on church and liturgy

Prayer for the Unborn

2012-01-25T20:05:00.000-06:00

Here is a prayer of Pope Benedict XVI for the unborn.

Faith - a spiritual and religious exercise

2012-01-25T17:56:00.001-06:00

The traditional Gospel reading for last Sunday, the Third Sunday after Epiphany, is Matthew 8:1-13. This is a good example of faith and worship together. In this case, we see the faith of the leper and then of the centurion, whose servant was at home with palsy. Both of these men approach Jesus in faith and in a posture of worship. Of the centurion, Jesus marvels and says that he has not "found such great faith, not even in Israel." It is not hard to see the connection between faith and healing in this text. Yet, we also see the leper at worship and the centurion with all of his authority pleading to Jesus that he is not worthy enough for Jesus to come under his roof (or for Jesus to come into his home). (This humility we echo in receiving the Body and Blood of the Lord in the blessed Eucharist.)

Popular Christianity emphasizes faith in connection with health, wealth, success and prosperity. Although now another extreme in the opposite direction seems to have captured the imagination and occupied the hearts of some. Jumping beyond these materialistic answers to faith, this text relates faith to worship and a right worship involves faith in Christ. Faith and worship go together. As the Introit says, "Adore God, all you His Angels."

Since worship is tied to religion and religious practice this all gets tossed about with the popular notion of being "spiritual" without being "religious." In other words, we can be "spiritual" without the trappings of "religion" and, lately, Jesus is "spiritual" but not "religious". There is a lot packed into why people may feel obligated to make this distinction. Certainly, faith is every day and not just attendance at worship. Yet there is also the consideration that if faith is every day then coming to God in worship is included in that daily faith. That is, faith does not pit worship against life or vice versa. Neither, it may be argued, would faith pit being spiritual and being religious against each other, or Jesus against religion.

No religious person denies that Jesus is spiritual. While Jesus abhorred religious abuse and corruption he did not abolish religion or religious practice. This idea about Jesus is more a contemporary sentiment. Jesus, on the contrary, comes to "fulfill" the law. This fulfillment has a lot to do with our salvation, especially since we are sinners. How then is it that Jesus, who is "spiritual" is also "religious?" Take another look at the Gospel from last Sunday. The Evangelist records that after healing the leper of his leprosy, Jesus says to him, "...go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." Jesus leads the leper, a man of faith, to fulfill the religious requirements.

To those who study and hear the Scripture this is nothing new. Yet to the "spiritual" minded who may have drifted away from religion and religious practice this upholding of religious practice by Jesus may be something to consider, and consider seriously. For Jesus is certainly not interested in undermining the healed leper's faith. This would not be spiritually wise. Rather, faith sees the place where the material and immaterial, the invisible and visible, or the human and divine, come together. It is not as simple as rationalizing a distinction between what is spiritual from what is religious and creating a faith that I am comfortable with. Jesus is a religious man and by faith we meet him spiritually and religiously in worship.

"Adore God, all you His Angels."

Comment: another angle on the liturgy

2012-01-14T13:25:00.000-06:00

This is a general comment intended to encourage appreciation of the liturgy for what it is.

It is easy for Lutherans to criticize the traditional Roman liturgy and/or the Orthodox liturgy. The main reason for this being, of course, that they are not Lutheran. Yet neither the traditional Roman liturgy nor the Orthodox liturgy even attempt to follow whatever the Lutheran liturgy is. Should they? I think not. If anything, we can learn some things from the historic liturgy even when it means going against the trends. Unfortunately, there are many factors involved in this learning that makes such learning difficult and it is certainly not for everyone. However, two factors in the liturgy may be recognized and upheld: continuity and organic form. We can do better to uphold any continuity with the historic liturgy than boast in experiments. Also, there is an organic form in the liturgy that even Lutherans recognize in the liturgies in the hymnal. There is liturgy and the parts of the liturgy work together and support each other in forming a greater whole. This is why, among Lutherans, the hymnal is preferred to ongoing miscellaneous and diverse changes. When there is a grasp of continuity and organic form, one can recognize and appreciate, also in the Lutheran hymnal, parts of the liturgy that are both catholic and orthodox.

Recently, I drove down a street where two church signs displayed their worship schedule. One church, evangelical protestant, calls its services, "Blended" and "Modern." The other church, Lutheran, calls its services, "Contemporary" and "Traditional." Something is lost here with descriptive labels of worship such as these. Likely, most people do not pay close attention to such things. This is a plea to take time and give it some thought. If worship is meant to bring people in contact and communion with God these labels seem to say more about appealing to people's tastes. They describe forms of worship but the emphasis on worship itself is lost. The historic liturgy is helpful in providing a different view. Even though it may be bucking the trends, give me a church that uses the time-worn and more universal understanding of what worship is. Take, for example, "Liturgy," "Divine Liturgy," "Divine Worship," "Divine Service," "Holy Communion," "Eucharist" or "Mass." While such terminology is not a certain guarantee that what goes on inside the church has not been altered greatly, the terminology offers at least a promise in substance, some continuity, organic form, universality or catholicity, and a hint that the church is consciously serious about worship.

A religious question

2012-01-13T20:05:00.002-06:00

The posts on this blog are usually my personal analysis of things I perceive so there is always room for error in either perception or analysis/thoughts or both.

In recent years we have passed through the evangelistic efforts of New Atheism. I understand generally the main arguments posed and although I do not agree with them my interests are elsewhere so I am not versed here. Probably the biggest concern I have is not differences of opinion and thought but the underlying theme of doing away with all religions, churches and faith. Not that this could ever really happen. My mentioning this here now is somewhat immaterial for the trend, like many religious trends also do, has pretty much come and gone except maybe on the university campuses. I can also learn more sometimes by reading about topics of interest to me in a quiet corner far away from the he said / he said debates which are necessary and also of benefit.

My perceptions of trends sometimes have a lot to do with the titles of books I see in bookstores and those things people talk about while in bookstores. One trend which is not new but which seems to be making a comeback on the Christian side of things is the idea of Jesus without "the Church" or Jesus without "religion." Two points to make here. First, Jesus is distinguished from both "the Church" and "religion" in the sense that He is good (which He is) and they are bad, for whatever the reason or reasons. Second, Jesus, apart from the Church and religion here is really saying something like I know my Jesus and He is mine and the Church, religion and anything else for that matter is not going to change this. This type of dissection of Jesus from the Church and religion is especially common in the American protestant, fundamentalist and/or evangelical thinking. This is not a new teaching and may be traced to before the reformation. Even the primary reformation churches would have difficulty with this thinking and some still do. In brief, Christianity has gone through many changes and this thinking is very individualistic, which is not surprising in America today.

Dissecting Jesus from the Church and/or religion may be an idealistic effort to teach a "pure" gospel to the unchurched or the atheist. But it fails, because we fail. Also, and more dangerously, it reflects, at the least, an embarrassment with the Church and/or religion. Because the Church and religion are not what they are without people in them they too are not perfect. There is only one Man who is holy and truly perfect. Is it more about me knowing Jesus better than anyone else or is it my inability to accept that others may share the same faith? There is no need to recite a plethora of Scripture passages to counter this thinking for, I believe, that the "me and my Jesus" thinking is as far removed from Scripture as the "me and my Bible" thinking.

If we want to hold up a separate Jesus we need to first take him at his words. He does not separate Himself from the Church or the religious life of His followers. Rather He creates and sustains the one holy Church. He begins His ministry by being baptized. He builds His Church in connection with Peter and Peter's confession of Who he is. Before He leaves His disciples He gives them an apostolic mandate to make disciples of all nations through baptism and teaching. Finally, before His death on the cross, He gives His Church the Holy Supper of His Body and Blood, a Holy Communion.

Religion is defined as the belief in and worship of something greater than what is human, especially a personal God or gods or a particular system of faith and worship. In Christianity, the Church plays this role as the very creation of the Lord who Himself is worshiped. In Christianity, that is, the Church, people are drawn together into the one true faith in God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost/Spirit through the Lord Jesus Christ. In the Sacraments people receive the same Gifts and are made part of the same spiritual reality. This is a religious thing. This reality is not derived from or dependent on the sameness or differences among the people. In the end, within Christianity, a separation of Jesus from one's concept of what the Church and/or religion is (or should be), is at the least, unrealistic and, at the most, false. That is, Jesus does not want to be yours alone. Did He really leave His Church?

This is why we confess the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. This is why, even when there are atheists, there is religion in the world.

lighten up

2012-01-06T14:01:00.001-06:00

It is still the time of Christmas and this ends today with the "Twelfth Day," or, the Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord. This feast originated early in the East and today is a celebration of both Jesus' birth and baptism. In the West the Gospel is the account of the visit of the Magi. The Baptism of Our Lord comes on the octave of this feast. Traditionally, the Western Church hears the Gospel of the boy Jesus in the Temple on the Sunday in the octave, though now it is common to find the Epiphany celebrated on the closest Sunday. These days of Epiphany are among the richest of the year, a celebration of divine "revelation" or "manifestation" combining the blessed Incarnation with the visit of the Magi, Jesus' boyhood visit to the Temple and later baptism. Epiphany leaves off where the Christ-Mass began.

In terms of origin Epiphany is one of the oldest feasts and, like Christmas, Epiphany replaced a pagan solstice festival. Here Christians come to know Mary's son as the Light in this world.

Pro family

2012-01-05T12:17:00.000-06:00

This morning I received a notice from one of the social networks saying that a pro-family group was following me. This group, unknown to me, describes itself as supportive of all types of families. With so many pro-family groups out there I decided to block this follower.

While we are on the pro-family topic, there is a stereo-type that following the historic liturgy of the Church is anti-family. This belies more a suspicion of the liturgy than any basis in fact. Historically, the family worshipped together. The text of the historic liturgy speaks to people of all ages and conditions.

Today, attempts at creating specialized services to appeal to different age groups and basing these services on musical tastes seems to result instead in dividing the family into separate worship units. The focus of worship is lost in the process. The primary focus of worship, being divine in nature, shifts to the musical tastes themselves, that is, reflecting man's nature.

Fortunately, this is not true everywhere. The historic liturgy of the Church, when and where it is found, continues to unite saints of all ages in the one true faith, while upholding the future of the family, a divine creation.

synching of traditions

2012-01-04T12:33:00.000-06:00

This year New Year's Day fell on a Sunday. New Year's Day is full of traditions which we enjoy, beginning, of course, with New Year's Eve. I rarely stay up to meet the midnight hour, although this year I made it to 11:00 p.m., which was midnight in another timezone. Within Christianity, following some trends to be more user-friendly, certainly some churches gave their parishioners a "day off" as some have done on Christ-mass Day in years past. I am not so sure about bowing down here.

This year the traditions synched - New Years' Day on a Sunday, or the "Lord's Day," an ancient Christian tradition originating in the Lord's Resurrection. This year Sunday was also the Octave Day of the Nativity, a continuation of the celebration. Traditionally too, Sunday was the Feast of the Circumcision. Monday was the Holy Name of Jesus. All combined, New Year's Day this year became a happy coincidence, with the continuation of Christmas being recognized in a fulfillment of the Law (this means that the Law, coming from God, is a good thing) in Jesus' circumcision and his being given the Holy Name, the Savior's name. It is not hard to get from the blessed Incarnation to Mary, being the Mother of God, when God is with us.

Back to traditions. Nothing wrong with Santa Claus, Christmas trees, Christmas lights, gift-giving and having one's drink (in moderation) during the festive season. These are good traditions of family and friends. So too, the children of God recognize holiness for what it is and receive their gifts on the Lord's Day as part of the sacred Tradition. God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts. This year the Tradition re-vitalized as it synched itself with the new year.

When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son . . . In Him, the son of Mary, we are sons and heirs. Jesus was given His name by the angel before He was even conceived in the womb. At His circumcision he was so named. At our Baptism we received the Holy Spirit and the Name given us before we were born. There is something here about us too participating in the coming of the fullness of time.

We tend to lean against traditions as if they will bring us down, when really it is about picking and choosing. As sinners, we shy away from holy things. In a secular age we do not know what to think about holiness. Not so for the sons of God who from baptism have the Spirit of God's Son in our hearts. On this year's New Year's day, a Sunday, traditions synched for those who live in both the world and the Church. Holy tradition is a re-vitalizing thing. With the new year we recognize the holiness of God, as we are so given in hearing His Holy Word and in Christ's true Body and Blood in the blessed Eucharist. Holiness and forgiveness are connected.

There is something about the coming together of time and its holiness, the fullness of time, when eight days were completed. Let us enjoy the New Year and let us bask in the glory of this year's New Year's Day. As the psalmist says, "A sanctified day has shone upon us: come ye Gentiles and adore the Lord: for this day a great light hath descended upon the earth."

An Advent meditation

2011-12-22T07:48:00.000-06:00

As we begin this new church year we rely on God’s grace and power to come and strengthen us in the faith. Our sin hinders Jesus’ coming to us. It is more natural for us to go our own way rather than gladly hear and obey God’s word. Although Jesus was risen from the dead, it was only when he appeared to Thomas that Thomas believed and confessed, “My Lord and my God!” It is not that he did not want to believe, he simply couldn’t believe without Jesus’ gracious coming to him first. This is how it is with us. We are hindered by our sins yet God is merciful to us. Hence we need and look forward to Jesus’ coming, that we may know that grace that overcomes sin, death and hell, bringing instead God’s merciful forgiveness. Every opportunity to hear God’s word is an opportunity to know Him and His salvation, to know His grace and power in working out our salvation. Advent reminds us that the Lord is nearer to us than when we first believed. We look forward to Jesus’ return as we look forward to the solemn celebration of His nativity.

We hear the account of Jesus’ birth from Matthew the Evangelist. Before this account Matthew gives a genealogical account of Jesus going back to David and Abraham. Jesus’ coming is foretold by the prophet, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, “God with us.” The people of God looked forward to the coming Messiah. They lived by faith in the promise of Abraham and awaited Him who would reign forever on the throne of David. The genealogy of Jesus from David comes through Joseph, but it is through Mary that He comes a child of the Holy Spirit, “God with us.” The Apostle Paul calls this baby, “[God’s] Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” We know Jesus is connected to the Cross because the angel of the Lord says “He will save His people from their sins.” Here Paul connects Jesus, born of the seed of David, declared the Son of God, with the resurrection from the dead. Jesus risen from the dead appeared to Thomas and the other disciples and by His grace and power they believed. He ascended into heaven “and He shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end.” How can we look forward to Jesus’ return? He has already appeared and come to us in Baptism. Here in the waters of forgiveness of sins is the grace and power, to make confession like Thomas, “My Lord and My God” and “I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.”

God’s grace and power comes to us. Through Christ Jesus we have received God’s grace and power. The crooked shall become straight, and the rough ways plain. Where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation. Jesus comes in fulfillment of God’s promise through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures. Still, He comes to us in the hearing of these same Scriptures and prepares us here on earth for the glory He has prepared for us in heaven. So even at the end of the day, even as we sit in the darkness before another night’s rest, we live by God’s grace and power in the brightness of the saints. Jesus comes and brings to us the brightness of light eternal. We rely on God’s grace and power to come and strengthen us in the faith, the same faith of Thomas who saw the risen Lord. And God’s grace and power keeps coming to us. Soon we celebrate this coming in the flesh. His name is Jesus.

the Sussex Carol

2011-12-13T21:36:00.000-06:00

At a choral concert on Sunday I heard the Sussex Carol.

A story in the history of this popular British carolcaught my eye. The carol was first published by an Irish bishop in 1684. Vaughn Williams apparently heard it sung in Sussex, England, and wrote down the text and tune.The tune we generally hear today is the Vaughn Williamstune of 1919.

Here is the text of the first stanza from the Ralph Vaughn Williams version:

On Christmas night all Christians sing
To hear the news the angels bring.
News of great joy, news of great mirth,
News of our merciful King's birth.

Christ-mas in America

2011-12-13T20:40:00.000-06:00

What is so controversial about this?

an online survival guide for clergy

2011-12-10T08:56:00.001-06:00

In surviving online, the clergy face three challenges:1) Maneuvering from the left (may come in the form of mind games; it's all relative/-istic)2) Mind games from the right (may come in the form of maneuvering)3) Mayhem from the faithful.There is no escaping these challenges. What, then, can be done? After years of study, research and experience, there may now be a solution. Research has discovered that these challenges may be solved by eating M&Ms (dark chocolate or peanut butter).

Reformation in reverse

2011-12-09T21:26:00.001-06:00

Some blogs are rightly abuzz. Check here and here regarding a retired Lutheran bishop's feeble attempt to teach the Catholic bishops. The Catholic bishops here are clearly on the side of truth and the blogs cut to the chase. This is another sad chapter in the demise of mainline protestantism and another news item that makes clearer to the public the distinction between the Lutheran synods. How things have changed in 500 years . . .

Mary's blessedness, a good thing for us

2011-12-07T13:29:00.001-06:00

This week the vast majority of Christians in the world will be reminded of the genealogy of Mary and Jesus. Both the Western Church and the Eastern Church recognize the Blessed Virgin's Conception, on the 8th and 9th, respectively. Most in the protestant tradition, heirs of the reformation, will not even notice. There may rise some reactions here and there to the Catholic understanding of the Immaculate Conception or how any emphasis on Mary may sidetrack us from Christmas. Otherwise, these are days like any other.

Sometimes our reactions get in the way. The very Word we uphold brings us to pause and marvel at the greater realities. We appreciate Mary's humility before the Angel Gabriel when she says, "Let it be to me according to your word," especially after she hears unbelievable things about how the birth and naming of Jesus would come about. Certainly, this is something of divine action and power. This is the word of the Lord.

What of Mary's birth? We know little. Yet her birth is part of the greater plan in the birth of Him who was and is incarnate, a divine genealogy. My tradition might question the immaculate conception of Mary yet Jesus' birth demonstrates that nothing is outside His power, "and holy is His Name."

Therefore, in terms of appreciating what God is doing through Mary, the debate tends to distract. It is a worthy debate but not one for me to pursue here and now. Rather, what is it that draws attention to Mary as the "Blessed Virgin," "Our Lady," and the "Theotokos?" Here again we return to the words of the angel, "Rejoice, highly favored one, [or "Hail, full of grace,"], the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!"

Leave it to the mysterious grace and mercy of God to regard the low estate of His handmaiden and then to have her called blessed by all generations. This is not a post-reformation contest between Mary and Jesus but a recognition of ongoing greater realities at work in the genealogy of Mary and God's only begotten Son.

Advent, a time for liturgical renewal

2011-11-30T10:17:00.001-06:00

What a busy time. Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber-Monday. Creeping in quietly in this list, last Sunday - Ad te levávi - the beginning of the church year.

More than ever there is need for renewal - in our repentance for pushing God out of our lives and schedules. Especially, renewal in God's mercy that we receive together with God's people in the blessed Eucharist.

The first week of Advent is a plea for God to deliver us from our sins. We pray that He show us His ways and teach us His paths. As we approach the celebration of the blessed Incarnation of the Son of God we approach too our redemption. Our redemption is at hand. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Our salvation is nearer than when we believed.

Four weeks in Advent. Undoubtedly overshadowed by the Christ-Mass. Still, no reason to neglect now the words of the Lord nor His coming and nearness to us in the blessed sacrament, our daily sustenance.

This is a good time for renewal, a good time to step aside from the all the entertainment, especially in the Church, and, in preparation, receive the Lord's mercy in the midst of His temple.

One and ninety-nine in our time . . .

2011-11-23T21:55:00.000-06:00

A thought comes across my mind almost daily that when I get to the pearly gates I will have to confess to St. Peter that I failed at social media. Simply put, information overload - definitely not something I can keep up with daily.

On another note, I cannot help but see the contrast in themes between Thanksgiving and whatever is occupying some people as these events overlap in our time. As one who does not fit in either the 1% nor the supposed "99%" I am encouraged by the attitude of the one leper, who like the faithful few, appreciate a connection between faith and thanksgiving on a daily basis. It's true, they all had faith and were healed. Then one broke away from the other nine and took the better road.

At least there is a pass-Word to get into heaven.

for ever

2011-11-02T11:12:00.000-05:00

Looking back a little over fifty years I am still grateful for the time when water was applied to my forehead "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost" by the local pastor. This was a gentle washing and conversion in Christ. There was no threat of death toward my family or myself to convert to this religion. Neither was I bound in baptism to be subject to the local congregation or denomination. Neither were my parents forcing their views on a helpless infant. This was and is a gift of grace and union with God in Christ. It could have happened later in life had my parents not believed and later I came to the faith as a young person or adult. In my case, as an infant, I was totally helpless, a sure physical witness to the reality of spiritual need for rebirth.

Having the name of the holy God placed on me in baptism I literally became a "child of God" so that God is indeed my Father in heaven. I was baptized into Christ, into His death and resurrection. My sin and death were buried and I was raised to new life in Christ. This is the life of the forgiveness of sins flowing from the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. I was given the Holy Spirit, the very Spirit of life.

Christians and Christianity are taking a beating - not only around the world where they are killed simply for being Christians and not only from secularism that denies what it cannot see - primarily, we take a beating here and now when we, thinking a need for another baptism, forget that we have already received God's Spirit. We lose greatly when we divide the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit that we received in Holy Baptism, or look for a new spirit. Living in the one baptism we have already received, we sin, but we are not left without the Gift God has poured out on us. When the sacrament has been properly administered there is never again any need for those who have been baptized to be baptized again, ever.

We hurt ourselves greatly when we separate God from His work, His gifts of salvation for us. We also divide the one Spirit when we are tempted to think that another baptism will better the last or be more truly that of the Spirit. So the Apostle reminds and encourages us to be "careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. One body and one Spirit; as you are called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism."

One baptism connects us to the one Lord in the one faith through the one Spirit. If, in baptism, God gives eternal mercy to helpless infants and those who have come to the faith later in life then faith says, "leave it at that." Rejoice in the Gift you have received. Return to it to be washed from your sins.If you are baptized maybe the best reason not to be baptized again is that baptism does not depend on you. Once is enough. He knows what He is doing and He is looking out for you, not just today and not just for fifty years, but for ever.

A.D. 2011

2011-10-06T08:22:00.001-05:00

In recent years, when I teach an occasional religion, Christian history or theology class I have noticed a change inhow the calendar is depicted in textbooks. The traditional B.C. and A.D. are being replaced with B.C.E. and C.E.There is always the need to draw this change to the students' attention, explain the change and then questionand critique the change.

It is with interest that I came across an online article showing the Vatican daily L’Osservatore Romano criticizing the BBC for making the change. The article describes well some of the challenges to the traditional rendering of the calendar.

The change is unnecessary. Challenging this change also draws attention to the fact that Christianity is very muchin favor of history, for it has just as much to do with our future.

unity in theology

2011-10-01T10:55:00.000-05:00

A recent reading from the liturgy says,

Therefore thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: " . . . They will hallow My name, And hallow the Holy One of Jacob, And fear the God of Israel. These also who erred in spirit will come to understanding, And those who complained will learn doctrine.” (Is. 29)

The last line of this reading stands out. There is a tendency to pit doctrine againstthe liturgy and vice versa. These words show that there is no need for such a false dichotomy - the liturgy here sees doctrine as a good thing. Hence the lex orandi, lex credendi.

Traditionalists rightly point out that this reading is not part of the lectionary. Onlythe Gospel and Epistle are read. Even "traditionalist" Lutherans do not alwaysfollow the traditional route. That may be a Lutheran thing.

On a related note, I read something historical which helps provide a clue tothe mystery why there seems to be a tension between exegetes and the liturgy,something I attributed in the past to merely a difference in focus. This is somethingwith much history:

"It is with Origen that devotion to the letter of Scripture and concern to referto the original text come to take on a new importance. Science will gainfrom this. But the living relationship between Scripture and tradition is onthe way to being compromised." (Danielou, Couratin and Kent, 54)

This helps to explain the false tension today between liturgy is prayerand liturgy as mere structure. Rather, the liturgy calls on us to both "hallow [God's] name" and "learn doctrine." After all, faith "comesfrom hearing."

ongoing

2011-09-30T11:28:00.000-05:00

"This glory does not extend over the present time only, as if terminating in the age to come. Rather, it extends throughout all generations and all ages. It is eternally ineffable. It abides, develops and increases." - St. Jerome on Ephesians 3:21 (ACCS, VIII, 157)

Do good works exist?

2011-09-25T15:45:00.000-05:00

A while back I posted on the topic of the "goodness" of good works, not as a denial of sin and its effects, but to emphasize the essential "goodness" of good works. While they do not come from us they can be done in and through us. I have not read that post recently but, if I remember, this is the basic gist. All depends on a merciful God. However, and even if works are not meritorious, this does not mean that they are not "good." Once again the emphasis is on where the "good" works come from. Also, there is no question of claiming goodness since these works are worked to glorify the Father in heaven.

"Antinomianism" may rightly be attributed to Lutheranism on certain occasions. Sometimes, we hear works spoken of disparagingly in an attempt to clarify a position on justification. Sometimes this disparaging talk is so successful it leads one to wonder even if good works "exist." "Anti-nomianism" means "against the law." This is sometimes understood, mistakenly, to advance ideas that the law does not pertain to us because we are saved by faith. This may take the form of the law no longer applies to me or I am now "above" the law.

Recent side reading on "antinomianism" and a reading from the liturgy brought this topic back to my attention. This is the wonder of the liturgy. In addition to being prayer, all of it is worth hearing and given to us as a reminder that God visits His people. In one reading from the liturgy the Apostle says, "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." He encourages the church to live not according to the sinful flesh. He adds, "For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith."

The Apostle encourages doing good in the context of living and walking in the Spirit. "And let us not grow weary while doing good . . ." ". . . as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith." This is not a matter of sanctimony, although it brings into question disparaging talk of works and antinomianism. Other types of living and walking are outside the context of eternal life.

The cross is the central good work for our salvation. Jesus died for all sins and was raised in the body in the Spirit. By connection in baptism, we "walk in newness of life." This is like the Word calling light into existence. God says "Let there be light." And there is. The Word brings into existence good works.They are not just declared from afar with no effect on or in the hearer. Disparaging talk of works gets nowhere, nor is it Scriptural. Mary says, "Let it be done to me according to Your word." The Word is made flesh. In Christ, every good work exists.

at all times

2011-09-07T18:28:00.002-05:00

I will bless the Lord at all times. (Benedicam Dóminum in omni témpore.)
Psalm 33/34

This passage, from the Introit, grabs my attention for its ideal approach. In context these arewords of King David. Together with the following verses the thrust of these words is thecontinuous praise of God among the humble.

One natural reaction in hearing these words, even among the faithful, is to think of everythingthat is wrong in the world and in one's life or in one's day. It is difficult, if not impossible, to hold on to such an attitude of praise let alone carry out any continuous action of the same. This is the irony - that words that speak of praise of God may raise negative and sinful thoughts out of us.

The above reaction is natural and quick. Now, however, I am considering other thoughtsaround the words "at all times." It is somewhat common for people to remember that Godis omnipresent, that He is everywhere, and that He is especially with us at all times. As He is not only omnipresent but also loving toward us it is not too much of a stretch tofind rationale for being one with God - without the Church. We know God loves us and thatHe cares for us, that He is with us, and that our future is in His hands. Is this not whatJesus teaches us? With this picture, it is easy to let go of that which we may perceiveor may be mis-taught as getting between God and us.

With polarization in society, the Church is not immune. But the church is not the Churchwithout Christ who has created her and who sustains us in this world. If there is a centeror a unity it only comes from Him. In Christ, the words of the psalmist come out in a new way. He promises, "I am with you always to the end of the age." The Son of Manis with us as the very God who we know is omnipresent. He is with us "at all times."That is the point. He is not only with us when we are viewing the mountains and the ocean or meditating on our own. He is with us, and is especially here for us as ourrighteousness, in church, in the liturgy of the holy Word and blessed Eucharistgiven to His humble people, those who seek God's mercy in faith.

Here King David is speaking for himself. He says, "I will bless ..." "His praise shall continually bein my mouth." But this is not just King David. It is not just about God and me. So he adds,

"Oh, magnify the Lord with me,And let us exalt His name together."

David's words remind us that "at all times" is not just every other time and place outside church.Good times or bad, I am part of a people who are also one with God in Christ. "At all times," evenin church.

like grass with water

2011-09-03T13:23:00.001-05:00

Here is a picture of grass. Judging by the condition of the grass the reader rightly concludes that this grass has had no water for some time. One may also attempt to determine the geographical location of this grass. For example, this year, this grass could be in New Mexico, or in Arizona, or in Wisconsin within one mile of Lake Michigan.

We are reminded that all flesh is grass. What better day for rain to fall than today, following baptism, the washing of regeneration.

one step forward, two steps back

2011-08-23T11:45:00.000-05:00

Since there is no time to write a multi-tome volume set on the nature and history of anti-catholicism and how it hurts both Christian theology and Christianity in general I will share a pithy saying I heard at seminary: "Gentlemen, it is not Word and Sacrament ministry, but Word and Music ministry."

Does this not summarize well why and how, in part, the pastoral ministry is and will always be an uphill climb?

a divine ministry?

2011-08-19T07:39:00.002-05:00

How does one approach the idea that the holy ministry is not of divine origin? This idea, apparently and expectedly of secular origin, is also advanced by a group here and there among us. We expect ideas such as this to be of secular origin. When they are found among us they are opportunities to revisit what we have received.

No one questions the humanity of those who are called and ordained. Yet God still uses men such as Peter to carry on His ministry and through them blesses His work.

Scripture shows the same Jesus instituting holy baptism and the holy supper and then, in post-resurrection glory, breathing his Holy Spirit on his apostles with the charge of advancing the forgiveness and retention of sins for the sake of His Church. Before His Ascension into heaven, Jesus leaves His apostles with both a mandate and a promise. There are many other instances where Jesus advances His ministry among the apostles for ongoing work among people.

Is this divine work? This depends on how one looks at Jesus. Is he mere man? Is he a divine man who acts divinely on some occasions and then humanly on others? For instance, when instituting baptism and the sacrament of the altar does he act on a divine basis and then when instituting the ministry does he act only on a human basis? If Jesus is both divine and man, how do we know when he is working divinely and when he is merely working as man?

Christianity doubts neither the divinity nor the humanity in the one person of the Son of God. For the Christian, this effectively answers the question posed above. The ministry is no less of divine origin than the blessed sacraments because they originate from the same source, Jesus of Nazareth, "the only-begotten Son of God . . . God of God, Light of Light . . . who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary and was made man . . ." This means too that the work of salvation on the cross is of divine effect.

The divinity of Christ may appear preposterous to the secular mind. This is to be expected. Equally preposterous is the above idea, advanced by some Christians themselves, of a ministry that is not of divine origin. A more pertinent question considered among us may be whether or not the ministry follows in the tradition of the apostles.

Processions

2011-08-05T13:27:00.002-05:00

Recently, at a museum, I saw a display of a formal funeral procession which was held in honor of a leader of high honor. It makes me wonder why processions in church might be discouraged, even on festival days.

the simultaneous life of the saints

2011-07-19T15:41:00.003-05:00

Back from a brief silence that included a vacation.

This post is rated for adults (please see the disclaimer below).

Lutheran teaching is quite clear concerning the merits of Mary and the Saints, that salvation is not gained through their merits. This is a huge topic, one too big for this particular post. I only mention this because not mentioning this will detract some readers from the focus of this post.

The apostle says, "perfect love casts out fear." A quick rejoinder, "we are sinners there is no perfect love." Good, we are sinners, we know that. Now back to the words, "perfect love casts out fear." Why does the apostle write this or why is anything written in the Scripture if we are sinners? Why does God do any good if we are sinners? Are not these words written to and for us? Can we not be led by God who creates faith to trust in "perfect love."

In my preparations I came across some hymns recently that mention Mary and the Saints. One hymn calls Mary "the bearer of the eternal Word." Another hymn says, "sing with all the saints in glory." Finally, another hymn says, "how firm a foundation, O saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in His excellent Word."

I am not so struck by the words of these hymns. They reflect the reality of the one church in heaven and earth existing simultaneously in communion in Christ. Rather, I am struck by the cynicism and fear that the words "Mary" and "the saints" cause us. Are these people not in Scripture? Are they not upheld there? Ought we fear them? Do not their examples inspire us? Do they not reflect God's good work in people? Are they not blessed? Do we really trust what God's Word says about them?

The Apostle says, "Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world." Our boldness in the day of judgment is possible through Him who was judged for us on the cross. I personally am not afraid of Mary and the Saints. They mean us no eternal harm. Rather they reflect the glory of the one Mediator. Rather than bring me cynicism and fear they remind me of the great salvation of the Lord. Did not Mary say, "my soul magnifies the Lord?"

As one hymn that previously mentioned the saints says, "Fear not! I am with you, O be not dismayed . . ." What about perfect love? God is love. He sent His only begotten Son into the world, born of the blessed virgin Mary. In Him we are given salvation and made saints, together with those who now live in heaven, an ongoing communion under the Church's head, Christ our Lord.

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DISCLAIMER: Different church bodies have different doctrines or teachings. Discussing doctrines or theology on this blog when there may be similar or united belief in doctrine does not equate with unity or union of churches or promotion of the same. This is simply a blog that discusses theology and other topics.

A crisis to fear or the deliverance of the body

2011-07-13T15:21:00.008-05:00

It is a trend today to ponder the earth in terms of crisis.

This week I have been pondering the earth in a sense that I heard in a reading on Sunday. The apostle speaks of the earth as "creation" and the creation is painted in terms of present sufferings and "the glory which shall be revealed in us." That is, the author draws a parallel between the creation "subjected to futility" with the plight and hope of the children of God. It is even described as the creation eagerly awaiting "for the revealing of the sons of God."

The apostle alludes to baptism, that is "we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit."

There is the idea that all of creation suffers with birth pangs and so too those have these firstfruits. The present includes labor and groaning and waiting. The creation waits for deliverance and so do we. The apostle writes, "because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God." The creation is tied to the children of God in terms of deliverance.

So the creation is "corrupt?" This is not how we are normally led to look at "Mother Earth." The apostle offers a different picture. It is corruption in all of creation as it is in us. But this is not a fact to simply rub in the wounds when we are down. These sufferings, this futility, this labor and groaning is only temporary, a part of a bigger picture that brings hope and redemption.

We see this all working out in the death and resurrection of our Lord. So "bondage of corruption" is changed into "glorious liberty" and those born in sin are changed to await "the redemption of our body." From dust we are and to dust we will return. But the real end foreseen in the resurrection from the dead is the redemption of the body together with our Creator in eternal glory.

During the summer months we enjoy the fruits of creation. Autumn and Winter come with their changes. The firstfruits of Spring soon bud again. So too, it is for us whose body is a wonderful creation. We wither and die but our bodies are not forever in the ground - they are redeemed. If there is a crisis it is of our own making for our present sufferings cannot "be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

Then and now

2011-06-09T22:18:00.005-05:00

Here is a timely must-read article on the Enlightenment and secularism.

Whatever happened to integrated faith?

2011-05-31T20:07:00.005-05:00

or the wholeness of the Catholic faith?

In supporting the historic liturgy in Lutheranism over the years I have come across a number of unexpected surprises. In an academic sense we can see that liturgics, dogmatics, exegetical, historical, practical, etc., approaches are different areas of study. In the parish all of these areas are put to use in one way or another in service of the one holy faith. All of these areas serve to teach and uphold the faith.

The liturgy is quite useful in integrating the faith. Invocation, Introit, Prayer, Scripture readings, Creed, Homily, Eucharist, Benediction are just some parts of the liturgy that teach and pass on the faith. In all of the parts there is a wholeness about the liturgy as there is about the holy faith.

One unexpected surprise in supporting the liturgy is overcoming false notions that the liturgy is against the confessions of the Church or the Scripture itself. In other words, it is surprising that the liturgy might even be seen in this light by those who focus on either the Confessions or the Scripture. The liturgy does not place itself against either the Scripture or the Church's confession even if it does not teach the faith in the exact same way. It is not necessary to adapt the liturgy to overcome such notions or perceived weaknesses. The rest of the week provides plenty of room for catechesis. Neither ought prayer and learning the faith be seen as enemies.

Even if one does not understand or appreciate fully the liturgy of the Church it is not hard to hear that the same faith is expressed in the liturgy as is taught in the catechism and revealed in holy Scripture. There is a unity in the Church's faith that remains whether it is learned academically or it is prayed.

When growing up it is the child's surprise to realize that the God on Sunday morning is the same God who created the trees and mountains. The child comes to integrate a whole knowledge of God that does not pit the God of creation against the God of salvation. So too the liturgy is not only an aid in prayer and teaching and passing on the faith. It is union with God in Christ, as in the blessed Eucharist, and thanksgiving to the Father through the Son in the Spirit.

One wonders why there might be seen a conflict between what is prayed and what is believed. There is none. If the Scripture reveals the faith and the confessions speak what the Church believes how cannot the liturgy chime in the same true faith?

Rogate 2011

Are good works "good"?

2011-05-24T09:46:00.008-05:00

My reading is best described as miscellaneous, mainly theology, philosophy, religion, history, news and other topics. Not being able to afford formal studies, I am constantly schooling myself, especially in the liberal arts.

Daily life is real enough so, for those concerned, my feet are on the ground. I tend to be overly practical so my reading, as rare at it is, serves many purposes - relaxation, learning and stimulation of thought.

One area of reading, related to my vocation, is the homilies of the church fathers. In recent weeks I have read homilies of such as St. Leo the Great, the Venerable Bede (whose feast is on May 27) and St. Cyril of Alexandria.

These homilies are in many ways inspirational. For example, Leo speaks of bearing the Cross adding, "... which for each one is rightly called his, for it is borne by each in his own way and measure. The name persecution is one word; but not one is the reason of the fight; and as a rule there is greater danger in the hidden betrayer, than in the open foe." (Toal, II, 147)

Bede writes, "For as the woman rejoices that a man is born into the world, so also is the Church filled with becoming exultation at the birth of the Christian people into life eternal ." (Toal, II, 334)

Cyril writes, "Rightly then have they been justified who without seeing Him have believed in Christ; but the world will lose the possession of this blessedness, not seeking to possess the justice that comes by faith, preferring to remain in its own wickedness." (Toal, II, 370)

This quote from Cyril catches my eye in that he contrasts being justified by faith with wickedness (ie, sin) rather than placing justifying faith in contrast to good works or the Law. Here faith is opposed to wickedness, not the word that comes from God. As the Apostle James says, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above [even God's Law] . . . Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls." The emphasis is not on God's Law as being essentially bad (James: "for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God") but as Law as essentially good and perfect, from God, to lead us from our wickedness (and not away from good works) to the word, that which saves the soul. So the blessed Apostle Peter writes in his first epistle, "I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation."

If good works are from God, they must be good.

End Time Numbers

2011-05-20T12:41:00.003-05:00

I have not been following this too closely but here are some numbers I found from various sources:

1994 - year of last Last Day
5.21.11 - Last Day
200,000 million - people supposed to be saved
$72 million - worth of the ministry advertising the Last Day
? - number of people who have sold all they have to be ready for tomorrow

I wonder if having no sacraments is a factor in the rise of these types of ministry approaches.

advancing the faith

2011-05-14T11:35:00.003-05:00

Around this time of year there are feasts for two bishops who were also martyrs. Their feasts were/are May 7 - St. Stanislaus (1030 - 1079) and June 5 - St. Boniface (c. 672 - 754). St. Stanislaus was instrumental in Christianizing Poland and was Bishop of Kraków from 1072 until his death in 1079. Boniface (c. 672 - 754), called "Apostle of the Germans," was a missionary from England who advanced Christianity in the Frankish Empire and was the first archbishop of Mainz.

"The heavens shall confess Thy wonders, O Lord: and Thy truth in the Church of the Saints."
(from the verse for the Feast of St. Stanislaus)

Confitebúntur coeli mirabília tua, Dómine: étenim veritátem tuam in ecclésia sanctórum.

Unexpected Announcement

2011-05-11T12:20:00.001-05:00

I noticed a billboard on the interstate that says that Judgement Day will be on May 21. In addition, it advertises an "open live forum" on that date from 7:00 - 9:30 p.m. If that is the Judgement Day I can put it on my calendar. I have a couple of questions first. Why is this announcement only on one billboard? (that I am aware of) Second, how does "Judgement Day" fit into an "open live forum?" I hope there are billboards like this around the world.

Knowing me, when the 21st arrives I will have forgotten that it is Judgement Day. This way, if I write it down now I may be ready . . .

This year Ascension Day falls on June 2nd.

More thoughts on Tradition

2011-04-26T06:03:00.006-05:00

Growing up as a Lutheran and not knowing much about the word I often heard complaints against "tradition." Traditions were apparently un-Scriptural and even anti-Scriptural. Years later, as a pastor with some time involved in attempting to transmit the faith to people, I come to a different understanding of the word.

In one sense, even those who claim to be anti-traditional in Christianity follow repeated beliefs and practices in line with their understanding of the faith. These simply may be different traditional beliefs and practices than those held and practiced by historic Christianity. Some "traditions" may be "newer" or "different" but they are no less "traditions." And they are almost never any more or less "Scriptural" than other traditions held by Christianity throughout the ages.

In a religious free society the tradition of anti-traditionalism has been so successful (anything "new" is equated with anything "good" whatever its source or end) that even those things that are firmly based in Scripture and the greater Tradition of the Church, even those traditions arising out of and passing on the very words of the Lord Himself, are revised or rejected. This means the simple act of teaching the Christian faith from one generation to the next within the Church often comes under attack. We are seeing other factors at work. Anti-traditionalism within Christianity is closely related to secularism. Christianity (Scripture, ministry, liturgy, etc.) gets "re-defined" in view of cultural expectations.

In view of Tradition in the Church being easily misunderstood two other questions arise. For example, today we hear of a re-awakening to Tradition but this re-awakening may only go as far back as the 1960s or 1970s. In other words, this period is seen as the moment to define all others. Although I am of Lutheran background I do not hold to the Reformation as the moment to define all others. This is because the Reformation did not come out of a vacuum. Nor does Church history begin then. There is a triumphalist tendency to relativize our understanding of all history in light of the Reformation. Even the Reformation has fallen victim to the Enlightenment and even whatever the 1960s and 1970s mean. Many of today's protestants are oblivious of the Reformation, much less the Early Church and the Middle Ages. We have come across a truly existential faith(?). An over-reaction the other way puts the whole faith in a Reformation box.

Although I am an heir of the Reformation I hold to a catholic view of the Tradition, that is, in view of the whole. Tradition is a good thing. There is an Early Church. There are the Middle Ages. Hebrew, Greek, Latin are good languages even if they are not my own. Because of its antiquity, Tradition is more than the ethnic backgrounds of my church body. Tradition is more than any historical period. Rather than being an obstacle to the faith the Scriptural Tradition is the connection to the faith, the continuity of the Church and her future. Looking back through Tradition the testimony of a multitude of witnesses is opened up to all who follow in the train of the crucified and risen Lord, who makes all things new through His own work of salvation, He, the Beginning and the End.

Resurrexi

2011-04-25T05:50:00.003-05:00

Resurrexi, et adhuc tecum sum, alleluia: posuisti super me manum tuam, alleluia: mirabilis facta est scientia tua, alleluia, alleluia.

I arose, and am still with Thee, alleluia; Thou hast laid Thy hand upon me, alleluia; Thy knowledge is become wonderful, alleluia, alleluia.

It usually takes a day or two to recover, but Holy Week this year was, as always, a blessing. Growing in faith and knowledge of the Risen Lord and the solemn mysteries of salvation feed into the daily life we have received. He is risen!

Speaking of ontology . . .

2011-04-21T16:37:00.006-05:00

Speaking of ontology, we remember St. Anselm who died on this date in Canterbury in 1109. Anselm was a monk, philosopher and archbishop. Considered one of the greatest philosophers of the 11th century, he is called the founder of scholasticism and is known for his formulation of an ontological argument for the existence of God.

He wrote, "Neque enim quaero intelligere ut credam, sed credo ut intelligam." In other words, faith comes before reason but reason may be used to expand on faith. He wrote on a variety of philosophical and theological topics including creation, the Trinity, original sin and free will. His thinking is considered Neoplatonic.

Anselm's book Cur Deus Homo, literally, "Why the God Man," discusses his theory of the atonement. Briefly stated, satfisfaction for sin before a just God is only possible through the voluntary death of the God-Man, Jesus. This theory stresses Jesus' obedience to the Law. Although later scholastics and reformers differed somewhat from his view of the atonement, for example, stressing instead God's reconciliation in the atonement, Anselm's emphasis has had a lasting influence on Church teaching and helps to show how reason may be used in relation to faith.

Realities from above

2011-04-21T11:38:00.006-05:00

As the year goes around Christians can usually point to one or more words or passages from Scripture or the liturgy that sticks with them long beyond the Sunday hearing. These memorable moments change from year to year and any year can hold many or few of them.

This year I have been thinking on the words from heaven, "This is my beloved Son" heard at Transfiguration, traditionally, the Second Sunday in Lent. These words are rich in meaning much beyond what I write here. Two ways of applying these words may be addressing the identity of Jesus and then, as I have been thinking lately, addressing the significance of these few words.

There have always been popular claims to Jesus' identity. In recent years two claims particularly are fresh in mind. First, there is the Jesus as "CEO" emphasis. Then there is the "revolutionary" Jesus emphasis that we hear so much these days. Both of these claims are influential but fail because they reveal more about those making the claims than about what is divinely revealed to us. The reader understands.

What caught my ear this year has more to do with the words themselves. Here especially the word "is" sticks out. Scripturally, we can think right away of Scripture's rendering of the words "I AM." We can also draw a similarity to words Jesus spoke on the night he was betrayed: "This is my Body . . . This is my Blood." This latter similarity beckons the thought that when the Father speaks from heaven at Transfiguration He is not speaking symbolically, ie, Jesus is not a symbol of what it means to be the Son of God. The Father says from heaven that Jesus "is" His Son. These words of God also put to question our own claims to Jesus' identity and our own tendency to see sacraments, which Jesus Himself instituted, as mere symbols of our faith.

This Holy Week we draw near to the realities of the cross of Christ and His resurrection from the dead. The cross and the empty tomb are today in some ways symbols but they are symbols of greater realities, closely related to Jesus' identity, and closely related to who we are and will be in Him.

Music for Maundy Thursday

2011-04-20T22:25:00.001-05:00

Palestrina-Music for Maundy Thursday-1

Being productive

2011-04-18T13:47:00.004-05:00

For a few years now I have gone "underground," or private, in my study of theology, philosophy and history. With the right people discussion of these topics can be quite productive. On the other hand, some may use such discussions for various un-intended purposes. I find that one may sometimes learn more by not discussing one's questions online. Neutral online sources and books are helpful for learning here. Also, it is a good thing to maintain some level of privacy. This way one may get his/her questions answered without being mistakenly labeled.

The moral is: when there's a choice between being labeled for connecting the dots or thinking disconnectedly go private for the sake of ongoing learning. When there is a choice between being functional and being ontological be practical and keep the ontological focus.

Comment

2011-04-11T16:07:00.004-05:00

Why do I not post every day? Because there is too much to comment on each day that would take until the evening hours to write about. Then the next day would come and I would not be ready for it.

(This is in answer to a question I posed myself.)

Laetáre

2011-04-07T13:14:00.004-05:00

"I rejoiced at the things that were said to me: we shall go into the house of the Lord." (Introit, Laetare)

Whenever these words of the psalmist come up in the liturgy they are always a boost of encouragement. Not as an encouragement to self-righteousness but to the faith of those who come into the Lord's house. The forces keeping us from the house of the Lord are seemingly greater than the Lord's effort to draw all men to Himself. On Sunday we sang a hymn that says that the love of the cross demands "my soul, my life, my all." This portion of the liturgy and the hymn are not speaking to the un-churched or the un-believer but to those who rejoice in the divine things that are spoken to us.

Recently, I posted that I would address "new gospels" that I have been hearing in recent years. One idea addresses the presence of God as everywhere but limits Him to everywhere outside the church. In other words, He is omnipresent in the world but somehow is not present in the church nor among His people when they receive His gifts. This idea I had not heard before. It is not close to atheism, but it certainly puts limits on the power of God and His Word. The idea may have been something someone appropriated from the secular milieu.

In chapter 6 of the Gospel according to John, Jesus feeds the 5,000 in a sacramental way, even bidding the disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost." The hungry who came to the Lord were fed with the blessed food, distributed by the disciples. During Lent it seems easier to forgo the blessed food between Ash Wednesday and Easter. Outside of the strong forces of secularism, Easter tries to outdo Lent as Christmas outdoes Advent. But Lent draws us to the cross and to Christ, so Lent is the journey to Easter. "O Thou Bread of Life from heaven, Bless the food Thou here hast given!"

Laetáre Jerúsalem: et convéntum fácite, omnes qui dilígitis eam.

The Word on the Word

2011-03-28T14:29:00.005-05:00

The Gospel for Oculi speaks of Jesus casting out a demon, that was mute. Later on Jesus says, "Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” Jesus says this in response to a woman who heard his teaching on demons and raised her voice to him. Jesus' response to the woman was, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

What did the woman say to Him? "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!” The woman praises Mary! Before Jesus was born the angel told Mary that she had found favor with God. Then Elizabeth greeted Mary saying, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!" Mary's response to this news and her given place is, "My soul magnifies the Lord . . . For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; for behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed."

Mary is called the Blessed Virgin because she was blessed of God before, during and after the birth of Jesus. The woman praises Mary for she knows her Son. Jesus does not deny or rebuke the woman for her confession. He does not remind the woman that He is the One who cast out the demon and who taught about the demons. He does not say, "Look at Me, I am the blessed One." He does not have to for the woman already knows who He is. This is why she praises Mary. She praises Mary for being the Mother of God. He is God's Son, His blessing to people.

When He responds, Jesus echoes the words of the woman and adds, "More than that . . ." The Virgin Mary is blessed, she is the Mother of God. So too all those are blessed "who hear the word of God and keep it!”, baptized children of God in Christ who heed and follow His words.

When the angel announced the birth of Christ to Mary she said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” When Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, she said to her, "Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

When Jesus cast out the demon, the mute spoke. The woman, hearing Jesus' words says,"Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!” Blessed is she, the Mother of God, who bore the Word who blessed her with His incarnate birth and who blesses us with His words of life, heard and kept, and His Body and Blood, given and shed.

New gospels

2011-03-19T09:51:00.005-05:00

In recent years, I have been hearing a plethora of new gospels. This may reveal how I have been out of touch in prior years or it may reveal changes taking place. These trends in theological emphasis come and go. I will try to comment on them from time to time when they come to mind.

For example, we know the failure of "positive thinking" on theology for its denial of sin. This is just simply a denial of life how it is. On the other hand one new gospel I am hearing sounds like the victory of sin and the helpless Christ. This may be an over-reaction to the positive thinking trend, a parallel thought stream within the Church to the New Atheism, or it may be a new gospel.

Simply put, it puts salvation by Christ solely in the next life as a distant promise. The cross and the sacraments are of no real effect in this life. We are under the power of sin and we should just get used to it. One can only imagine how much of Scripture has to be re-interpreted or re-defined or left out so that sin can have its say. And then we have a helpless God. Is He just a mere architect watching from a distance? Christ is powerless to help us in this life, though He may be of help in the next.

This particular new gospel came to mind as I read the Apostle's words to the Thessalonians,"For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness." The Apostle knows he is talking to sinners and he still says this. He is not waiting for a perfect holiness that will come only in the next life. He seems to have confidence that when God calls us to something He can will and work that in us. Holiness is not a denial of sin, it is a divine call toward God in Christ. This means that Christ can and does gives us what we will need to hear and follow the call to holiness, not only in the life to come. We received this call in Holy Baptism and now we are called to the same in the blessed Eucharist. Baptism does not only remind us of our sinfulness and the Eucharist is not only a foretaste of the feast to come.

Changing the Name

2011-03-15T20:52:00.002-05:00

"de ecclesia et liturgia" ("on church and liturgy") has been the name of this blog for many years. The church fathers would write on various topics of theology, philosophy, etc. They would title their reflections or thoughts "de ...", or, "on/of ..." I followed that example in naming this blog years ago.

Part of the reason for coming up with the original name came from years of discussing the liturgy online. Originally, and a bit naïvely, hoping for simple discussion that would encourage the learning of and continuation of the liturgy in a church body that was abandoning in practice what I now find in reality is a logical conclusion to things abandoned 500 years ago. The idea was as the Scripture encourages, to pass on the faith to future generations. This is done best in the church's life together in the liturgy through the hearing of the Word and the reception of the blessed Eucharist. The faith is intertwined with the things of God.

As a pastor the liturgy woke me up to the faith. I had been well-versed in my faith. This comes naturally ("my") in today's Christian experience. Saying the Creed in front of people on a regular basis forced me to think more deeply on the content of the faith. Following a discipline, a ritual, as we have in the liturgy helped me to think outside of myself. This is a scary thing, especially when faith has been so internalized that one becomes unable to distinguish between the faith and one's own feelings. Faith in this thinking is seen as one's own. This, is the plight of modern Christianity, an individualized retreat from the faith. It does not happen suddenly but gradually. First the church's worship needs to become more inviting and more entertaining. Then there is no longer a distinction between the church's worship and the entertainment that is desired and received the other six days of the week. This is what I like to call, the "secular church." One loses out more and more of the substance of the faith while individually feeling better about one's own faith, even finding the faith to have value as entertainment.

Today it is no longer the culture, but the Church which has become so close to the culture, that is going on in so many directions. Discussing the liturgy only goes so far. One really cannot explain mystery and reverence and silence and hearing and prayer when the faith becomes dis-associated from the Church and her liturgy and becomes associated with the latest musical and technological trends. Yet, not to despair. The very flight from the traditional liturgy by some has made the liturgy even more distinct and relevant today, the very reason for its existence in the first place. If it is now new and different, this is a tragedy. Yet, on the other hand, it is finally able to speak clearly again.

These thoughts come by way of explanation for a change in name for this blog. A blog is made up of one's own impressions, reflections and thoughts. This reason alone is enough to change the name. I cannot speak for the whole Church on such matters as the Church and the liturgy. These are weighty topics. Yet in my own religious tradition, liturgy and its parts are relativized and dismissed with a simple rationalization of "adiaphora." Passing on the faith and de-constructionism are constantly at heads. A "tradition of reaction" develops which loses sight of the faith that the liturgy is meant to uphold for fear that the liturgy is somehow only Law. While I may have become more distant from the discussion of these matters I still believe that the faith and the liturgy and the Church are inter-connected, that discussing the liturgy in terms of the faith ought not be seen as an affront to either those who specialize in studies of Scripture or those who study dogmatics, church history, theology or any other field. The liturgy is not the only means of passing on the faith but neither is learning the faith separated from the life of the Church. The Creed is very profound but it really focuses on only two major tenets of the Church's faith, the nature of God and that of His Son. Lex orandi, lex credendi.

I no longer find it necessary to weigh on topics that are of greater value when I can use a blog to reflect on a variety of topics. This does not mean I may not address matters of church and liturgy from time to time. It is now more a matter of freeing the blog to expand on a variety of topics, mostly related to theology, philosophy, history, religion and Church.

Also, there will not be confusion with the new name, "May's Blog," that you are simply getting my reflections, impressions, and thoughts, whether they sound esoteric or simple.

2011-03-10T12:47:00.003-06:00

The following is excerpted from a Catholic blog and is a succinct and helpful review of the new book Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week:

"'One thing is clear to me: in two hundred years of exegetical work, historical-critical exegesis has already yielded its essential fruit.' (Emphasis added)

"I had to read that sentence two and three times before I accepted that the Pope really wrote that. In this statement the Pope is challenging the very foundations of the biblical scholarship world. For two hundred years, there has been a race by academics to come up with the “latest” theory about Jesus, resulting in a plethora of contradictory and often ludicrous ideas about “who Jesus really was.” Yet behind this race is not a desire to really know the identity of Jesus, but to create the latest sensation in the academic world, which leads to book contracts and better jobs. If you write that Jesus is who the Church claims him to be, then your academic career will become sidetracked. But if you write (with scholarly authority) that he was a transvestite Muslim, then you are surely on your way to academic fame.

"The Pope undercuts all of this. He sees the Historical-Critical Method as a tool with limited applications – and those applications have now yielded their “essential fruit.” In other words, the focus of studies of Jesus should no longer be driven by the Historical-Critical Method, but instead should be driven by a desire to know the Jesus confessed and proclaimed by the Church: the eternal Son of God who saves us from our sins.

"And this is the Jesus presented to us in Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week. He is not a figment of some scholar’s imagination, but instead the God-man who millions throughout history have lived and died for. The pope is urging us to encounter this God-man in our own lives today."

HT: The Divine Life

Ash Wednesday in England

2011-03-09T14:04:00.002-06:00

Ash Wednesday news from England here.

Can Tradition be good?

2011-03-02T13:05:00.002-06:00

". . . in fastings often . . ." (Epistle for Sexagesima) In his second letter to the Church at Corinth the Apostle glories in his infirmities that God's grace and power in Christ may be his. One of his regular disciplines was that of fasting. Here the body is weakened to give more emphasis on the life of the soul. With Ash Wednesday drawing close we are reminded of the traditional disciplines of Lent of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

I am not good at fasting. I do not say this to prove my sinfulness nor to solicit a program that will help me become successful in fasting. Fasting, like prayer, almsgiving and any other disciplines encouraged in Scripture are good things. They are traditional practices, of a Tradition, and again, this is a good thing, for they lead us away from trusting in ourselves toward trusting in God. During Lent we prepare for the Lord's Resurrection. We strive to live more as we are called to live in Holy Baptism.

That I am not good at fasting does not mean that fasting is not a good discipline or that it is a breach of Christian freedom to even consider the practice. Should we sin more that grace may abound? Are we saved only when we are "chief of sinners"? Christian "freedom" today is often understood and lived out without Christ. Good is called bad and bad is called good. Indeed, that is how life is without Christ. Goodness and badness no longer are defined by divine revelation but by our imaginations and strivings without Christ. These can easily become the real "traditions of men" that Scripture warns us about, living how we want to live, on our own terms.

Jesus not only saves us on the cross, he leads us to the cross. This is so his goodness can have his way with us. If God can bring purification to flesh in the Incarnation of His Son can He not also purify the soul through the shedding of His blood? Lent reminds us to stop what we are doing without Christ and return to where He is there for us and our forgiveness. When we are in Christ and His forgiveness He leads us to all that is good. The good that we do in Christ is not us but Christ's doing. In Christ, disciplines, works, and Tradition are Good.

When Christian freedom becomes all about freedom then it is no longer good, because it becomes all about us and what we desire to do. Rather than follow our own paths let us return to the repentance of Lent and the life of being crucified with Christ, and living in the flesh by faith in the Son of God, who loved us and gave Himself for us.

Lent is a good thing.

"O God, who seest that we put not our trust in any thing that we do . . ." (Collect for Sexagesima)

Waiting patiently for the kingdom

2011-02-21T13:44:00.005-06:00

The Gospel for Septuagesima, Matthew 20:1-16, is the parable of the landowner and the laborers in the vineyard. The laborers who came later in the day received the same pay as those who were there first. Some worked only an hour while others bore the burden and heat of the day. Yet all received a denarius.

What are we to make of Jesus' words here, especially in a highly charged social and political climate? There are many obvious parallels that could be drawn with this week's Gospel reading and the status of the state. Unfortunately, Jesus' teaching and illustrations are often made fodder for all kinds of social and political views. People quickly confuse the identity of the man revealed as the Son of God at His baptism by John. He becomes the leader of the day of whatever winds that blow socially and politically. Undoubtedly, this very Gospel reading is being used somewhere to propose a model for a kingdom of this world.

This is a parable for Jesus' disciples. Crucial to this parable and the teaching are the landowner, the laborers and the denarius. Jesus tells His disciples that they are all receiving the same salvation, those who followed Jesus first and those who followed Him later. They are all of the vineyard, the one holy, catholic and apostolic Church with Jesus as the head. He works out their salvation on the cross and mercifully distributes this same salvation in the preaching of the blessed Gospel, the blessed waters of baptism and the blessed Body and Blood of the Eucharist at the altar.

This is not about the work we have accomplished. It is about the Lord's mercy. "Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man that same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?" Is He evil because He freely and equally gives His salvation to us when we would rather focus on and boast of our own works. This is rather about receiving the same denarius, the mercy and salvation of the Lord, at the end of the day. This is a parable of "the kingdom of heaven," a matter of teaching that is beyond time, yet in time in Christ. He is good, so we wait patiently. If there is One who is last who will be first it is Him and all who believe and follow Him.

"Out of the depths I have cried to Thee, O Lord . . .
If Thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities: Lord, who shall stand it?
For with Thee there is merciful forgiveness,
and by reason of Thy law, I have waited for Thee, O Lord."

"De profundis clamávi ad te, Dómine . . . sustinui te, Dómine.
(Tract)

St. Polycarp

2011-02-17T14:12:00.001-06:00

Here is a good summary of the life of St. Polycarp from across the pond.

The need for "C" and "E" Christians

2011-02-09T11:57:00.003-06:00

We need to be “C” and “E” Christians. Not what we commonly understand as being those who attend church only at Christmas and Easter. Rather we need to see and uphold the “C”reed and the “E”ucharist as essential to the faith and the liturgy. The Creed is the summary of the faith we have by divine revelation, that God is One, the Holy Trinity, and Jesus is incarnate. He has come in the flesh for our salvation. The Eucharist is the fulfillment of God’s gift of salvation through Jesus’ sacrifice and death, Christ’s Body and Blood given and shed for us. The Creed sums up what we are given in God’s Word and the Eucharist sums up the divine life we are given here, the Bride’s foretaste of the feast to come. The faith is an everyday thing and this is our prayer in the liturgy. The Church in this world needs more “C” and “E” Christians.

HT: BOC, first posted here

". . . except they really happened."

2011-02-02T12:35:00.007-06:00

Bultmann's New Clothes is a post that reminds us how Scriptural studies took a big hit in the twentieth century. This is history we need to remember. Life is greater than nature.

HT: New Advent

Faith and Reason

2011-01-28T12:13:00.006-06:00

One of the great theologians in Christian history is Thomas Aquinas. On the traditional calendar his feast is March 7 although the recent calendar recognizes him today. The following is a brief video introduction to Aquinas by the pope tv report from Rome.

Probably, one of Aquinas' greatest contributions or legacies he left to Christianity is his understanding and discussion of the relationship between faith and reason.

...our enjoyment of Him in the Gift

2011-01-13T21:19:00.005-06:00

Today's commemoration of the Baptism of Our Lord is all the more significant considering that there is a trend in some countries in Europe for people to "de-baptize" themselves. When I mentioned this to a believer recently she gave the response, "Let's all return to our sin. Let's cover ourselves up with the grime of sin." Her response to this idea of de-baptism is somewhat sarcastic but it also points out the truth why Jesus gives us this Gift to begin with. To run away from baptism is to run toward sin. Baptism brings us forgiveness. In Baptism we are clothed with Christ and His righteousness, we are buried with Him in His death and raised with Him in His Resurrection and newness of life. We are given the Holy Ghost. There is so much more to the Sacrament of Holy Baptism that we receive from the merciful hand of God but receiving Christ's righteousness and forgiveness is clearly in the opposite direction when contrasted with any desire to embrace sin and whatever all that means.

On the traditional western calendar tomorrow is the feast of St. Hilary, Bishop and Doctor of the Church. Below is an excerpt from his writing, De Trinitate (Book I, 1):

"Believers have always found their satisfaction in that Divine utterance, which our ears heard recited from the Gospel at the moment when that Power, which is its attestation, was bestowed upon us:— Go now and teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I command you; and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Matthew 28:19-20 What element in the mystery of man's salvation is not included in those words? What is forgotten, what left in darkness? All is full, as from the Divine fullness; perfect, as from the Divine perfection. The passage contains the exact words to be used, the essential acts, the sequence of processes, an insight into the Divine nature. He bade them baptize in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, that is with confession of the Creator and of the Only-begotten, and of the Gift. For God the Father is One, from Whom are all things; and our Lord Jesus Christ the Only-begotten, through Whom are all things, is One; and the Spirit, God's Gift to us, Who pervades all things, is also One. Thus all are ranged according to powers possessed and benefits conferred—the One Power from Whom all, the One Offspring through Whom all, the One Gift Who gives us perfect hope. Nothing can be found lacking in that supreme Union which embraces, in Father, Son and Holy Spirit, infinity in the Eternal, His Likeness in His express Image, our enjoyment of Him in the Gift."

HT: New Advent

Theology and the Antichrist

2011-01-11T10:04:00.007-06:00

For many years theology has been a favorite area of study. An outsider may be surprised but there are actually many distractions and obstacles within Christianity pushing away from the pursuit of the study of theology. A big obstacle in Lutheran theology that I have run across, discouraging the discussion of any theological issue, is the focus on the papacy and the Antichrist. This too is a big topic. If any theological topic becomes associated with the papacy and/or Antichrist then the focus quickly shifts from the actual topic in discussion to that of the papacy and the Antichrist. Thus, many theological topics are lost in Lutheranism even if they come from Scripture and are also taught by the Catholic Church. For me it has almost reached the point that when I hear charges of "papist" and "Antichrist" I immediately equate that to mean "let us Not discuss theology".

I limit what theology I discuss online so I may have the freedom to continue learning offline. Since we are on the topic, here is a theological discussion from St. Hilary of Poitiers on the antichrist against the teaching of the Arians that Jesus was created, a creature:

"To believe, therefore, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God is true salvation, is the acceptable service of an unfeigned faith. For we have no love within us towards God the Father except through faith in the Son. Let us hear Him speaking to us in the words of the Epistle; --Every one that loveth the Father loveth Him that is born from Him. [1 Jn. 4:1] What, I ask, is the meaning of being born from Him? Can it mean, perchance, being created by Him? Does the Evangelist lie in saying that He was born from God, while the heretic more correctly teaches that He was created? Let us all listen to the true character of this teacher of heresy. It is written, He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. [1 Jn. 2:22] . . . He that denies the Son is destitute of the Father; he that confesses and has the Son has the Father also . . . His object [that is, the object of the Antichrist] is to pluck from our hearts the confident assurance of the Divine nature of the Son; next, he would fill our minds with the notion of Christ's adoption . . ."

- De Trinitate, Book VI, NPNF, Vol. 9, pp. 113, 115

another book

2011-01-10T16:46:00.006-06:00

The following beginning to a review of a new book about Adrian Fortescue is written by Dr. Alcuin Reid:

"Adrian Fortescue is of much wider interest and importance than his liturgical works alone. He himself would say that he was first and foremost a theologian and an historian, and as such he knew that the sacred liturgy was far more important than simply rubrics and ceremonial . . ."

The above paragraph could stand alone as a quote of the day. Fortescue's book The Mass: A Study of the Roman Liturgy is an interesting read to me because it is liturgy, theology and history in one.

For more from the book review read here.

HT: NLM

manifested in the flesh

2011-01-08T21:02:00.003-06:00

. . . ἵνα εἰδῇς πῶς δεῖ ἐν οἴκῳ θεοῦ ἀναστρέφεσθαι, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἐκκλησία θεοῦ ζῶντος, στῦλος καὶ ἑδραίωμα τῆς ἀληθείας. καὶ ὁμολογουμένως μέγα ἐστὶν τὸ τῆς εὐσεβείας μυστήριον: ὃς ἐφανερώθη ἐν σαρκί, ἐδικαιώθη ἐν πνεύματι, ὤφθη ἀγγέλοις, ἐκηρύχθη ἐν ἔθνεσιν, ἐπιστεύθη ἐν κόσμῳ, ἀνελήμφθη ἐν δόξῃ.

. . . ut scias quomodo oporteat te in domo Dei conversari, quæ est ecclesia Dei vivi, columna et firmamentum veritatis. Et manifeste magnum est pietatis sacramentum, quod manifestatum est in carne, justificatum est in spiritu, apparuit angelis, prædicatum est gentibus, creditum est in mundo, assumptum est in gloria.

. . . that you may know how you ought to behave yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. And evidently great is the mystery of godliness, which was manifested in the flesh, was justified in the spirit, appeared unto angels, has been preached unto the Gentiles, is believed in the world, is taken up in glory.

- 1 Timothy 3:15, 16

Give us this day . . .

2011-01-05T13:50:00.003-06:00

For a period of over a year we had daily mass at a Lutheran parish so I appreciate this column and discussion by Catholics on the topic. Although this practice is not well known in modern Lutheranism it was certainly practiced in Lutheran history. If anything, maybe this linked discussion of the importance of the daily mass might encourage us at least to consider and value more the mass even once a week?

Yesterday and a New Year

2011-01-03T12:59:00.008-06:00

Anno Domini 2011

The New Year is the most noticeable change in time on the secular calendar. This year I did what I normally do not do anymore on New Year's Eve - I stayed up past midnight. The strange thing is I did not stay up to watch the ball drop at Times Square nor was I at a party with friends. This year I went downtown to pick up my daughter who was ice skating with friends. Staying up for my daughter on a night like that is a real reminder of the change in time. Instead of driving downtown to attend some outing of my own now it was simply a routine trip to pick up my daughter who was having an outing of her own with friends. This, surprisingly, was not as bothersome as I expected and yes, she had fun.

Earlier I did attend a church service on New Year's Eve with the family and briefly attended a gathering of families so the evening was not without my own events to attend, although I am quite fine with a quiet New Year's Eve at home.

A most noticeable change on the church calendar is the return of the "Glory to God in the highest" of the Christ-mass following the Kyrie in the liturgy. Christmas Eve is about the only evening left in the entire year where I gladly stay up past midnight. This, of course, is for good reason.

The family enjoyed a brief trip to St. Louis after the mass of Christmas Day. After a few days of rest we returned to Milwaukee just in time for 2011. St. Stephen, St. John, The Holy Innocents. The church year is full of great reminders of God's grace in Christ and in the lives of His people. We are not always aware of the rich Scripture readings and the taste of heaven that we pass by with the passage of time. It is a busy and festive time also in a secular sense.

While I was walking around the rink to find my daughter I was asked by a member of a Muslim family to take their picture by the outdoor Christmas tree. Although I am not much of a picture taker I gladly obliged and the pictures turned out just fine. Finally, sometime after the clock passed midnight I found my daughter and her friends and we headed home.

One dictionary defines "secular" as "denoting attitudes, activities, or other things that have no religious or spiritual basis." I looked up both "secularism" and "fundamentalism" in the dictionary as I contemplated some of the issues that affect the lives of people and cause them to lose sight of calendars not their own. For Christians the new year has already come and gone with the First Sunday of Advent.

In the fulness of time the Lord came, born of the Blessed Virgin Mary. God with us. For the Christian this is the blessed Incarnation, prior to the Cross the greatest change in time. The other great event on the church calendar is the Resurrection. The secular calendar helps us order our lives. The church calendar is about meetings of time and eternity. The Word made flesh.

In our time we witness the rage of fundamentalism on Christians overseas. Meanwhile secularism quietly steals away time at home, leading us not only to downplay the more minor feasts on the church calendar but even those of greatest import in God's plan of salvation. Both fundamentalism and secularism are extreme reaches of man's deeper problem of sin. Sin is connected to death and light is connected to life.

Each day brings its cycle of light and darkness to light again. Each life is full of the things of time - work, play, relaxation, entertainment. There is a time and a season for everything under the sun. Already we are filling up the dates on the calendar for 2011.

Outside of the secular, or non-spiritual or non-religious, time and yet together with the same time is sacred or "holy" time. A Christian once told me it is called "baptism" not "Holy Baptism." The church may be in the world but the secular is also in the church. We may be struck by the extremes of fundamentalism in the world and secularism in the church but one great loss in the church is that of sacred or holy time. Baptism is holy because it is "God with us." The Eucharist is holy because it is "God with us" in His Body and Blood. Absolution is holy because it is "God with us."

As sinners we are tempted to compare ourselves with others. This is the error of sin. How many are not comfortable in church simply because of such unnecessary comparisons? The church calendar is not a measurement of holiness but an opportunity to see "God with us" sinners all. He who gave up His only begotten Son is for us. Who can be against us? We do well to follow Mary in the fulness of His grace. Mary says, "Let it be done to me, according to your Word." Mary's firstborn Son is born.

As Christmas approaches the Epiphany it crosses over the noticeable change in time of the new year. After eight days Mary's Son is circumcised. Following the New Year of secular time the church rehearses the naming of Jesus. "He shall save His people from their sins."

Yesterday, in the liturgy on the first Sunday after New Year's Day I could not help but appreciate in the new year of secular time the first procession of the cross toward the altar and the blessedness and salvation associated with the most holy name of Jesus. What better way to begin a new year? What greater name to bear each day as baptized believers do in the church and in this world? What greater meaning has been given to time in our day? Knowing and understanding time as we do, what better way to come to know that which is eternal than through Him Who comes to us?

In nomine Jesu omne genu flectatur, coelestium, terrestrium, et infernorum . . .

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T10:13:00.005-06:00

in principio erat Verbum et Verbum erat apud Deum et Deus erat Verbum . . . et Verbum caro factum est et habitavit in nobis et vidimus gloriam eius gloriam quasi unigeniti a Patre plenum gratiae et veritatis

May God's only-begotten Son in the flesh be for you this day the gift of life, now in the blessed Eucharist and then at the glorious banquet.

St. Eusebius Bishop and Martyr

2010-12-16T16:59:00.004-06:00

St. Eusebius' feast on the traditional Catholic calendar is today. He was Bishop of Vercelli, Italy, and lived from about A. D. 283 - 371. He is considered a martyr for the persecutions he experienced by the Arians while in exile. Thus he defended the divinity of Jesus.

One noticeable aspect in following the church calendar is how many martyrs there are. Interestingly, the number of martyrs at the time of the early church does not compare with the number of martyrs during the 20th c. We hear also how Christianity is the most persecuted religion world-wide today.

From the Mass Sacerdotes Dei: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforteth us in all our tribulation . . ." (Epistle)

(picture: Wikipedia)

Where did Advent go?

2010-12-12T21:20:00.003-06:00

Thanksgiving Day begins a rapid race toward Christmas, although signs of Christmas are also now found before Thanksgiving. It is a busy time, probably the busiest stretch of the year. Good prices mean shopping and more shopping. There is the Christmas tree, decorations, cookies, Christmas letters, cards, concerts, parties and more.Last year went so fast we did not even get the annual Christmas letter written. Add time spent on snow removal with the advance of winter. Time is a precious commodity and it seems to go fastest around this time of year. With today's arrival of Gaudete Advent seems to have come and gone. Gaudete is about rejoicing and rejoicing is another reminder of Christmas.

There is no question that Advent just does not come and go. Rather it too gets lost in the shuffle of Christmas. As the church year goes Advent is a preparation for Christmas. Yet it has largely disappeared under the more visible sights and audible sounds of the Christmas which has built up a life of its own.

Most of this time is one great commercial. I used to bemoan the disappearance of Advent in the Christmas rush, an impressive and over-reaching distraction. Advent is distinct, not in a commercial way, but in the preparation of the way for the Lord. John the Baptist is a key figure in this drama, making the connection between the Scriptures of old with their fulfillment in the One Who is to come. Lift up your heads, O Sion. He comes for you.

I used to bemoan early house decorations until I realized that people were trying to get them on their houses before the cold weather came. I notice the radio stations changing to an all-Christmas music format at Thanksgiving or before. Certainly the question arises, "Can we get too much of a good thing?" Apart from the commercialization of Christmas, which no longer seems to bother me as it did in the past (I'm too busy), is the question, "Where did Advent go?" This is not a question of how fast Advent went but where it went. A related question may be, "Is there something about Advent that leads some Christians into hiding?"

Beyond the demands of this time of year something must point to the importance of Advent for Christians. It is indeed a matter of time. Advent begins another year, assuming a continuity in the church that is not undermined by whatever distractions there are. Sunday flows into the week and back to Sunday. Weekday services highlight scriptural themes that point us to the Coming One. The Last Day is all about time, for it comes when we least expect it.

Each year it is the same story. Advent disappears in the rush toward Christmas. Advent has a richness of its own and this is lost to the hearer. Certainly, the season has little commercial appeal. Repentance is an emphasis and Ember Days hearken to self-denial at a time when such seems especially out of step. Yet Advent also highlights the double pardon from the Lord. From the Blessing of the Advent Wreath to Rorate Coeli we hear that the Lord is near and this silences the thunder of the outside rush. We pray for the Lord to return.

There is little doubt that the mystery and significance of the Incarnation is beyond what we look for in Advent. Beyond the miracle, without the Incarnation there is no Redemption. Without Redemption Jesus does not come again. Advent can easily get lost in the rush. On the other hand, Advent teaches us patience, a silence outside of the rush, a looking for and waiting for that which we may easily forget or lose when Christmas so quickly arrives.

Where did Advent go? This year Advent is almost over. Time is flying. Advent goes nowhere without coming from somewhere else. We will not be prepared, nor notice without waiting patiently, receiving the comfort of the Holy Scriptures. The day is nearer than when we first believed.

Drop down dew, ye heavens,from above,
and let the clouds rain the Just:
let the earth be opened
and bud forth a Saviour.

miracles of body and soul

2010-12-09T20:53:00.004-06:00

The Feast of St. Ambrose was on the 7th. Below is an excerpt from his "Exposition of the Christian Faith" (De fide ad Gratianum Augustum, Bk. 1, Ch. 20):

"Moreover, there is a Cup, which You use to purify the hidden chambers of the soul, a Cup not of the old order, nor filled from a common Vine,— a new Cup, brought down from heaven to earth, filled with wine pressed from the wondrous cluster, which hung in fleshly form upon the tree of the Cross, even as the grape hangs upon the Vine. From this Cluster, then, is the Wine that makes glad the heart of man, Judges 9:13 uplifts the sorrowful, is fragrant with, pours into us, the ecstasy of faith, true devotion, and purity." (New Advent)

Yesterday was the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Ambrose stressed the virginity of Mary and her role as the Mother of God. His emphasis on Mary influenced Popes Damasus [commemorated Dec. 11], Siricius and Leo the Great. Ambrose writes, "The virgin birth is worthy of God. Which human birth would have been more worthy of God, than the one, in which the Immaculate Son of God maintained the purity of his immaculate origin while becoming human?" (see n. 14)

Luther wrote, "It is a sweet and pious belief that the infusion of Mary's soul was effected without original sin; so that in the very infusion of her soul she was also purified from original sin and adorned with God's gifts, receiving a pure soul infused by God; thus from the first moment she began to live she was free from all sin."

on preaching

2010-12-04T17:38:00.005-06:00

St. Peter Chrysologus (c. 380 - 450), Bishop, Confessor, Doctor, was Bishop of Ravenna from about AD 433 until his death. He was known as the "The Doctor of Homilies" for his eloquence and speaking ability. Peter was involved in the christological controversies of the day, speaking against Arianism and Monophysitism. He also wrote to Eutyches to accept the ruling of the Council of Chalcedon and obey the Bishop of Rome. Peter advocated daily reception of Holy Communion. Today is his feast on the traditional calendar in the west.

Prayer for the Unborn

2010-12-01T11:01:00.001-06:00

Lord Jesus,
You who faithfully visit and fulfill with your Presence
the Church and the history of men;
You who in the miraculous Sacrament of your Body and Blood
render us participants in divine Life
and allow us a foretaste of the joy of eternal Life;
We adore and bless you.

Prostrated before You, source and lover of Life,
truly present and alive among us, we beg you.

Reawaken in us respect for every unborn life,
make us capable of seeing in the fruit of the maternal womb
the miraculous work of the Creator,
open our hearts to generously welcoming every child
that comes into life.

Bless all families,
sanctify the union of spouses,
render fruitful their love.

Accompany the choices of legislative assemblies
with the light of your Spirit,
so that peoples and nations may recognize and respect
the sacred nature of life, of every human life.

Guide the work of scientists and doctors,
so that all progress contributes to the integral well-being of the person,
and no one endures suppression or injustice.

Give creative charity to administrators and economists,
so they may realize and promote sufficient conditions
so that young families can serenely embrace
the birth of new children.

Console the married couples who suffer
because they are unable to have children
and in Your goodness provide for them.

Teach us all to care for orphaned or abandoned children,
so they may experience the warmth of your Charity,
the consolation of your divine Heart.

Together with Mary, Your Mother, the great believer,
in whose womb you took on our human nature,
we wait to receive from You, our Only True Good and Savior,
the strength to love and serve life,
in anticipation of living forever in You,
in communion with the Blessed Trinity.

(Prayer written by Pope Benedict XVI; Source of this text: CNA)

Good Works

2010-11-30T15:35:00.006-06:00

Lutherans are a singing lot so traditional Lutheran worship is rich in hymnody. While hymnody is clearly preferred to what has infiltrated the churches in the last 40 or 50 years, and which ironically is sometimes defended today as "traditional," this does not mean all hymnody is equal. As I am not a hymnologist it is not my intent here to make any comparisons. Still, hymnody is a distinct form of music written for worship and not for entertainment. One area where hymnody is strong is in the text where theology is allowed to speak.

At the masses this past weekend a phrase stuck out from one of the Advent hymns we sang, ". . . And in faith I will embrace, Lord, Thy merit through Thy grace." In a few words we have Lord, grace, faith and merit. Clearly the emphasis is on Christ and His righteousness which we receive through grace in faith. As for emphasis the word "merit" is added. This leads me not to the obvious reformation debate but to another look at the word "merit." The hymn teaches our benefit coming from Christ's merit. Christ and merit are not in opposition. Works can be good, especially that wrought on the cross of Christ for our sake. Is not the good that we do that which He prepares in advance for us to do and that which He works in and through us? Sometimes we take too much pride in our sin wearing it on our sleeve (that grace may abound?). Anti-nomianism is free to take exception but the Law must be good in order for God to give it to us and for Christ to fulfill it on behalf of us. His merits, His works are good and full of mercy.

We tend to shy away from good works as if they may undo Christ's atonement or we may think that doing good works automatically means we are proud and boastful in ourselves. This phrase from the hymn makes me wonder if our merits in Christ are indeed "good." Certainly these merits or good works go together with grace and faith. We need not advertise to others what we have done nor ought we be nervous if we have done something good in our life before God and others. We need not discredit the merits of others nor the merits of the Saints. These merits are the life of Christ and the life we now live in the flesh is the life we live by faith in the Son of God. So it was for the Saints. He who gives sinners the Law also redeems and sanctifies us. His works, our works, are good. Our faith is not alone.

Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle

2010-11-30T14:12:00.004-06:00

With the beginning of the new Church year we come to the first feast of the saints, St. Andrew, Apostle. Andrew, brother of Simon Peter, was a disciple of John the Baptist and was drawn to Jesus through John's testimony.

The Gospel (Matthew 4) recounts Jesus' calling of Peter and Andrew along with the other disciples. Peter, Andrew and the Apostles continued the Lord's work. Today the holy Church still lives and depends on the apostolic ministry and doctrine. In the Epistle (Romans 10) the Apostle Paul fittingly asks, "how shall they hear, without a preacher?"

Andrew is considered the founder and first bishop of Byzantium. Hence Andrew plays an important role in the Eastern Church as Peter does for us in the West.

Postcommunion
Sumpsimus, Dómine, divína mystéria, beáti Andréae festivitáte laetántes: quae, sicut tuis Sanctis ad glóriam, ita nobis, quaesumus, ad véniam prodésse perfícias. Per Dóminum nostrum . . .

On this festival of blessed Andrew, O Lord, we have received Thy divine mysteries with joy: and as they brought glory to Thy Saints, so wilt Thou, we beg, let them bring pardon to us. Through our Lord . . .

ways of the universe

2010-11-23T13:28:00.006-06:00

(St. Clement of Rome, d. ca. 99)

"The heavens, revolving under His government, are subject to Him in peace. Day and night run the course appointed by Him, in no wise hindering each other. The sun and moon, with the companies of the stars, roll on in harmony according to His command, within their prescribed limits, and without any deviation. The fruitful earth, according to His will, brings forth food in abundance, at the proper seasons, for man and beast and all the living beings upon it, never hesitating, nor changing any of the ordinances which He has fixed. The unsearchable places of abysses, and the indescribable arrangements of the lower world, are restrained by the same laws. The vast unmeasurable sea, gathered together by His working into various basins, never passes beyond the bounds placed around it, but does as He has commanded. For He said, "Thus far shall you come, and your waves shall be broken within you." Job 38:11 The ocean, impassable to man and the worlds beyond it, are regulated by the same enactments of the Lord. The seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, peacefully give place to one another. The winds in their several quarters fulfil, at the proper time, their service without hindrance. The ever-flowing fountains, formed both for enjoyment and health, furnish without fail their breasts for the life of men. The very smallest of living beings meet together in peace and concord. All these the great Creator and Lord of all has appointed to exist in peace and harmony; while He does good to all, but most abundantly to us who have fled for refuge to His compassions through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom be glory and majesty for ever and ever. Amen."
- St. Clement, First Epistle, Chapter 20 (source: newadvent.org)

St. Cecilia

2010-11-22T20:32:00.003-06:00

(picture: Guido Reni, 1606, source: Wikipedia)

In that fair home shall never
Be silent music's voice;
With hearts and lips forever
We shall in God rejoice,
While angel hosts are raising
With saints from great to least
A mighty hymn for praising
The Giver of the feast.

("The Bridegroom Soon Will Call Us", st. 4)

St. Gregory Thaumaturgus, Bishop, Confessor

2010-11-17T09:42:00.004-06:00

Today is the feast of Saint Gregory of Neocaesarea, also known as Gregory Thaumaturgus or Gregory the Wonderworker, (ca. 213 – ca. 270 AD). Gregory was a bishop whose writings on various topics advanced the faith in the early period of the Church.

From his writing "On All the Saints":

"Once, indeed, [Christ] descended, and once He ascended,— not, however, through any change of nature, but only in the condescension of His philanthropic Christhood; and He is seated as the Word with the Father, and as the Word He dwells in the womb, and as the Word He is found everywhere, and is never separated from the God of the universe. Aforetime did the devil deride the nature of man with great laughter, and he has had his joy over the times of our calamity as his festal-days. But the laughter is only a three days' pleasure, while the wailing is eternal; and his great laughter has prepared for him a greater wailing and ceaseless tears, and inconsolable weeping, and a sword in his heart. This sword did our Leader forge against the enemy with fire in the virgin furnace, in such wise and after such fashion as He willed, and gave it its point by the energy of His invincible divinity, and dipped it in the water of an undefiled baptism, and sharpened it by sufferings without passion in them, and made it bright by the mystical resurrection; and herewith by Himself He put to death the vengeful adversary, together with his whole host. What manner of word, therefore, will express our joy or his misery? For he who was once an archangel is now a devil; he who once lived in heaven is now seen crawling like a serpent upon earth; he who once was jubilant with the cherubim, is now shut up in pain in the guard-house of swine; and him, too, in fine, shall we put to rout if we mind those things which are contrary to his choice, by the grace and kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the power unto the ages of the ages. Amen."
(source: newadvent.org)

From "On the Trinity":

"But the Word of God is substantial, endowed with an exalted and enduring nature, and is eternal with Himself, and is inseparable from Him, and can never fall away, but shall remain in an everlasting union. This Word created heaven and earth, and in Him were all things made. He is the arm and the power of God, never to be separated from the Father, in virtue of an indivisible nature, and, together with the Father, He is without beginning. This Word took our substance of the Virgin Mary; and in so far as He is spiritual indeed, He is indivisibly equal with the Father; but in so far as He is corporeal, He is in like manner inseparably equal with us. And, again, in so far as He is spiritual, He supplies in the same equality (aequiparat) the Holy Spirit, inseparably and without limit. Neither were there two natures, but only one nature of the Holy Trinity before the incarnation of the Word, the Son; and the nature of the Trinity remained one also after the incarnation of the Son. But if any one, moreover, believes that any increment has been given to the Trinity by reason of the assumption of humanity by the Word, he is an alien from us, and from the ministry of the Catholic and Apostolic Church. This is the perfect, holy, Apostolic faith of the holy God. Praise to the Holy Trinity for ever through the ages of the ages. Amen."
(source: newadvent.org)

Ecce sacérdos magnus, qui in diébus suis plácuit Deo. (Gradual)

U.S. Catholics elect new leader

2010-11-17T09:32:00.003-06:00

Congratulations to Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York for his surprise election to leadership among the U.S. Catholic Bishops.

St. Martin and Advent

2010-11-11T09:49:00.005-06:00

[Monument to Saint Martin of Tours in Odolanów, Poland, source: Wikipedia]

Martin Luther was baptized on this day. He was named for St. Martin of Tours (316-397), a Bishop and Martyr, whose feast is today. Martin of Tours was born in Hungary and died in France. Today is also Independence Day in Poland.

The period of the church year called Advent arose out of the 40 day period of fasting which began the day after St. Martin's Day (November 11) and was practiced from the 4th c. into the Middle Ages in much of Western Europe, including Great Britain. The Latin name for this period, Quadragesima Sancti Martini, means "the forty days of St. Martin." Since then Advent has retained the repentant devotional practice while directing the focus on the coming of the Lord. Advent begins this year on Sunday, November 28.

Today's Introit:

Statuit ei Dóminus testaméntum pacis,/
The Lord made to him a covenant of peace,
et príncípem fecit eum: / and made him a prince;
ut sit illi sacerdótii dígnitas in aetérnum. /
that the dignity of priesthood should be to him for ever.
Meménto, Dómine, David: / O Lord, remember David:
et omnis mansuetúdinus ejus. / and all his meekness.
Glória Patri . . . / Glory be to the Father . . .

Kingdoms here and there

2010-11-01T15:56:00.003-05:00

It is encouraging to see the Lutherans addressing Natural Law. This is an area that needs study.

I am concerned that this focus on the kingdoms might provide enlightened reason an opportunity to get over-involved in one of these kingdoms and avoid the light and center of the kingdom, which is the Eucharist.

justifiably paradoxical

2010-10-30T06:29:00.005-05:00

This excerpt from a previous book review post of a few days ago is re-quoted below. It is interesting that while, on the whole, there is probably no practical convergence between Catholics and Lutherans on justification, due to many factors not addressed here, that a Catholic theologian, who is also a Roman pontiff, might "get away" with advancing the scriptural understanding of the relationship between faith and works and allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture (ie, both Paul and John, not just Paul).

". . .

"Rowland points out that Ratzinger is ever ready to come to agreement with various controversial positions once it is clear that what is at stake is compatible with the faith. Take the classic issue with Lutherans about faith and works. "Ratzinger agreed that while Christians are obliged to do good works, justification and final judgment remain God's gracious acts. The actual wording of the key sentence of the declaration is as follows: 'By grace alone, in faith in Christ's saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping us and calling us to do good works' (139). [emphasis mine]

"This happy formula at the same time avoids the issue of Pelagianism, that is, the claim that we save ourselves by our own powers. Ratzinger retains the Pauline and Johnanine teachings about the first necessity of grace in our salvation. One might say this happy result is due both to good will and to careful thinking that clearly understands the whole issue in its principles and in its development.

. . ."

[Ironically, to most Catholics this is probably a non-issue anymore while to many Lutherans, even if they may concede that the above formula is scriptural would pass over this commonality and quickly point to any number of other areas of disagreement, raising the question if justification really is "the" issue after all.]

Mary and Lutherans

2010-10-29T06:12:00.006-05:00

I found this article on Lutheran Marian Theology online and find it to be fairly accurate in dealing with a controversial topic. The article treats different well-known teachings on Mary and how they are viewed by Lutheran groups and their theologians.

For example, Lutherans will not be surprised to see that their church bodies do not teach such things as the perpetual virginity of Mary nor prayer to Mary and the saints. They may be surprised to learn that Martin Luther held to the perpetual virginity and Immaculate Conception of Mary and that he called her the "Mother of God." He did not have much to say about the Assumption of Mary except that it was not in the Bible. Luther had a high view of the Magnificat and this canticle has been retained in Lutheran liturgical practice to this day. As with Luther the perpetual virginity of Mary was confessed in the Lutheran confessional writings and held by such prominent Lutheran theologians as Franz Pieper.

They may also be surprised to learn that the perpetual virginity of Mary is still held by some Lutherans today. Adherence to this teaching is not mere exaltation of Mary although it may appear as such at first glance. She is clearly "blessed among women" and above the saints. Her unique role in God's salvation, her relationship with her son (the Son of God) and her humble example do indeed set her apart from others. Rather this teaching is related to and centered on a high view of the person and work of Jesus Christ and the Incarnation. With this in mind the teaching of the perpetual virginity of Mary is easier to fathom as one of God's mysteries of salvation.

As it Is - blog quote of the day

2010-10-22T10:25:00.002-05:00

"I’m talking about the common, casual way The New York Times offends Catholic sensitivity, something they would never think of doing — rightly so — to the Jewish, Black, Islamic, or gay communities." More on this here.

St. Luke, Evangelist

2010-10-18T22:19:00.004-05:00

Today's Gospel is Luke 10:1-9, Jesus' sending of the seventy-two. The lesson focuses on the ministry. Readings that speak about the ministry seem out of place in today's milieu where being all things to all people has taken on a life of its own. We come to expect the Scripture to speak directly to us in every instance. All Scripture does indeed relate to us. This text relates to the people but first it is Jesus speaking to the ministry. This ministry as defined by Jesus is sent out.

There is a definite ordering in how Jesus sets up the ministry. First He sent the Twelve. Now He sends the seventy-two. These men are not just called, they are sent. They are not just sent out by any organization, but by the Lord Himself. As the Father sent Him and the Son sends the Spirit so He sends the Twelve and then the seventy-two to go before Him speaking of peace and the nearness of the kingdom of God. We may understand the sending of the seventy-two as a sending of the Spirit, such that there is no separation between them. Neither is this sending separate from the Church, of which Christ is the Head.

Jesus warns the seventy-two of opposition, they are as lambs among wolves. They are to earn their livelihood from this work of preaching the Gospel. Still, this is neither their focus nor concern. Neither opposition they will face nor their livelihood is their concern. Their focus is preparing the way of the Lord. They go ahead announcing peace to every household, no matter the reaction. The peace may or may not rest on those who hear but they bring His peace to people, telling them that the kingdom of God has come near unto them.

Knowing what we do of the history of the Church most of the Apostles were martyrs. The church calendar is full of martyrs from the early centuries. Jesus' death exemplified what was to follow. Scripture describes Jesus' death on the cross as bringing peace between God and men. Today's liturgical color is red. 2,000 years later the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church remains. Contrast this bloody history with Jesus sending His Spirit to the people using pastors and priests to announce God's peace upon them, preaching the Gospel, absolving them of their sins, administering the Lord's peace in the blessed Sacrament. "Peace be to this house."

"Faith Abides" - a book review

2010-10-13T07:25:00.006-05:00

[Below is a book review by Fr. James V. Schall, S. J. of a new book by Tracey Rowland called: "Benedict XVI: A Guide for the Perplexed." This book discusses the theological thought of Benedict XVI. Note his understanding of the relationship between history and revelation, the relationship between faith and culture, the relationship between faith and works and the relationship between ontology and revelation. Note too his approach to the liturgy.]

Faith Abides: The Intelligence of Benedict XVI | Fr. James V. Schall, S.J. | Ignatius Insight | September 27, 2010

http://ignatiusinsight.com/features2010/schall_trowlandrev_sept2010.asp

"Following the lead of Newman, Ratzinger has opened Catholic theology to a consideration of the problem of history, but he does not allow the Tradition to be constructed from historical elements external to revelation itself. Consistent with de Lubac and Mohler, he believes that the faith of a twenty-first century Catholic in any diocese of the world is not essentially different from that of a first-century Christian."
-- Tracey Rowland, Benedict XVI: A Guide for the Perplexed (London: T & T Clark, 2010), p. 157.

I.

The British publishing house, T & T Clark, has recently produced a series of theological reflections under the series title of "A Guide for the Perplexed." This title comes from a book of the famous medieval Jewish philosopher, Moses Maimonides. The perplexed were those Christians, Jews, and Arab thinkers who first re-encountered, in the 12th and 13th centuries, Aristotle and his enormous wisdom. What perplexed them, as believers, was whether the revelation that they lived was not natural. Aristotle seemed to figure out much of it without its benefits. The task, among Christians pioneered by Aquinas, was to distinguish what kind of knowledge that was revealed to us from what kind could we figure out ourselves.

The T&T Clark series previously dealt with given writers like Tillich, von Balthasar, Calvin, and de Lubac as well as with Christian topics like the Trinity, Christology, and bioethics. Tracey Rowland's new book on Benedict is part of this series. Rowland, an Australian theologian who studied in Cambridge, has previously written an excellent book on Benedict (Ratzinger's Faith: The Theology of Benedict XVI, Oxford, 2008). This second Rowland book is relatively short (160 text pages). It is designed primarily to situate Benedict as that theologian who best understands modernity and the place of Catholicism in relation to it.

Essentially, the pope does not judge the faith by the culture, but examines the intellectual and moral meaning of the faith to ask what, if any thing, does modernity have to do with it. As the pope pointed out in Spe Salvi, many of modernity's most forceful ideas are, when separated out, misplaced versions of basic Christian positions now thought to be achieved by means other than Christian. Without careful analysis, Benedict neither accepts nor rejects the operative ideas of modern times.

This caution is in large part because the pope has such a thorough grasp of other times and cultures with which to compare anything in modernity that is said to be contrary to Christianity. Of course, much of it is thus contrary, the pointing out of which is the purpose of this insightful book. The pope examines the elements of culture in the light of both reason and revelation. He does this analysis over against a culture that in many ways denies validity to both revelation and reason. In this sense, the Church and the pope become paradoxically the principal voices of reason in the modern world.

Benedict is not easily deceived by dubious theories that seek to reduce faith to culture. But he understands that faith naturally seeks to find expression in local language, ideas, and images, even when its origin is not simply a manifestation of this origin. This endeavor is a service of enormous importance both to the world and to the Church. Rowland displays an enormous amount of reading and reflection on the vast literary work of Ratzinger and of those who have written about him. She spells out the arguments that are said to indicate either a narrowness or elitism in Benedict and puts them in a broader context where they always make sense.

"For the second half of the twentieth century (especially since 1968) and the beginning of the twenty-first he has represented Catholic theology in the face of a militant secularism and various crises internally created within the Catholic Church" (152). Thus, the principal question for Benedict is not: "How in the light of modern truths can the stated positions of revelation be explained?" Rather it is: "What in the light of faith is the intelligible meaning of modern ideas and movements?" If it is "modern," it is not, as such, either true or false. That is what must be ascertained. In all of his writings, Benedict has shown the happy facility of carefully getting to the heart of an issue. He wants to know what exactly the Muslim, the relativist, the scientist, the Calvinist, the Hindu, or the Marxist holds. He then seeks to discern how such views came about and to relate them to the truth, including the truth of revelation.

The pope is never merely polemical. He lays out an argument with which he disagrees in careful and accurate detail. He gives its history and premises. Nothing is to be gained by not knowing and considering the arguments against your position. But Benedict then responds to what is presented. This book is full of such careful responses. The popular opinion is that Catholicism has no adequate responses to the views leveled against either its truth or historicity. After reading Rowland's book, it quickly becomes clear that the opposite is the case. This opinion includes those within the Church's broader fold whose ideas are skewered from the truth at some point or other. Benedict knows about the small error in the beginning that leads to the large error in the end.

II.

What disconcerts many about Benedict is precisely the fact that he does make sense of revelation as a primary source of understanding of man and the world. When included, revelation and reasoning about it explain our lot much more adequately than any of the popular or dogmatic alternatives, with which Benedict is familiar. In each of Rowland's seven chapters, she addresses a particular issue in which Benedict has taken up critical issues said to present some presumably insurmountable barrier between Christianity and truth. She shows how Ratzinger has dealt with these issues—the Romantic reaction to the Enlightenment, the relation between humanism and the Incarnation, tradition, the theological virtues, the relation of history and metaphysics, the place of social thought, and the question of Christian unity.

In each of these areas, Ratzinger has made a unique contribution that consists essentially in showing that the basic Catholic solution is the most coherent one in careful comparison to the alternatives presented against it. We are not surprised that this calm approach is not well received in quarters convinced that the views of Catholicism cannot be valid or even seriously considered on either scientific or historical grounds. In each case, as Rowland spells it out, Ratzinger makes the counter case that history, or metaphysics, or Scripture, or science does in fact support what is the basic Catholic position.

But, as Rowland describes it, Ratzinger is not writing polemically. Rather he carefully presents the evidence and the basis on which it rests. Whether anyone will accept such arguments is itself something of a personal and spiritual problem. Truth also has to be chosen. What cannot any longer be maintained is that there is no case to be made. Everyone needs to look at the evidence and analysis that clearly show the force of the arguments making sense of it all.

Rowland points out that Ratzinger is ever ready to come to agreement with various controversial positions once it is clear that what is at stake is compatible with the faith. Take the classic issue with Lutherans about faith and works. "Ratzinger agreed that while Christians are obliged to do good works, justification and final judgment remain God's gracious acts. The actual wording of the key sentence of the declaration is as follows: 'By grace alone, in faith in Christ's saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping us and calling us to do good works'" (139).

This happy formula at the same time avoids the issue of Pelagianism, that is, the claim that we save ourselves by our own powers. Ratzinger retains the Pauline and Johnanine teachings about the first necessity of grace in our salvation. One might say this happy result is due both to good will and to careful thinking that clearly understands the whole issue in its principles and in its development.

The number of basic issues that Rowland touches on is quite impressive. Behind it all, Ratzinger stands for the fact of God's creation and redemption are realities, the basic ones that, above all others, concern us. The Christian narrative in its outlines is not a myth, nor is it a kind of mechanism that unfolds automatically. The Father is always present in creation and history, acting through the Son and the Holy Spirit for our eternal salvation, the achieving of which is the real drama of human and cosmic history. "The Christian sees in man, not an individual, but a person. According to Ratzinger, 'this passage from individual to person contains the whole span of the transition from antiquity to Christianity, from Platonism to faith.' It completely transcends the logos of the Stoics, since a 'world created and willed on the risk of freedom and love is no longer mathematical'" (126).

Rowland sees one of Ratzinger's major accomplishments as that of reconciling ontology and revelation in such a fashion as the integrity of both is retained. A proper metaphysics serves the possibility of revelation. Revelation does not replace the natural order, but it does not divinize it either. Once this background is clear, Ratzinger is concerned with our relation to God, how we serve and worship Him. Rowland is quite blunt in her description of the loss of dignity in liturgy and the effect this has on ordinary believers. Ratzinger is a man who knows and appreciates the importance of beauty in our lives, especially as related to liturgy. Ratzinger stands for dignity, solemnity, beauty, and reverence because he first knows that men are called to worship God.

This relatively short book is wide-ranging. Rowland has managed to show the enormous learning of the pope within the context of his now operative papacy in which he is concerned with the Church itself and what it stands for. It does stand for the fact that the Son of Man did take flesh and did dwell among us. There is nothing mythical about this. Moreover, human destiny is not to continue within this world. Each person is constantly being called to eternal life, to nothing less, though what he is offered in our world is mostly "something less." This is his chief temptation that deflects modern man from any real understanding of himself.

Much of modernity wants this something less. Rowland is very good in showing how Ratzinger is a thinker who does know what the modern man proposes and the inadequacy of such proposals. Modern man has a difficult time (largely a culpable difficulty, I think) imagining that the Christian position is grounded in both thought and history, and that it does make sense and explain things that are most important to human life. Reading Rowland's account of Benedict is an exercise in the recovery both of our tradition and of our mind. It is not to be missed.

Fr. James V. Schall, S.J., is Professor of Political Philosophy at Georgetown University.

He is the author of numerous books on social issues, spirituality, culture, and literature including Another Sort of Learning, Idylls and Rambles, A Student's Guide to Liberal Learning, The Life of the Mind (ISI, 2006), The Sum Total of Human Happiness (St. Augustine's Press, 2007), The Regensburg Lecture (St. Augustine's Press, 2007), and The Mind That Is Catholic: Philosophical and Political Essays (CUA, 2008). His most recent book from Ignatius Press is The Order of Things (Ignatius Press, 2007). His new book, The Modern Age, is available from St. Augustine's Press. Read more of his essays on his website.

St. Mary, Mother of God

2010-10-12T12:14:00.004-05:00

[A homily on St. Mary, Mother of God (Oct 11), Gospel: St. Luke 2:43-51]

In the Name of the Father and of the † Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

In this brief account of Jesus and his parents at the temple we are given an account of the mystery of the Incarnation. Jesus is a regular boy going to the annual religious festival with His parents. Here the family carries out together the religious customs of sacrifice to God at the Temple in the holy city. There is no record of either parent not wanting to go or of Jesus wanting to play outside instead. The family goes dutifully together seeking that which is beyond the Temple but which is also there in the Temple for them. Going to the Temple as commanded by God is not a burden for them. At the Temple Jesus shows His parents that He is not just there because they brought Him there or forced Him to go. Rather He amazes both His parents and the doctors of the Temple by His learning and example. Nowadays, it is easy to pit the learning of theology against prayer and vice versa. One might be concerned about the dangers of learning theology as an intellectualization of the faith and forget about the discipline of faith and prayer. While another might focus on the discipline of prayer and avoid learning too much about theology. This is a false anti-thesis since both have to do with the things of God. Jesus is not against following the customs associated with attending the religious feast and the life of prayer nor is he against learning and teaching the things of God. Rather, He involves Himself, as a child, in both divine worship and in the learning and teaching of the things of God. So much so that He places the things of God above His own family. Here we see the boy Jesus worship God and then teach the wise doctors about His Father. Meanwhile his parents, having faithfully completed their religious obligations, have returned home. When they realize that He is not with them it is three days until they find Him in the Temple.

Hear how we might understand Jesus’ parents finding Him in the temple in these words of a church father: “Learn where those who seek Him find Him, not every where, but in the temple. And do thou then seek Jesus in the temple of God. Seek Him in the Church, and seek Him among the masters who are in the temple. For if thou wilt so seek Him, thou shalt find Him. They found Him not among His kinsfolk, for human relations could not comprehend the Son of God; not among His acquaintance, for He passes far beyond all human knowledge and understanding. Where then do they find Him? In the temple! If at any time thou seek the Son of God, seek him first in the temple, thither go up, and verily shalt thou find Christ, the Word, and the Wisdom.” (CA, III, 98)

Mary is rightly concerned and worried. “Son, why hast Thou done so to us? behold thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing.” Mary knows Whose Son Jesus is when she speaks of Joseph as Jesus’ father, yet Joseph is given her and Jesus by God that through His earthly parents He may be given God’s care and protection. Mary reminds Jesus that He is but a child. Jesus turns around and startles both His parents by telling them He must be about His Father’s business. Earlier they had as a family worshipped the heavenly Father. Now they do not understand what Jesus says. We see that Jesus has a human nature. Here He is saying that there is more to Him than His human nature. This revelation of Jesus to His parents shows the falseness of the teaching that says that Jesus only became divine at around age 30 when the Spirit descended upon Him at His baptism. Rather, this moment at the Temple leads us back to Jesus’ birth, His Incarnation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He is made man, yet He is called “Emmanuel,” “God with us.” Mary, is undoubtedly reminded of this, as Jesus teaches them of things beyond their understanding. Is it not Mary who ponders these things in her heart?

Mary sorrows again. This boy, her Son, conceived by the Holy Ghost, “being of one substance with the Father,” grows up and is crucified to death with her there. The death of His Son on the cross is God’s sacrifice for sin, the fulfillment of all the earthly sacrifices in the Temple. By His blood we are made clean. For three days His family sorrows. On the third day they find Him, risen in the flesh, and they rejoice. He is going to the Father but not until He can breathe upon the Apostles His Spirit and leave His Church with the comfort and salvation in the forgiveness of sins. In the work of the Holy Ghost people are drawn to the cross of Christ and the true worship of God the Father in the Church. Here the sacrifice of Christ is distributed through the preaching, hearing and learning of His Word and the Holy Supper. At Church, the faithful are strengthened in the faith, in body, mind and spirit, because here, God who is everywhere, chooses to give us Christ Himself, crucified and risen. Jesus teaches us here and He leads us to glorify the Father in the Holy Ghost.

Today is the Feast of Blessed Mary, Mother of God. God gave the world His Son through Mary. This is a mystery, that through Mary’s womb, God caused “righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.” Where did Mary find Jesus? In the temple. What was He doing? He was about His Father’s business. God created the heavens and the earth and everything that is in them. He is everywhere at all times and in every place. This is beyond our understanding. Yet His being everywhere and our inability to understand everything about Him does not mean that we are to look for Him where we think He should be found. Jesus is found in the womb of the blessed Virgin. He is found in the holy Church. He is found risen from the dead and ascended into heaven. He is at the altar and on your tongue. We can easily be misled by sin and temptation to disregard the holy things of God or take them for granted. Jesus showed His parents and us what truly are the more important things. After pointing His parents to His Father’s business “He went down with them . . . and was subject to them.” Jesus brings together the worship, the teaching and the life of the family so that they are not one against the other. From teaching the Word He takes us to the altar. There He leads us to His Father’s business. He submitted to His Father’s will on the cross. Now He leads us to His Father’s House. Amen.

In the Name of the Father and of the †Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Question of the Day

2010-10-11T14:19:00.002-05:00

Why should Western traditions be blamed for the ecological crisis when those traditions were cast aside by modern science three centuries ago?

HT: New Oxford Review, 10/11/10

Holy Rosary

2010-10-07T14:56:00.004-05:00

Today the Western Church commemorates the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. The use of the Rosary in the Catholic Church is attributed to St. Dominic, founder of the Order of Friars Preachers.

From the Collect: "O God whose only-begotten Son by His life, death and resurrection, purchased for us the rewards of eternal life . . ." ("Deus, cujus Unigénitus per vitam, mortem et resurrectiónem suam nobis salútis aetérnae praemia comparávit . . .")

Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels

2010-10-02T12:14:00.003-05:00

Deus, qui ineffábili providéntia sanctos Angelos tuos ad nostram custódiam míttere dignáris . . .

O God, who in Thine ineffable Providence hast deigned to send Thy holy Angels to watch over us . . .

(Collect)

Image Credit: Te Deum laudamus!

Latin vivit

2010-10-01T19:14:00.001-05:00

Latin vivit.

Religious Literacy

2010-10-01T15:48:00.003-05:00

Here is an important article on religious literacy that came out a few days ago. The article is based on a poll demonstrating that Americans are not very knowledgeable about religion, even their own. Most of the results are not surprising. The average American is likely comfortable with these findings. The article identifies regular worship attendance and level of education as factors in knowing more about religion and religions.

St. Michael the Archangel

2010-09-29T07:06:00.003-05:00

Stetit Angelus juxta aram templi, habens thuríbulum áureum in manu sua:
et data sunt ei incénsa multa et ascéndit fumus aromátum in conspéctu Dei.

An Angel stood near the altar of the temple, having a golden censer in his hand:
and there was given to him much incense and the smoke of the perfumes ascended before God.

(Offertory)

St. Linus, Pope and Martyr

2010-09-23T12:20:00.004-05:00

On the traditional calendar, today is the feast of St. Linus, Pope and Martyr (d. ca. 76). He is considered to be the first Bishop of Rome after Peter by the Apostolic Constitutions and early fathers such as Irenaeus, Jerome and John Chrysostom and the historian, Eusebius. Others contest this saying that Clement was the first to follow the Apostle. Historically speaking, this is a fascinating question. The witnesses here in support of Linus carry weight.

There is little or no difficulty with Apostolic Succession. This is understood in my tradition and confession as succession of the "apostolic doctrine," which I wholeheartedly support. Still, it is not possible to have succession in teaching without succession in office and succession of holy men called to fill the office. Therefore, the burden of proof, in my mind, lies more with those who have rejected the vast majority of Christianity on this particular teaching and practice. In my tradition it is rationalized away, like so many other things, as adiaphora or de-constructed. We ought not just hear the Gospel but also have those men who are sent to preach to us. There is clear Scriptural example.

Gregem tuum, Pastor aetérne, placátus inténde . . .

"Look forgivingly on Thy flock, Eternal Shepherd, and keep it in Thy constant protection . . ." (Collect of Si díligis me . . .)

Some analysis of the Pope's Visit so far

2010-09-18T12:29:00.001-05:00

here

let the clouds rain

2010-09-18T11:26:00.004-05:00

I always appreciate when the weather and the liturgy cooperate with each other. Last night and this morning there were thunder showers. Then at this morning's Mass: "Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just . . ." (Introit, Is. 12)

Rorate, coeli, désuper, et nubes plurant justum . . .

A homily on good works

2010-09-17T12:04:00.004-05:00

The following is a homily on good works by a Lutheran pastor:

Pentecost 16 Luke 14:1-11

1 et factum est cum intraret in domum cuiusdam principis Pharisaeorum sabbato manducare panem et ipsi observabant eum 2 et ecce homo quidam hydropicus erat ante illum 3 et respondens Iesus dixit ad legis peritos et Pharisaeos dicens si licet sabbato curare 4 at illi tacuerunt ipse vero adprehensum sanavit eum ac dimisit 5 et respondens ad illos dixit cuius vestrum asinus aut bos in puteum cadet et non continuo extrahet illum die sabbati 6 et non poterant ad haec respondere illi 7 dicebat autem et ad invitatos parabolam intendens quomodo primos accubitus eligerent dicens ad illos 8 cum invitatus fueris ad nuptias non discumbas in primo loco ne forte honoratior te sit invitatus ab eo 9 et veniens is qui te et illum vocavit dicat tibi da huic locum et tunc incipias cum rubore novissimum locum tenere 10 sed cum vocatus fueris vade recumbe in novissimo loco ut cum venerit qui te invitavit dicat tibi amice ascende superius tunc erit tibi gloria coram simul discumbentibus 11 quia omnis qui se exaltat humiliabitur et qui se humiliat exaltabitur

In the name of the Father and of the †Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

If God has blessed the Sabbath Day as He has then this Day is especially a day of good works. This day is a day of rest, following in the pattern of God’s own rest from the work of Creation. We also see this day as a day of the New Creation, the 8th Day, following Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead. So there is rest from our labors and new life that comes from being in Christ. When Mary is called blessed among women it is because through her womb God bears the good works of salvation in His Son. Sinful man and creation cannot bear good works. There is no rest for sinful man or hope of new life. Then, where sin by Adam and Eve corrupted that creation which was called “good” by God, He returned to bless man and all of creation through the birth of the Second Adam by the Blessed Virgin and His good works of fulfilling the Law, suffering and dying for all sin, rising and ascending into heaven. When the Church celebrates the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary it is not just for her sake it is to remember God’s power in that which is humble. Does not the birth of Mary magnify the birth of Her Son? So the Apostle, who once persecuted the Church, now writes in confidence to the Church at Ephesus that he bows His knees to the Father. He writes, “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” These are lofty words but they show, like the words of the Magnificat of Mary, that God can and does work His powerful good work in Mary, in His Church, in us – in Christ. Through Christ we come back around to what it means to have rest in God, to believe in the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting, a world without end.

The Pharisees also believe in the Creation and in the Sabbath rest. They are very careful to not break the Third Commandment. It is not that they do not know the Law, it is that they have forgotten that the Law is good. This is God’s Word to His covenant people. The Law is for their good. So while God blessed the sabbath, they forbid good to be done on the sabbath (Theophyl.)

Jesus eats bread with them at the house of one of the chief Pharisees. As the Evangelist records, “They watched Him.” Although He is invited to table He is not really welcome. Jesus knows their thoughts so when the man with dropsy appears before Him He takes the opportunity to probe them with the question, “Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day?” Healing is a work, a good work. Yet since it is a work, does it not mean that doing it on the day of rest is breaking the Law? They cannot respond. On the sabbath day would they not save an ass or ox that has fallen into the pit? They are speechless. We may draw parallels today to those who may place such value on plants and animals, and the earth itself, to save them while human life is devalued to the point that taking the life of the unborn becomes simply nothing more than a choice. Would they save the ass or ox who has fallen into the pit and not allow for healing of the man with dropsy? Sin is speechless before the holy God.

In the face of their silence Jesus tells a parable. He noticed that they chose the better place. What if someone more honorable comes to the wedding. They will have to move to a lower place, even the lowest place. When invited, take the lowest place. You may be invited to the higher room. Rather than being put to shame you will receive more honor. “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Jesus heals the man with dropsy that the good work of God’s mercy may be shown to those who have the best places and yet have forgotten their place before God. They look down on the man with dropsy yet they would save their animals fallen in a pit. He who they look down on is healed and they are put to shame. The Law is not given to make others sacrifice but that all may know the mercy of God. We are not invited here to false humility for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The Pharisees and lawyers have their vocation yet they have lost sight of Him who gave them what they have. Their vocations have become a means to better themselves over others rather than opportunities to recognize the mercy of God and to work while it is day. The Lord who created them and the man who had dropsy desires mercy. This is the same Lord who gave them the Law. He is the same Lord who will offer Himself up as the sacrifice for their sin and the sin of all on the cross. Here is the ultimate good work of mercy and healing. He, born the Son of God, is knocked down in shame and crucified amongst thieves. Yet by being lifted up on the cross He draws all men to Himself. At the cross the Father’s mercy conquers the pride of sin. At the resurrection, He who has descended to the lowest place, is raised in glory. He eventually ascends to the highest places where He has prepared the best places for you and me and all who call upon His name for mercy.

Our Father’s mercy first given us in Holy Baptism is there for us in His invitation to the Holy Supper. The Apostle Paul’s words to the church at Ephesus may be applied to this Sacrament as I applied them earlier to the mystery of the Incarnate birth of Jesus by the blessed Mother of God. Through this Sacrament, we who are weak and sinful, become those who also have Christ dwell in our hearts. Here He works His powerful good work in us so that we, as Paul says, “may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge.” Only if Jesus goes before us guiding us on the right path and only if He follows us, forgiving us our sins, are we able to be intent on good works. These are works that He has prepared in advance for us to do. These are works that will follow us after we die. These are works that are rooted in Christ and His mercy. Christ makes our works “good.” He who sanctifies us, is He who creates what is good and redeems what is destroyed by sin. We are poor and needy. Like Paul, we bow our knees to the Father and cry in repentance, “Have mercy on me, O Lord.” By His Body and Blood we are given forgiveness and given the foretaste of the feast to come. This blessed Sacrament is the God-given feast of the one Church, here on earth and there in glory. In the words of the Psalmist,
102: 16 “For the Lord shall build up Zion;
He shall appear in His glory.
17 He shall regard the prayer of the destitute,
And shall not despise their prayer.

This same Lord invites you to the altar saying, “Come unto Me all You who are weary, and I will give you rest.” He never rests from His good work of keeping the Sabbath Day holy with the holy Eucharist, that you “may be filled with the fullness of God” and abound in His good and merciful work of working good works in you, that others may see them and glorify your Father in heaven. Amen.

In the name of the Father and of the †Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Isidore's Laptop

2010-09-15T14:28:00.004-05:00

It dawned on me that one of the reasons that St. Isidore was chosen as the patron saint of the internet might be his laptop. It appears to hold many giga- or terra-bytes.

Pope visits England and Scotland

2010-09-14T17:21:00.002-05:00

Pope Benedict XVI will visit England and Scotland September 16-19. This is not news, the visit has been all over the Christian, religious and secular internet for a while. During the visit the pope will beatify the 19th c. Cardinal John Henry Newman. Apart from Newman's life and conversion, one only needs to read a little of Newman's writings to know why.

Below are some recent articles worth reading online about the the pope's visit:

"There is a tremendous hypocrisy about all this anti-Catholic feeling."

Read more here.

HT: New Advent

"For Benedict, Newman represents a model in that he fought against the same moral relativism — the idea that all religions are the same and that there's no objective truth — that Benedict has denounced during his papacy."

Read more here.

Liturgy and Eucharist - A "Conservative" Lutheran Conundrum

2010-09-12T19:43:00.006-05:00

[Disclaimer: The primaries are approaching but the post title and this post have nothing to do with current secular political issues.]

It is not surprising to hear "conservative" Lutheran pastors defend the liturgy. The use of hymnals, the services contained therein and hymnody are supported against efforts to make the liturgy something minimal or make it entertaining.

An eye opener for me these days is to hear that this same "conservative" thinking does not see a connection between the liturgy and the holy Eucharist. In other words, let us keep the hymnals, the hymns and the orders of service but it is not necessary to offer the Eucharist. Some, it seems, would even rather not offer it.

Now it is probably best that the Eucharist not be offered if it is not done reverently and following accepted historical liturgical practice. However, what concerns me in this thinking, which was a surprise to me when I first heard it, is the idea that the liturgy might really not have anything or little to do with the Eucharist.

We need not rehearse 2,000 years of Christian history, nor, for Lutherans, the Scriptures and the Confessions, let alone the Lord's institution. We must be living in a vacuum of some sort that such thinking exists among clergy. At least three factors have me concerned. First, this talk is heard among the clergy. Second, these clergy consider themselves "conservative" Lutherans. Finally, the very possibility that the liturgy might have anything to do with the Eucharist seems not even to be a consideration by some. Is the Eucharist merely an appendage that we add on random occasions?

If a study of Scripture and/or the Lutheran Confessions cannot help the clergy then I am not one who can be of much help. Also, there are numerous volumes written on this topic, as if the liturgy itself cannot be of assistance. Let me simply make two observations. First, it appears that this thinking is also connected to the lack of making a connection between the liturgy and factors such as reverence and holiness. Second, if this is what it means to be "conservative" Lutheran, supporting the separation of the Eucharist from the liturgy, then don't call me a "conservative."

Perseverance, or 3 bad centuries

2010-09-12T15:22:00.004-05:00

This is an interesting article on Catholics
in England following the Reformation.

Reflections on 9/11

2010-09-11T19:55:00.003-05:00

Excerpts from a homily, September 16, 2001 Luke 3:1-5

All of us are affected by the great disaster that has befallen this great nation . . . We are a people of many cultures, races and ethnic groups. We are a people of many different religions . . .

. . .

We too look forward to that glorious Day when there will be no more suffering, no more hatred, no more tears. God has promised that Day to us . . . We have been clothed with Christ and His righteousness. This message of the cross is certain hope. The Savior has conquered our enemies of sin and the devil once and for all. He has conquered the last enemy, death itself, with His glorious resurrection . . . Therefore we await the resurrection of the flesh and the certainty of eternal life in the promised land.

While we await the promised peace and glory what do we make of such suffering and death? Why does almighty God permit such things to happen to people – even those who believe in His Son? It is not our merciful God who brings these things upon us . . . Such terrible things remind us of our own weakness and how we are in desperate need of the One who created us and saved us from ourselves, our sin and eternal punishment. It is not that others are worse sinners than we are. Pilate mixed the blood of the Galileans with their sacrifices. The tower in Siloam fell and killed eighteen. Jesus died on the cross
. . .

Why does God permit such suffering and death to fall upon His only Son? Here we see that God is really a God of mercy. His love is so great that He will not allow anything to come between Him and us, including disasters and war. Through Christ He has made us His own . . . He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? . . . Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning . . . (Lam. 3)

Clothed with salvation

2010-09-11T12:02:00.007-05:00

I will also clothe her priests with salvation,
And her saints shall shout aloud for joy.
There I will make the horn of David grow;
I will prepare a lamp for My Anointed.
- Psalm 132:16, 17

God bless the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church and Rev. Matthew C. Harrison, the new president of the Lutheran Church -- Missouri Synod, as he follows in the light of the Lord's Anointed, leading Lutherans in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

The catholic problem of a-historical theology

2010-09-09T14:14:00.004-05:00

Here is a book review/article that addresses a-historical theology and its collapse, especially with reference to "progressive" change within the Catholic Church coming out of Vatican II.

The article addresses issues not unrelated to confusion about the Holy Ministry that exist to this day also among non-Catholics (ie, the dated "everyone a minister.")

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

2010-09-08T06:47:00.005-05:00

Collect -
Famulis tuis, quaesumus, Dómine, coeléstis grátiae munus impertíre: ut, quibus beátae Vírginis partus éxstitit salútis exórdium; Navitátis ejus votíva solémnitas, pacis tríbuat increméntum. Per Dóminum nostrum . . .

Bestow upon Thy servants, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the gift of Thy heavenly grace: that as the childbearing of the Blessed Virgin who was the beginning of our salvation, so the solemn feast of her Nativity may bring us an increase of peace. Through our Lord . . .

More news from England

2010-09-03T14:06:00.003-05:00

See article here. Dealing with "sin" is not even considered. We're back to the slippery slope.

The Mind is a Wonderful Creation

2010-09-03T13:19:00.004-05:00

I keep coming back to the news article about the English physicist, Stephen Hawking, and his new book with his idea that God is not needed in the creation of the universe. Obviously, this man is very intelligent so any response I can humbly make to his thought here as a non-scientist is simply simple thoughts.

Hawking writes, "Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist."

Apart from his doubt that God has something to do with creation, I appreciate Hawking's observations that creation occurs "from nothing." Also, I like the descriptive "spontaneous creation." There is something to work with here.

The article also shares a quote from Hawking's earlier book, "If we discover a complete theory, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason -- for then we should know the mind of God."

Now, I am the doubter. I do not believe a "complete theory" is possible using human reason. I digress to add that divine revelation helps us to know in part the mind of God, even enough to learn of man's salvation.

I do not doubt Hawking's intellectual capacity. Undoubtedly, it is beyond my comprehension. Still, I think, with his scientific conclusions, that he is making a religious statement.

On bumper stickers

2010-09-01T15:36:00.005-05:00

Last summer when my family and I were on vacation a van passed us. This particular van had bumper stickers plastered all over the back end, bumper, doors and windows. It was quite noticeable.

When you are driving on an interstate somewhere in between the midwest and the rocky mountain west you need this type of van to drive by. Your eyes light up and you are illuminated by the wisdom shared that may or may not make sense. This helps in a few ways. The colorful plastering of stickers stands out noticeably against the plains and the pavement. Secondly, there is just enough wisdom and foolishness summarized in pithy phrases for you to think on and help you make it a few miles longer. And thirdly, the fact that someone did this to their own vehicle also helps wake another driver from slumber. So, in one sense, this type of van has the same effect on a driver as a good cup of coffee.

It is ironic that a van of this sort passed us by since, earlier in the vacation, we visited a store in Durango, Colorado, with bumper stickers all over the wall (for sale, of course). This scene of a wall full of bumper stickers was just enough for us to take out our camera and take a picture. Some of the bumper stickers reflected well the philosophy of the locals. (Although I have lived in the midwest for most of the last thirty years, I confess to being a native of Colorado.)

How can a blog that comments on matters of church and liturgy digress in such a fashion? In brief, because of bumper stickers and specifically, because of two bumper stickers which I see on a regular basis on this side of town (maybe they are all over town): "Coexist," a plea for religious tolerance and "Who would Jesus bomb?" or its variant "What would Jesus bomb?"

Apart from the question of whether or not one puts a bumper sticker on their car, or whether or not the message is worth repeating, bumper stickers do have the advantage of getting people's attention. These two bumper stickers have my attention. Also, they are not too far removed from the subject matter of this blog. Both, in their own way, address religious questions.

The "coexist" bumper sticker has many variants but mainly it provides symbols of many of the major religions using the shapes of the letters. Some variants may use the "e" to symbolize science or as a symbol of gender. Whatever the variant renderings the message is clear. All of these religions and or "-isms" are equal and we all need to get along.

The second bumper sticker is a different take on the evangelical bumper sticker of a few years ago, "What would Jesus do?" Now it is rendered as "Who would Jesus bomb?" or "What would Jesus bomb?" Here is a clear anti-war message with attendant anti-religious and specifically, anti-Christian, sentiment. While no one in the United States questions someone's right to promote peace, this bumper sticker takes it a step further.

I was not taken in by the "What would Jesus do?" craze of a few years ago. It is not a fitting summary of divine revelation. Nor, in my opinion, does Jesus belong on someone's bumper. The new message on the second bumper sticker puts all the onus of war on Jesus. While it argues for peace, much like the first bumper sticker, it fails on the question of religious co-existence for war is clearly associated with Jesus and not Mohammed, Buddha, Moses, Confucius or any other religious figure. So this bumper sticker is "tolerant" yet not tolerant at the same time. It pushes for peace but clearly at the expense of Jesus' name. One may assume that it is Jesus' fault that we at war in Iraq, Afghanistan or elsewhere.

There is the whole question of Church and State. Naturally, my concern here is more religious or spiritual. There is a time for war and a time for peace. However, Jesus' message of peace has to do with a kingdom not of this world. Therefore, He clearly does not fit into the message of this bumper sticker. Yet, maybe in a way He does. Earlier I mentioned that the bumper sticker places the onus of war on Jesus. War has existed as long as sin. Jesus took upon Himself the onus of the world's sin to His death on the cross. At the foot of the cross the enemy's head was crushed. Through Christ there is peace with God.

One is free to agree and disagree with the messages of bumper stickers. That is part of their appeal. It is not necessary for religions to be equal for people to live together in peace. If we all believed in every religion we would all believe in nothing, for truth would not be allowed. Neither does disagreement always equate with war. With religious freedom people live peaceably with neighbors who believe in different religions. I clearly disagree with the message of these bumper stickers. Yet I have one good thing to say about them. They help keep drivers awake, much like a good cup of coffee.

Church at Prayer: Ad Orientem

2010-08-31T13:58:00.002-05:00

Of the beliefs and practices whether generally accepted or publicly enjoined which are preserved in the Church some we possess derived from written teaching; others we have received delivered to us "in a mystery" by the tradition of the apostles; and both of these in relation to true religion have the same force. And these no one will gainsay—no one, at all events, who is even moderately versed in the institutions of the Church. For were we to attempt to reject such customs as have no written authority, on the ground that the importance they possess is small, we should unintentionally injure the Gospel in its very vitals; or, rather, should make our public definition a mere phrase and nothing more. To take the first and most general example, who is thence who has taught us in writing to sign with the sign of the cross those who have trusted in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ? What writing has taught us to turn to the East at the prayer? Which of the saints has left us in writing the words of the invocation at the displaying of the bread of the Eucharist and the cup of blessing? For we are not, as is well known, content with what the apostle or the Gospel has recorded, but both in preface and conclusion we add other words as being of great importance to the validity of the ministry, and these we derive from unwritten teaching.

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... we all look to the East at our prayers, but few of us know that we are seeking our own old country, Paradise, which God planted in Eden in the East.

-- St. Basil the Great (ca. A.D. 329-379), On the Holy Spirit, 27:66

HT: New Liturgical Movement