The Profanation of the Sacred and the Sacralisation of the Profane

The Liturgical Nerds Would Like This Too

New Edition of the Divine Liturgy Available from STM Press (via Byz TX)

Over in Felton on February 10

Byz TX: 2nd Annual Orthodox Bioethics Conference event in Bay Area

Church website

Bishop Barron Has a New Book

CWR Dispatch: “Fundamentally a missionary”: New book captures Bishop Barron’s evangelistic vision by Gregory J. Sullivan

A review of To Light a Fire on the Earth: Proclaiming the Gospel in a Secular Age, by Bishop Robert Barron, with John L. Allen, Jr.

Are Latin bishops able to give a proper presentation of the kerygma? And do they realize their missionary field is not one country, but many within the borders of the United States?

Eastern Christian Books: Veneration of the Cross in the Medieval Islamic World

Eastern Christian Books: Veneration of the Cross in the Medieval Islamic World

Tollefsen and Pakaluk on Capital Punishment

Here and here.

A "Catholic" Cult Busted

Everyone To School With Fr. Milani. But If These Are His Students...

New Men

website

What if...
the exaltation of the monastic life led to the imposition of a quasi-monastic rule on lay people (for example, fasting regulations)? And the denigration of lay vocation? And it had an adverse psychological or emotional impact, with lay people believing that they were too "normal," not good enough to be holy? And thus they identified asceticism too much with certain external practices regarding goods of the body, and not enough with the mortification of the will with the divine agape?

Means to End, End to Means

Time to reconsider God as end in respect of the relationship of the common good to the ultimate end?

From The End of Modernity by Thaddeus Kozinski:

According to St. Thomas, men cannot adequately understand in theory, let alone fulfill in practice, the detailed precepts of the natural law without the help of its author, God, and its divinely appointed interpreter, the Roman Catholic Church. With regard to a non-sacral foundation for political order, the Thomist Joseph May in the 1950s stated: “The only true doctrine is that civil society cannot prescind from the ultimate end [emphasis mine] both because the temporal welfare implies an ordering to the spiritual and supernatural, and because the individual citizens are directly and positively bound to tend to it.”[8] And even Dignitatis Humanae insists that it “leaves untouched the traditional Catholic doctrine about the moral duty of men and societies toward the true religion and the one Church of Christ” (Sec. 1). As Pope John Paul II often reiterated, the face of Jesus Christ is the only true mirror in which man can fully and accurately contemplate and comprehend his own nature and destiny; thus, only therein can he discern the moral values and goods most perfective of himself and the political order.

A Conservatism That Is Not Critical Enough

Or a conservatism that is just underdeveloped liberalism.

The Imaginative Conservative: Cosmopolitanism: Citizens Without States? by Lee Trepanier

Crisis Magazine: The Triumph of the People’s Church by Anne Hendershott

NCReg: US Bishops Set Course on Liturgical Translations by Joan Frawley Desmond
In the wake of Magnum Principium’s changes to the process for approving liturgical translations, the U.S. bishops are charting a careful path forward.

Show Me the Local Cult That Exists

And proof of miracles attributed to the brothers...

Pray for the iconographer. Lunacy is not the word to describe this.

Dear friends: I'm so happy to share with you this new icon by Robert Lentz, OFM, the great iconographer (with his permission) of two of great prophets of our time: Philip Berrigan and Daniel Berrigan, SJ. https://t.co/UAf9xsyKuv pic.twitter.com/gzQ4znHTDU

— James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) January 7, 2018

Fr. Z

A 2007 Interview with William Cavanaugh

From The Nation State Project, Schizophrenic Globalization, and the Eucharist: An Interview with William T. Cavanaugh by Ben Suriano & William T. Cavanaugh :

TOJ: You mentioned that the state acts as if it does not have an overriding metanarrative of its own, yet it does. You’ve commented on how it does take itself as peace-loving and the greatest promoter of world peace, yet through the use of violence as well. Can you, however, comment more specifically about the myths at the very origin of the state—in the early stages of its formative history—that have especially led to these currently accepted ideas?

BC: Well, when I say “the state” I am thinking in particular of the Western liberal democratic state. What is at the origin of this form is the idea of liberalism—which is, to reiterate, the idea of openness and universality overcoming particularity. This is one of the most basic ideas at bottom of the nuts and bolts formation of the Western state. It is basically an overcoming of the local through a centralization of power in the allegedly universal. So the particular loyalties of the people in the medieval period—loyalties to church and clan and guild and town and lord and so on—all of those particular loyalties are fragmented and absorbed into one centralized, universalized loyalty to the state. This transferring of loyalties in the process of state building is then a basic project that we find at the beginning of the rise of the Western state.

TOJ: You have mentioned in your work Charles Tilley’s idea that this process of state building is a process of war-making, almost like organized crime, in trying to centralize this power and these loyalties. And the centralized ordering of social space now seems to be more de-ritualized and secularized without the older particular loyalties of the past. Yet you have claimed in your work that in order for the state to develop this seemingly open, secular order it nevertheless uses quasi-religious liturgical practices that are somewhat of a religious parody in order to discipline and instrumentalize the devotion and imagination of the people. Can you comment on this movement of de-ritualizing and yet using quasi-liturgies by the state in order to gain allegiance and order? And what are ways it is still apparent in the U.S.?

BC: This process of state building and secularization is a very ambivalent movement because it certainly is the case that the liturgical rhythms of previous societies have been truly washed away. This is evident in the ways that the rhythms of time have been changed. Sundays used to be days of rest and now everything is open all the time on Sunday and everything is available 24-7 on the internet and so on, which really does de-liturgize society in a way.

But there are exceptions to this. I think the primary exception is the way that rituals of national patriotism are highly symbolic and highly ritualized and liturgized, especially as they revolve around the flag as the central totem symbol.

Susan Brinkmann on Mindfulness

CWR: Catholicism and Mindfulness: Compatible practices or contrary spiritualities? by Carl E. Olson
“The Church’s mystical tradition is rarely, if ever, addressed from the pulpit,” says Susan Brinkmann, author of a new book on the practice of mindfulness, “which leaves many vulnerable to being drawn into eastern forms of prayer that are not compatible with Christian prayer.”

Brad Gregory on Luther

Law and Liberty: Luther’s Rebellion: A Conversation with Brad Gregory by Brad S. Gregory

Rebel in the Ranks

Today!

Cappella Romana at St. Ignatius Church.

CWR: From what, precisely, are Amoris Laetitia “dissenters” dissenting? by Christopher R. Altieri
If even Pope Francis could be unsure about the orthodoxy of his controversial post-Synodal Exhortation, surely the faithful will be allowed to have perplexities of various kinds regarding it?

Related: Canon 17 does not let us undercut Canon 915 and what it protects: A response to Stephen Walford by
Edward N. Peters (original)

Is Humanae Vitae Next?

More rumors and guessing...

Catholic Herald: There’s a movement to undermine Catholic morality – Communion is just the start by Ed Condon

Philip Lawler, Lost Shepherd

Regnery
Google Books

Remnant Newspaper: The Importance of Not Being Us by Christopher A. Ferrara
Sandro Magister: The Bergoglio Mystery. Why the General of the Jesuits Didn't Want Him Made Bishop

Who would dare?

Enrico Maria Radaelli

Sandro Magister: Ratzinger Rehabilitates Müller. But the Pope Emeritus Himself Is Being Hit with Accusations of Heresy

Μεθ' ημών ο Θεός - Κύριε των Δυνάμεων

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFW-tYjOXfM

Canticum Salomonis

website

Capital Punishment as Deterrent

CWR: How and why the death penalty deters murder in contemporary America by Joseph M. Bessette

Too many churchmen simply ignore the evidence that the death penalty saves lives and promotes public order. Catholic public officials charged with the care of the common good deserve better from their religious leaders.

Let's Draw!

The Mosaic Apse of Sant'Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna

CWR Interview with Fr. Fawaz Kako

But no mention of the Chaldean liturgical reform?

For Chaldean Catholics, the Faith has been transmitted by “a testimony of blood” by

A Chaldean Catholic priest from Iraq living in the US discusses his Church’s ancient liturgical tradition as well as the dangers faced by Middle East Christians today.

Eastern Christian Books: Walter Sisto on Bulgakov's Mariology

Eastern Christian Books: Walter Sisto on Bulgakov's Mariology

12 Days of Christmas in the East

Rorate Caeli: For the Record: Full translation of Benedict XVI letter of support to Müller after dismissal by Francis -- plus: Ratzinger explains the liturgical revolution

Catholic Herald article

The Use of the Drone in Singing

CWR's Picks for 2017

Fr. Sophrony - Theology vs imagination

CWR Interview with Cardinal Brandmüller

CWR: Cardinal Brandmüller reflects on Luther, “Amoris laetitia”, the Dubia, and current situation
An interview with the Church historian and theologian Walter Cardinal Brandmüller conducted by Armin Schwibach of kath.net.

Latin Teachings on Authority

A product of papal centralization -- so do they reflect a second millenium claim about episcopal (or papal) authority and the attendant obligations of the Christian faithful?

What is included in the deposit of Faith for a bishop? Only that which has been explicitly determined to be a part of the deposit of Faith? Or do theological conclusions count as well? Or are such conclusions to be taken to be opinion until agreed upon by the Church Universal? What about laws or precepts? Which laws are to be made by a bishop for the good of the local Church? Which precepts are not laws that are binding but only recommendations or suggestions? (Does a bishop really have the authority to set laws pertaining to diet, for example)

On non-infallible teachings of the Magisterium and the meaning of “obsequium religiosum” by Dr. Jeremy Holmes
Sometimes “religious obsequium” is translated “religious assent,” at other times “religious submission,” and at other times “religious respect”. What exactly are we being asked to do?

Arvanitis - Hymn to St. Basil

Holy Basil the Great, Pray for Us!

More on the Lord's Prayer

Crisis Magazine: Pope Francis is Only Partly Right on the Lord’s Prayer by Lionel Yaceczko

Plus, Anthony Esolen at First Things.

Hopefully There Will Be No Canonization

NLM: What Would the Canonization of Paul VI Mean for the Liturgy and Liturgical Reform? by Gregory DiPippo

Metropolitan Kallistos on 'Demonic temptation: the teaching of St Mark the Monk (5th century)

Fr. John Behr - Discussing "On the Incarnation"

amateur stream

Pope Francis, “diaconal primacy”, and decentralization of the curia

Decentralization by no means guarantees better governance, but is much more theologically, historically, and practically defensible than the Roman centralization and personality cult of the pope we have been enduring for more than a century now.

December 28, 2017 Dr. Adam A. J. DeVille

Sandro Magister: Vatican Without Peace. Money, Sex, and an LGBT Crèche

«С НАМИ БОГ» — Иноческий постриг 28 июля 2017 г.

On Jesus Christ and the Liturgy - Fr. Khaled Anatolios, Ph.D.

Sandro Magister: No One Listens To Him, When He Defends Life and Family. And There's a Reason

The Nativity Canon

Christ is Born!

Fr. Constantin Galeriu

Cappella Romana in San Francisco

in Sacramento:

The Laying on of Hands

In the ordination of priests, what is the significance of the laying on of hands on the ordinandi by other priests? (In the Roman rite -- but I think it is also the custom in the Byzantine rite?) What does it mean, if priests do not have the power to ordain priests, only bishops do? Is it merely symbolic? Or does it signify something that has been forgotten?

How far back does the custom go? Is the custom possibly a legacy of the ecclesial order that existed before the development of the monoepiscopate?

Strong Claims

Linking the Roman Curia to the Petrine ministry of the bishop of Rome to the Church Universal and beyond. But where is the foundation in Sacred Tradition for this?

Pope Francis exhorts Curia to avoid “unbalanced and debased mindset of plots and small cliques”

“The universal nature of the Curia’s service,” the Holy Father told Curia members in the annual pre-Christmas address, “… wells up and flows out from the catholicity of the Petrine ministry.”

(original: CNA)

The Roman Curia

Fr. Hunwicke: Pope and Curia, The Curia Romana (1), The Curia Romana (2), and The Curia Romana (3)

The Roman Curia exists primarily to assist a bishop with the local Church. Why should its role extend beyond this? Perhaps it can be a concession that it should play a role with respect to the patriarchate (instead of proper synodality/collegiality), but with respect to the Church Universal? Wouldn't it be better to have certain priests or bishops as recognized advisors or eminent clergy to the synod of Latin bishops?

Canon law is first and foremost medicine?

What Use Is Canon Law to Parishioners? (via Byz TX)

Peters Responds to De Mattei

Comments on Prof. Robert De Mattei’s response about AL, canon law, and heresy (original)

Eastern Christian Books: Robert Slesinski on Sergius Bulgakov

Eastern Christian Books: Robert Slesinski on Sergius Bulgakov

Gregorian Chant

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?

CWR: Pope Francis’ “open and incomplete” leadership and the puzzling “reform” of the Curia by Christopher R. Altieri

Tomorrow in Sacramento

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.

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.

The Sun of Justice

Oh Come, All Ye Faithful

Eastern Christian Books: Deaconesses in Orthodoxy

Eastern Christian Books: Deaconesses in Orthodoxy

Sandro Magister: The Pope Has Spoken. But the Doubts Have Not Disappeared, Nor Has Cardinal Caffarra

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Allegorical Reading

Remembering Fr. Alexander Schmemann

OCA: Remembering Fr. Alexander Schmemann

Eastern Christian Books: Greek Monasticism in Southern Italy

Eastern Christian Books: Greek Monasticism in Southern Italy

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?

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:

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.”

Dominican Lay Brothers

Catholic Herald: They Will Unmask Me Eventually Says Author of The Dictator Pope (via Fr. Z)

The Mother in Heaven and Her Children - Margaret Barker

Margaret Barker - "Theosis & Divinization"

How would Byzantines respond to this?

Notitiae Online

Walk Through the Old Testament, Part 4

Mere Comments links to this:



Parts 1, 2 and 3

A Setting of Psalm 116 by Henri de Villiers

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception

With an icon of the Conception of St. Anna.

Sandro Magister on Massimo Borghesi's Jorge Mario Bergoglio: Una biografia intellettuale

All Bergoglio's Teachers, Even Though He Goes His Own Way

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.

Eastern Christian Books: Is Islam a Christian Heresy?

Eastern Christian Books: Is Islam a Christian Heresy?

Dictator Patriarch...

1P5: The Dictator Pope: A Must-Read Book, Available Now

website

The Legend of St. Nicholas in Liturgy and Art

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.

Sun of Justice

St Nicholas Icon

Rorate Caeli: For the Record: Franciscan Friars & Sisters of the Immaculate status update -- Bergoglio's destruction nearly complete

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)

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”.

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).

Two from Rorate Caeli

Pope Francis Promulgates Buenos Aires Guidelines Allowing Communion for Some Adulterers in AAS as his "Authentic Magisterium"

De Mattei: Cardinals Burke, Brandmüller and Müller and The Dictator Pope

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.

Crisis: Carbon Monoxide Clericalism by Fr. Tim McCauley

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?

News on the ROC Catechism

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill told members of the Bishops’ Council about the preparation of the Catechesis of the Russian Orthodox Church (via Byz TX)

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:

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.”

Feser Responds to Griffiths and Hart

Ed Feser: Reply to Griffiths and Hart - Hot Air vs. Capital Punishment: A Reply to Paul Griffiths and David Bentley Hart

An Orthodox Perspective on Justification

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.