Wednesday, 06 January

23:00

Dan from Optus: your country means nothing [Oz Conservative]

There is a major phone company here in Australia called Optus. Optus has been putting adverts up in shopping centres written in Arabic, hoping to appeal to that demographic. Some of the locals complained and were then given little "lessons" in diversity by an Optus representative called Dan. Dan is now a hero on the left for doing so - he is being hailed as an anti-racist etc.

Dan, however, is far from being the complete man. He told one customer, in defence of the Optus advertisements:

What are countries other than lines on a map?

Dan is not deep, not when it comes to really appreciating national diversity. For him, nations are just lines on a map. He is an outsider to national culture, and yet he is very ready to lecture others on the issue. Better for him just to be honest and say "I am numb to all this, I don't have it in me, it's not something that I can appreciate, I am just an outside observer."

What I am trying to say, in a nutshell, is that Dan has outed himself as being decultured - at least in the sense of identifying with a cultural tradition of his own; of having a love for it; of seeking its preservation; and of wanting to add to it. And this represents a loss in life. It is not something to be admired or wished for, but a loss of part of the emotional richness of life and a loss of part of our human identity, one that links us closely to people and place and to generations past and present.

22:06

To the Editor(s) of Rome Reports [That The Bones You Have Crushed May Thrill]



The following is an article from Rome Reports...

Pope Francis surprising spot on dialogue among religions

2016-01-06 
From now on, Pope Francis himself, will expand on His teachings and make His monthly intentions for Christians to pray in a never before seen broadcasted spot like this.

In the intentions of each month, The Pope outlines the challenges and problems that concern the world. The month of January is focused on the importance of sincere dialogue between religions.

The project is an initiative of the World Network of Prayer of the Pope and was conducted by The Machi Communications agency in collaboration with ROME REPORTS and the Vatican Television Center. From now on, every month, a video like this where the Pope will present His concerns and objectives will be published.

Some of the Popes close friends have participated in the video, such as Muslim Omar Abboud and Rabbi Daniel Goldman.

This is an unprecedented initiative, yet it showcases Pope Francis' approach in bringing His concerns to the world in a more direct and personal way.

Editor and sub-editor jobs require a degree of pedantry - it is part of the job, I would imagine. With this being the 'case', I think that it isn't beyond the wit of Rome Reports journalists to get the correct case when dealing with the Pope. He is the Vicar of Christ on Earth but he is not God. We refer to the Persons of the Triune God, to the Father, to Jesus Christ, to the Holy Ghost, as Him.

No. I'm not sure I really do, but that won't affect my Eternal Salvation.

Therefore, from henceforth, please give Pope Francis a lower case when describing his actions, instead of the upper case which belongs to God, as highlighted in orange, bold.

Thank you.

Happy Epiphany all!


20:43

Dom Gueranger on the Feast of the Epiphany [A Foretaste of Wisdom]


The following is taken from Dom Gueranger's The Liturgical Year. Note well the richness of this great feast, which once held for Catholics a dignity surpassing that of Christmas itself, being indeed the completion and fulfillment of the Christmas mystery. Christ, the God-made-man, is today revealed as God to the whole world. The Incarnation in all its glory is the subject of today's celebration (which traditionally enjoys a full Octave), the foundation of the entire mystery of Christ's humanity.

THE EPIPHANY OF OUR LORD

The Feast of the Epiphany is the continuation of the mystery of Christmas; but it appears on the Calendar of the Church with its own special character. Its very name, which signifies Manifestation, implies that it celebrates the apparition of God to his creatures.

For several centuries, the Nativity of our Lord was kept on this day; and when, in the year 376, the decree of the Holy See obliged all Churches to keep the Nativity on the 25th December, as Rome did - the Sixth of January was not robbed of all its ancient glory. It was still to be called the Epiphany, and the Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ was also commemorated on this same Feast, which Tradition had marked as the day on which that Baptism took place.

The Greek Church gives this Feast the venerable and mysterious name of Theophania, which is of such frequent recurrence in the early Fathers, as signifying a divine Apparition. We find this name applied to this Feast by Eusebius, St. Gregory Nazianzum, and St. Isidore of Pelusium. In the liturgical books of the Melchite Church the Feast goes under no other name.

The Orientals call this solemnity also the holy on account of its being the day on which Baptism was administered, (for, as we have just mentioned, our Lord was baptised on this same day.) Baptism is called by the holy Fathers Illumination, and they who received it Illuminated.

Lastly, this Feast is called, in many countries, King’s Feast: it is, of course, an allusion to the Magi, whose journey to Bethlehem is so continually mentioned in to-day’s Office.

The Epiphany shares with the Feasts of Christmas, Easter, Ascension, and Pentecost, the honour of being called, in the Canon of the Mass, a Day most holy. It is also one of the cardinal Feasts, that is, one of those on which the arrangement of the Christian Year is based; for, as we have Sundays after Easter, and Sundays after Pentecost, so also we count six Sundays after the Epiphany.

The Epiphany is indeed great Feast, and the joy caused us by the Birth of our Jesus must be renewed on it, for, as though it were a second Christmas Day, it shows us our Incarnate God in a new light. It leaves us all the sweetness of the dear Babe of Bethlehem, who hath appeared to us already in love; but to this it adds its own grand manifestation of the divinity of our Jesus. At Christmas, it was a few Shepherds that were invited by the Angels to go and recognise THE WORD MADE FLESH; but now, at the Epiphany, the voice of God himself calls the whole world to adore this Jesus, and hear him.

The mystery of the Epiphany brings upon us three magnificent rays of the Sun of Justice, our Saviour. In the calendar of pagan Rome, this sixth day of January was devoted to the celebration of the triple triumph of Augustus, the founder of the Roman Empire: but when Jesus, our Prince of peace, whose empire knows no limits, had secured victory to his Church by the blood of the Martyrs - then did this his Church decree, that a triple triumph of the Immortal King should be substituted, in the Christian Calendar, for those other three triumphs which had been won by the adopted son of Caesar.

The Sixth of January, therefore, restored the celebration of our Lord’s Birth to the Twenty-Fifth of December; but, in return, there were united in the one same Epiphany, three manifestations of Jesus’ Glory: the mystery of the Magi coming from the East, under the guidance of a star, and adoring the Infant of Bethlehem as the Divine King; the mystery of the Baptism of Christ, who, whilst standing in the waters of the Jordan, was proclaimed by the Eternal Father as Son of God; and thirdly, the mystery of the divine power of this same Jesus, when he changed the water into wine at the marriage-feast of Cana.

But, did these three Mysteries really take place on this day? Is the Sixth of January the real anniversary of these great events? As the chief object of this work is to assist the devotion of the Faithful, we purposely avoid everything which would savour of critical discussion; and with regard to the present question, we think it enough to state, that Baronius, Suarez, Theophilus Raynaldus, Honorius De Sancta-Maria, Cardinal Gotti, Sandini, Benedict 14th, and an almost endless list of other writers, assert that the Adoration of the Magi happened on this very day. That the Baptism of our Lord, also, happened on the sixth of January, is admitted by the severest historical critics, even by Tillemont himself; and has been denied by only two or three. The precise day of the miracle at the marriage-feast of Cana is far from being as certain as the other two mysteries, though it is impossible to prove that the sixth of January was not the day. For us the children of the Church, it is sufficient that our Holy Mother has assigned the commemoration of these three manifestations for this Feast; we need nothing more to make us rejoice in the triple triumph of the Son of Mary.

If we now come to consider these three mysteries of our Feast separately, we shall find, that the Church of Rome, in her Office and Mass of to-day, is more intent on the Adoration of the Magi than on the Other two. The two great Doctors of the Apostolic See, St. Leo and St. Gregory, in their Homilies for this Feast, take it as the almost exclusive object of their preaching; though, together with St: Augustine, St. Paulinus of Nola, St. Maximus of Turin, St. Peter Chrysologus, St. Hillary of Arles, and St. Isidore of Seville, they acknowledge the three mysteries of to-day’s Solemnity. That the mystery of the Vocation of the Gentiles should be made thus prominent by the Church of Rome, is not to be wondered at; for, by that heavenly vocation which, in the three Magi, called all nations to the admirable light of Faith, Rome, which till then had been the head of the Gentile world, was made the head of the Christian Church and of the whole human race.

The Greek Church makes no special mention, in her Office of to-day, of the Adoration of the Magi, for she unites it with the mystery of our Saviour’s Birth in her celebration of Christmas Day. The Baptism of Christ absorbs all her thoughts and praises on the solemnity of the Epiphany.

In the Latin Church, this second mystery of our Feast is celebrated, unitedly with the other two, on the sixth of January, and mention is made of it several times in the Office. But, as the coming of the Magi to the crib of our new-born King absorbs the attention of Christian Rome on this day, the mystery of the sanctification of the waters was to be commemorated on a day apart. The day chosen by the Western Church for paying special honour to the Baptism of our Saviour is the Octave of the Epiphany.

The third mystery of the Epiphany being also somewhat kept in the shade by the prominence given to the first, (though allusion is several times made to it in the Office of the Feast,) a special day has been appointed for its due celebration; and that day is the second Sunday after the Epiphany.

Several Churches have appended to the Mystery of changing the water into wine that of the multiplication of the loaves, which certainly bears some analogy with it, and was a manifestation of our Saviour’s divine power. But, whilst tolerating the custom in the Ambrosian and Mozarabic rites, the Roman Church has never adopted it, in order not to interfere with the sacredness of the triple triumph of our Lord, which the sixth of January was intended to commemorate; as also, because St. John tells us, in his Gospel, that the miracle of the multiplication of the Loaves happened when the Feast of the Pasch was at hand [St. John, vi. 4], to which, therefore, could not have any connection with the season of the year when the Epiphany is kept.

We propose to treat of the three mysteries, united in this great Solemnity, in the following order. To-day, we will unite with the Church in honouring all three; during the Octave, we will contemplate the Mystery of the Magi coming to Bethlehem; we will celebrate the Baptism of our Saviour on the Octave Day; and we will venerate the Mystery of the Marriage of Cana on the Second Sunday after the Epiphany, which is the day appropriately chosen by the Church for the Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus.

Let us, then, open our hearts to the Joy of this grand Day; and on this Feast of the Theophany, of the Holy Lights, of the Three Kings, let us look with love at the dazzling beauty of our Divine Sun, who, as the Psalmist expresses it [Ps. xviii. 6], runs his course as a Giant, and pours out upon us floods of a welcome and yet most vivid light. The Shepherds, who were called by the Angels to be the first worshippers, have been joined by the Prince of Martyrs, the Beloved Disciple, the dear troop of Innocents, our glorious Thomas of Canterbury, and Sylvester the Patriarch of Peace; and now, to-day, these Saints open their ranks to let the Kings of the East come to the Babe in his crib, bearing with them the prayers and adorations of the whole human race. The humble Stable is too little for such a gathering as this, and Bethlehem seems to be worth all the world besides. Mary, the Throne of the divine Wisdom, welcomes all the members of this court with her gracious smile of Mother and Queen; she offers her Son to man, for his adoration, and to God, that he may be well pleased. God manifests himself to men, because he is great: but he manifests himself by Mary, because he is full of mercy.

The great Day, which now brings us to the crib of our Prince of Peace, has been marked by two great events of the first ages of the Church. It was on the sixth of January, in the year 361, and Julian, (who, in heart, was already an apostate,) happened to be at Vienne in Gaul. He was soon to ascend the imperial throne, which would be left vacant by the death of Constantius, and he felt the need he had of the support of that Christian Church, in which it is said he had received the order of Lector, and which, nevertheless, he was preparing to attack with all the cunning and cruelty of a tiger. Like Herod, he, too, would fain go, on this Feast of the Epiphany, and adore the new-born King. The panegyrist Ammianus Marcellinus tells us, that this crowned Philosopher, who had been seen, just before, coming out of the pagan temple, where he had been consulting the soothsayers, made his way through the porticoes of the Church, and, standing in the midst of the faithful people, offered to the God of the Christians his sacrilegious homage.

Eleven years later, in the year 372, another Emperor found his way into the Church, on the same Feast of the Epiphany. It was Valens; a Christian, like Julian, by baptism; but a persecutor, in the name of Arianism, of that same Church which Julian persecuted in the name of his vain philosophy and still vainer gods. As Julian felt himself necessitated by motives of worldly policy to bow down, on this day, before the divinity of the Galilean; so, on this same day, the holy courage of a saintly Bishop made Valens prostrate himself at the feet of Jesus the King of kings.

Saint Basil had just then had his famous interview with the Prefect Modestus, in which his episcopal intrepidity had defeated all the might of earthly power. Valens had come to Caesarea, and, with his soul defiled with the Arian heresy, he entered the Basilica, when the Bishop was celebrating, with his people, the glorious Theophany. Let us listen to St. Gregory Nazianzum, thus describing the scene with his usual eloquence. “The Emperor entered the Church. The chanting of the psalms echoed through the holy place like the rumbling of thunder. The people, like a waving sea, filled the house of God. Such was the order and pomp in and about the sanctuary, that it looked more like heaven than earth. Basil himself stood erect before the people, as the Scripture describes Samuel - his body, and eyes, and soul, motionless as though nothing strange had taken place, and, if I may say so, his whole being was fastened to his God and the holy Altar. The sacred ministers, who surrounded the Pontiff, were in deep recollectedness and reverence. The Emperor heard and saw all this. He had never before witnessed a spectacle so imposing. He was overpowered. His head grew dizzy, and darkness veiled his eyes.”

Jesus, the King of ages, the Son of God and the Son of Mary had conquered. Valens was disarmed; his resolution of using violence against the holy bishop was gone; and if heresy kept him from at once adoring the Word consubstantial to the Father, he, at least, united his exterior worship with that which Basil’s flock was paying to the Incarnate God. When the Offertory came, he advanced towards the Sanctuary, and presented his gifts to Christ in the person of his holy priest. The fear lest Basil might refuse to accept them took such possession of the Emperor, that had not the sacred ministers supported him, he would have fallen at the foot of the Altar.

Thus has the Kingship of our new-born Saviour been acknowledged by the great ones of this world. The Royal Psalmist had sung this prophecy - the Kings of the earth shall see him, and his enemies shall lick the ground under his feet [Ps. lxxi. 9, 11].

The race of Emperors like Julian and Valens was to be followed by Monarchs, who would bend their knee before this Babe of Bethlehem, and offer him the homage of orthodox faith and devoted hearts. Theodosius, Charlemagne, our own Alfred the Great and Edward the Confessor, Stephen of Hungary, the Emperor Henry 2nd, Ferdinand of Castile, Louis 9th of France, are examples of Kings who had a special devotion to the Feast of the Epiphany. Their ambition was to go, in company with the Magi, to the feet of the Divine Infant, and offer him their gifts. At the English Court, the custom is still retained, and the reigning Sovereign offers an ingot of Gold as a tribute of homage to Jesus the King of kings: the ingot is afterwards redeemed by a certain sum of money.

But this custom of imitating the Three Kings in their mystic gifts was not confined to Courts. In the Middle-Ages, the Faithful used to present, on the Epiphany, gold, frankincense, and myrrh, to be blessed by the Priest. These tokens of their devotedness to Jesus were kept as pledges of God’s blessing upon their houses and families. The practice is still observed in some parts of Germany: and the prayer for the Blessing was in the Roman Ritual, until Pope Paul 5th suppressed it, together with several others, as being seldom required by the Faithful.

There was another custom, which originated in the Ages of Faith, and which is still observed in many countries. In honour of the Three Kings, who came from the East to adore the Babe of Bethlehem, each family chose one of its members to be King. The choice was thus made. The family kept a feast, which was an allusion to the third of the Epiphany-Mysteries - the Feast of Cana in Galilee - a Cake was served up, and he who took the piece which had a certain secret mark, was proclaimed the King of the day. Two portions of the cake were reserved for the poor, in whom honour was thus paid to the Infant Jesus and his Blessed Mother; for, on this Day of the triumph of Him, who, though King, was humble and poor, it was fitting that the poor should have a share in the general joy. The happiness of home was here, as in so many other instances, blended with the sacredness of Religion. This custom of King’s Feast brought relations and friends together, and encouraged feelings of kindness and charity. Human weakness would sometimes, perhaps, show itself during these hours of holiday-making; but the idea and sentiment and spirit of the whole feast was profoundly Catholic, and that was sufficient guarantee to innocence.

King’s Feast is still a Christmas joy in thousands of families; and happy those where it is kept in the Christian spirit which first originated it! For the last three hundred years, a puritanical zeal has decried these simple customs, wherein the seriousness of religion and the home enjoyments of certain Festivals were blended together. The traditions of Christian family rejoicings have been blamed under pretexts of abuse; as though a recreation, in which religion had no share and no influence, were less open to intemperance and sin. Others have pretended, (though with little or no foundation,) that the Twelfth Cake and the custom of choosing a King, are mere imitations of the ancient pagan Saturnalia. Granting this to be correct, (which it is not,) we would answer, that many of the old pagan customs have undergone a Christian transformation, and no one thinks of refusing to accept them thus purified. All this mistaken zeal has produced the sad effect of divorcing the Church from family life and customs, of excluding every religious manifestation from our traditions, and of bringing about what is so pompously called, (though the word is expressive enough,) the secularisation of society.

But let us return to the triumph of our sweet Saviour and King. His magnificence is manifested to us so brightly on this Feast! Our mother, the Church, is going to initiate us into the mysteries we are to celebrate. Let us imitate the faith and obedience of the Magi: let us adore, with the holy Baptist, the divine Lamb, over whom the heavens open: let us take our place at the mystic feast of Cana, where our dear King is present, thrice manifested, thrice glorified. In the last two mysteries, let us not lose sight of the Babe of Bethlehem; and in the Babe of Bethlehem let us cease not to recognise the Great God, (in whom the Father was well-pleased,) and the supreme Ruler and Creator of all things.

20:33

Ordinary Duties as we Approach Ordinary Time [LES FEMMES - THE TRUTH]

The past few days I've found myself immersed in the ordinary duties of family life. After a week of a dozen house guests coming and going, I've been changing beds, doing laundry, putting away the punch bowl and party plates, cleaning out the refrigerator and making soup and freezer dishes from leftovers, picking up stray toys (I keep a stash for the grandchildren), and generally "redding up" as my West Virginia husband always says.

I actually like to fold laundry. Since my children were young I've made it a practice to pray for those who will wear the clothes, sleep in the beds, use the towels, etc. Today I've also been praying to St. Anthony that all the items in the Camp Kreitzer lost and found will return to their rightful owners.

 Read more....


20:21

Input needed! [One Mad Mom]

Hi all-

When I started this blog I tried different Word Press formats but settled on this one due to it’s ease (aka – the fact it didn’t make me cry).  Of course, I really didn’t think anyone not related to me would ever read it so I didn’t put a whole lot of effort into it.  I’ve had a couple of lovely people say the font is hard to read – especially on phones.  It looks good on my equipment but everyone’s is different.

Pleases take a gander at the last two blog posts.  I just updated the last one all in bold.  Does that help people?  I’ve tried different fonts and WP doesn’t give me an option to make the font darker.

Does the bold help, hinder, etc.?

Thanks,

OMM

 


19:25

Fundamentalism of the Sources: Problems with Some Practices of Source Criticism – Part 5 [Theological Flint]

This is from Theological Flint

Now that we have taken stock of the fundamentally tenuous character of the inference to more than one source, let us briefly consider all that is built upon this foundation. First, there is the question as to how these fragments were put together into a single literary work, say, the Individual Books of the Law […]

The post Fundamentalism of the Sources: Problems with Some Practices of Source Criticism – Part 5 appeared first on Theological Flint.

18:46

The Baptism of the Lord! [The Sacred Page]

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18:29

A trove of digitized Garrigou-Lagrange texts [News - thomistica]

Not long ago there were not (as far as I know) many of Garrigou-Lagrange's writings available electronically online. Last month I discovered that there are now over a dozen available at the Internet Archive. They are all English translations, but for those whose French or Latin is poor or non-existent, this is quite a resource. Obviously, it will also be useful for professors who would like to incorporate some of Garrigou's texts in their classes.

There are now a total of fourteen texts up. You can find them here. Also included is the hitherto hard to obtain English translation of Garrigou's famous (for some, notorious) 1946 Angelicum article "La nouvelle théologie: oú va-t-elle?" Here's what's available as of this posting:

Beatitude: A Commentary on St. Thomas' Theological summa, Ia IIae, qq. 1-54

Christian Perfection & Contemplation

God: His Existence and His Nature (vol. 1)

God: His Existence and His Nature (vol. 2)

The Love of God and the Cross of Jesus (vol. 1)

The Love of God and the Cross of Jesus (vol. 2)

The Mother of The Savior and Our Interior Life

Our Saviour and His Love for Us

Predestination

The Last Writings

The Priest in Union with Christ 

The Three Ages of the Interior Life (vol. 1)

The Three Ages of the Interior Life (vol. 2)

“Where is the New Theology Leading Us?”

There were two other entries that I did not include in this list because I'm not sure what they are. They are supposed to be an index and a bibliography to The Three Ages of the Interior Life. When I clicked on the links, however, I was led to blank pages. 

We certainly owe a debt of gratitude to whoever made the effort to put all of this up.

17:34

Forthcoming foray into evangelization [John G. Brungardt, Ph.L.]

A presentation proposal of mine was recently accepted and will be a unique challenge for me, since it will require drawing upon some literary criticism and theology along with philosophical arguments, all for the sake of weighty practical aims in contemporary culture. The presentation is currently titled “The Chaste Medieval Friar and the Passionate English Bard on the Sexual Revolution.” (an abstract is found at the link)

Deo volente, this will be presented at the 5th Annual Symposium on the New Evangelization, Mercy and the Revolution, at Benedictine College, Atchison, KS, 8–9 April 2016. I’ve received an advance copy of the promotional flyer (from which I’ve found the Caravaggio below)—the invited speakers and featured presenters are quite a cast of contemporary lights. I highly encourage all those interested to attend!

Caravaggio, c. 1607/1610 – Salome with the Head of John the Baptist (London)

 


16:45

New from Remnant TV: The Great Debate of 2016 [The Remnant Newspaper - The Remnant Newspaper - Remnant Articles]

Chris Ferrara vs. Mark Shea NOTICE: The Argument to the Month has opened up an overflow room in order to accomodate an expected high turnout.One night only. Live from St. Paul, Minnesota: two...

See more at http://remnantnewspaper.com

16:35

Polish Minister: New Government Believes in God and Fatherland [The Eponymous Flower]


Royal Banner of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Poland's new foreign minister Witold Waszczykowski has rejected criticism of the European Commission of the government's ruling PiS party ("Law and Justice"). The previous government followed a certain "left policy concept."

Berlin (kath.net/KNA) Poland's new foreign minister Witold Waszczykowski has rejected criticism of the European Commission to the government of the ruling PiS party ("Law and Justice"). "We just want to heal our country of some diseases, so that it can recover again," the minister said of the controversial approach of his government against the state media in an interview with the "Bild" (Monday).

The previous government pursued a certain "left policy concept" said Waszczykowski. "When the world must automatically move only in the direction of a Marxist model - to a new mix of cultures and races, a world of cyclists and vegetarians who only focus on renewable energies and fight against any form of religion. This has nothing to do with traditional Polish values.

"The PiS party promotes a contrast that moves the majority of Poles: traditions, awareness of history, love of Fatherland, faith in God, in a normal family life between husband and wife. And these days we even prefer 'Merry Christmas', and not 'Happy Holidays' - because we still celebrate the birth of Jesus," said the Minister. This was possibly "a shock to our opponents 'who believed in progress:' whose 25 years of left and liberal indoctrination could not eliminate these traditional values. And that we have have even won the elections."

Kath.net...Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com AMDG

16:02

Experten: Pornographie prägt zunehmend gesamte moderne Kultur [Mathias von Gersdorff]

Miley Cyrus - Foto: onetwothreefourfive CC BY 2.0 Die moderne Kultur bleibt nicht unbeeinflusst von der Pornographieflut im Internet und anderen Medien. Das behaupten mehrere hochrangige Autoren, wie Óscar Tokumura in seinem neuen Buch „Die Online-Pornografie“ zeigt.    Lindsay Coleman und Jacob M. Held sprechen in dem von ihnen herausgegebenen Buch „The Philosophy of Pornography“ von einer „

15:32

15:00

„Dreikönigswasser" [et nunc]

Am Vorabend des Festes der Erscheinung des Herrn wird das sogenannte „Dreikönigswasser" geweiht. Der Brauch geht zurück auf die Zeit, als Erscheinung des Herrn wie Ostern einer der großen Tauftage der Kirche war, für die in der vorrangehenden Vigil das Taufwasser geweiht wurde. Als der Tauftermin seine Bedeutung verlor, wurde das Dreikönigswasser vor allem für die Segnungen der Häuser und Wohnungen der Gläubigen benutzt.

Kölner Taufbecken, 6. Jh.
 

Nach der Allerheiligenlitanei und Psalmengebet spricht der Priester den Exorzismus:

Wir beschwören dich, unreiner Geist, jede teuflische Macht, jeden Einfluss des höllischen Feindes, jede teuflische Heerschar und  Bande, im Namen und in der Kraft unseres Herrn Jesus Christus: verschwinde und hebe dich hinweg von der Kirche Gottes, von allen, die nach Gottes Ebenbild geschaffen und durch das kostbare Blut des göttlichen Lammes erlöst sind.
Wage nicht ferner, du hinterlistige Schlange, das Menschengeschlecht zu betrügen, die Kirche Gottes zu verfolgen und die Auserwählten Gottes zu schütteln und zu beuteln wie den Weizen. Gott der Allerhöchste gebietet dir, denn in deinem großen Übermut maßest du dir immer noch an, ihm gleich zu gelten; er aber will, dass alle Menschen selig werden und zur Erkenntnis der Wahrheit kommen. Gott Vater gebietet dir, Gott Sohn gebietet dir, Gott der Heilige Geist gebietet dir. Es gebietet dir die Majestät Christi, Gottes ewiges Wort, das Fleisch geworden ist für das Heil unseres Geschlechtes, das durch deinen Neid verloren war. Er erniedrigte sich selbst und übte Gehorsam bis zum Tod. Er baute seine Kirche auf festem Felsen und verkündete, die Pforten der Hölle würden sie niemals überwältigen, denn er selbst werde bei ihr bleiben alle Tage bis ans Ende der Welt. Es gebietet dir das Heiligtum des Kreuzes und die Kraft aller Geheimnisse des christlichen Glaubens. Es gebietet dir die hehre Jungfrau und Gottesmutter Maria, denn sie hat vom ersten Augenblick ihrer unbefleckten Empfängnis dein stolzes Haupt in ihrer Demut zertreten. Es gebietet dir der Glaube der heiligen Apostel Petrus und Paulus und aller übrigen Apostel. Es gebietet dir das Blut der Martyrer und die fromme Fürbitte aller Heiligen.

Also beschwören wir dich, verfluchter Drache und deine ganze teuflische Heerschar, durch den lebendigen Gott, durch den wahren Gott, durch den heiligen Gott; denn also hat er die Welt geliebt, dass er seinen eingeborenen Sohn dahingab, auf dass niemand, der an ihn glaubt, verloren gehe, sondern das ewige Leben habe. Höre auf, die Menschen zu betrügen und ihnen das Gift des ewigen Verderbens zu reichen. Höre auf, der Kirche zu schaden und ihre Freiheit in Fesseln zu schlagen! Fort mit dir, Satan, Erfinder und Meister jeden Truges, Feind des menschlichen Heiles! Gib Raum unserem Herrn Jesus Christus, denn an ihm hast du nichts gefunden von deinen Werken; gib Raum der einen, heiligen, katholischen und apostolischen Kirche, denn Christus selbst hat sie gewonnen durch sein Blut. Demütige dich unter der mächtigen Hand Gottes; erzittere und entweiche, da wir den heiligen furchtbaren Namen Jesu anrufen: vor ihm bebt die Hölle, ihm sind die Kräfte und Mächte und Herrschaften unterworfen; ihn preisen die Cherubim und die Seraphim mit nimmer ermüdender Stimme rufend: Heilig, heilig, heilig ist der Herr, der Gott Sabaoth.

Nach weiteren Gebeten und Gesängen spricht der Priester:

Lasset uns beten.
O Gott! Wie Du am heutigen Tage Deinen eingeborenen Sohn durch die Führung des Sternes den Heiden geoffenbart hast, so lass uns, nachdem wir Dich schon aus dem Glauben erkannt haben, durch Deine Güte dereinst zur Anschauung Deiner Herrlichkeit und Größe gelangen. Durch unsern Herrn Jesus Christus, Deinen Sohn, der mit Dir lebt und herrscht in der Einheit des Heiligen Geistes, Gott von Ewigkeit zu Ewigkeit. Amen.

Danach werden Salz und Wasser gesegnet und weitere Gebete gesprochen.

Der Priester streut nun dreimal in Kreuzesform Salz in das Wasser und
spricht dabei einmal:

Die Mischung von Salz und Wasser geschehe im Namen des Vaters und des Sohnes und des Heiligen
Geistes. Amen.
Der Herr sei mit euch.
Und mit deinem Geiste.
Lasset uns beten.
O Gott, Du Urheber unbesiegter Kraft, Du unüberwindlicher König des Reiches und allzeit erhabener Herrscher, Du brichst die Kraft der gegnerischen Gewalt, Du überwindest den grausam wütenden Feind und vertreibst mit mächtiger Hand seine Bosheit: Dich, Herr, bitten wir und flehen wir in tiefer Ehrfurcht an: schau dieses Salz und Wasser, das Du geschaffen, gnädig an, überstrahle es in Güte und heilige es mit dem Tau Deiner Gnade. Wo immer es hin gesprengt wird, möge durch die Anrufung Deines heiligen Namens abgewehrt werden jeder Anschlag des unreinen Geistes und weit vertrieben werden die Schrecknis der giftigen Schlange; der Heilige Geist aber sei uns allerorten nahe, die wir um Dein Erbarmen flehen. Durch unsern Herrn Jesus Christus, Deinen Sohn, der mit Dir lebt und herrscht in der Einheit des Heiligen Geistes, Gott von Ewigkeit zu Ewigkeit. Amen.

Nach der Segnung besprengt der Priester das Volk mit dem geweihten Wasser.
Zuletzt singt man das Te Deum.

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14:43

National Catholic Reporter MUST be Banned by US Bishops [The Lepanto Institute]

NCR image 02

In its latest bid for “Most Heretical Publication Since the 95 Theses of Martin Luther,” the National Catholic Reporter has really outdone itself.  Bearing the headline, “Editorial: Our persons of the year for 2015,” National Catholic Reporter officially honored the plaintiffs behind the most immoral Supreme Court decision since Roe v. Wade, saying:

“For their historic roles as plaintiffs in Obergefell v. Hodges and for their faithful public witness as gay Catholics, we name Greg Bourke and Michael DeLe­on NCR‘s persons of the year for 2015.”

What Bourke and DeLeon did, and have been doing in their “committed relationship” of 33 years, including their pretend “marriage” in Canada in 2004, is not only gravely shameful and supremely scandalous, but has forced a moral abomination upon the entire nation.  By calling Bourke and DeLeon “faithful public witnesses as gay Catholics” and honoring them as persons of the year, National Catholic Reporter has made it abundantly clear for all to see that it is not Catholic, it doesn’t want to be Catholic, and in fact, it hates Catholic teaching and the Catholic Church.  So the big question is, “Why is National Catholic Reporter still allowed access to official high-profile Catholic functions?”

The Code of Canon Law, 831 forbids the faithful from writing anything for publications that openly attack the Catholic faith or good morals:

“CAN. 831 §1. Except for a just and reasonable cause, the Christian faithful are not to write anything for newspapers, magazines, or periodicals which are accustomed to attack openly the Catholic religion or good morals; clerics and members of religious institutes, however, are to do so only with the permission of the local ordinary.”

The fact of the matter is the National Catholic Reporter has a long history of spreading heresy and attacking the eternal Truths taught by Holy Mother Church. Here are a few examples of NCR’s vicious assaults on the Catholic Religion and good morals:

  • NCR Officially Promotes and Supports Women’s Ordination
    • Editorial: Ordination of women would correct an injustice – “Our message is that we believe the sensus fidelium is that the exclusion of women from the priesthood has no strong basis in Scripture or any other compelling rationale; therefore, women should be ordained … NCR joins its voice with Roy Bourgeois and calls for the Catholic church to correct this unjust teaching.”
    • Editorial: We need fearless discussion on women’s ordination – “First, we need bold, fearless discussion on the question of women’s ordination. Simple declarations that “the door is closed” cannot be the answer. Second, Francis and other church leaders must see that a ban on full participation by women in the church is obsolete and is no longer culturally significant. Many people — too many people — in the church are prevented from speaking on this issue, some through outright bans and directives, most through intimidation and fear of losing livelihoods and careers. Those of us with the freedom to speak up against this injustice must do so loudly.“
    • NCR on women’s ordination: What took you so long? – ” I am delighted that the National Catholic Reporter has formally, on its editorial page, endorsed the ordination of women in the Catholic church.”
    • 5 minutes with Francis: Women’s ordination – “I am a Roman Catholic Woman Priest … Women priests within the Roman Catholic tradition are shining a light on what the future holds for Roman Catholicism.” [Editor’s note: Our first contribution has special distinction, as it was originally submitted for the print publication. It is this opinion piece that gave NCR the idea for the 5 minutes with Francis blog series.]
  • NCR Officially Promotes and Supports Sodomy and Sodomitical Relationships
    • LGBT Catholics hope that synod on family will lead to welcome for all – “LGBT Catholics hope that the synod will recognize the variety of families in the Christian community and include all kinds in its pastoral ministry. After all, if Joseph was not Jesus’ biological father, the Holy Family was a nontraditional one.”
    • What makes a family? – “I’m not sure that the church will ever change its views about lesbian and gay people, but I firmly believe my relationship with Honour is a blessing God bestowed on me. All the opposition we encountered from society and church teachings could never shatter my trust that our love is a gift from God.”
    • Same-sex marriage: The sky is not falling – “On the practical level, how will parishes respond to same-sex marriage? … We will encourage them to participate fully in the life of the church, including the Eucharist. We will treat everyone with respect and dignity. We will allow them the right of their own conscience.”
    • How the bishops should respond to the same-sex marriage decision – “It is time for the bishops to admit defeat and move on. Gay marriage is here to stay, and it is not the end of civilization as we know it.”
  • NCR Officially Promotes and Supports Contraception
    • The Catholic church should partner with Planned Parenthood to reduce abortions – “The U.S. bishops and their national staff are deeply and heavily invested in the view of Planned Parenthood as the evil opposition to a “pro-life” view of the world. Would the U.S. bishops as a whole be open to working with Planned Parenthood in a collegial, cooperative manner to reduce abortions? … Just this past month, the New York Times reported that dramatic success of the use of contraception in the reduction of teen pregnancies in Colorado. … Would the U.S. bishops deny this vulnerable cohort free contraception knowing that an abortion is the highly expected result of an unplanned pregnancy?”
    • ‘Laudato Si” should have lifted the ban on contraception – “For the sake of the earth and of the poor, it is time for the church to admit that the ban on artificial contraception is doing far more harm than good.”
    • Why isn’t anyone talking about the synod’s paragraphs on contraception? – “For the global poor, access to contraception can mean the difference between starvation and nourishment, poverty and stability, illness and health, death and life.”
    • Francis, contraception and climate change – “If I could speak to Pope Francis directly, I would say: ‘Really? You are in the Philippines urging people to deal with widespread poverty and you include in your talk an anti-contraception message? Really? Do you see no contradiction in those messages?'”

NCR’s Michael Sean Winters even wrote a piece praising the anthem of the Communist Internationale:

“The other day, on the radio, I heard an NPR report on the funeral of the “dear leader” Kim Jong Il and the report started with masses of Koreans singing “The Internationale.” Wow. Not every day you hear that! The NPR reporter did not call attention to the music, which I hope every good leftie still remembers.

I could not find a video of that part of the ceremony but here is a recording of what is really a splendid piece of music in Korean:”

The code of Canon Law establishes that those who do what National Catholic Reporter does (established in the above list), should be punished with a just penalty:

Can. 1369 A person who in a public show or speech, in published writing, or in other uses of the instruments of social communication utters blasphemy, gravely injures good morals, expresses insults, or excites hatred or contempt against religion or the Church is to be punished with a just penalty.

In fact, the National Catholic Reporter was firmly condemned under the strictest terms by its local ordinary, Bishop Charles Helmsing, in 1968.  In his letter of official condemnation, Bishop Helmsing suggested that NCR’s writers may be guilty of formal heresy, saying:

“It has given lengthy space to a blasphemous and heretical attack on the Vicar of Christ. It is difficult to see how well instructed writers who deliberately deny and ridicule dogmas of our Catholic faith can possibly escape the guilt of the crime defined in Canon 1325 on heresy, and how they can escape the penalties of automatic excommunication entailed thereby.

In fairness to our Catholic people, I hereby issue an official condemnation of the National Catholic Reporter. Furthermore, I send this communication to my brother bishops, and make known to the priests, religious and laity of the nation my views on the poisonous character of this publication.
…

IN AS MUCH as the National Catholic Reporter does not reflect the teaching of the Church, but on the contrary, has openly and deliberately opposed this teaching. I ask the editors in all honesty to drop the term “Catholic” from their masthead. By retaining it they deceive their Catholic readers and do a great disservice to ecumenism by being responsible for the false irenicism of watering down Catholic teachings.”

In 2013, Bishop Robert Finn reaffirmed this condemnation, adding that “NCR’s positions against authentic Church teaching and leadership have not changed trajectory in the intervening decades.”

Even in light of Canon Law, condemnation by the local ordinary, and a steady barrage against the immutable teachings of the Catholic Church, the  National Catholic Reporter is given unobstructed access to official Catholic events, the publication is subscribed to by priests and parishes, and Bishops and Cardinals continue to legitimize this rag by providing NCR with interviews.  Here are a few examples:

  1. NCR Interviews Cardinal Donald Wuerl
  2. NCR Interviews Archbishop Blase Cupich
  3. NCR Interviews Archbishop John Wester, former head of the USCCB’s Communications Committee
  4. NCR Interviews Cardinal Sean O’Malley
  5. NCR Interviews Bishop Robert McElroy
  6. NCR Interviews Cardinal Christoph Schonborn
  7. NCR Interviews Cardinal Francis George
  8. NCR Interviews Archbishop Mark Coleridge
  9. NCR Interviews Cardinal Timothy Dolan
  10. NCR Interviews Archbishop Joseph Kurtz

Right now, the Catholic Church is in the grip of a mass exodus from the Faith and National Catholic Reporter is leading the desertion.  It will take courage, strength and sacrifice from the Princes of the Church to save the multitude of souls being led away by the deceits of this publication.  Our prelates must defend the faithful against such vicious lies.  Our bishops must collectively condemn the National Catholic Reporter and deny it any and all access to formal Catholic events and clerics.

 

The post National Catholic Reporter MUST be Banned by US Bishops appeared first on The Lepanto Institute.

14:20

Epiphany - a reflection on the Feast and Star [Vox Cantoris]


Today, in both the modernist and traditional rite and calendar of the Church, it is the Feast or Solemnity of the Epiphany or "Manifestation" of the Lord. That is, unless it has been transferred to a Sunday with the absurdity of being as early as January 2 or as late, as it will be next year, as January 7, after the actual date. Talk about an "external solemnity." When Christmas is on a Tuesday, at least we celebrate on the same day/date.

There is so much that can be said about this feast theologically, historically and liturgically. 

From the Office 

The Antiphon to the Benedictus in Morning Prayer, or Lauds, is:
Hódie  cælésti sponso iuncta est Ecclésia, quóniam in Iordáne lavit Christus eius crímina; currunt cum munéribus magi ad regáles núptias; et ex aqua facta vino lætántur convívæ, allelúia.
And at Evening Prayer, or Vespers, the Antiphon to the Magnificat is:
Tribus miráculis ornátum diem sanctum cólimus: hódie stella magos duxit ad præsépium; hódie vinum ex aqua factum est ad núptias; hódie in Iordáne a Ioánne Christus baptizári vóluit, ut salváret nos, allelúia.

As we examine these Antiphons, we note that the Baptism of the Lord at the Jordan River and the changing of water into wine at the Marriage Feast of Cana are mentioned. The Early Church celebrated the Epiphany as a great Feast, second only to Easter, which makes the loss of it today in the nervous and disordered liturgy and calendar when transferred and not a Holy Day of Obligation, an even greater loss to the people and to the Faith. Our forefathers believed that these three epiphanies or manifestations all occurred on the same calendared date the appropriate years apart. This is apocryphal, of course, but it does show how important liturgy and order was and is to the Church and how far we have fallen from it. 

More manifestations

The great hymn written in 1862 by Christopher Wordsworth - Songs of Thankfulness and Praise refers to these manifestations.  
Songs of thankfulness and praise,
Jesus, Lord, to thee we raise,
manifested by the star
to the sages from afar;
branch of royal David's stem
in thy birth at Bethlehem;
anthems be to thee addressed,
God in man made manifest.

Manifest at Jordan's stream,
Prophet, Priest and King supreme;
and at Cana, wedding guest,
in thy Godhead manifest;
manifest in power divine,
changing water into wine;
anthems be to thee addressed,
God in man made manifest.

Manifest in making whole
palsied limbs and fainting soul;
manifest in valiant fight,
quelling all the devil's might;
manifest in gracious will,
ever bringing good from ill;
anthems be to thee addressed,
God in man made manifest.

Sun and moon shall darkened be,
stars shall fall, the heavens shall flee;
Christ will then like lightning shine,
all will see his glorious sign;
all will then the trumpet hear,
all will see the Judge appear;
thou by all wilt be confessed,
God in man made manifest.

Grant us grace to see thee, Lord,
mirrored in thy holy Word;
may we imitate thee now,
and be pure, as pure art thou;
that we like to thee may be
at thy great Epiphany;
and may praise thee, ever blest,
God in man made manifest.

Here it is sung by the Choir of St. John's Episcopal Community in Detroit. Note that notwithstanding their heresy and schism, liturgically they are singing it on the "Second Sunday after Epiphany!" How sad that they get this more than our Catholic priests, musicians and liturgical terrorists. 


Yet, not just the baptism and wedding but also the curing of the lame and the casting out of demons. In the unchanging lectionary of the Roman Missal of 1962, unchanged since the 6th century until the liturgical terrorists of 1970 decided they knew better, these readings followed the immediate Sundays after Epiphany. The First Sunday after Epiphany which became Holy Family Sunday, still did not change the Gospel, the finding of Jesus in the Temple. It was also a "manifestation" in this case of the Lord manifested in the Temple before the Elders. The whole season after Epiphany up to the Gesima Sundays was along this them of manifestation and revealing the Lord through His miracles and his mission to the world. Sadly, it exists only in bits and pieces in the new three-year lectionary. The Second Sunday contains the Gospel of the Wedding Feast at Cana, The Third Sunday is the Curing of the Leper (palsied limbs) and the Centurion's prayer, "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof..." and the curing of his beloved servant. In this Gospel, the Lord also says that the children "of the kingdom" of Israel shall be "cast out into the darkness" -- something to keep in mind regarding the Vatican's ridiculous non-magisterial statement about the Church not having a mission to convert the Jews to Christ! The Fourth Sunday is the manifestation of the Lord's power to calm the seas in the boat with His apostles. As we approach these Sundays, they are often transferred to the end of the year with the advent of the Gesima Sundays which this year begin on January 24 with Easter being very early, on March 24.

Referring again to the belief that these three manifestations occurred on the same date and it was believed to be, our January 6, reveals another little example of how the liturgy is not always reasonably chronological as in an Octave perhaps or Eastertide, but also theological and historical. We have, twelve days after the Nativity, the visit of the Wise Men from the East and the manifestation of Our Lord to the Gentiles. We decorate the crèche. of course with the Magi, as it tells the whole story of Nativity and Manifestation.

Yet, in a few weeks, on February 2, we will have Candlemas, the Presentation of Our Lord, and another manifestation, in the Temple when Blessed Mary underwent her Purification according to the Jewish ritual. We know that immediately after the visit of the Magi, they were warned by an Angel of God to return to their lands through another way due to Herod's rage and plan to kill the Child. We also know that St. Joseph was warned to "Take the Child and His Mother and flee to Egypt." How does this correspond then with the Epiphany coming liturgically before Purification? In fact, it shows us that the celebration of the manifestations may have indeed occurred on the same date but that Magi visited Our Lord when he was a toddler, not an infant. If Our Lord's nativity was indeed on December 25, and there is much evidence that it was, then he was just over a year old. We know that Herod slaughtered all infants under two, after consulting about the time "the Child was born." Logically, they could not have journeyed from their lands to  Bethlehem in twelve days. Further, they visited the Holy Family, in a "house" not the cave and manger. It is likely then that the Holy Family remained in Bethlehem for a period. Joseph probably found work in his useful trade as a carpenter which would have been a builder of many things, not just of wood bus also of metal. He was skilled and an upright man and provider and he would have quickly sought to provide an abode for Mary and the Holy Child to get them out of the cave and manger. We can imagine, for a moment, as a man, a husband and entrusted by God as the earthly father of Jesus, how distressing it must have been for St. Joseph to be in an abode for animals. 

Octave of the Epiphany

Prior to the 1962 Roman Missal, there was an Octave of the Epiphany. It was tragically removed and of course, was not restored in the Novus Ordo which also banished the Octave of Pentecost. Both of these should be returned to both Forms of the Roman Rite. Yet, interestingly, the liturgy this week in the Ordinary Form lectionary Responsorial Psalms and Alleluias where the transfer of Epiphany has been to Sunday, all contain the Epiphany elements - a recognition of the long-lost Octave.

Father Z commented recently on the Star of Bethlehem video by a devout, non-Catholic, Christian, Rick Larsen (may he be brought fully to the faith). Using a computer program called Starry Night, he researches the night sky by going back in time to see how the stars and constellations were lined up at the time of Our Lord's birth. It is fascinating, though discounting of the star being an "angel" or "pillar of fire" or some other miracle. It conflicts with the view of some Church Fathers that the star was within the atmosphere not so much an "astronomical" event because all heavenly bodies, even a comet or a bright planet such as Venus, were referred to as stars. Still, it makes fascinating consideration of this great Feast and Solemnity of the Epiphany, though I would say "potentially scientifically proven."

At the end of the video is something just as profound. The exact, logical calculation of the Crucifixion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. 


14:11

13:44

Widower From Paris Terror: "You Will Not Have My Hatred." [Creative Minority Report]

After his wife was killed in Paris by Islamic terrorists, a man named Antoine Leiris penned an open letter to the terrorists. It's pretty amazing. I don't know if I would be able to write what he wrote.

Here's his letter, translated by GMA and published by Charisma News:

"Friday night, you took an exceptional life—the love of my life, the mother of my son—but you will not have my hatred I don't know who you are and I don't want to know, you are dead souls. If this God, for whom you kill blindly, made us in his image, every bullet in the body of my wife would have been one more wound in His heart.

"So, no, I will not grant you the gift of my hatred. You're asking for it, but responding to hatred with anger is falling victim to the same ignorance that has made you what you are. You want me to be scared, to view my countrymen with mistrust, to sacrifice my liberty for my security. You lost.

"I saw her this morning. Finally, after nights and days of waiting. She was just as beautiful as when she left on Friday night, just as beautiful as when I fell hopelessly in love over 12 years ago. Of course I am devastated by this pain, I give you this little victory, but the pain will be short-lived. I know that she will be with us every day and that we will find ourselves again in this paradise of free love to which you have no access.

"We are just two, my son and me, but we are stronger than all the armies in the world. I don't have any more time to devote to you, I have to join Melvil who is waking up from his nap. He is barely 17-months-old. He will eat his meals as usual, and then we are going to play as usual, and for his whole life this little boy will threaten you by being happy and free. Because no, you will not have his hatred either."
Dude's pretty awesome. My prayers go out to him.


*subhead*Wow.*subhead*

13:08

Pius (1) [The Paraphasic]


Pius woke, face down upon his bed, to the feeling of his vertebrae straining against each other.  He had turned onto his stomach in the night, so that the frame of his old body was twisted out of compass. Now, held in place by the sag of the mattress springs, he was stiff with a stiffness that, though painful, discouraged him from rising in his bed.  In his head he groaned.  But as the gears creaked into motion and the discomfort of his body began to register, another kind of stiffness set in — spiritual, not physical — and he realized he was tired.

Tired in soul as well as body.  He was stiff from the slack pace of retirement and the futility of old age.  No engagements, no responsibilities, no one who would really miss his contributions to waking life.  For a man of his age it was permissible to stay in bed.  Nature afforded little enough sleep to the elderly; he should take what he could get.  The pain in his back told him that a long morning in bed would be restorative, was a necessary concession to his bodily needs, was really, after all, the right thing to do.  What counter-argument was there to offer?

Pius offered no counter-argument.  He did not hash out the prudential or moral considerations which made getting up the better thing to do.  He did not trade pros and cons with his aching back.  He simply acted.  Against the dispositions of the flesh and the protestations of the spirit, he shifted his body onto its side, lowered a foot to the floor, and sat up.

While it was strictly true that Pius had no necessary engagements that day, it was only strictly true.  Necessity belongs to the fulfillment of essential material needs and the performance of various civic, familial, and religious duties.  Of these, Pius had none to worry about that day, or none that demanded prompt attention.  But he did have engagements of a non-necessary variety — commitments to complete certain tasks of his own, the daily upkeep of his house, and one or two dispensable social arrangements.  Pius did not need to argue against the Siren's song of his bed,  because through the long years he had managed to train himself not to make certain choices, and certainly not to make them on the spur of the moment.  If one does not bother to choose, one does not need to deliberate, and without deliberation no temptation stands a chance.

The bedroom was small and rectangular.  The bed was set along an exterior wall, lined with windows.  On the opposite side of the room were three doors, all painted a stiff, leaden white.  The walls were that shade of blue-gray that can absorb years of dirt and dust without seeming filthy.  Out of bed, he walked to the middle door, took one of several large terrycloth robes off a hook inside it, and went into the bathroom to shower.  Emerging some time later, swaddled in the robe, he headed to his doorstep to collect the daily papers.

He subscribed to these papers, not so much because he believed in the news, in its objectivity or importance, (he did not), but because the news represented to him a faint echo of the life of the world. Pius liked to keep a finger on the pulse of things, and even if the quiet rhythm was frequently drowned out by superficiality and hysteria, he reasoned that the papers were still the best way to keep abreast of the times.

He filled a pan with water for tea.  While it was heating on the stove he dressed, then toasted some bread.  Today he drank a black tea, lapsang souchong, and savored its bitter aroma.  Sitting with mug and buttered toast, he spent the next hour methodically skimming every column of the three papers.  Someone unfamiliar with this practice might assume the old man was searching for something; the way he flitted from article to article with, he could not have actually been reading the paper. Pius already knew to his own satisfaction the gist of the stories before him. The daily papers were an endlessly reshuffled catechesis on the affairs of men and the interests of editors, and he was a old student of both.  The death of a famous designer.  Military developments in a far-away country.  Morally tinged social analysis along the lines currently in style.

He took note of things while he read, though not normally the headline stories or major concerns of the papers.  He noticed patterns of places mentioned and places left unmentioned, running themes in film and literary criticism, hints of new trends of journalistic interest.  Today he noticed a story about recent "acts of hate", which mentioned a graffiti incident at a local synagogue.  He wondered what distinguished domestic terrorism and vandalism from "acts of hate", and supposed that hate was going to become a popular topic again soon.




13:00

Theophany. [The City and the World]


In observance of the Feast of the Theophany (or Epiphany) of the Lord, widely celebrated on this date, here is an oldie but a goodie posted here once before: a Theophany sermon by the late Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, who discusses the place of Christ's baptism within salvation history and considers how the act of divine self-manifestation commemorated today offers an example we can follow:
Christ did not need cleansing. But these waters, into which all the sinners who had come to John the Baptist confessing the evil of their lives had washed themselves, were as it were heavy with the sinfulness and therefore the mortality of mankind. They had become waters of death, and it is in these waters that the Lord Jesus Christ merges Himself on that day, taking upon Himself the mortality resulting from the sin of man.

He comes, immortal in His humanity and His divinity, and at the same time He vests Himself with the mortality of the sinful world. This is the beginning of the way to Calvary. This is a day when we marvel at the infinite love of God. But as on every other occasion, man had to participate completely in the ways of salvation which God had provided. And this is why Christ comes and becomes partaker of our mortality, to save us. The culminating point will come on Calvary when He will say, 'My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?' It will be a moment when God as He was in His humanity will have lost communion with the Father by partaking of the destiny of mankind. This is the ultimate act of divine love.

Let us therefore today wonder and marvel, and worship this love of God, and learn from Him; because He said in the Gospel, 'I have given you an example. Follow it.' We are called, within the limits of our sinfulness and humanity, to carry one another's burdens, unto life and unto death. Let us learn from this. We find it so difficult to carry the burdens even of those whom we love; and practically impossible to shoulder the burdens of those whom we do not love with a natural, direct tenderness. Let us learn, because otherwise we will not have learned the first lesson which Christ gives us when He enters upon His ministry.
My prayerful best wishes to all who today celebrate Christ's divine manifestation in our midst. May the blessings of this great feast remain with us throughout the coming year. AMDG.

12:52

#100: Is Star Wars Christian or Anti-Christian? [Podcast] [Taylor Marshall]

My goal this week is to talk about Star Wars as it relates to Star Wars, the Force, and the Image of God as intellegentia:

Episode 100

#100: Is Star Wars Christian or Anti-Christian? [Podcast]

If the audio player does not show up in your email or browser, please click here to listen.

  • Proverb of the Week: Prov. 4:19
  • Featured Segment: Is Star War Christian or Anti-Christian?
  • Tip of the Week: Make a list and every 1st day of the month review it. I also want to make a New Year Webinar available to you. You can watch the replay by following this link: New Year’s Webinar with Dr. Marshall.
  • Announcements:
    • The sequel to my novel about Saint George: Sword and Serpent will be released in 2016.
    • Download the Sword and Serpent Study Guide at: http://swordandserpent.com
    • Catholic Life Prep 2016: A new class for high school and college students equipping them to stay Catholic in College.
    • 2015 Enrollment for New Saint Thomas Institute is now open. If you’d like to enroll with online Catholic classes and earn your Certificate in Catholic Theology, learn more by clicking here: Newsaintthomas.com
  • Latin Phrase of the Week: Sit Vis Vobiscum

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Podcast Archive
# Title Released
099 Should Catholics Share the Gospel with Jewish Friends 12/16/2015
098 Was Muhammad Evil? 11/18/2015
097 Revelation Ch. 22 Tree of Life and Holy Water 11/10/2015
096 Revelation Ch. 21 Heaven as a Cube and the New Jerusalem 11/04/2015
095 Taylor’s Thoughts on Being Father of a Large Family 10/28/2015
094 On the Indissolubility of Marriage and the Synod on the Family 10/21/2015
093 Revelation Ch. 20 The Millennium in Catholic Tradition 10/15/2015
092 Revelation Ch.19 Eucharist as Apocalypse 10/07/2015
091 Revelation Ch. 18 Fallen is Babylon the Great 09/30/2015
090 Revelation Ch. 17 The Whore of Babylon and Her Beast 09/23/2015
089 Do Babies Know the Existence of God 09/9/2015
088 Revelation (Chs 15-16) 7 Chalices of Wrath (Catholic Apocalypse Part 10) 09/2/2015
087 Revelation Ch. 14 Lamb on the Mountain with 6 Angels against Babylon 08/26/2015
086 Taylor’s Conversion Story to Catholicism – Interview with Matthew Leonard 08/19/2015
085 Revelation Chapter 13 The Sea Beast and the Land Beast the Mark of the Beast 08/13/2015
084 Revelation Chapter 12 – Our Lady of the Apocalypse 07/29/2015
083 The Giant Angel and Two Witnesses: Revelation Part 6 (Chapters 10-11) 07/15/2015
082 The Seven Trumpets: Book of Revelation Part 5 (Chapters 8-9) 07/02/2015
081 Book of Revelation Part 4 (Chapters 6-7) 07/09/2015
080 Taylor’s Catholic Thoughts on Same Sex Marriage 06/30/2015
079 Book of Revelation Part 3 (Chapters 4-5) 06/17/2015
078 Is the Relic of True Cross Real? 06/16/2015
077 Book of Revelation Part 2 (Chapter 2-3) 06/10/2015
076 Book of Revelation Part 1 (Chapter 1) 06/03/2015
075 Trinity Sunday, Liturgy, Thomas Becket and Anglican Use Thoughts 05/29/2015
074 Tongues of Fire in Acts, 1 Enoch, and Pre-Vatican Liturgy 05/27/2015
073 Advice on Being a Man 05/22/2015
072 What was the Priestly Status of Mary? Was she a Levite? 05/16/2015
071 The Theology of Cooking Food 05/14/2015
070 3 Steps to Overcoming Anxiety and Stress 05/06/2015
069 How to Read the Summa in One Year 04/22/2015
068 St Paul on Faith and Works Catholic vs Protestant Debate 03/25/2015
067 How Your Fears Are Hurting You Spiritually? 03/18/2015
066 What is 666 and the Mark of the Beast? 03/04/2015
065 40 Days of Joy 02/26/2015
064 Why did God make you? Luke 19 Gives the Answer 02/11/2015
063 Is Being A Christian Hard or Easy? 01/21/2015
062 Catholic View of the End Times and Tribulation 01/14/2015
061 When Other People Really Hurt You 01/07/2015
060 Is Saint George Still a Saint? 01/01/2015
059 Revolution in Catholic Education – Jennifer Fulwiler Interviews Taylor Marshall 12/31/2014
058 The Hidden Theology in Sword and Serpent with St George and Sabra 12/11/2014
057 Advent Total Consecration to Mary 11/13/2014
056 Top 5 Advent Devotions 11/07/2014
055 Why Do We Baptize Babies? The Covenantal Argument 10/22/2014
054 Is God Male or Female – The Catholic Teaching 10/08/2014
053 Lucifer vs. Saint Michael 10/01/2014
052 1 Year Anniversary Special Edition: Essentialism What is the Essence of Your Life? 09/24/2014
051 The Price of Your Anger 09/17/2014
050 The Seven Sorrows of Mary are the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit 09/15/2014
049 6 Obstacles in Your Life (How to Conquer Them) 09/10/2014
048 Brain Science, Your Soul & Prayer 09/03/2014
047 Don’t Swallow the Camel 08/27/2014
046 The Secret Life of Thomas Aquinas 08/22/2014
045 Did Saint Paul Teach Once Saved Always Saved? 08/06/2014
044 How to Escape Joyless Catholicism, Part 2 07/30/2014
043 How to Escape Joyless Catholicism, Part 1 07/24/2014
042 Golf Cart Saints 07/15/2014
041 5 Intellectual Virtues and Pornography, Art, and Culture 07/02/2014
040 Taylor and Joy Talk About Their Marriage 06/25/2014
039 How Was the Bible Assembled? (plus Joy joins me) 06/18/2014
038 Should You Budget Time (or Money)? 06/04/2014
037 The Theology of Vacation, Leisure, and Recreation 05/28/2014
036 Noah Movie Review – Rock Monsters? 05/21/2014
035 Children Need Fortitude 05/14/2014
034 Jokes of Saint John XXIII 05/07/2014
033 Divine Mercy: 5 Common Questions 04/30/2014
032 4 Sections of Hell 04/23/2014
031 Meet the Saint Version of You 04/16/2014
030 Should You Be an Optimist? 04/09/2014
029 Finding Fellowship like Samwise Gamgee 04/01/2014
028 Demons, Snakes, and Ticks: Lessons from a Hunting Trip 03/26/2014
027 How to Make an Eternal Impact with Your Life 03/19/2014
026 Thoughts on My Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Guadalupe 02/26/2014
025 Why is the Catholic Church Roman? 02/19/2014
024 The Seven Lies We Believe About Our Failures 02/11/2014
023 How to Restart Your Mental Computer 02/06/2014
022 Top Five Productivity Tips from Thomas Aquinas 01/29/2014
021 Did You Miss God’s Plan for Your Life? 01/23/2014
020 When Prayer Becomes a Chore 01/15/2014
019 12 Attributes of a Baptized Christian 01/08/2014
018 A Podcast Against Bitter Catholics! 12/30/2013
017 Mary’s Painless Delivery of Christ Explained 12/18/2013
016 Our Lady of Guadalupe and Saint Luke (Plus How to Set Goals) 12/11/2013
015 Total Consecration to Mary 12/04/2013
014 What’s Your Apostolate? 11/27/2013
013 6 Items for the Liturgy of Your Life 11/20/2013
012 Why You Should Be More Creative 11/13/2013
011 Why Did They Stop Teaching Virtue? 11/06/2013
010 How Do Saints Hear Our Prayers? 10/30/2013
009 My Opinion of Martin Luther 10/23/2013
008 My Top 5 Daily Prayers 10/16/2013
007 Your Guardian Angel 10/03/2013
006 How You Can Convert 7 Billion People 09/25/2013
005 3 Strategies for a Marriage that Sings! 09/18/2013
004 4 Step Plan When Family Leave the Faith 09/12/2013
003 5 Tools for Deep Daily Prayer Life 09/04/2013
002 Three Tips to Increase Your Passion for Life 08/28/2013
001 How to Find a Spiritual Director 08/18/2013
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The post #100: Is Star Wars Christian or Anti-Christian? [Podcast] appeared first on Taylor Marshall.

11:00

The Epiphany Conference 1694 [Vultus Christi]

St-Jn-Chrysostom-before-Christ-on-the-Altar-e1389043717174

Mother Mectilde de Bar gave one of her most important conferences on the vigil of the Epiphany, 1694. She would have been eighty years old at the time; this conference reflects, then, her thought in its maturity. Although Mother Mectilde is addressing her own daughters, her message speaks to the heart of anyone called by God to a life of adoration.

Mystery Events of Christ
In this text, Mother Mectilde makes some very noteworthy remarks. First of all, she affirms that the Most Holy Eucharist contains all the mysteries of Christ or, if you will, Christ in all His mysteries.  The mysteries of Christ are theandric events, that is to say that they correspond to Christ’s twofold nature, divine and human.  Insofar as they are human, the events of Christ’s life are subject to the passing flow of time in history; they took place at a given moment in a given place, but insofar as they are divine, these same events transcend time and space, remaining ever present and actual in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. The mystery–events of Christ contained in the Most Holy Eucharist are eternally present to the Father and, in time, are perpetually available to the Church, to whom it is given to apply their fruits sacramentally for the forgiveness of sins and for the growth in holiness of the faithful. Thus do we see, in the mosaic above, Saint John Chrysostom adoring the Christ Child present on the altar in the Sacred Mysteries.

Theology Shaped by the Liturgy
Mother Mectilde’s theological thought is strongly related to her experience of the sacred liturgy and, notably, to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In this conference one can perceive clearly the influence of the Preface of the Mass and of the Sanctus. Mother Mectilde relates the grandeur of the eschatological liturgy in all its perfection to the vocation of those whom God has chosen to adore Him in spirit and in truth here below.

Immolation of the Victim
Mother Mectilde further relates adoration to the immolation of the victim made over to God in sacrifice. Sacrifice is, in fact, the supreme expression of adoration.  One cannot adore in spirit and in truth while witholding something of oneself from God. One’s whole self must be surrendered in a sacrificial holocaust in order for one’s adoration to be what God would have it be.  For this reason did the Father give us the sacrifice of the Son — the pure Victim, the holy Victim, the spotless Victim (as the Roman Canon puts it) — as the pattern of adoration to be reproduced in all who belong to Him, and this by the power of the Holy Ghost.

Spontaneous Prayer
Spontaneously, Mother Mectilde breaks into prayer in the middle of her conference. In this she follows a long monastic tradition, exemplified notably by Saint Bernard, in which the speaker quite naturally addresses God, even while addressing men.

Adoration: God’s Gift
There is an almost humourous realism in Mother Mectilde’s comparison of one attempting to adore God worthily with the buzzing flight of little flies who can only go so high without falling exhausted to the ground. (Anyone who has had to sweep up dead flies from a window ledge or elsewhere, knows exactly what she is talking about. I have seen flies exhaust themselves trying to escape through a window.) Adoration in spirit and in truth is, before all else, a grace that God gives us before being something that we can give God.


Doing on Earth What We Will Do in Heaven
A life of adoration here below is a foretaste of heaven.  One who adores perpetually in this life, who adores with every breath and every heartbeat, is doing already what he will do eternally in heaven.  Here one adores in the darkness of faith; there it will be in the light of glory.

In conclusion, Mother Mectilde wisely counsels against seeking extraordinary sensible manifestations of God’s will, subject to illusion and to deception. Instead, she invites her Benedictines to incline the ear of their heart to the quiet inward inspiration of the Holy Ghost and to respond to the voice of Christ who speaks in silence, saying, “Adore Me in spirit and in truth.”

Mother Mectilde de Bar
 — Epiphany 1694

The Invisible Star of Grace
Tomorrow we shall celebrate the feast of the Epiphany, which signifies the manifestation of Jesus to the holy Magi Kings, who sought Him in the manger of Bethlehem to offer Him their respect and their adoration. This feast must bring us a special devotion because it corresponds more than any other to the spirit of our vocation which deputes us to adore the same Christ Jesus, whom the Magi adored, in the august Sacrament of the Altar, the mystery that contains within itself all the other mysteries of His holy life. For this reason, you can adore there [in the Most Holy Sacrament] the little Child of the manger; you can adore Him together with the Holy Kings and you can say even as they did, “We have seen his star in the east, and are come to adore him” (Matthew 2:2). The call to to the Institute [of Perpetual Adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar] was your star, and even though you did not see a visible star, as the Magi did, you have had nonetheless the interior inspiration of grace, which is by far more secure than outward signs.

God Has Chosen Us
You have, then, seen His star, and you have come to adore Him. But what duration and extent must such adoration have? Every instant of our life, and with all our being. We are called  . . . of Perpetual Adoration. Oh, let us not bear so beautiful a name in vain; let us not be illusory adorers, let us correspond with all our capacity to this calling and to God’s choice of us to adore Him continually. Has He need of us for this, poor and miserable creatures [that we are] who can do nothing good of ourselves unless we be moved by His grace? Has He not millions of angels and heavenly spirits who ceaselessly render Him perfect adoration even in our churches, which are altogether full of them? Although we do not see them, this is the truth. All the same, He has chosen us and wants us to have the privilege of adoring Him as they do, and of being His perpetual adorers. We must, in a holy manner, glory in so lofty a vocation! But to carry out such a vocation, it is not enough to spend an hour or some in His presence in choir.

M.Zał-e1389388608317In Spirit and in Truth
Our adoration must be perpetual because the same God whom we adore in the Most Holy Sacrament is always present to us in every place.  We must adore Him in spirit and in truth. In spirit, by means of a holy interior recollection; in truth, by acting in such wise that all our observances become a continual adoration, and this by giving ourselves faithfully to God in all that He asks of us, because as soon as we fail in fidelity, we stop adoring.

Our Institute was created uniquely to make perpetual adorers of us. You have been called to this; it is, therefore, up to you to realise its grace and holiness by becoming authentic adorers who adore in spirit and in truth. Yes, such must be your care and diligence in adoring this God of majesty in spirit and in truth, so as to correspond to His choice of you. In spirit, by the certainty of your faith, believing all that He is in Himself, even without understanding it. His divine greatnesses and perfections deserve your homage, your respect, your adoration. In truth, by adoring Him with your whole being, in such wise that there be nothing in you that you do not wish to hand over and sacrifice to Him in order to adore Him as perfectly as possible according to your capacity and with all your heart.

With Our Entire Selves
My God, what an honour Thou hast done us in calling us to adore Thee! Grant us the grace to correspond to this calling. We ask this of Thee through the mediation of Thy most holy Mother, even as we pray her to obtain for us from Thy bounty that we may know how to fulfil faithfully the obligation of adoring Thee — adoring Thee in spirit and in truth — with our entire selves, immolating to Thy greatness all that we are.

Like Poor Little Flies in His Presence
I repeat it to you again, let us consider well the grace that the Lord has bestowed on us: He has chosen us to adore Him always, we who barely know how to think of Him and who are like poor little flies in His presence!  When we think that we lifting ourselves up a little to God in contemplation, we fall down right away. The distraction of our spirit and of our imagination, our darknesses, our personal miseries are so great! No matter how much good will we may have, it is impossible for us to maintain always our mind equally raised up to God. Our adorations on earth are but momentary, so to speak, in comparison with the adoration that the angels and the blessed offer God in heaven.

Beginning Eternity’s Occupation Here and Now
Why then, my God, hast Thou chosen us, poor miserable creatures? Art Thou not content with the many holy and perfect adorations that Thou receivest from the angels and saints? And if Thou hadst not enough of these, couldst Thou not create again an infinity of others similar to those whom Thou hast already created, and who would offer Thee adorations worthy of Thy divine majesty? No, my God, Thou didst will that we should share with them the honour of adoring Thee continually, beginning in this world what we will do for all eternity.

He Who Calls Give the Grace to Respond
Oh, once again, how great is this grace! I assure you that only in eternity will you know its greatness! Do not think that I am telling you so many trifles to distract and entertain you. No, no, this is about certain truths that you will know after death. This is about truths of faith: according to the Gospel, God must have adorers who will adore Him in spirit and in truth. It is just as certain that such is your particular vocation. And if it is your vocation, it is also a matter of faith that  God has given you the grace for it. It depends, therefore, only on us to make use of it by means of our fidelity.

Interior Adoration
To adore continually it is not necessary to say, “My God, I adore Thee.” It is enough to tend inwardly to God [who is] present, to maintain a profound respect out of reverence for His greatness, believing that He is in us as He truly is. In fact, the Most Holy Trinity dwells in us: the Father acts and operates there with His power, the Son with His wisdom, and the Holy Ghost with His goodness. It is, therefore, in the intimacy of your soul, where the God of majesty abides, that you must adore Him continually.

Think of Me and I Shall Think of Thee
From time to time, place your hand over your heart, saying to yourself: “God is in me. And He is there not only to sustain my physical life, as in irrational creatures, but He is there acting and operating, to raise me to the highest perfection, if I do not put obstacles in the way of His grace.”

Imagine that He says to you interiorly: “I am always in thee: abide thou in me, think of Me and I shall think of thee, and I will take care of all the rest. Be wholly at my disposal, even as I am at thine; live not apart from Me. As Scripture says, “He who eats of Me will live by Me; He will abide in Me, and I in him” (cf. John 6:58 and 6:57).

Happy are those who understand these words and who adore in spirit and in truth the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost!  If you wish that we return to the mystery of the Epiphany, happy too are those who adore the Child Jesus in His sacred birth, together with the holy Magi.

The Herod Within
These holy Kings followed, then, the star that was guiding them to so in search of Jesus to adore Him. They go to Jerusalem where Herod was. He, having learned of their design, feigned that he wanted to adore Him, but this was only to take His life and do away with Him.

This, dear ones, is what befalls us every day inwardly. Our self–love is that Herod who looks only to his own interests and not to those of Jesus Christ. Often he feigns wanting to adore Him but, at bottom, He is bent only on destroying His reign and on suffocating the movements of His grace, pushing us at every turn to cling to our passions and to satisfy our senses.

True and Perpetual Adorers
We  could continue to consider in the same way all that follows in this mystery, but this would take us too far afield; we would need two hours to speak to you of this, and we haven’t the time. I shall, therefore, stop here, to turn back to telling you that you must be, by your profession and vocation, true and perpetual adorers of Jesus Christ. You must apply yourselves to this, and to this employ your zeal. Your most ardent desire must be that of carrying out perfectly this work of adorers.

Follow the Light of Faith
One or another of you may say to me, “I do not quite feel this great zeal. In no way do I have the feeling of this ardent love that compels me to adore Jesus Christ in the way that you have explained.” That doesn’t matter; it is enough to act by faith, offering Jesus Christ your reverence and your homage. Feelings and consolations are not really necessary; on the contrary, your adoration will be purer and more perfect because the soul who has a living faith and not a sentimental one will rise more purely to God, drawn on,  apart from the human senses, to what God is in Himself, in His greatness, holiness, and excellence. Do not then tarry over what your senses allow you to feel and relish; dwell, rather, on that to which faith obliges you, and on what faith makes you believe.  Follow this faith, which is light to illumine you and bring you to the knowledge of this God who, with an infinite love, has called you to adore Him ceaselessly.

Adore Me in Spirit and in Truth
God has bestowed this grace upon you, preferring you to so many other holy souls who are more worthy than you and who would carry out this duty better if Our Lord would show them the mercy that He has granted you, and if they were to hear His voice say to them: “Come ye to adore me. Come ye to be my perpetual adorers.” How they would run [to Him]! And you also, if you were to hear these words, would you not all be transported out of yourselves for sheer joy? And even so, He has spoken these words to you in the depths of your heart, by means of the appeal of His grace, more really than if you had heard them by means of a voice’s distinct sound, which could be subject to illusion and to deception. Instead, the movement of His grace and the inspiration of His Spirit within you, by which you have been called to the vocation in which you find yourselves, should give you the assurance that He has spoken these words, and that day after day He repeats them, saying to you at every moment, “Adore Me in spirit and in truth.”

One of the most remarkable characteristics of Mother Mectilde’s teaching is her conviction that all the baptized are called to holiness. This is borne out in her rich correspondence with laymen and laywomen living in the world.  She never hesitates to invite them to the same life of victimhood through Jesus, with Jesus, and in Jesus that she presents to her daughters in so compelling a way.  The life of perpetual adoration is not for a coterie of elite souls; it belongs to the life of all who, being baptized, are called to become the adorers in spirit and in truth whom the Father seeks.

Tend to It with All your Heart
Oh, what a boon God has given us in choosing us!  I shall never be able to repeat it enough. Our hearts must remain immersed in a continual thanksgiving towards this God of goodness. All our care must be to please Him, to serve Him, and to satisfy Him. Given that we owe Him all our very selves, is it not then just that we should give ourselves to Him, continuing faithfully to free ourselves of ourselves and of creatures, so to devote ourselves to Him alone? This is our obligation, this is the perfection to which God calls us. But, for your consolation, I want to say to you that if you have not yet attained this perfection, it is enough that you should tend to it with all your heart. We are not, in fact, bound to be perfect all at once, but — under pain of mortal sin — we are bound to tend to perfection. Indeed, some theologians think this of all Christians. If this is so how few will be those who are saved, given that so few think of this! But let us reflect upon ourselves since we are doubly bound to this by our profession. Let us, then, work seriously to become faithful to what we have promised to God. It is up to us to think on these things and to examine ourselves in consequence.

Here, Mother Mectilde’s teaching corresponds to that of Saint Paul: “Whatever you are about, in word and action alike, invoke always the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, offering your thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17). And again this text must be read in the light of Saint Paul’s injunction to the Romans: “And now, brethren, I appeal to you by God’s mercies to offer up your bodies as a living sacrifice, consecrated to God and worthy of his acceptance; this is the worship due from you as rational creatures” (Romans 12:1).

Always and Everywhere
Oh, let us begin seriously to adore Jesus Christ in spirit and in truth, to be true perpetual adorers. Let us adore Him in all places and in all that we do. There is not a single action that can dispense us from this. You will say to me, “What, then, even while eating?” Yes, because you do not eat as animals do, only to satisfy yourselves but, rather, by way of homage and submission to the will of God, to renew your necessary strength and to sacrifice yourselves anew to His majesty. Doing this with these intentions, sanctify this action and others like it that, of themselves, are merely natural. In this way, you will maintain in these [actions] that spirit of adoration that, if you are faithful, will lead you on to the highest holiness, moving you to the perpetual sacrifice of yourselves. This will cause you to die to your passions, to your disordered inclinations and to all that is opposed to your sanctification, making you, at the same time, true victims, ever immolated to His glory and to His honour.

10:48

Experten, die vor Transgender-Behandlung von Kindern warnen, fürchten Hetze [Mathias von Gersdorff]

Foto: Jorge Saidl In Großbritannien vervierfachte sich in den letzten fünf Jahren die Zahl von Kindern unter zehn Jahren, die eine Transgender-Behandlung suchen. So schreibt die „Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung“ vom 6. Januar 2016 sich auf den britischen Gesundheitsdienst berufend. Viele Fachleute mahnen zur Vorsicht und weisen darauf hin, dass „Gender-Verwirrung“ bei Kindern vorübergehend und

09:00

On the need for more Irish canonisations [Vultus Christi]

Catholic Culture and Holiness
Yesterday on his blog, Remembering Father William Doyle, S.J., our dear friend, Benedictine Oblate Pat Kenny, wrote a compelling plea for the canonisation of more Irish saints. Pat writes:

When one compares Ireland to other countries with strong Catholic heritage – Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland, France, even parts of Germany, we perform very poorly when it comes to canonisations. Of course, it’s not a contest and the numbers themselves don’t really matter. Yet, at another level, the numbers are a kind of barometer that tell us something about the spiritual climate of a country. After all, a vibrant Catholic culture will foster holiness. This holiness will be recognised by others, who will then be motivated to promote these examples of holiness in an effective and professional manner. Other people will join in this process by praying for miracles. All of this needs institutional support from the religious orders, dioceses and parishes. Thus, a healthy, properly functioning Catholic culture will steadily produce canonised saints. The dearth of Irish saints since the Council of Trent points to something amiss about Irish Catholicism, especially when we consider the increased frequencies of beatifications and canonisations within the Church over the past 3 decades.

Pat quotes the lovely old poem:

Why are saints so difficult to recognise,
In these days, not like in olden times,|
When we had a resident saint in each oak-grove,
A holy well in each townland, miracles galore?
By the law of averages, if, as philosophers maintain,
And common sense agrees, human nature doesn’t change,
And we are the mixture as before, there must be
Saints somewhere, if only we had eyes to see.

The Glory of Holiness Among Us
It is, I think, a curious trait of Catholic peoples with a history of Protestant oppression, to become their own accusers, quick to point out sin among their own and, at the same time, reluctant to recognise the glory of holiness. There was a strange fear of calling too much attention to the good, the true, and the beautiful among one’s own for fear of attracting the unwanted attention of the oppressor. Something of this mentality has perdured. It would seem as if every minority and cause can claim a right to “Pride” except the Catholic minority and the cause of sainthood.

Good News
Morale is low in Catholic Ireland, particularly among the clergy. There has been, to the delight of the secular media, so much Catholic self–accusation and so much breast–beating that the memory of the heroic virtue and astonishing deeds of the saints has receded into the darkest archives of the corporate memory. In place of the memory of the saints and of their deeds — a source of joy — there is the numbing and amplified repetition of the same failures, betrayals, and sins — a cause for mourning and weeping.  One has the impression that someone has a vested interest in keeping the bad news of sin in the public eye lest the good new of holiness somehow and leak out and begin to raise inconvenient questions. Whence comes this goodness? Whence this truth? Whence this beauty? Whence this heroism? Whence these miracles, these conversions, these inbreakings of joy?

An Initiative
In an age when the fashion in the Church has turned to organising national task–forces for all sorts of causes — peace,  justice, environment, communications, and a myriad of other things — would it not be suitable to constitute a task–force for the public recognition of Irish holiness? Could not a central office for the Causes of Saints be set up, suitably funded, and directed by an articulate and zealous layman of the calibre of Pat Kenny? This initiative alone would go a long way in teaching Ireland to say once again: “And I will go in to the altar of God: to God who giveth joy to my youth” (Psalm 42:4).

08:47

Accountability and Accepting Responsibility [iBenedictines]

Accountability and accepting responsibility are closely linked, but not one and the same. As adults, with intelligence (however modest) and free will, we are accountable for our actions, but not all of us accept responsibility for them. Apportioning blame to (…)

Read the rest of this entry »

08:35

Einen Neustern schenkt der Himmel [Denzinger-Katholik]


Für den liturgische Denkenden, der mehr in der längeren und älteren Tradition der lateinischen Kirche beheimatet ist als in den wenigen kurzen Jahren des kirchlichen Vormärzes zwischen 1955 und 1965 ... dem mutet es reichlich komisch an, dass Epiphanie - wo uns gerade die großen Reformgeister doch immer wieder darauf stoßen, dass es sich hier um das eigentliche und große Weihnachtsfest handelt - so richtig nur einen Tag gefeiert werden darf. Besonders schräge Situationen ergeben sich, wenn am ehemaligen Vigiltag, zur Zeit der 1. Vesper, noch einmal die Oktavmesse von Weihnachten (schon lange vorbei, aber uns fehlen die anderen unterdrückten Oktavtage, also wird die wieder reanimiert) gelesen und danach Dreikönigswasser geweiht wird. Entschwunden ist auch der enge Zusammenhang vom Epiphaniefest und Taufe des Herrn am Oktavtag, die lateinische Kirche gliederte die Festgeheimnisse nämlich entdrei, letztere hängt da nun so etwas frei in der Luft wie bestellt und nicht abgeholt. Kurzum: Das Erscheinungsfest kommt in der semireformierten Liturgie ein wenig so eingepfercht daher, wie die Könige, pardon, die Magoi, und die Heilige Familie oben.

Aber genug ins neue Jahr gemeckert und gemosert, heute dürfen wir feiern, und ich denke, auch durch die ganze vormalige Oktav. Den Anfang soll Rabanus Maurus machen mit einem Epiphanielied:

Venit Deus factus homo,
Exsultet omnis natio,
Caelium dedit sidus novum,
Apparet auctor omnium.

Gott ist gekommen, Mensch geworden,
Jubel singt ihm jedes Volk,
Einen Neustern schenkt der Himmel
da der Schöpfer selbst erscheint.

Magi ferebant munera
Primi legati gentium
Quae cum sacro mysterio
Signant latentis gloriam.

Erstgesandte aller Völker
Weise bringen Gaben dar,
die als heilig tiefe Zeichen
deuten des Verborgenen Glanz:

Aurum potentis regmina,
Numen sacrum tus indicat
Carnemque murra mortuam,
Mundi piantem machinam.

Gold spricht von des Mächtigen Herrschaft
Weihrauch von dem heiligen Gott
Myrrhe deutet auf den Leichnam,
auf den Heilsplan für die Welt.

Herodes, hostes invidus,
Ignorat haec trucissimus,
Christus saluti gentium
Quae sic ministrat praevius.

Nur der trutzdende Herodes
neidet, haßt und will nicht sehn,
was der Herr zuerst entfaltet
zu der Erdenvölker Heil.

Jesus precamur, omptime, 
Tu nos benignus dirige,
Prompti feramus quod tibi
Laudis sacrata munera.

Bester Jesus, laß dich bitten,
hüt in Gnaden unsern Weg,
da wir willig dir entbieten,
unsres Festlobs Weihgeschenk.

J. van Acken: Germanische Frömmigkeit in liturgischen Hymnen. Freiburg i. Br.: Caritasverlag 1937, S. 12f. Das lateinische Original ist den Analecta Hymnica (Bd. L, no. 139) entnommen.
Bild: Anbetungsszene im Hohen Dom zu Augsburg

06:54

Feature Blog: Catholic Cuisine [Catholic Sacristan]

Excellent recipes. Frequent updates. Prayer. Excellent tips. Seasonal fare.

Check out the culinary delectables at Catholic Cuisine.
http://catholiccuisine.blogspot.ca/
Here's what the 'About' page says:
Catholic Cuisine was founded by Jessica, who also blogs at Shower of Roses, in 2008, after noticing the need for an online source for finding and sharing "Recipes for Celebrating the Feasts and Seasons of the Liturgical Year."
"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what has been planted...a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance..." - Ecclesiastes 3:1-4. Likewise, there is a time for fasting and a time for feasting. In our culture of immediate gratification, many have lost sight of the importance of seasons. For Catholics, the observance of the different seasons and feast days as proclaimed by Holy Mother Church is essential to restoring the proper and holy rhythm of the liturgical year. ~ Catholic Culture 
Mealtime provides the perfect opportunity for observing these different seasons and feasts of the Catholic Church in our homes, the "Domestic Church." We are all, especially us moms, cooking and baking every day, why not sanctify these mealtimes and teach our children even more about our beautiful faith at the same time?
Jessica has asked a number of other inspiring Catholic mothers and bloggers to contribute here, and welcomes readers to submit recipes as well, ultimately creating this wonderful collection of "Catholic Cuisine."
Check out some additional sites here at the Culinary Corner near the bottom of the blog.

06:01

Reges munera offerent [The Rad Trad]

"Dearly beloved brethren, hear ye from the Gospel lesson how, when the King of heaven was born, the king of earth was troubled? The heights of heaven are opened and the depths of earth are stirred. Let us now consider the question, why, when the Redeemer was born, an angel brought the news to the shepherds of Judea, but a star led the wise men of the East to worship Him. It seemeth as if the Jews as reasonable creatures received a revelation from a reasonable being, that is, an angel, but the Gentiles without, being as brutes, are roused not by a voice, but by a sign, that is, a star. Hence Paul hath it: a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe. So the prophesying, that is, of the angel was given to them that believed, and the sign to them that believed not.
"Thus also we remark that afterwards the Redeemer was preached among the Gentiles not by Himself, but by His Apostles, even as, when a little Child, He is shown to them, not by the voice of angels, but merely by the vision of a star. When He Himself had begun to speak He was made known to us by speakers, but when He lay silent in the manger, by that silent testimony in heaven. But whether we consider the signs which accompanied His birth or His death, this thing is wonderful, namely, the hardness of heart of the Jews, who would not believe in Him either for prophesying or for miracles.
"All things which He had made, bore witness that their Maker was come. Let me reckon them after the manner of men. The heavens knew that He was God, and sent a star to shine over where He lay. The sea knew it, and bore Him up when He walked upon it. The earth knew it, and quaked when He died. The sun knew it, and was darkened. The rocks and walls knew it, and rent at the hour of His death. Hell knew it, and gave up the dead that were in it. And yet up to this very hour the hearts of the unbelieving Jews will not acknowledge that He to Whom all nature testified is their God, and, being more hardened than the rocks, refuse to be rent by repentance." Pope St. Gregory the Great

To the reader disgruntled at not getting Mattins last time: are you happy?

A blessed Epiphany/Theophany to all! 

05:44

Martha, Martha, Martha! [One Mad Mom]

Letters to the editor like this make me want to knock people upside the head (http://host.madison.com/wsj/opinion/mailbag/where-are-the-priorities-of-the-catholic-church–/article_c187e142-821c-525f-b428-fed7aa7f6898.html):

Where are the priorities of the Catholic church — Jane Lynk

I was very angry after reading about the closing of the Bethel Lutheran homeless shelter. The article just below it was about Madison Catholic Bishop Robert Morlino’s push to move the tabernacle of churches to a more central location.

Really? Where are the priorities here? What needs to be central is helping the poor and using church funds to actually live the teachings of the Bible.

It makes this Catholic wonder about the priorities of the men making these proclamations, and not for the first time. Delusions of grandeur come to mind here.

Pope Francis is the church leader, and he is repeatedly asking all of us to help the poor. Maybe Morlino needs to open his mail. It’s enough to make a lifelong Catholic head to the Lutheran church.

— Jane Lynk, Marshall

First of all, anyone think it’s odd that Ms. Lynk is mad at the Catholic Church for the Lutheran church closing a shelter? And why is she mad at the Bishop Morlino, who had no bearing in that action? Wouldn’t it seem that her ire should go toward the city who refused to increase the budget and who chose to disassociate with the Lutheran Church? And the biggest question for Ms. Lynk is why doesn’t she get off her behind and do something for the homeless herself? So many different ways to do that these days, starting with three words: “GO FUND ME.”

Next, it’s clear Bishop Morlino has much work to do in this diocese, since “this Catholic” really doesn’t have a clue about Catholicism. She may want to wander through the bible to the story of Mary and Martha. This one is definitely a Martha. Martha, Martha!

Here’s a refresher for Ms. Lynk:

http://www.newadvent.com/bible/luk010.htm

38 In one of the villages he entered during his journey, a woman called Martha entertained him in her house. 39 She had a sister called Mary; and Mary took her place at the Lord’s feet, and listened to his words. 40 Martha was distracted by waiting on many needs; so she came to his side, and asked, Lord, art thou content that my sister should leave me to do the serving alone? Come, bid her help me. 41 Jesus answered her, Martha, Martha, how many cares and troubles thou hast! 42 But only one thing is necessary; and Mary has chosen for herself the best part of all, that which shall never be taken away from her.

I’m betting there’s more to her ire against Bishop Morlino. Clearly, she doesn’t understand ANTYHING about the Eucharist, which is why she doesn’t have a clue when it comes to Bishop Morlino’s plan to move tabernacles fron t and center. She’s the perfect example of why Bishop Morlino wants this! Some do not grasp the Source and Summit of our Faith!!! Jesus, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, should be the center of our world and given the highest priority, if we hope to have ANYTHING else fall into place. Bishop Morlino is trying to get us to choose “the best part of all” so that we can deal with all of the other ills of our society.

Big kudos to Bishop Morlino!


05:38

Benedetto XVI, i Magi e i Messaggi del Concilio Vaticano II nell'omelia del 6 gennaio 2007 (YouTube) [Il Blog di Raffaella. Riflessioni e commenti fra gli Amici di Benedetto XVI]

LINK DIRETTO SU YOUTUBE Buongiorno e Buona Epifania a tutti, carissimi Amici! Grazie a Gemma torniamo indietro di nove anni e riascoltiamo un'altra perla del Magistero di Papa Benedetto. Chi erano i Magi? E chi sono oggi? Il 6 gennaio 2007, Solennità dell'Epifania del Signore, Benedetto XVI tenne una speciale omelia in cui parlò dei Magi interpretando il loro ruolo anche alla luce dei

05:36

05:30

The Trinitarian Theophany [Eastern Christian Books]

On this lovely festival of the Lord's appearing and his baptism in the Jordan by John, I refer you once more to the landmark scholarly work of my friend Nicholas Denysenko, whom I interviewed here about his book, The Blessing of Waters and Epiphany: The Eastern Liturgical Tradition (Ashgate, 2012), 237pp.

About this book the publisher tells us:

This book examines the historical development of the blessing of waters and its theology in the East, with an emphasis on the Byzantine tradition. Exploring how Eastern Christians have sought these waters as a source of healing, purification, and communion with God, Denysenko unpacks their euchology and ritual context. The history and theology of the blessing of waters on Epiphany is informative for contemporary theologians, historians, pastors and students. Offering important insights into how Christians renew Baptism in receiving the blessed waters, this book also proposes new perspectives for theologizing Christian stewardship of ecology in the modern era based on a patristic liturgical synthesis. Denysenko presents an alternative framework for understanding the activity of the Trinity, enabling readers to encounter a vision of how participants encounter God in and after ritual.

02:52

Follow Up on "Losing the Apostles" [The Rad Trad]

There was much discussion on '62ville: Losing the Apostles on commemorations, the precedence of feasts, and related matters regarding the 20th century incarnations of the Roman liturgy. I thought the most astute comment came from this thread on fisheaters.com:

Going back to the Office, I have often brought up what Antonius mentioned - secular priests should not be required to pray monastic hours. I don't think the Office should have been changed - it should have kept its historic form, and the number of hours the parish priest were required to say daily should have been reduced. The 20th century saw multiple attempts to shorten the Office to make the obligation to pray the whole cursus easier. There was already the permission to say Matins/Lauds in afternoon of the previous day; this was followed by a new psalter, reduced commemorations, removal of feasts from the calendar, shortened Matins, elimination of semidoubles, reduction in rank of many feasts, the removal of many choral elements from the Office, and finally a completely new Office and calendar altogether. All of this to help priests meet an entirely artificial obligation that could be changed (without touching any doctrine) with a stroke of the papal pen. Instead, the invented obligation was made sacrosanct, and the Office received from antiquity was mutilated to fulfill that obligation.

This fellow gets it. Indeed, much of what became viewed as obligatory (daily Masses, private sacerdotal recitation of the Office, folkish hymns and cultural traditions) remained while the integrity of worship was reduced to accommodate it.

01:17

GrottoCast!!! [Musings of a Pertinacious Papist]


I realize what a privilege it is to be able to assist at Mass at a perish where homilists are as good as confessors, where old Catholic customs are observed with affection, and one can imagine what the Church must have been like a generation or two ago.

For anyone interested in looking through a window, as it were, into this world, and in listening in to such homilies, there is no better place than GrottoCast , a new website that shares Fr. Eduard Perrone's (and his guest celebrants') homilites in audio format. Fr. Perrone, of course, is a priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit serving the Assumption Grotto parish.

Here, for example, are the 2015 Christmas Homilies: Fr. Logan & Fr. Perrone (GrottoCast, December 25, 2015), which are both worth a listen, along with pictures. I'm told that a series of Carmelite retreat talks will be featured this year. As the church bulletin notes, the site will also be used to share video clips from some devotional and liturgical events. Furthermore, using the archive drop down in the sidebar, you can find a Corpus Christi procession video from June of 2015; and there is a provision (also in the sidebar) for subscribing to email notifications that will send you a link as soon as items are posted.

God bless you everyone!

01:00

Anbetung Jesu in der Krippe [et nunc]


Normal 0 21 false false false DE X-NONE X-NONE
Göttliches Kind,
nach deiner wunderbaren Geburt zu Bethlehem
wolltest du dein grenzenloses Erbarmen auf alle Menschen
und die ganze Welt ausdehnen.
Du riefst darum die Hirten und Weisen
durch himmlische Zeichen zu deiner Krippe,
die so zu einem Königsthron wurde.
Du nahmst die heiligen Männer gütig auf;
sie folgten deinem göttlichen Ruf;
sie eilten herbei, huldigten dir und beteten dich an
als den Heiland der Welt,
als den Fürsten des Friedens,
als den Erlöser der Menschen,
als den wahren Gottessohn.
Ziehe auch uns in deiner Güte und Allmacht zu dir!
Erleuchte unseren Verstand, stärke unseren Willen,
entzünde unser Herz, mache uns demütig und rein,
damit wir dich immer besser erkennen,
dir immer treuer dienen,
dich immer inniger lieben in diesem Leben
und so würdig werden, dich einst im anderen Leben
ewig zu schauen. Amen.
 

(Papst Pius XI.)

Normal 0 21 false false false DE X-NONE X-NONE

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The Low Churchman's Guide to the Solemn High Mass XML 22:00, Thursday, 21 January 23:00, Thursday, 21 January
The Paraphasic XML 22:00, Thursday, 21 January 23:00, Thursday, 21 January
The Prosblogion XML 22:00, Thursday, 21 January 23:00, Thursday, 21 January
The Rad Trad XML 22:00, Thursday, 21 January 23:00, Thursday, 21 January
The Remnant Newspaper - The Remnant Newspaper - Remnant Articles XML 22:00, Thursday, 21 January 23:00, Thursday, 21 January
The Sacred Page XML 22:00, Thursday, 21 January 23:00, Thursday, 21 January
The Sensible Bond XML 22:00, Thursday, 21 January 23:00, Thursday, 21 January
The TOF Spot XML 22:00, Thursday, 21 January 23:00, Thursday, 21 January
Theological Flint XML 22:00, Thursday, 21 January 23:00, Thursday, 21 January
totaliter aliter XML 22:00, Thursday, 21 January 23:00, Thursday, 21 January
Traditional Catholic Priest XML 22:00, Thursday, 21 January 23:00, Thursday, 21 January
Transalpine Redemptorists at home XML 22:00, Thursday, 21 January 23:00, Thursday, 21 January
Unam Sanctam Catholicam XML 22:00, Thursday, 21 January 23:00, Thursday, 21 January
Unequally Yoked XML 22:00, Thursday, 21 January 23:00, Thursday, 21 January
Voice of the Family XML 22:00, Thursday, 21 January 23:00, Thursday, 21 January
Vox Cantoris XML 22:00, Thursday, 21 January 23:00, Thursday, 21 January
Vultus Christi XML 22:00, Thursday, 21 January 23:00, Thursday, 21 January
Whispers in the Loggia XML 22:00, Thursday, 21 January 23:00, Thursday, 21 January
ZENIT - The World Seen From Rome XML 22:00, Thursday, 21 January 23:00, Thursday, 21 January
Zippy Catholic XML 22:00, Thursday, 21 January 23:00, Thursday, 21 January
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January 2016
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December 2015
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October 2015
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August 2015
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July 2015
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June 2015
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May 2015
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April 2015
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March 2015
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February 2015
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January 2015
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December 2014
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November 2014
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October 2014
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September 2014
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August 2014
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July 2014
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June 2014
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May 2014
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April 2014
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March 2014
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February 2014
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January 2014
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December 2013
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November 2013
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October 2013
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August 2013
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July 2013
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June 2013
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May 2013
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April 2013
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March 2013
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February 2013
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January 2013
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December 2012
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November 2012
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October 2012
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September 2012
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June 2012
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May 2012
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March 2012
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February 2012
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December 2011
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November 2011
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July 2011
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April 2011
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18192021222324
25262728293001
March 2011
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November 2010
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22232425262728
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August 2010
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June 2010
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07080910111213
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January 2010
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04050607080910
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18192021222324
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December 2009
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November 2009
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