For those who attended or have listened to our recent presentation on
the Hammer of the Heretics, this gives some interesting food for
thought. Check out a recent National Review article entitled "Obama, Athanasius, and the Bishops," by William F. Gavin.
Article link here:http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/291180/obama-athanasius-and-bishops-william-f-gavin
Pope Benedict XVI's Prescient Knowledge on U.S. and limits to religious freedom
Just a month ago, our Holy Father spoke to some U.S. bishops and warned them - and us - of the threats to religious freedom in the U.S. that we are seeing now in dramatic fashion. For his remarks, please visit:
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/document.php?n=1059
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/document.php?n=1059
Want to learn more about the Arians?
In his presentation yesterday evening, Christopher Check gave a great overview of the Arian heresy and recommended, for those wanting to learn more, Cardinal Newman's Arians of the Fourth Century.
You can read it for free online here.
You can read it for free online here.
Handouts from "Hammer of the Heretics: Athanasius and the Council of Nicaea"
For an outline of the lecture on St. Athanasius and the Council of Nicaea, click here.
For a map of the geographic area in which St. Athanasius lived, click here.
For a map of the geographic area in which St. Athanasius lived, click here.
Resources recommended by Deacon Keith Fournier during Ethics presentation
I hope you all find these helpful - these are most of the reference materials Deacon Keith Fournier mentioned in his lectures on Ethics. Most can be found online (don't forget the two bookshops who sponsor the Institute, The Catholic Shop and The Paschal Lamb of you're looking for print versions).
Galatians 5:1: " For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."
Click on the titles of each to go to the web version:
Letter to Diognetes
Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Documents of the Second Vatican Council
Sources of Christian Ethics, by Servais-Théodore Pinckaers O.P.
First Grace, by Russell Hittinger
Gospel of Life, by Blessed John Paul II
Splendor of Truth, ibid.
Faith and Reason, ibid.
Galatians 5:1: " For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."
Click on the titles of each to go to the web version:
Letter to Diognetes
Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Documents of the Second Vatican Council
Sources of Christian Ethics, by Servais-Théodore Pinckaers O.P.
First Grace, by Russell Hittinger
Gospel of Life, by Blessed John Paul II
Splendor of Truth, ibid.
Faith and Reason, ibid.
CDF - Note on Year of Faith
CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH
Note with pastoral recommendations for the Year of Faith
With the Apostolic Letter of 11 October 2011,
Porta fidei,
Pope Benedict XVI declared a Year of Faith. This year will begin on 11
October 2012, on the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second
Ecumenical Vatican Council, and will conclude on 24 November 2013, the Solemnity
of our Lord Jesus Christ, Universal King.
Cardinal-designate Dolan on the HHS announcement - referenced in ICC Ethics presentation
“To force American citizens to choose between violating their
consciences and forgoing their healthcare is literally unconscionable.
It is as much an attack on access to health care as on religious
freedom. Historically this represents a challenge and a compromise of
our religious liberty....The Obama administration has now drawn an unprecedented line in the sand."
HT: Whispers in the Loggia
HT: Whispers in the Loggia
Ethics "Homework"
One of the recommendations Deacon Keith made last night was to read Gaudium et Spes 22. For your convenience, we are posting it here:
"The truth is that only in the mystery of the incarnate Word does the mystery of man take on light. For Adam, the first man, was a figure of Him Who was to come, namely Christ the Lord. Christ, the final Adam, by the revelation of the mystery of the Father and His love, fully reveals man to man himself and makes his supreme calling clear. It is not surprising, then, that in Him all the aforementioned truths find their root and attain their crown.
He Who is "the image of the invisible God" (Col. 1:15), is Himself the perfect man. To the sons of Adam He restores the divine likeness which had been disfigured from the first sin onward. Since human nature as He assumed it was not annulled, by that very fact it has been raised up to a divine dignity in our respect too. For by His incarnation the Son of God has united Himself in some fashion with every man. He worked with human hands, He thought with a human mind, acted by human choice and loved with a human heart. Born of the Virgin Mary, He has truly been made one of us, like us in all things except sin.
As an innocent lamb He merited for us life by the free shedding of His own blood. In Him God reconciled us to Himself and among ourselves; from bondage to the devil and sin He delivered us, so that each one of us can say with the Apostle: The Son of God "loved me and gave Himself up for me" (Gal. 2:20). By suffering for us He not only provided us with an example for our imitation, He blazed a trail, and if we follow it, life and death are made holy and take on a new meaning.
The Christian man, conformed to the likeness of that Son Who is the firstborn of many brothers, received "the first-fruits of the Spirit" (Rom. 8:23) by which he becomes capable of discharging the new law of love. Through this Spirit, who is "the pledge of our inheritance" (Eph. 1:14), the whole man is renewed from within, even to the achievement of "the redemption of the body" (Rom. 8:23): "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the death dwells in you, then he who raised Jesus Christ from the dead will also bring to life your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who dwells in you" (Rom. 8:11). Pressing upon the Christian to be sure, are the need and the duty to battle against evil through manifold tribulations and even to suffer death. But, linked with the paschal mystery and patterned on the dying Christ, he will hasten forward to resurrection in the strength which comes from hope.
All this holds true not only for Christians, but for all men of good will in whose hearts grace works in an unseen way. For, since Christ died for all men, and since the ultimate vocation of man is in fact one, and divine, we ought to believe that the Holy Spirit in a manner known only to God offers to every man the possibility of being associated with this paschal mystery.
Such is the mystery of man, and it is a great one, as seen by believers in the light of Christian revelation. Through Christ and in Christ, the riddles of sorrow and death grow meaningful. Apart from His Gospel, they overwhelm us. Christ has risen, destroying death by His death; He has lavished life upon us so that, as sons in the Son, we can cry out in the Spirit; Abba, Father.
Taken from Gaudium et Spes: (http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_cons_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html)
P. Benedict - "Faith is in danger of being put out"
As we know, in vast areas of the earth, faith is in danger of being put out, as a flame that finds no more fuel. We find ourselves before a profound crisis of faith, before a loss of the religious sense that is the greatest challenge for today's Church. The renewal of the faith must thus be the priority in the effort of the entire Church in our day. I hope that the Year of Faith may contribute, with the cordial collaboration of all components of the People of God, to make God present in this world and may open to man acess to the faith, that he may entrust himself to that God who has loved us to the end (cf. John 13,1), in Jesus Christ, crucified and risen....
Arab Spring or Wishful Thinking?
The dangers of wishful thinking in the Middle East
Projecting Western ideas onto the Arab Spring seriously underestimates the danger of Islamism.
Last July Matthew Kaminski opined in the Wall Street Journal that the transition to democracy in the Middle East would be as easy as it was for the democracies that emerged after the fall of the Soviet empire. Alas, this was predictably not so, and has now been proven, as vote after vote has shown the strength of the Islamists, most particularly in Egypt, where they have won some 70 percent of the ballot. With his article on January 3, "Arab Democracy Is the Best Bet for a Muslim Reformation", Kaminski continues in this vein of false optimism, based upon his propensity to project Western conceptions and norms onto the Islamic world, where they are largely irrelevant.
Wishful thinking can be dangerous when it distorts reality. Here is a short list of misconceptions in his latest piece.
"The appeal of political Islam... grows when religiosity is repressed." Islamism is a reaction to modernity, not to repression. It would grow regardless. With the shackles off in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia, watch it grow even more. To think that it will diminish because it is not repressed is a dangerous fantasy. Thanks to the Arab Spring, it now has the opportunity to seize control, and most likely will do so. Democratic elections have simply revealed the strength of the view that "Islam is the answer."
"Calls for Sharia to become state law emerged only in the twentieth century, as a result of Islam's encounter with the West." Really? Sharia existed for many centuries before this encounter. The first call for state sharia enforcement came from Ibn Taymiyya in the late thirteenth century when he declared the Mongol rulers (converts to Islam) apostates because they continued to live by their tribal law, rather than by Sharia. Taymiyya laid the basis for requiring a ruler to enforce sharia if he wished to maintain his legitimacy, which is why Taymiyya is so popular among the Islamists today. The only recent sharia states have been Saudi Arabia, Taliban Afghanistan, and Sudan - those with the least amount of exposure to the West. In any case, the sharia enforcement issue emerges from the struggle within Islam, not from the encounter with the West.
"The Quran is politically agnostic and says nothing about the preferable form of government." Not quite. In Surah 3:110, the Qur'an speaks of the regime in Medina as "the best community [or nation] ever raised for mankind." Since the Qur'an is understood by almost all Muslims as coexisting eternally with God, this statement means that the Medinan concept of the "best community" obtains forever. This is why the Salafists desire to emulate it exactly, and why every major effort of reform in Islam goes back, instead of forward. It may also help explain why democracy has never arisen indigenously in the Arab Middle East.
"Salafists... practice Osama bin Laden's creed of Islam." No, bin Laden's creed of Islam is not Salafist, but came directly from the Muslim Brotherhood and is infected with its ideology, which was partially obtained from Western totalitarianism. His teacher in Saudi Arabia was Mohammed al Banna, the brother of the founder of the Muslim brotherhood, Hassan al Banna. Salafism, on the other hand, is an ancient and integral part of Islam.
Kaminski calls for a Reformation in Islam, without seeming to realize that Islamism is that Reformation. Be careful of what you wish for. One reason that the Islamic world became calcified is that the "gates of ijtihad" were closed in the Middle Ages. This meant that the authority for making original interpretations of the Koran or the hadith had been withdrawn because the sharia had, by that time, covered every possible situation in human life with a specific ruling. The Islamists today have reclaimed the authority of individual interpretation in order to wipe out the Islamic jurisprudence that stands in their way, most particularly in their use of indiscriminate violence and terrorism.
In the place of "rigid Kemalist secularism" in Turkey, Kaminski claims that there "has emerged a more dynamic society, more tolerant of differences." The 97 members of the news media in prison, including journalists, publishers and distributors (according to the Turkish Journalists' Union), and the generals jailed by the AKP might disagree, as might the persecuted businessman, who were funding media that expressed differences with the ruling party until they were charged with tax violations. The idea that a mild dose of Islamism leads to diversity is almost hilarious.
Kaminski several times quotes Iranian philosopher Dr Abdulkarim Soroush, who undoubtedly is one of the most eloquent advocates of free societies within Islam -- which may help explain his exile in the United States. However, Kaminski seems to be unaware of the most important issue that Soroush has raised regarding the relationship between theology and democracy. Soroush has said,
"You need some philosophical underpinning, even theological underpinning in order to have a real democratic system. Your God cannot be a despotic God anymore. A despotic God would not be compatible with a democratic rule, with the idea of rights. So you even have to change your idea of God."
Without a different theology within Islam, can one have democracy? This is the real problem. Unfortunately, Sunni Islam gives no sign of abandoning its theology of God as pure will and power, which has been the foundation of so much despotism in Islamic history. Muslim theologians and philosophers who propose a God of rationality often find themselves, like Dr Soroush, in exile. This is what is subverting the opportunity for a transition to democracy in the Arab Spring.
Kaminski's most egregious error comes with his closing quote of former Polish dissident and writer, Adam Michnik, "If Judaism can co-exist with democracy, any religion can." By this Kaminski means to suggest that this should be no problem for Islam. Judaism, however, gave us Genesis, in which man is described as having been created in the image and likeness of God. This revelation is the basis of our civilization, as well as the foundation of democracy. The Qur'an, on the other hand, makes explicitly clear that man is not made in God's image and to suggest otherwise is blasphemy. Therefore, it may not be as easy as Mr. Kaminski thinks.
Robert Reilly has worked in foreign policy, the military, and the arts. His most recent book is The Closing of the Muslim Mind: How Intellectual Suicide Created the Modern Islamist Crisis.
Projecting Western ideas onto the Arab Spring seriously underestimates the danger of Islamism.
Last July Matthew Kaminski opined in the Wall Street Journal that the transition to democracy in the Middle East would be as easy as it was for the democracies that emerged after the fall of the Soviet empire. Alas, this was predictably not so, and has now been proven, as vote after vote has shown the strength of the Islamists, most particularly in Egypt, where they have won some 70 percent of the ballot. With his article on January 3, "Arab Democracy Is the Best Bet for a Muslim Reformation", Kaminski continues in this vein of false optimism, based upon his propensity to project Western conceptions and norms onto the Islamic world, where they are largely irrelevant.
Wishful thinking can be dangerous when it distorts reality. Here is a short list of misconceptions in his latest piece.
"The appeal of political Islam... grows when religiosity is repressed." Islamism is a reaction to modernity, not to repression. It would grow regardless. With the shackles off in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia, watch it grow even more. To think that it will diminish because it is not repressed is a dangerous fantasy. Thanks to the Arab Spring, it now has the opportunity to seize control, and most likely will do so. Democratic elections have simply revealed the strength of the view that "Islam is the answer."
"Calls for Sharia to become state law emerged only in the twentieth century, as a result of Islam's encounter with the West." Really? Sharia existed for many centuries before this encounter. The first call for state sharia enforcement came from Ibn Taymiyya in the late thirteenth century when he declared the Mongol rulers (converts to Islam) apostates because they continued to live by their tribal law, rather than by Sharia. Taymiyya laid the basis for requiring a ruler to enforce sharia if he wished to maintain his legitimacy, which is why Taymiyya is so popular among the Islamists today. The only recent sharia states have been Saudi Arabia, Taliban Afghanistan, and Sudan - those with the least amount of exposure to the West. In any case, the sharia enforcement issue emerges from the struggle within Islam, not from the encounter with the West.
"The Quran is politically agnostic and says nothing about the preferable form of government." Not quite. In Surah 3:110, the Qur'an speaks of the regime in Medina as "the best community [or nation] ever raised for mankind." Since the Qur'an is understood by almost all Muslims as coexisting eternally with God, this statement means that the Medinan concept of the "best community" obtains forever. This is why the Salafists desire to emulate it exactly, and why every major effort of reform in Islam goes back, instead of forward. It may also help explain why democracy has never arisen indigenously in the Arab Middle East.
"Salafists... practice Osama bin Laden's creed of Islam." No, bin Laden's creed of Islam is not Salafist, but came directly from the Muslim Brotherhood and is infected with its ideology, which was partially obtained from Western totalitarianism. His teacher in Saudi Arabia was Mohammed al Banna, the brother of the founder of the Muslim brotherhood, Hassan al Banna. Salafism, on the other hand, is an ancient and integral part of Islam.
Kaminski calls for a Reformation in Islam, without seeming to realize that Islamism is that Reformation. Be careful of what you wish for. One reason that the Islamic world became calcified is that the "gates of ijtihad" were closed in the Middle Ages. This meant that the authority for making original interpretations of the Koran or the hadith had been withdrawn because the sharia had, by that time, covered every possible situation in human life with a specific ruling. The Islamists today have reclaimed the authority of individual interpretation in order to wipe out the Islamic jurisprudence that stands in their way, most particularly in their use of indiscriminate violence and terrorism.
In the place of "rigid Kemalist secularism" in Turkey, Kaminski claims that there "has emerged a more dynamic society, more tolerant of differences." The 97 members of the news media in prison, including journalists, publishers and distributors (according to the Turkish Journalists' Union), and the generals jailed by the AKP might disagree, as might the persecuted businessman, who were funding media that expressed differences with the ruling party until they were charged with tax violations. The idea that a mild dose of Islamism leads to diversity is almost hilarious.
Kaminski several times quotes Iranian philosopher Dr Abdulkarim Soroush, who undoubtedly is one of the most eloquent advocates of free societies within Islam -- which may help explain his exile in the United States. However, Kaminski seems to be unaware of the most important issue that Soroush has raised regarding the relationship between theology and democracy. Soroush has said,
"You need some philosophical underpinning, even theological underpinning in order to have a real democratic system. Your God cannot be a despotic God anymore. A despotic God would not be compatible with a democratic rule, with the idea of rights. So you even have to change your idea of God."
Without a different theology within Islam, can one have democracy? This is the real problem. Unfortunately, Sunni Islam gives no sign of abandoning its theology of God as pure will and power, which has been the foundation of so much despotism in Islamic history. Muslim theologians and philosophers who propose a God of rationality often find themselves, like Dr Soroush, in exile. This is what is subverting the opportunity for a transition to democracy in the Arab Spring.
Kaminski's most egregious error comes with his closing quote of former Polish dissident and writer, Adam Michnik, "If Judaism can co-exist with democracy, any religion can." By this Kaminski means to suggest that this should be no problem for Islam. Judaism, however, gave us Genesis, in which man is described as having been created in the image and likeness of God. This revelation is the basis of our civilization, as well as the foundation of democracy. The Qur'an, on the other hand, makes explicitly clear that man is not made in God's image and to suggest otherwise is blasphemy. Therefore, it may not be as easy as Mr. Kaminski thinks.
Robert Reilly has worked in foreign policy, the military, and the arts. His most recent book is The Closing of the Muslim Mind: How Intellectual Suicide Created the Modern Islamist Crisis.
Pope Benedict XVI Announces Year of Faith
PRINT & READ!
APOSTOLIC LETTER
“MOTU PROPRIO DATA”
“MOTU PROPRIO DATA”
PORTA FIDEI
OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF
BENEDICT XVI
BENEDICT XVI
FOR THE INDICTION OF THE YEAR OF FAITH
1. The “door of faith” (Acts 14:27) is
always open for us, ushering us into the life of communion with God and offering
entry into his Church. It is possible to cross that threshold when the word of
God is proclaimed and the heart allows itself to be shaped by transforming
grace. To enter through that door is to set out on a journey that lasts a
lifetime. It begins with baptism (cf. Rom 6:4), through which we can
address God as Father, and it ends with the passage through death to eternal
life, fruit of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, whose will it was, by the
gift of the Holy Spirit, to draw those who believe in him into his own glory
(cf. Jn 17:22). To profess faith in the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy
Spirit – is to believe in one God who is Love (cf. 1 Jn 4:8): the Father,
who in the fullness of time sent his Son for our salvation; Jesus Christ, who in
the mystery of his death and resurrection redeemed the world; the Holy Spirit,
who leads the Church across the centuries as we await the Lord’s glorious
return.
Pope Benedict & the Baptism of Christ
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Sooner
or later everything that begins on earth comes to its end, like the meadow
grass that springs up in the morning and by evening has wilted. In Baptism, however,
the tiny human being receives a new life, the life of grace, which enables him
or her to enter into a personal relationship with the Creator for ever, for the
whole of eternity. Unfortunately, human beings are capable of extinguishing
this new life with their sin, reducing themselves to being in a situation which
Sacred Scripture describes as "second death". Whereas for other
creatures who are not called to eternity, death means solely the end of
existence on earth, in us sin creates an abyss in which we risk being engulfed
for ever unless the Father who is in Heaven stretches out his hand to us. This,
dear brothers and sisters, is the mystery of Baptism: God desired to save us by
going to the bottom of this abyss himself so that every person, even those who
have fallen so low that they can no longer perceive Heaven, may find God's hand
to cling to and rise from the darkness to see once again the light for which he
or she was made. We all feel, we all inwardly comprehend, that our existence is
a desire for life which invokes fullness and salvation. This fullness is given
to us in Baptism.
We have just heard the account of the
Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan.
It was a different Baptism from that which these babies are about to receive
but is deeply connected with it. Basically, the whole mystery of Christ in the
world can be summed up in this term: "baptism", which in Greek means
"immersion". The Son of God, who from eternity shares the fullness of
life with the Father and the Holy Spirit, was "immersed" in our
reality as sinners to make us share in his own life: he was incarnate, he
was born like us, he grew up like us and, on reaching adulthood, manifested his
mission which began precisely with the "baptism of conversion"
administered by John the Baptist. Jesus' first public act, as we have just
heard, was to go down into the Jordan, mingling among repentant sinners, in
order to receive this baptism. John was naturally reluctant to baptize him, but
because this was the Father's will, Jesus insisted (cf. Mt 3: 13-15).
Why, therefore, did the Father desire this?
Was it because he had sent his Only-Begotten Son into the world as the Lamb to
take upon himself the sins of the world (cf. Jn 1: 29)? The Evangelist
recounts that when Jesus emerged from the waters, the Holy Spirit descended
upon him in the form of a dove, while the Father's voice from Heaven proclaimed
him "my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased" (Mt 3: 17). From
that very moment, therefore, Jesus was revealed as the One who came to baptize
humanity in the Holy Spirit: he came to give men and women life in abundance
(cf. Jn 10: 10), eternal life, which brings the human being back to life
and heals him entirely, in body and in spirit, restoring him to the original
plan for which he was created. The purpose of Christ's existence was precisely
to give humanity God's life and his Spirit of love so that every person might
be able to draw from this inexhaustible source of salvation. This is why St
Paul wrote to the Romans that we were baptized into the death of Christ in
order to have his same life as the Risen One (cf. Rom 6: 3-4). For this
reason Christian parents . . . bring their children to the baptismal font as
soon as possible, knowing that life which they have communicated calls for a
fullness, a salvation that God alone can give. And parents thus become
collaborators of God, transmitting to their children not only physical but also
spiritual life.
THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE
As the world around us busies
itself with dismantling all evidence of the recent Feast, we who have basked in
the glory of the dawn of the Sun of Justice remain at the side of the sacred
crib. And just as a newly espoused woman
gazes upon the jewel which betokens the love of her lover, we who have found
the pearl of great price, do not turn our eyes from the one who has come to
save our souls. Therefore, in the midst
of this great festal season, as we wonder at the mystery that has been born in
our midst, let us listen to the words of Saint Ephrem the Syrian, Father and
Doctor of the Church, and seek in them the glory of our Divine Savior.
How
gentle art thou, dear Babe! How mighty
is the omnipotent and irresistible power of thy judgment! How sweet and amiable is thy love! Who can withstand thee?
Thy
Father dwells in the high heavens; thy Mother stands on the lowly earth; who
can understand thee? If the earthly man
investigate thy nature, which surpasses the ken of mortals, it is found in the
highest heavens, hid in the vast bosom of the divinity.
If,
again, one wish to see thy Body made visible to the eye of man, lo! it lies
upon the earth: it has issued from the narrow womb of Mary, and all may see
it. The soul knows not what to think,
and the mind grows bewildered in the calculation of thy ways, O Jesus, rich
Lord and God!
Thy
divinity is shut beneath a twofold barrier; yet art thou, and I confess it, an
immeasurable ocean to him who attempts to fathom thee, even now that thou hast
humbled thy greatness to our littleness.
When we seek for a sight of thee, we see thee a Man, having hoped to see
thee as the great God; and when we wish to look upon thee as Man, then
straightaway is our eye struck and dazzled by the bright splendor of thy
Divinity.
And
who would think thee to be the Heir of David’s throne? Instead of costly furniture, thou hast but a
crib; instead of the regal palaces, thou hast but a cave; instead of the richly
caparisoned steeds, there stands near thee one poor ass.
Yet,
dear Babe, how lovely art thou! Accessible to all, and meeting with thy smile
all who come to thee! Thy love is verily
the love of one who longeth after men, as a hungry man that longeth after
bread.
Thou
welcomest to thee, with a like affection, strangers and thy kindred, women and
thy Mother, impure prostitutes, and the Virgin that feeds thee at her
breast. And how is this? Is it the sweet condescension of thy heart,
or is it the love wherewith thou lovest all things thou hast made, that has
brought thee to this excess of affection?
What
is it that induces thee to stoop thus towards all, rich and poor, and run even
to them that ask thee not to come?
Whence hast thou this inclination to love us men so much?
What
charity is this, that if a man insults thee, thou art not indignant? Or if he threaten thee, thou fearest not to
go to him? Or if he treat thee with
cruelty, there is not a wrinkle on thy brow?
Ah! thy charity is of another sort from theirs, who persecute them that
do them wrong and who seek revenge upon their enemies!
Teach us, O’ Lord, the humility
with which you are humble! Teach us,
O’Lord the love with which thou lovest!
Teach us, O’Lord to see rightly and to perceive in You the glory of the
Eternal God.
Posted by Deacon Sabatino
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.
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.
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
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)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)