Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Why does Moses have horns?
The statue depicts Moses with horns on his head. This is believed to be because of a mistranslation of Exodus 34:29-35 by St Jerome. Moses is actually described as having "rays of the skin of his face", which Jerome in the Vulgate had translated as "horns" (See Halo). The mistake in translation is possible because the wordage can mean either "radiated (light)" or "grew horns".
from, yes, Wikipedia.com
from, yes, Wikipedia.com
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Exodus 20:1-26
1 Then God delivered all these commandments:
2
"I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.
3
You shall not have other gods besides me.
4
You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth;
5
2 you shall not bow down before them or worship them. For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their fathers' wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation;
6
but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation, on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7
"You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain. For the LORD will not leave unpunished him who takes his name in vain.
8
"Remember to keep holy the sabbath day.
9
Six days you may labor and do all your work,
10
but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God. No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter, or your male or female slave, or your beast, or by the alien who lives with you.
11
In six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
12
"Honor your father and your mother, that you may have a long life in the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you.
13
"You shall not kill.
14
"You shall not commit adultery.
15
"You shall not steal.
16
"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass, nor anything else that belongs to him."
18
When the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the trumpet blast and the mountain smoking, they all feared and trembled. So they took up a position much farther away
19
and said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we shall die."
20
Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid, for God has come to you only to test you and put his fear upon you, lest you should sin."
21
Still the people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the cloud where God was.
22
The LORD told Moses, "Thus shall you speak to the Israelites: You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven.
23
Do not make anything to rank with me; neither gods of silver nor gods of gold shall you make for yourselves.
24
"An altar of earth you shall make for me, and upon it you shall sacrifice your holocausts and peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In whatever place I choose for the remembrance of my name I will come to you and bless you.
25
If you make an altar of stone for me, do not build it of cut stone, for by putting a tool to it you desecrate it.
26
You shall not go up by steps to my altar, on which you must not be indecently uncovered.
2
"I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.
3
You shall not have other gods besides me.
4
You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth;
5
2 you shall not bow down before them or worship them. For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their fathers' wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation;
6
but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation, on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7
"You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain. For the LORD will not leave unpunished him who takes his name in vain.
8
"Remember to keep holy the sabbath day.
9
Six days you may labor and do all your work,
10
but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God. No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter, or your male or female slave, or your beast, or by the alien who lives with you.
11
In six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
12
"Honor your father and your mother, that you may have a long life in the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you.
13
"You shall not kill.
14
"You shall not commit adultery.
15
"You shall not steal.
16
"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass, nor anything else that belongs to him."
18
When the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the trumpet blast and the mountain smoking, they all feared and trembled. So they took up a position much farther away
19
and said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we shall die."
20
Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid, for God has come to you only to test you and put his fear upon you, lest you should sin."
21
Still the people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the cloud where God was.
22
The LORD told Moses, "Thus shall you speak to the Israelites: You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven.
23
Do not make anything to rank with me; neither gods of silver nor gods of gold shall you make for yourselves.
24
"An altar of earth you shall make for me, and upon it you shall sacrifice your holocausts and peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In whatever place I choose for the remembrance of my name I will come to you and bless you.
25
If you make an altar of stone for me, do not build it of cut stone, for by putting a tool to it you desecrate it.
26
You shall not go up by steps to my altar, on which you must not be indecently uncovered.
Exodus 24:13-18
The LORD said to Moses,
13
"You must also tell the Israelites: Take care to keep my sabbaths, for that is to be the token between you and me throughout the generations, to show that it is I, the LORD, who make you holy.
14
Therefore, you must keep the sabbath as something sacred. Whoever desecrates it shall be put to death. If anyone does work on that day, he must be rooted out of his people.
15
Six days there are for doing work, but the seventh day is the sabbath of complete rest, sacred to the LORD. Anyone who does work on the sabbath day shall be put to death.
16
So shall the Israelites observe the sabbath, keeping it throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.
17
Between me and the Israelites it is to be an everlasting token; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, but on the seventh day he rested at his ease."
18
When the LORD had finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the commandments, the stone tablets inscribed by God's own finger.
13
"You must also tell the Israelites: Take care to keep my sabbaths, for that is to be the token between you and me throughout the generations, to show that it is I, the LORD, who make you holy.
14
Therefore, you must keep the sabbath as something sacred. Whoever desecrates it shall be put to death. If anyone does work on that day, he must be rooted out of his people.
15
Six days there are for doing work, but the seventh day is the sabbath of complete rest, sacred to the LORD. Anyone who does work on the sabbath day shall be put to death.
16
So shall the Israelites observe the sabbath, keeping it throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.
17
Between me and the Israelites it is to be an everlasting token; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, but on the seventh day he rested at his ease."
18
When the LORD had finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the commandments, the stone tablets inscribed by God's own finger.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Lesson 18 from the Baltimore Cathechism
RE: the Second and Third Commandments:
224. What is the second commandment of God?
The second commandment of God is: Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that shall take the name of the Lord in vain. (Exodus 20:7)
225. What are we commanded by the second commandment?
By the second commandment we are commanded always to speak with reverence of God, of the saints, and of holy things, and to be truthful in taking oaths and faithful to them and to our vows.
Blessed be the name of the Lord both now and forever. From the rising of the sun unto its going down, may the name of the Lord be praised. (Psalm 112:2-3)
226. What is an oath?
An oath is the calling on God to witness the truth of what we say.
For men swear by one greater than themselves, and an oath given as a guarantee is the final settlement of all their disagreement. (Hebrews 6:16)
227. What things are necessary to make an oath lawful?
To make an oath lawful, three things are necessary: first, we must have a good reason for taking an oath; second, we must be convinced that what we say under oath is true; third, we must not swear, that is, take an oath, to do what is wrong.
And thou shalt swear: As the Lord liveth, in truth, and in judgment and in justice. (Jeremiah 4:2)
228. What great sin does a person commit who deliberately calls on God to bear witness to a lie?
A person who deliberately calls on God to bear witness to a lie commits the very grievous sin of perjury.
Thou shalt not swear falsely by my name, nor profane the name of thy God. (Leviticus 19:12)
229. What is a vow?
A vow is a deliberate promise made to God by which a person binds himself under pain of sin to do something that is especially pleasing to God.
When thou hast made a vow to the Lord thy God, thou shalt not delay to pay it; because the Lord thy God will require it. (Deuteronomy 23:21)
230. What is meant by taking God's name in vain?
By taking God's name in vain is meant that the name of God or the holy name of Jesus Christ is used without reverence; for example, to express surprise or anger.
Blessed be the name of the Lord both now and forever. From the rising of the sun unto its going down, may the name of the Lord be praised. (Psalm 112:2-3)
231. Is it a sin to take God's name in vain?
It is a sin to take God's name in vain; ordinarily, it is a venial sin.
232. What is cursing?
Cursing is the calling down of some evil on a person, place, or thing.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. (Romans 12:14)
233. What is blasphemy?
Blasphemy is insulting language which expresses contempt for God, either directly or through His saints and holy things.
Amen I say to you, that all sins shall be forgiven to the sons of men, and the blasphemies wherewith they may blaspheme; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Ghost never has forgiveness, but will be guilty of an everlasting sin. (Mark 3:28-30)
234. What is the third commandment of God?
The third commandment of God is: Remember thou keep holy the Lord's day.
And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. (Genesis 2:2)
235. Why does the Church command us to keep Sunday as the Lord's day?
The Church commands us to keep Sunday as the Lord's day, because on Sunday Christ rose from the dead, and on Sunday the Holy Ghost descended upon the apostles.
236. What are we commanded by the third commandment?
By the third commandment we are commanded to worship God in a special manner on Sunday, the Lord's day.
Keep you my sabbath; for it is holy unto you. (Exodus 31:14)
237. How does the Church command us to worship God on Sunday?
The Church commands us to worship God on Sunday by assisting at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
238. What is forbidden by the third commandment of God?
By the third commandment of God all unnecessary servile work on Sunday is forbidden.
Six days shall you do work; in the seventh day is the sabbath, the rest holy to the Lord. (Exodus 31:15)
239. What is servile work?
Servile work is that which requires labor of body rather than of mind.
240. When is servile work allowed on Sunday?
Servile work is allowed on Sunday when the honor of God, our own need, or that of our neighbor requires it.
www.catholicity.com/baltimore-catechism
224. What is the second commandment of God?
The second commandment of God is: Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that shall take the name of the Lord in vain. (Exodus 20:7)
225. What are we commanded by the second commandment?
By the second commandment we are commanded always to speak with reverence of God, of the saints, and of holy things, and to be truthful in taking oaths and faithful to them and to our vows.
Blessed be the name of the Lord both now and forever. From the rising of the sun unto its going down, may the name of the Lord be praised. (Psalm 112:2-3)
226. What is an oath?
An oath is the calling on God to witness the truth of what we say.
For men swear by one greater than themselves, and an oath given as a guarantee is the final settlement of all their disagreement. (Hebrews 6:16)
227. What things are necessary to make an oath lawful?
To make an oath lawful, three things are necessary: first, we must have a good reason for taking an oath; second, we must be convinced that what we say under oath is true; third, we must not swear, that is, take an oath, to do what is wrong.
And thou shalt swear: As the Lord liveth, in truth, and in judgment and in justice. (Jeremiah 4:2)
228. What great sin does a person commit who deliberately calls on God to bear witness to a lie?
A person who deliberately calls on God to bear witness to a lie commits the very grievous sin of perjury.
Thou shalt not swear falsely by my name, nor profane the name of thy God. (Leviticus 19:12)
229. What is a vow?
A vow is a deliberate promise made to God by which a person binds himself under pain of sin to do something that is especially pleasing to God.
When thou hast made a vow to the Lord thy God, thou shalt not delay to pay it; because the Lord thy God will require it. (Deuteronomy 23:21)
230. What is meant by taking God's name in vain?
By taking God's name in vain is meant that the name of God or the holy name of Jesus Christ is used without reverence; for example, to express surprise or anger.
Blessed be the name of the Lord both now and forever. From the rising of the sun unto its going down, may the name of the Lord be praised. (Psalm 112:2-3)
231. Is it a sin to take God's name in vain?
It is a sin to take God's name in vain; ordinarily, it is a venial sin.
232. What is cursing?
Cursing is the calling down of some evil on a person, place, or thing.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. (Romans 12:14)
233. What is blasphemy?
Blasphemy is insulting language which expresses contempt for God, either directly or through His saints and holy things.
Amen I say to you, that all sins shall be forgiven to the sons of men, and the blasphemies wherewith they may blaspheme; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Ghost never has forgiveness, but will be guilty of an everlasting sin. (Mark 3:28-30)
234. What is the third commandment of God?
The third commandment of God is: Remember thou keep holy the Lord's day.
And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. (Genesis 2:2)
235. Why does the Church command us to keep Sunday as the Lord's day?
The Church commands us to keep Sunday as the Lord's day, because on Sunday Christ rose from the dead, and on Sunday the Holy Ghost descended upon the apostles.
236. What are we commanded by the third commandment?
By the third commandment we are commanded to worship God in a special manner on Sunday, the Lord's day.
Keep you my sabbath; for it is holy unto you. (Exodus 31:14)
237. How does the Church command us to worship God on Sunday?
The Church commands us to worship God on Sunday by assisting at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
238. What is forbidden by the third commandment of God?
By the third commandment of God all unnecessary servile work on Sunday is forbidden.
Six days shall you do work; in the seventh day is the sabbath, the rest holy to the Lord. (Exodus 31:15)
239. What is servile work?
Servile work is that which requires labor of body rather than of mind.
240. When is servile work allowed on Sunday?
Servile work is allowed on Sunday when the honor of God, our own need, or that of our neighbor requires it.
www.catholicity.com/baltimore-catechism
Friday, September 25, 2009
from "Eucharistic Crusaders"
At Zakopane, Fr. Maximilian suffered and prayed. He spent his whole day in prayer. He wrote to his brother, “When I am sometimes tempted to worry, I say to myself, ‘Foolish one, why do you worry? Is this your work or Our Lady’s work? If all belongs to Mary, then She will look after all!’” And Mary did look after all, the Immaculata magazine continued to spread more and more!
During his illness, Fr. Maximilian also suffered darkness of soul. He could not see what was happening in his soul and had to live by Faith, not feelings. He wrote to the novices at Grodno warning them, “Do not be attached to sensible graces. You must expect periods of darkness, anxiety, fears, temptations, and sometimes physical or mental suffering. These crosses will help you become saints!”
During his illness, Fr. Maximilian also suffered darkness of soul. He could not see what was happening in his soul and had to live by Faith, not feelings. He wrote to the novices at Grodno warning them, “Do not be attached to sensible graces. You must expect periods of darkness, anxiety, fears, temptations, and sometimes physical or mental suffering. These crosses will help you become saints!”
Blessed Joseph Cottolengo Bio
Blessed Joseph Cottolengo
Born Bra, Italy, 1786; died Chieri, 1842. He became a canon of the Church of Corpus Christi at Turin, where, in imitation of Saint Vincent de Paul, he worked among the poor and sick, and completed the Casa della Providenza, a group of hospitals and asylums with accommodation for 7000 patients. In connection with this work he established houses of the Sisters of Saint Vincent de Paul, of Saint Thais, of Carmel, of Suffrage, of Mary of the Seven Dolors, of the Good Shepherd, of Brothers of Saint Vincent de Paul, of Hermits of Gassin, and of Fathers of the Holy Trinity. The Blessed Virgin appeared to him twice. Beatified, 1917. Feast, at Alba Pompea, O.F.M., and at Turin, 30 April.
New Catholic Dictionary
Born Bra, Italy, 1786; died Chieri, 1842. He became a canon of the Church of Corpus Christi at Turin, where, in imitation of Saint Vincent de Paul, he worked among the poor and sick, and completed the Casa della Providenza, a group of hospitals and asylums with accommodation for 7000 patients. In connection with this work he established houses of the Sisters of Saint Vincent de Paul, of Saint Thais, of Carmel, of Suffrage, of Mary of the Seven Dolors, of the Good Shepherd, of Brothers of Saint Vincent de Paul, of Hermits of Gassin, and of Fathers of the Holy Trinity. The Blessed Virgin appeared to him twice. Beatified, 1917. Feast, at Alba Pompea, O.F.M., and at Turin, 30 April.
New Catholic Dictionary
Thursday, September 24, 2009
St. Paul: Reason Can Know God Exists...
For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and diety, has been clearly percieved in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse."
Romans 1:19-20
Romans 1:19-20
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
St. Augustine Quotation
If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself. " -Contra Faustum, 17,3
Sunday, September 20, 2009
REVIEW SHEET #1
9th Religion Review Sheet
Terms/Prayers
Terms:
1. Faith--In general, is an assent of the mind to the truth of some proposition on the word of another, God or man. Divine faith is therefore the holding of some truth as absolutely certain because God, Who can neither deceive nor be deceived, has spoken it. It is not merely a feeling or a suspicion or an opinion, but a firm, unshakeable adherence of the mind to a truth revealed by God. The motive of Divine faith, or the reason why we believe, is God's authority, His unfailing knowledge and truthfulness.
2. Hope--One of the three theological virtues infused into the soul together with sanctifying grace and having God as its primary object. It makes us desire eternal life or the possession of God and gives us the confidence of receiving the grace necessary to arrive at this possession.
3. Love--The supernatural virtue of love (theological virtue of charity), is not acquired but infused. It is a love of God for His own sake, and of fellow man and of self for God's sake. "God is love," St. John tells us. Hence, charity is the greatest virtue.
4. Adoration--Latin: ad, to; orare, to pray; or os, oris, mouth: from the pagan custom of expressing preference for a god by wafting a kiss to the statue) An act of religion offered to God alone in recognition of His infinite perfection and supreme dominion, and of the creature's dependence on Him. It is an act of mind and will expressing itself exteriorly by postures of reverence and prayers of praise.
5. Prayer--(Greek euchesthai, Latin precari, French prier, to plead, to beg, to ask earnestly). An act of the virtue of religion which consists in asking proper gifts or graces from God. In a more general sense it is the application of the mind to Divine things, not merely to acquire a knowledge of them but to make use of such knowledge as a means of union with God. This may be done by acts of praise and thanksgiving, but petition is the principal act of prayer.
6. Sacrifice--In a less rigorous or a figurative sense, a sacrifice is any offering made to God with a view to honoring Him, such as acts of virtue, almsgiving, and prayer.
7. Religion--Latin: religere, to recover, or religare, to bind) In its widest sense the union of man with God. Objectively, it consists in doctrines and precepts by which man seeks to bring about this union. Religion is true when its doctrines and precepts are either dictated by right reason or revealed by God; if the former, it is called natural religion, if the latter, supernatural religion.
Sins against the FIRST COMMANDMENT:
8. Superstition--Defined by St. Thomas (II-II:92:1) as "a vice opposed to religion by way of excess; not because in the worship of God it does more than true religion, but because it offers Divine worship to beings other than God or offers worship to God in an improper manner".
9. Idolatry--etymologically denotes Divine worship given to an image, but its signification has been extended to all Divine worship given to anyone or anything but the true God. St. Thomas (Summa Theol., II-II, q. xciv) treats of it as a species of the genus superstition, which is a vice opposed to the virtue of religion and consists in giving Divine honour (cultus) to things that are not God, or to God Himself in a wrong way. The specific note of idolatry is its direct opposition to the primary object of Divine worship; it bestows on a creature the reverence due to God alone.
10. Divination--(Latin: divinare, to foretell) Seeking after the knowledge of future or hidden things through means inadequate by nature and unlawful. By natural means some effects can be foreseen with physical certainty; others surmised as probable; others are contingent upon future, free causes and knowable only to God. Divination implies the direct or indirect solicitation of a preternatural evil agency to supplement a natural deficiency. Its practise or patronage is sinful, varying with circumstances.
11. Magic--In a restricted sense magic is understood to be an interference with the usual course of physical nature by apparently inadequate means (recitation of formularies, gestures, mixing of incongruous elements, and other mysterious actions), the knowledge of which is obtained through secret communication with the force underlying the universe (God, the Devil, the soul of the world, etc.); it is the attempt to work miracles not by the power of God, gratuitously communicated to man, but by the use of hidden forces beyond man's control.
13. Atheism-- is that system of thought which is formally opposed to theism. Materialism, which professes to find in matter its own cause and explanation, may go farther, and positively exclude the existence of any spiritual cause. That such a dogmatic assertion is both unreasonable and illogical needs no demonstration, for it is an inference not warranted by the facts nor justified by the laws of thought.
14. Agnosticism--as a general term in philosophy, is frequently employed to express any conscious attitude of doubt, denial, or disbelief, towards some, or even all, of man's powers of knowing or objects of knowledge.
Terms/Prayers
Terms:
1. Faith--In general, is an assent of the mind to the truth of some proposition on the word of another, God or man. Divine faith is therefore the holding of some truth as absolutely certain because God, Who can neither deceive nor be deceived, has spoken it. It is not merely a feeling or a suspicion or an opinion, but a firm, unshakeable adherence of the mind to a truth revealed by God. The motive of Divine faith, or the reason why we believe, is God's authority, His unfailing knowledge and truthfulness.
2. Hope--One of the three theological virtues infused into the soul together with sanctifying grace and having God as its primary object. It makes us desire eternal life or the possession of God and gives us the confidence of receiving the grace necessary to arrive at this possession.
3. Love--The supernatural virtue of love (theological virtue of charity), is not acquired but infused. It is a love of God for His own sake, and of fellow man and of self for God's sake. "God is love," St. John tells us. Hence, charity is the greatest virtue.
4. Adoration--Latin: ad, to; orare, to pray; or os, oris, mouth: from the pagan custom of expressing preference for a god by wafting a kiss to the statue) An act of religion offered to God alone in recognition of His infinite perfection and supreme dominion, and of the creature's dependence on Him. It is an act of mind and will expressing itself exteriorly by postures of reverence and prayers of praise.
5. Prayer--(Greek euchesthai, Latin precari, French prier, to plead, to beg, to ask earnestly). An act of the virtue of religion which consists in asking proper gifts or graces from God. In a more general sense it is the application of the mind to Divine things, not merely to acquire a knowledge of them but to make use of such knowledge as a means of union with God. This may be done by acts of praise and thanksgiving, but petition is the principal act of prayer.
6. Sacrifice--In a less rigorous or a figurative sense, a sacrifice is any offering made to God with a view to honoring Him, such as acts of virtue, almsgiving, and prayer.
7. Religion--Latin: religere, to recover, or religare, to bind) In its widest sense the union of man with God. Objectively, it consists in doctrines and precepts by which man seeks to bring about this union. Religion is true when its doctrines and precepts are either dictated by right reason or revealed by God; if the former, it is called natural religion, if the latter, supernatural religion.
Sins against the FIRST COMMANDMENT:
8. Superstition--Defined by St. Thomas (II-II:92:1) as "a vice opposed to religion by way of excess; not because in the worship of God it does more than true religion, but because it offers Divine worship to beings other than God or offers worship to God in an improper manner".
9. Idolatry--etymologically denotes Divine worship given to an image, but its signification has been extended to all Divine worship given to anyone or anything but the true God. St. Thomas (Summa Theol., II-II, q. xciv) treats of it as a species of the genus superstition, which is a vice opposed to the virtue of religion and consists in giving Divine honour (cultus) to things that are not God, or to God Himself in a wrong way. The specific note of idolatry is its direct opposition to the primary object of Divine worship; it bestows on a creature the reverence due to God alone.
10. Divination--(Latin: divinare, to foretell) Seeking after the knowledge of future or hidden things through means inadequate by nature and unlawful. By natural means some effects can be foreseen with physical certainty; others surmised as probable; others are contingent upon future, free causes and knowable only to God. Divination implies the direct or indirect solicitation of a preternatural evil agency to supplement a natural deficiency. Its practise or patronage is sinful, varying with circumstances.
11. Magic--In a restricted sense magic is understood to be an interference with the usual course of physical nature by apparently inadequate means (recitation of formularies, gestures, mixing of incongruous elements, and other mysterious actions), the knowledge of which is obtained through secret communication with the force underlying the universe (God, the Devil, the soul of the world, etc.); it is the attempt to work miracles not by the power of God, gratuitously communicated to man, but by the use of hidden forces beyond man's control.
13. Atheism-- is that system of thought which is formally opposed to theism. Materialism, which professes to find in matter its own cause and explanation, may go farther, and positively exclude the existence of any spiritual cause. That such a dogmatic assertion is both unreasonable and illogical needs no demonstration, for it is an inference not warranted by the facts nor justified by the laws of thought.
14. Agnosticism--as a general term in philosophy, is frequently employed to express any conscious attitude of doubt, denial, or disbelief, towards some, or even all, of man's powers of knowing or objects of knowledge.
Definition: AGNOSTICISM
Agnosticism, as a general term in philosophy, is frequently employed to express any conscious attitude of doubt, denial, or disbelief, towards some, or even all, of man's powers of knowing or objects of knowledge.
The word Agnostic (Greek a, privative + gnostikós "knowing") was coined by Professor Huxley in 1869 to describe the mental attitude of one who regarded as futile all attempts to know the reality corresponding to our ultimate scientific, philosophic, and religious ideas. As first employed by Huxley, the new term suggested the contrast between his own unpretentious ignorance and the vain knowledge which the Gnostics of the second and third century claimed to possess. This antithesis served to discredit the conclusions of natural theology, or theistic reasoning, by classing them with the idle vapourings of Gnosticism. The classification was unfair, the attempted antithesis overdrawn.
It is rather the Gnostic and the Agnostic who are the real extremists; the former extending the bounds of knowledge, and the latter narrowing them, unduly. Natural theology, or theism, occupies the middle ground between these extremes, and should have been disassociated both from the Gnostic position, that the mind can know everything, and from the Agnostic position, that it can know nothing concerning the truths of religion.
The word Agnostic (Greek a, privative + gnostikós "knowing") was coined by Professor Huxley in 1869 to describe the mental attitude of one who regarded as futile all attempts to know the reality corresponding to our ultimate scientific, philosophic, and religious ideas. As first employed by Huxley, the new term suggested the contrast between his own unpretentious ignorance and the vain knowledge which the Gnostics of the second and third century claimed to possess. This antithesis served to discredit the conclusions of natural theology, or theistic reasoning, by classing them with the idle vapourings of Gnosticism. The classification was unfair, the attempted antithesis overdrawn.
It is rather the Gnostic and the Agnostic who are the real extremists; the former extending the bounds of knowledge, and the latter narrowing them, unduly. Natural theology, or theism, occupies the middle ground between these extremes, and should have been disassociated both from the Gnostic position, that the mind can know everything, and from the Agnostic position, that it can know nothing concerning the truths of religion.
Definition: ATHEISM
Atheism is that system of thought which is formally opposed to theism.
Materialism, which professes to find in matter its own cause and explanation, may go farther, and positively exclude the existence of any spiritual cause. That such a dogmatic assertion is both unreasonable and illogical needs no demonstration, for it is an inference not warranted by the facts nor justified by the laws of thought.
Materialism, which professes to find in matter its own cause and explanation, may go farther, and positively exclude the existence of any spiritual cause. That such a dogmatic assertion is both unreasonable and illogical needs no demonstration, for it is an inference not warranted by the facts nor justified by the laws of thought.
Definition: MAGIC
The English word magic is derived through the Latin, Greek, Persian, Assyrian from the Sumerian or Turanian word imga or emga ("deep", "profound"), a designation for the Proto-Chaldean priests or wizards. Magi became a standard term for the later Zoroastrian, or Persian, priesthood through whom Eastern occult arts were made known to the Greeks; hence, magos (as also the kindred words magikos, mageia, a magician or a person endowed with secret knowledge and power like a Persian magus.
In a restricted sense magic is understood to be an interference with the usual course of physical nature by apparently inadequate means (recitation of formularies, gestures, mixing of incongruous elements, and other mysterious actions), the knowledge of which is obtained through secret communication with the force underlying the universe (God, the Devil, the soul of the world, etc.); it is the attempt to work miracles not by the power of God, gratuitously communicated to man, but by the use of hidden forces beyond man's control.
Its advocates, despairing to move the Deity by supplication, seek the desired result by evoking powers ordinarily reserved to the Deity. It is a corruption of religion, not a preliminary stage of it as Rationalists maintain, and it appears as an accompaniment of decadent rather than of rising civilization. There is nothing to show that in Babylon, Greece, and Rome the use of magic decreased as these nations progressed; on the contrary, it increased as they declined. It is not true that "religion is the despair of magic"; in reality, magic is but a disease of religion.
In a restricted sense magic is understood to be an interference with the usual course of physical nature by apparently inadequate means (recitation of formularies, gestures, mixing of incongruous elements, and other mysterious actions), the knowledge of which is obtained through secret communication with the force underlying the universe (God, the Devil, the soul of the world, etc.); it is the attempt to work miracles not by the power of God, gratuitously communicated to man, but by the use of hidden forces beyond man's control.
Its advocates, despairing to move the Deity by supplication, seek the desired result by evoking powers ordinarily reserved to the Deity. It is a corruption of religion, not a preliminary stage of it as Rationalists maintain, and it appears as an accompaniment of decadent rather than of rising civilization. There is nothing to show that in Babylon, Greece, and Rome the use of magic decreased as these nations progressed; on the contrary, it increased as they declined. It is not true that "religion is the despair of magic"; in reality, magic is but a disease of religion.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Reason and Faith Belong Together
Faith's Greatest Threat
By William E. Carroll
The secular and materialist understanding of nature and human nature seem to be everywhere and they have come to inform what has been called "a new post-Christian narrative of life." Witness the appearance over the past several years of a strident "new atheism," a kind of "evangelical atheism," evident in the popular books of scientists and philosophers like Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens. This new atheism claims to be purely rational; it is quite often a kind of scientific idolatry that sees the natural sciences as completely sufficient to explain all that needs to be explained.
But contrary to what appear to many to be the current fundamental challenges to faith, the greatest threat to faith is not unbelief...but a view often used to defend faith: the view that radically separates and opposes faith and reason and which, at times, maintains that belief is a matter of the heart and not the mind.
In the face of what appear to be challenges from reason and science, believers often retreat to a spiritual citadel, insulate themselves from such challenges, and embrace a kind of "blind faith" that appeals only to the authority of the Bible. We see such appeals in the debates about the great social issues, from abortion and human embryonic stem cell research to same sex marriage. But the wider relationship between faith and reason concerns every element of Christian thought and practice: from the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation to the sacraments and biblical interpretation. The failure to see the essential role of reason in what we believe is one of the great threats to the faith. It is also a threat which is not new.
In the eleventh century, St. Anselm summarized the importance of the fruitful relationship between faith and reason in a famous phrase: fides quaerens intellectum – faith seeking understanding. Two centuries later, St. Thomas Aquinas often noted that faith perfects reason. God is the author of all truth, the truth that faith reveals and the truth that reason discovers. Not only is there no contradiction between these paths to truth. When each is properly navigated, there is a proper unity between them. Faith is a divine gift to a human being and a human being is an animal capable of reason.
Faith informs the human mind and will; it does not negate them. Rather it perfects both, by providing new knowledge and helping to orient the human will to virtue. Reason allows us to probe ever more deeply into what is believed, but even the initial act of believing requires the human intellect. Catholics believe, for instance, that the consecrated bread and wine have become the body and blood of Christ, that there is a new reality present. Reason cannot prove it, but through the doctrine of transubstantiation reason helps to make clear what is believed. Christian doctrines are examples of reason in the service of faith.
Mistrust of reason as the sole guide to truth in ethical matters has often meant that ethics has been reduced to religious belief and belief has been identified with mere opinion. Take abortion. When human life begins is not a matter of faith. That it is immoral intentionally to kill an innocent human being is not first of all a matter of faith. Faith perfects what we know about the dignity of each and every human life; that each human being is created in the image and likeness of God and, thus, is sacred. But the moral judgments necessary for a just society are first of all based on reason.
Faith enhances these judgments; it does not contradict them. That abortion is immoral is a conclusion of reason; that it is sinful is a conclusion of faith. This distinction between what is moral and just, on the one hand, and what faith requires, on the other, is also essential for coherent discourse about marriage and all forms of social relations. Without the proper cultivation of reason, claims about right and wrong based exclusively on faith are not only ineffective in public debate, but ultimately lack intelligibility. Of course, the proper cultivation of reason is not an easy task. Ethics is not geometry. The complexities, however, do not justify a retreat to relativism or the reduction of all moral judgments to matters of faith.
To flee from reason (and science) to the seeming safety of faith alone flies in the face of Catholic teaching and, ultimately, eviscerates faith itself. There can be no faith without reason. This does not mean that faith is subordinate to reason, even though faith presupposes reason. The new atheists are the ones who really have a restricted and distorted notion of reason. They think that there can be reason without God, or, even worse, that to embrace reason one must reject God. But faith helps the believer to see the full amplitude of reason: to see how reason, as well as faith, leads us to God.
William E. Carroll is Thomas Aquinas Fellow in Theology and Science, Blackfriars, University of Oxford.
By William E. Carroll
The secular and materialist understanding of nature and human nature seem to be everywhere and they have come to inform what has been called "a new post-Christian narrative of life." Witness the appearance over the past several years of a strident "new atheism," a kind of "evangelical atheism," evident in the popular books of scientists and philosophers like Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens. This new atheism claims to be purely rational; it is quite often a kind of scientific idolatry that sees the natural sciences as completely sufficient to explain all that needs to be explained.
But contrary to what appear to many to be the current fundamental challenges to faith, the greatest threat to faith is not unbelief...but a view often used to defend faith: the view that radically separates and opposes faith and reason and which, at times, maintains that belief is a matter of the heart and not the mind.
In the face of what appear to be challenges from reason and science, believers often retreat to a spiritual citadel, insulate themselves from such challenges, and embrace a kind of "blind faith" that appeals only to the authority of the Bible. We see such appeals in the debates about the great social issues, from abortion and human embryonic stem cell research to same sex marriage. But the wider relationship between faith and reason concerns every element of Christian thought and practice: from the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation to the sacraments and biblical interpretation. The failure to see the essential role of reason in what we believe is one of the great threats to the faith. It is also a threat which is not new.
In the eleventh century, St. Anselm summarized the importance of the fruitful relationship between faith and reason in a famous phrase: fides quaerens intellectum – faith seeking understanding. Two centuries later, St. Thomas Aquinas often noted that faith perfects reason. God is the author of all truth, the truth that faith reveals and the truth that reason discovers. Not only is there no contradiction between these paths to truth. When each is properly navigated, there is a proper unity between them. Faith is a divine gift to a human being and a human being is an animal capable of reason.
Faith informs the human mind and will; it does not negate them. Rather it perfects both, by providing new knowledge and helping to orient the human will to virtue. Reason allows us to probe ever more deeply into what is believed, but even the initial act of believing requires the human intellect. Catholics believe, for instance, that the consecrated bread and wine have become the body and blood of Christ, that there is a new reality present. Reason cannot prove it, but through the doctrine of transubstantiation reason helps to make clear what is believed. Christian doctrines are examples of reason in the service of faith.
Mistrust of reason as the sole guide to truth in ethical matters has often meant that ethics has been reduced to religious belief and belief has been identified with mere opinion. Take abortion. When human life begins is not a matter of faith. That it is immoral intentionally to kill an innocent human being is not first of all a matter of faith. Faith perfects what we know about the dignity of each and every human life; that each human being is created in the image and likeness of God and, thus, is sacred. But the moral judgments necessary for a just society are first of all based on reason.
Faith enhances these judgments; it does not contradict them. That abortion is immoral is a conclusion of reason; that it is sinful is a conclusion of faith. This distinction between what is moral and just, on the one hand, and what faith requires, on the other, is also essential for coherent discourse about marriage and all forms of social relations. Without the proper cultivation of reason, claims about right and wrong based exclusively on faith are not only ineffective in public debate, but ultimately lack intelligibility. Of course, the proper cultivation of reason is not an easy task. Ethics is not geometry. The complexities, however, do not justify a retreat to relativism or the reduction of all moral judgments to matters of faith.
To flee from reason (and science) to the seeming safety of faith alone flies in the face of Catholic teaching and, ultimately, eviscerates faith itself. There can be no faith without reason. This does not mean that faith is subordinate to reason, even though faith presupposes reason. The new atheists are the ones who really have a restricted and distorted notion of reason. They think that there can be reason without God, or, even worse, that to embrace reason one must reject God. But faith helps the believer to see the full amplitude of reason: to see how reason, as well as faith, leads us to God.
William E. Carroll is Thomas Aquinas Fellow in Theology and Science, Blackfriars, University of Oxford.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Why the Sabbath is Sunday
"The Apostles, therefore, resolved to consecrate the first of the seven days of the week to the divine worship, and they called it 'the Lord's Day.' St. John makes mention of 'the Lord's Day' in the Apocalypse (i. 10), and St. Paul commands collections to be made 'on the first day of the week' (I Cor., xvi. 2). . . . From all this we learn that even then the Lord's Day was kept holy in the Church. . . . The Church of God has thought it well to transfer the celebration and observance of the Sabbath to Sunday. On that day light first shone on the world when the Lord arose on that day, and the gate of eternal life was thrown open to us and we were called out of darkness into light. . . . We also learn from the Holy Scriptures that the first day of the week was held sacred for other reasons, viz., on that day the creation began, and on that day the Holy Ghost descended upon the Apostles" ("Roman Catechism." Third Commandment, 7, 18).
The Adventure of Faith
For Divine faith is supernatural both in the principle which elicits the acts and in the objects or truths upon which it falls. The principle which elicits assent to a truth which is beyond the grasp of the human mind must be that same mind illumined by a light superior to the light of reason, viz. the light of faith, and since, even with this light of faith, the intellect remains human, and the truth to be believed remains still obscure, the final assent of the intellect must come from the will assisted by Divine grace, as seen above. But both this Divine light and this Divine grace are pure gifts of God, and are consequently only bestowed at His good pleasure.
It is here that the heroism of faith comes in; our reason will lead us to the door of faith but there it leaves us; and God asks of us that earnest wish to believe for the sake of the reward — "I am thy reward exceeding great" — which will allow us to repress the misgivings of the intellect and say, "I believe, Lord, help Thou my unbelief." As St. Augustine expresses it, "Ubi defecit ratio, ibi est fidei aedificatio" (Sermo ccxlvii, P.L., V, 1157 — "Where reason fails there faith builds up").
from the Cathoic Encyclopedia
It is here that the heroism of faith comes in; our reason will lead us to the door of faith but there it leaves us; and God asks of us that earnest wish to believe for the sake of the reward — "I am thy reward exceeding great" — which will allow us to repress the misgivings of the intellect and say, "I believe, Lord, help Thou my unbelief." As St. Augustine expresses it, "Ubi defecit ratio, ibi est fidei aedificatio" (Sermo ccxlvii, P.L., V, 1157 — "Where reason fails there faith builds up").
from the Cathoic Encyclopedia
The Light of Faith
a) The light of faith. — An angel understands truths which are beyond man's comprehension; if then a man were called upon to assent to a truth beyond the ken of the human intellect, but within the grasp of the angelic intellect, he would require for the time being something more than his natural light of reason, he would require what we may call "the angelic light". If, now, the same man were called upon to assent to a truth beyond the grasp of both men and angels, he would clearly need a still higher light, and this light we term "the light of faith" — a light, because it enables him to assent to those supernatural truths, and the light of faith because it does not so illumine those truths as to make them no longer obscure, for faith must ever be "the substance of things to be hoped for, the evidence of things that appear not" (Hebrews 11:1).
Hence St. Thomas (De Veritate, xiv, 9, ad 2) says: "Although the Divinely infused light of faith is more powerful than the natural light of reason, nevertheless in our present state we only imperfectly participate in it; and hence it comes to pass that it does not beget in us real vision of those things which it is meant to teach us; such vision belongs to our eternal home, where we shall perfectly participate in that light, where, in fine, in God's light we shall see light' (Ps. xxxv, 10)."
(b) The necessity of such light is evident from what has been said, for faith is essentially an act of assent, and just as assent to a series of deductive or inductive reasonings, or to intuition of first principles, would be impossible without the light of reason, so, too assent to a supernatural truth would be inconceivable without a supernatural strengthening of the natural light "Quid est enim fides nisi credere quod non vides?" (i.e. what is faith but belief in that which thou seest not?) asks St. Augustine; but he also says: "Faith has its eyes by which it in some sort sees that to be true which it does not yet see—and by which, too, it most surely sees that it does not see what it believes" [Ep. ad Consent., ep. cxx 8 (al. ccxxii), P.L., II, 456].
(c) Again, it is evident that this "light of faith" is a supernatural gift and is not the necessary outcome of assent to the motives of credibility. No amount of study will win it, no intellectual conviction as to the credibility of revealed religion nor even of the claims of the Church to be our infallible guide in matters of faith, will produce this light in a man's mind. It is the free gift of God. Hence the Vatican Council (III, iii;) teaches that "faith is a supernatural virtue by which we with the inspiration and assistance of God's grace, believe those things to be true which He has revealed".
from the Catholic Encyclopedia
Hence St. Thomas (De Veritate, xiv, 9, ad 2) says: "Although the Divinely infused light of faith is more powerful than the natural light of reason, nevertheless in our present state we only imperfectly participate in it; and hence it comes to pass that it does not beget in us real vision of those things which it is meant to teach us; such vision belongs to our eternal home, where we shall perfectly participate in that light, where, in fine, in God's light we shall see light' (Ps. xxxv, 10)."
(b) The necessity of such light is evident from what has been said, for faith is essentially an act of assent, and just as assent to a series of deductive or inductive reasonings, or to intuition of first principles, would be impossible without the light of reason, so, too assent to a supernatural truth would be inconceivable without a supernatural strengthening of the natural light "Quid est enim fides nisi credere quod non vides?" (i.e. what is faith but belief in that which thou seest not?) asks St. Augustine; but he also says: "Faith has its eyes by which it in some sort sees that to be true which it does not yet see—and by which, too, it most surely sees that it does not see what it believes" [Ep. ad Consent., ep. cxx 8 (al. ccxxii), P.L., II, 456].
(c) Again, it is evident that this "light of faith" is a supernatural gift and is not the necessary outcome of assent to the motives of credibility. No amount of study will win it, no intellectual conviction as to the credibility of revealed religion nor even of the claims of the Church to be our infallible guide in matters of faith, will produce this light in a man's mind. It is the free gift of God. Hence the Vatican Council (III, iii;) teaches that "faith is a supernatural virtue by which we with the inspiration and assistance of God's grace, believe those things to be true which He has revealed".
from the Catholic Encyclopedia
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
St. Teresa of Lisieux's Definition of Prayer
"For me, prayer is an upward leap of the heart, an untroubled glance towards heaven, a cry of gratitude and love which I utter from the depths of sorrow as well as from the heights of joy. It has a supernatural grandeur which expands the soul and unites it with God."
from "The Story of a Soul" (1873-1897)
from "The Story of a Soul" (1873-1897)
Contemplating God's Mystery
A few things to keep in mind as we go forward this year thinking about the God and the World:
1. Mystery means a depth of being--reality--beyond what the human mind can grasp.
2. Reason, with the light of Faith, can not completely prove all the articles of Faith, but this light does remove many difficulties. The Faith goes BEYOND what reason can understand, but it doesn't contradict reason, it's not irrationable.
3. Given that the infinite God reveals these Truths to us, we must accept them with an inner attitude of reverence and awe.
4. The God that gives you Faith also gave you an intellect--he expects you to use it.
5. Prayer--talking with God--is a KEY element in understanding and living the Faith, since the supernatural is just that, beyond our natural ability. Our Creator comes to us in Word and Sacrament as he knows we are body and spirit, and need material things to lead us to the invisible God.
1. Mystery means a depth of being--reality--beyond what the human mind can grasp.
2. Reason, with the light of Faith, can not completely prove all the articles of Faith, but this light does remove many difficulties. The Faith goes BEYOND what reason can understand, but it doesn't contradict reason, it's not irrationable.
3. Given that the infinite God reveals these Truths to us, we must accept them with an inner attitude of reverence and awe.
4. The God that gives you Faith also gave you an intellect--he expects you to use it.
5. Prayer--talking with God--is a KEY element in understanding and living the Faith, since the supernatural is just that, beyond our natural ability. Our Creator comes to us in Word and Sacrament as he knows we are body and spirit, and need material things to lead us to the invisible God.
The Sabbath
"In the moment of eternity, while the taste of redemption was still fresh to the former slaves, the people of Israel were given the Ten Words, the Ten Commandments. In its beginning and end, the decalogue deals with the liberty of man. The first word--I am the Lord you God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage--reminds him that his...liberty was given him by God."
from "The Sabbath", by Abraham Joshua Heschel
from "The Sabbath", by Abraham Joshua Heschel
Monday, September 14, 2009
St. Augustine's Confessions: Addressing God
What art Thou then, my God? what, but the Lord God? For who is Lord but the Lord? or who is God save our God? Most highest, most good, most potent, most omnipotent; most merciful, yet most just; most hidden, yet most present; most beautiful, yet most strong, stable, yet incomprehensible; unchangeable, yet all-changing; never new, never old; all-renewing, and bringing age upon the proud, and they know it not; ever working, ever at rest; still gathering, yet nothing lacking; supporting, filling, and overspreading; creating, nourishing, and maturing; seeking, yet having all things. Thou lovest, without passion; art jealous, without anxiety; repentest, yet grievest not; art angry, yet serene; changest Thy works, Thy purpose unchanged; receivest again what Thou findest, yet didst never lose; never in need, yet rejoicing in gains; never covetous, yet exacting usury. Thou receivest over and above, that Thou mayest owe; and who hath aught that is not Thine? Thou payest debts, owing nothing; remittest debts, losing nothing. And what had I now said, my God, my life, my holy joy? or what saith any man when he speaks of Thee? Yet woe to him that speaketh not, since mute are even the most eloquent.
--Confessions, chap.4
--Confessions, chap.4
How is God Perfect?
For a self-existent being, if limited at all, could be limited only by itself; to be limited by another would imply causal dependence on that other, which the very notion of self-existence excludes. But the self-existing cannot be conceived as limiting itself, in the sense of curtailing its perfection of being, without ceasing to be self-existing.
--Catholic Encylopedia
--Catholic Encylopedia
The Third: Holy Rest
ARTICLE 3
THE THIRD COMMANDMENT
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work. (Exodus, 20:8)
* I. THE SABBATH DAY
2168 The third commandment of the Decalogue recalls the holiness of the sabbath: "The seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD."92
2169 In speaking of the sabbath Scripture recalls creation: "For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it."93
2170 Scripture also reveals in the Lord's day a memorial of Israel's liberation from bondage in Egypt: "You shall remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out thence with mighty hand and outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day."(Deut. 5:15)94
2171 God entrusted the sabbath to Israel to keep as a sign of the irrevocable covenant.95 The sabbath is for the Lord, holy and set apart for the praise of God, his work of creation, and his saving actions on behalf of Israel.
2172 God's action is the model for human action. If God "rested and was refreshed" on the seventh day, man too ought to "rest" and should let others, especially the poor, "be refreshed."96 The sabbath brings everyday work to a halt and provides a respite. It is a day of protest against the servitude of work and the worship of money.97
II. THE LORD'S DAY
This is the day which the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.103
The day of the Resurrection: the new creation
2174 Jesus rose from the dead "on the first day of the week."104 Because it is the "first day," the day of Christ's Resurrection recalls the first creation. Because it is the "eighth day" following the sabbath,105 it symbolizes the new creation ushered in by Christ's Resurrection. For Christians it has become the first of all days, the first of all feasts, the Lord's Day (he kuriake hemera, dies dominica) Sunday:
We all gather on the day of the sun, for it is the first day [after the Jewish sabbath, but also the first day] when God, separating matter from darkness, made the world; and on this same day Jesus Christ our Savior rose from the dead.106
Sunday - fulfillment of the sabbath
2175 Sunday is expressly distinguished from the sabbath which it follows chronologically every week; for Christians its ceremonial observance replaces that of the sabbath. In Christ's Passover, Sunday fulfills the spiritual truth of the Jewish sabbath and announces man's eternal rest in God. For worship under the Law prepared for the mystery of Christ, and what was done there prefigured some aspects of Christ:107
Those who lived according to the old order of things have come to a new hope, no longer keeping the sabbath, but the Lord's Day, in which our life is blessed by him and by his death.108
2176 The celebration of Sunday observes the moral commandment inscribed by nature in the human heart to render to God an outward, visible, public, and regular worship "as a sign of his universal beneficence to all."109 Sunday worship fulfills the moral command of the Old Covenant, taking up its rhythm and spirit in the weekly celebration of the Creator and Redeemer of his people.
The Sunday Eucharist
2177 The Sunday celebration of the Lord's Day and his Eucharist is at the heart of the Church's life. "Sunday is the day on which the paschal mystery is celebrated in light of the apostolic tradition and is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church."110
THE THIRD COMMANDMENT
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work. (Exodus, 20:8)
* I. THE SABBATH DAY
2168 The third commandment of the Decalogue recalls the holiness of the sabbath: "The seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD."92
2169 In speaking of the sabbath Scripture recalls creation: "For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it."93
2170 Scripture also reveals in the Lord's day a memorial of Israel's liberation from bondage in Egypt: "You shall remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out thence with mighty hand and outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day."(Deut. 5:15)94
2171 God entrusted the sabbath to Israel to keep as a sign of the irrevocable covenant.95 The sabbath is for the Lord, holy and set apart for the praise of God, his work of creation, and his saving actions on behalf of Israel.
2172 God's action is the model for human action. If God "rested and was refreshed" on the seventh day, man too ought to "rest" and should let others, especially the poor, "be refreshed."96 The sabbath brings everyday work to a halt and provides a respite. It is a day of protest against the servitude of work and the worship of money.97
II. THE LORD'S DAY
This is the day which the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.103
The day of the Resurrection: the new creation
2174 Jesus rose from the dead "on the first day of the week."104 Because it is the "first day," the day of Christ's Resurrection recalls the first creation. Because it is the "eighth day" following the sabbath,105 it symbolizes the new creation ushered in by Christ's Resurrection. For Christians it has become the first of all days, the first of all feasts, the Lord's Day (he kuriake hemera, dies dominica) Sunday:
We all gather on the day of the sun, for it is the first day [after the Jewish sabbath, but also the first day] when God, separating matter from darkness, made the world; and on this same day Jesus Christ our Savior rose from the dead.106
Sunday - fulfillment of the sabbath
2175 Sunday is expressly distinguished from the sabbath which it follows chronologically every week; for Christians its ceremonial observance replaces that of the sabbath. In Christ's Passover, Sunday fulfills the spiritual truth of the Jewish sabbath and announces man's eternal rest in God. For worship under the Law prepared for the mystery of Christ, and what was done there prefigured some aspects of Christ:107
Those who lived according to the old order of things have come to a new hope, no longer keeping the sabbath, but the Lord's Day, in which our life is blessed by him and by his death.108
2176 The celebration of Sunday observes the moral commandment inscribed by nature in the human heart to render to God an outward, visible, public, and regular worship "as a sign of his universal beneficence to all."109 Sunday worship fulfills the moral command of the Old Covenant, taking up its rhythm and spirit in the weekly celebration of the Creator and Redeemer of his people.
The Sunday Eucharist
2177 The Sunday celebration of the Lord's Day and his Eucharist is at the heart of the Church's life. "Sunday is the day on which the paschal mystery is celebrated in light of the apostolic tradition and is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church."110
The Second: Holy Speech
ARTICLE 2
THE SECOND COMMANDMENT
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.72
You have heard that it was said to the men of old, "You shall not swear falsely. . But I say to you, Do not swear at all. (Mt.5:33)
* I. THE NAME OF THE LORD IS HOLY
2142 The second commandment prescribes respect for the Lord's name. Like the first commandment, it belongs to the virtue of religion and more particularly it governs our use of speech in sacred matters.
2143 Among all the words of Revelation, there is one which is unique: the revealed name of God. God confides his name to those who believe in him; he reveals himself to them in his personal mystery. The gift of a name belongs to the order of trust and intimacy. "The Lord's name is holy." For this reason man must not abuse it. He must keep it in mind in silent, loving adoration. He will not introduce it into his own speech except to bless, praise, and glorify it.74
2144 Respect for his name is an expression of the respect owed to the mystery of God himself and to the whole sacred reality it evokes. The sense of the sacred is part of the virtue of religion:
"Are these feelings of fear and awe Christian feelings or not? . . . I say this, then, which I think no one can reasonably dispute. They are the class of feelings we should have - yes, have to an intense degree - if we literally had the sight of Almighty God; therefore they are the class of feelings which we shall have, if we realize His presence. In proportion as we believe that He is present, we shall have them; and not to have them, is not to realize, not to believe that He is present."--John Henry Cardinal Newman
2145 The faithful should bear witness to the Lord's name by confessing the faith without giving way to fear.76 Preaching and catechizing should be permeated with adoration and respect for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
THE SECOND COMMANDMENT
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.72
You have heard that it was said to the men of old, "You shall not swear falsely. . But I say to you, Do not swear at all. (Mt.5:33)
* I. THE NAME OF THE LORD IS HOLY
2142 The second commandment prescribes respect for the Lord's name. Like the first commandment, it belongs to the virtue of religion and more particularly it governs our use of speech in sacred matters.
2143 Among all the words of Revelation, there is one which is unique: the revealed name of God. God confides his name to those who believe in him; he reveals himself to them in his personal mystery. The gift of a name belongs to the order of trust and intimacy. "The Lord's name is holy." For this reason man must not abuse it. He must keep it in mind in silent, loving adoration. He will not introduce it into his own speech except to bless, praise, and glorify it.74
2144 Respect for his name is an expression of the respect owed to the mystery of God himself and to the whole sacred reality it evokes. The sense of the sacred is part of the virtue of religion:
"Are these feelings of fear and awe Christian feelings or not? . . . I say this, then, which I think no one can reasonably dispute. They are the class of feelings we should have - yes, have to an intense degree - if we literally had the sight of Almighty God; therefore they are the class of feelings which we shall have, if we realize His presence. In proportion as we believe that He is present, we shall have them; and not to have them, is not to realize, not to believe that He is present."--John Henry Cardinal Newman
2145 The faithful should bear witness to the Lord's name by confessing the faith without giving way to fear.76 Preaching and catechizing should be permeated with adoration and respect for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The First: Holy Worship
ARTICLE 1
THE FIRST COMMANDMENT
I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them. (Exodus, 20:2-5)
I. "YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND HIM ONLY SHALL YOU SERVE"
2084 God makes himself known by recalling his all-powerful loving, and liberating action in the history of the one he addresses: "I brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." The first word contains the first commandment of the Law: "You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve him. . . . You shall not go after other gods." (Deut.6:13-16) God's first call and just demand is that man accept him and worship him.
2085 The one and true God first reveals his glory to Israel.6 The revelation of the vocation and truth of man is linked to the revelation of God. Man's vocation is to make God manifest by acting in conformity with his creation "in the image and likeness of God."
"There will never be another God, Trypho, and there has been no other since the world began . . . than he who made and ordered the universe. We do not think that our God is different from yours. He is the same who brought your fathers out of Egypt "by his powerful hand and his outstretched arm." We do not place our hope in some other god, for there is none, but in the same God as you do: the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."--St. Justin
2086 "The first commandment embraces faith, hope, and charity. When we say 'God' we confess a constant, unchangeable being, always the same, faithful and just, without any evil. It follows that we must necessarily accept his words and have complete faith in him and acknowledge his authority. He is almighty, merciful, and infinitely beneficent. Who could not place all hope in him? Who could not love him when contemplating the treasures of goodness and love he has poured out on us? Hence the formula God employs in the Scripture at the beginning and end of his commandments: 'I am the LORD.'
THE FIRST COMMANDMENT
I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them. (Exodus, 20:2-5)
I. "YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND HIM ONLY SHALL YOU SERVE"
2084 God makes himself known by recalling his all-powerful loving, and liberating action in the history of the one he addresses: "I brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." The first word contains the first commandment of the Law: "You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve him. . . . You shall not go after other gods." (Deut.6:13-16) God's first call and just demand is that man accept him and worship him.
2085 The one and true God first reveals his glory to Israel.6 The revelation of the vocation and truth of man is linked to the revelation of God. Man's vocation is to make God manifest by acting in conformity with his creation "in the image and likeness of God."
"There will never be another God, Trypho, and there has been no other since the world began . . . than he who made and ordered the universe. We do not think that our God is different from yours. He is the same who brought your fathers out of Egypt "by his powerful hand and his outstretched arm." We do not place our hope in some other god, for there is none, but in the same God as you do: the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."--St. Justin
2086 "The first commandment embraces faith, hope, and charity. When we say 'God' we confess a constant, unchangeable being, always the same, faithful and just, without any evil. It follows that we must necessarily accept his words and have complete faith in him and acknowledge his authority. He is almighty, merciful, and infinitely beneficent. Who could not place all hope in him? Who could not love him when contemplating the treasures of goodness and love he has poured out on us? Hence the formula God employs in the Scripture at the beginning and end of his commandments: 'I am the LORD.'
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Here they are: the Big Ten
1. I am the Lord your God; you shall not have strange gods before me.
2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
3. Remember to keep holy the Lord's day.
4. Honor your father and your mother.
5. You shall not kill.
6. You shall not commit adultery.
7. You shall not steal
8. You shall not bear false witness.
9. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.
10. You shall not covent your neighbor's goods.
2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
3. Remember to keep holy the Lord's day.
4. Honor your father and your mother.
5. You shall not kill.
6. You shall not commit adultery.
7. You shall not steal
8. You shall not bear false witness.
9. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.
10. You shall not covent your neighbor's goods.
Ten Commandments in a Nut Shell
Called also simply THE COMMANDMENTS, COMMANDMENTS OF GOD, or THE DECALOGUE (Gr. deka, ten, and logos, a word), the Ten Words of Sayings, the latter name generally applied by the Greek Fathers.
The Ten Commandments are precepts bearing on the fundamental obligations of religion and morality and embodying the revealed expression of the Creator's will in relation to man's whole duty to God and to his fellow-creatures.
They are found twice recorded in the Pentateuch, in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, but are given in an abridged form in the catechisms. Written by the finger of God on two tables of stone, this Divine code was received from the Almighty by Moses amid the thunders of Mount Sinai, and by him made the ground-work of the Mosaic Law. Christ resumed these Commandments in the double precept of charity--love of God and of the neighbour; He proclaimed them as binding under the New Law in Matthew 19 and in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5).
The Council of Trent (Sess. VI, can. xix) condemns those who deny that the Ten Commandments are binding on Christians.
Background: What is the Pentaeuch? The first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.
The Ten Commandments are precepts bearing on the fundamental obligations of religion and morality and embodying the revealed expression of the Creator's will in relation to man's whole duty to God and to his fellow-creatures.
They are found twice recorded in the Pentateuch, in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, but are given in an abridged form in the catechisms. Written by the finger of God on two tables of stone, this Divine code was received from the Almighty by Moses amid the thunders of Mount Sinai, and by him made the ground-work of the Mosaic Law. Christ resumed these Commandments in the double precept of charity--love of God and of the neighbour; He proclaimed them as binding under the New Law in Matthew 19 and in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5).
The Council of Trent (Sess. VI, can. xix) condemns those who deny that the Ten Commandments are binding on Christians.
Background: What is the Pentaeuch? The first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.
Definition: SCHISM
Schism (from the Greek schisma, rent, division) is, in the language of theology and canon law, the rupture of ecclesiastical union and unity, i.e. either the act by which one of the faithful severs as far as in him lies the ties which bind him to the social organization of the Church and make him a member of the mystical body of Christ. Usually involves a lack of submisson to the teachings of the Pope.
Definition: APOSTASY
(apo , from, and stasis , station, standing, or position).
The word itself in its etymological sense, signifies the desertion of a post, the giving up of a state of life; he who voluntarily embraces a definite state of life cannot leave it, therefore, without becoming an apostate. When a Christian totally repudiates the Faith, he is an apostate.
The word itself in its etymological sense, signifies the desertion of a post, the giving up of a state of life; he who voluntarily embraces a definite state of life cannot leave it, therefore, without becoming an apostate. When a Christian totally repudiates the Faith, he is an apostate.
Definition: HERESY
Greek: hairesis, choice
Deciding for oneself what one shall believe and practise instead of accepting the truth taught by Christ, and His moral teachings, through the Magisterium of the Church.
Deciding for oneself what one shall believe and practise instead of accepting the truth taught by Christ, and His moral teachings, through the Magisterium of the Church.
Apostolic Succession: Living Tradition
In order that the full and living Gospel might always be preserved in the Church the apostles left bishops as their successors. They gave them their own position of teaching authority.
-- St. Iranaeus, Adversus Haereses (c. A.D. 180)
Who was Irenaeus?
Saint Irenaeus (Greek: Εἰρηναῖος), (2nd century AD - c. 202) was a Christian Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, then a part of the Roman Empire (now Lyons, France). He was an early church father and apologist, and his writings were formative in the early development of Christian theology. He was a disciple of Polycarp, who was said to be a disciple of John the Evangelist.
-- St. Iranaeus, Adversus Haereses (c. A.D. 180)
Who was Irenaeus?
Saint Irenaeus (Greek: Εἰρηναῖος), (2nd century AD - c. 202) was a Christian Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, then a part of the Roman Empire (now Lyons, France). He was an early church father and apologist, and his writings were formative in the early development of Christian theology. He was a disciple of Polycarp, who was said to be a disciple of John the Evangelist.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Review: FAITH
1. Faith is an assent of the mind to a truth because God in his goodness has revealed it to us. The Will assents to something BEYOND the intellect's ability to grasp it.
2. As God--infinite, almighty, beyond what we can comprehend--is the object of Faith, this makes sense.
3. Therefore, an act of Faith is a reasonable thing, even as the object of that Faith is beyond reason's reach.
4. Reason needs Faith to preserve it from pridefully claiming to do what is beyond its reach, ie, proclaim on the inner life of God.
2. As God--infinite, almighty, beyond what we can comprehend--is the object of Faith, this makes sense.
3. Therefore, an act of Faith is a reasonable thing, even as the object of that Faith is beyond reason's reach.
4. Reason needs Faith to preserve it from pridefully claiming to do what is beyond its reach, ie, proclaim on the inner life of God.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Definition: RELIGION
Latin: religere, to recover, or religare, to bind)
In its widest sense the union of man with God. Objectively, it consists in doctrines and precepts by which man seeks to bring about this union. Religion is true when its doctrines and precepts are either dictated by right reason or revealed by God; if the former, it is called natural religion, if the latter, supernatural religion.
Religion is false if, when claiming to be revealed, it is unable to show a divine guarantee, or when its dogmas and practises sin against right reason and conscience. Subjectively, religion is the attitude of the man who rules his thoughts, words, and actions according to right reason and revelation. In this latter sense religion is a special virtue allied to justice, because it prompts man to render to God what is due Him by strict right from His rational creatures. As such, religion is a strict obligation incumbent on every man. It is also the means by which man is to work out his final destiny.
In its widest sense the union of man with God. Objectively, it consists in doctrines and precepts by which man seeks to bring about this union. Religion is true when its doctrines and precepts are either dictated by right reason or revealed by God; if the former, it is called natural religion, if the latter, supernatural religion.
Religion is false if, when claiming to be revealed, it is unable to show a divine guarantee, or when its dogmas and practises sin against right reason and conscience. Subjectively, religion is the attitude of the man who rules his thoughts, words, and actions according to right reason and revelation. In this latter sense religion is a special virtue allied to justice, because it prompts man to render to God what is due Him by strict right from His rational creatures. As such, religion is a strict obligation incumbent on every man. It is also the means by which man is to work out his final destiny.
Definition:Divination
(Latin: divinare, to foretell)
Seeking after the knowledge of future or hidden things through means inadequate by nature and unlawful. By natural means some effects can be foreseen with physical certainty; others surmised as probable; others are contingent upon future, free causes and knowable only to God. Divination implies the direct or indirect solicitation of a preternatural evil agency to supplement a natural deficiency. Its practise or patronage is sinful, varying with circumstances. As old as humanity, it existed in every age and country, and nowhere is it completely abandoned. Christianity undermined its power, and after centuries of effort it disappeared as an official system.
Seeking after the knowledge of future or hidden things through means inadequate by nature and unlawful. By natural means some effects can be foreseen with physical certainty; others surmised as probable; others are contingent upon future, free causes and knowable only to God. Divination implies the direct or indirect solicitation of a preternatural evil agency to supplement a natural deficiency. Its practise or patronage is sinful, varying with circumstances. As old as humanity, it existed in every age and country, and nowhere is it completely abandoned. Christianity undermined its power, and after centuries of effort it disappeared as an official system.
Definition: LOVE
The supernatural virtue of love (theological virtue of charity), is not acquired but infused. It is a love of God for His own sake, and of fellow man and of self for God's sake.
True love of God and of man are inclusive of one another. The obligation of making acts of supernatural love of God is contained in Holy Writ (Deuteronomy 6; Matthew 22; Luke 10), and urges at the dawn of reason, at the time of death, and at various times during life. Supernatural love of God is also the principle and good of moral perfection. The obligation of loving our fellow man binds whenever our neighbor is in need, and we are in a position to help him. It is regulated by a certain order depending on his nearness to us by reason of relationship, friendship, country, etc., on the nature and extent of his need, and on the inconvenience, injury, or loss we undergo by helping him.
True love of God and of man are inclusive of one another. The obligation of making acts of supernatural love of God is contained in Holy Writ (Deuteronomy 6; Matthew 22; Luke 10), and urges at the dawn of reason, at the time of death, and at various times during life. Supernatural love of God is also the principle and good of moral perfection. The obligation of loving our fellow man binds whenever our neighbor is in need, and we are in a position to help him. It is regulated by a certain order depending on his nearness to us by reason of relationship, friendship, country, etc., on the nature and extent of his need, and on the inconvenience, injury, or loss we undergo by helping him.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Definition: MARTYR
The Greek word martus signifies a witness who testifies to a fact of which he has knowledge from personal observation. It is in this sense that the term first appears in Christian literature; the Apostles were "witnesses" of all that they had observed in the public life of Christ, as well as of all they had learned from His teaching, "in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8). St. Peter, in his address to the Apostles and disciples relative to the election of a successor to Judas, employs the term with this meaning: "Wherefore, of these men who have accompanied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus came in and went out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day he was taken up from us, one of these must be made witness with us of his resurrection" (Acts 1:22).
In his first public discourse the chief of the Apostles speaks of himself and his companions as "witnesses" who saw the risen Christ and subsequently, after the miraculous escape of the Apostles from prison, when brought a second time before the tribunal, Peter again alludes to the twelve as witnesses to Christ, as the Prince and Saviour of Israel, Who rose from the dead; and added that in giving their public testimony to the facts, of which they were certain, they must obey God rather than man (Acts 5:29 sqq.). In his First Epistle St. Peter also refers to himself as a "witness of the sufferings of Christ" (1 Peter 5:1).
But even in these first examples of the use of the word martus in Christian terminology a new shade of meaning is already noticeable, in addition to the accepted signification of the term. The disciples of Christ were no ordinary witnesses such as those who gave testimony in a court of justice. These latter ran no risk in bearing testimony to facts that came under their observation, whereas the witnesses of Christ were brought face to face daily, from the beginning of their apostolate, with the possibility of incurring severe punishment and even death itself. Thus, St. Stephen was a witness who early in the history of Christianity sealed his testimony with his blood. The careers of the Apostles were at all times beset with dangers of the gravest character, until eventually they all suffered the last penalty for their convictions. Thus, within the lifetime of the Apostles, the term martus came to be used in the sense of a witness who at any time might be called upon to deny what he testified to, under penalty of death.
In his first public discourse the chief of the Apostles speaks of himself and his companions as "witnesses" who saw the risen Christ and subsequently, after the miraculous escape of the Apostles from prison, when brought a second time before the tribunal, Peter again alludes to the twelve as witnesses to Christ, as the Prince and Saviour of Israel, Who rose from the dead; and added that in giving their public testimony to the facts, of which they were certain, they must obey God rather than man (Acts 5:29 sqq.). In his First Epistle St. Peter also refers to himself as a "witness of the sufferings of Christ" (1 Peter 5:1).
But even in these first examples of the use of the word martus in Christian terminology a new shade of meaning is already noticeable, in addition to the accepted signification of the term. The disciples of Christ were no ordinary witnesses such as those who gave testimony in a court of justice. These latter ran no risk in bearing testimony to facts that came under their observation, whereas the witnesses of Christ were brought face to face daily, from the beginning of their apostolate, with the possibility of incurring severe punishment and even death itself. Thus, St. Stephen was a witness who early in the history of Christianity sealed his testimony with his blood. The careers of the Apostles were at all times beset with dangers of the gravest character, until eventually they all suffered the last penalty for their convictions. Thus, within the lifetime of the Apostles, the term martus came to be used in the sense of a witness who at any time might be called upon to deny what he testified to, under penalty of death.
Definition: Pantocrator
Pantocrator or Pantokrator (from the Greek Παντοκράτωρ) is one of many titles ascribed to the Divine. When the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek as the Septuagint, Pantokrator was used to translate the Hebrew title El Shaddai. Christians ascribed this title to Jesus of Nazareth.
The most common translation of Pantocrator is "Almighty" or "All-powerful". In this understanding, Pantokrator is a compound word formed from the Greek words for "all" and the noun "strength" (κρατος). This is often understood in terms of potential power; i.e., able to do anything, or omnipotent.
Another, more literal translation is "Ruler of All" or, less literally, "Sustainer of the World". In this understanding, Pantokrator is a compound word formed from the Greek for "all" and the verb meaning "To accomplish something" or "to sustain something" (κρατεω). This translation speaks more to God's actual power; i.e., God does everything (as opposed to God can do everything).
The Pantokrator, largely an Eastern Orthodox or Eastern Catholic theological conception is by that name less common in Western (Roman) Catholicism and largely unknown to most Protestants. In the West the equivalent image in art is known as Christ in Majesty, which developed a rather different iconography.
The icon of Christ Pantokrator is one of the most widely used religious images of Orthodox Christianity, though the earliest remaining examples of the subject are all in Italy. Generally speaking, in Byzantine church art and architecture, an icon of Christ Pantokrator occupies the space in the central dome of the church, or simply on the ceiling, over the nave.
This blog's main image:
The oldest known surviving example of the icon of Christ Pantocrator was painted in encaustic on panel in the sixth or seventh century, and survived the period of destruction of images during the Iconoclastic disputes that racked the Eastern church, 726 to 787 and 814 to 842, by being preserved in the remote desert of the Sinai, in Saint Catherine's Monastery.[5]
The gessoed panel, finely painted using a wax medium on a wooden panel, had been coarsely overpainted around the face and hands at some time around the thirteenth century. It was only when the overpainting was cleaned in 1962 that the ancient image was revealed to be a very high quality icon, probably produced in Constantinople. The subtlety, immediacy and realism of the image are immediately apparent when the image is compared to any of the more familiar stiffened and hieratic icons — following the same model - that were painted after iconoclasm had been decisively rejected.
Christ here is Christ the Teacher: the gesture of Christ's right hand is not the gesture of blessing, but the orator's gesture; the identical gesture is to be seen in a panel from an ivory diptych of an enthroned vice-prefect, a Rufius Probianus, ca 400, of which Peter Brown remarks, "With his hand he makes the 'orator's gesture' which indicates that he is speaking, or that he has the right to speak."[6]
The most common translation of Pantocrator is "Almighty" or "All-powerful". In this understanding, Pantokrator is a compound word formed from the Greek words for "all" and the noun "strength" (κρατος). This is often understood in terms of potential power; i.e., able to do anything, or omnipotent.
Another, more literal translation is "Ruler of All" or, less literally, "Sustainer of the World". In this understanding, Pantokrator is a compound word formed from the Greek for "all" and the verb meaning "To accomplish something" or "to sustain something" (κρατεω). This translation speaks more to God's actual power; i.e., God does everything (as opposed to God can do everything).
The Pantokrator, largely an Eastern Orthodox or Eastern Catholic theological conception is by that name less common in Western (Roman) Catholicism and largely unknown to most Protestants. In the West the equivalent image in art is known as Christ in Majesty, which developed a rather different iconography.
The icon of Christ Pantokrator is one of the most widely used religious images of Orthodox Christianity, though the earliest remaining examples of the subject are all in Italy. Generally speaking, in Byzantine church art and architecture, an icon of Christ Pantokrator occupies the space in the central dome of the church, or simply on the ceiling, over the nave.
This blog's main image:
The oldest known surviving example of the icon of Christ Pantocrator was painted in encaustic on panel in the sixth or seventh century, and survived the period of destruction of images during the Iconoclastic disputes that racked the Eastern church, 726 to 787 and 814 to 842, by being preserved in the remote desert of the Sinai, in Saint Catherine's Monastery.[5]
The gessoed panel, finely painted using a wax medium on a wooden panel, had been coarsely overpainted around the face and hands at some time around the thirteenth century. It was only when the overpainting was cleaned in 1962 that the ancient image was revealed to be a very high quality icon, probably produced in Constantinople. The subtlety, immediacy and realism of the image are immediately apparent when the image is compared to any of the more familiar stiffened and hieratic icons — following the same model - that were painted after iconoclasm had been decisively rejected.
Christ here is Christ the Teacher: the gesture of Christ's right hand is not the gesture of blessing, but the orator's gesture; the identical gesture is to be seen in a panel from an ivory diptych of an enthroned vice-prefect, a Rufius Probianus, ca 400, of which Peter Brown remarks, "With his hand he makes the 'orator's gesture' which indicates that he is speaking, or that he has the right to speak."[6]
Course Syllabus
Freshman Religion
Syllabus/Requirements/Texts
September 2009 Michael J. Ortiz
Organization of Class
“What good must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mt. 19:16).
This course is organized on a quarterly basis. Each element studied during the year aims to help students understand and assimilate the Revelation of Jesus Christ in Sacred Scripture and the Tradition of the Church in its moral, doctrinal, and spiritual dimensions. In the first quarter we will study the Decalogue; in the second, the Sacraments; in the third, the Credo and how God speaks to us in Scripture and Tradition; in the fourth, we will concentrate on Life in Christ as it relates to the dignity of the human person, community life, and the relationship between Law and Grace. Throughout the year, we will read and reflect on the Gospel of St. Mark. We will study its origins, context, and history. Students will be quizzed weekly as we read—and memorize parts of—the life of Christ as put down in writing by the St. Mark.
Quarter One: The origin of the Decalogue; its historical context; meaning in Church tradition; meaning of each of the commandments within a Covenant relationship with God; the unity of the Decalogue; its relation to natural law; the Decalogue in the Life of Grace and Prayer and Divine Filiation.
Quarter Two: The institution of the seven Sacraments by Christ; the nature and purpose of the sacraments in the Liturgical life of the Church; sacraments of initiation, Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist, “source and summit of Christian life”; sacraments of healing, Reconciliation, or Sacrament of Confession, and Anointing of the Sick; Holy Orders, deacon, priest, bishop; Marriage, goods and requirements of Conjugal love.
Quarter Three: Transmission of Divine Revelation, in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition; the Magisterium; the senses of Scripture; Canon of Scripture; unity of Old and New Testaments; the Apostles’ Creed; the Nicene Creed; Faith as Man’s free response to God’s initiative
Quarter Four: Dignity of the Human Person; Man as Image of God; vocation to Beatitudes; Beatitudes as “the countenance of Jesus Christ”; reality of human freedom; responsibility; the morality of human acts; morality of the passions; moral conscience; human virtues; cardinal virtues; theological virtues; gravity of sin, mortal and venial; the Common Good; Grace and Justification.
Requirements
1. A neat, well-organized notebook will be 15% of the class grade. Class notes, definitions, historical outlines, prayers studied, and drafts of essays will be done in this notebook.
2. Quizzes on our reading of the Gospel of St. Mark will be 10% of the grade.
3. Tests will include memorization and essay, and will be 70% of the grade.
Texts
The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Gospel of St. Mark, (Navarre Bible 2005 edition)
Forget Not Love, Andre Frossard
Syllabus/Requirements/Texts
September 2009 Michael J. Ortiz
Organization of Class
“What good must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mt. 19:16).
This course is organized on a quarterly basis. Each element studied during the year aims to help students understand and assimilate the Revelation of Jesus Christ in Sacred Scripture and the Tradition of the Church in its moral, doctrinal, and spiritual dimensions. In the first quarter we will study the Decalogue; in the second, the Sacraments; in the third, the Credo and how God speaks to us in Scripture and Tradition; in the fourth, we will concentrate on Life in Christ as it relates to the dignity of the human person, community life, and the relationship between Law and Grace. Throughout the year, we will read and reflect on the Gospel of St. Mark. We will study its origins, context, and history. Students will be quizzed weekly as we read—and memorize parts of—the life of Christ as put down in writing by the St. Mark.
Quarter One: The origin of the Decalogue; its historical context; meaning in Church tradition; meaning of each of the commandments within a Covenant relationship with God; the unity of the Decalogue; its relation to natural law; the Decalogue in the Life of Grace and Prayer and Divine Filiation.
Quarter Two: The institution of the seven Sacraments by Christ; the nature and purpose of the sacraments in the Liturgical life of the Church; sacraments of initiation, Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist, “source and summit of Christian life”; sacraments of healing, Reconciliation, or Sacrament of Confession, and Anointing of the Sick; Holy Orders, deacon, priest, bishop; Marriage, goods and requirements of Conjugal love.
Quarter Three: Transmission of Divine Revelation, in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition; the Magisterium; the senses of Scripture; Canon of Scripture; unity of Old and New Testaments; the Apostles’ Creed; the Nicene Creed; Faith as Man’s free response to God’s initiative
Quarter Four: Dignity of the Human Person; Man as Image of God; vocation to Beatitudes; Beatitudes as “the countenance of Jesus Christ”; reality of human freedom; responsibility; the morality of human acts; morality of the passions; moral conscience; human virtues; cardinal virtues; theological virtues; gravity of sin, mortal and venial; the Common Good; Grace and Justification.
Requirements
1. A neat, well-organized notebook will be 15% of the class grade. Class notes, definitions, historical outlines, prayers studied, and drafts of essays will be done in this notebook.
2. Quizzes on our reading of the Gospel of St. Mark will be 10% of the grade.
3. Tests will include memorization and essay, and will be 70% of the grade.
Texts
The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Gospel of St. Mark, (Navarre Bible 2005 edition)
Forget Not Love, Andre Frossard
Friday, September 4, 2009
Palatine Hill
The Palatine Hill (Latin: Collis Palatium or Mons Palatinus) is the centermost of the Seven Hills of Rome and is one of the most ancient parts of the city. It stands 40 metres above the Forum Romanum, looking down upon it on one side, and upon the Circus Maximus on the other.
It is the etymological origin of the word "palace" and its cognates in other languages (Italian "Palazzo", French "Palais" etc).
According to Roman mythology, the Palatine Hill was the location of the cave, known as the Lupercal, where Romulus and Remus were found by the she-wolf that kept them alive. According to this legend, the shepherd Faustulus found the infants, and with his wife Acca Larentia raised the children. When they were older, the boys killed their great-uncle (who seized the throne from their father), and they both decided to build a new city of their own on the banks of the River Tiber. Suddenly, they had a violent argument with each other and in the end Romulus killed his twin brother Remus. This is how "Rome" got its name - from Romulus. Another legend to occur on the Palatine is Hercules' defeat of Cacus after the monster had stolen some cattle. Hercules struck Cacus with his characteristic club so hard that it formed a cleft on the southeast corner of the hill, where later a staircase bearing the name of Cacus was constructed.
It is the etymological origin of the word "palace" and its cognates in other languages (Italian "Palazzo", French "Palais" etc).
According to Roman mythology, the Palatine Hill was the location of the cave, known as the Lupercal, where Romulus and Remus were found by the she-wolf that kept them alive. According to this legend, the shepherd Faustulus found the infants, and with his wife Acca Larentia raised the children. When they were older, the boys killed their great-uncle (who seized the throne from their father), and they both decided to build a new city of their own on the banks of the River Tiber. Suddenly, they had a violent argument with each other and in the end Romulus killed his twin brother Remus. This is how "Rome" got its name - from Romulus. Another legend to occur on the Palatine is Hercules' defeat of Cacus after the monster had stolen some cattle. Hercules struck Cacus with his characteristic club so hard that it formed a cleft on the southeast corner of the hill, where later a staircase bearing the name of Cacus was constructed.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Definition: IDOLATRY
(Greek eidololatria.)
Idolatry etymologically denotes Divine worship given to an image, but its signification has been extended to all Divine worship given to anyone or anything but the true God. St. Thomas (Summa Theol., II-II, q. xciv) treats of it as a species of the genus superstition, which is a vice opposed to the virtue of religion and consists in giving Divine honour (cultus) to things that are not God, or to God Himself in a wrong way. The specific note of idolatry is its direct opposition to the primary object of Divine worship; it bestows on a creature the reverence due to God alone.
An essential difference exists between idolatry and the veneration of images practised in the Catholic Church, viz., that while the idolater credits the image he reverences with Divinity or Divine powers, the Catholic knows "that in images there is no divinity or virtue on account of which they are to be worshipped, that no petitions can be addressed to them, and that no trust is to be placed in them. . . that the honour which is given to them is referred to the objects (prototypa) which they represent, so that through the images which we kiss, and before which we uncover our heads and kneel, we adore Christ and venerate the Saints whose likenesses they are" (Conc. Trid., Sess. XXV, "de invocatione Sanctorum").
Considered in itself, idolatry is the greatest of mortal sins. For it is, by definition, an inroad on God's sovereignty over the world, an attempt on His Divine majesty, a rebellious setting up of a creature on the throne that belongs to Him alone. Even the simulation of idolatry, in order to escape death during persecution, is a mortal sin, because of the pernicious falsehood it involves and the scandal it causes. Of Seneca who, against his better knowledge, took part in idolatrous worship, St. Augustine says: "He was the more to be condemned for doing mendaciously what people believed him to do sincerely".
The guilt of idolatry, however, is not to be estimated by its abstract nature alone; the concrete form it assumes in the conscience of the sinner is the all-important element. No sin is mortal — i.e. debars man from attaining the end for which he was created — that is not committed with clear knowledge and free determination. But how many, or how few, of the countless millions of idolaters are, or have been, able to distinguish between the one Creator of all things and His creatures? and, having made the distinction, how many have been perverse enough to worship the creature in preference to the Creator? — It is reasonable, Christian, and charitable to suppose that the "false gods" of the heathen were, in their conscience, the only true God they knew, and that their worship being right in its intention, went up to the one true God with that of Jews and Christians to whom He had revealed Himself. "In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ . . . . . the gentiles who have not the law, shall be judged by their conscience" (Romans 2:14-16). God, who wishes all men to be saved, and Christ, who died for all who sinned in Adam, would be frustrated in their merciful designs if the prince of this world were to carry off all idolaters.
Idolatry etymologically denotes Divine worship given to an image, but its signification has been extended to all Divine worship given to anyone or anything but the true God. St. Thomas (Summa Theol., II-II, q. xciv) treats of it as a species of the genus superstition, which is a vice opposed to the virtue of religion and consists in giving Divine honour (cultus) to things that are not God, or to God Himself in a wrong way. The specific note of idolatry is its direct opposition to the primary object of Divine worship; it bestows on a creature the reverence due to God alone.
An essential difference exists between idolatry and the veneration of images practised in the Catholic Church, viz., that while the idolater credits the image he reverences with Divinity or Divine powers, the Catholic knows "that in images there is no divinity or virtue on account of which they are to be worshipped, that no petitions can be addressed to them, and that no trust is to be placed in them. . . that the honour which is given to them is referred to the objects (prototypa) which they represent, so that through the images which we kiss, and before which we uncover our heads and kneel, we adore Christ and venerate the Saints whose likenesses they are" (Conc. Trid., Sess. XXV, "de invocatione Sanctorum").
Considered in itself, idolatry is the greatest of mortal sins. For it is, by definition, an inroad on God's sovereignty over the world, an attempt on His Divine majesty, a rebellious setting up of a creature on the throne that belongs to Him alone. Even the simulation of idolatry, in order to escape death during persecution, is a mortal sin, because of the pernicious falsehood it involves and the scandal it causes. Of Seneca who, against his better knowledge, took part in idolatrous worship, St. Augustine says: "He was the more to be condemned for doing mendaciously what people believed him to do sincerely".
The guilt of idolatry, however, is not to be estimated by its abstract nature alone; the concrete form it assumes in the conscience of the sinner is the all-important element. No sin is mortal — i.e. debars man from attaining the end for which he was created — that is not committed with clear knowledge and free determination. But how many, or how few, of the countless millions of idolaters are, or have been, able to distinguish between the one Creator of all things and His creatures? and, having made the distinction, how many have been perverse enough to worship the creature in preference to the Creator? — It is reasonable, Christian, and charitable to suppose that the "false gods" of the heathen were, in their conscience, the only true God they knew, and that their worship being right in its intention, went up to the one true God with that of Jews and Christians to whom He had revealed Himself. "In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ . . . . . the gentiles who have not the law, shall be judged by their conscience" (Romans 2:14-16). God, who wishes all men to be saved, and Christ, who died for all who sinned in Adam, would be frustrated in their merciful designs if the prince of this world were to carry off all idolaters.
Definition: SUPERSTITION
Defined by St. Thomas (II-II:92:1) as "a vice opposed to religion by way of excess; not because in the worship of God it does more than true religion, but because it offers Divine worship to beings other than God or offers worship to God in an improper manner". Superstition sins by excess of religion, and this differs from the vice of irreligion, which sins by defect. The theological virtue of religion stands midway between the two. (II-II:92:1)
Division
There are four species of superstitions:
improper worship of the true God (indebitus veri Dei cultus);
idolatry;
divination;
vain observances, which include magic and occult arts.
The source of superstition is, in the first place, subjective. Ignorance of natural causes leads to the belief that certain striking phenomena express the will or the anger of some invisible overruling power, and the objects in which such phenomena appear are forthwith deified, as, e.g. in Nature-worship. Conversely, many superstitious practices are due to an exaggerated notion or a false interpretation of natural events, so that effects are sought which are beyond the efficiency of physical causes. Curiosity also with regard to things that are hidden or are still in the future plays a considerable part, e.g. in the various kinds of divination.
New Advent Encylopedia
Division
There are four species of superstitions:
improper worship of the true God (indebitus veri Dei cultus);
idolatry;
divination;
vain observances, which include magic and occult arts.
The source of superstition is, in the first place, subjective. Ignorance of natural causes leads to the belief that certain striking phenomena express the will or the anger of some invisible overruling power, and the objects in which such phenomena appear are forthwith deified, as, e.g. in Nature-worship. Conversely, many superstitious practices are due to an exaggerated notion or a false interpretation of natural events, so that effects are sought which are beyond the efficiency of physical causes. Curiosity also with regard to things that are hidden or are still in the future plays a considerable part, e.g. in the various kinds of divination.
New Advent Encylopedia
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