Sunday, October 28, 2007

You Might Find This Interesting...

Cardinal Ruini, in a speech to religious, urged them to use the internet to reach young people on the authentic message of Christ. From Zenit.

"A priest from Novara told me that the theme of 'Jesus' is very much discussed by youth in blogs. The focus, though, comes from destructive books that are widespread today, and not from Benedict XVI’s book ‘Jesus of Nazareth.'

"What will the idea of Christ be in 10 years if these ideas triumph?"

The 76-year-old prelate admitted, "I don’t understand the Internet, but especially young religious ought to enter blogs and correct the opinions of the youth, showing them the true Jesus.”
hat-tip Clairity

Friday, October 05, 2007

A view from inside St. Peter's Jail Cell

I found this one photo on Flickr of the Mamartine Prison. Interesting!

Saturday, June 02, 2007

Church Councils

I now have a cleaned-up copy available here.

Because this question came up in the meeting when I passed out the Church Councils overview... Here is the definition of an "Ecumenical Council" according to the Catholic Encyclopedia:

Ecumenical Councils are those to which the bishops, and others entitled to vote, are convoked from the whole world (oikoumene) under the presidency of the pope or his legates, and the decrees of which, having received papal confirmation, bind all Christians. A council, Ecumenical in its convocation, may fail to secure the approbation of the whole Church or of the pope, and thus not rank in authority with Ecumenical councils. Such was the case with the Robber Synod of 449 (Latrocinium Ephesinum), the Synod of Pisa in 1409, and in part with the Councils of Constance and Basle.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Side-reading on where the Bible came from

I haven't read this yet, but thought some of you might be interested for some summer reading. This has been recently republished by Sophia Institute Press (150 pages total):

What is the Bible? by Henri Daniel-Rops

Table of contents:

1. The Book of Books

2. From the Spoken Word to Our Bibles

3. The Canon of the Two Testaments

4. God Speaks Through the Bible

5. The Bible Was Delivered to Men

6. The Bible as History

7. The Bible Reveals the Acts of God

8. The Old Testament: The Book of Preparation

9. The New Testament: The Book of Revelation

10. The "Mystic Mill" and the Senses of the Bible

11. The Book of Man

12. Understanding Scripture

Chronological Listings of the Popes

Per last night's discussion regarding problems in the Church dealt with during Church councils.

EWTN's list doesn't include the anti-popes

Here's a list that includes the anti-popes

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Manifestation of God's Love - a Literary Example

from Uncle Tom's Cabin...

Here is George, Eliza's husband, after being reunited with her and their son in a Quaker farmhouse and accepted as an equal by their hosts.

It was the first time that ever George had sat down on equal terms at any white man's table; and he sat down, at first, with some constraint, and awkwardness; but they all exhaled and went off like fog, in the genial morning rays of this simple overflowing kindness.

This indeed, was a home, - home, - a word that George had never yet known a meaning for; and a belief in God, and trust in His providence, began to encircle his heart, as, with a golden cloud of protection and confidence, dark, misanthropic, pining, atheistic doubts, and fierce despair, melted away before the light of a living Gospel, breathed in living faces, preached by a thousand unconscious acts of love and good-will, which, like the cup of cold water given in the name of a disciple, shall never lose their reward.
This seemed rather pertinent to our Deus Caritas Est discussions.

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Listen to Daily Mass Readings

Did you notice that the daily mass readings in the sidebar has a "Listen" option?

Friday, April 20, 2007

A Theology of Littleness

Pope Benedict XVI and G.K. Chesterton are two authors whose writings always seem to "feed" me - they're uplifting, encouraging and remind me not to take myself too seriously. I'm currently reading Salt of the Earth: The Church at the End of the Millennium, an interview between Cardinal Ratzinger and author Peter Seewald dating from 1996...

Q. "Whoever can be as small as this child", it says in the New Testament in Matthew, "is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

A. The theology of littleness is a basic category of Christianity. After all, the tenor of our faith is that God's distinctive greatness is revealed precisely in powerlessness. That in the long run, the strength of history is precisely in those who love, which is to say, in a strength that, properly speaking, cannot be measured according to categories of power. So in order to show who he is, God consciously revealed himself in the powerlessness of Nazareth and Golgotha. Thus, it is not the one who can destroy the most who is the most powerful...but, on the contrary, the least power of love is already greater than the greatest power of destruction.
And here are a few related excerpts from G.K. Chesterton's The Everlasting Man...more aimed at the Christmas story, but certainly very pertinent to the Easter season...

A mass of legend and literature, which increases and will never end, has repeated and rung the changes on that single paradox; that the hands that had made the sun and stars were too small to reach the huge heads of the cattle. Upon this paradox, we might almost say upon this jest, all the literature of our faith is founded...

I mean that all the eyes of wonder and worship which had been turned outwards to the largest thing were now turned inward to the smallest...

It is true that the spiritual spiral henceforward works inwards instead of outwards, and in that sense is centripical and not centrifugal. The faith becomes, in more ways than one, a religion of little things.

A Sense of Mystery or Wonder

Another excerpt from Fr. Benedict Groeschel's A Virtue Driven Life...

First part of (another) piece that he quotes from Cardinal Newman:

A religious mind is ever marvelling, and irreligious men laugh and scoff at it because it marvels. A religious mind is ever looking out of itself, is ever pondering God's words, is ever "looking into" them with the Angels, is ever realizing to itself Him on whom it depends, and who is the centre of all truth and good. Carnal and proud minds are contented with self; they like to remain at home; when they hear of mysteries, they have no devout curiosity to go and see the great sight, though it be ever so little out of their way; and when it actually falls in their path, they stumble at it.
Then some follow-up from Father Groeschel...

While it is true that some people are too credulous, even superstitious, about private revelations, others with little thought will assume they could never happen. They therefore dismiss shrines like Lourdes, Fatima, or Paray-le-Monial, and discount the revelations of God's love for the human race through the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The skeptics might accept Saint Francis because he spoke to the birds and wrote nice prayers, but they would forget that he also had visions of Christ and received the stigmata. They favor a Christ walking through the fields and greeting the lepers, but they are intimidated by the thought that He cured and that He rose physically from the dead. They lack any sense of mystery or wonder. They reduce religion to something they can measure with their own limited minds.

Forming in our hearts that "root of charity"...

This is a lovely bit from Cardinal Newman as quoted by Fr. Benedict Groeschel in The Virtue Driven Life...

The real love of man must depend on practice, and therefore, must begin by exercising itself on our friends around us, otherwise it will have no existence. By trying to love our relations and friends, by submitting to their wishes, though contrary to our own, by bearing with their infirmities, by overcoming their occasional waywardness by kindness, by dwelling on their excellences, and trying to copy them, thus it is that we form in our hearts that root of charity, which, though small at first, may, like the mustard seed, at least even overshadow the earth.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Quote from Acts about Sharing the Faith

Here's the bit from the Acts of the Apostles from last Saturday's first reading that I mentioned at the discussion on Tuesday:

Acts 4:13-21

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they wondered; and they recognized that they had been with Jesus. But seeing the man that had been healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. But when they had commanded them to go out of the council, they conferred with one another, saying, "What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is manifest to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to any one in this name." So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard." And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people; for all men praised God for what had happened.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Is anyone following this blog?

Hey discussion people,

If any of you are still following this blog, I'd love to post tidbits that relate to our conversations here. Please comment you see this message.

Mrs. VH

Saturday, April 14, 2007

My, my

You are a 100% traditional Catholic!

Congratulations! You are more knowlegeable than most modern theologians! You have achieved mastery over the most important doctrines of the Catholic Faith! You should share your incredible understanding with others!

Do You Know Your Baltimore Catechism?
Make Your Own Quiz



Most "modern thoelogians" don't know that obesity is not one of the seven deadly sins?

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Catholic Quizzes

Hello All. I know it's been quiet here for awhile (though I'm pleased with how our new discussions are going). I thought you might be interested in taking these quizzes...

You are a 100% traditional Catholic!

Congratulations! You are more knowlegeable than most modern theologians! You have achieved mastery over the most important doctrines of the Catholic Faith! You should share your incredible understanding with others!

Do You Know Your Baltimore Catechism?
Make Your Own Quiz



Um, yeah. Anyway, these quizzes are a lot tougher (both from Catholic Answers):

"The Pop Quiz from Hell" (I got 4 wrong out of 20 on this one)

"The Quiz from Purgatory" (I haven't done this one yet - UPDATE - I did better on the other one - only got half right here!)

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Return to Scholarliness

Now that the holidays are behind us, I should very much like to return to Map of Life. As I recall, we left off at ch. 3. I had a lengthy and thoughtful draft all written out - it only needed a conclusion - but 'twould appear I have lost it. Disappointing in the extreme!!!

Ch. 3 handles the question, 'What is heaven like?'. First and foremost, it is knowledge and love of God, and perforce is perfect happiness. Optime*. Its the most accurate explanation, but we still don't have the entire concept of heaven straight. It makes a world of difference, however, when you consider the quote,

It is better to think of heaven, not only as a reward, but also as the result of a good life.

Life is therefore necessary to prove ourselves worthy of the prerequisites, if you will, of heaven. This brings us to my favorite quote from this Chapter,
Heaven consists in such a relationship with with God that no created nature, by its own powers, could be adequate to it....Those who remained in the love of God were granted the powers and admitted to Heaven.
Any ideas for discussion??? I feel lamentably unoriginal.
*Latin for Very good.