Peters focuses on one school of weighing papal documents; he does not think (as I do) that the problem is with the practice of the bishop of Rome frequently promulgating his opinion (regardless of authoritative weight) apparently to the Church Universal. It's a feature of the modern papacy, not present in the first millenium.
The slow decline of the Ordinary Magisterium by Edward N. Peters
I think many in the Church have been slipping into associating the noun “Magisterium” with the adjective “infallible” and assuming that, if some papal/episcopal assertion is not “infallible” then it is not “magisterial”.
Thursday, April 14, 2016
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Chiesa: Francis and Antonio, a Couple in Excellent “Society”
The pope has in Fr. Antonio Spadaro, a Jesuit like him, his authorized translator. Here is how “La Civiltà Cattolica” restates in clearer words what “Amoris lætitia” presents in allusive form
The pope has in Fr. Antonio Spadaro, a Jesuit like him, his authorized translator. Here is how “La Civiltà Cattolica” restates in clearer words what “Amoris lætitia” presents in allusive form
For Some (Neo-)Scholastic Humor...
Posted by someone on Facebook:
"The notion of a bazaar is that form of vendition in which things of the least possible value are sold at the greatest possible price, by those who most want to get rid of them to those who least want to acquire them, for charitable purposes.
The efficient cause of a bazaar is the parish priest, and the more efficient he is, the more bazaars he has. The material cause of a bazaar is all unwanted objects, such as photograph frames, pincushions and Japanese screens. The formal cause of a bazaar is that you can't think of any excuse for evading the formality. The final cause is the wiping off of the Church debt. This is the end of all bazaars, having no end itself.
It is asked whether it is permissible to hold parish bazaars. And at first sight, it appears not. The first reason is taken from the principle that it is not lawful to do evil in order that good may come. But to sell anything for more than it is worth is an evil. Ergo... And again, St Paul tells us that charity is not inflated: now 'to be able' follows 'to be'; therefore it is repugnant that charity, not being itself inflated, should inflate prices. Ergo...
The second reason is taken from the principle that nothing is vendible except what is desired by the buyer as a good. Now the buyer desires a good either under the species of the useful or the beautiful. But that the things sold at bazaars are not useful is clear from the terms of the definition, and that they are not beautiful is clear from contemplation of the things themselves. For the senses are not deceived over their proper objects. And from another point of view, it may be argued that the things bought at bazaars are never either used or exposed as beautiful: they are kept in a back room and sold at the next bazaar. And this process will go on ad infinitum. But the concrete infinity is not found in reality.
The third is taken from Scripture, from that passage to wit where the holy Apostles say that it is not right for them to serve tables. Now a stall at a bazaar partakes in some way of the nature of a table; a priest therefore, may not serve a stall at a bazaar, nor cause others to serve at it, for he who acts through another acts in his own person.
Sed contra: Fr Sims is holding a parish bazaar.
It must be replied therefore to the first point, that no injustice can be done to one who knows it and wills it. And everyone who goes to a bazaar knows that he is being defrauded and also wills it - not directly, indeed, but per accidens, in order to avoid greater evils, such as a personal appeal for donations. And also, St Paul tells us that charity endures all things; it is evident therefore that it must endure even a parish bazaar.
To the second, that a thing may be useful to its owner not in so far as he applies it to himself, but in so far as he applies it to another. For an arrow is useful to its owner only when he applies it to another, not to himself. It is useful, therefore, to possess a photograph frame which you can hand over to the next parish bazaar. And that this process is infinite is not true; for the frame will fall to pieces sooner or later, and all the sooner in proportion as it is a bad frame.
To the third, it must be replied that a stall at a bazaar does not fall under the definition of a table, but under the definition of a tent. And St Paul made tents. Now he who wills the means, wills the end; St Paul, therefore, in willing that tents should be made, willed that they should be used. And again, Scripture says that we ought not to muzzle a Knox...
Written by Ronald Knox in May 1924 and published in "In Three Tongues", 1959, Chapman & Hall.
"The notion of a bazaar is that form of vendition in which things of the least possible value are sold at the greatest possible price, by those who most want to get rid of them to those who least want to acquire them, for charitable purposes.
The efficient cause of a bazaar is the parish priest, and the more efficient he is, the more bazaars he has. The material cause of a bazaar is all unwanted objects, such as photograph frames, pincushions and Japanese screens. The formal cause of a bazaar is that you can't think of any excuse for evading the formality. The final cause is the wiping off of the Church debt. This is the end of all bazaars, having no end itself.
It is asked whether it is permissible to hold parish bazaars. And at first sight, it appears not. The first reason is taken from the principle that it is not lawful to do evil in order that good may come. But to sell anything for more than it is worth is an evil. Ergo... And again, St Paul tells us that charity is not inflated: now 'to be able' follows 'to be'; therefore it is repugnant that charity, not being itself inflated, should inflate prices. Ergo...
The second reason is taken from the principle that nothing is vendible except what is desired by the buyer as a good. Now the buyer desires a good either under the species of the useful or the beautiful. But that the things sold at bazaars are not useful is clear from the terms of the definition, and that they are not beautiful is clear from contemplation of the things themselves. For the senses are not deceived over their proper objects. And from another point of view, it may be argued that the things bought at bazaars are never either used or exposed as beautiful: they are kept in a back room and sold at the next bazaar. And this process will go on ad infinitum. But the concrete infinity is not found in reality.
The third is taken from Scripture, from that passage to wit where the holy Apostles say that it is not right for them to serve tables. Now a stall at a bazaar partakes in some way of the nature of a table; a priest therefore, may not serve a stall at a bazaar, nor cause others to serve at it, for he who acts through another acts in his own person.
Sed contra: Fr Sims is holding a parish bazaar.
It must be replied therefore to the first point, that no injustice can be done to one who knows it and wills it. And everyone who goes to a bazaar knows that he is being defrauded and also wills it - not directly, indeed, but per accidens, in order to avoid greater evils, such as a personal appeal for donations. And also, St Paul tells us that charity endures all things; it is evident therefore that it must endure even a parish bazaar.
To the second, that a thing may be useful to its owner not in so far as he applies it to himself, but in so far as he applies it to another. For an arrow is useful to its owner only when he applies it to another, not to himself. It is useful, therefore, to possess a photograph frame which you can hand over to the next parish bazaar. And that this process is infinite is not true; for the frame will fall to pieces sooner or later, and all the sooner in proportion as it is a bad frame.
To the third, it must be replied that a stall at a bazaar does not fall under the definition of a table, but under the definition of a tent. And St Paul made tents. Now he who wills the means, wills the end; St Paul, therefore, in willing that tents should be made, willed that they should be used. And again, Scripture says that we ought not to muzzle a Knox...
Written by Ronald Knox in May 1924 and published in "In Three Tongues", 1959, Chapman & Hall.
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
CWR: Amoris Laetitia: A CWR Symposium by CWR Staff
Pope Francis’ post-synodal apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, “On love in the family,” has been one of the most widely anticipated papal documents in recent years, following the closely watched...
Related: Watch: Ignatius Press editorial staff members discuss "Amoris Laetitia"
Pope Francis’ post-synodal apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, “On love in the family,” has been one of the most widely anticipated papal documents in recent years, following the closely watched...
Related: Watch: Ignatius Press editorial staff members discuss "Amoris Laetitia"
St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral
The St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral located in Washington DC is one mighty wonder that very few people know...
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Thursday, April 7, 2016
website - FB
Monday, April 11, 2016
New Book on John Paul II
INTERVIEW SPECIAL: Inside Stories About John Paul II, Also Told by His Successor Pope Benedict XVIPolish Vaticanista’s New Book Features Conversations With Those Who Knew Him Best
Posted by ZENIT - News Agency on Tuesday, April 5, 2016
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Psalm 88 in the Roman Office
Pray Tell: Does Psalm 88 Make Sense at Compline? by Liborius Olaf Lumma
Where was it placed previously?
The current Roman order uses Ps. 88 on Fridays. The mood of this psalm is totally different than that of all the other ones. While Pss. 4, 31, 91, and 134 express confidence and trust in God’s guidance, Ps 88. definitely does not. It is a lamentation and a petitionary prayer, rather in terms of desperation than in terms of hope.
In my eyes (and in the eyes of all scholars I know on that point), the meaning of Compline in the old monastic tradition is to express and practice imperturbable confidence in contemplation of death (sleep being an image of death of course). Ps. 88 can be seen as an imitation of Christ’s despair on the cross (cf. Mt 27:46 and Ps 22:1). One might argue that this is exactly why this psalm is a good choice for a Christian night prayer on Friday, but I would argue that this is not what Compline is about. Reading Ps. 88 transforms Compline into something it was not meant to be: it turns from a rite of peace, silence, and confidence into a late-medieval affective and almost painful imitatio crucis (imitation of the cross). And this does not even fit with General Instruction no. 88 which claims for Compline on weekdays that “psalms are chosen which are full of confidence in the Lord.”
The Church of England adopted most of the Roman cycle for Compline, but not on Fridays: They prefer Ps. 139 (and I think they had good reason).
Especially (but not only) in Easter season I would strongly suggest not saying Ps. 88 at Compline. What do you think?
Where was it placed previously?
CWR Blog: The law before ‘Amoris’ is the law after
Those who think Francis' apostolic exhortation has cleared a path to the Communion rail for Catholics in irregular marriages are hearing words that the pope (whatever might be his personal inclinations) simply did not say.
April 10, 2016 04:14 EST
Edward N. Peters
(In the Light of the Law)
Those who think Francis' apostolic exhortation has cleared a path to the Communion rail for Catholics in irregular marriages are hearing words that the pope (whatever might be his personal inclinations) simply did not say.
April 10, 2016 04:14 EST
Edward N. Peters
(In the Light of the Law)
Photios Kontoglou
Read about Photios Kontoglou, the greatest icon painter of modern Greece and one of the most important theologians and...
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Friday, April 8, 2016
Eternal memory!
More from Elder Ephraim
Watch Elder Ephraim, Abbot of Vatopedi Holy Monastery, Mt Athos. Greece, as he speaks to students.http://pemptousia.com/video/abbot-ephraim-a-speech-to-students/
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Saturday, April 9, 2016
Humility... the Beginning
Elder Moses the Athonite (†) speaks for the significance of humility and its relationship with all virtues.http://pemptousia.com/video/elder-moses-the-athonite-humility-the-foundation-of-all-virtues/
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Sunday, April 10, 2016
On Steps to Knowing God
The Fathers say that to really know God, you have to be willing to ascend the Mountain into the “thick darkness” with...
Posted by Orthodoxy and the World on Friday, April 8, 2016
Ouresis Todorovich
An artist, byzantinist and a theorist of art, Dr Uros T. Todorovic speaks to Pemptousia about his first steps in the...
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Monday, April 4, 2016
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