Tuesday, January 31, 2017

What can mutual enrichment do that a proper reform can't?

Either avenue will be opposed by Latin traditionalists.

CWR: How the ordinary form of the Mass can “enrich” the extraordinary form
In Summorum Pontificum, Pope Benedict hoped the celebration of the extraordinary and ordinary forms of the Mass would be “mutually enriching.” So what healthier elements of the ordinary form might benefit the extraordinary?
By Rev. Peter M.J. Stravinskas

Sunday, January 29, 2017

Saturday, January 28, 2017

The Way of Love

God's love

No Caption

The Use of the Apocrypha in the Liturgy

Ad Multos Annos!

CWR: The Docile Visionary, James V. Schall, SJ by David Paul Deavel
Observations on the life and thought of a remarkable priest, philosopher, professor, and author on the occasion of his 89th birthday.

Fr. John Guy Winfrey on Pistis

Thursday, January 26, 2017

Another book that looks at the symbols of the Eucharist at the expense of the meaning of the Eucharist?

Many such books have been written, both for the Roman rite and the Byzantine. (A problem affecting the other Apostolic Churches?) While I dislike the term "rationalism" being applied to those who seek to clarify the meaning of the Eucharist (Fr. Bouyer, Fr. Schmemann), at this point I think it is the correct approach. Seeking to enshroud the Eucharist in a counter-rationalist (even Romantic?) notion of "mystery" does not really help the laity develop a proper Christian spirituality.

Fr. Z: BOOK: Nothing Superfluous: An Explanation of the Symbolism of the Rite of St. Gregory the Great

The Importance of Having a Common Direction of Worship

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Fr. Hunwicke Reacts to the News About OLA

Diversity?? (1) [with clarifications]
CWR Dispatch: Three ways to not deal with Canon 915 by Edward N. Peters
Or, three ways in which the "pro-Amoris" wing is trying to get around the Church's clear teachings about admitting divorced-and-remarried Catholics to holy Communion.

(original)

His latest: Maybe ‘adjusting’ Canon 915 is not such a good idea after all

Edward Pentin: Bishop Grech Defends ‘Maltese Guidelines’ in Radio Interview
Says he and Archbishop Scicluna are in “complete unity” with Pope Francis, thereby offering a “guarantee that the teaching is authentic.”

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Homily for the Closing of the Dominican Jubilee

Message of the Fifth European Catholic-Orthodox Forum (via Byz, TX)

More on the Stanford Hagia Sophia Acoustics Project

What is the justification for the regular rotation priests in the Patriarchate of Rome? Was it originally intended to prevent priests from accumulating too much wealth and power? We don't rotate children around to different parents, so why would we do that for spiritual fathers? Is a priest a mere functionary, or dispenser of the sacraments? Is it correct to assume that leaving a priest in place is more of a norm than not in the Eastern churches?

Eastern Christian Books: Alasdair MacIntyre on Ethics Amidst the Conflicts of Modernity

Eastern Christian Books: Alasdair MacIntyre on Ethics Amidst the Conflicts of Modernity

Sunday, January 22, 2017

Conclusion of the Dominican Jubilee











Christian Unity







Thinking about the taxonomy of Latin Catholics and the second Vatican Council... who were the "progressives" during the council? What did they seek to change? And the "conservatives"? What did they seek to conserve? The status quo? For the conservatives, perhaps, orthodoxy is identified solely with scholastic formulae, a tradition within the Latin ecclesial tradition but not the only one. Some of the progressives may have wanted to shift the expression of teaching to other traditions; the Ressourcement theologians for example wanted some sort of return to the Church Fathers. Does that mean all progressives were right-minded? There may have been some who were heterodox, seeking to change the beliefs or moral norms of Tradition, just as there are heterodox among Latin clergy and theologians today. And even if some progressives were correct that the Latin churches need to shift their expression of doctrine away from neoscholasticism, it does not mean that their judgement about necessary changes in discipline or liturgy were also correct.

How many of the Ressourcement theologians were willing to concede that what had been taken to be definitive expressions of Sacred Tradition by western councils and popes in the second millenium may not be so?

Related:
CWR Dispatch: A "Conclave" for Camelot by Mary Jo Anderson
Robert Harris's new thriller is about papal intrigue and Vatican politics; it is also an example of how progressives envision the Catholic Church changing with the times.

Friday, January 20, 2017

Thursday, January 19, 2017

The Music of St. Kassiani the Hymnographer

Orthodox Bishops and Parishes in the US

Making the Sign of the Cross

CWR: Henri de Lubac's observations of Vatican II offer prescient perspective by Rev. Peter M.J. Stravinskas
Volume Two of de Lubac's "Vatican Council Notebooks", recently published Ignatius Press, is filled with endless detail, much drama, and many surprises.

A Year in Review

Extending the Liturgy



(via Byz, TX)

Monday, January 16, 2017

CRUX: Ethicist says ghostwriter’s role in ‘Amoris’ is troubling by Michael Pakaluk SPECIAL TO CRUX

Petrine and Pauline Privilege

CDF: NORMS ON THE PREPARATION OF THE PROCESS FOR THE DISSOLUTION OF THE MARRIAGE BOND IN FAVOUR OF THE FAITH

Arlington
St. Paul and Minneapolis
Stockton

The Church has the authority to dissolve nonsacramental natural marriages; what is the theological rational given for this? If natural marriages can be dissolved, why not sacramental marriages? (Why is there a higher standard, besides the Mystery of Marriage being a sign of the union between Christ and His Church, which is indissoluble?)


Can the Orthodox Way End the Divorce and Remarriage Debate? by Ines A. Murzaku

Something from David Clayton in 2015

Crisis Magazine: To Follow the Way of Beauty

an interview at Catholic Exchange

Sunday, January 15, 2017

The Interview with Cardinal Caffarra

CWR: “Only a blind man can deny that there is great confusion in the Church.” (Crux)
An interview with Carlo Cardinal Caffarra about "Amoris Laetitia", the reasons for the dubia, criticisms of the 4 Cardinals, and "the division among shepherds"

Related:
Ed Peters: The Maltese directive makes answering the ‘dubia’ urgent (CWR Dispatch)
CWR: A Malta Laetitia by Carl E. Olson

Cardinal Müller says "Amoris Laetitia" is "very clear". The bishops of Malta say divorced and remarried Catholics can receive Communion. Abps. Chaput and Sample say otherwise. Welcome to Pope Francis' messy Church.

The Wheel Interviews Sister Vassa

St. Alexander Nesvky Cathedral

Nazo Zakkak

Iconographer Vladimir Grigorenko at Holy Ascension in Mt. Pleasant, SC



website for the church

Vladika Dmitri: A Witness’s Testimony
Pravoslavie

Saturday, January 14, 2017

Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Cathedral, Chicago



website

Rowan Williams: What the Russian Orthodox Church Can Teach the West

Sr. Vassa on the Incarnation

Sandro Magister: "Amoris Laetitia". Malta’s Sailboat Joins the Papal Fleet

Is the artist who did the cover of that booklet the same one who designed the logo for the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy?
Fr. Z: IMPORTANT: Interview with Card. Caffarra about the Dubia and ‘Amoris laetitia’ confusion

The Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Jerusalem

A Response to Born of a Virgin?



Related:

On the Messiah

Bishop Nicholas in CA

The Festal Cycle

Memories of St. John Maximovitch

Friday, January 13, 2017

Your Eminence, Is There a Danger to the Faith Now?

Ed Peters: The Maltese Disaster (via Fr. Z)

The Face of Mercy

The documentary has this going for it: Jim Caviezel is the narrator.



website

Discovering “the Face of Mercy” in the modern world by K. V. Turley
A documentary from the Knights of Columbus profiles several individuals who have been touched by the message of Divine Mercy.

Preparatory Document for the Next Synod



Found this tonight

ECHO OF THE HEART OF GOD AND STUDIES OF THE SELF-OFFERING OF ST THERESE OF LISIEUX by Giovanni Gennari

Google Books

Published in 2001; probably does not have the material contained in Teresa di Lisieux. Il fascino della santità, I segreti di una "dottrina" ritrovata.

Apparently a copy of the latter book was given to Pope Francis in 2013, who took it on his trip to Brazil.

GIANNI GENNARI. Teresa maestra di teologia

If he had had read this book, would Louis Bouyer have revised his opinion of St. Thérèse and praised her even more? Apparently he was already aware of the difference between what is found in the edited manuscripts (which were nonetheless modified by Agnes) of the saint and what was marketed in her name but perhaps he hadn't made such an extensive study as Gennari, who tells the story of Fr. Combes and Hans Urs von Balthasar (both of whose work was used by Fr. Bouyer) and of others in recovering the true teaching of the Little Flower.

Related:
Saint Therese of the Child Jesus: An Echo of the Heart of God
CWR: Journalist Peter Seewald: Pope Benedict is “one of the most misunderstood personalities of our time” by Paul Senz
The German journalist reflects on his latest book-length interview with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, whom he considers among history’s most significant popes.

VOCES8, Palestrina: Magnificat Primo Toni

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Eastern Christian Books: The Papacy and the Orthodox

Eastern Christian Books: The Papacy and the Orthodox

More on Cardinal Burke's La Verità Interview

1P5: Cardinal Burke: “The Faith is in Danger!”

Also at 1P5: Pope Orders Cardinal Müller to Dismiss Three CDF Priests

Related:
For Cardinal Mueller, a humble faith is good for theology
The organ, something else that was introduced in the second millenium and is now taken to be "traditional" by the West?

Is the Organ Really a Sacred Instrument? by Joseph P. Swain
Pianos and guitars are comparatively cheap, and money is tight. Those of us who believe the organ is a sacred instrument have to take the question – “is the organ really a sacred instrument?” – and make it real, a spiritual matter for our pastors and parish councils.


How typical was the NAC of seminaries at that time?

Before the Council...

Lessons from an era of confusion by George Weigel
Msgr. Stephen DiGiovanni's book "Aggiornamento on the Hill of Janus" offers a snapshot of a once-stable institution caught in the maelstrom of ecclesiastical confusion and crisis—and offers lessons along the way.

Making Liturgical Furnishings

Arvo Pärt Documentary



buy here

A Sad Marketing Gimmick

One would have wished that sort of thing was limited to Jesuits and Franciscans...











Looks like it is getting much support from the Dominicans in the Philippines and their lay associates.

St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church, Boston

A successful transformation of Gothic architecture into a Byzantine worship space?

website

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Silence



Provocative? How about offensive to Catholics?

CWR Dispatch: Six years on, the UK Ordinariate continues to “go forward in faith” by Joanna Bogle
The path for the Anglican Ordinariate hasn’t been completely smooth since its founding, but its members are thriving in their unique position within the Catholic Church.

The Drama Continues

NCReg: Cardinal Müller’s TV Interview Causes Bewilderment by Edward Pentin
Vatican’s doctrinal chief criticizes making ‘dubia’ public but some critics say he is missing the point as it emerges that none of the CDF’s corrections of ‘Amoris Laetitia’ was accepted.

Related:
Fr. Z: Card. Burke’s interview in ‘La Verità”: More Cardinals are completely with the Four
Sandro Magister: A Firing, a Demolition: Behold the New Curia

Cappella Romana in Early Music America-

Choir of Royal Holloway: Palestrina, Magnificat Primo Toni

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

The Theotokos

Ad Multos Annos!

The Power of Silence

The English translation of Cardinal Sarah's book will be available in April. Fr. Z: Card. Sarah’s new book available in ENGLISH

Ignatius Press did get the rights for this... product info.

Order of Malta Responds

official statement (via Fr. Z)

Another Nugget from Fr. Ciszek

Modern and Ignatian?



But there's this:

There is a reason why I resolved to ignore Vatican News this year

And I should probably try to live up to that resolution... Yikes!



Someone needs to give a good theological explanation of what "servant" means with respect to Christ. Maybe Byzantine theologians have already done so.

This looks better:

Instrumental

Wonderful

Monday, January 09, 2017

Yes-Man for the Papacy?

Card. Müller: “a possible fraternal correction of the Pope seems to me to be very remote”

After all, Cardinal Müller has no authority to silence his brother bishops.

Is it time to restore the full Psalter to the Liturgy of the Hours?

Community in Mission

Ian Knowles

The Telegraph: British painter revives Christian ancient art form of iconography in occupied West Bank
PRI: Many Christian icons are made in China. But these come from Bethlehem.

Bethlehem Icon School
Living Tradition and Iconography by Ian Knowles
Elias Icons
Orthodox Arts Journal
Middle East Eye

Fr. Florovsky on the Incarnation

Incarnation and Deification

Icon by George Kordis

The Icon of the Theophany

The Crisis in Orthodox Music in America



Related:

More on the Circumcision of Christ

Eastern Christian Books: The Retired Pope on His Life and Death

Eastern Christian Books: The Retired Pope on His Life and Death

St. Ambrose of Milan

Pravoslavie: Example of St. Ambrose of Milan by Protopresbyter Peter Heers
The Life of the Saint, written by his close disciple Paulinus, relays important information on the state of the Church at the time and the way in which the Saint was elected bishop, which is quite relevant to our contemporary situation and very instructive for us vis-a-vis how the Fathers of the Church dealt with heresy.

Sunday, January 08, 2017

John Deely Has Passed

Announcement by the Semiotic Society of America. Eternal memory!
CWR Dispatch: Is Fr. Paul Keller’s essay really the way "Amoris Laetitia" should be read? by Edward N. Peters
Keller’s essay illustrates how pastors are going to stumble into accepting the central flaw in AL: implicitly assuming that a Catholic’s assessment of his or her own conscience is the sole criterion governing a minister’s decision to give holy Communion to a member of the faithful.

(original)

The Hospitality of Abraham



From the same monastery:


Saturday, January 07, 2017

Vatican Radio: Playing up the Ultramontanist Cult



How many regular attendees are there for the weekly audiences? (laypeople, not clerics)

The Royal Hours of Epiphany Eve

More from David Clayton on "Writing"

Pravoslavie: The Prophetic Role of Mount Athos in the Contemporary World by Jean-Claude Larchet
Mount Athos has long been a fascinating place, which attracts the attention not only of Orthodox, but people belonging to other religions and even of non-believers.

Scholasticum

An interview with Dr. Patrick Owens from July of last year:
New institute to offer online classes in medieval theology and philosophy by Jim Graves
The Scholasticum has a campus in Italy, but is bringing medieval scholasticism to anyone with an Internet connection.


What future for the school if the global economy tanks?

Friday, January 06, 2017

Feast of Theophany



Pravmir: St. John of Kronstadt on Prayer by Holy Hieromartyr Seraphim (Chichagov)

Father John had the greatest gift of prayer. This was his distinctive characteristic. He profoundly believed with all his heart in the grace, given ...
Pravoslavie: The Holy Name by Fr. Stephen Freeman
It is easy to say, without fear of contradiction, that no group within Christianity holds greater reverence for the name of Jesus, in word and in practice than Orthodox Christianity.

Diakonia Retreat Center Church



FB and website

Thursday, January 05, 2017

Icon of the Nativity

The Circumcision of Christ





The Incarnation
Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh
Probably none of you has experience of being in the street; I had it when I was a child and a youth, and it’s a very unpleasant feeling to know that you have nowhere to go and that you are totally unwanted in any of the places that shine with light, which obviously speak of warmth to you.

The Nativity of Christ in Chronology from the Creation of Man
Anatoly Vitvitsky
The goal of this article is to show the results of a calculation of the “5508 years” according to texts of the first translation of the lost original of ancient Hebrew Old Testament Books, made by the Israelite translators from the third to second centuries B.C. (the Septuagint) and preserved up to the twenty-first century in the Bible published by the Russian Bible Society in the Russian language.
Pravoslavie: The New Year: The Mystery of Time
Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann
On New Year’s Eve we feel the mystery of time more powerfully than at any other time.

Edward Feser's Book on Capital Punishment

Joseph Bessette is co-author.

COMING SOON: By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed
It seems that the editor of Pray Tell approves, by the wording of his title: Hope for Shared Communion for Married Couples

Luthernas do not constitute an Apostolic Church.

Jonathan Pageau Interview

Wednesday, January 04, 2017

CWR: Byzantine and Catholic in the Secular Northwest By Jim Graves
An interview with the Very Reverend Fr. Richard Janowicz, pastor of Nativity of the Mother of God Ukrainian Catholic Church in Springfield, Oregon, and Apostolic Administrator of the Eparchy of St. Nicholas of Chicago.

Church website and FB page

Past, Present, and Future of Orthodox Music

Using Facebook for Fedback to the Artist

To Be Published This Month

Les editions du cerf: Vers la plénitude du Christ. Louis Bouyer et l'oecuménisme de Bertrand Lesoing

Tuesday, January 03, 2017

Another anniversary.

Another occasion to ask, "What is the state of the congregation?"

What's next for the progressives?

Intercommunion: The Next Step in Theological Ambiguity? by John M. Grondelski

Theologian: Shared Communion With Protestants Would be Blasphemy and Sacrilege by Edward Pentin
Msgr. Nicola Bux reflects on the possibility this pontificate is sympathetic to Protestant theologian Jürgen Moltmann’s theory of “open Communion.”
Crisis: When God’s Authorship of Creation is Denied by Fr. Daniel Pattee, TOR

St. Silouan on Providence

Commandments

One take...

Drop the Filioque From Liturgical Use

I actually agree with this. Either procedit should be limited to being equivalent to ἐκπορευόμενον (drawn from scripture), or it should be admitted that the Latin translation is not 100% accurate, if procedit is equivalent to προϊέναι. Should the translations of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed be 100% faithful to the original Greek. Should that be a matter of discussion for a reunion council?

Pray Tell: What to Do With the Filioque
Posted by Liborius Lumma
The filioque debate is a well known ecumenical issue. I give my ideas for a viable solution, mainly with regard to the liturgy.
Pray Tell: January 1st in the 17th century Chinese Liturgy

Posted by Audrey Seah

In 1670, following approval received in 1615 from Pope Paul V, a translation of the Roman Missal was published in classical Chinese. In the Missal, the feast on January 1st contains all the same readings as the Latin Roman Missal but bears a different title. Instead of the feast of the “Circumcision of the Lord,” the liturgical calendar names the day the “Establishment of the Holy Name of Jesus” (立耶穌聖名).

Monday, January 02, 2017

CWR: “The Best Books I Read in 2016”
CWR editors and contributors share their favorite reads from the last year.

Carrie Gress:

Warriors vs. Worriers: The Survival of the Sexes (Oxford University Press, 2014), by Joyce Benenson with Henry Markovits

A priest-friend recommended this book earlier this year and I’ve been mulling it over ever since (I now own it in hardcopy and the audio version). At its heart, the book describes men as warriors and women as worriers. Tossing aside any politically correctness pretense, Joyce Benenson speaks directly about the difference between men and women based on her extensive international research across generations.

The book is broken into two sections. The first part discusses men and how the best way to understand them—whether on a sports field or in the boardroom—is as warriors. Competition among them is open, but the attributes of each are appreciated when there is a shared goal or enemy.

Women, on the other hand, are worriers. From the earliest of ages, females show great signs of concern about life in general and have a running interior dialogue to help deal with real or perceived dangers. Instead of a hierarchy like men, women operate from a very egalitarian mindset, which produces a lot of hidden competition with other women (along with limited resources). In fact, Benenson explains, this competition is so hidden most women don’t know they do it. Benenson offers three strategies explaining the ways women can dismiss or remove the threat of other women to which any woman will be able to relate.

This is an incredible resource, especially for those interested in understanding the opposite sex. It has perhaps the unintended effect of reminding us that the vocations of men and women are different, which is why our behavior, thought patterns, and relationships are different as well.

Sunday, January 01, 2017