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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.

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.

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

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?

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!)

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.

Chapter 3: The Immaculate Conception

After our discussion on Refuting The Attack on Mary by Father Mateo a few weeks ago we have been assigned to summarize one chapter each. Mine is Chapter 3: The Immaculate Conception. In this chapter the author, Father Mateo, refutes several accusations made by CRI on the subject of Mary's Immaculate Conception. In the first CRI writes that the translation gratia plena (Latin for full of grace) from kecharitomene (Greek), is wrong. Father Mateo shows us both linguistically and logically that this is not so. He explains that this form of kecharitomen used there does indicate a perfection of grace, although some other forms do not. Therefore the grace within Mary was perfect and she was full of it.

Next CRI says "By virtue of His divine nature and His virgin birth (through God rather then a son of Adam was his father), Christ dwells among us as One freed from Orignal Sin." CRI's statement implicates that Mary must also have been sinless or else her Son could not have been. Finally CRI alleges that Mary could not have been sinless or else Christ would not have been her Savior and that His power would somehow be diminished if there was one who did not need Him. But Mary was saved by Christ, saved from ever bearing the stain of sin, His grace was preventitive in her, in us it is a cure to a hurt already done.

"Mary's perfect fullness of grace was in God's plan necessary to what the protestant theoligian de Satge calls 'the awesome demands of her particular motherhood, without detatching that perfection from the grace that came by her son.'"

Life - and Protestants - are uncertain. Keep studying.

My dear people, our former apologetics discussions have proved extremely useful. I only wish we had had more of them, and longer ones, about a wider variety of topics.

This morning, I was looking forward to a light-hearted, chatty time with two of my most delightfully verbose new-found friends at the writing class aforementioned. We were given a list of essay questions and sent to a tranquil room by ourselves. The first question asked if there was anything admirable about the Dark Ages as presented by Mark Twain in his book A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. The book is rather negative, as most of Twain's later works are, and, after sifting daintily through the events, characters, and emotions, we didn't find many redeeming qualities, and nothing truly admirable.

Now. Our purport was established, but what of the 15 sentences required? We decided to take it down to particulars. 'In the middle ages, as portrayed by Mark Twain, the commoner had little or no influence regarding the management of the country-it wasn't only a monarchy, but often a despotism.' 'The inhuman abomination of slavery was not only permitted, but encouraged and utilized heavily.' Such sentences were speedily filling the black pages in front of us, but when
Alyssa wrote: 'The Church was corrupted and the people were entirely without the Word of God,' I felt obligated to insert my opinion, as well as the concept of precision of language.

"Can we use that wording, though?" I began. "Won't we be generalizing extravagantly?"

"No, because it's absolutely true," Alyssa insisted.

"Don't we mean to say, 'members of the clergy in the Church were corrupted, and used their priestly authority to oppress the people'?" I asked, knowing Alyssa was a very logical person, and believing she would see the irrational conclusion. I was disappointed.

"But it was the Catholic Church that was corrupt. You can't separate clergy and the Church they stand for."

We soon began on the topic of Scripture in the Catholic Church, and Alyssa, not knowing I was Catholic, made several potent statements. We followed the Vulgate, from its writing, to Wycliffe, to Martin Luther, and discussed its authenticity. Alyssa kept saying, "the Catholics don't use the Bible in their services," and when I pointed out that I had "been to one," and that they did four times (not to mention large sections quoted during the Consecration), she blankly replied, "it wouldn't matter if they did, though, because it was in Latin."

I proffered a short definition of 'homily' or 'sermon', and she said, "it still doesn't make any difference, because the Catholic Bible is so contorted anyway, they still don't receive the truth. The Latin Vulgate was only used by certain people living in the mountains at that time, which is what Wycliffe translated into English, and everyone else had the Catholic Bible."

I am no great Bible scholar, but I think I'm right in saying the Bible was written in Hebrew and Greek, then translated to Latin by Saint Jerome, and thus we have the Vulgate. I may be ignorant of several intermediate steps. However, this all (even the Wycliffe element) being before Martin Luther, I don't see how there could be separate interpretations of the Bible. If there were, I would appreciate some enlightenment.

Our chat actually only lasted five minutes or so, but I think I came out on top, because after appearing increasingly uncomfortable, Alyssa changed the subject briskly. It was tempting, after the slanderous generalizations, to reveal my heretofore incognito religion, but that, I decided, was unwise, as it would only give Alyssa a reason to disbelieve my arguments, instead of spurring her to research (as I now plan to) the truth about the Truth. Hopefully, next time I am abruptly confronted by an issue regarding the contortion of the Scriptures, I will be more prepared.

Cathy also had a memorable experience this morning, reiterating the affair over the Papal corruption, and I hope she plans to blog it. *hint,hint*

...and on...and on...

Cathy, Mari, and I have been attending a writing class conducted by a very friendly Fundamentalist lady. We were enjoying it so very much that we hardly noticed when the reading assignments became gradually more anti-Catholic. It wasn't too bad, but a few weeks ago, when I read our assignment, I immediately requested an emergency discussion with Love2Learn Mom.

We had been given selections of literature from the Dark Ages. These included a section of The Inferno, by Dante. They were accompanied by a commentary by the Christian textbook, which commented on Dante's being excommunicated, and also on his supposed unbelief in the "non scriptural idea of purgatory". Now we do know that Dante disbelieved a few of the Catholic doctrines, but he did believe in purgatory.

Our discussion opened by checking to make sure we had all read the same section:) For those wishing to discuss this at home, it was The Entrance to Hell, up until Dante falls into a trance at the side of the river. (Canto III)

We talked about the punishments, and the appropriateness of said punishments. Particularly the "lukewarm" people who, through avoiding choices and through general indifference to right and wrong, have placed themselves in between Heaven and Hell in a woefully indifferent atmosphere.

We first had to figure out the exact definition of "lukewarm". More specifically, what was it those people did that classed them as lukewarm and earned them their eternal state of stagnancy? We tried to come up with real life examples of this sort of complacency. D'Maire, who is also a Catholic involved in this class, mentioned people who have a vague belief in God, but have some trivial reason (e.g. they met an errant priest) for not attending church or raising their children in a specific faith.

We came up with several other examples, but decided that in general, it boiled down to caring and acting and being passionate rather than being lazy and indifferent and too scared to move out of one's comfort zone. We talked about the quote from the bible, "I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth." (Rev. 3:156-16) We decided that even if you were moving in a not-so-good direction, you would at least be moving, and if your intentions were right, then God could work with you.

Less relevantly, we talked about the extremes of the virtues, e.g. the extremes of hope - despair and presumption.

We also went off on several interesting tangents concerning the class, defending the faith and when and how to approach it appropriately, Pope Benedict's Regensburg speech, and how some people prefer to pray when they have a problem instead of praying and doing their part to reason and help God help them. (Like the joke about the shipwrecked man and the helicopters - or something like that - I don't remember how the joke goes.)

We had two other discussions on this class, and apologetics, soon after, and I will post about them presently (I think).

A Map of Life Ch. 1

Here are a few of the notes I took.

This chaper begins by stating that in all things created, it is in man alone that spirit and matter are united.

I continued reading and this quote caught my eye

"Those who do not accept the revelation (of God), ...can neither direct their own lives aright nor help other men... From such men the world has little to hope and an immense amount to fear....In a word the reason for their helplessness, both in relation to themselves and in relation to others, is that they do not know what man is."

It goes on to say that we can't know what something is until we know what it is for. The only way to find out what something is for, is to ask it's maker. In the case of men our maker is God, so the only way to truly know what our purpose in life is for God to tell us.

"Accepting his word (God's), we know the purpose of our existence and we can proceed to live intelligently according to it. Short of this knowledge, intelligent living is not possible for us."

I think the biggest question of the chapter is: What according to you, is the purpose of man's life?

I guess we'll just have to keep reading to find out what the answer is. That's all for now, so until next time.....

The chat goes ever on and on...

I have Ria and Love2learn mom with me right now. We'd like everybody to comment and keep this going. This began as a discussion on this quote. It has evolved into a chat on God's Will, Faith and Reason, Spiritual danger and prayer life. To follow it in a slightly erratic fashion, our discussion flowed in this general course:

First, the definition of "relative" and "absolute" truths. How we interact with others, and keeping our diversity without building up walls because of it while striving towards unity and truth. We talked about the importance of recognizing others' opinions and circumstances while preserving the ideal of absolute truth, and finding the and recognizing truth in a way of life that is strange to us.

Then we explored the Accidentals and Essentials of our thoughts, opinions and beliefs, the Church, and our lives; e.g., The Church does not require us to believe that Our Lady appeared to the three children at Fatima, but if we do not believe in the True Presence, we cannot honestly consider ourselves Catholics.

This led to discussion of people who would be guided easily by minute circumstances to what they presumed was God's Will. And how mincing minor affairs can lead to absurd conclusions, and therefore emphasizing the significance of logic.

Compendium, ch. 1

The first paragraph in this chapter reminded me of something I had read the day before. Both are about man's desire and need of God:

"2. Why does man have a desire for God?
God himself, in creating man in his own image, has written upon his heart the desire to see him. Even if this desire is often ignored, God never ceases to draw man to himself because only in God will he find and live the fullness of truth and happiness for which he never stops searching. By nature and by vocation, therefore, man is a religious being, capable of entering into communion with God. This intimate and vital bond with God confers on man his fundamental dignity."
~Compendium



"There is no man nor woman...who does not love and fear God, but 'tis because our hearts are divided twixt love of God and fear of the devil and fondness for the world and the flesh, that we are unhappy in life and death. For if a man had not any yearning after God and God's being, then should he thrive in hell, and 'twould be we alone who would not understand that there he had gotten what his heart desired. For there the fire would not burn him if he did not long for coolness, nor would he feel the torment of the serpents' bite, if he knew not the yearning after peace."
~Kristen Lavransdatter, The Bridal Wreath, p.38

They mean, of course, that because we were made to know, love, and serve God we will be miserable without him, which is easy to understand. At the same time however, you have to wonder: the angels were created to know love and serve God, too; why isn't the devil unhappy? Or is he? Does he take genuine delight in being the promoter of sin? I'd really appreciate your thoughts on this subject.

The Catechism as a "Sign of Contradiction"

I thought this was a really interesting quote about the intended effect of the Catechism on the society as a whole...

It is no surprise that the Catechism proved to be a sign of contradiction from its very inception, even before anyone had read a single line of it. This only goes to show the timeliness of a work that is not merely a book but an event in the history of the Church. Anything that does not meet with opposition has obviously not dealt at all with the urgent needs of its time. The worst thing that Christianity has experienced in the twentieth century has not been open antagonism. The fact that powerful regimes persecute a powerless minority of believers with every means at their disposal is a sign of how much inner strength they attribute to the faith that animates this little flock. What oppressive, however, is indifference toward Christianity, which is apparently no longer worth a struggle but is rearded as an insignificant antique that we can safely let go to ruin, or even maintain as a museum piece. In contrast, the Catechism was and is an event that has reached far beyond intra-ecclesial debates to stir a secularized society. The Catechism was and is a breach in the soundproof walls of indifference. Faith is once more becoming salt that wounds and heals, a summons that challenges us to take a position.

(from Gospel, Catechesis, Catechism by Cardinal Ratzinger)

A Map of Life, chapter 2

During chapter 2 I took more notes and this was my favorite quote from this chapter:

"A man might very well say that he would not be bound by the law of
gravity: yet he would be well advised to keep his affirmation within the sphere
of words. Let him push it to act, and he will no longer be a modern man, but a
corpse, part of that history which in his newness, he so despised."

I thought it was a pretty good summary of the chapter, plus I really liked the quote, in fact it sounds rather Chestertonian to me. Again any suggestions for a discussion will be more than welcome.

A Map of Life, post 1

I have finally started A Map of Life, and I collected some quotes that
summarize this first chapter:

"It is of his (man's) nature to be a union of matter and spirit."

"In no case is intellegent living- that is, living consciously for the true purpose of
our being- possible to us unless we are told by God what the purpose is."

Any questions or comments? I'm not much good at starting a discussion but if anyone else has an idea for a discussion please post or comment.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, the first of many posts

I started reading the CCC last week and took some notes. Here they are:
On Laetamur Magnopere, which is an apostolic letter from Pope John Paul II I took these notes:

This project was begun in 1986 it was worked on by the 'Indicasterial
Commission' and presided over by Cardinal Ratzinger.
The latin edition was published in 1992.

On another apostolic letter, Fidei Depositum, I took these notes:

Vatican II was for Pope John Paul II "... the constant reference point of
my every pastoral action..."
The CCC was written over a period of 6 years.
A summary of the four parts was given in this letter:

Part 1: The Christian mystery is the object of faith
Part 2: It is celebrated and communicated in liturgical actions.
Part 3: It is present to enlighten and sustain the children of God in their
actions.
Part 4: It is the basis for our prayer, the privileged expression of which
is the Our Father and it represents the object of our supplication, our prause
and our intercession.

In the prolouge I took these notes and numbered them according to the paragraph in the CCC.

1. God, who is perfect, loves us.
3. We are called to spread the good news.
4 and 5. Catechisis is an "education in the faith" therefore those are in
the process of becoming Catholics or Catechists.
13. The catechism is based on the "four pillars" which are: The Creed ( or
the baptismal profession of faith), the sacraments of the faith, the life
of faith (the commandments), and the prayer of believer ( the Lord's
Prayer).

Cardinal Ratzinger on the Four Parts of the Catechism

I just came across this reference by Cardinal Ratzinger on the four parts that the Catechism of the Catholic Church is divided into (Profession of Faith (The Creed), The Celebration of the Christian Mystery (Liturgy), Life in Christ (Ten Commandments), and Christian Prayer). This quote is little challenging. I thought it was especially interesting because it shows the connections between this "new" Catechism and Church tradition.

The quote is from Handing on the Faith in an Age of Disbelief (written in 1983 - about ten years before the new Catechism was published):

...in the earliest period a catechetical structure developed that at its core goes back to the origins of the Church, a structure as old as or even older than the canon of biblical writings. Luther used this structure for his catechism, taking it for granted just as the authors of the Roman Catechism [a.k.a. The Catechism of the Council of Trent] did. This was possible because it was a question, not of an artificial system, but of a simple arrangement of the requisited memorized material of the faith, which at the same time mirrors the elements of the Church's life: the Apostles' Creed, the sacraments, the Ten Commandments and the Lord's Prayer. These four classical "principal divisions" of catechesis have sufficed over the centuries as organizational subdivisions and collecting points for catechetical instruction...

We have just said that they correspond to the dimensions of Christian life; the Roman Catechism spells this out when it says that it presents what the Christian must belief (Creed), what he must hope (Our Father), and what he must do (the Ten Commandments as an interpretation of the greatest Commandment and that it also defines the environment in which all of this is anchored (sacrament and Church).