Byzantine, Texas: A new book on the theology of Alexander Schmemann

"Eucharist: A Prayer For Unity"

Archimandrite Robert Taft, S.J.


Parts 2, 3, 6 (4?)

Robert Louis Wilken's New Book

Yale University Press: The First Thousand Years: A Global History of Christianity

Robert Louis Wilken's New Book

Yale University Press: The First Thousand Years: A Global History of Christianity

The Cornerstone #5: Bl. John Duns Scotus

The Cornerstone #5: Bl. John Duns Scotus by AirMaria

K. Whitehead on the Common Good and the Federal Government

Does Paul Ryan Threaten the Common Good? by Kenneth D. Whitehead

Robert Spaemann on the Council

Spaemann: Konzil hat Niedergang der Kirche eingeleitet (via Eponymous Flower)

Some Videos With Roberto De Mattei

(alt)





Roberto De Mattei - Presentazione libro "Il concilio Vaticano II" 1 parte (Parts 2 and 3 and 4)

Monsignor Gheradini on Vatican II

Some links to articles on Monsignor Brunero Gherardini.

Obtaining a copy of the English translation of his book appears to be difficult. I hope there is a second printing.

ON THE PASTORAL NATURE OF VATICAN II: AN EVALUATION

Ο ύμνος της αγάπης

Al Kimel, formerly of Pontifications, doesn't really talk about his conversion to Orthodoxy but gives his view of Orthodoxy and Orthodox theology, while mentioning some personal tragedies: Why Eclectic?

Kyrie eleison.

Retreats at Holy Resurrection Monastery

Retreats at HRM 2012-2013

These two are of interest:

April 12-14, 2013, The Mass, East and West

• Presenter: Abbot Nicholas

How can we serve the New Evangelization through our liturgical treasures? This retreat will help the Mass come alive for you in new ways.

May 24-26, 2013, The Jesus Prayer

• Presenter: Father Maximos

How can we “rejoice always and pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17)? This retreat will be a practical introduction to prayer of the heart for lay people.

But the monastery is now located in Wisconsin... if I ever visit WI, I'd try to visit Providence Academy and the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe as well.

Novices (OP West): Ephrem the Syrian, Proto-Dominican

Vatican Insider: Russia: The Orthodox spring

Sarge and others are skeptical, but we should pray for rejuvenated local churches there (and the restoration of communion with the Bishop of Rome).

Thomistica.net: Weisheipl's Commentary on the Posterior Analytics Online

Ed Feser: The Charles De Koninck Project - the website.

Married Priests in the Roman Rite?

First Thoughts: UPDATED: John Haldane Calls for Married Priests

Despite the long history of the discipline of clerical celibacy in the Roman rite, I am not so attached to it. I would not be bothered if the rule was changed so that married men could be ordained to the priesthood. An increase in the number of smaller neighborhood communities (and their temples) would probably require an increase in the number of priests, and it is doubtful whether this would be financially viable for many urban areas in the United States. There would have to be a core group of members who could provide financial support for the community.

Is such a change necessary to increase the number of candidates to the priesthood? There is in the Western Patriarchate (or in the United States, at least) a crisis in authority rooted in a crisis in masculinity - admitting older married candidates may help alleviate certain problems in the exercise of authority and pastoral care, provided that they have the leadership qualities that the younger men lack (along with many bishops). Do we have a shortage of manly Catholic fathers?

Two on Natural Law

Thomistica.net: de lege naturae by Michael Pakaluk
Natural Law Ain’t About Falling Apples by Andrew Haines

"Eastern Catholicism," with Abbot Nicholas Zachariadis

Catholic Answers: (mp3)

Pope awards the 'Ratzinger Prize,' considered the Nobel of Theology

Pope on seven new saints: Their lives speak to the Universal Church


Pope's Homily on Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American Saint



NLM: The Return of the Papal Fanon


The occasion did help me think of a birthday present for my niece.

Joint Liturgy of the Eastern American Diocese and Moscow Patriarchate (Oct. 13, 2012) - PREVIEW

Modernist architecture done right... because there is no bare space on the inside...

Μεθ ημών ο Θεός - Kabarnos Νικόδημος

Agni Parthene (Complete) - Simonopetra Monastery

Living Tradition No. 152: A CANONICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE INFALLIBILITY OF THE TEACHING IN HUMANAE VITAE by Andrew Kong

ΚΥΡΙΕ ΕΚΕΚΡΑΞΑ ΠΡΟΣ ΣΕ - Lord I have cried to You

Mospat: Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk meets with Pope Benedict XVI

The Next Dumb Ox Event

At the DSPT, October 30 at 8 P.M.: Fr. Hilary Martin, OP - Does Theology Change Anything?

Money matters, but does theology? Power matters, but does theology? Fr. Yves Congar, OP matters. Fr. Yves Congar, a French Dominican spent his life working with theology. Before, during and after Vatican II he worked on the Faith and how to get it across to people. He was not a bishop at the Second Vatican Council, only a Peritus, but had a hand in a lot that went on there. His Journal, or Daybook, shows how deep a hand he had.

Are we different from the way we were, and the way we were from the way we are now?

The Morality of Dr. Yamanaka's Research

Why are Catholics Praising the Nobel Prize Stem Cell Technology? (via Fr. Z)

Archbishop Cordileone on World Over

The Synod of Bishops and Such

Zenit: Benedict XVI's Address To Second Vatican Council Fathers [2012-10-14]
Christianity Must not be Considered as 'Something of the Past'

Pope's Address at Luncheon with Synod Fathers and Bishops Who Participated in Vatican II
"The Lord Will Also Help us to Move Forward Exteriorly"

Pope Benedict XVI Gives Exclusive Interview for Documentary
"Bells of Europe" Highlights the History between Christianity and Europe

On Wealth
"The Church's History is Full of Examples of Rich People Who Used their Possessions in an Evangelical Way"

Kiko Argüello: 'We Are Spectators of the Works of the Holy Spirit'
Initiator of the Neocatechumenal Way Speaks on the Ecclesial Reality's Role within the Church

Archbishop Pagla's Intervention at Synod of Bishops
"The Future of Evangelization Largely Depends on the Domestic Church"

More

MosPat: Metropolitan Hilarion’s greeting to the Synod of Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church Rome, 16 October 2012

The Proper Interpretation of Vatican II

Dominicana: Conciliar Debates and the Desire for Unity

I received an e-mail from Loreto Publications that the translation of Roberto de Mattei's book on Vatican II is in the works, and it is hoped that it will be ready by the end of the year. If you are interested in purchasing a copy when it becomes available, please contact the publisher to let it know.

I still wonder, though, would it be necessary to force a reading of the documents that is orthodox and in harmony with Sacred Tradition if it were possible to admit that the documents are expressions of the Ordinary Magisterium, and hence not everything is on the same level, and that some tentative opinions were advanced which could be erroneous? An ecumenical council may be an "extraordinary act" as stated by the author of the above, but that does not mean that its documents necessary belong to the Sacred or Solemn Magisterium of the Church. If the second Vatican Council had not been so hyped, would we need to pay so much attention to it as a source of discord and division?

There is a video of the sedevecantist Fr. Cekada on the topic of the Ordinary Magisterium.

On the Hermeneutic of Continuity: Benedict XVI, the Reformer
See also The Five "Conciliar" Days of the Pope

Vatican Insider:
“Modifying the draft document on the divine Revelation”
"It taught us to live in a new world" by LUCA ROLANDI - Interview with Jesuit historian and theologian, John W. O’Malley

30 Giorni has had to suspend publication, with issue number 5. IN MEMORY OF DON GIACOMO TANTARDINI

Related:
Si Si No No: RELIGIOUS LIBERTY AND THE ORDINARY MAGISTERIUM Fr. Jean-Michel Gleize
Clear Ideas on the Pope's Infallible Magisterium

Rorate Caeli: International Theological Commission: Saint Thomas Aquinas and the Year of Faith

Fr. Joseph Komonchak to Speak in Berkeley Tomorrow

At the Newman Hall (still run by the Paulists?) at 7:30 P.M., as a part of this series.

Given that I disagree with him on ecclesiology and the council, plus the late notice, I doubt I'll attend.

FB event
Vatican II and Parish Life
Faculty profile.
He has a blog.

Novelty in Continuity
Benedict XVI and the Interpretation of Vatican II

Rorate Caeli: FIUV PP: Latin in Seminaries

Kristine Kalanges on William Cavanaugh

From State Soteriology to Eucharistic Anarchism: Cavanaugh’s “True Peace” (via MOJ)

Mount Lebanon Choir of Byzantine Music

The Divine Liturgy of the Greek Orthodox Church in English

Scaling for a Christian Community

Fr. Bouyer contrasted in his The Church of God two ideals of ecclesial "membership," the Church of believers and the Church of numbers. Might it be that the Church can be both, if we observed the proper scale to the local Churches (and parishes)? What is the ideal size of a [neighborhood] parish? How many people can a priest be a spiritual father to? Should he not be able to remember the names of all his spiritual children? How many Sunday liturgies can be said in a temple? Can we eventually achieve the Eastern ideal of one? (Given the time necessary to train priests, it seems that celebrating more than one Sunday liturgy at the [main] altar of a temple is a pastoral necessity.

How big should a local Church [diocese] be, in terms of both members and size? In the Western patriarchate at least, auxiliary bishops are given titles to dioceses that do not really exist any longer. What if, instead, the archdiocese was broken up? What if we had more bishops, instead of auxiliary/titular bishops, and more metropolitans (and provinces)? (Is attendance at an ecumenical council limited to metropolitans, in practice or in law?)

What is the basis for the inequality in status (and power?) between the metropolitan and the suffragan bishops, besides the link between his diocese and the political capital? I need to read up more on Church governance and the sacrament of Holy Orders.

Iconostasis and Ciborium

Excellent!


St. George

It is true that the iconostasis is less "solid" than traditional ones.

Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev at Mount Athos

From earlier this week: Metropolitan Hilarion arrives in Athos
Metropolitan Hilarion celebrates at the Russian Monastery on Mount Athos

St. Nicholas Patriarchal Cathedral

Светлая Суббота 2012 г. Bright Saturday 2012


I didn't have the opportunity to visit the cathedral when I was in NYC in August, so I am glad to see its interior in the video. A little too westernized, the icons?

Another video

CWR: History’s View of Vatican II by Michael J. Miller (via Insight Scoop)
The who, what, where, when, and why of the Council

The Second Vatican Council: An Unwritten Story by Roberto de Mattei - it is supposed to be published by Loreto? I don't see it in the catalog.

Over at Chiesa:
The Five "Conciliar" Days of the Pope
With six statements on Vatican II, fifty years after its beginning. Followed by a commentary by Pietro De Marco on the "external paradigm" that influences the interpretation and reception of that event

Eastern Catholic Churches Encounter 2012

website - Main West Conference is coming up, November 2-4.






Traditions of the Eastern Catholic Church
Eastern Catholic Theology PART 1 with Fr. Abbot Nicholas of Holy Resurrection Monastery
Part 2

Greek Byzantine Choir - The Beatitudes (Liturgy of St John Chrysostom)


So has the singing of the Beatitudes been restored to the Greek rite?

Pope Benedict's Homily at Opening Mass of the Year of Faith

Zenit: Pope Benedict's Homily at Opening Mass of the Year of Faith
"Through Christ, God is the Principal Subject of Evangelization in the World"

Greeting by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I
"We Join in the Hope that the Barrier Dividing the Eastern Church and the Western Church Will be Removed" [2012-10-11]

Rome Reports


Bartholomew I recognizes before the Pope the capacity of uniting of the Second Vatican Council

Dr. Shinya Yamanaka

Great news about the Nobel Prize
Vindication for Opponents of Embryo-Destructive Research
Stem Cell Scientists Gurdon and Yamanaka Win Nobel Prize in Medicine


Gladstone Institutes

Do we care what Mayor Ed Lee and the City of San Francisco think? Everyone wants to claim a winner as one of their own.

Teacher of Teachers: Blessed John Henry Newman by Christopher Blum

Byzantine, Texas: The Liturgy in 13th century Constantinople

The chanting is splendid, but are the vestments accurate? I'm not understanding the headgear. I think that is supposed to be the emperor, rather than the bishop? NO barrier or ciborium or altar?

Misc.
Cultural Identity and Dress: The Case of Late Byzantine Court Costume

The Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute (PAOI)

Installation Mass of Archbishop Cordileone

Last Thursday.

Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone Mass of Installation Video
San Francisco's new archbishop seeks to rebuild God's house

Archbishop is 'collaborator' in helping lead the faithful to holiness

Archbishop Cordileone: 'Francis, rebuild my house'
In homily, Archbishop Cordileone calls for 'rebuilding from within'
More from Catholic SF.

NC Reporter: Cordileone's installation in San Francisco includes demonstrations

ΧΟΡΩΔΙΑ ΘΡΑΣΥΒΟΥΛΟΥ ΣΤΑΝΙΤΣΑ - ΚΩΝΣΤΑΝΤΙΝΟΥΠΟΛΗ

More from the Holy Father on the Liturgy

Zenit: ON THE ECCLESIAL NATURE OF LITURGICAL PRAYER
The Liturgy is the Act Whereby We Enter Into Contact with God

(The previous audience: On the Sacred Liturgy as a School of Prayer.)

From 2003:

Two New Doctors of the Church

Rome Reports: St. Hildegard of Bingen and St. John of Avila are now Doctors of the Church. Pope also welcomes the Synod of Bishops



Zenit:
POPE BENEDICT XVI'S HOMILY AT OPENING MASS OF SYNOD OF BISHOPS
"The Holy Spirit Has Nurtured in the Church a New Effort to Announce the Good News"

DECREE GRANTING PLENARY INDULGENCE FOR YEAR OF FAITH

SPECIALIST IN DOGMATIC THEOLOGY PROMOTES PASTORAL OF "AUTO-EVANGELIZATION"
Father Antonio Aranda Lomena Set to Attend Synod on the New Evangelization

ΒΥΖΑΝΤΙΝΗ ΣΥΝΑΥΛΙΑ ΒΡΥΞΕΛΛΩΝ - ΧΟΡΑΡΧΗΣ ΣΤΑΝΙΤΣΑΣ

How much of this is still true? From 1975: Some differences between Greek and Russian divine services and their significance
by Basil Krivoshein
Archbishop of Brussels and Belgium

How old is the inclusion of the Beatitudes in the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom?

St. Hildegard of Bingen, Doctor of the Church

Jimmy Akin, Newest Doctor of the Church: Her Visions, Her Writings, and Her Secret Language
St. Hildegard of Bingen: A Visionary for All Time by Brennan Pursell
St. Hildegard of Bingen, Doctor of the Church by Leroy Huizenga

From the Wednesday audience talks by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010-
St. Hildegard: Cloistered Nun and Mystic
A Continuing Reflection on St. Hildegard

Back when I was in the seminary, a "cranky" (but lovable) Jesuit remarked that if St. Thérèse_of_Lisieux could be declared a Doctor of the Church, why not St. Ignatius of Loyola? We should honor St. Thérèse for her holiness and her "little way" has been influential as a model for our understanding Christian spirituality and by extension the lay vocation, but as a teacher (not necessarily as a writer) does she rank with the other Doctors of the Church? (Someone might claim that in terms of influence on contemporary Catholics, St. Thérèse surpasses them.)

Zenit: POPE TO PRESIDE OVER OPENING MASS FOR SYNOD
Sts. Hildegard of Bingen and John of Avila to be Honored by Pontiff

The corpus of St. Hildegard of Bingen is apparently larger, and she was also an authorized preacher. She did have an impact on the local church(es) of her time period. But is she so influential now? St. John of the Cross continues to be influential as a teacher of Christian spirituality. (The same is true of St. Teresa of Avila.)

I can't help but shake the suspicion that besides being influenced by his German heritage, the pope may be acceding to political pressures and considerations, the demand for women to be "better represented." While some women may have been especially gifted as teachers, one should distinguish between extraordinary and ordinary gifts, and how the office of theologian (or bishop) is tied more to the latter than to the former. Those who have a special mission from God (and the accompanying talents) should not be prevented by the bishops from following it, but this does not mean that women in general should be encouraged to be theologians.

Some may say that the rejection of scholasticism has been beneficial to the Church and allowed for the renewal of older methods of doing theology, but I would argue that the application of reason to understanding revealed truth has never been absent from theology, though it has been complemented by general life in Christ, prayer, and even mystical experiences.

Was St. Paul a sexist, limited by his culture? How should his stricture be understood? Some have limited to the confines of the temple. Anyone who teaches Christian doctrine, female or male, must do so with the permission of the bishop (via his priests) and under his supervision. One can argue for the strict separation of male and female spheres (and roles) in political society, but can this also be done for ecclesiastical society? There is also a somewhat relevant distinction between teaching of morals (and leadership) and teaching of other subjects. The teaching of morality for men should be left to men, because the roles of men and women are different within the family and society as a whole. But what of the teaching of things not pertaining to morality? The best argument for the this to be left to men as well is that while it does not touch upon morality itself, it is ideally an exercise for male communing, once boys come of age. (There is also the question of giving males their proper roles within the community as a whole, and protecting these assignments from encroachments by women. Women in general do not want as a husband a male who is perceived to be a loser, but this is what happens when women displace men.)

Are Saints Teresa of Avila and Hildegard of Bingen the exceptions that then prove the rule? I do not think that it will be possible to find an equal representation of men and women among the Doctors of the Church, though some may want this. Margaret Schatkin or Sister Vassa Larin could be examples from today - but it must be noted that both are single, one a religious. It would seem that those who have consecrated their lives to God as virgins and religious have a greater claim to be teachers of theology than lay women, because their function is no longer one of the political economy but of the ecclesiastical economy. Some may claim that this is unfair, that women should not have to choose between one or the other, that they can have it all, but it is a question of serving God as He sees fit.

Women do not teach their children on their own authority, but do so as willed by their husband. It is true that some men care nothing for how prospective wives will behave and raise their children; but those who do care look for someone who agrees with them and will follow them. Similarly, traditionally women do not manage or represent the household unless they are delegated that authority by their husband (or father). Arguably a catechists task is one that is proper to the laity or to the parents, and they do participate in the sensus fidei.

So how much of a catechist's task is proper to the laity or to parents, and how much is a delegation by the bishop? This is in contrast to the one who preaches in a parish, for to do so he must have permission (and authority) from the bishop? Is the task of the theologian is different, but
is the nature of the theologian's authority different from that of the catechist? Some have explained St. Paul's dictum by distinguishing the teaching authority of the apostles and their successors from that of authority of the lay teacher.

Apparently the title "Doctor of the Church" should be understood as referring to the Church Universal, but can this be problematic with respect to fostering a more ecumenical ecclesiology?

Cistercian Publishers has a translation of St. Hildegard's homilies.

Still More on Prayer Ropes

Using a Prayer Rope (via Byzantine, Texas)

ΑΡΧΩΝ ΘΡΑΣΥΒΟΥΛΟΣ ΣΤΑΝΙΤΣΑΣ

The Writing of Church History

A study group was considering starting Epic; is much of Church History written from a Latin perspective triumphalistic or ultramontane, or a version of Whiggism, resulting in more of a history of the Western Patriarchate, with the non-western churches an afterthought?

A Catholic version of Whiggism, in so far as Catholicism is equated with European civilization and its material advances are attributed in some way to the Catholic faith. Intellectual advances in science and knowledge may originally have been due to the mingling of the Christian focus on the Logos and Greek rationalism. But I am thinking more of the rise of the nation-states and empires - do we want to impute this "success" to the supposed Christian faith of those nation- and empire-builders?

We may not want to go so far as to embrace the ideology of those who declaim the appearance of the Constantinian Church, but what Church history would not incorporate an analysis of Church-state relations (not just in the former Western Roman Empire, but in the Eastern as well), making some sort of normative judgment on what existed? (I think the Church can be an effective means of localism, but has it ever been able to bring that about in the political sphere, apart from some sort of collapse?)

As for the non-Western churches, is it too early to reconsider their histories as part of that of the Church as a whole, as if their apparent separation from the Bishop of Rome was that, only apparent? Do we need a formal restoration of communion going beyond acts of doctrinal agreement first? In the past those non-Western churches not currently in full communion were viewed as heretical and schismatic and treated as such in works of Church history. But is it not only charitable but historically accurate to see the tragic separation as a result of [linguistic] misunderstanding and hardening due to a lack of proper fraternity charity and ill feeling because of other events?

Church history potentially can be more unified than generic world history, as it is centered on Christ and His Church. But can we rightly look forward to histories being written reflecting the diversity of the local Churches, a proper multiculturalism because it is grounded in Christ and the live that He gives to us?

ΠΕΤΡΟΣ ΜΠΕΡΕΚΕΤΗΣ - ΧΟΡΑΡΧΗΣ ΣΤΑΝΙΤΣΑΣ

Fr. Z: Prefect of CDF: No more talks with SSPX

The Lasting Legacy of Cardinal Daniélou by Rev. Brian Van Hove, S.J. (via Insight Scoop)

More on the Prayer Rope (Video in Greek)

The Prayer Rope - What Is It?

How to make an Eastern Christian prayer rope

Vatican Insider: Journals, documents and witnesses: Vatican II is alive both in spirit and in content

Michael Moreland on Alasdair MacIntyre

Remarks for Civitas Dei Medal Presentation to Alasdair MacIntyre

Villanova University Inaugurates Civitas Dei Medal Recognizing Exemplary Contributions to Catholic Intellectual Tradition
Inaugural recipient Alasdair MacIntyre, professor emeritus at the University of Notre Dame, known for his contribution to the history of philosophy, moral philosophy, political theory, and the philosophy of religion

Zenit: ON THE GOOD DONE OUTSIDE THE CHURCH COMMUNITY
"We must all be always able to appreciate and esteem each other"

St. Augustine writes in this regard: “Just as in the ‘Catholica,'” that is in the Church, “we can find that which is not Catholic, so also outside of the ‘Catholica’ there can be something Catholic” (“On Baptism Against the Donatists,” PL 43, VII, 39, 77). For this reason the members of the Church must not be jealous but rejoice if someone outside the community does something good in Christ’s name, as long as he does it with the right intention and with respect. It can also occur that in the Church herself sometimes there is a failure to value and to appreciate, in a spirit of profound communion, the good things done by various ecclesial groups. We must all, however, be always able to appreciate and esteem each other, praising the Lord for the infinite “imagination” with which he works in the Church and in the world.

Rorate Caeli: New Encyclical in January 2013?

More from Ed Peters on Deaconesses

Further re female ordination to diaconate (via Fr. Z)

The Enduring Schism by Nebojsa Malic

Thomistica.net: Some Simple Mistakes about Formal Cooperation by Michael Pakaluk