New Year's Eve Story by Photios Kontoglou

New Year's Eve Story by Photios Kontoglou

John the Blessed

A tale of Photios Kontoglou

(Describes a visit of St. Basil on the eve of his feast, years after his repose. Translated from the Greek original.*)
The Nativity Feast having passed, St. Basil took his staff and traversed all of the towns, in order to see who would celebrate his Feast Day with purity of heart. He passed through regions of every sort and through villages of prominence, yet regardless of where he knocked, no door opened to him, since they took him for a beggar. And he would depart embittered, for, though he needed nothing from men, he felt how much pain the heart of every impecunious person must have endured at the insensitivity that these people showed him. One day, as he was leaving such a merciless village, he went by the graveyard, where he saw that the tombs were in ruins, the headstones broken and turned topsy-turvy, and how the newly dug graves had been turned up by jackals. Saint that he was, he heard the dead speaking and saying: “During the time that we were on the earth, we labored, we were heavy-burdened, leaving behind us children and grandchildren to light just a candle, to burn a little incense on our behalf; but we behold nothing, neither a Priest to read over our heads a memorial service nor kóllyva, as though we had left behind no one.” Thus, St. Basil was once again disquieted, and he said to himself, “These villagers give aid neither to the living nor to the deceased,” departing from the cemetery and setting out alone in the midst of the freezing snow.

THE MOTHER OF GOD

Having celebrated the great feast of the Nativity of Christ, the Church draws our attention to the figure of Mary, Mother of God.  In the midst of this festal season, a season which draws all Christians together to worship the Savior of the World, we are confronted with a sad division.  The person of Mary, an image of humility, is today attacked by Fundamentalist Protestants on the basis of her most glorious title: Mother of God.  Why?

In hopes of distancing themselves from historic Catholic teaching, many Protestants today go to great lengths to explain away what is not only historic and authentic Christian doctrine, but also a clear logical argument.  Who is Mary?  The question “Who is Mary?” is founded upon a further question: “Who is Jesus?”  If Jesus is God (as all faithful Protestants believe), and Mary is the mother of Jesus (as all Protestants agree), then Mary is the mother of God.  With such a simple logical argument, how can there be a problem?  Clearly, the only way to avoid the conclusion that Mary is the mother of God is to draw a division between Jesus (the human) and the divine Son of God.  A little historical background may help. 

In the fifth century, on Christmas day, the bishop of Constantinople, a man by the name of Nestorius, climbed to the pulpit of one of the greatest Churches in all of Christendom and declared in his sermon before the crowd of faithful that Mary was only the mother of Christ, not the mother of God.  Drawing a division between the second person of the Holy Trinity and the man, Christ, Nestorious said that Mary could not be the mother of God, since that would make Mary older than God.  Thus Christ, to whom Mary gave birth, was simply a human person who was closely united to the person of the Word.  In response to this claim, the bishops of the world convened an ecumenical council at Ephesus in the year 433, and condemned the heresy of Nestorius.  In upholding the ancient title Mother of God, the bishops of the council at Ephesus explained that Christ Jesus is one divine person with two natures.  Since a mother gives birth to a person and not simply a nature, Mary is truly the Mother of God, not as the origin of divinity, as Nestorius mistakenly concluded, but as the one through whom the eternal Word of God was born and from whom He received his human nature. 

Thus, it is impossible to deny the divine maternity of Mary without also calling into question the divinity of Christ.  Modern Protestants who deny that Mary is the Mother of God, while attempting to hold to a belief in the divinity of Christ find themselves is a very difficult position, to say the least.  In hopes of freeing themselves from the perceived bondage of Catholicism, Fundamentalists find themselves in a logical denial of the most fundamental teaching of all: the divinity of Jesus.

Let us therefore denounce the errors of those who attack the Most Blessed Virgin and Mother of God, and let us receive with joy, and take as our own the great proclamation of the Holy Council of Ephesus:

We confess, then, our Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, perfect God and perfect man, of a rational soul and a body, begotten before all ages from the Father in his Godhead, the same in the last days, for us and for our salvation, born of Mary the Virgin according to his humanity, one and the same consubstantial with the Father in Godhead and consubstantial with us in humanity, for a union of two natures took place. Therefore we confess one Christ, one Son, one Lord. According to this understanding of the unconfused union, we confess the holy Virgin to be the Mother of God because God the Word took flesh and became man and from his very conception united to himself the temple he took from her" (Formula of Union [A.D. 431]).

Posted by Deacon Sabatino Carnazzo

Nativity Homily of Saint John Chrysostom

I behold a new and wondrous mystery!

My ears resound to the Shepherd's song, piping no soft melody, but chanting full forth a heavenly hymn.

The Angels sing!

The Archangels blend their voices in harmony!

The Cherubim hymn their joyful praise!

The Seraphim exalt His glory!

All join to praise this holy feast, beholding the Godhead here on earth, and man in heaven. He who is above, now for our redemption dwells here below; and he that was lowly is by divine mercy raised.
Bethlehem this day resembles heaven; hearing from the stars the singing of angelic voices; and in place of the sun, enfolds within itself on every side the Sun of Justice.

And ask not how: for where God wills, the order of nature yields. For He willed, he had the power, He descended, He redeemed; all things move in obedience to God.
This day He Who Is, is Born; and He Who Is becomes what He was not. For when He was God, He became man; yet not departing from the Godhead that is His. Nor yet by any loss of divinity became He man, nor through increase became he God from man; but being the Word He became flesh, His nature, because of impassibility, remaining unchanged.

And so the kings have come, and they have seen the heavenly King that has come upon the earth, not bringing with Him Angels, nor Archangels, nor Thrones, nor Dominations, nor Powers, nor Principalities, but, treading a new and solitary path, He has come forth from a spotless womb.
Yet He has not forsaken His angels, nor left them deprived of His care, nor because of His Incarnation has he departed from the Godhead.

And behold, Kings have come, that they might adore the heavenly King of glory;

Soldiers, that they might serve the Leader of the Hosts of Heaven;

Women, that they might adore Him Who was born of a woman so that He might change the pains of child-birth into joy;

Virgins, to the Son of the Virgin, beholding with joy, that He Who is the Giver of milk, Who has decreed that the fountains of the breast pour forth in ready streams, receives from a Virgin Mother the food of infancy;

Infants, that they may adore Him Who became a little child, so that out of the mouth of infants and sucklings, He might perfect praise;

Children, to the Child Who raised up martyrs through the rage of Herod;

Men, to Him Who became man, that He might heal the miseries of His servants;

Shepherds, to the Good Shepherd Who has laid down His life for His sheep;

Priests, to Him Who has become a High Priest according to the order of Melchisedech;

Servants, to Him Who took upon Himself the form of a servant that He might bless our servitude with the reward of freedom;

Fishermen, to Him Who from amongst fishermen chose catchers of men;

Publicans, to Him Who from amongst them named a chosen Evangelist;

Sinful women, to Him Who exposed His feet to the tears of the repentant;

And that I may embrace them all together, all sinners have come, that they may look upon the Lamb of God Who taketh away the sins of the world.

Since therefore all rejoice, I too desire to rejoice. I too wish to share the choral dance, to celebrate the festival. But I take my part, not plucking the harp, not shaking the Thyrsian staff, not with the music of pipes, nor holding a torch, but holding in my arms the cradle of Christ. For this is all my hope, this my life, this my salvation, this my pipe, my harp. And bearing it I come, and having from its power received the gift of speech, I too, with the angels, sing:

Glory to God in the Highest; and with the shepherds: and on earth peace to men of good will.

A Question about Music & the Soul

Deacon Sabatino,

I just listened to Dr. John Cuddeback's wonderful lecture on music and the soul. He brought up many things which I have been pondering for some time now. Coming from a Cuban family I have been VERY concerned as to whether salsa music or the more traditional Cuban "son" music with their African influenced beats are intrinsically disordered. Any comments or suggestions as to where I can find some thoughtful answers?

Thanks,

Joshua Hernandez

Joshua,

I am not familiar enough with Cuban music to give a definitive answer.  However, remember that there is a distinction between disordered music and music that is ordered for a particular purpose.  Often times, the problem we face with traditional cultures and modern music is not a problem of disorder but a misuse of the particular musical genres in a setting in which it cultivates passions that have no business being cultivated in that setting.  For example, music of courtship is not itself disordered but rather is ordered to a particular end, namely, the sacred union of man and wife.  Another example is one that Dr. Cuddeback used in his talk, war music.  Music designed to bring man into battle is not disorder but rather ordered to the purpose of war.  If this music is used while we drive, we should not be surprised by the phenomenon of road rage. When making a judgement on particular musical pieces, always ask what the purpose of the music is and whether the setting is appropriate to move man in this way.

Rev. Deacon Sabatino Carnazzo

Preparing Our Hearts III

PREPARING OUR HEARTS

            Today the Virgin is on her way to the cave where she will give birth to the eternal Word of God in an ineffable manner.  Rejoice, therefore, O’ universe when you hear this news, and glorify, with the angels and the shepherds, him who shall appear as a young child, being God from all eternity.¹

           

Today, as we prepare our hearts for the birth of the Savior of our souls, let us, under the guidance of Saint Bernard, contemplate the beauty of the Virgin and her place in the work of our salvation.  For, as the Holy Prophet Isaiah prophesied regarding her, “There shall come forth a rod from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots” (Is 11:1). 

O Virgin, Sublime Rod, to what holy eminence are you come on high?  Even to the very throne, even to the Lord of all  Majesty?  And what wonder, since to the very depths thou dost send down the roots of thy own humility.  O Truly Celestial Blossoming Rod, more precious, more holy, than all the rest!  O True Wood of Life, that alone was found worthy to bear the fruit of salvation!

Thou art caught, evil serpent, in the trap of thine own cunning, thy falsity is laid bare.  Two things you had charged against your Creator: you had accused Him of falsehood, and of envy.  But in either case it is you that is proved the liar.  Because as to the first charge, he died to whom you said: “No, you shall not die the death” (Gen 3:4).  And answer Him now if you can, of what tree, or, of the fruit of what tree, should He be envious, Who refused us not even this chosen branch, and its sublime fruit?  “For he that spared not even his own Son, and how hath He not also, with Him given us all things” (Rom 8:32).

[Brethren], the Royal Virgin is Herself the Way through which the Saviour comes, coming forth from her womb “as a bridegroom coming forth from his bridechamber.”  Holding fast then to this way, let us strive, Beloved, to ascend through Her to Him, Who through Her has come down to us; to reach by Her aid to His divine forgiveness, Who came by way of Her to take away our woe.

Through thee have we access to Thy Son, O Blessed Discoverer of Grace, Mother of Life, Mother of Salvation!  May He through Thee forgive us, Who by Thee was given unto us.  May thy blameless integrity plead with Him, that He look not upon our corruption; and let thy humility that so pleases God, obtain the pardon of our pride.

Let thy boundless charity cover the multitude of our sins, and thy glorious fruitfulness bring us an abundance of mercies.  Our Lady, Our Mediatrix, present us to Thy Son.  Speak for us to Thy Son.  Grant, O Most Blessed, through the graces thou hast earned, through the privileges thou hast merited, through the mercy thou hast received, that He Who deigned by means of Thee, to become a Sharer of our infirmity and sorrow, may through thy intercession make us sharers of His Glory and of His Joy, Jesus Christ Thy Son Our Lord, Who is above all God the Blessed unto ages of ages.  Amen²

¹ Kontakian of Advent, Festal Menaion.

² Bernard of Clairvoux, The Advent of the Lord and its Six Circumstances (Hom. 1)

Preparing Our Hearts II

PREPARING OUR HEARTS

As we make our journey through the Advent season, a time of spiritual preparation for the birth of the Savior, we learn to set our gaze in two directions.  First, we look inwardly and examine our own souls.  In this first gaze we learn of the state of our lives in need of Christ, and we begin to make efforts to place our spiritual lives in order.  Our second gaze results from the first.  Having made an account of our souls and recognized our deficiencies, we turn our eyes to Christ, who alone can set our lives aright.  Having completed the first week of Advent, we come this week to sit at the feet of Saint Bernard, and listen attentively as this spiritual master exhorts us regarding the coming of the Lord.

We know that there are three comings of the Lord. The third lies between the other two. It is invisible, while the other two are visible. In the first coming he was seen on earth, dwelling among men; he himself testifies that they saw him and hated him. In the final coming all flesh will see the salvation of our God, and they will look on him whom they pierced. The intermediate coming is a hidden one; in it only the elect see the Lord within their own selves, and they are saved. In his first coming our Lord came in our flesh and in our weakness; in this middle coming he comes in spirit and in power; in the final coming he will be seen in glory and majesty.

 In case someone should think that what we say about this middle coming is sheer invention, listen to what our Lord himself ways: “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him.”  There is another passage of Scripture which reads: “He who fears God will do good,” but something further has been said about the one who loves, that is, that he will keep God’s word. Where is God’s word to be kept? Obviously in the heart, as the prophet says: “I have hidden your words in my heart, so that I may not sin against you.”

 Keep God’s word in this way. Let it enter into your very being, let it take possession of your desires and your whole way of life. Feed on goodness, and your soul will delight in its richness. Remember to eat your bread, or your heart will wither away. Fill your soul with richness and strength.

 Because this coming lies between the other two, it is like a road on which we travel from the first coming to the last. In the first, Christ was our redemption; in the last, he will appear as our life; in this middle coming, he is our rest and consolation.

                If you keep the word of God in this way, it will also keep you. The Son with the Father will come to you. The great Prophet who will build the new Jerusalem will come, the one who makes all things new. This coming will fulfill what is written: As we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, we shall also bear the likeness of the heavenly man. Just as Adam’s sin spread through all mankind and took hold of all, so Christ, who created and redeemed all, will glorify all, once he takes possession of all.

Preparing Our Hearts

PREPARING OUR HEARTS

Today the Virgin is on her way to the cave where she will give birth to the eternal Word of God in an ineffable manner.  Rejoice, therefore, O’ universe when you hear this news, and glorify, with the angels and the shepherds, him who shall appear as a young child, being God from all eternity.¹  Today, while the world is busy with a multitude of hurried preparations, we, true followers of the True God, are about a different kind of preparation.  For us, the true gift of Christmas is not made of plastic, and is not wrapped with a bow.  Rather, it is formed by the divine person of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and is wrapped in swaddling clothes for our salvation.  Today the Virgin is on her way to the cave where she will give birth to the eternal Word of God.  Before us is a time of preparation, a time of meditation, a time of cleansing.  Make straight the way of the Lord, the Sacred Scriptures proclaim, and for faithful followers of Christ this warning must be taken to heart (Jn 1:23, Is 40:3).  Advent, though often celebrated as a ‘pre-Christmas’ festal season, is a time of purification for all Catholics.  Each year during the Advent preparation, priests don the purple garments of repentance, and the Church enters a season of reflection.  It is in the midst of this season of penance, that we recall the state of our souls in need of Christ.  Therefore, over the next few weeks, we will turn our attention inward and begin to prepare in our hearts a suitable place for the birth of our Savior.  As is our custom during the seasons of preparation, we place ourselves in the presence of the great spiritual masters that have gone before us, in the hope of learning from them the necessary means by which we may win for ourselves the jewel of great price.  Today we sit at the feet of Saint Maximus, Bishop of Turin.

How prepared and becomingly adorned we should greet the Natal Day of the Lord, and observe in a worthy manner the coming festival.  To observe the festival . . . so that though the day’s solemnity may pass, the joy of its sanctifying grace may abide.  For this is the special grace of the Lord’s Birth Day, that while it goes on to all who in the future will receive it, it still remains with the devout souls to whom it was already given.  Let us then be made clean in holiness, clothed in modesty, worthy in heart; and the nearer we approach the festival, the more circumspectly let us walk.

If women who have the care of a home will on certain days wash with water the garments that are soiled, should we not also make ready our souls for the Birth Day of the Lord, cleaning with our tears the stains of our conscience.  And they, should they find the garments so soiled and stained, that they cannot be made clean with water alone, add to the water the softening of oil and the acrimony of soap.  We likewise, should we have committed sins that are not washed away by repentance alone, let us add the oil of almsgiving and the bitterness of fasting.  There is no sin so grave that abstinence will not cleanse, that almsgiving will not blot out.

These are the weapons of our Faith, by means of which we wage war.  That we may use these weapons we must however do violence to ourselves, we must drive out vice from our own members, that we may attain to the rewards of virtue.  For we must first rule in our own hearts, before we can seize the Kingdom of heaven . . . All who sleep lose Christ, and the vigilant find Him . . . So, Brethren, let us not sleep, but keep watch about Our Lord and Savior, to make sure with unceasing vigil that no one shall steal Him from the sepulcher of our hearts, lest we may have to say at some time, “They came while we were sleeping and stole him away.”  For we have enemies who will try to steal Christ from our hearts, should we lapse into sleep.  So with unceasing watch let us keep Him within the sepulcher of our souls; there let Him rest; there let Him sleep; there when He wills, let Him rise again.

Therefore, Brethren, let us who are about to greet the Birth Day of the Lord clean our consciences from all defilement; and let us prepare for ourselves, not silken garments, but precious works.  Elegant garments may adorn the body, but they do not adorn the conscience; unless you consider it more decorous, to go about elegant in dress and defiled in mind.  That the clothing of the outward man may in all ways be becoming, let us first make worthy the dispositions of the interior man; that our bodily adornment may be the more perfect, let us wash away all spiritual stain.²

¹ Kontakian of Advent, Festal Menaion.

² Saint Maximus, On the Preparation for the Lord’s Coming.

The line of Herod

A question from the talk on the Maccabees:

Did I understand correctly that Herod was a Jew of the line of Maccabees? Will you clarify the lineage of Mattathias both back toward time of Moses and forward to time of Christ?

Thank you for all you do!!!

Kathleen Kossey
Tecumseh, MI

Kathleen

Answer:

Thank you for your question and for regularly watching the programs on-line.  The simple answer to your question is NO.  Herod was not of the Maccabean line.  In fact, Herod was not a Jew at all.  He was an Edomite (Descendants of Israel's brother Esau).  During the Maccabean reign of John Hyracanus (134 - 104) the southern boarder of Judea was extended and Edom was conquered.  John Hyracanus decreed the forced circumcision of the Edomite men and their conversion to Judaism.  About one hundred years later, during the reign of John's grandson, Hyracanus II (64 - 40), the counselor to Hyracanus II was a man named Antipater, father of Herod the Great.  It is believed that Herod murdered his father, Antipater, and murdered Hyracanus II and then fled to Rome where he was crowned as King of the Jews.  In order to legitimize his throne, Herod married Mariam, granddaughter of Hyracanus II.


1 Macc. 2:1 tells us that Mattathias was of the priestly line (i.e. a Levite).

For more information, I would recommend Dr. Warren Carroll's vol. 1 of his history series.

Also, you may enjoy the ICC's audio recording of Salvation History from Adam to Jesus.

In Christ,

Deacon Sabatino

The Zeal of Mathathias, Father of the Maccabees

1Mac.2

[1] In those days Mattathias the son of John, son of Simeon, a priest of the sons of Joarib, moved from Jerusalem and settled in Modein.

[2] He had five sons, John surnamed Gaddi,
[3] Simon called Thassi,
[4] Judas called Maccabeus,
[5] Eleazar called Avaran, and Jonathan called Apphus.
[6] He saw the blasphemies being committed in Judah and Jerusalem,
[7] and said, "Alas! Why was I born to see this,
the ruin of my people, the ruin of the holy city,
and to dwell there when it was given over to the enemy,
the sanctuary given over to aliens?
[8] Her temple has become like a man without honor;
[9] her glorious vessels have been carried into captivity.
Her babes have been killed in her streets,
her youths by the sword of the foe.
[10] What nation has not inherited her palaces
and has not seized her spoils?
[11] All her adornment has been taken away;
no longer free, she has become a slave.
[12] And behold, our holy place, our beauty,
and our glory have been laid waste;
the Gentiles have profaned it.
[13] Why should we live any longer?"
[14] And Mattathias and his sons rent their clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourned greatly.
[15] Then the king's officers who were enforcing the apostasy came to the city of Modein to make them offer sacrifice.

Pope Benedict on Our Advent Preparations

Monday, December 12, 2011

ADVENT: OPENNESS TO THE ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS

VATICAN CITY, 11 DEC 2011 (VIS) - Having returned to the Vatican following his pastoral visit to the Roman parish of "Santa Maria delle Grazie" at Casal Boccone, at midday today Benedict XVI appeared at the window of his study to pray the Angelus with faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square.

  Following a Roman tradition of this third Sunday of Advent, the Pope blessed statuettes of the Baby Jesus which were brought to the square by children from local oratories and which are destined to be placed in nativity scenes in homes, schools and parishes.

  "The liturgical texts of Advent" said the Holy Father, "invite us to live in expectation of Jesus, always to await His coming and to remain open and ready to meet Him. The vigilance Christians are called to show every day of their lives is particularly characteristic of this period in which we ready ourselves for the joy of the Christmas mystery. The external environment presents its usual commercial messages, though perhaps somewhat subdued due to the economic crisis, but Christians are called to experience Advent without allowing themselves to be distracted by the lights, giving things their correct value and fixing their inner gaze on Christ".

  "The liturgy today, 'Gaudete' Sunday, invites us to happiness, to await not sadly but joyfully", the Pope explained. "True joy is not the result of diversion, of avoiding life's responsibilities. True joy is linked to something more profound. Of course, in an often frenetic daily life it is important to find time for rest and relaxation, but true joy is linked to the relationship with God. People who have encountered Christ in their lives, experience a calmness of heart and a joy which no worldly situation can take from them. ... In this time of Advent, let us reinforce our certainty that the Lord came among us, and that He continually renews His presence of consolation, love and joy".

  Following the Angelus, Benedict XVI greeted the children of Rome asking them, when they prayed before their nativity scenes, to remember the Pope, just as the Pope remembered them.

  He also welcomed members of the Movement for Life who have come to Rome from all over Europe for the Mother Teresa of Calcutta Prize, awarded in memory of Chiara Lubich, the founder of the Focolari Movement. "On this anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights", he said, "let us remember that the first of all rights is the right to life".

  Finally he addressed Croatian pilgrims who are participating in a symposium on Fr. Ruder Josip Boskovic. "That Jesuit scientist and diplomat", the Pope said, "personified and bore witness to the bond between faith and science".
ANG/                                    VIS 20111212 (460)

From: Vatican Information Services

Resources for St. Athanasius' On the Incarnation

A great read in preparation for the Nativity of the Lord


http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/history/ath-inc.htm

http://books.google.com/books?id=nqpeFIndskgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=athanasius+on+the+incarnation&hl=en&ei=T0_YTrqqPIbk0QGF9vHKDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CEIQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=athanasius%20on%20the%20incarnation&f=false

Tip: Tom O'Neill, Assistant Director of Family Life, Diocese of Arlington

The Maccabees - Story of the Mother with 7 Sons

1 It happened also that seven brothers and their mother were arrested and were being compelled by the king, under torture with whips and cords, to partake of unlawful swine's flesh. 2 One of them, acting as their spokesman, said, "What do you intend to ask and learn from us? For we are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our fathers." 3 The king fell into a rage, and gave orders that pans and caldrons be heated. 4 These were heated immediately, and he commanded that the tongue of their spokesman be cut out and that they scalp him and cut off his hands and feet, while the rest of the brothers and the mother looked on.  

Clarisabel Bellini

Dear Friends of the ICC,

A dear friend of the Institute of Catholic Culture, Clarisabel Bellini has reposed in the Lord.

Grant rest with the Saints, O Lord, to your handmaid Clarisabel, where there is no pain, no sorrow, no suffering, but everlasting life.

Summary of Noah's Flood Lecture

“Behold, I will bring the waters of a great flood upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life under heaven. All things that are in the earth shall be consumed.” (Gen 6:17)

The story of Noah’s flood is a story that has captured our attentions for centuries.  The latest group to be captivated by the epic story listened to Deacon Sabatino Carnazzo, executive director of the Institute of Catholic Culture, give an insightful explanation of Noah and the great flood. 

Follow Up Question from Lecture on Noah's Flood

What does the Lord mean when He says "clean and UN-clean animals" in Genesis?

Thank you, Kurt in Michigan.

~~~~~

Kurt,

Great question! For our readers, please take a look at Genesis 7:2. The distinction between “clean and unclean” animals was only revealed to Israel during the Exodus. How then are we to understand the mention of this in the Genesis account of the flood?

As I mentioned in my lecture on Tuesday, the text of Genesis is traditionally attributed to Moses. One of the first principles of Catholic biblical interpretation is that the text is written using the talents and experience of the author. In other words, God uses the inspired author to communicate what He wills, but He uses him in such a way that the human author is an authentic cooperator in the work. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “To interpret Scripture correctly, the reader must be attentive to what the human authors truly wanted to affirm and to what God wanted to reveal to us by their words” (CCC, 109).

In all likelihood, the oral tradition about the flood that had been passed down from Noah to Moses included the listing of particular clean animals here such as goats, sheep, etc. without noting that they were "clean" animals. However, when Moses received the tradition which included this list and the law from God about what was clean and what was not, he simply interpreted the tradition according to the law.

Hope that helps!

Deacon Sabatino

Another take of Fr. Paul Schenck's Talk

Schenck and Shavuot: A Lecture Synopsis

Posted on November 30, 2011 by The Groom's Family

A week or so ago I attended a lecture hosted by the Institute of Catholic Culture with the tantalizing title “Feasts of the Jews.” Father Paul Schenck, best known as head of the National Pro-Life Center (as he put it, a special ministry to the Supreme Court), is a Jewish convert and a former Anglican minister recently ordained in the Catholic Church as a married priest.
Fr. Paul’s talk was as remarkable for his treatment of the conversion of St. Paul, which he interprets as conversion in the Hebrew sense of teshuva, or return – a return to Paul’s mission, as a member of the Pharisee religious elite, of maintaining the purity of Jewish faith – as for its official topic.
On the official topic, he shared a most illuminating bit of knowledge concerning the connection between the Jewish and the Christian feasts of Pentecost – beyond, that is, the fact that the original feast created an occasion for a gathering of the disciples, at which the Holy Spirit instituted its Christian counterpart. Fr. Paul pointed out that the Jewish Pentecost – Shavuot – is celebrated in tandem with Simchat-Torah, the feast of the giving of the Torah. The Jewish oral tradition, codified in the Talmud, teaches that the Torah was given on Sinai in all the languages of the nations; those with ears were let hear, and the Jews – so the tradition teaches – were the ones to respond. Thus in rendering the disciples of Jesus able to speak in tongues on Pentecost, God once again offered His Word to the nations.
Byzantine Jewess tells in a recent post the famous story of Fr. Dmitry Klepinin (whose grandson, coincidentally, I worked with in Ukraine). Fr. Paul shared a story in the same spirit, less plausible yet perhaps even more remarkable because he had learned it from Jews, not Christians. During the Holocaust, Fr. Paul told us, a Nazi officer walked into a church service and demanded that any Jews present themselves to him. Slowly, at the sight of all, the statues of Christ, Mary, and the apostles detached themselves from their pedestals and advanced toward the Nazi…

By Lucas Halim
http://thegroomsfamily.wordpress.com/2011/11/30/schenck-and-shavuot-a-lecture-synopsis/

Feasts of the Jews - Summary

“For whatever was written in former days, was written for our instruction.” Romans 15:4

Rev. Fr. Paul Schenck, who was raised Jewish and converted to Christianity when he was 16, gave an insightful and inspiring talk about the origins and roots of Christianity in Judaism.

Christianity arose from the Jewish tradition, and the early Christians shared a lot of commonality with the Jews. For decades after Christianity began, Christians were being taught to pray Jewish prayers. There was even a unity between Jewish and early Christian theology. It wasn’t until the destruction of the Temple when Christianity and Judaism began to diverge.

In order to understand the connection between the Jewish feasts and Christian feasts, Fr. Schenck described what conversion is. Conversion is generally understood to mean “a heathen turning to God or someone changing religions.” However, Fr. Schenck argued that conversion means to turn back – to go back to where you should have been. Conversion is a matter of restoration rather than replacement. Fr. Schenck then used St. Paul to illustrate this understanding of conversion.

False Prophecy

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. (Matt 7)

PDF Copies of Handouts from Epic of Gilgamesh & Noah's Flood Program

We linked .jpeg images of the handouts from yesterday's lectures on Noah and the Flood, but we now have PDFs available here:

http://instituteofcatholicculture.org/docs/JEDP%20-%20Noah's%20Flood.pdf

http://instituteofcatholicculture.org/docs/Epic%20of%20Gilgamesh%20Handout.pdf

What Did Jesus Know and When Did He Know It?

Did Jesus not realize that Noah was a mythical person?
That peculiar question arose last week in the comment thread on David B. Hart’s OTS article where I defended the historicity of Noah. Several readers expressed shock that any purportedly educated Christian could believe that the ark-builder had actually existed. They were truly incredulous that anyone could truly believe such Sunday School nonsense.
One reader that took issue with my “silly childish fundamentalist column” and expressed shock that a “fundamentalist” like me would be allowed to work at First Things. Another commenter joined in the mockery and was certain that the Church Fathers would have disagreed we me about the literal existence of the Antediluvian patriarch. (When I asked them to provide support for that contention, my critics fell silent.)
Foolishly, I thought I could settle the issue with an appeal to authority. I pointed out that Jesus himself had referred to Noah as an actual person who existed in history:

For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Good Queen Isabella

Isabella Catholica
Castellae Regina
Serva Dei
† 26 Nov. MDIV

From her Last Will and Testament, Codicil, Chapter XII:

When the Islands and Mainland of the Ocean Sea, discovered or yet to be discovered, were given to us by the Holy Apostolic See..., that granted us this concession, our main intention was to make an effort to procure and to draw their people and convert them to our Holy Catholic Faith, and to send to those Islands and Mainland of the Ocean Sea prelates, and religious, and clerics, and other people with knowledge and fear of God, to instruct their residents and inhabitants in the Catholic Faith, and to teach and guide them with good manners, and to put in it due diligence, according to what is broadly established in the Letters of said grant, for which I request the King, my Lord, with great affection, and I charge the Princess and said Prince her husband that they thus do it and fulfill it, and that this be their main end, and that in this they may place great diligence, and that they do not consent or permit that the Indians living in and inhabiting those said Indies and mainland be persecuted in their persons and in their properties; but instead I order that they be treated well and justly. And if they have received any distress, that it be remedied and corrected, so that in nothing may the Apostolic Letters of such grant be exceeded in what it is placed upon us and established.

Notes: 1. Image: Eduardo Rosales (1864), Doña Isabel la Católica dictando su testamento, Museo Nacional del Prado.

2. Website of the Commission for the Beatification of Isabel la Católica, of the Archdiocese of Valladolid (in Spanish) - Cause of the Servant of God (in English)

 

roratecaeli@blogspot.com

The Jewish Preparation & the Byzantine Liturgical Tradition

I came across this nice piece and thought about our many attendees who are of the Roman or Latin tradition and who will be introduced to a new translation of the Novus Ordo Liturgy this Sunday.  This also dovetails nicely with our recent program on Feasts of the Jews.

In the Extraordinary Form, the West retains the Psalms of Assent and many of the older generation will remember with fondness the opening words of the Mass: Introibo ad Altare Dei . . .

Psalm 42: Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause from the nation that is not holy: deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man.
For thou art God my strength: why hast thou cast me off? and why do I go sorrowful whilst the enemy afflicteth me? 
Send forth thy light and thy truth: they have conducted me, and brought me unto thy holy hill, and into thy tabernacles. 
And I will go in to the altar of God: to God who giveth joy to my youth. 
To thee, O God my God, I will give praise upon the harp: why art thou sad, O my soul? and why dost thou disquiet me? 
Hope in God, for I will still give praise to him: the salvation of my countenance, and my God.

I hope all will enjoy this well prepared article.

In the Old Covenant economy, the Jewish people would come into the presence of the Creator in a special way through pilgrimages to the temple in Jerusalem for high holy days such as Yom Kippur. To worship at the Temple was the paramount way of worshipping the Creator. The Temple offerings of animal sacrifices, incense, wheat, wine and oil all were given to the Creator, especially on high holy days that celebrated the mystery of the Jews’ salvation, which were accompanied by Jews not native to Jerusalem making a pilgrimage to the Temple. On this pilgrimage from other parts of Jerusalem, special Psalms from among the Psalter (specifically Psalms 119-133, LXX) were especially appropriate for singing along the journey. These songs of ascent speak of a journey up to the mountain of Jerusalem. Incidentally, in the Byzantine Tradition, these same Psalms make up the typical Kathismata for Friday Evenings, which is a fitting parallel to mark the start of the Sabbath.

Dr. Cuddeback's Quotation Handout on Music & the Soul

Music and the Soul: Destroying or Restoring the Inner Man

John A. Cuddeback, PhD., Institute of Catholic Culture

November 17, 2011

Some Quotations on MUSIC

Plato (4^th century BC):

“As Damon says, and I am convinced, the musical modes are never changed without change in the most important of a city’s laws.” Republic 424c (Trans. Grube. Hackett Publishing, 1992)

“Aren’t these the reasons, Glaucon, that education in music and poetry is most important? First, because rhythm and harmony permeate the inner part of the soul more than anything else, affecting it most strongly and bringing it grace, so that if someone is properly educated in music and poetry, it makes him graceful, but if not, then the opposite. Second, because anyone who has been properly educated in music and poetry will sense it acutely when something has been omitted from a thing and when it hasn’t been finely crafted or finely made by nature. And since he has the right distastes, he’ll praise fine things, be pleased by them, receive them into his soul, and, being nurtured by them, become fine and good. He’ll rightly object to what is shameful, hating it while he’s still young and unable to grasp the reason, but, having been educated in this way, he will welcome the reason when it comes and recognize it easily because of its kinship with himself.” Republic 401d-402a

P. Benedict XVI - Homily - Friday, 11 June 2010

“Your rod and your staff – they comfort me”: the shepherd needs the rod as protection against savage beasts ready to pounce on the flock; against robbers looking for prey. Along with the rod there is the staff which gives support and helps to make difficult crossings. Both of these are likewise part of the Church’s ministry, of the priest’s ministry. The Church too must use the shepherd’s rod, the rod with which he protects the faith against those who falsify it, against currents which lead the flock astray. The use of the rod can actually be a service of love. Today we can see that it has nothing to do with love when conduct unworthy of the priestly life is tolerated. Nor does it have to do with love if heresy is allowed to spread and the faith twisted and chipped away, as if it were something that we ourselves had invented. As if it were no longer God’s gift, the precious pearl which we cannot let be taken from us. Even so, the rod must always become once again the shepherd’s staff – a staff which helps men and women to tread difficult paths and to follow the Lord.

The Devil’s Deception & the Power of God: Dominion, Domination & Deliverance - Summary

The Devil’s Deception & the Power of God: Dominion, Domination & Deliverance

“And he said: Let us make man to our image and likeness, and let him have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and the beasts, and the whole earth, and every creeping creature that moves upon the earth.  And God created man to his own image; to the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Gen. 1:26-27)

God created Man in His image and likeness.  And because of we are made in God’s image and likeness, Man is different from every other creature in all creation, explained Bishop Nicholas Samra on Sunday Nov. 13^th in his talk entitled The Devil’s Deception & the Power of God: Dominion, Domination & Deliverance.  What does it mean to be created in God’s image and likeness?  While we normally think of image and likeness being the same thing, Bishop Samra made a distinction between the two. To be in God’s image means that we look like God; we have reason and are able to make choices.  To be created in the likeness of God means that we can be creative and dynamic and relate to people. In other words, we can act like God and exercise personhood. 

God created Man to be perfect, but Man’s creation is incomplete.  That is why Saint Basil could say “we are still being created.”   As we grow in perfection and ultimately closer to God, the image of God grows in us.  We were also created with three basic tasks.  First God made us stewards of creation.  We are to care for it according to the rules laid out by God.  Second, we were created as prophets to discern the will of God in and for creation. Finally, according to Bishop Samra, we were created as priests to live in a sacramental way using creation in the way that God intended. 

The failure of Adam and Eve was that they desired to be like God immediately and as a result they failed to fulfill their three basic tasks.  They failed as steward because they desired to use creation for their own purpose. They failed as prophets because they did not discern what God wanted when the followed the voice of the serpent.  And finally, they failed as priests because they misused the holy things of creation. 

Adam and Eve sinned and threw chaos into creation.  Humanity became scattered and separated, “trying to live our own way apart from the clan of God,” as Bishop Samra noted.  We still are in the image of God, but now that image is blurred and distorted.  The distortion comes about through the misuse of our nature, and this is called sin. Each sin is a rebellion against the Lord and an abuse of the nature that was created in His image.

After the fall of Adam and Eve, God had a new plan for creation, to send His Son, the second person of the blessed Trinity, to restore all creation to its natural goodness and harmony.  “The Word of God became one of us. He takes our broken human nature and heals it. He becomes the new Adam and brings us back in line with the original plan God had intended.”

St Nicholas Cabsilas said, “God is not content to remain where he is and to summon like a slave the one he loves so dearly. He comes down and seeks for himself; the Almighty stoops to the lowliness of our poor nature …he takes on himself all these humiliations and dies. This is what we call the incarnation…the high point of God's plan for creation.”  Bishop Samra ended by exhorting his listeners to “radiate the divine nature in which God has chosen us to share.”

Submitted by James Blankenship

Use your talents for God

THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS AND THE GOAL OF EXISTENCE

VATICAN CITY, 13 NOV 2011 (VIS) - The provisional nature of earthly life and the call to experience it as "a pilgrimage" towards God, Who "represents our final destination and gives meaning to our lives", were the central themes of the remarks Benedict XVI addressed to faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square before praying the Angelus today.

In the Parable of the Talents, as related in today's reading from the Gospel according to St. Matthew, "Jesus speaks of the three servants whose master departed on a long journey and entrusted them with his money. Two of them behaved correctly and redoubled the wealth they had received, but the third hid the money in a hole. When the master returned he asked what had become of his riches and, while he was pleased with the first two servants, he was disappointed with the third, ... because he had behaved as if his master would never return, as if the day of reckoning would never come.

"With this parable", the Holy Father added, "Jesus wished to teach His disciples to make good use of His gifts. God calls each one of us to life and gives us talents, at the same time entrusting us with a mission to accomplish. It would be foolish to think that these gifts are our due, just as refusing to employ them would be to fail in the goal of our lives. Commenting on this Gospel episode, St. Gregory the Great notes that the Lord does not stint His gift of charity and love to anyone".

"Let us accept the invitation to be watchful, as reiterated in the Scriptures. This is the attitude of those who know that the Lord will return and will wish to see in us the fruits of His love. Charity is the fundamental good which no one should fail to practise and without which all other gifts are in vain".
ANG/ VIS 20111114 (330)

The Philosophers On Music

Even thousands of years ago, philosophers like Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates understood the tremendous influence music has on its listeners.

Over 2300 years ago, Aristotle spoke about music and its ability to communicate the emotional states of humans:

Music directly imitates the passions or states of the soul...when one listens to music that imitates a certain passion, he becomes imbued withthe same passion; and if over a long time he habitually listens to music that rouses ignoble passions, his whole character will be shaped to an ignoble form.ⁱ

Introduction to Salvation History by Dr. Brendan McGuire

INTRODUCTION TO SALVATION HISTORY

Modern-day Catholics who explore the writings of such 20th-century thinkers as Christopher Dawson, G.K. Chesterton, and Henri Daniel-Rops do not have to go far before coming across the notion of "salvation history."  Starting from a perspective of faith, and juxtaposing the study of Sacred Scripture with the insights of modern historical science, archaeology, linguistics, and anthropology, these thinkers helped flesh out a sophisticated vision of God's providential operation in man's history, especially in preparing the world for the Incarnation of Christ and the spread of the Gospel.  It is crucial for modern Catholics to be familiar with salvation history; as Chesterton was so fond of pointing out, the Christian faith is unique precisely because it is founded on belief in the real, historical figure of Jesus Christ.

Every Christian believer is familiar with the idea that Christ's incarnation represents the fulfillment of Old Testament promises.  Christ, after all, was a Jew, and the New Testament presents him as the long-sought heir of King David, spoken of by generations of Hebrew prophets.  Nevertheless, Christ was also born into a world that was held together by Roman statecraft, and a world in which Greek culture formed the basis for a worldview and intellectual idiom common to all educated men.  Indeed, the ancient Mediterranean as it existed at the time of Christ was ideal for the evangelizing mission of the early Church; Roman political power had established a peace that extended from Mesopotamia to Britain, while Greek language and ideas provided a medium through which the Gospel could be communicated universally.  The historical context in which the Incarnation occurred was what allowed Christianity to become a great world religion, rather than a purely provincial phenomenon in a small corner of the world.

It is therefore crucial for Catholics today to understand the Hebrew, Greek, and Roman contributions to the formation of the Western world.  Not only is ancient history intimately bound up with our Faith, it provides us with the foundation of our identity: to be a Christian is to be a Roman, a Greek, and a Hebrew as well.  Stay tuned to the Institute of Catholic Culture On-Line Learning Center as we explore salvation history, beginning with the history and thought of the ancient Hebrews, and proceeding from there to the foundations of Greek civilization, the spread of Hellenistic culture, and the unification of the Mediterranean world under the sway of the Roman Empire.

-Brendan J. McGuire, Ph.D.  

A Song for St. Cecilia's Day, 1687

Arthur Quiller-Couch, ed. 1919. The Oxford Book of English Verse: 1250–1900.
 
John Dryden. 1631–1700

A Song for St. Cecilia's Day, 1687
 
FROM harmony, from heavenly harmony,
      This universal frame began:
  When nature underneath a heap
      Of jarring atoms lay,
    And could not heave her head,          5
The tuneful voice was heard from high,
    'Arise, ye more than dead!'
Then cold, and hot, and moist, and dry,
  In order to their stations leap,
     And Music's power obey.   10
From harmony, from heavenly harmony,
   This universal frame began:
   From harmony to harmony
Through all the compass of the notes it ran,
The diapason closing full in Man.   15

What passion cannot Music raise and quell?
    When Jubal struck the chorded shell,
  His listening brethren stood around,
    And, wondering, on their faces fell
  To worship that celestial sound:   20
Less than a God they thought there could not dwell
    Within the hollow of that shell,
    That spoke so sweetly, and so well.
What passion cannot Music raise and quell?

    The trumpet's loud clangour   25
      Excites us to arms,
    With shrill notes of anger,
      And mortal alarms.
  The double double double beat
      Of the thundering drum   30
      Cries Hark! the foes come;
  Charge, charge, 'tis too late to retreat!

    The soft complaining flute,
    In dying notes, discovers
    The woes of hopeless lovers,   35
Whose dirge is whisper'd by the warbling lute.

    Sharp violins proclaim
  Their jealous pangs and desperation,
  Fury, frantic indignation,
  Depth of pains, and height of passion,   40
    For the fair, disdainful dame.

    But O, what art can teach,
    What human voice can reach,
      The sacred organ's praise?
    Notes inspiring holy love,   45
  Notes that wing their heavenly ways
    To mend the choirs above.

  Orpheus could lead the savage race;
  And trees unrooted left their place,
    Sequacious of the lyre;   50
But bright Cecilia rais'd the wonder higher:
When to her organ vocal breath was given,
  An angel heard, and straight appear'd
    Mistaking Earth for Heaven.

GRAND CHORUS.


As from the power of sacred lays   55
  The spheres began to move,
And sung the great Creator's praise
  To all the Blest above;
So when the last and dreadful hour
This crumbling pageant shall devour,   60
The trumpet shall be heard on high,
The dead shall live, the living die,
And Music shall untune the sky!

St. John Chrysostom, Homily on Psalm 41

“David formerly sang songs, also today we sing hymns. He had a lyre with lifeless strings, the church has a lyre with living strings. Our tongues are the strings of the lyre with a different tone indeed but much more in accordance with piety. Here there is no need for the cithara, or for stretched strings, or for the plectrum, or for art, or for any instrument; but, if you like, you may yourself become a cithara, mortifying the members of the flesh and making a full harmony of mind and body. For when the flesh no longer lusts against the Spirit, but has submitted to its orders and has been led at length into the best and most admirable path, then will you create a spiritual melody.” (Chrysostom, 347-407, Exposition of Psalms 41, (381-398 A.D.) Source Readings in Music History, ed. O. Strunk, W. W. Norton and Co.: New York , 1950, pg. 70.)

St. John Chrysostom, Homily on Psalm 149

“A few say, to be sure, that the tambourine signifies the mortality of our flesh and the psaltery means a heavenward gaze. For this instrument [the tambourine] is played with a downward motion, not with an upward one, as is the cithara. But I would prefer to say that they [the Jews] played these in times past on account of the dullness of their understanding and so that they might be drawn away from idols. As he [God] conceded sacrifices to them, so he also allowed them this, for he accommodated himself to their weaknesses.” Chrysostom, Homily on Psalm 149, 2 (PG 55, 494). Cited in Johannes Quasten, Music and Worship in Pagan and Christian Antiquity (National Association of Pastoral Musicians, 1983).

Summary of Original Sin w/ Fr. Thomas Hofer, OP

When we look at the world around us, we see that something is just not right.  People grow old and die.  Arguments break out between family members.  Every sort of lying, deceit, deception and immorality happens on a daily basis.  Fr. Hofer began his lecture by apologizing for his tardiness and recounting his hellish 2 hour trip in traffic to get to St Timothy, chalking up traffic to original sin.  Think about all the evil in the world and you get a real sense of original sin. 

Original sin is a reality that we all live with on a daily basis, but it wasn’t always this way.  Adam and Eve were created in original justice and enjoyed paradise in the Garden of Eden.  One can only wonder why Adam committed the original sin.  But alas, the Original Sin is a truth of our Faith and the topic of discussion for Thursday’s presentation by the ICC.

The scholastics, like St. Thomas Aquinas, considered Original sin in two parts: Peccatum Originale Originans (Original Sin originating) and second Peccatum Originale Originatum (Original Sin having been originated).  In other words, the personal effect that original sin had on Adam and the effect that original sin had on all creation.

Peccatum Orginale Originans, or the Original Sin originating, speaks about the personal effects that original sin had on Adam and Eve.  As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states “The tree of knowledge of good and evil symbolically evokes the insurmountable limits that man, being a creation, must freely recognize and respect with trust. Man is dependent on his creator and subject to the laws of creation and to the moral norms that govern the use of freedom” (CCC 390).  The tree tempted Adam and Eve to decide for themselves what was good and evil rather than recognizing the laws of creation and ultimately the law of God.  Adam and Eve no longer wanted to respect God and His laws; they wanted to be like God.  After their sin, they shamefully hid themselves, recognizing their state and their sin.  As a result of their sin, death became a part of the human reality.

That leads us to the consideration of the result of original sin on humanity as a whole (Pecattum Originale Originatum).  The Catechism says “Following St. Paul, the Church has always taught that the over whelming misery which oppress men and their inclination toward evil and death cannot be understood apart from their connection with Adam’s sin and the fact that he has transmitted to us a sin with which we are all born afflicted, a sin which is the ‘death of the soul’.”  Original does not have the character of personal fault.  Rather it affects our nature.  Beyond the spiritual death of the soul, the Catechism states “certain temporal consequence of sin remain in the baptized such as suffering, illness, death and such frailties inherent in life as weaknesses ofcharacter and so on as well as an inclination to sin that Tradition call concupiscence…the tinder for sin” (CCC 1264).

Why would God allow us to suffer these effects?   God will always bring a greater good out of evil.  Because of our sin, Christ became our divine physician for our spiritual malady.  God created us perfect to enjoy paradise.  But by allowing Adam to use his free will and freedom to sin, God gives us something even better, redemption by the blood of His only Son, the second person of the Blessed Trinity.  The paradise that God created for Man was good, but our reward for “fighting the good fight” is even better.  At the Easter vigil, the Church joyfully sings “O happy fault that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer!”

Submitted by James Blankenship

St. Ignatius, Letter to the Smyrneans - On Bishops

"See that you all follow the bishop, even as Jesus Christ does the Father, and the presbytery as you would the apostles; and reverence the deacons, as being the institution of God." Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist, which is [administered] either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church. It is not lawful without the bishop either to baptize or to celebrate an agape; but whatsoever he shall approve of, that is also pleasing to God, so that everything that is done may be secure and proper.
Moreover, it is in accordance with reason that we should return to soberness [of conduct], and, while yet we have opportunity, exercise repentance towards God. It is well to reverence both God and the bishop. He who honours the bishop has been honoured by God; he who does anything without the knowledge of the bishop, does [in reality] serve the devil. Let all things, then, abound to you through grace, for you are worthy. You have refreshed me in all things, and Jesus Christ [shall refresh] you. You have loved me when absent as well as when present. May God recompense you, for whose sake, while you endure all things, you shall attain unto Him."

 

Summary - Evolution or Creation w/ Fr. William Saunders

“And God created man to his own image” … or did we evolve from apes?  That was the topic at hand for tonight’s lecture given by Fr. Saunders, Pastor at Our Lady of Hope in Potomac Falls, Virginia and frequent lecturer for the Institute of Catholic Culture. What does the Church teach about the story of Creation and the theory of Evolution?

In this day and age the modern tendency is to separate Faith from reason and reason from Faith. But Father Saunders argued that Faith and reason cannot be separated and that they must remain linked.  When considering the question of Creation versus Evolution, the Church takes the middle of the road approach and maintains the possibility of evolution under the divine direction.

The story of Genesis is the unfolding of creation: a movement from the formless wasteland to an ordered and designed creation that is good.  Each day a new part of creation was ordered and created until finally on the sixth day, God created Man in His own image.  The creation story spans over seven days.  But Fr. Saunders rhetorically asked where the Bible says that a day was a 24 hour period as most Protestants believe.  Referring to the Psalms and other parts of the scriptures, a day to the Lord is like a thousand years (Ps. 90:4; 2Peter 3:8).

What truths then are conveyed by the book of Genesis?  First and foremost, the truth expressed by the creation story is the truth that Man is created from nothing by an all powerful and loving God and that we are created in His image.  This simple yet profound truth leads to other deeper and more profound insights.  Fr Saunders pointed out six basic truths of Genesis:  1) the dignity of the human person 2) life is sacred from conception to natural death 3) marriage is sacred 4) a child has a right to a mom and dad and to be raised into a family 5) all people have a right to basic things that will help improve themselves 6) that we care for the suffering and dying.

Turing our attention to evolution, Fr. Saunders simplified the evolutionary process into big bang, formless matter, primordial slime, simple animals, complex animals, and then finally Man.  The key points of evolution are mutation, chaos, chance, natural selection, and selection of the fittest.  Each of these points is essential to the evolutionary process.  The modern evolutionary system proposes a system bereft of God.  If Darwin is correct and survival of the fittest is the nature’s modus operandi, than it makes sense to “get rid of the imbecile.”  Darwin was a proponent of eugenics and eugenics is the logical conclusion of the Darwinian evolutionary moral system.  The best and fittest must survive.

But as Fr. Saunders points out, evolution requires a certain amount of specificity for it to work.  The planets have to be just right so that each spins around the sun.  The earth has to be tilted on its axis perfectly, otherwise it would be too hot or too cold to support life.  There has to be the right amount of oxygen and plants and animals, or Man would not survive. Nature has to be precise or it would not amount to life as we know it. It has to be ordered and directed by God

When we observe nature and the world around us, we do not see chaos. Rather, we see a world that is perfectly designed and ordered by God.  The world does not operate by chance.  Pope Benedict said “only where God is seen does life truly begin; only when we meet the living God in Christ do we know when life begins.  We are not the meaningless product of chance or chaos; we are willed by God.” When considering the topic of Creation vs. Evolution, it must be remembered that the truth must be sought and that truth must include God.

Submitted by James Blankenship