Thursday, December 21, 2017
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
It Won't Be the Last
Why St. Gregory’s University Is Closing Its Doors by Anthony P. Stine
What have Latin Catholics done to uphold the state of Oklahoma and to evangelize and inculturate there?
What have Latin Catholics done to uphold the state of Oklahoma and to evangelize and inculturate there?
Tuesday, December 19, 2017
CWR: Pope Francis’ “open and incomplete” leadership and the puzzling “reform” of the Curia by Christopher R. Altieri
Monday, December 18, 2017
Sunday, December 17, 2017
Adam DeVille on Reconciliation of the Chalcedonian Churches
CWR: Questioning the prospects of Catholic-Orthodox unity by Dr. Adam A. J. DeVille
The latest statement of the North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation (NAOCTC) begins and ends with questions, and these are both more valuable and certainly more interesting than what is found in many ecumenical statements.
The latest statement of the North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation (NAOCTC) begins and ends with questions, and these are both more valuable and certainly more interesting than what is found in many ecumenical statements.
Decentralization, the virtues of which the North American dialogue says we must continue to contemplate, is much more theologically, historically, and practically defensible than the Roman centralization and personality cult of the pope we have been enduring for decades. Perhaps all the novelties and peculiarities of this Franciscan papacy will finally bring us to reconsider papal centralization and begin to rid ourselves of it both for the good of the Catholic Church and also the cause of Christian unity.
Saturday, December 16, 2017
Friday, December 15, 2017
Thursday, December 14, 2017
Pledge of Fidelity
Pro-life leaders pledge fidelity to Catholic faith, refuse to follow ‘erring pastors’
website
Catholics here = Roman Catholics. What would be another term that could be used, instead of "Catholics"? Latin Christians?
website
Catholics here = Roman Catholics. What would be another term that could be used, instead of "Catholics"? Latin Christians?
On Translating the Lord's Prayer
Should the sixth petition of the Our Father be translated as “Do not let us fall”? by Jason Bermender
And is the English rendering “do not lead us into temptation” bad theology? Here’s why the answer to both questions is “no”.
The complicated context of Pope Francis’ confusing remarks about the “Our Father” by Christopher R. Altieri
The Holy Father’s remarks, made to the Italian bishops’ TV magazine program, invoked a drawn-out and at times acrimonious controversy under the tent of French […]
Fr. Hunwicke: 1 and 2
Dr. Fleming has some remarks:
And is the English rendering “do not lead us into temptation” bad theology? Here’s why the answer to both questions is “no”.
The complicated context of Pope Francis’ confusing remarks about the “Our Father” by Christopher R. Altieri
The Holy Father’s remarks, made to the Italian bishops’ TV magazine program, invoked a drawn-out and at times acrimonious controversy under the tent of French […]
Fr. Hunwicke: 1 and 2
Dr. Fleming has some remarks:
The problem does not like in the perfectly correct translation of the Greek into Latin “inducas,” and English “lead into,” but with the word “temptation,” which no longer should be used to translate the Latin tentatio.
....
There are many temptations in the NT and a careful examination of a few passage would convince any serious reader that conventional interpretations of the sentence in the Lord's prayer are erroneous.
[In Luke 10] The nomikos (not a professional lawyer but a man learned in Jewish law) wants to put Jesus to the test—the verb ekpeirazein reminds us of the tests to which Satan subjected Him. This requires a bit of explanation. The verb—and its simpler uncompounded form (peirazein)—are typically translated by the English “tempt,” but the meaning of that word has changed so much since the early 17th century that it is quite misleading. To “tempt,” in this and other passages including the Lord’s Prayer, is not to entice or trap but to put something or someone to the test in order to find out what they are. A closer English word might be “assay,” as in “The chemist assayed the ore to determine whether it was gold or iron pyrite.”
I can only just summarize the argument of what I have written in the past on the Lord’s Prayer. As in all uses of the word peira (temptation) and the related verbs peirazein and ekpeirazein, the context is not to be sought in instances of temptation—the diabetic in the candy store, the married man in the single’s bar—but in the testing of Job and in Jesus’ own “temptations” in the wilderness, which are nothing but Satan’s attempt to find out who and what he is.......
By not recognizing the meaning of “temptation.” we then fail to connect the passages in which our Lord is “tried” by his adversaries both human and diabolical. We compound the error by thinking that the “evil” we pray to be delivered from is either misfortune or sin, when in fact the Evil One is the devil himself. The result is that we do not understand the final two clauses of the Lord’s prayer, which might be summed up as something like: “Do not expose us to the trials that Job and Jesus were put by the Adversary and deliver us from the Evil one that seeks out destruction.”
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
Monday, December 11, 2017
Sunday, December 10, 2017
Saturday, December 09, 2017
Friday, December 08, 2017
Teaching the Nicomachean Ethics
The text is still used by some philosophy departments of the "new, small, Catholic liberal arts colleges" -- however the ethics course is usually co-ed. Is this use of the Nicomachean Ethics, or the teaching of ethics in general, in a "gender-neutral" way appropriate, if we admit the existence of sex differences? It should be clear from the text itself that it is addressed to young men (of a certain educational background), and not to young women. Is the text useful for women who have a similar background? Perhaps some parts, like the discussion of happiness and friendship. But the discussion of the virtues may not be, as those virtues would be different for men and women in so far as their general virtue is also different.
As the teaching of ethics is part of moral education, and not just a component of a "liberal education" (which in turn must be judged in accordance with moral standards and requirements), ethics above all should not be taught to a mixed-sex class. What would be required for a proper ethics course for women, besides acknowledging the existence of sex differences? More on that another time.
As the teaching of ethics is part of moral education, and not just a component of a "liberal education" (which in turn must be judged in accordance with moral standards and requirements), ethics above all should not be taught to a mixed-sex class. What would be required for a proper ethics course for women, besides acknowledging the existence of sex differences? More on that another time.
Thursday, December 07, 2017
Wednesday, December 06, 2017
What is the problem?
Sandro Magister: Orthodox Churches in Decline, Except in Ethiopia. A Survey
Too much clericalism, along with not enough Christians understanding the "universal call to holiness"? Instead, they believe erroneously that the pursuit of holiness belongs to the religious elites, the monks? Despite having what may be an aesthetically pleasing liturgy, has an authentic liturgical spirituality been lost? And has asceticism been identified too much with keeping the fast and external observances, rather than the correction of disordered self-love? And then there is the broader crisis of the laity, which is not limited to the crisis of men, but this last issue nonetheless must be addressed posthaste for any possibility of a long-lasting "solution."
It is the 21st century after the birth of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, and His Church, primarily the Apostolic churches, does not seem to be faring well, thanks to external enemies but also internal weaknesses.
What will address this problem? Not a modern pan-Orthodox synod that just releases documents, in imitation of Latin councils. Not a liturgical reform that aims to make liturgy relevant and relatable to modern sensibilities (as some like Nicholas Denysenko would suggest). But a renewal at all levels, with real leadership being exercised by bishops and their brother priests, and this renewal requires that the clergy repudiate all modern errors including liberalism and egalitarianism. (And the clergy also need to realize the limits of their authority.)
The Holy Mysteries provide us with the divine life, but to assimilate it through proper living we need the true doctrine of Christ. The bishops have been entrusted with teaching the primary precepts, but what is at stake and needs to be continually defended are the secondary precepts which have not been explicitly revealed but only known through reflection on the natural law and the life in and of the Church.
Too much clericalism, along with not enough Christians understanding the "universal call to holiness"? Instead, they believe erroneously that the pursuit of holiness belongs to the religious elites, the monks? Despite having what may be an aesthetically pleasing liturgy, has an authentic liturgical spirituality been lost? And has asceticism been identified too much with keeping the fast and external observances, rather than the correction of disordered self-love? And then there is the broader crisis of the laity, which is not limited to the crisis of men, but this last issue nonetheless must be addressed posthaste for any possibility of a long-lasting "solution."
It is the 21st century after the birth of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, and His Church, primarily the Apostolic churches, does not seem to be faring well, thanks to external enemies but also internal weaknesses.
What will address this problem? Not a modern pan-Orthodox synod that just releases documents, in imitation of Latin councils. Not a liturgical reform that aims to make liturgy relevant and relatable to modern sensibilities (as some like Nicholas Denysenko would suggest). But a renewal at all levels, with real leadership being exercised by bishops and their brother priests, and this renewal requires that the clergy repudiate all modern errors including liberalism and egalitarianism. (And the clergy also need to realize the limits of their authority.)
The Holy Mysteries provide us with the divine life, but to assimilate it through proper living we need the true doctrine of Christ. The bishops have been entrusted with teaching the primary precepts, but what is at stake and needs to be continually defended are the secondary precepts which have not been explicitly revealed but only known through reflection on the natural law and the life in and of the Church.
Tuesday, December 05, 2017
Monday, December 04, 2017
Canon 915
Pope Francis’ letter to the Argentine bishops is in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis. Now what? by Edward N. Peters
Canon 915 and the fundamental sacramental and moral values behind it might be forgotten, ignored, or ridiculed, but unless and until that law is revoked or modified by papal legislative action or is effectively neutered by pontifically approved “authentic interpretation” (1983 CIC 16), it binds ministers of holy Communion.
(original)
Canon 915 and the fundamental sacramental and moral values behind it might be forgotten, ignored, or ridiculed, but unless and until that law is revoked or modified by papal legislative action or is effectively neutered by pontifically approved “authentic interpretation” (1983 CIC 16), it binds ministers of holy Communion.
(original)
Sunday, December 03, 2017
Supersessionism!
CWR: Divinely Planned Obsolescence by Thomas J. Nash
Why the Temple in Jerusalem will never be rebuilt and how the Sacrifice of the Mass is “the source and summit of evangelization”.
Why the Temple in Jerusalem will never be rebuilt and how the Sacrifice of the Mass is “the source and summit of evangelization”.
St. John the Forerunner
The first guide for Advent: St. John the Baptist by Peter M.J. Stravinskas
Silence bespeaks expediency, complicity, and cowardice, and John the Baptist never kept silent, for even in the womb he announced the truth of Christ (cf. Lk 1:44).
Silence bespeaks expediency, complicity, and cowardice, and John the Baptist never kept silent, for even in the womb he announced the truth of Christ (cf. Lk 1:44).
Saturday, December 02, 2017
CWR: Moral theology should make saints—not excuses by Nicholas Senz
Moral theologians should pursue research and reflection in order to bring forth and multiply the Church’s rich tradition on spiritual growth and holiness. They should avoid rationalizations and sophistic excuses, lest they be caught in their own craftiness.
I suspected she had a connection with New Wine, New Wineskins and she did -- she was the invited scholar for their 15th Annual Symposium. Ludicrous.
Moral theologians should pursue research and reflection in order to bring forth and multiply the Church’s rich tradition on spiritual growth and holiness. They should avoid rationalizations and sophistic excuses, lest they be caught in their own craftiness.
I suspected she had a connection with New Wine, New Wineskins and she did -- she was the invited scholar for their 15th Annual Symposium. Ludicrous.
Friday, December 01, 2017
Regarding this post on the purpose of the Incarnation, it is not a good sign if the patriarchate of Rome has been talking about preaching the kerygma for more than half a century and its bishops are unable to do so correctly.
Re: kerygma -- Can we ignore the fruits of the reflections of the Church Fathers upon the purpose of the Incarnation and the salvation of mankind? Is it enough to say that the Son of God became man so that we might be saved, without explained how we are saved or from what?
Re: kerygma -- Can we ignore the fruits of the reflections of the Church Fathers upon the purpose of the Incarnation and the salvation of mankind? Is it enough to say that the Son of God became man so that we might be saved, without explained how we are saved or from what?
Thursday, November 30, 2017
We Are Special Snowflakes
Are they passing out purple (and red) zuchettos in Cracker Jack boxes these days? Re: De Incarnatione, Latin Christianity goes from one extreme (certain Western theories of atonement) to the other (an absolutist humanism/anthropocentricism).
Go read the Church Fathers on the Divine exchange and deification.
Archbishop José H. Gomez:
Go read the Church Fathers on the Divine exchange and deification.
Archbishop José H. Gomez:
The archbishop explained that Advent is a time of waiting for the coming of Christ at Christmas, but it is also an opportunity for God to draw closer to his people in relationship, noting this desire of God to be close to creation is a unique aspect of Christianity.
“And we believe that our God comes to be with us, that he loves us so much that he makes himself one of us – sharing in the whole experience of our humanity, beginning as a little child in a mother’s womb.”
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Fr. Schall on Moral Action by Fr. Sokolowski
On the Creases of Being by James V. Schall, S.J.
Monsignor Robert Sokolowski’s insightful Moral Action is, in a sense, is a polemic against the subjectivizing of moral action as if the word or act we put into the world itself had no significance.
Monsignor Robert Sokolowski’s insightful Moral Action is, in a sense, is a polemic against the subjectivizing of moral action as if the word or act we put into the world itself had no significance.
Monday, November 27, 2017
Sunday, November 26, 2017
Saturday, November 25, 2017
Friday, November 24, 2017
Thursday, November 23, 2017
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Monday, November 20, 2017
CWR: Is opposition to the death penalty Thomistic? by Joseph G. Trabbic
Given Pope Francis’s own high regard for St. Thomas (together with the historical papal approbation he has enjoyed) when it comes to doctrinal issues, we might ask how the opposition to the death penalty articulated by the Pope compares with the teaching of the Doctor Communis.
Given Pope Francis’s own high regard for St. Thomas (together with the historical papal approbation he has enjoyed) when it comes to doctrinal issues, we might ask how the opposition to the death penalty articulated by the Pope compares with the teaching of the Doctor Communis.
Sunday, November 19, 2017
Saturday, November 18, 2017
Secretary of State
Cardinal Parolin: Dialogue of Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches to help them feel unity
Source: TASS Russian News Agency
Cardinal Pietro Parolin | 20 August 2017
Source: TASS Russian News Agency
Cardinal Pietro Parolin | 20 August 2017
Friday, November 17, 2017
Local Liturgical Translations
Cardinal Sarah may be admirable in his defense of the prerogatives of the CDW and a traditional understanding of the authority and role of the Roman Curia, but is he right? Meanwhile even if it is proper to entrust local liturgical translations to local ordinaries, is now the right time for it? And is there a way to embrace liturgical translations without accepting modern nationalism and its fruits? That is what the recognition of national episcopal conferences does, at least -- they are not approving different local translations for a region, but a single uniform one for that region, regardless of the diversity of peoples and cultures in that region.
This problem should have been forestalled in the first millenium, had the Latins and Franks permitted the official use of liturgical texts translated from Latin into hieratic versions of the local tongues.
This problem should have been forestalled in the first millenium, had the Latins and Franks permitted the official use of liturgical texts translated from Latin into hieratic versions of the local tongues.
A Good Resource for Roman Documents
But it is not the well-developed theological treatise on political life that Roman Catholics need.
CST at its present stage of development is more likely to mislead and confuse than to clarify political questions. (Like the legitimacy of the modern nation-state.)
Newly published Reader in Catholic Social Teaching emphasizes traditional doctrine
CST at its present stage of development is more likely to mislead and confuse than to clarify political questions. (Like the legitimacy of the modern nation-state.)
Newly published Reader in Catholic Social Teaching emphasizes traditional doctrine
Thursday, November 16, 2017
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Missed This in 2015
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
Monday, November 13, 2017
Sunday, November 12, 2017
Saturday, November 11, 2017
Friday, November 10, 2017
Thursday, November 09, 2017
Wednesday, November 08, 2017
Tuesday, November 07, 2017
Joy
Christian joy cannot be faked or forced; it is the gift of the Holy Spirit, the fruit of the exercise of agape, ascesis, and suffering in Christ. It is certainly not the same as niceness.
Monday, November 06, 2017
CWR: Superstition, Dissent, and Scandal? by Dr. Michael Sirilla
A brief defense of Fr. Thomas Weinandy Some pundits from both progressive and orthodox quarters have been quick to criticize and even condemn Fr. Weinandy and his missive to the Pope. Thus, a brief defense of Fr. Weinandy is in order.
A brief defense of Fr. Thomas Weinandy Some pundits from both progressive and orthodox quarters have been quick to criticize and even condemn Fr. Weinandy and his missive to the Pope. Thus, a brief defense of Fr. Weinandy is in order.
Sunday, November 05, 2017
Saturday, November 04, 2017
Friday, November 03, 2017
CWR: Fr. Weinandy was clear and direct. The USCCB was not. by Christopher Altieri
The Bishops had the right – perhaps the duty – to require Fr. Weinandy’s resignation. Nevertheless, the Catholic faithful in every state of life in […]
The Bishops had the right – perhaps the duty – to require Fr. Weinandy’s resignation. Nevertheless, the Catholic faithful in every state of life in […]
Thursday, November 02, 2017
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