The Dignity of Work

Pope Francis at today's General Audience: “Through work, the family is cared for and children are provided with a dignified life.”

Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Every Wednesday the Holy Father holds a General Audience where he greets the pilgrims present and delivers a catechesis. Watch LIVE now!

Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Another Book...

With the Synod of Bishops rapidly approaching, 11 cardinals have contributed to a small but important book offering a...

Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Friday, August 21, 2015

Agios Savvas in Kalymnos, Dodecanese

The Monastery of Agios Savvas in Kalymnos, Dodecanese

Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Wednesday, August 19, 2015

A Temple in Trebinje, Bosnia-Herzegovina

"Here are some photos of the celebration of the Transfiguration of Christ in Trebinje, Bosnia-Herzegovina"

Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Friday, August 21, 2015

The Science of The Martian

AICN: Copernicus has seen some of THE MARTIAN and has a SCIENCE VS. CINEMA video about it

Archives of The Aquinas Review Now Available

TAC: College Publishes Complete, Free Archives of The Aquinas Review

Bishop Flavien-Michel Malké

Christian Today: 100 years after being martyred, Syriac Catholic to be beatified
CNA

Are There No Bishops Who Are Experts?

Prof. John Grabowski (author, Sex and Virtue) must be doing a good job advising the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, because now he's going to Rome to advise all of the bishops.

Posted by The Catholic University of America Press on Thursday, August 20, 2015

New from Angelico Press

From Christendom to Americanism and Beyond: The Long, Jagged Trail to a Postmodern Void by Thomas Storck

He has written some good things about communitarianism, technology, and other related topics, but I generally disagree with his version of American history (which attributes too much to liberalism the very beginning), which is not unique among Latin traditionalists.

A liturgical progressive laments some changes: A Lament for Lost Liturgy

So not all changes made in the name of being "pastoral" are actually good for liturgical spirituality, piety, or the preservation of custom (or the respect for custom) that is necessary as a foundation for the moral and spiritual life? Who would have thought? Would Fr. Anthony Ruff be willing to reconsider the promulgation of the Missal of Paul VI?

Related:
Holy Days of Obligation: A Defense by Christian Browne

Metroplitan Hilarion Alfeyev on the Transfiguration

Each one of us passes through different states. Sometimes we are on Thabor, and sometimes we find ourselves on Golgotha....

Posted by Orthodoxy and the World on Wednesday, August 19, 2015

The Lord’s Transfiguration: Paintings, Icons, and Frescoes.

Posted by Orthodoxy and the World on Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Patriarch Irinej to Address SVOTS

Patriarch Irinej to deliver an address titled “Theology as a Hope for the Future of the Church” at St. Vladimir’s Seminary September 11.

Posted by Orthodoxy and the World on Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Feast of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God

Interview with Bishop Athanasius Schneider

1P5: Bishop Schneider on the 2015 Synod - original

Eastern Christian Books: Sacramental Theology

Eastern Christian Books: Sacramental Theology

St. Vincent of Lerins

Three rules to help guide you to the truth.

Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Moral Matters by Mark Dooley

Crisis: Catholic Philosopher Challenges Modern Spiritual Wasteland by Sean Haylock

Moral Matters by Mark Dooley

The Holy Eucharist

Watch this.

Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Sunday, August 16, 2015

The Crisis of Liturgical Piety

English translation of a talk by Sr. Vassa Larin

Another Essay on Confirmation

Crisis: Why Lowering the Age of Confirmation Makes Sense by Jared M. Silvey

The Most Holy Name

What does it mean to pray in Jesus' name?

Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Friday, August 14, 2015

Wow!

Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Thursday, August 13, 2015

St. Gregory Palamas on the Dormition

Wonderful!

Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Saturday, August 15, 2015

The Theological Anthropology of Gaudium et Spes

HPR: An Anthropology of Gaudium et Spes, Part 2 by Francis Etheredge

Exhortation on the Prayer Rule by St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov)

Dr. Michael Augros on Catholic Answers

Who Designed the Designer? - DL

Sryo-Oriental Hymns

Syro-Oriental tradition, to which the Assyrian Church and the Chaldean Church belong, has outstanding hymnographic texts...

Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Thursday, August 13, 2015

John Filippakis

This is pretty sweet.

Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Monday, August 10, 2015

LinkedIn
photo
USF Library Exhibit

Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, Sacramento

Wow! Have you heard about this?

Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Tuesday, August 11, 2015

website

Tinkering with the Roman Rite Lectionary

NLM: The Consilium and ad experimentum Lectionaries, 1965-69

Fr. David Neuhaus, SJ

A “bridge for reconciliation” between Jews and Christians, but also a tool to show “alternatives” to war between the...

Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Father David Neuhaus SJ, the Latin Patriarchal Vicar responsible for the Saint James Vicariate for Hebrew Speaking...

Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Tuesday, August 11, 2015

An Unofficial Canonization

By a zealous fan...

“For many years there has been a standing appointment for so many who garnered affection, gratitude and esteem for Paul...

Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Fr. Andrea Bozzolo

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

The Transfiguration

The importance of the recent feast . . .

Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Amen.

The ruler of all!

Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Wednesday, August 12, 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

Something Up at Mundelein Liturgical Institute?

Pray Tell: Changes at the Mundelein Liturgical Institute [UPDATED]

The Liturgical Institute

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...

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

The Singapore Symposium in Legal Theory 2014: Talk by Prof Joseph Raz

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

Sovereignty & Legitimacy: On the Changing Face of Law, Questions & Speculations

Joseph Raz:

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.

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”

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

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

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

Prayer, repentance, and humility!

Prayer, repentance, and humility!

Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Friday, August 7, 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

Divine Liturgy at the KoC 133rd Supreme Convention

Here.

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

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.

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

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

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

Eastern Christian Books: Divinization through Icons and Liturgy

Eastern Christian Books: Divinization through Icons and Liturgy

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?

From Ignatius Press in September

Behold the Man: A Catholic Vision of Male Spirituality
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.

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

The Divine Liturgy

Heaven on earth! Watch this!

Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Saturday, August 1, 2015

Memory Eternal

Memory Eternal! + The Very Reverend Gordon Walker

Memory Eternal, for a Quiet Giant in American Orthodoxy by Terry Mattingly (via Byzantine TX)

St Ignatius Antiochian Orthodox Church in Franklin, TN

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

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

Eduardo Echeverria - "Catholic and Reformed Ecumenism: Basis, Boundaries, and Benefits"

Eduardo J. Echeverria

350 Maronite Martyrs

Martyrdom of 350 Martyrs, Disciples of St. Maron
The Story of Maronite Catholics

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

The Shadow Council

Rod Dreher: The Shadow Council Speaks

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

Major Archbishop Sviatoslav on the Church in Ukraine

From 2011

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

"The Jewish Roots of Catholic Charity"

Gary Anderson

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"

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]!

Softness

The Forgotten Vice in Seminary Formation
July 27, 2015 By Fr. James Mason

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.

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.

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.

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

One thing a discussion of the virtues within moral theology or moral philosophy can easily incorporate is sex differences, which could easily be ignored if the focus was solely on law or the morality of human acts.

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

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