Fr. Andrea Bozzolo, professor of systematic theology at the Theological Faculty of Northern Italy in Milan, speaks about...
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Fr. Andrea Bozzolo
The Transfiguration
The importance of the recent feast . . .
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Chiesa: From Perón to Bergoglio. With the People, Against Globalization
The presidential election in Argentina is drawing attention back to the political vision of Pope Francis. His enthusiasm for the “popular movements.” The utopia of a new communist and “papist” International
The presidential election in Argentina is drawing attention back to the political vision of Pope Francis. His enthusiasm for the “popular movements.” The utopia of a new communist and “papist” International
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
CWR Blog: Living the truth in love: The director of Courage on homosexuality and the synod
Fr. Paul Check discusses his hopes and concerns for the upcoming Synod on the Family and its consideration of pastoral approaches to those Catholics with same-sex attractions.
By Kerri Lenartowick
Father Paul Check is the executive director of Courage, an international apostolate of the Catholic Church, which ministers to persons with same-sex attractions. This week, Courage is hosting a conference titled “‘Love One Another as I Have Loved You’: Welcoming...
Fr. Paul Check discusses his hopes and concerns for the upcoming Synod on the Family and its consideration of pastoral approaches to those Catholics with same-sex attractions.
By Kerri Lenartowick
Father Paul Check is the executive director of Courage, an international apostolate of the Catholic Church, which ministers to persons with same-sex attractions. This week, Courage is hosting a conference titled “‘Love One Another as I Have Loved You’: Welcoming...
Prayer
If God knows everything–and this is the kind of God in whom we believe–then He does not need us to tell Him what our...
Posted by Orthodoxy and the World on Monday, August 10, 2015
Monday, August 10, 2015
St. Panteleimon
The Lord Jesus Christ called upon the faithful to be perfect, even as the Heavenly Father is perfect. That means that...
Posted by Orthodoxy and the World on Sunday, August 9, 2015
This year, over 500 pilgrims came to the Russian monastery on Mount Athos for the St. Panteleimon Day from Greece, Russia, Ukraine Georgia, Serbia and other countries.
Posted by Orthodoxy and the World on Monday, August 10, 2015
Bringing Back Syriac Chant
Many might not know that the Catholic Church of India is composed of three ritual Churches, namely the Latin rite...
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Saturday, August 8, 2015
Related:
The Holy Father has approved the election of Rev. Dr. Antony Prince Panengaden, until now vicar general of the Eparchy...
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Thursday, August 6, 2015
Pope Francis on Thursday erected an Apostolic Exarchate for Syro-Malabar Catholics who are residents in Canada,...
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Thursday, August 6, 2015
Two Items
The Vatican Post Office celebrates this year two prominent figures of the Armenian Church, Blessed Ignatius Maloyan and...
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Sunday, August 9, 2015
Pope approves decree of martyrdom of the Servant of God Flavien-Michel Malké, of the Fraternity of St Ephrem, Eparch of Gazireh of the Syrians.
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Sunday, August 9, 2015
Sunday, August 09, 2015
This is a Surprise
I thought Ignatius Press would have been the one to publish his memoirs in English. Angelico Press, iirc, does have some books by Latin traditionalists but it is open to Ressourcement theology and the 20th ce liturgical movement as well. The translation is by Dr. John Pepino, who teaches at the FSSP seminary.
Peter Kwasniewski: Rorate Caeli and NLM
Now available: Louis Bouyer’s Memoirs — the long-awaited English translation now released from Angelico Press
Posted by Angelico Press on Saturday, August 8, 2015
Peter Kwasniewski: Rorate Caeli and NLM
Chiesa: Benedict XVI As No One Has Seen Him Before. From Japan by Sandro Magister
In the land of the Rising Sun, an outstanding book with a new interpretation of Ratzinger as theologian and pope. Written by a specialist in German history and culture. And with a Latin title: “Renovatio Europae Christianae”
In the land of the Rising Sun, an outstanding book with a new interpretation of Ratzinger as theologian and pope. Written by a specialist in German history and culture. And with a Latin title: “Renovatio Europae Christianae”
Mount Athos
The Holy Mountain of Athos is the only existing monastic state in the world, which preserves the whole Orthodox...
Posted by Orthodoxy and the World on Friday, August 7, 2015
Saturday, August 08, 2015
Elder Paisios on Incompatibility
Some men say: “I am not compatible to my wife, we are totally different characters! Why does God make such strange...
Posted by Orthodoxy and the World on Friday, August 7, 2015
From the April 2015 issue of Christian Order: "The Crisis of Gender, Marriage & Family: - A Catholic Response" by G.C. DILSAVER, PSYD, MTS
Answerable to the People?
AmConMag: Byzantine Empire—or Republic?
The Byzantine Republic: People and Power in New Rome, Anthony Kaldellis, Harvard University Press, 312 pages
By Brian Patrick Mitchell
The Byzantine Republic: People and Power in New Rome, Anthony Kaldellis, Harvard University Press, 312 pages
By Brian Patrick Mitchell
A New Greek Orthodox Zine
The zine explores the Church’s roots, from its foundation by Christ through its journey to the United States with immigrants and missionaries. Cool!
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Thursday, August 6, 2015
Friday, August 07, 2015
Prayer, repentance, and humility!
Prayer, repentance, and humility!
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Friday, August 7, 2015
Thursday, August 06, 2015
The Carmelite Sisters of St. Teresa
Listen to the final of a two-part interview with Sr. Chris, the Superior General of the Carmelite Sisters of St. Teresa (CSST), based in Bangalore, India.
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Friday, July 31, 2015
Part 1
Cardinal Müller on the October Synod
Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, says the upcoming October...
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Focolare and Islam
The gift of dialogue was explored at the Focolare summer gathering in Liverpool last week which brought together over 700 people .
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Mmmm
The official hymn of the Jubilee of Mercy has been released, with music by Paul Inwood and text by Fr. Eugenio Costa, SJ. Have a listen and tell us what you think!
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Thursday, August 6, 2015
St. Nektarios
Buried in a hilltop monastery on a small Greek island, Saint Nektarios – one of the most widely known and venerated...
Posted by Catholic News Agency on Wednesday, August 5, 2015
With Corbon as a Springboard
St Anastasius of Sinai -- A 7th Century Saint Describes How We Participate in the Transfiguration and Shine with the Light that will Save the World by David Clayton
What Does It Look Like When We Participate In Christ’s Glory through the Liturgy? by David Clayton
The Feast of the Transfiguration by Timothy P. O'Malley
Our Transfiguration, and His by Paddy Gilger, SJ (A Jesuit who teaches philosophy at Creighton. Is he associated with the Institute for Priestly Formation? Surprisingly, The Wellspring of Worship is part of the curriculum there.)
From an Episcopalian priest: Theosis, the Human Vocation by Michael K. Marsh
The Feast of the Transfiguration
John Damascene: The Mystery of the Transfiguration
John of Damascus
What Does It Look Like When We Participate In Christ’s Glory through the Liturgy? by David Clayton
The Feast of the Transfiguration by Timothy P. O'Malley
Our Transfiguration, and His by Paddy Gilger, SJ (A Jesuit who teaches philosophy at Creighton. Is he associated with the Institute for Priestly Formation? Surprisingly, The Wellspring of Worship is part of the curriculum there.)
From an Episcopalian priest: Theosis, the Human Vocation by Michael K. Marsh
The Feast of the Transfiguration
John Damascene: The Mystery of the Transfiguration
John of Damascus
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION by Fr Jean Corbon OP
original Internet source
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION
Christians are still too likely to misunderstand the Transfiguration and look upon it as just one miracle among others, a kind of apologetic proof. The feast celebrating it has likewise become indistinct to them, perhaps because it is the only one not to have a place in the chronological sequence of the Lord’s feasts. It is a commemoration of an event that occurred during his mortal life, but it is celebrated after Pentecost and in the bright light of summer (August 6). Yet this event, which upsets the logic that we see as governing time, is precisely the one that best brings home to us the eschatological condition of the body of Christ; it is an apocalyptic vision at the center of the Gospel.
The Synoptic writers deliberately make this “strange sight” the high point of the ministry of Jesus. [Mark 9:2-10; Matthew 17:1-9; Luke 9:28-36] The astonishment felt and the questions roused by the preceding theophanies “Who can this be?” “Who do you say I am?” — lead to this summit, and it is from here that the journey to the final Passover in Jerusalem begins. The miracles were anticipations of the energies of the risen Christ; the transfiguration is the theophany that reveals their meaning or, better, that already brings to pass what these energies will accomplish in our mortal flesh: our divinization.
The transfiguration is the historical and literary center of the Gospel by reason of its mysterious realism: the humanity of Jesus is the vital place where men become God. Christ is truly a man! But to be a man does not mean “being in a body”, as all the unrepentant dualisms imagine; according to biblical revelation, it means “being a body”, an organic and coherent whole. Because men are their bodies, they are also, like their God, related to other persons, the cosmos, time, and him who is communion in its fullest possible form.
Moreover, ever since the Word took flesh he has a “human” relationship, with all its dimensions, to the Father and to all other men: the fire of his light sets the entire bush aflame; the whole of his humanity is “anointed” with it; “in him, in bodily form, lives divinity in all its fullness” (Colossians 2:9), and to this Paul adds, “and in him you too find your own fulfillment” (Colossians 2:10).
What was it, then, that took place in this unexpected event? Why did the Incomprehensible One allow his “elusive beauty” to be glimpsed for a moment in the body of the Word? Two certainties can serve us as guides.
First, the change, or, to transliterate the Greek word, the “metamorphosis”, was not a change in Jesus. The Gospel text and the unanimous interpretation of the Fathers are clear: Christ “was transfigured, not by acquiring what he was not but by manifesting to his disciples what he in fact was; he opened their eyes and gave these blind men sight.” [Saint John Damascene, Second Homily on the Transfiguration (PG 96:564C)] The change is on the side of the disciples.
The second certainty confirms this point: the purpose of the transfiguration, like everything else in the economy that is revealed in the Bible, is the salvation of man. As in the burning bush, so here the Word “allows” the light of his divinity “to be seen” in his body, in order to communicate not knowledge but life and salvation; he reveals himself by giving himself, and he gives himself in order to transform us into himself.
But if it be permissible to take off the sandals of curiosity and inquisitive gnosis and draw near to the mystery, we may ask: Why did Jesus choose this particular moment, these two witnesses, and these three apostles? What was he, the Son — so passionately in love with the Father and so passionately concerned for us — experiencing in his heart? A few days before Peter had already been given an interior enlightenment and had acknowledged Jesus as the Christ of God. Jesus had then begun to lift the veil from the not far distant ending of his life: he had to suffer, be put to death, and be raised from the dead. It is between this first prediction and the second that he undertakes to ascend the mountain.
The reason for the transfiguration can be glimpsed, therefore, in what the evangelists do not say: having finished the instruction preparatory to his own Pasch, Jesus is determined to advance to its accomplishment. With the whole of his being, the whole of his “body”, he is committed to the loving will of the Father; he accepts that will without reservation. From now on, everything, up to and including the final struggle at which the same three disciples will be invited to be present, will be an expression of his unconditional “Yes” to the Father’s love.
We must certainly enter into this mystery of committed love if we are to understand that the transfiguration is not an impossible unveiling of the light of the Word to the eyes of the apostles, but rather a moment of intensity in which the entire being of Jesus is utterly united with the compassion of the Father. During these decisive days of his life he becomes transparent to the light of the love of the One who gives himself to men for their salvation. If, then, Jesus is transfigured, the reason is that the Father causes his own joy to flame out in him. The radiance of the light in the suffering body of Jesus is, as it were, the thrill experienced by the Father in response to the total self-giving of his only Son. This explains the voice that pierces through the cloud: “This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favor. Listen to him” (Matthew 17:5).
We can also understand the profound feelings of Moses and Elijah, for these two men who had sensed the closeness of the divine glory that was impatient to save man are now contemplating it in the body of the Son of Man. “I have indeed seen the misery of my people…. I have heard them crying for help…. I am well aware of their sufferings, and I have come down to rescue them” (Exodus 3:7-8); “Answer me, Yahweh, answer me…. I am full of jealous zeal for Yahweh Sabaoth, because the Israelites have abandoned your covenant” (1 Kings 18:37; 19:10).
All this is expressed now not by divine words or human words but by the Word himself in his humanity. No longer is there only promise and expectation, for the event has occurred; there is now present “the reality … the body of Christ” (Colossians 2:17). Moses and Elijah can leave the cave on Sinai without hiding their faces, for they have contemplated the source of light in the body of the Word.
The three disciples, for their part, are flooded for a few moments by that which it will be granted to them to receive, understand, and experience from Pentecost on, namely, the divinizing light that emanates from the body of Christ, the multiform energies of the Spirit who gives life. The thing that overwhelms them here is that “this man” is not only “God with men” but God-man; nothing can pass from God to man or from man to God except through his body.
Peter will bear witness in his Letters, as John does in all his writings, to the second of the two certainties I mentioned earlier: that participation in the life of the Father that pours out from the body of Christ is measured by the faith of the human recipient. The new element in the transfiguration consists in this light of faith that has given their bodily eyes the power to see. Thanks to this light, they “touch the Word of life” when they draw near to the body of Jesus.
Henceforth there is no longer any distance between matter and divinity, for in the body of Christ our flesh is in communion (without confusion or separation) with the Prince of life. The transfiguration of the Word gives a glimpse of the fullness of what the Word inaugurated in his Incarnation and manifested after his baptism by his miracles: namely, the truth that the body of the Lord Jesus is the sacrament that gives the life of God to men.
When our humanity consents without reserve to be united to the humanity of Jesus, it will share the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4); it will be divinized. Since the whole meaning of the economy of salvation is concentrated here, it is understandable that the liturgy should be the fulfillment of the economy. The divinization of men will come through sharing in the body of Christ.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION
Christians are still too likely to misunderstand the Transfiguration and look upon it as just one miracle among others, a kind of apologetic proof. The feast celebrating it has likewise become indistinct to them, perhaps because it is the only one not to have a place in the chronological sequence of the Lord’s feasts. It is a commemoration of an event that occurred during his mortal life, but it is celebrated after Pentecost and in the bright light of summer (August 6). Yet this event, which upsets the logic that we see as governing time, is precisely the one that best brings home to us the eschatological condition of the body of Christ; it is an apocalyptic vision at the center of the Gospel.
The Synoptic writers deliberately make this “strange sight” the high point of the ministry of Jesus. [Mark 9:2-10; Matthew 17:1-9; Luke 9:28-36] The astonishment felt and the questions roused by the preceding theophanies “Who can this be?” “Who do you say I am?” — lead to this summit, and it is from here that the journey to the final Passover in Jerusalem begins. The miracles were anticipations of the energies of the risen Christ; the transfiguration is the theophany that reveals their meaning or, better, that already brings to pass what these energies will accomplish in our mortal flesh: our divinization.
The transfiguration is the historical and literary center of the Gospel by reason of its mysterious realism: the humanity of Jesus is the vital place where men become God. Christ is truly a man! But to be a man does not mean “being in a body”, as all the unrepentant dualisms imagine; according to biblical revelation, it means “being a body”, an organic and coherent whole. Because men are their bodies, they are also, like their God, related to other persons, the cosmos, time, and him who is communion in its fullest possible form.
Moreover, ever since the Word took flesh he has a “human” relationship, with all its dimensions, to the Father and to all other men: the fire of his light sets the entire bush aflame; the whole of his humanity is “anointed” with it; “in him, in bodily form, lives divinity in all its fullness” (Colossians 2:9), and to this Paul adds, “and in him you too find your own fulfillment” (Colossians 2:10).
What was it, then, that took place in this unexpected event? Why did the Incomprehensible One allow his “elusive beauty” to be glimpsed for a moment in the body of the Word? Two certainties can serve us as guides.
First, the change, or, to transliterate the Greek word, the “metamorphosis”, was not a change in Jesus. The Gospel text and the unanimous interpretation of the Fathers are clear: Christ “was transfigured, not by acquiring what he was not but by manifesting to his disciples what he in fact was; he opened their eyes and gave these blind men sight.” [Saint John Damascene, Second Homily on the Transfiguration (PG 96:564C)] The change is on the side of the disciples.
The second certainty confirms this point: the purpose of the transfiguration, like everything else in the economy that is revealed in the Bible, is the salvation of man. As in the burning bush, so here the Word “allows” the light of his divinity “to be seen” in his body, in order to communicate not knowledge but life and salvation; he reveals himself by giving himself, and he gives himself in order to transform us into himself.
But if it be permissible to take off the sandals of curiosity and inquisitive gnosis and draw near to the mystery, we may ask: Why did Jesus choose this particular moment, these two witnesses, and these three apostles? What was he, the Son — so passionately in love with the Father and so passionately concerned for us — experiencing in his heart? A few days before Peter had already been given an interior enlightenment and had acknowledged Jesus as the Christ of God. Jesus had then begun to lift the veil from the not far distant ending of his life: he had to suffer, be put to death, and be raised from the dead. It is between this first prediction and the second that he undertakes to ascend the mountain.
The reason for the transfiguration can be glimpsed, therefore, in what the evangelists do not say: having finished the instruction preparatory to his own Pasch, Jesus is determined to advance to its accomplishment. With the whole of his being, the whole of his “body”, he is committed to the loving will of the Father; he accepts that will without reservation. From now on, everything, up to and including the final struggle at which the same three disciples will be invited to be present, will be an expression of his unconditional “Yes” to the Father’s love.
We must certainly enter into this mystery of committed love if we are to understand that the transfiguration is not an impossible unveiling of the light of the Word to the eyes of the apostles, but rather a moment of intensity in which the entire being of Jesus is utterly united with the compassion of the Father. During these decisive days of his life he becomes transparent to the light of the love of the One who gives himself to men for their salvation. If, then, Jesus is transfigured, the reason is that the Father causes his own joy to flame out in him. The radiance of the light in the suffering body of Jesus is, as it were, the thrill experienced by the Father in response to the total self-giving of his only Son. This explains the voice that pierces through the cloud: “This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favor. Listen to him” (Matthew 17:5).
We can also understand the profound feelings of Moses and Elijah, for these two men who had sensed the closeness of the divine glory that was impatient to save man are now contemplating it in the body of the Son of Man. “I have indeed seen the misery of my people…. I have heard them crying for help…. I am well aware of their sufferings, and I have come down to rescue them” (Exodus 3:7-8); “Answer me, Yahweh, answer me…. I am full of jealous zeal for Yahweh Sabaoth, because the Israelites have abandoned your covenant” (1 Kings 18:37; 19:10).
All this is expressed now not by divine words or human words but by the Word himself in his humanity. No longer is there only promise and expectation, for the event has occurred; there is now present “the reality … the body of Christ” (Colossians 2:17). Moses and Elijah can leave the cave on Sinai without hiding their faces, for they have contemplated the source of light in the body of the Word.
The three disciples, for their part, are flooded for a few moments by that which it will be granted to them to receive, understand, and experience from Pentecost on, namely, the divinizing light that emanates from the body of Christ, the multiform energies of the Spirit who gives life. The thing that overwhelms them here is that “this man” is not only “God with men” but God-man; nothing can pass from God to man or from man to God except through his body.
Peter will bear witness in his Letters, as John does in all his writings, to the second of the two certainties I mentioned earlier: that participation in the life of the Father that pours out from the body of Christ is measured by the faith of the human recipient. The new element in the transfiguration consists in this light of faith that has given their bodily eyes the power to see. Thanks to this light, they “touch the Word of life” when they draw near to the body of Jesus.
Henceforth there is no longer any distance between matter and divinity, for in the body of Christ our flesh is in communion (without confusion or separation) with the Prince of life. The transfiguration of the Word gives a glimpse of the fullness of what the Word inaugurated in his Incarnation and manifested after his baptism by his miracles: namely, the truth that the body of the Lord Jesus is the sacrament that gives the life of God to men.
When our humanity consents without reserve to be united to the humanity of Jesus, it will share the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4); it will be divinized. Since the whole meaning of the economy of salvation is concentrated here, it is understandable that the liturgy should be the fulfillment of the economy. The divinization of men will come through sharing in the body of Christ.
You were transfigured on the mountain, O Christ God, / revealing Your glory to Your disciples as far as they could bear...
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Thursday, August 6, 2015
Wednesday, August 05, 2015
St. Paisios
Wise words from St. Paisios.
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Monday, August 3, 2015
The Great Commandment
Lord have mercy on me!
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Tuesday, August 04, 2015
Is Divorce Permissible?
Synod. The Key Question: Does Jesus Allow Divorce Or Not? by Sandro Magister
Innocenzo Gargano, an illustrious exegete, explains that he does, and Cardinal Kasper agrees with him. But the New Testament and the tradition of the Church say the opposite, critics object. A preview of a book by the biblicist Gonzalo Ruiz Freites
Innocenzo Gargano, an illustrious exegete, explains that he does, and Cardinal Kasper agrees with him. But the New Testament and the tradition of the Church say the opposite, critics object. A preview of a book by the biblicist Gonzalo Ruiz Freites
Monday, August 03, 2015
Conference on St. Teresa of Avila
Pope Francis has sent a letter of greeting and encouragement to participants of an Interuniversity Congress on Saint Theresa of Avila.
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Monday, August 3, 2015
One of the Panels at This Year's Napa Institute Conference
The CWR Blog: Cdl. Schönborn, Bishops Aquila and Gudziak discuss challenges for families, hopes for upcoming synod by Catherine Harmon
How many recognize the problems caused by feminism and consumerism and capitalism for stable marriages? How prevalent is "frivoce" in Europe?
How many recognize the problems caused by feminism and consumerism and capitalism for stable marriages? How prevalent is "frivoce" in Europe?
From Ignatius Press in September
Behold the Man: A Catholic Vision of Male Spirituality
by Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers
Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers (FB)
I don't know him, so I don't know if his message goes beyond the usual Christian so-con solutions to the usual Christian so-con criticisms of American men.
by Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers
Lucid and inspiring, Behold the Man is a unique exploration of Catholic spirituality for men. Much of the literature written for Catholic men focuses on topical issues such as fatherhood and sexuality. While this book does not exclude these subjects, it is the first to present a comprehensive picture of Catholic male spirituality.
What is authentic male Catholic spirituality? What distinguishes it from Protestant male spirituality? How does masculine spirituality complement feminine spirituality? These questions and many more are answered in this book.
Drawing from Scripture and Church teaching, the author roots Catholic male spirituality in a covenant relationship with God and the cross of Jesus Christ. He demonstrates that when a man embraces the cross he is truly able to be himself—the man that God created and calls him to be. Behold the Man can deepen a man’s experience of Christ and help him to know the Lord more intimately.
Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers (FB)
I don't know him, so I don't know if his message goes beyond the usual Christian so-con solutions to the usual Christian so-con criticisms of American men.
Dr. Demacopoulis on Orthodox Fundamentalism
What is Orthodox Fundamentalism? According to George E. Demacopoulis, such a thing exists.
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Monday, August 3, 2015
His interview on Ancient Faith Radio.
Don't Judge
Lord have mercy! May we seek to quiet our hearts, not just our mouths.
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Monday, August 3, 2015
Mere Apostolic Christianity
Patristic and taking into consideration all of the apostolic traditions of the Church? Reconciling East and West cannot be complete until all are one, and not just the separated Byzantine churches.
The Relevance and Future of the Second Vatican Council by Marc Cardinal Ouellet
Maybe there is a copy at one of the local bookstores; not sure I would want to buy this book without a longer preview.
The Relevance and Future of the Second Vatican Council by Marc Cardinal Ouellet
Maybe there is a copy at one of the local bookstores; not sure I would want to buy this book without a longer preview.
Sunday, August 02, 2015
What is Fr. Georges Cottier Advocating?
“In rigorism there is an innate brutality that goes against the gentle way God has of guiding each person,” says the...
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Sunday, August 2, 2015
May Muslims Come to Know Christ
This is an incredible story. It was sent to us from one of our followers (who will remain anonymous). Lord have mercy!
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Sunday, August 2, 2015
The Theotokos
God's Mother, our Mother.
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Saturday, August 1, 2015
Saturday, August 01, 2015
The Divine Liturgy
Heaven on earth! Watch this!
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Saturday, August 1, 2015
A Contemporary instance of Byzantine Scholasticism
Or would Orthodox critics claim it is Latin in virtue of the fact that it is scholastic?
Thomistica: Aquinas Center for Theological Renewal Awards 2014 Dissertation Prize
"The Aquinas Center for Theological Renewal at Ave Maria University is pleased to announce Hieromonk Gregory Hrynkiw, ASTH, as the recipient of the 2014 St. Thomas Aquinas Dissertation Prize..."
His doctoral defense presentation.
Related:
The Asketerion
St. Gregory the Theologian’s Middle Way: Between Silence and Speech by HIERMONK GREGORIOS HRYNKIW, ASTH
Thomistica: Aquinas Center for Theological Renewal Awards 2014 Dissertation Prize
"The Aquinas Center for Theological Renewal at Ave Maria University is pleased to announce Hieromonk Gregory Hrynkiw, ASTH, as the recipient of the 2014 St. Thomas Aquinas Dissertation Prize..."
His doctoral defense presentation.
Related:
The Asketerion
St. Gregory the Theologian’s Middle Way: Between Silence and Speech by HIERMONK GREGORIOS HRYNKIW, ASTH
Interview with Archbishop Georg Gänswein
Vatican Radio's Mario Galgano (from the German Section) interviewed Archbishop Georg Gänswein, the Prefect of the Papal...
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Saturday, August 1, 2015
"Jesus of the Poor"
Pope Francis spends a few moments in order to admire and to bless “Jesus of the Poor,” a picture that attempts to “...
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Saturday, August 1, 2015
Supplications to the Theotokos
Wonderful!
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Friday, July 31, 2015
Friday, July 31, 2015
The Need for a Reinvigorated Monasticism in the US
MONASTICISM AND THE CHURCH
Address of Abbot Schema-Archimandrite Sergius of St. Tikhon's Monastery to the 18th OCA All-American Council
Address of Abbot Schema-Archimandrite Sergius of St. Tikhon's Monastery to the 18th OCA All-American Council
Thursday, July 30, 2015
On the Anniversary of the Repose of St. Vladimir
HIS HOLINESS PATRIARCH KIRILL CELEBRATES LITURGY AT THE CATHEDRAL OF CHRIST THE SAVIOUR ON THE DAY MARKING THE MILLENNIUM OF THE DEMISE OF THE HOLY PRINCE VLADIMIR, EQUAL-TO-THE-APOSTLES
MESSAGE BY PATRIARCH KIRILL ON THE OCCASION OF THE MILLENNIUM OF THE REPOSE OF THE HOLY PRINCE VLADIMIR EQUAL-TO-THE-APOSTLES
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill
Pravmir and MosPat
PRIMATE OF UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH OFFICIATES AT DIVINE LITURGY IN KIEV LAURA OF THE CAVES ON COMMEMORATION DAY OF HOLY PRINCE VLADIMIR
WHEREIN LIES THE MORAL POWER OF HOLY PRINCE VLADIMIR?
St. John (Maximovich) of Shanghai and San Francisco
Prince Vladimir and the Baptism of Russia: The Blade of Christ’s Grace by Archpriest Andrei Tkachev
It seems that most of us are double-minded and weak-willed, but the Prince-Baptizer was not. Vladimir arose from the baptismal font another person. His lust faded, his cruelty was replaced by the desire to feed the hungry, and his proud and cunning thoughts were supplanted in his soul by the simplicity of the Gospel. In this we ought to imitate the Prince.
Baptism Of Rus': Beast Becomes Man
Source: Vechernyaya Moskva
The baptism of our land occurred one time , but we make the choice to be a person or a beast in every moment of our life.
Vladimir Legoyda
MESSAGE BY PATRIARCH KIRILL ON THE OCCASION OF THE MILLENNIUM OF THE REPOSE OF THE HOLY PRINCE VLADIMIR EQUAL-TO-THE-APOSTLES
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill
Pravmir and MosPat
PRIMATE OF UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH OFFICIATES AT DIVINE LITURGY IN KIEV LAURA OF THE CAVES ON COMMEMORATION DAY OF HOLY PRINCE VLADIMIR
WHEREIN LIES THE MORAL POWER OF HOLY PRINCE VLADIMIR?
St. John (Maximovich) of Shanghai and San Francisco
Prince Vladimir and the Baptism of Russia: The Blade of Christ’s Grace by Archpriest Andrei Tkachev
It seems that most of us are double-minded and weak-willed, but the Prince-Baptizer was not. Vladimir arose from the baptismal font another person. His lust faded, his cruelty was replaced by the desire to feed the hungry, and his proud and cunning thoughts were supplanted in his soul by the simplicity of the Gospel. In this we ought to imitate the Prince.
Baptism Of Rus': Beast Becomes Man
Source: Vechernyaya Moskva
The baptism of our land occurred one time , but we make the choice to be a person or a beast in every moment of our life.
Vladimir Legoyda
Helpful to the Dialogue?
ST. JOHN OF DAMASCUS AND THE ‘ORTHODOXY’ OF THE NON-CHALCEDONIANS by Protopresbyter Theodore Zisis
It may be difficult to generalize about the Cahlcedonian Orthodox -- perhaps it is the Slavs who are most distant from the Oriental Orthodox.
Related:
“The Hidden Source of Heresy Is Always the Pride of the Human Mind” by Archimandrite Boris (Dolzhenko)
The Memory of the Holy Fathers of the Six Ecumenical Councils
It may be difficult to generalize about the Cahlcedonian Orthodox -- perhaps it is the Slavs who are most distant from the Oriental Orthodox.
Related:
“The Hidden Source of Heresy Is Always the Pride of the Human Mind” by Archimandrite Boris (Dolzhenko)
The Memory of the Holy Fathers of the Six Ecumenical Councils
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Fr. Lombardi on Pope Francis
Father Lombardi, the Mouth of Truth by Sandro Magister
He gives a description of Francis that is very far from the flattering mainstream, and much more credible. On questions like the reform of the curia and diplomacy. But he leaves one open question: does this pope act more by instinct or by strategy?
Fr. Lombardi, head of Holy See Press Office, on how he feels about Pope Francis: "Confused." by Carl E. Olson
The remarks come from a "National Geographic" piece, which posits that Francis was elected by "more progressive cardinals"
He gives a description of Francis that is very far from the flattering mainstream, and much more credible. On questions like the reform of the curia and diplomacy. But he leaves one open question: does this pope act more by instinct or by strategy?
Fr. Lombardi, head of Holy See Press Office, on how he feels about Pope Francis: "Confused." by Carl E. Olson
The remarks come from a "National Geographic" piece, which posits that Francis was elected by "more progressive cardinals"
Giacomo Cardinal Biffi
CWR Blog: Cardinal Giacomo Biffi, in his own words by Alessandra Nucci
Rorate Caeli: Marcello Pera: what an abyss between the Church of Biffi [Benedict XVI] and Galantino [Francis]!
Rorate Caeli: Marcello Pera: what an abyss between the Church of Biffi [Benedict XVI] and Galantino [Francis]!
A Worship that Appeals to Both Men and Women
Rorate Caeli: FIUV Position Paper: The Traditional Mass and Men
The claim that prayers and lyrics that are overly sentimental and do not strongly assert the truths of the Faith are repugnant to men is probably right. But one could probably find a trend of declining Mass attendance by men in the Roman rite churches after World War II; this is parallel to other churches (i.e. Byzantine) suffering from low attendance, both here in the US and in Europe, despite their maintaining traditional forms of worship. Why has there been a difficulty in retaining males? This is something those in authority need to address. Male converts are more likely to seek out traditional, more reverent forms, with the exception of charismatics and those who participate in some of the new ecclesial movements? But even those can be said to share with traditional forms a more demanding, robust Christianity, even if the theology of the latter groups may be suspect.
The claim that prayers and lyrics that are overly sentimental and do not strongly assert the truths of the Faith are repugnant to men is probably right. But one could probably find a trend of declining Mass attendance by men in the Roman rite churches after World War II; this is parallel to other churches (i.e. Byzantine) suffering from low attendance, both here in the US and in Europe, despite their maintaining traditional forms of worship. Why has there been a difficulty in retaining males? This is something those in authority need to address. Male converts are more likely to seek out traditional, more reverent forms, with the exception of charismatics and those who participate in some of the new ecclesial movements? But even those can be said to share with traditional forms a more demanding, robust Christianity, even if the theology of the latter groups may be suspect.
Two from TAC
News
Dr. John Goyette: Aquinas on Law, Happiness & the Political Common Good
Address at the Seventh Annual Conference on the Social Doctrine of the Church, June 20, 2015
Dr. Gregory L. Froelich: Self-Love and Friendship
Talk from the 2015 West Coast Meeting of the Society for Aristotelian-Thomistic Studies
A short profile on Michael Augros and an interview with him.
Dr. John Goyette: Aquinas on Law, Happiness & the Political Common Good
Address at the Seventh Annual Conference on the Social Doctrine of the Church, June 20, 2015
Dr. Gregory L. Froelich: Self-Love and Friendship
Talk from the 2015 West Coast Meeting of the Society for Aristotelian-Thomistic Studies
A short profile on Michael Augros and an interview with him.
Monday, July 27, 2015
An Effective Use of Social Media?
Have you liked the Jubilee of Mercy Facebook Page? Click on the attached link, and like it now! (remember, just liking this post does not make you like the Jubilee of Mercy Page)
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Sunday, July 26, 2015
Could Something Similar Be Done Within a Gothic Temple?
I don't think so, but maybe someone can create a virtual design to show that it is possible.
Stunning photos from Svetitskhoveli Mtskheta!
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Monday, July 27, 2015
Bishop Nicholas Samra Visits St. Elias
The Visit of Bishop Nicholas Samra to St. Elias The Prophet Melkite Church in San Jose, July 26, 2015.Wonderful news...
Posted by Our Lady of Fatima Russian Byzantine Catholic Church on Monday, July 27, 2015
Is there anything more seductive to the ear than a sung Semitic language (e.g. Arabic) during Divine Liturgy? I'm not sure if Greek chant can compare, even though the music for Greek chant is Eastern as well.
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Heard Dr. Ray Guarendi tonight for TOT SV -- he did a typical Latin apologetic, "Why Be Catholic?" I think it might have been more beneficial if he had talked about the emotions and their relation to the spiritual life, especially since he mentioned in his talk that one of our current problems is that people think that emotions mean everything (my very poor paraphrase, as I don't remember his exact words at the moment). It would be good to explain how the emotions are good and how they need to be regulated.
The New Armenian Catholic Patriarch
Pope Francis has sent a message of congratulations to the new Armenian Catholic Paticarch of Cilicia, his Beatiude Grégoire Pierre XX Ghabroyan.
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Saturday, July 25, 2015
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Preserving the Musical Patrimony of the East
A recent congress in Rome dedicated to “Safeguarding the Musical Traditions of Eastern Christianity” focused on ways to keep the Eastern lung strong and healthy in the years to come.
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Friday, July 24, 2015
Friday, July 24, 2015
New Liturgical Music Book
Cool!
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Friday, July 24, 2015
Related:
"The solution for the “amateur’s pride”—and I worry that such a mindset has become endemic in American Orthodox church music—is to start striving upwards."
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Thursday, July 23, 2015
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Patriarch John X
Fr Chris interviews His Beatitude John X in October at the Antiochian Archdiocese. OCN listeners around the world wish...
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Thursday, July 23, 2015
Metropolitan Tikhon's Address
Read the address presented by His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon at the 73rd Annual Commencement exercises at St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary on May 23, 2015.
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Thursday, July 23, 2015
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Because the Western Patriarchate is Too Centralized
Headhunters for the Future Bishops by Sandro Magister
With twelve criteria for their selection. Proposed from Australia by Paul A. McGavin, theologian and economist
With twelve criteria for their selection. Proposed from Australia by Paul A. McGavin, theologian and economist
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
St. Elias Antiochian Cathedral
"This is St Elias Cathedral in Ottawa, Ontario in Canada"
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Monday, July 20, 2015
website
Turn the Rest of the Department Over to Orthodoxy
Fordham University has received a generous gift to establish the Father John Meyendorff & Patterson Family Chair of Orthodox Christian Studies!
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Monday, July 20, 2015
Especially when Fordham Theology has been in the news lately for very bad reasons... Theology Chairman’s Same-Sex Wedding Begins ‘Flood’ of Challenges to Catholic Identity
Is There an Icon That is Smaller?
What a small icon! Lord, have mercy on us!
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Monday, July 20, 2015
Saint Andrew Orthodox Church, Patras, Greece
Here are some beautiful photos of Saint Andrew Orthodox Church in Patras, Greece!
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Monday, July 20, 2015
Finding God in Prayer
How do you find God in prayer?
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Saturday, July 18, 2015
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Patriarch John X to Visit SVS
Patriarch John will deliver a presentation at St. Vladimir's Seminary on ragic displacement of Middle Eastern Christians and others from their ancient homelands due to civil strife and war.
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Sunday, July 19, 2015
Hellenic College/Holy Cross Presidential Letter
Check it out here!
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Sunday, July 19, 2015
An Interview with Metropolitan Kallistos
In which he talks about Metropolitan Anthony Bloom.
Pravmir: Metropolitan Kallistos: No other Orthodox Has Had That Extent of Influence on the Popular Level
So what interested him was not systems, but persons and their meeting. Not God as a philosophical idea, not God as somehow an explanation for the order that we find in the world round us. I don’t think he spoke much about that. But about the need to meet God personally in our own lives.
Xenia Luchenko, Michael Sarni
Source: http://www.pravmir.com/metropolitan-kallistos-no-other-orthodox-has-had-that-extent-of-influence-on-the-popular-level/#ixzz3gMAGahZZ
Pravmir: Metropolitan Kallistos: No other Orthodox Has Had That Extent of Influence on the Popular Level
So what interested him was not systems, but persons and their meeting. Not God as a philosophical idea, not God as somehow an explanation for the order that we find in the world round us. I don’t think he spoke much about that. But about the need to meet God personally in our own lives.
Xenia Luchenko, Michael Sarni
Source: http://www.pravmir.com/metropolitan-kallistos-no-other-orthodox-has-had-that-extent-of-influence-on-the-popular-level/#ixzz3gMAGahZZ
Radio Notre Dame: Ecclesia Magazine
July 8, 2015
podcast
Émission du Mercredi 08 juillet 2015
10 ans après la mort de Louis Bouyer, regard sur l'actualité et la fécondité du théologien, à l'occasion d'un colloque qui lui était consacré les 10 et 11 octobre à l'Institut Catholique de Paris et aux Bernardins
10 ans après la mort de Louis Bouyer, regard sur l'actualité et la fécondité du théologien, à l'occasion d'un colloque qui lui était consacré les 10 et 11 octobre à l'Institut Catholique de Paris et aux Bernardins. Avec :
Patrick PRETOT, bénédictin, enseignant au Théologicum à l'Institut catholique de Paris et directeur de la revue La Maison-Dieu et Jean DUCHESNE, directeur administratif de l'Académie Catholique de France et exécuteur littéraire du Père Louis Bouyer.
podcast
Saturday, July 18, 2015
Friday, July 17, 2015
Bicentenary of Don Bosco's Birth
To mark the bicentenary of the birth of St John Bosco, founder of the Salesian family, Pope Francis has sent a letter to...
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Thursday, July 16, 2015
What Would Byzantine Christians Have Added?
Vatican Radio spoke to representatives of the Catholic-Pentecostal dialogue here at the Vatican.
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Friday, July 17, 2015
Beatification Next?
More on the Heroic Virtue of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptysky.
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Friday, July 17, 2015
Pope Francis received approved the decrees recognizing the heroic virtue the Servants of God, including Andrey Roman...
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Friday, July 17, 2015
Vatican publishes decrees of heroic virtues of several Servants of God.
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Friday, July 17, 2015
Thursday, July 16, 2015
A Rather Modern Icon?
"I got the most I ever have out of studying this Orthodox Study Bible in front of this icon. I heard that this icon is...
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Thursday, July 16, 2015
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
St. Volodomyr
NLM: St Vladimir the Great by Gregory DiPippo
In which he recounts:
Attention, Latin traditionalists: the Byzantine rite, not the Roman.
In which he recounts:
The ancient Slavic chronicles record a famous episode that, when investigating which religion he and his people ought to embrace, Vladimir judged Islam altogether undesirable because of the prohibition on drinking alcohol, saying “Drinking is the joy of all Rus’. We cannot exist without that pleasure.” The envoys sent by him to visit the temples of various neighboring peoples reported that the Bulgar Muslim “bows, sits down, looks hither and thither like one possessed, and there is no happiness among them, but instead only sorrow and a dreadful stench. Their religion is not good.” Their report of the Latin Rite among the Germans was that “we beheld no glory there.” But they described the Divine Liturgy celebrated on a great feast in Constantinople in these terms: “(T)he Greeks led us to the edifices where they worship their God, and we knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth. For on earth there is no such splendor or such beauty, and we are at a loss how to describe it. We know only that God dwells there among men, and their service is fairer than the ceremonies of other nations. For we cannot forget that beauty… If the Greek faith were evil, it would not have been adopted by your grandmother Olga, who was wiser than all other men.”
Attention, Latin traditionalists: the Byzantine rite, not the Roman.
Eastern Christian Books: The Greek New Testament
Eastern Christian Books: The Greek New Testament
Fr. Gignac's book (no CUA Press page yet) should be a good resource for those wishing to learn koine Greek.
Meanwhile, at CUA...
Fr. Gignac's book (no CUA Press page yet) should be a good resource for those wishing to learn koine Greek.
Meanwhile, at CUA...
Another Attempt to Reconcile DH
Vatican II Followed Ottaviani on Church and State by Joseph G. Trabbic
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
What is the "Penitential Way"?
Chiesa: Synod. The Preparatory Document’s Arabian Phoenix
by by Sandro Magister
Everybody says there is one, what it is nobody knows. It is the “penitential way” to communion for the divorced and remarried. The Dominican theologian Thomas Michelet lays bare the contradictions
And how is the notion of "penance" here related to metanoia?
by by Sandro Magister
Everybody says there is one, what it is nobody knows. It is the “penitential way” to communion for the divorced and remarried. The Dominican theologian Thomas Michelet lays bare the contradictions
And how is the notion of "penance" here related to metanoia?
Ninth Annual Summer Patristic Studies
Check this out!
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Friday, July 10, 2015
"The Chapel at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology"
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Friday, July 10, 2015
As It Should Be
Beautiful photo sent to us with this caption: "From Romania with love!"
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Tuesday, July 14, 2015
George writes: Hello! This is the Altar of my church, in Milcoveni, Caras-Severin, Romania. God bless all of us!
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Monday, July 13, 2015
St. Nicholas of Japan on Buddhism
St. Nicholas of Japan on Buddhism by Deacon Giorgi Maximov (print)
Monday, July 13, 2015
A New Understanding of Anselm
Silverio Rebelo, Le Sacrifice du Christ chez Saint Anselm de Cantorbery, Le noveau visage du Cur Deus Homo, Irenikon, LXXXVII, 2014, 5-46
Summary of Silverio Rebelo:
"The Sacrifice of Christ according to Saint Anselm of Canterbury - A New Look at the Cur Deus Homo." According to the current interpretation of the Cur Deus Homo, Anselm explained the redemptive function of the sacrifice of the Cross in accordance with the basic perspective of the theory of vicarious satisfaction, the classic design of a legal-term replacement of the work of Christ. However, a closer examination reveals a theology of redemption of a very different type, deeply rooted in the patristic tradition, whose basic idea is that the sacrifice of Christ is a life-giving event. According to this interpretation of the mediation of Christ, faith allows believers to share in the perfection of his obedience unto death, which becomes the basis of their life of obedience to God. This leads to a veritable revolution in the understanding of the relationship between God and humanity: the sacrifice of Christ is not a condition of the grace of God for humankind, but a work that renews their way of living, and is an expression [of] God's unconditional will to save."
The article contains a discussion of merit in CDH 2.19 - is this the source of Aquinas's teaching on merit re: Christ's redemptive work in ST III? Or is it mediated by other sources? From a completely unrelated work? Wholly "original"?
The dominant understanding of Anselm's teaching among Latins, transmitted in academic settings, is probably familiar to those who have studied Latin theories of atonement. It is a representation put forth even by Joseph Ratzinger and Louis Bouyer. I assume that both read Anselm's CDH, either in Latin or in translation, so that their representation is confirmed by their reading of the primary source and not based solely on secondary sources. So why did the theological giants of yesteryear fail to get Anselm right (assuming this revised understanding of Cur Deus Homo is the correct one)? Did they lack access to the requisite scholarship for properly understanding how the terms satisfaction and honor were being used by Anselm, definitions that could not be uncovered until they were situated within the historical and theological culture in which they were used? Was it a problem of translation (and the interpretation that precedes translation)?
Summary of Silverio Rebelo:
"The Sacrifice of Christ according to Saint Anselm of Canterbury - A New Look at the Cur Deus Homo." According to the current interpretation of the Cur Deus Homo, Anselm explained the redemptive function of the sacrifice of the Cross in accordance with the basic perspective of the theory of vicarious satisfaction, the classic design of a legal-term replacement of the work of Christ. However, a closer examination reveals a theology of redemption of a very different type, deeply rooted in the patristic tradition, whose basic idea is that the sacrifice of Christ is a life-giving event. According to this interpretation of the mediation of Christ, faith allows believers to share in the perfection of his obedience unto death, which becomes the basis of their life of obedience to God. This leads to a veritable revolution in the understanding of the relationship between God and humanity: the sacrifice of Christ is not a condition of the grace of God for humankind, but a work that renews their way of living, and is an expression [of] God's unconditional will to save."
The article contains a discussion of merit in CDH 2.19 - is this the source of Aquinas's teaching on merit re: Christ's redemptive work in ST III? Or is it mediated by other sources? From a completely unrelated work? Wholly "original"?
The dominant understanding of Anselm's teaching among Latins, transmitted in academic settings, is probably familiar to those who have studied Latin theories of atonement. It is a representation put forth even by Joseph Ratzinger and Louis Bouyer. I assume that both read Anselm's CDH, either in Latin or in translation, so that their representation is confirmed by their reading of the primary source and not based solely on secondary sources. So why did the theological giants of yesteryear fail to get Anselm right (assuming this revised understanding of Cur Deus Homo is the correct one)? Did they lack access to the requisite scholarship for properly understanding how the terms satisfaction and honor were being used by Anselm, definitions that could not be uncovered until they were situated within the historical and theological culture in which they were used? Was it a problem of translation (and the interpretation that precedes translation)?
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Carl Olson on Deification
His response to a perhaps well-meaning but rather ignorant Latin (or a troll):
Edit> The corrected paragraph:
Not only is it not new, divinization is a key concept in the New Testament, in both implicit and more obvious forms. In addition, it is a huge, huge theme in the entirety of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The most obvious example is par. 460:
The Word became flesh to make us “partakers of the divine nature”: “For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God.” “For the Son of God became man so that we might become God.” “The only–begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods.”
Another great example is in the section on "grace":
Grace is a participation in the life of God. It introduces us into the intimacy of Trinitarian life: by Baptism the Christian participates in the grace of Christ, the Head of his Body. As an “adopted son” he can henceforth call God “Father,” in union with the only Son. He receives the life of the Spirit who breathes charity into him and who forms the Church.
Taking cues from the CCC, I think it is usually best to describe divinization as partaking in the divine nature (cf. 2 Pet. 1:4), or being made children of God, drawing on the teaching of the Apostle John: "See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are..." (1 Jn. 3:1).
But this isn't simply a matter of "mystical theology"; it is Catholicism 101. Which is probably why it is mentioned explicitly in the very first line of the CCC: "God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. ..." Which continues by stating: "To accomplish this, when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son as Redeemer and Savior. In his Son and through him, he invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, his adopted children and thus heirs of his blessed life."
In the Eastern Churches (both Catholic and Orthodox) the theme of divinization is very clear and upfront, especially in the Divine Liturgy. And yet Eastern Christians, in my experience, don't fall into pantheism or monism or polytheism, in large part because the reality of divinization is clearly articulated within an Incarnational and Trinitarian framework, in which the distinction between God and man is very confused [sic -- I suspect this is a typo], even while the union of God and man in the Person of Jesus Christ is continually proclaimed and articulated. One problem, it seems to me, is that far too many Catholics view Catholicism as a religion of morality and works rather than appreciating that those things flow first from the reality of Who God is and what he calls us to be.
I say it is a theme that needs to be emphasized far, far more often, which is why I am the co-editor, with Fr. David V. Meconi, SJ (editor of HPR), of a detailed study of divinization that will be published by Ignatius Press early next year, and will include chapters by Dr. Ortiz, Dr. Fagerberg, Fr. Hofer, and several others, with a Foreword by Dr. Scott Hahn.
Edit> The corrected paragraph:
In the Eastern Churches (both Catholic and Orthodox) the theme of divinization is very clear and upfront, especially in the Divine Liturgy. And yet Eastern Christians, in my experience, don't fall into pantheism or monism or polytheism, in large part because the reality of divinization is clearly articulated within an Incarnational and Trinitarian framework, in which the distinction between God and man is not confused, even while the union of God and man in the Person of Jesus Christ is continually proclaimed and articulated. One problem, it seems to me, is that far too many Catholics view Catholicism as a religion of morality and works rather than appreciating that those things flow first from the reality of Who God is and what he calls us to be.
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