cross (University of Notre Dame)
William Hasker (Huntington College)
Eleonore Stump (Saint Louis University)
Sandra Visser (Valparaiso University)
Thomas Joseph White, OP (Dominican House of Studies)
Linda Zagzebski (Oklahoma University)
Confirmed Participants in the 2015 Workshop Include:
Richard Cross (University of Notre Dame)
William Hasker (Huntington College)
Eleonore Stump (Saint Louis University)
Sandra Visser (Valparaiso University)
Thomas Joseph White, OP (Dominican House of Studies)
Linda Zagzebski (Oklahoma University)
I'd Like to See the File
What was the OD scuttlebutt regarding the archbishop before his assassination? "Archbishop Oscar Romero is going to be a deeply beloved saint"
Robert Barron on Thomas Merton
The Hundredth Anniversary of Thomas Merton's Birth
No one is supporting his cause for canonization right?
Fr. Barron's apologetic:
No one is supporting his cause for canonization right?
Fr. Barron's apologetic:
They see this as an indication of a religious relativism or a vague syncretism. Nothing could be further from the truth. Merton was indeed fascinated by the Eastern religions and felt that Christians could benefit from a greater understanding of their theory and practice, but he never for a moment felt that all the religions were the same or that Christians should move to some space “beyond” Christianity.How would Christians benefit? Eastern Christian monks certainly do not think there is anything to be gained from studying Buddhism and the like.
Monday, February 02, 2015
Sunday, February 01, 2015
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