But St. Job of Pochaev, the abbot of the Pochaev Lavra, stood unwavering in the faith, and with iron steadfastness struggled against the Uniates who had left Orthodoxy for the protection of the Roman pope. St. Job was strong in spirit and faith, and it is not in vain that such multitudes of people from all over the world come today to his holy relics, which lie in a reliquary near the cave where he prayed on the Pochaev hill.
And as for the Uniates (Greek Catholics), it’s the same now as it was four hundred or so years ago—don’t trust them any further than you can throw them.[1] As if it were not not enough that they raided and seized the churches and parishes of our canonical Church, which after the far-reaching Bishops’ Council in Kharkov of 1992 began to be called the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, but in an unprecedented act, the first in history, under Ukrainian president Yushchenko, they built their cathedral church on the left bank of the Dniepr, in Darnitsa. During the “Euro-Maidan” revolution they actively carried out their “prayer protest” in the Maidan square, to the point that certain Uniate “priests” called for the murder of “Moskals” [anyone associated with Moscow, i.e., Russians], Communists, and others. Apparently the Greek Catholics took part in a neo-Nazi, neo-Banderite [followers of Stepan Bandera] coupe in Ukraine as if the whole country belonged to them, allowing them to sharply increase their expansion into Eastern Ukraine, to the canonical territory of Orthodoxy, where they had previously been only during the German fascist occupation.
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
More Polemics?
THE IRON STANCE OF ST. JOB OF POCHAEV by Stanislav Minakov
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Monday, November 12, 2018
What Are the Consequences of This Bad Latin Pastoral Practice?
Namely, delaying Confirmation until after First Communion...
What are the consequences of administering Confirmation to non-adults after they have already received "First Eucharist" years earlier and have been receiving Eucharist regularly up to the point of receiving Confirmation? There were bishops who were aware of this problem and raised the alarm in the 19th ce according to Maxwell Johnson, but it seems little has been done to address this problem.
First, it does seem incongruous for Christians who have not completed Christian initiation to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit if they have already been receiving the Holy Spirit through the Eucharist (assuming that it is correct to characterize one of the effects of the sacrament thusly). Moreover, that also assumes that it is possible for those who have not received Confirmation to nonetheless derive the full benefit from receiving from the Eucharist. But is there any evidence that God "compensates" for what is lacking in the Catholic Christian who has not been fully initiated, so that the Eucharist is fully efficacious for the Christian? Or is the reception of Eucharist for a Catholic Christian who has not been fully-initiated fruitless, as it would be for someone in the state of mortal sin or a non-believer? Is it the case that the Church does not actually have the authority to admit a Christian who has not been fully initiated to (the reception of) the Eucharist? That is to say, that not only is it sacramentally not possible for someone not fully initiated to receive the Eucharist, but there is actually a Divine Law that only one who has been fully initiated cannot receive the Eucharist? Or is this merely a Ecclesial Law (of Apostolic origin)? Or if a Divine Law, is it possible for it to be mitigated or abrogated by the (actions of the) Church? Does God Himself dispense from the necessity of the first two sacraments of initiation to make the reception of the Eucharist fruitful? (If He does, has he revealed this to the Church?)
Let's bring up another concrete example from Latin pastoral practice: Would a dying non-Christian be allowed to receive the Eucharist by a Latin priest before being baptized? I don't think so; if there is only sufficient time for one sacrament, I would think that the preference would be given to Baptism rather than the Eucharist. Couldn't the dying non-Christian just be given the Eucharist if it simply conveys the same grace (e.g. life in Christ) of Baptism? (That they convey the same grace but in different modalities or instantiations or moments of salvation history is is an assumption with which Latin theologians would disagree.) It would seem from Latin pastoral practice that no, a dying non-Christian would not receive the Eucharist unless he had been first baptized. If that is the case, then why should Confirmation be skipped over, except because of Latin custom? The question is whether this is legitimte or not.
What are the consequences of administering Confirmation to non-adults after they have already received "First Eucharist" years earlier and have been receiving Eucharist regularly up to the point of receiving Confirmation? There were bishops who were aware of this problem and raised the alarm in the 19th ce according to Maxwell Johnson, but it seems little has been done to address this problem.
First, it does seem incongruous for Christians who have not completed Christian initiation to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit if they have already been receiving the Holy Spirit through the Eucharist (assuming that it is correct to characterize one of the effects of the sacrament thusly). Moreover, that also assumes that it is possible for those who have not received Confirmation to nonetheless derive the full benefit from receiving from the Eucharist. But is there any evidence that God "compensates" for what is lacking in the Catholic Christian who has not been fully initiated, so that the Eucharist is fully efficacious for the Christian? Or is the reception of Eucharist for a Catholic Christian who has not been fully-initiated fruitless, as it would be for someone in the state of mortal sin or a non-believer? Is it the case that the Church does not actually have the authority to admit a Christian who has not been fully initiated to (the reception of) the Eucharist? That is to say, that not only is it sacramentally not possible for someone not fully initiated to receive the Eucharist, but there is actually a Divine Law that only one who has been fully initiated cannot receive the Eucharist? Or is this merely a Ecclesial Law (of Apostolic origin)? Or if a Divine Law, is it possible for it to be mitigated or abrogated by the (actions of the) Church? Does God Himself dispense from the necessity of the first two sacraments of initiation to make the reception of the Eucharist fruitful? (If He does, has he revealed this to the Church?)
Let's bring up another concrete example from Latin pastoral practice: Would a dying non-Christian be allowed to receive the Eucharist by a Latin priest before being baptized? I don't think so; if there is only sufficient time for one sacrament, I would think that the preference would be given to Baptism rather than the Eucharist. Couldn't the dying non-Christian just be given the Eucharist if it simply conveys the same grace (e.g. life in Christ) of Baptism? (That they convey the same grace but in different modalities or instantiations or moments of salvation history is is an assumption with which Latin theologians would disagree.) It would seem from Latin pastoral practice that no, a dying non-Christian would not receive the Eucharist unless he had been first baptized. If that is the case, then why should Confirmation be skipped over, except because of Latin custom? The question is whether this is legitimte or not.
Sunday, November 11, 2018
What sort of Latin view?
CWR: The Conversion of the Papacy and the Present Church Crisis by Dr. Douglas Farrow
The reform we need is in the direction of simplicity, transparency, and integrity – what many thought we were getting in Francis, before discovering otherwise – and whatever does not serve directly the task of the successor of Peter should be marginalized or eliminated.
The author lists seven features of the current crisis, including:
The author also responds to Roberto de Mattei. Farrow's view of the papacy appears to be more balanced than De Mattei's (or that of many ultramontanists and Tridentine Roman Catholics) but he nevertheless accepts the definitions of the Council of Florence as dogma, and the status of the Council of Florence as an ecumenical council.
The reform we need is in the direction of simplicity, transparency, and integrity – what many thought we were getting in Francis, before discovering otherwise – and whatever does not serve directly the task of the successor of Peter should be marginalized or eliminated.
The author lists seven features of the current crisis, including:
seventh, a deliberate plan to use the papacy to dissolve what is left of the centralized, authoritarian Tridentine Church and to overcome the synthesis of Vatican I and II that was attempted, with limited success, by the previous four popes – that is, to generate a decentralized, morally and doctrinally flexible, post-modern Church that is open both to Protestant and to pagan elements, with a vast and welcoming Courtyard of the Gentiles.
The author also responds to Roberto de Mattei. Farrow's view of the papacy appears to be more balanced than De Mattei's (or that of many ultramontanists and Tridentine Roman Catholics) but he nevertheless accepts the definitions of the Council of Florence as dogma, and the status of the Council of Florence as an ecumenical council.
Saturday, November 10, 2018
Friday, November 09, 2018
Who Among the USCCB Will Heed This?
First Things: TO THE BISHOPS, BEFORE THEIR GENERAL ASSEMBLY by Jayd Henricks
Adam DeVille Reviews Ecumenism of Blood
CWR Dispatch: Ecumenism of Blood skillfully addresses questions about martyrs-saints, Western-Eastern relations by Dr. Adam A. J. DeVille
Hugh Somerville Knapman, OP, takes on complicated ecumenical issues, while also tracing Catholic understandings of martyrdom, canonization, and Christology.
Hugh Somerville Knapman, OP, takes on complicated ecumenical issues, while also tracing Catholic understandings of martyrdom, canonization, and Christology.
Church Life: Benedict XVI Beyond the Liturgy Wars by Carolyn Pirtle
For Ratzinger, this process of “rediscovering ourselves” necessitates a setting aside the battles of the current liturgy wars surrounding liturgical music and the discussions it has generated—scholarly and otherwise. Doing so will facilitate a return to “the original source” in exploring connection between faith and music, as well as the role of music in worship: the Bible. In turning to the Psalms in particular, Ratzinger establishes a theology of liturgical music in one verse: “Sing hymns of praise” (Ps 47:8). True to his roots as a theologian who takes the biblical narrative seriously, Ratzinger engages this text in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin in order to arrive at a richer translation. Suffice it to say that singing hymns of praise well entails more than making pleasant-sounding music.
For the psalmist, offering sung praise to God entails singing with an understanding that surpasses mere rationality and transcends into the realm of sapientia, or wisdom, which “denotes an integration of the entire person who not only understands and is understandable from the perspective of pure thought, but with all the dimensions of his or her existence” (Ibid., 98). Ratzinger goes on to say that “there is an affinity between wisdom and music, since in it such an integration of humanness occurs and the entire person becomes a being in accordance with logos [with “reason”]” (Ibid.). It is in singing that the senses and the spirit are integrated into one being, and in singing to God that the being is incorporated into logos.
Christianity takes this understanding one step farther by understanding the Psalms not merely as hymns written by King David, but as hymns that “had risen from the heart of the real David, Christ” (Ibid., 97). Thus, singing “hymns of praise” not only harmonizes the senses with the spirit, but when Christians understand those hymns as having their source in Christ, they are also drawn out of themselves into harmony with the Logos, the Word-made-flesh, as they offer sung praise in and through Christ himself. With this mindset, “Christ himself becomes the choir director who teaches us the new song and gives the Church the tone and way in which she can praise God appropriately and blend into the heavenly liturgy” (Ibid.). In order to offer fitting praise, one must conform one’s song to that of Christ, “who did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped; rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave” (Phil 2:6–7).
Thursday, November 08, 2018
Metropolitan Seraphim of Glastonbury: Pharaisaical Legalism alive and well in contemporary Orthodoxy
(via Byz Tx)
(via Byz Tx)
Wednesday, November 07, 2018
If true...
what sort of leadership is this? Sounds like high school.
A note on the other kind of schism by Edward N. Peters
Like Catholics admonished to avoid sin and even near occasions of sin so prelates should avoid schism and even actions suggestive of schismatic attitudes.
original
Long-time Vaticanista Marco Tosatti recently claimed (Eng. trans.here) that word has been passed down by papal representatives to bishops not to invite Raymond Cdl. Burke to their dioceses and that, should Burke appear at an event in their churches, they should not even appear with him.
A note on the other kind of schism by Edward N. Peters
Like Catholics admonished to avoid sin and even near occasions of sin so prelates should avoid schism and even actions suggestive of schismatic attitudes.
original
Or, that Christianity might not be discredited?
Titus 2:3-5 (RSVCE)
ίνα μη λόγος του θεού βλασφημήται
Bid the older women likewise to be reverent in behavior, not to be slanderers or slaves to drink; they are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be sensible, chaste, domestic, kind, and submissive to their husbands, that the word of God may not be discredited.
ίνα μη λόγος του θεού βλασφημήται
Tuesday, November 06, 2018
Fr Nicholas Gregoris Continues His Series
A deeper look at the Final Synod Document raises questions about sources, analysis, emphasis by Fr Nicholas Gregoris
Why so few references to the writings of St. Pope John Paul II? Why no consideration of liturgical abuses? How prevalent is “paternalism”? What does it mean to say young people are “theological fonts”?
The Patriarchate of Rome will refuse to condemn all forms of feminism, and as a result will continue to lose men as members.
Why so few references to the writings of St. Pope John Paul II? Why no consideration of liturgical abuses? How prevalent is “paternalism”? What does it mean to say young people are “theological fonts”?
The Patriarchate of Rome will refuse to condemn all forms of feminism, and as a result will continue to lose men as members.
John O'Malley on Vatican I
Church Life: Vatican I: Loss and Gain in the Governance of the Catholic Church by John W. O’Malley
Monday, November 05, 2018
Sunday, November 04, 2018
Addressing the Mechanical Reception of the Eucharist
and lukewarmness among children.
Even if the traditional Christian initiation for infants is adopted/restored in the West (Baptism, Chrismation, and Eucharist), what should be done by parents to catechize their children? Should there be a "coming-of-age" ceremony, with first confession and a special rite for Eucharist for children, so that they can renew their promises and show their rational acceptance of faith? This idea does not sound right, but I wouldn't be surprised if some were to advocate it.
What then? Those who do have their children initiated have a special responsibility to catechize their children well, and thus they have the burden to make sure that they themselves are properly catechized, rather than relying on others to catechize their children for them. Catechesis through the liturgy should probably be the primary way for doing this, and parents should explain the importance of a feast before Divine Liturgy, or after if necessary. They should be modelling prayer in the temple and at home. And if they do not have the requisite knowledge or prayer life to model for their children? Maybe they shouldn't have their children initiated, unless in danger of death.
Even if the traditional Christian initiation for infants is adopted/restored in the West (Baptism, Chrismation, and Eucharist), what should be done by parents to catechize their children? Should there be a "coming-of-age" ceremony, with first confession and a special rite for Eucharist for children, so that they can renew their promises and show their rational acceptance of faith? This idea does not sound right, but I wouldn't be surprised if some were to advocate it.
What then? Those who do have their children initiated have a special responsibility to catechize their children well, and thus they have the burden to make sure that they themselves are properly catechized, rather than relying on others to catechize their children for them. Catechesis through the liturgy should probably be the primary way for doing this, and parents should explain the importance of a feast before Divine Liturgy, or after if necessary. They should be modelling prayer in the temple and at home. And if they do not have the requisite knowledge or prayer life to model for their children? Maybe they shouldn't have their children initiated, unless in danger of death.
Saturday, November 03, 2018
One Year Later
LifeSiteNews: One year later, Fr. Weinandy reflects on his groundbreaking letter to Pope Francis
(originally published at the Catholic Thing)
(originally published at the Catholic Thing)
The Problem Is Not Clericalism
Clergy sex abuse on the rise again, and church leaders are ignoring why, sociologist says
Efforts to address clergy abuse must acknowledge both “the recent increase of abuse amid growing complacency” and the 'very strong probability' that the surge in abuse in past and present is 'a product, at least in part, of the past surge and present concentration of homosexual men in the Catholic priesthood.'
NCReg: Synod Reflections From Down Under: Interview With Archbishop Anthony Fisher by Edward Pentin
Dominican archbishop praises the will of those involved to bring young people closer to Christ and his Church, the general mood of the meeting, and the contributions of the young auditors.
Dominican archbishop praises the will of those involved to bring young people closer to Christ and his Church, the general mood of the meeting, and the contributions of the young auditors.
Bishop Irenei on Primacy
OrthoChristian: PRIMACY AND IDENTITY by Bishop Irenei (Steenberg)
A Response to ‘First Without Equals’ and the Tragedy of Deficient Ecclesiology
A Response to ‘First Without Equals’ and the Tragedy of Deficient Ecclesiology
John 20:21-22
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” \And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
If we assume that this correlates to Genesis and other passages in the Old Testament pertaining to the creation of man, and is therefore an act of the new creation, to what does this act of breathing on the apostles correspond? Baptism? (There is an unsettled question as to if and when the apostles were baptized in water.) Or, if they had been baptized in water before the death and resurrection of Christ, a completion of that baptism as Christ had not died and been resurrected yet?
Friday, November 02, 2018
Fr. Robert Taft, SJ Passes
Eternal memory.
Aleteia
Pray Tell
Eastern Province notice, with a reflection from Fr. John Baldovin, SJ
His comments on the reform of the Roman rite will remain controversial.
NCR Interview from 2011 "Of Liturgy and Life"
"A Jesuit Bridge-builder in Rome"
Aleteia
Pray Tell
Eastern Province notice, with a reflection from Fr. John Baldovin, SJ
His comments on the reform of the Roman rite will remain controversial.
NCR Interview from 2011 "Of Liturgy and Life"
"A Jesuit Bridge-builder in Rome"
Elder Gregory
OrthoChristian: MEMORY OF THE FOOL-FOR-CHRIST THE ATHONITE ELDER GREGORY, THE ABBOT OF DOCHARIOU MONASTERY by Maxim Klimenko
Thursday, November 01, 2018
Fr Nicholas Gregoris on "Synodality"
CWR Dispatch: Synodality, “New Pentecost”, and more: Reflections on the Synod’s Final Document by Fr Nicholas Gregoris
It appears the Final Document has re-defined “synodality” to level the playing field in such a way that the authority of the Synod Fathers may in the future be compromised by the protestations of non-bishops.
It appears the Final Document has re-defined “synodality” to level the playing field in such a way that the authority of the Synod Fathers may in the future be compromised by the protestations of non-bishops.
What surprised me about the treatment of the Sacrament of Confirmation is that none of the Synod Fathers, to my knowledge, mentioned the idea of adopting in the Western Churches the practice of the Eastern Churches, which celebrate the Rites of Christian Initiation as one single event, whereby the infant who is baptized is likewise confirmed and communicated in the same ceremony. Thus, the ancient order of the sacraments is preserved, according to which the reception of the Lord’s Body and Blood in Holy Communion is in fact the crowning event of the rites of initiation.
παῖς or τέκνον or υἱός
In John 1:12 it's tekna.
1 Cor. 13:11 has nēpios.
CWR: The Solemnity of All Saints and the pursuit of holiness by Peter M.J. Stravinskas
How does one get to Heaven? By being a saint on earth. And how does one become a saint? By living a life of holiness. And in what does holiness consist? Here are seven elements.
Curious if the "last words" are 100% authentic Theresian, or if they were modified by her sister. Unfortunately, in English "children" can have a negative connotation that would not appeal to a man like the word "son" would.
1 Cor. 13:11 has nēpios.
CWR: The Solemnity of All Saints and the pursuit of holiness by Peter M.J. Stravinskas
How does one get to Heaven? By being a saint on earth. And how does one become a saint? By living a life of holiness. And in what does holiness consist? Here are seven elements.
Holiness consists in being childlike
Our Lord Himself asserted – unequivocally – “unless you turn and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven” [Mt 18:3]. But, as you have undoubtedly heard many times, being childlike is quite different from being childish. Saint Thérèse, for example, was devoted to the Holy Child Jesus because she found in Him all the qualities to become a saint herself. What is spiritual childhood, you ask? Her “last words” tell us:
It is to recognize one’s own nothingness, to expect everything from the good God as a child expects everything from its father. It is to be concerned about nothing, not even about making one’s living. . . . I remain a child with no other occupation than gathering flowers, the flowers of love and sacrifice, and offering them to the good God for His pleasure. Being a child means not attributing to yourself the virtues you practice or believing yourself capable of anything at all. It means recognizing that the good God places the treasure of virtue in the hands of His children to be used when there is need of it. . . . but it is still God’s treasure. Finally, it means never being discouraged by your faults, because children fall frequently, but are too small to hurt themselves much.
The pseudo-sophisticates of the two last centuries of blood and violence need to acknowledge that their programs have failed abysmally and that the human capacity for God can only be satisfied when one approaches that God as a child accepts the overtures of a loving father.
Curious if the "last words" are 100% authentic Theresian, or if they were modified by her sister. Unfortunately, in English "children" can have a negative connotation that would not appeal to a man like the word "son" would.
Hebrews 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.
Some reject the idea of hell as a fiery punishment, maintaining that hell is primary a spiritual state, the sinner's own rejection of God (and thus the beatitude that consists of communion with Him). If God is all-loving and good, then why would He need to inflict an additional punishment to this misery that the unrepentant sinner will experience? But if we accept that there is a sensible component to the Divine glory and love that we can experience, and that those who are in beatitude will experience this as a pleasant sensation (the warmth of the sun, to which the warmth of feeling loved by another is compared), then conversely, those who are in hell because they have turned away from God, might they not they also experience the warmth of this Divine Love as something painful, as they have rejected it? Hellfire then would not be a separate punishment, but the sensible consequence of their rejection of God, an unquenchable fire because the sinner has rejected it and the transformation that it would bring to him.
As for purgatory, even if purgatory will end on the Last Day with the resurrection of all who have died, followed by Judgment, perhaps the soul too will somehow experience the Divine Love as a "fire" as a part the purgation process, the removal of any lingering imperfections, which are burned off, while he is heated and transformed in the Divine Love.
As for purgatory, even if purgatory will end on the Last Day with the resurrection of all who have died, followed by Judgment, perhaps the soul too will somehow experience the Divine Love as a "fire" as a part the purgation process, the removal of any lingering imperfections, which are burned off, while he is heated and transformed in the Divine Love.
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Crux Interview with the Ukrainian Catholic Major Archbishop
Ukraine prelate says Orthodox independence is ‘affirmation of rights’ by John L. Allen Jr. and Ines San Martin
Liberalism v. "Integralism"
Church Life: What Is Integralism Today? by Edmund Waldstein, O.Cist
But: In order for integralism to succeed as a project, it must respect scale.
But: In order for integralism to succeed as a project, it must respect scale.
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Monday, October 29, 2018
Eastern Catholic Bishops Should Boycott
cNA: Synod 2018’s final document shows nuances on ‘synodality’
The synod does not represent the Church Universal.
The synod does not represent the Church Universal.
Archbishop Chaput on the Synod
Too optimistic a view?
SYNOD 2018: SOME CONCLUDING THOUGHTS by Charles J. Chaput
The synod had its problems, but the final document is an improvement over the original instrumentum laboris text.
SYNOD 2018: SOME CONCLUDING THOUGHTS by Charles J. Chaput
The synod had its problems, but the final document is an improvement over the original instrumentum laboris text.
CWR Dispatch: Observations on the Final Days of the Synod by Fr Nicholas Gregoris
Is the Final Document truly a fruit of the collegiality and synodality, so frequently touted by Pope Francis and his equipe? Or is it something that is presented to the Synod Fathers as a fait accompli?
Is the Final Document truly a fruit of the collegiality and synodality, so frequently touted by Pope Francis and his equipe? Or is it something that is presented to the Synod Fathers as a fait accompli?
From a Flawed Perspective?
A Latin ecclesiology dominates the mindset of the author at least...
Eastern Christian Books: The Ecumenism of Blood
Ecumenism of Blood: Heavenly Hope for Earthly Communion
An imperfect communion with the bishop of Rome, but out of communion with the Church? Questionable.
Eastern Christian Books: The Ecumenism of Blood
Ecumenism of Blood: Heavenly Hope for Earthly Communion
An imperfect communion with the bishop of Rome, but out of communion with the Church? Questionable.
Sunday, October 28, 2018
NCReg: The Synod Final Document: A Rush to Judgment by Father Raymond J. de Souza
COMMENTARY: The process employed to draft and approve the final document renders implausible any claim that it is the fruit of mature deliberation by the synod members.
COMMENTARY: The process employed to draft and approve the final document renders implausible any claim that it is the fruit of mature deliberation by the synod members.
Saturday, October 27, 2018
CWR Dispatch: History, unchanging truth, and Vatican II by Eduardo Echeverria
The “pastorality of doctrine” approach, of which one can hear echoes in some interventions at Synod 2018, is a form of Neo-Modernism because it expresses merely an instrumentalist view of doctrine.
The “pastorality of doctrine” approach, of which one can hear echoes in some interventions at Synod 2018, is a form of Neo-Modernism because it expresses merely an instrumentalist view of doctrine.
Thus Confirming Leaks
that the last part of the document would discuss "synodality."
Synod document calls for ‘participatory, co-responsible’ Church
Synod document calls for ‘participatory, co-responsible’ Church
Friday, October 26, 2018
Almost the End
First Things: LETTERS FROM THE SYNOD-2018: #18
October 26, 2018 / by Xavier Rynne II
The eighteenth in a series of reports on Synod-2018.
October 26, 2018 / by Xavier Rynne II
The eighteenth in a series of reports on Synod-2018.
Interview with Fr. Gabriel Bunge
OrthoChristian: DOES ORTHODOXY NEED MONASTIC ORDERS? by Schema-Archimandrite Gabriel Bunge, Vasily Tsuper
Schema-Archimandrite Gabriel (Bunge) speaks about Catholic reforms, Orthodox tradition and the most important objective of monasticism
Meanwhile...
Schema-Archimandrite Gabriel (Bunge) speaks about Catholic reforms, Orthodox tradition and the most important objective of monasticism
Meanwhile...
Thursday, October 25, 2018
Public Discourse: A Protestant Look at the Dogmatic Timidity of the Current Roman Catholic Synod by Carl Trueman
(via Fr. Z)
(via Fr. Z)
First Things: LETTERS FROM THE SYNOD-2018: #17
October 25, 2018 / by Xavier Rynne II
The seventeenth in a series of reports on Synod-2018.
October 25, 2018 / by Xavier Rynne II
The seventeenth in a series of reports on Synod-2018.
Wednesday, October 24, 2018
First Things: LETTERS FROM THE SYNOD-2018: #16
October 24, 2018 / by Xavier Rynne II
The sixteenth in a series of reports on Synod-2018.
October 24, 2018 / by Xavier Rynne II
The sixteenth in a series of reports on Synod-2018.
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Someone Is Optimistic about the FInal Document
CWR: Archbishop Stankevics of Riga: “Let us move the accent from sociological issues to faith” by Deborah Castellano Lubov
After welcoming Pope Francis in Latvia some weeks ago, the Archbishop of Riga, Zbignevs Stankevics, is taking part in the Synod in Rome focused on “young people, the faith and vocational discernment”. In this recent conversation [...]
After welcoming Pope Francis in Latvia some weeks ago, the Archbishop of Riga, Zbignevs Stankevics, is taking part in the Synod in Rome focused on “young people, the faith and vocational discernment”. In this recent conversation [...]
First Things: LETTERS FROM THE SYNOD-2018: #15
October 23, 2018 / by Xavier Rynne II
The fifteenth in a series of reports on Synod-2018.
October 23, 2018 / by Xavier Rynne II
The fifteenth in a series of reports on Synod-2018.
Fr. Hunwicke: The Beevy Emm, alive and well at Queens
Study Day with the Plainsong & Medieval Music Society
There was one outstanding lecture: a real tour de force by John Caldwell on the Psalter. He made clear that the Masoretic traditions are entitled to no assumed priority over those of Greek or Latin Christianity, particularly with regard to the numeration of the Psalms. (There sometimes appears to be a rather shamefaced attitude to the Vulgate (and Septuagint) numeration; this is completely unnecessary. 'Christianity' and 'Jamnian' Judaism are both descended from a first-century rupture; the unconscious assumption that the Masoretic texts are 'authentic' in a way that Christian texts are not fails to remember the Dead Sea scrolls, not to mention Margaret Barker. This is not a pedantic detail; it goes right to the essential point of difference between Synagogue Judaism and Sacrificial Christianity.)
Study Day with the Plainsong & Medieval Music Society
A Byzantine Catholic Look at the Orthodox Trouble
Church Life: The Orthodox Schism Under Western Eyes by Chase Padusniak
Monday, October 22, 2018
First Things: LETTERS FROM THE SYNOD-2018: #14
October 22, 2018 / by Xavier Rynne II
The fourteenth in a series of reports on Synod-2018.
October 22, 2018 / by Xavier Rynne II
The fourteenth in a series of reports on Synod-2018.
A Comment at CWR
source
Concerning 1572: I correct myself: the date is from 1575 to 1577. The fourth Superior General, Fr. Everard Mercurian, “forbade the reading of certain authors as not in keeping with the spirit of the Society: Tauler, Ruysbroeck, Mombaer, Herp, Lull, St. Gertrude, St. Mechtild, and others.” The position of mental prayer in the Society “eventually was formulated as follows: discursive meditation is the type of formal prayer that is proper to the Society of Jesus; affective prayer and contemplative prayer are foreign to the Jesuit spirit.” (“Christian Spirituality in the Catholic Tradition” by Fr. Jordan Aumann, OP, pp. 203-206) This is a shift away from Ignatius’ training of the first Jesuits and his own spirituality. His “Spiritual Diaries” which show how he himself practiced discernment, were only published less than 100 years ago, and since then there has been an effort to recover the original inspiration of the Founder, but a tradition shut in a cupboard for 350 years is not easily resurrected. There was a similar shift away from traditional prayer at the same time in other spiritual traditions, and the effect it has had on the Church in the past 400 years is far more than I can discuss here. However, a tree whose tap-root has been cut can hardly be expected to flourish, and, far from blaming the Jesuits because they do not measure up to what we expect of them, I admire them for what they have accomplished with the emasculated spiritual formation they have been given. I pray that they may recover the true understanding of the spiritual life bequeathed to them by St. Ignatius.
Sunday, October 21, 2018
A Pastoral Revolution: Six Talismanic Words in the Ecclesial Debate on the Family
CWR: The Synod and six enchanting, problematic buzzwords by Fr Nicholas Gregoris
A new book by Italian scholar Guido Vignelli unpacks the semantic and theological significance of terms that have become popular during the pontificate of Francis and the last three Synods.
A new book by Italian scholar Guido Vignelli unpacks the semantic and theological significance of terms that have become popular during the pontificate of Francis and the last three Synods.
Saturday, October 20, 2018
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