A Cross Posting from 'The Catholic Geeks'

My response to 'Christmas is Pagan'.

The Roots of Christmas: From Pagan or Not From Pagan

I wish I was making this up.

Love Has Labels

It's been awhile since I posted any of my Youth Group talks. What follows is a rough transcript of it.

If you ever seen the ad campaign ‘Love has No Label’ put out by the Ad Council about diversity and inclusion, I’m here to tell you that is completely wrong.

It has three.

English is a beautiful expressive language that unfortunately our modern lazy usage has heap multiple meanings into one word as is the case with ‘love’.

Book cover of encyclical

Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI (who just had his 90^th birthday) described love best in his encyclical, Deus Cartias Est (God is Love). A awe-inspiring title when you really think about it – God is Love. So, to explain the three labels of love Greek, one of the languages of the Bible, is used.

We have philia: this is a mutual love between friends. So when I tell Lauren and Natalie (note: these lovely ladies work with the youth group)  I love them, which I do, it is philia love.

Next, we have eros: this it is an ascending, possessive love which seeks to receive from another. This is a physical love, or a physical manifestation of love, expressed between husband and wife.

Then we have agape: this is a descending love, oblative love in which one gives oneself to another. This is a selfless love seeking out what is good for another for the sake of the other.

If eros and philia love are concerned primarily with our relationships with others than agape is concerned primarily with our relationship with God as well as each other’s relationship with God. Think about it – in the Greek translation of the New Testament agape is the most often used word for love. This reflects the distinctive aspect of Christian understanding of love. Agape is, essentially, Christian love, which should be shared with everyone no matter how we feel - love isn't just about feelings. God commanded us to love our neighbors and enemies, not to like them.

Agape requires truth to be able to express it. We must know what is right and wrong, what is good, and what is bad for us as humans. Without truth, love becomes nothing more than mere sentiment – it is empty/ no substance. It becomes distorted because it no longer bears any weight.

The hardest part about agape is that it requires us to correct our neighbor when they stumble. We have a great example of this from the Bible in Galatians where St Paul corrects St Peter when he is behaving badly. There is also St Catherine of Siena who went to Pope Gregory XI and said that the Papacy must return to Rome (the popes had been living in Avignon, France – the pope must live in Rome because he is the Bishop of Rome). Can you imagine going to the Pope and telling him - 'Hey you got to straighten up your act'? I be terrified! These actions of St. Paul and St. Catherine are not done out of malice but because both St Paul and St Catherine wanted St Peter and Pope Gregory to be better people. It’s the same as when our parents correct us, they want us to be better.

Agape, Christian love, must be placed be placed above philia and eros, even when people hate us for it.

I will end with a quote from P. Benedict from another of his encyclicals Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth) : “To love someone is to desire that persons good and to take effective steps to secure it.”

On a fun note, when ever I had to say agape, I pointed to the youth director, Lauren, who would say it like Dory in Finding Nemo would say 'escape'. The kids love it and it was a good youth meeting!

A Reflection on 'Silence', a Crossposting

Check out my review of the Martin Scoreses film Silence over on 'The Catholic Geeks'!

A Reflection on Silence

Enjoy!

Venerable Fulton J Sheen -The Blessed Virgin Mary- The Woman I Love

In Honor of the Feast Day, I give you Ven. Fulton J Sheen on the Blessed Virgin Mary!

Here We Go, Again

Guess what?!

Youth Group is starting up again, and I've been asked to help out again. I truly do enjoy teaching the kids every week some random tidbit of the Catholic faith. So if you see me rubbing my hand maniacally in the background with a insane cackle, just move along.

This year a few things are different. Instead of the High School and Middle School being separate they are going to meet together for food and talk then break down into groups for small group discussions. Also the kids are going to be in 'houses' a la 'Harry Potter' style, named after different Saints, such as St Maria Goretti, St Faustina Kowalska, St Maximilian Kolbe, and St Thomas Aquinas. Each house has a head, and I'm going to be head of the Aquinas House. It will be interesting to see how the kids adapt to the changes.

However it goes, it will be a lot of fun.

St John Bosco, Patron of Youth Ministries, Ora pro nobis

Take a Gander, a cross posting

Check out my review of 'The Geeky Chef Cookbook' over on the Catholic Geeks blog called 'A Taste of Fandom'.

Stephen & Patricia Heaton Have A Catholic Throwdown

This is why I adore Stephen Colbert!

What is Martyrdom?

What follows is a rough transcript of a talk I gave the Middle School Youth Group.

In honor of the Feast of the Decollation of St John the Baptist that was celebrated yesterday, today we are going to talk about martyrdom.

What is Martyrdom?  The word martyr comes from the Greek word ‘martus’ which translates to ‘witness’.  Which is fitting since the CCC states that martyrdom is “the supreme witness given to the truth of the faith: it means bearing witness even unto death.” (2473). In scripture, it usually refers to people who testified to their faith, whether or not they suffered as a result, like Susanna (who is she) preferred to die rather than yield to the advances of the two unjust judges (Daniel 13).  The association with blood came later in the first century when witnessing for Christ could mean facing the lions in the arena like Sts Perpetua and Felicity as the crowd cheered on.

Martyrdom of St. Stephen

There are three things that are required for Martyrdom: The victim must die, the murders must kill out of hatred for the Christian way of life and Christian truth, and death must be voluntary.  Of course there are exceptions to the third criterion as seen with the Holy Innocence.  The essence of martyrdom is imitating Christ’s example both in living one’s life and in giving it for a higher cause.  As they say imitation is the highest form of flattery.

The first martyr after the Resurrection was St Stephen who was also a deacon (Acts 6:8). There is also the Apostle St James the Greater (Acts 12:2).  There are also those who died for the entertainment of the Roman Empire like.  If these names sound familiar they are – they are mentioned in the Offertory prayer at Mass. Emperor Nero (the one that fiddle as Rome burned by his own hands, yes he was crazy).

But why is martyrdom important?  Well, as the Carthaginian Church Father Quintus Septimius Tertullianus, better known as Tertullian, wrote a defense of martyrs in his Apology, We become many whenever you mow us down; the blood of Christians is seed.”  Today it is often misquoted as “The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church.” But let us go back to the original phrase; it hangs on an agricultural metaphor. So just as autumn’s crops dies the seeds spring up, so new Christians rise up from the death of martyrs.  Christianity thrives on commitment, and the commitment of the martyrs is inspiration for the ages.

Now martyrdom is not something that just happened in the early Church.  We have martyrs in modern times. In 1926 what is now called the Cristero War began in central western Mexican states; the Mexican Government imposed many secular, anti-Catholic and anticlerical policies upon its people under President Plutarco Elias Calles.  Calles sought to eliminate the power of the Catholic Church and suppressed popular religious celebrations.  It was a very bloody conflict with a lot of causalities whose effect is still felt today – the Mexican constitution prohibits outdoor worship, if there are any it requires government permission; Religious organizations are not permitted to own print or electronic media outlet (so no Mexican version of EWTN).  From this conflict is Blessed Miguel Pro, he was shoot without trial on trumped up charges. He died with his arms outstretch, like Christ on the cross, shouting out ‘Viva Cristo Rey!’ ‘Long live Christ the King!’

Bl. Miguel Pro is not the only modern martyr. St Maria Goretti was an 11 year Italian girl who was stabbed multiple times when she resisted rape in 1902.  On the way to the hospital she forgave her attacker, Alessandro Serenelli. Her attacker was unrepentant until he had a vision of St. Maria holding a bouquet of lilies.  She handed him each lily one at a time, each one representing a stab he inflicted. When he grabbed hold of the lilies they each burned in his hands.  He had a complete change and was released after he finished his sentence.  He attended St. Maria Goretti's canonization with her mother.

I'm Doing What Now?

I'm a geek.

Am I ashamed of this? Nope. I'm very proud of my geekiness and I make no excuses for it (mostly because I don't have any).  I love my sci-fi, my fantasy, and examining those things at every possible angle til your eyes get crossed.

Yes, it's a Swiss Guard with a lightsaber.
Your argument is invalided.

But I don't keep my geekiness reserved for just those things.  I geek out over my Catholic faith, and there is a lot to geek out over.  We got traditions (both big T and little t), sacraments, history, saints, and I could on and on.  But I won't here.

No, the place I will completely geek out on my favorite shows and the faith on The Catholic Geeks.

The Catholic Geeks is a collection of people who are Catholic, who are geeks, and who are (to quote the Scarlet Pimpernel) demned proud of it.

Will I stop geek out over stuff on this blog? No.  It just means that there will be more stuff by me to read in internetland.

Enjoy my first posting Scarlet Pimpernel, Vatican Style.

The Four Last Things: Part II

What follows is a rough transcript of a talk I gave the Middle School Youth Group last Sunday.

We are going to finish up the Four Last Things with Heaven and Hell.

Let’s start with Hell.

This is the worst possible thing to happen to any person, not losing your phone or not getting the latest gadget on the market or being late meeting your friends. No, it’s Hell.

Hell. detail, Bosch

So what is Hell?

It is the complete and willing rejection of God and His love.  It is a complete separation from the source of all goodness. A flat out NO to God.

Think back to the parable of the wedding feast where a king goes out and invites everyone to come, but there is one person who come inappropriately attired and is rejected out into the cold (Matthew 22:1-14).  What is not explained because everyone knew this is that the wedding attire is provided by the host, so that one guest rejected the kind offer of the king and throws it back in his face. Translating this, the soul is provided the opportunity for all the joy and delight for the taking.  But he refuses to put on the commandments of God, the Gospel, and grace which causes the soul, aka the poorly dressed guest, to be cast away.

God does not put people in Hell.  Remember that - He wants us to be with Him. We are made to be in union with God. This union happens in Heaven.  God sent His only Son so that the Gates of Heaven could be open to us.  Think about it – He loves us that much!

So, who gets to Heaven?
Simply put, those who are just, free of guilt and punishment.  There are two types of punishment, eternal and temporal.

Eternal punishment aka guilt is forgiven and removed at Confession with absolution. Temporal punishment is what remains after confession which has to be paid in this life or the next aka Purgatory.

We talked a little about this last week and there was a bit of confusion that I hope to clear it up now.  Purgatory is not a second chance to get into Heaven.  The souls in Purgatory are already going to Heaven, they just have to take a pit stop since nothing unclean can enter into Heaven.  The CCC (1030) states that those who die in God’s friendship and grace but are still imperfect need to undergo purification.

Think of Purgatory as a Hospital for the Soul, or a very Hot Painful Shower for the Soul.

Heaven. detail, Bosch

The living can help the Poor Souls by prayer.  It is considered a Corporal Work of Mercy to visit the cemetery and pray for the dead, especially for those who have no one to pray for them.

After Purgatory is, dramatic music here, HEAVEN!!!

So our goal in life is to get to Heaven and be with God. We were made for Heaven because God wants us there with Him.

The Four Last Things: Part I

The Four Last Things: Part I

What follows is a rough transcript of a talk I gave the Middle School Youth Group a few weeks ago.  It veered off towards the end because the kids had so many good questions. But this is generally what was talked about.

I’m going to talk about the Four Last Things, which are Death, Judgement, Heaven, and Hell. There’s a whole study of it called eschatology, from the Greek word eschata meaning ‘the final things’.  Tonight, we’re just going to talk about the first two, Death and Judgement.

So the first, Death, happens at the end of our earthly life.  Death is a result of sin (Romans 5:12).  To really understand this let’s go back to the beginning – Creation.  Before the Fall of Adam and Eve, they possessed what is called Preternatural Gifts:

• Infused knowledge
• Integrity
• Bodily Immortality

We are just going to focus on Bodily Immortality.  What is important to see here is that Adam and Eve, like we are, were pilgrims on this Earth. The Garden of Eden, what we at times refer to as Paradise, was not Heaven. At some point, they were to pass on to the next life in Heaven, but it would not have been through what we call death.  Bodily immortality was lost when Adam and Eve sinned, thus bodily death entered the world.

Death. detail, Bosch

So what is death exactly?  Simply put, it is when the person’s human body and human soul separate.
That’s it!

But even as we were cut off from God due to sin, God did not reject mankind; He immediately began to work on our Salvation.  In Genesis 3:14-5, in what is referred to as the Protoevangelium (aka first announcement of the Gospels) we get a glimpse of the beginnings of God’s work on Redemption.

Which leads us to the second part of our talk:  Judgement.  When we die we face judgement, the time to choose between good and evil ends at death. There are two types of Judgement:  Particular and Universal.

Particular Judgement is when we die are individually judged by Christ.  At this moment we see our lives the way that God sees us.  We see every act of sin and its consequences and every act of goodness and its consequences. Here we learn if we go to Heaven or Hell.  Those who are saved but still have the stain of sin on their soul must first go through a period of time in Purgatory.

Does anybody know what Purgatory is?
It’s a place of purification, what Pope St Gregory the Great referred to as a purifying fire.

Judgement. detail, Bosch

Is it painful?
Yes, only in so far that you feel the effects of our sin.

We refer to those in Purgatory as the Poor Souls. It is highly recommended and encourage to pray for these Poor Souls to help them shorten their time there and to get to the Beatific Vision.  So in your petition prayers remember those in Purgatory that have no one to pray for them.

Second type of judgement is Universal, sometimes called the Final Judgement:  This happens at the Second coming of Christ aka the of Time.  Each person’s sin is revealed for all to know.

But why is everyone's sins revealed?

Well, God’s justice demands that all will be revealed.  It often seems in life that the wicked get away with their actions and the good suffer. At the Final Judgement we learn that everything is as it should.  God’s mercy and justice will prevail despite some appearances.  This is the main reason why we are taught not to judge others because we never know what is in their hearts, unlike God who does.

One of the things for which we have time to overcome in this life is the sin of pride. It is because of pride that we fear others knowing our inmost dark secrets. The practice of humility, strengthened with frequent sacramental confession can overcome that fear and deepen our spiritual life.

The Four Last Things: Part II

Top Eleven Random Things You Didn't Know had a Catholic Origin.

(Just my notes for a talk I gave the Middle School Youth Group)

• 11. Autobiography: We can thank St Augustine of Hippo for the existence of the autobiography.  In his Confessions St Augustine recounts his younger life before his ordination with painful honesty telling the reader his thoughts and reflections of his past actions.
• 10. Friday the 13th: Friday is the day that Christ died on the cross, something to be cherished and revered, but because it is a day of Christ’s death it has always has a penitential character to it i.e. not eating meat.  As such it developed a reputation of being the unluckiest day of the week.  So beginning any on this day was considered was bad luck (which means I’m in a lot of trouble). 13 was associated with Christ and the 12 apostles, the 13th being Judas the Traitor.
• 9. Calculator: The first truly operative mechanical calculating device made its appearance in 1642 when Blaise Pascal (French Philosopher, Mathematician, Apologist) wanted to help his father, who was a tax official, with his work.  He called it ‘percaline’, it was 4x20 inches long with 8 dials on its face that was able to add and subtract with great accuracy.  We could also consider the pacaline the first basic computer.
• 8.A Capella: style of singing without musical instruments. Italian = ‘in the chapel’ written for sacred spaces too small for orchestras or a pipe organ
• 7. Piñatas: This started out as an Italian sin-bashing during Lent; 
• there were colorful 7 pignatta ‘fragile pot’ representing the 7 deadly sins that would dance on a rope showing how difficult it is to overcome sin, blindfolded – hard to see as sin.
• As evil can be defeated by good, we have aids: virture = bat, faith = directions shouted by the crowd, hope = directing his actions heavenwards, charity = when the pignatta is finally busted and sweets shower divine gifts and blessings cascading out
• 6. Almond Milk: great alternative to cow milk in the Medieval Age, it lasted longer and was often used in Lent when on Fridays one abstained from all animal products.  One couldn’t find a cookbook in a Medieval kitchen that did not have a few recipes that required almond milk.
• 5. Croissant & Pretzel: I ranked them the same since they are both food items.
• Croissant: commemorates the Battle of Vienna in 1683, Vienna was an Eastern outpost of Western Christendom against the larger superior army of the Ottoman Empire.  If Vienna had fallen The Turks could have very easily taken over all of Christian Europe, but they were defeated by a spectacular counterattack with a coalition of troops from different Catholic Countries led by the Polish King John Sobieski. 
• The Legend: Baker heard the Turks trying to tunnel under the city walls and he notified everyone. He was rewarded with a patent to produce a bread to commemorating the victory. The crescent is a symbol of Islam
• Pretzel: The Lenten treat of Ancient Christianity. In 400s the Great Fast of Lent included total abstinence from all meat and dairy products. Simple bread of flour water and salt in the shape of praying arms (crossed arms across chest in prayer). Were call bracellae Latin for ‘little arms’, from which German brezel or prezel = pretzel
• 4. Tempura: comes from the observance of Ember Days where there was a mandatory fast and abstain from meat.  The Spanish and Portuguese missionaries of the 16th century settled in Nagasaki, Japan started deep frying shrimp as a tasty alternative for meatless meals.  The idea caught on and the Japanese began to deep fry everything. The name is from Latin  Quatuor Tempora ‘the four seasons’ = the Embertides
• 3. Groundhog’s Day: Feb 2 Feast of Purification of the BVM – the presentation of Jesus at the Temple 40 days after birth. Simeon’s prophecy of Jesus being a light to the Gentiles (Luke 2:32) led to a folk believe that one could predict the weather on this day. The Germans would use a badger or hedgehog to determine; brought over to Pennsylvania in colonial times and a woodchuck was used. Woodchuck was considered a wise animal by the Indians of the area.
• 2. Big Bang Theory: not the show! States that at some moment all of space was contained in a single point from which the Universe has been expanding sever since. This theory was first proposed by Fr. Georges Lemaître, Belgian astronomer and professor of Physics at the Catholic University of Leuven. Sounds similar to the creation story, doesn’t it?
• 1. Solmization: You might know it as the Do-Re-Mi Scale. Hymn in the Divine Office for the Feast of St John the Baptist by Paul the deacon
• Ut Queant laxis Resonare fibris, Mira gestorum, Famuli tuorum, Solve pollute Labii reatum, Sacte Ioannes.
• An Italian monk, Gudio of Arezzo noticed that the melody of the hymn ascended precisely one note of the diatonix scale of C at each verse. Took the sybllables for each note of our scale.

Honorable Mentions

• Cappuccino: said to have been invented by Bl Marco D’Aviano, a Capuchin monk after the Battle of Vienna when a bag of coffee beans left behind by the Turks was found.  He found that it was too bitter for taste thus added milk and honey turning the color brown. Dubbed the drink ‘little Capuchin’ or cappuccino
• Lobbies: A lobium in medieval Latin was a cloistered walkway where it is believed that many would wait to seek council and help from the monks.

Now enjoy this cappuccino made with almond milk while I calculate the Big Band Theory to the sounds of 'Do a deer' in the background.

Where Did the Advent Wreath Come From and What Does it Mean?

As it is often the case with many traditions that we hold dear to our hearts the Advent wreath has pagan origins and as with many Christmas traditions practiced here in America, this came from Germany.

Evidence shows that the pre-Christian Germanic peoples used wreath with lit candles in the cold dark Winter as a sign of hope for the future warm and extended sun lighted days of Spring.  Similarly, in Scandinavia lighted candles were placed around a wheel and prayers were offered to the god of light to, in a sense, turn the ‘wheel of the earth’ back towards the light of the sun.

As often seen in the Church, especially in the first few centuries, we would take the pagan practices and Christianized it.  This practice of ‘Christionzation’ took what was intrinsically good in the pagan tradition and essentially baptized them into the Church.

By the Medieval period, say about the 16th century or 1500s, the wreath with lighted candles was adapted for Advent as part of a spiritual preparation for Christmas.  Both German Catholics and Lutherans practiced this tradition.  What we would recognize as the Advent wreath took shape in the 19th century or 1800s.  The original wreath started out with a candle for each day of the season, Sundays being big white candles and the rest were smaller red candles.  Over time it simplified to just each Sunday having a candle and sometimes Christmas Day having its own.  This practice was brought over to the United States in the 1930s by German immigrants.

Advent is a time of reflections and preparation and the wreath works as both a reminder and a meditation of what is to come.  It’s easy to perceived the reminder aspect of it, lighting each candle as Christmas gets closer, so let’s focus on the meditative aspect.

It must be understood that the Advent wreath is full of symbols.  This is not a bad thing; symbols are used to help us focus giving us a tangible aspect for the abstract. The act of lighting the candles, with an additional one each week in tandem if the liturgical colors on the candles, represents our expectation and hope of Christ’s first coming, His birth.  That hope and expectation also includes Christ’s second coming at the end of the world.  Remember, everything about Christmas points towards Easter.

This has evergreen, holly leaves, pine cones, and fruit.

To the physical wreath itself:  Traditionally the wreath is made of different types of evergreens wrapped into a circle; the circle has not beginning or end and the evergreen is green throughout the year representing the eternal life of Christ, and his eternal never ending rule.  The wreath can also include holly, pine and yew all of which is symbolic of immortality.  The holly also is symbolic of the crown of thrones worn by Christ at His Passion; there’s also a neat English legend that states the wood of the cross was holly.  Pine cones, seedpods, and nuts can be added for a representation of Christ’s Resurrection. Cedar for strength and healing. Fruits for the nourishing fruitfulness of the Christian Life.  All of this as a whole is Christ, the eternal Word of the Father, who became man was victorious over sin and death by His Passion, Death and Resurrection.

Let us not forget the candles.  As I’ve mentioned before the candles bear the color of the liturgical season; three purple and one rose (not pink).  These are the same colors for the Lent season (again, pointing towards Easter); purple is a reminder of prayer, penance and preparatory sacrifices and good works undertaken during this season (sounds like Lent, doesn't it?). Rose if for Gaudete Sunday, gaudete is Latin for rejoice, this Sunday is the midpoint of Advent and we are close to Christmas.

There’s also some traditions where each candle has a meaning. In one tradition:
Candle #1: Hope, Prophet’s candle representing Jesus’ coming
Candle #2: Faith, Bethlehem candle representing Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem
Candle #3: Joy, Shepherd’s candle representing the joy at the coming of the birth of Christ
Candle #4: Peace, Angel’s candle representing the message of the Angels ‘Peace on Earth, Good Will towards Men.’

Another tradition:
Candle #1: Patriarchs
Candle #2: Prophets
Candle #3: John the Baptist
Candle#4: Mother Mary

Happy Advent!!

(This is a rough transcript of a lecture I gave to the RCIA class at my church.)

Dr William Marshner: Former Lutheran - The Journey Home

I'm not going to lie - I squeed (that's right, squeed) when I found this video on youtube.  Here is Dr Marshner talking about his conversion to Catholicism.  He is one of my favorite professor from College and I took every possible class I could taught by him.  He is fascinating to listen to.

The Development of the Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception

The feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary was celebrated on the 8th of December.

From the very moment of her conception she was free from the all stain of original sin and in a state of grace. Immaculate means 'without stain'. But she still suffered from the effects of sin – sorrow, illness, death.

How is this possible?

Well, Mary received grace same as us via Christ's death on the cross; His death is an eternal event meaning that the effects of it reach back in time as well as forward. Same as with the Sacrifice of the Mass it cannot be confine to time. God granted her freedom from sin to make her a fitting mother for His Son.

If was officially declared on 8 December 1854 by Pope Pius IX. So does that mean that the Pope just thought of it one day and said to himself 'that's a good idea'?

No it does not.

Let's first start with the Bible (I'm using the Dewey Rheims translation); Genesis 3:15 “I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she/he shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.”

There is a parallel between Eve and Mary; If there is to be complete enmity between the woman and the serpent, then she never should have been in any way subject to him even briefly. This implies an Immaculate conception.

Luke 1:28 “And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.”

An angel declared her 'full of grace'; it indicates an unique abundance of grace in her person.

There are a lot angels visiting people in the Bible, but Mary is the only one greeted by 'Full of Grace”

As I've said before the doctrine was not invented in 1854, it was defined or declared. That only happens for two reasons; firstly being that there is a controversy that needs to be cleared up or secondly when the Magisterium believes that the faithful can be helped by a particular emphasis on an already preexisting belief.

The declaration was prompted by the latter of the two. Pius IX had a great devotion to Mary and hoped that the declaration would inspire others in their devotion to Mary.

Let's us now turn to the Fathers of the Church. Now who exactly are these guys? Simple answer: they are men who lived before 750 and are called as such because of their leadership in the early Church, especially in defending, expounding, and developing Catholic doctrines. For the first two centuries, most of these men were bishops, although in later years certain priests and deacons were also recognized as Fathers. They were closes to the sources than we are today.

Many of them make very blatant statements about Mary's immaculate nature.

• St. Justine Martyr (d.165) the Church’s first major lay apologist, remarks on Mary's obedience to God (her willingness to do His will) in opposite to Eve's disobedience.
• St. Irenaenus (2^nd century) Bishop in Gaul, expands on that saying that Mary's obedience undid what Eve's disobedience brought to man.
• Origen (184/5-253/4) calls her worthy of God, immaculate of the immaculate.
• The Syrian Fathers wouldn't shut up (as it were) about her sinlessness.

The Syrians were really the first to have a feast day commemorating this, since about the 5^th century. It becomes wide spread by the 7^th century in the East and by the 8^th it is celebrated in parts of the Western Church.

The feast day became very deeply rooted in Anglo-Saxon monasteries by the 11^th century. We even find an old calendar in Winchester dating 1030 with 'Conceptio S'ce S. Mariae'. The monks celebrated it and it was encouraged to the devotion of the individual.

But then, cue ominous music please, the Normans arrived.

For the Normans the feast appeared to be very English, too English; they considered it a product a product of insular simplicity and ignorance (the celebration, not the idea behind it mind you). Thus we can thank the Normans for stopping public devotion, but it lived on in the devotion of the individual. Thank you Normans (sarcasm in abundance here).

It was reestablished, however, by Anselm the Younger, nephew of St. Anselm (Yeah, that's not confusing).

It is after this, going into the 12^th century, that we begin to see a confusion over the idea of the Immaculate Conception.

St Bernard of Clairvaux protested what he perceived to be a new way of honoring Mary and reproved the canons (those are people of a religious order who are attached to a particular church) of the Cathedral of Lyons for acting without the authority of Rome when they started celebrating it in 1240. He saw it as a foreign to the traditions of the Church, but here's the kicker – he didn't know that the Church in Greece and Syria had been celebrating the feast with a rich tradition regarding the sinlessness of Mary. (There's no phone system, email, facebook, twitter, or texting)

He was not wrong in wanting a careful inquiry into the reason for observing the feast.

Even St Thomas Aquinas, one of the foremost philosophers and theologians of the Medieval Church, had difficulty grasping the concept. As seen in the Summa Theologica (III.27:2,a2), mostly along the lines of Mary's redemption, how could she be redeemed if she had not sinned.

For some reason, the major philosophers and theologians at the time were stuck on two possibilities:

One, the sanctification of Mary happened before the fusion of the soul into the body; or

Two, the sanctification happened after the union of soul and body.

None of them ever truly considered the moment between – the sanctification of the soul at the moment of conception. The idea of both the sanctification and the fusion of the soul could be simultaneous in time.

This is a good example of how science and faith work together.  When conception was better defined by science it aided in a clearer understanding of the doctrine.

Of course there were some issues, because people always have issues.

St Paul in Romans (5:12) states that all men have sinned via Adam. That would include Mary, right? By this declaration, St. Paul is trying to explain that all men need redemption via Christ. Mary is no exception to this rule as stated before.

Then the silence of the Church Fathers. Well, as we have seen the Church Fathers were not silent, just the ones that most people in the West were reading. There was limited access to those sources and some were lost to them, but not to us today.

It was Blessed John Duns Scotus (d. 1308)(a Franisican) who provided the answer of the simultaneous sanctification and conception. He stated that God had sanctified Mary at the moment of her conception in His foreknowledge that the Blessed Virgin would consent to bear Christ. In other words, she too had been redeemed—her redemption had simply been accomplished at the moment of her conception, rather than (as with all other Christians) in baptism. It was essentially Scotus who laid the foundation of the doctrine that we see to day and Pius IX referenced him when declaring the feast.

After Scotus the doctrine became commonplace at all the major universities and the feast was fast spreading. Most religious orders took up the celebration, except the Dominicans – why? They're sticking with Aquinas.

In 1439 the University of Paris asked the Council of Basle for a dogmatic definition. After 2 years the bishops declared the Immaculate Conception : a doctrine which was pious, constant with Catholic worship, faith, right reason and Holy Scripture and no one could declare contrary to this.

Problem solved, right? 

But wait – this is 1441. The problem? Council of Basle was not an ecumenical council, meaning that anything it declared only effected the area that those bishops lead, not for the Church as a whole. So disputes and discussions continued.

In 1661 P. Alexander VII promulgated in 'Sollicitudo omnium Ecclesiarum' the true sense of the word 'conceptio', and that the immunity of Mary from original sin in the first moment of the creation of her soul and its formation into the body was the subject of the feast. This was when it was finally universally accepted within the Church. So by the time Pius IX promulgated the dogma on 8 December 1854 there was a ring of 'about time'.

In the decades that followed an octave was attached to the feast then became a holy day of obligation, then was allowed a vigil. All of which were in practice in local tradition in many areas.

Our Lady of Immaculate Conception was decreed By the First Council of Baltimore (1846) as the principal Patron of the US.

(This is a rough transcript of a lecture I gave to the RCIA class at my church for the Feast Day.)

An Unusual Combination that Just Works

As a big time fan of G K Chesterton and Benedict XVI, I very much so geek out over this.

I now wish they would translate the book into English so I can Catholic Geek out even more.

Blue and Black: My Reflection on His Holiness Benedict XVI

I have seen the Holy Father Emeritus four times during his reign; as in seen his physical person not just through a television screen.  Each of those moments are very special to me and part of an important event in my life.  Each of those moments, and a few others, I wore blue and black.  I never had the intention to wear that color scheme and now I can't help but associate those colors with him.

I am part of that generation that grew up with Pope Blessed John Paul II, the charismatic pope with a great love for the youth.  To me, and I'm sure many others, he felt like the grandfather we couldn't wait to visit or listen to one of his stories.  I'm not ashamed to say that I cried when he passed away and I know I wasn't the only one who did.  I got up early to watch his funeral and I will admit that I dosed off a few times despite my best efforts (this was before I fell into the common addiction of coffee).  Then I watched with great wonder my first conclave whenever I wasn't in school or at work.

On the day of white smoke and bells was also the day of National Honor Society Inductions.  I was already a member so I got to sit on stage and be dressed in my Sunday best, a blue skirt and a black blouse, which I much preferred to the khaki pants and ill fitted polo of the school uniform.  After some begging, pleading and convincing the teacher of that period turned on the television and I watched as Cardinal Ratzinger, now Benedict XVI, stepped out onto the balcony. A humble worker in God's vineyard.

Later that year (after a year of saving and asking relations to lieu of Christmas gifts to send monies for the trip) I got to go to World Youth Day.  That year it was being hosted in Cologne, Germany which brought an extra meaning to me since I hadn't been to that country since I was born.  I always wanted to go to World Youth Day since I was really young and the fact that it was in Germany was an extra layer of awesome on my epic cake.  This was the first time I saw Benedict XVI without the aid of a TV screen.  I watched the tiny Pontiff in the distance give the final blessing of the last Mass of WYD, I bowed my head and noticed that my black chapel veil was about to slide from my neck.  I wrapped it more securely around my neck and zipped my blue windbreaker closed.

In my college career I transferred once and my first year at my second college was particularly difficult due to miscommunications, misunderstandings, and bias.  During this dark time for me fifty tickets were donated to the school for the Papal Mass that was held at the National Stadium for Benedict XVI's visit to the US.  A drawing was held amongst the students and I put my name in.  On a day filled with tears and hurt, I was told I won one of the fifty tickets.  The smile felt odd after not having one for so long, but it felt good to do it again.

I dressed in the wee hours of the morning the day of the Mass.  Oddly enough, as I looked in the mirror double checking everything, I was wearing the skirt I wore when Habemus Papam was announced; a different blouse but still black.  A bus ride, a trek through the Metro than a shuffle in the crowd I sat in the newly built baseball stadium to have Mass.

One of the better snap shots I got of Pope Benedict XVI.

The same college offered the opportunity to study in Rome for a semester and I took it.   Whilst there my classmates and I were able to attend a Wednesday Audience.  It was outside in St Peter's Square (or circle if you want to get technical about it). I waved enthusiastically as Benedict XVI rode by in the pope-mobile. He knew my school and we got a smile of recognition from  him and almost a two handed waved, but he had to re-grab the bar to keep his balance. My smile grew bigger and my teeth showed.  I sat and listen to talk about St John Leonardi.  He ended his talk with words of encouragement and a blessing.  As he gave his blessing I fiddle with a rosary bracelet around my left wrist.  It had blue and black beads with a medal of the Immaculate Conception.

The owner of the hotel where we were staying was able to get his hands on ticket to the Mass for the Conclusion of the Second Assembly for African of the Synod of Bishops.  Did I want one?  Yes, please!  Not realizing the change in time due to daylights savings, I got up earlier than I had intended.  It was a happy accident as I ended up inside St Peter's Basilica for Mass.  On a side note, the insides are even more awe inspiring when all the lights are on.  I sat at the very end of the row near the front section for the general public resulting in being less than five feet from the Cardinals and the Holy Father himself.  Throughout the Mass two Swiss guards took their posts next to where I sat so I got a good look at the stitching in their colorful uniform.  It was cool that morning and I grabbed a scarf I had purchased in Florence to keep away the chill, which doubled as a chapel veil for me; the scarf was mostly blue and black weaved together to create a design. 

I was just as surprised as anyone when Benedict XVI announced his abdication.  Let me first state that I wish him the best in his new life of prayer and solitude.  On his official last day I had to work, but I was able to schedule my lunch around the time he stepped down so I could pray for him and the next Pope.  I stared at my feet propped up in another chair and then down to what I was wearing; my blue work shirt over a black dress, all cinched with a black belt.  That's when it hit me - blue, black and Benedict XVI.  A strange connection I will admit, some may call it even flimsy, but there it is.

As Pope Blessed John Paul II was the Pope of my youth, Pope Benedict XVI was the Pope of my intellectual development.  In his homily at the closing Mass of his first World Youth Day he said, "In vast areas of the world today there is a strange forgetfulness of God. It seems as if everything would be just the same even without him.  But at the same time there is a feeling of frustration, a sense of dissatisfaction with everyone and everything."  He then encouraged us to "[h]elp people to discover the true star which points out the way to us:  Jesus Christ! Let us seek to know him better and better, so as to be able to guide others to him with conviction."

I saw first hand the forgetfulness that Benedict XVI talked about; with people in my own generation it has resulted from simply not being taught because the two generations ago misunderstood the intention of a Church Council.  In a fit of frustration after a particularly bad religion class I made a deal with God.  If He did not want me to major in Theology in college He would have to lead me in another direction.  From that point to when I declared my major there was nothing that really pushed me away from that degree and thus I now have a BA in Sacred Theology.  Before you ask - I'm not gonna be a priest or preacher!!  You would be amazed how often I'm asked that when people find out my major.

I'm not sure how well I'm leading others to Christ.  I can only hope that I can implant seeds of truth the the minds of those who wish to ignore it because it makes them uncomfortable.  Maybe one day those seeds will bloom into something or at least never leave them.

Today, if one was to take a look at my wardrobe, one would fine a lot of black and blue.  Because of that silly little connection I unknowingly made with those colors and Benedict XVI, I find that I am drawn to them without even thinking about it.  We all find comfort in things; for some it's in a little trinket left to us by someone we love, for others it maybe sharing a pint of ice cream with a friend with one spoon. My comfort is found in the colors blue and black; not in the colors themselves, mind you, but in what they have come to represent to me.

(In case if anyone was wondering, I was wearing brown when Pope Francis was elected.  There's a Franciscan joke in there somewhere, I just can't find it.)

Best Wishes Holy Father

On April 2005 I was still in high school and on that particular day I was taking part of a program for the National Honor Society.  Because of that particular participation I was required to wear something nice.  I decided on my Sunday best, a blue and white skirt with black line scribbles of flowers and a black blouse with a matching blue collar.  I felt pretty.  The usual khaki pants and school polo had always made me feel frumpy and I was a rather awkward child in high school.  But the only reason I remember all those small little details was that was the day of  'Habemus Papam!'.

It between classes when a classmate of mine apporched me and told me that they was white smoke coming from the Sisten Chapel.

'With the bells?' I asked him.

'Yeah, I think.' He said.

with that I rushed to my next class which, fortunately for me, was a rather pathetic, barely got by on the skin of it's teeth, religion class (I believe it was Comparative Religions) which gave me the perfect excuse to run to my teacher and practically beg to watch the announcement of the next Pope.

I still remember having my eyes glued to the screen while the rest of the classroom couldn't have cared less.

Then the announcement:

Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum:
Habemus Papam!
Eminentissimum ac reverendissimum Dominum,
Dominum Iosephum Sanctæ Romanæ Ecclesiæ Cardinalem Ratzinger,
Qui sibi nomen imposuit Benedictus PP. XVI.

My ear for Latin at the time was underdeveloped so it took me awhile to hear 'Ratzinger'.

I had several thoughts at the time, first was 'When was the last time we had a German pope?'; my second thought when he stepped out on the balcony was 'Wow, he looks a lot like one of my great-uncles, must be the German.'

What truly sadden me that day was the fact that I was so excited for the new Pope and the rest of my school (which supposedly was Catholic) was not.  There was no announcement over the intercom, no moment of silent prayer for the new earthly leader of Holy Mother Church, no one to gleefully jump up and down with me.  It was one of those moments in life where I felt quite alone in a crowded room.

At the time I knew Cardinal Ratzinger through 'The Ratzinger Report' and the fact that he was head of the Office that use to be known as the Inquistion.  But since his election I read as much as I could of all his writings before he was elected and read everything that he published since elected.

Two words: Heavy reading.

Really! I still re-reading everything just to get the general gist of them.

But I have to confess, a big reason I was really excited was that I was going to catch a glimpse of him at the up coming World Youth Day 2005 hosted in Cologne, Germany. A German Pope in Germany for World Youth Day - I had a Catholic geek-out moment there, I'm not ashamed to admit that.

Nearly eight years later His Holiness Benedict XVI, after much prayer and contemplation is abdicating his position.

I cannot tell you how many of my co-workers have asked my opinion of the matter.  So this is just my thoughts on the situation. This.

Benedictio Cerevisiae

Yes, for those of you who can read Latin, you read that right -- there is a blessing of beer in the Catholic Church found in the old Rituale Romanum, which contains all of the services which may be performed by a priest or deacon which are not contained within either the Missale Romanum or the Breviarium Romanum.  I thought I would share this fun blessing for the joy of all.  I recommend it's use on Oktoberfest or St Patrick's Day. :)

The proper blessing of beers is a proof that we have an awesome religion!

Blessing of Beer

English translation:
V. Our help is in the name of the Lord.
R. Who made heaven and earth.
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.

Let us pray.
Bless, + O Lord, this creature beer, which thou hast deigned to produce from the fat of grain: that it may be a salutary remedy to the human race, and grant through the invocation of thy holy name; that, whoever shall drink it, may gain health in body and peace in soul. Through Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.

And it is sprinkled with holy water.

Latin Original:
V. Adiutorium nostrum in nomine Domini.
R. Qui fecit caelum et terram.
V. Dominus vobiscum.
R. Et cum spiritu tuo.

Oremus.
Bene+dic, Domine, creaturam istam cerevisiae, quam ex adipe frumenti producere dignatus es: ut sit remedium salutare humano generi, et praesta per invocationem nominis tui sancti; ut, quicumque ex ea biberint, sanitatem corpus et animae tutelam percipiant. Per Christum Dominum nostrum.
R. Amen.

Et aspergatur aqua benedicta.

Yeah, we're just cool like that!

From Catholic Gentleman Blog

A Morbid Connection to Heaven:

An Investigation of Relics & The Modern Need for Them

Chapter Two: Relics Today and Their Defense

 

In the movie Singing in the Rain there is a moment near the beginning in which fan-girls start attacking the lead male character and rip his clothing in an attempt to have a piece of him to keep as a memento. It is interesting to note that a culture filled with autograph hounds and with those who become star struck whenever a celebrity comes by can consider the Catholic veneration of relics a joke. A lovely dish is just a lovely dish, but one owned by your grandmother is a special treasure. A pocket-watch gotten at a pawn stop is just a time piece, but one given to you by a grandfather is one you dread losing and would mourn if that were to happen. People are willing to pay a ridiculous amount of money for an article of clothing worn by some famous person, faint at Beatles concerts, and engage in riotous behavior to get their hands on an article of clothing or some other item belonging to a new pop icon; but when a relic of Saint Catherine is mentioned, people snicker.

Especially today, in a world filled with atheists and misinformed Catholics, the snickering gets louder. In the year 2009, some of the relics of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux went on tour around England, even going to a correctional facility, after visiting forty other countries. Many English pilgrims came to see and touch the remains of the French saint. Simon Jenkins, a self proclaimed “Dawkins-ite”, wrote an article concerning the saint's visit to his country. Jenkins finds the whole event rather distasteful, crediting the frenzy that the faithful display towards the relics as “brainwashing of unreason.” But Jenkins decided to be gracious towards the less rational of his fellow man and take up the mantle of courtesy, the same he “would show a Hindu elephant worshiper or a Polynesian medicine man.” Such a mantle is hard to see in the rest of his article, which consists of a rather snarky description of how the relics came across the English channel and what the faithful would do once in reach of the relics. He blatantly states that relics are nothing more then “jujus, [or] religious placebos for the credulous classes” while most rational people “find them ghoulish.”

One of the members of the committee which arranged for Saint Thérèse to visit England, Father Stephen Wang, quickly responded to Jenkin's article. Wang quickly goes into an explanation of why so many come to the relics. People “come to pray; to find inspiration in the life of an extraordinary woman; to deepen their sense of community and belong; to connect with a person they love”; basically people are coming because they are seeking spiritual help. Wang explicitly states that relics are not, as Jenkins says, 'jujus', which are magical charms. A common misconception about relics held by non-Catholics and some Catholics is that relics possess magical powers; there is a supernatural aspect to relics, but there is no 'hocus-pocus' involved with them. The relics are part of the physical aspect of the faith, it is “not just about abstract spiritual truths.” The very act of the Incarnation confirms this – people were able to touch the Word of God and interact with Him. It is of little wonder then that Christianity developed with tangible ways to express the faith; this includes church architecture, polyphonic music and statues alongside of relics.

Today, relics are found in several different states in general. The first is relics lost and forgotten in a museum, where people gawk and wonder why there is a skull in a glided box. Next, the relics become a tourist attraction, like Pope Blessed John XXIII; the Swiss guards usher people along as they take pictures of a partially decomposed man under an altar. The last state, which is probably the most common, is that of relics in some form of a storage room, whether it be in a church or in a museum's back closet; they are hidden away out of sight, and the only way to see them is if one knows somebody with connections to the relics. But above all these states is that in every altar in the churches there has to be a relic, inside according to Cannon Law.

There are three classes of sacred relics depending on the closeness of the object to the saint. The first class are instruments of the Passion of Christ or a part of a saint's body. The relics found in church altars are first class, most likely one of a martyr. Then, the second class relics is a piece of the saint's clothing or something used often by the saint, such as the letters written by Saint Teresa of Ávila. Lastly, third class relics are objects touched to first class relics.

To venerate the relics of the saints is a profession of belief in several doctrines of the Catholic faith. The first of these is the belief in everlasting life for those who have obediently witnessed to Christ and the Holy Gospel whilst on earth. Next is the truth of the resurrection of the body of all persons on the last day, which relates to the doctrine of the splendor of the human body and the respect which all should show toward the bodies of both the living and the deceased. Also, there is the belief in the special intercessory power which the saints enjoy in heaven because of their intimate relationship with God. Last is the truth of our closeness to the saints because of our connection with the communion of saints, since we are all part of the same Church.

To understand how to venerate relics, one must understand the difference between latria, dulia and hyper-dulia. Latria is sacrificial in character, and may be offered only to God. Catholics offer other degrees of reverence to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to the Saints; these non-sacrificial types of reverence are called hyper-dulia and dulia, respectively. Hyper-dulia is essentially a heightened degree of dulia provided only to the Blessed Virgin since she is the revered Mother of God. 

End of Part One.
To Be Continued............
(Copyright: Belongs to the Wanderer)
(If interested in research please contact me.)