Will post later. God bless. Thanks for the prayers. Ear still hurts.
Wednesday, 7 January 2015
Birds And Gregorian Chant
Eight years ago, when I could still sing, I was in a choir which sang the William Byrd Mass in Five Voices. This event was one of the highlights of my life. To be in a very small choir of men and women who were trained in one long rehearsal to sing so well was such a treat, I shall remember that for the rest of my life.
The music of Byrd must be considered a gift to the entire world. When I play such music, birds sing...
Here is one of the most beautiful creations of men in the world.
The music of Byrd must be considered a gift to the entire world. When I play such music, birds sing...
Prayers, Please
I have a partial relapse of that virus I had last week. Typically, I did not get as much rest as I needed as I have had a full schedule.
This "bug" is going around Malta and several of my friends have it or have had it. Upper respiratory, mostly...
Thanks for the prayers. Part of the problem has been not being able to get out of the cold for hours and hours. Maltese houses are built to keep the cold in, because of the hot summers.
This "bug" is going around Malta and several of my friends have it or have had it. Upper respiratory, mostly...
Thanks for the prayers. Part of the problem has been not being able to get out of the cold for hours and hours. Maltese houses are built to keep the cold in, because of the hot summers.
Dark Night Series Again?
Having been moved by grace from the Dark Night of the Senses to the Dark Night of the Spirit, I may try and share some insights with you.
The irony is that one is in confusion, darkness, totally lacking in any sense of knowledge in this part of the Dark Night, so to share is almost an oxymoron.
One thinks one is going backwards or has even lost salvation. Because prayers are not answered, as God is trying to teach one complete dependency on Him aQnd not on any consolations, one doubts one's own self more and more.
One must learn to trust in the darkness by concentrating on God and the Passion of Christ. But, there is no grace of mediation, either.
The hardest thing for me is not to consistently have a spiritual director. Mine is away in another country for over a month, having left over a week ago. Such is life, but to get through the great pain and to not fall into discouragement, one does desire a spiritual director.
There are too few priests who have gone through this process themselves.
All one can do is try to focus on God and try to rest. The temptation to anxiety is huge, but one needs to make acts of faith.
I say the Jesus Prayer.
to be continued...
The irony is that one is in confusion, darkness, totally lacking in any sense of knowledge in this part of the Dark Night, so to share is almost an oxymoron.
One thinks one is going backwards or has even lost salvation. Because prayers are not answered, as God is trying to teach one complete dependency on Him aQnd not on any consolations, one doubts one's own self more and more.
One must learn to trust in the darkness by concentrating on God and the Passion of Christ. But, there is no grace of mediation, either.
The hardest thing for me is not to consistently have a spiritual director. Mine is away in another country for over a month, having left over a week ago. Such is life, but to get through the great pain and to not fall into discouragement, one does desire a spiritual director.
There are too few priests who have gone through this process themselves.
All one can do is try to focus on God and try to rest. The temptation to anxiety is huge, but one needs to make acts of faith.
I say the Jesus Prayer.
to be continued...
Fear?
The greatest problem with Catholics, besides not understanding the Faith and being too tolerant of sin, is fear.
Recently, I discovered that many Catholics are afraid of the following things or people. We cannot be afraid.
- Fear of losing the companionship of friends or family members because of speaking the truth, even gently
- Fear of being accused of being a hypocrite.
- Fear of upsetting a conversation by bringing up Church teaching on a subject.
- Fear of not being able to answer the complex questions which may arise.
- Fear of failure.
- Fear of being right, not being wrong, and what that means
- Fear of pride or fear of humility
St. John Paul II more than once told us not to be afraid. I have told my readers not to be afraid.
Here is what Christ states:
Luke 12:12New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
12 ...for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say.
Sometimes, I wonder whether some Catholics actually believe that Christ is God and that He means what He states.
One reason why Christ detaches us from all people and things is so that we shall not be afraid.
In the not so distant past, I had to pass on several bags of personal things which had been given to me or purchased out of need. I had no choice. Most things I was totally detached from...but one thing I was attached to. Well, it had to go as well.
Hurts? Yes...but God is teaching me to get ready for death, and to die to self now.
One is no longer afraid if one accepts death of self.
Are we headed for a one world religion?
Too bad Hutton is a Sede....but he is correct in this quotation. And, many of the trads will break away from the true Church as well, as some already have, like Hutton.
Break aways from both ends-trad and liberal-will leave a very small remnant.
Someone asked me yesterday what the schism which is brewing would look like...
I said that the new group would claim to be the real Catholic Church and make the true Church look false.
I also think that these split off groups will create a new world religion-one religion to bind together all nations under the false gods of Tolerance and Personalism. This group will look Catholic but be rotten to the core.
Shades of Lord of the World.
Those horrible symbols on bumper stickers which are extremely popular here in Malta point to a one world church.
Tolerance is a false god. There is only one God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.
Pay attention...Last year, the Pope Emeritus said this, among other things.
"The question of truth, that which originally motivated Christians more than any other, is here put inside parentheses. It is assumed that the authentic truth about God is in the last analysis unreachable and that at best one can represent the ineffable with a variety of symbols. This renunciation of truth seems realistic and useful for peace among religions in the world. It is nevertheless lethal to faith. In fact, faith loses its binding character and its seriousness, everything is reduced to interchangeable symbols, capable of referring only distantly to the inaccessible mystery of the divine,"
Have you ever been through the Denver Airport?
Repost for our times...
Sunday, 6 July 2014
Two Signs of Purgation
Ending this section on the general call of all to perfection, one can take a last look at St. Catherine’s Dialogue for help. I think most people can understand the activity needed on our part in order to walk the path to perfection, but what may be puzzling are the passive purifications.
Two signs, according the saint, indicate that one is going through the passive purifications of the soul, which is the same as the Dark Night of the soul. The first sign is complete docility to the Holy Spirit. One no longer trusts in one’s self, but in the movements of the Spirit. One is no longer rebellious but cooperative in grace. The second sign is the receiving of Divine inspirations through the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost, and here, I am reminded both of St. Angela and Cardinal Manning in their repetition of the flowering of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
These seven gifts become “mature” after the passive purifications, a point I made over the past several years in the perfection series. That Garrigou-Lagrange reminds us of this fact corresponds with his other works, and with the great saints of perfection-Teresa of Avila , John of the Cross, Ignatius of Loyola, Francis de Sales, and Alphonsus Ligouri.
The passive purgations, again, take away all the dross in our hearts, minds, including the imagination, intellect, and memory. The senses are, as noted before, purged first, and then the spirit.
Then, one enters into the Illuminative State and finally, the State of Union , again defined in the perfection series.
The seven gifts of the Holy Ghost are, as a reminder: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, Fear of the Lord.
These gifts come to the fore only after we are purified, which is hard for many people to understand. Sin blocks both gifts and virtues, even repeated venial sins, or venial sins which are habitually done almost automatically, revealing a need for healing as well as purgation.
Garrigou-Lagrange notes, that “while conforming ourselves to His expressed will, we must abandon ourselves to His divine will of good pleasure, however mysterious it may be, for we are certain beforehand that in its holiness it wills nothing, permits nothing, unless for a good purpose.”
Another theme on this blog which is covered in this book as well is that he who is faithful in little things will be faithful in big things. I have written over the years that being obedient in the small things is like a daily boot camp experience, wherein we make our wills stronger. Garrigou-Lagrange notes that “If every day we do what we can to be faithful to God in the ordinary routine of life, we may be confident that He will give us grace to remain faithful in whatever extremity we may find ourselves through His permission; and if we have to suffer for Him, He will give us the grace to die a heroic death rather than be shamed and betray Him.”
This book was published in 1937, when persecutions around the world were ratcheting up. We must not forget that the daily practice of virtue and the faithfulness in small things helps us grow. The author states that, “Daily fidelity to the divine will as expressed gives us a sort of right to abandon ourselves completely to the divine will of good pleasure as yet not made known to us.”
We are faced with suffering daily, and if we do not shirk from this suffering and if we do not complain or judge others, we are being faithful to this daily fidelity. Garrigou-Lagrange writes, “Daily fidelity and trusting self-abandonment thus give the spiritual life its balance, its stability and harmony. In this way we live our lives in almost continuous recollection, in an ever-increasing self-abnegation, and these are the conditions normally required for contemplation and union with God. This, then, is the reason why our life should be one of self-abandonment to the divine will as yet unknown to us and at the same time supported every moment by that will as already made known to us.”
Garrigou-Lagrange states something interesting: “In this union of fidelity and self-abandonment we have some idea of the way in which asceticism, insisting on fidelity or conformity to the divine will, should be united with mysticism, which emphasizes self-abandonment.”
Some things are just plain basics and on top of this we add our act of complete trust in God, in Divine Providence. We give God our present and our future. We also give God our past, which is very difficult for many of us who have had tumultuous pasts and need to rely on Divine Mercy, as the author points out, for the consequences.
There is no error, no misjudgment, no sin which God has not forgiven in our past. There is no trial so difficult in our present which God cannot overcome, and there is nothing in our future which we need to dread, as we are in the Hands of God.
Romans is most likely my favorite epistle of St. Paul , and Romans 8 may be the chapter masterpiece of this letter. Garrigou-Lagrange refers to Romans 8:31-39 as to the way of perfection through abandonment to God, whether we face the good will of men or malice, as he notes.
Childlike confidence is key. One cannot be too childlike, states the author, and I am glad he wrote that. He states,“Therefore, in abandoning ourselves to God, all we have to fear is that our submission will not be wholehearted enough.”
Amen to that…to be continued…
The New Problem in Malta
The Curse of Broadmindedness Bishop Fulton J. Sheen from “Moods and Truths” 1932
"The Catholic Church intolerant." That simple thought, like a yellow-fever sign, is supposed to be the one solid reason which should frighten away any one who might be contemplating knocking at the portals of the Church for entrance, or for a crumb of the Bread of Life. When proof for this statement is asked, it is retorted that the Church is intolerant because of its self-complacency and smug satisfaction as the unique interpreter of the thoughts of Christ. Its narrow-mindedness is supposed to be revealed in its unwillingness to cooperate effectively with other Christian bodies that are working for the union of churches. Within the last ten years, two great world conferences on religion have been held, in which every great religion except the Catholic participated. The Catholic Church was invited to attend and discuss the two important subjects of doctrine and ministry, but she refused the invitation.
That is not all. Even in our own country she has refused to lend a helping hand in the federating of those churches which decided it was better to throw dogmatic differences into the background, in order to serve better the religious needs of America. The other churches would give her a royal welcome, but she will not come. She will not cooperate! She will not conform! And she will not conform because she is too narrow-minded and intolerant! Christ would not have acted that way!
Such is, practically every one will admit, a fair statement of the attitude the modern world bears to the Church. The charge of intolerance is not new. It was once directed against Our Blessed Lord Himself.
Immediately after His betrayal, Our Blessed Lord was summoned before a religious body for the first Church Conference of Christian times, held not in the city of Lausanne or Stockholm, but in the city of Jerusalem. The meeting was presided over by one Annas, the primate and head of one of the most aggressive families of the patriarchate, a man wise with the deluding wisdom of three score and ten years, in a country in which age and wisdom were synonymous. Five of his sons in succession wore the sacred ephod of blue and purple and scarlet, the symbols of family power. As head of his own house, Annas had charge of family revenues, and from non-biblical sources we learn that part of the family fortune was invested in trades connected with the Temple. The stalls for the sale of bird and beast and material for sacrifice were known as the booths of the sons of Annas. One expects a high tone when a priest goes into business; but Annas was a Sadducee, and since he did not believe in a future life, he made the most of life while he had it. There was always one incident he remembered about his Temple business, and that was the day Our Lord flung his tables down its front steps as if they were lumber, and with cords banished the money-handlers from the Temple like rubbish before the wind.
That incident flashed before his mind now, when he saw standing before him the Woodworker of Nazareth. The eyes of Jesus and Annas met, and the first world conference on religion opened. Annas, ironically feigning surprise at the sight of the prisoner whom multitudes followed the week before, opened the meeting by asking Jesus to make plain two important religious matters, the two that were discussed later on in Lausanne and Geneva and Stockholm, namely, the question of His doctrine and the question of His ministry. Our Lord was asked by a religious man, a religious leader, and a religious authority, representative of the Common faith of a nation, to enter into discussion, to sit down to a conference on the all-important questions of religion-ministry and discipline-and He refused! And the world's first Church Conference was a failure.
He refused in words which left no doubt in the mind of Annas that the doctrine which He preached was the one which He would now uphold in religious conference, namely, His Divinity. With words, cut like the facets of a diamond, and sentences, as uncompromising as a two-edged sword, He answered Annas : "I have spoken openly to the world . . . and in secret spoke I nothing. Why asketh thou Me? Ask them that have heard Me, what I spoke unto them: behold, these know the things which I said."
In so many words Jesus said to Annas: "You imply by your questioning that I am not Divine; that I am just the same as the other rabbis going up and down the country-side; that I am another one of Israel's prophets, and at the most, only a man. I know that you would welcome Me to your heart if I would say that I am only human. But no! I have spoken openly to the world. I have declared My Divinity; I say unto you, I have exercised the right of Divinity, for I have forgiven sins; I have left my Body and Blood for posterity, and rather than deny its reality I have lost those who followed Me, who were scandalized at My words. It was only last night that I told Philip that the Father and I are One, and that I will ask My Father to send the Spirit of Truth to the Church I have founded on Peter, which will endure to the end of time. Ask those who have heard Me; they will tell you what things I have said. I have no other doctrine than that which I declared when I drove your dove-hucksters out of the Temple, and declared it to be My Father's House; that which I have preached; that which angels declared at My birth; that which I revealed on Thabor; that which I now declare before you, namely, My Divinity. And if your first principle is that I am not Divine, but am just human like yourself, then there is nothing in common between us. So, why asketh thou Me to discuss doctrine and ministry with you?"
And some brute standing near by, feeling himself the humiliation of the high priest at such an uncompromising response, struck Our Blessed Lord across the face with a mailed fist, drawing out of Him two things: blood, and a soft answer: "If I have spoken evil bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou Me?" And that soldier in the court-room of Annas has gone down in history as the representative of that great group that bears a hatred against Divinity, the group that never clothes that hatred in any intellectual lan¬guage, but rather in violence alone.
All that happened in the life of Christ happens in the life of the Church. And here in the court-room of Annas I find the reason for the Catholic Church's refusal to take part in movements for federation such as those inspired by present world conferences on religion. Happy the Church is that there should be a desire for the union of Christendom, but she cannot take part in any such conference. In so many words the Church says to those who invited her: "Why askest thou me about my doctrine and my ministry? Ask them that have heard me. I have spoken openly through the centuries, declaring myself the Spouse of Christ, founded on the Rock of Peter. Centuries before prophets of modern religions arose, I spoke my Divinity at Nicea and Constantinople; I spoke it in the cathedrals of the Middle Ages; I speak it today in every pulpit and church throughout the world. I know that you will welcome me to your conferences if I say I am not Divine; I know Ritualists throughout the world feel the need of my ceremonials, and would grasp my hand if I would but relinquish my claim to be Divine; I know a recent writer has argued that the great organization of the Church could be the framework for the union of all Christendom, if I would give up my claim to be the Truth; I know the church doors of the world would rejoice to see me pass in ; I know your welcome would be sincere; I know you desire the union of all Christendom-but I cannot. ‘Why do you ask me?’ if your first principle is that I am not Divine, but just a human organization like your own, that I am a human institution like all other human institutions founded by erring men and erring women. If your first principle is that I am human, but not divine, then there is no common ground for conference. I must refuse."
Call this intolerance, yes! That is just what it is-the intolerance of Divinity. It is the claim to uniqueness that brought the blow of the soldier against Christ, and it is the claim to uniqueness that brings the blow of the world's disapproval against the Church. It is well to remember that there was one thing in the life of Christ that brought His death, and that was the intolerance of His claim to be Divine. He was tolerant about where He slept. and what He ate; He was tolerant about shortcomings of His fish-smelling apostles; He was tolerant of those who nailed Him to the Cross, but He was absolutely intolerant about His claim to be Divine. There was not much tolerance about His statement that those who I receive not in Him shall be condemned. There was not much tolerance about His statement that any one who would prefer his own father or mother to Him was not worthy of being His disciple. There was not much tolerance of the world's opinion in giving His blessing to those whom the world would hate and revile. Tolerance to His Mind was not always good, nor was intolerance always evil.
There is no other subject on which the average mind is so much confused as the subject of tolerance and intolerance. Tolerance is always supposed to be desirable because it is taken to be synonymous with broadmindedness. Intolerance is always supposed to be undesirable, because it is taken to be synonymous with narrow-mindedness. This is not true, for tolerance and intolerance apply to two totally different things. Tolerance applies only to persons, but never to principles. Intolerance applies only to principles, but never to persons. We must be tolerant to persons because they are human; we must be intolerant about principles because they are divine. We must be tolerant to the erring, because ignorance may have led them astray; but we must be intolerant to the error, because Truth is not our making, but God's. And hence the Church in her history, due reparation made, has always welcomed the heretic back into the treasury of her souls, but never his heresy into the treasury of her wisdom.
The Church, like Our Blessed Lord, advocates charity to all persons who disagree with her by word or by violence. Even those who in the strictest sense of the term-are bigots, are to be treated with the utmost kindness. They really do not hate the Church, they hate only what they mistakenly believe to be the Church. If I believed all the lies that are told about the Church, if I gave credence to all the foul stories told about her priesthood and Papacy, if I had been brought up on falsehoods about her teachings and her sacraments, I would probably hate the Church a thousand times more than they do.
Keeping the distinction well in mind between persons and principles, cast a hurried glance over the general religious conditions of our country. America, it is commonly said, is suffering from intolerance. While there is much want of charity to our fellow-citizens, I believe it is truer to say that America is not suffering so much from intolerance as it is suffering from a false kind of tolerance: tolerance of right and wrong; truth and error; virtue and vice; Christ and chaos. The man, in our country, who can make up his mind and hold to certain truths with all the fervor of his soul, is called narrow-minded, whereas the man who cannot make up his mind is called broadminded. And now this false broad¬mindedness or tolerance of truth and error has carried many minds so far that they say one religion is just as good as another, or that because one contradicts another, therefore, there is no such thing as religion. This is just like concluding that because, in the days of Columbus, some said the world was round and others said it was flat, therefore, there is no world at all.
Such indifference to the oneness of truth is at the root of all the assumptions so current in present-day thinking that religion is an open question, like the tariff, whereas science is a closed question, like the multiplication table. It is behind that queer kind of broadmindedness which teaches that any one may tell us about God, though it would never admit that any one but a scientist should tell us about an atom. It has inspired the idea that we should be broad enough to publish our sins to any psychoanalyst living in a glass house, but never so narrow as to tell them to a priest in a confessional box. It has created the general impression that any individual opinion about religion is right, and it has disposed modern minds to accept its religion dished up in the form of articles entitled: "My Idea of Religion," written by any nondescript from a Hollywood movie star to the chief cook of the Ritz-Carlton.
This kind of broadmindedness which sacrifices principles to whims, dissolves entities into environment, and reduces truth to opinion, is an unmistakable sign of the decay of the logical faculty.
Certainly it should be reasonably expected that religion should have its authoritative spokesmen, just as well as science. If you had wounded the palm of your hand, you would not call in a florist; if you broke the spring of your watch, you would not ask an artesian-well expert repair it; if your child had swallowed a nickel, you would not call in a collector of internal revenue; if you wished to determine idle authenticity of an alleged Rembrandt, you would not summon a house painter. If you insist that only a plumber should mend the leaks in your pipes, and not an organ tuner, if you demand a doctor shall take care of your body, and not a musician, then why, in heaven's name, should not we demand that a man who tells about God and religion at least say his prayers?
The remedy for this broadmindedness is intolerance, not intolerance of persons, for of them we must be tolerant regardless of views they may hold, but intolerance of principles. A bridge builder must be intolerant about the foundations of his bridge; the gardener must be intolerant about weeds in his gardens; the property owner must be intolerant about his claims to property; the soldier must be intolerant about his country, as against that of the enemy, and he who is broadminded on the battlefield is a coward and a traitor. The doctor must be intolerant about disease in his patients, and the professor must be intolerant about error in his pupils. So, too, the Church, founded on the Intolerance of Divinity, must be equally intolerant about the truths commissioned to her. There are to be no one-fisted battles, no half-drawn swords, no divided loves, no equalizing Christ and Buddha in a broad sweep of sophomoric tolerance or broad-mindedness, for as Our Blessed Lord has put it: "He that is not with Me is against Me."
There is only one answer to the problem of the constituents of water, namely, two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen. There is only one answer to the question of what is the capital of the United States. There is only one true answer to the problem of two and two. Suppose that certain mathematicians in various parts of this country taught diverse kinds of multiplication tables. One taught that two times two equaled five, another two times two equaled six, another two times two equaled seven and one fourth, another two times two equaled nine and four fifths. Then suppose that some one decided it would be better to be broadminded and to work together and sacrifice their particular solutions for the sake of economy. The result would be a Federation of Mathematicians, compromising, possibly, of the pooled solution that two times two equaled five and seven eighths. Outside this federation is another group which holds that two times two equals four. They refuse to enter the federation unless the mathematicians agree to accept this as the true and unique solution. The broadminded group in conference taunts them, saying: "You are too intolerant and narrow-minded. You smack of the dead past. They believed that in the dark ages."
Now this is precisely the attitude of the Church on the subject of the world conferences on religion. She holds that just as the truth is one in geography, in chemistry, and mathematics, so too there is one truth in religion, and if we are intolerant about the truth that two times two equals four, then we should also be intolerant about those principles on which is hinged the only really important thing in the world, namely, the salvation of our immortal soul. If the assumption is that there is no Divinity, no oneness about truth, but only opinion, probability, and compromise, then the Church must refrain from participation. Any conference on religion, therefore, which starts with the assumption that there is no such thing as truth, and that contrary and contradictory sects may be united in a federation of broad¬mindedness, must never expect the Church to join or cooperate.
As we grew from childhood to adolescence, the one thing that probably did most to wreck our faith in Santa Claus-I know it did mine -was to find a Santa Claus in every department-store window. If there were only one Santa Claus, and he was at the North Pole, how could there be one in every shop window and at every street corner? That same mentality which led us to seek truth in unity should lead us in religious matters to identically the same conclusion.
The world may charge the Church with intolerance, and the world is right. The Church is intolerant-intolerant about Truth, intolerant about principles, intolerant about Divinity, just as Our Blessed Lord was intolerant about His Divinity. The other religions may change their principles, and they do change them, because their principles are man-made. The Church cannot change, because her principles are God-made. Religion is not a sure of beliefs that we would like, but the sum of beliefs God has given. The world may disagree with the Church, but the world knows very definitely with what it is disagreeing. In the future as in the past, the Church will be intolerant about the sanctity of marriage, for what God has joined together no man shall put asunder; she will be intolerant about her creed, and be ready to die for it, for she fears not those who kill the body, but rather those who have the power to cast body and soul into hell. She will be intolerant about her infallibility, for "Lo," says Christ, "I am with you all the days even unto the end of the world." And while she is intolerant even to blood, in adhering to the truths given her by her Divine Founder, she will be tolerant to those who say she is intolerant, for the same Divine Founder has taught her to say: "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do."
There are only two positions to take concerning truth, and both of them had their hearing centuries ago in the court-room of Solomon where two women claimed a babe. A babe is like truth; it is one; it is whole; it is organic and it cannot be divided. The real mother of 'the babe would accept no compromise. She was intolerant about her claim. She must have the whole babe, or nothing-the intolerance of Motherhood. But the false mother was tolerant. She was willing to compromise. She was willing to divide the babe-and the babe would have met its death through broadmindedness.
Can someone get me these, please
The Practice of Christian & Religious Perfection by Fr Alphonsus Rodriguez, S.J
I think it is in two volumes...
Tuesday, 6 January 2015
An Unpopular Subject
St. Paul wrote: As for a man who is factious, after admonishing him once or twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is perverted and sinful; he is self-condemned (Titus 3:10-11).
And, again from St. Paul: When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. (Rom 2:14-16)
Pope Pius IX, December 9th, 1854 said:
in Quanto conficiamur moerore 10 August, 1863:
The problem is, of course, that without the sacraments, and especially Baptism, Eucharist and Confession, it is almost impossible not to fall into mortal sin with one's free will. It is hard to imagine anyone in today's world maintaining innocence, without mortal sin, being saved outside the Church, which gives us opporunities for grace over and over and over.
Sadly, God will actually stop giving grace if persons decide consistently to choose mortal sin over His Truth, either as given to all in natural law, as codified in the Ten Commandments, (which is the natural law "written in stone" ), and the holiness called for in the Beatitudes. Remember, only the perfect see God, so in addition, one must submit to purgation.
I am not sure there is such a thing as invincible ignorance for adults in this day and age of information glut.
Yes, God gives sufficient grace to all men and women, but to those who turn towards Him, He gives more and more grace.
And, contrary to some clergy and lay people, a misinformed or underdeveloped conscience in a Catholic is not invincible ignorance.
Christ is clear on what one needs for salvation as seen in these passages: Mark 16:16, Luke 13:3 John 6:54.
And from the CCC: Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it. (CCC 846)
And, again from St. Paul: When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. (Rom 2:14-16)
Pope Pius IX, December 9th, 1854 said:
And...We must hold as of the faith, that out of the Apostolic Roman Church there is no salvation; that she is the only ark of safety, and whosoever is not in her perishes in the deluge; we must also, on the other hand, recognize with certainty that those who are invincible in ignorance of the true religion are not guilty for this in the eyes of the Lord. And who would presume to mark out the limits of this ignorance according to the character and diversity of peoples, countries, minds and the rest?
in Quanto conficiamur moerore 10 August, 1863:
It is known to us and to you that those who are in invincible ignorance of our most holy religion, but who observe carefully the natural law, and the precepts graven by God upon the hearts of all men, and who being disposed to obey God lead an honest and upright life, may, aided by the light of divine grace, attain to eternal life; for God who sees clearly, searches and knows the heart, the disposition, the thoughts and intentions of each, in His supreme mercy and goodness by no means permits that anyone suffer eternal punishment, who has not of his own free will fallen into sin.
The problem is, of course, that without the sacraments, and especially Baptism, Eucharist and Confession, it is almost impossible not to fall into mortal sin with one's free will. It is hard to imagine anyone in today's world maintaining innocence, without mortal sin, being saved outside the Church, which gives us opporunities for grace over and over and over.
Sadly, God will actually stop giving grace if persons decide consistently to choose mortal sin over His Truth, either as given to all in natural law, as codified in the Ten Commandments, (which is the natural law "written in stone" ), and the holiness called for in the Beatitudes. Remember, only the perfect see God, so in addition, one must submit to purgation.
I am not sure there is such a thing as invincible ignorance for adults in this day and age of information glut.
Yes, God gives sufficient grace to all men and women, but to those who turn towards Him, He gives more and more grace.
And, contrary to some clergy and lay people, a misinformed or underdeveloped conscience in a Catholic is not invincible ignorance.
Christ is clear on what one needs for salvation as seen in these passages: Mark 16:16, Luke 13:3 John 6:54.
And from the CCC: Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it. (CCC 846)
Discovered A New Church Today
Sacre Coeur Church in Sliema is one I had not found until today. In order to see churches, one must be there for Mass times, as most are locked-up immediately after Mass, which is very sad.
I went to nine o-clock Mass here and found this link for you to check out the photos.
I am rather amazed that the vast majority of Maltese and Gozitan churches do not have websites.
The way to find out Mass times is by checking this excellent site, but, it is not the same as having a gallery of photos and events. Parish life is simply not on line.
http://www.quddies.com.mt/
This, to me, indicates, that the youth are not interested, as most Maltese and Gozitans who actually go to church are not online, do not have email as I have discovered.
A few, yes....a few.
http://maltawedcom.ipage.com/venue-sacre-coeur-church
The lack of online interest also indicates that most tourists who come here do not go to church. In other words, the tourists are not Catholic, or even Christians.
The small Adoration Chapel behind the church is something else I just discovered. Located in an ancient building, connected to the convent of the Franciscan nuns, the chapel seem very old, but in reality was established in 2006.
I am glad I found it!
I went to nine o-clock Mass here and found this link for you to check out the photos.
I am rather amazed that the vast majority of Maltese and Gozitan churches do not have websites.
The way to find out Mass times is by checking this excellent site, but, it is not the same as having a gallery of photos and events. Parish life is simply not on line.
http://www.quddies.com.mt/
This, to me, indicates, that the youth are not interested, as most Maltese and Gozitans who actually go to church are not online, do not have email as I have discovered.
A few, yes....a few.
http://maltawedcom.ipage.com/venue-sacre-coeur-church
The lack of online interest also indicates that most tourists who come here do not go to church. In other words, the tourists are not Catholic, or even Christians.
The small Adoration Chapel behind the church is something else I just discovered. Located in an ancient building, connected to the convent of the Franciscan nuns, the chapel seem very old, but in reality was established in 2006.
I am glad I found it!
Now, interesting from a historical/theological view
http://www.firstpost.com/politics/ghar-wapsi-row-now-owaisi-says-islam-real-home-religions-2031107.html
Brief timeline.....
God promised the Messiah, the Christ Saviour in Genesis, written about 1,500 B.C. but with older oral traditions dating to at least 2,000 B.C.
Call of Abraham circa, 2000 B.C.
Law of Moses, 1450 B.C. or so.
Formal Hinduism, 1450 B. C., or so.
Buddha 563 B.C. at the earlliest
Exile of the Jews and many battles, including the Kingdom of David, proved by archaeology and texts. King David's Jewish reign, 1000 B. C. Exile and other events in the Old Testament proved by extra-Biblical sources. which "even" Wiki lists partially,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_biblical_figures_identified_in_extra-biblical_sources
Christ, Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, and Son of God, born most likely 7 B.C. at the census of Augustus, but common date is year zero, A. D.
Christ's public ministry, 30-33 A. D , including extablishment of the Catholic Church
Christ's death and resurrection, 33 A.D.
Dates of lives of apostles, Acts of the Apostles, Gospels and all epistles known and all before 100 A. D., the ending of revelation.
Mohammed born 570 A. D., died 632 A. D.
The only leader of any "religion" who has claimed to be God is Christ.
As C. S. Lewis states, Christ, therefore was either a liar, mad, or indeed, the Son of God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.
All humans are born in Adam's Sin, and we all need baptism to become free of Original Sin, to become heirs of heaven, and chilren of God. From the CCC:
Brief timeline.....
God promised the Messiah, the Christ Saviour in Genesis, written about 1,500 B.C. but with older oral traditions dating to at least 2,000 B.C.
Call of Abraham circa, 2000 B.C.
Law of Moses, 1450 B.C. or so.
Formal Hinduism, 1450 B. C., or so.
Buddha 563 B.C. at the earlliest
Exile of the Jews and many battles, including the Kingdom of David, proved by archaeology and texts. King David's Jewish reign, 1000 B. C. Exile and other events in the Old Testament proved by extra-Biblical sources. which "even" Wiki lists partially,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_biblical_figures_identified_in_extra-biblical_sources
Christ, Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, and Son of God, born most likely 7 B.C. at the census of Augustus, but common date is year zero, A. D.
Christ's public ministry, 30-33 A. D , including extablishment of the Catholic Church
Christ's death and resurrection, 33 A.D.
Dates of lives of apostles, Acts of the Apostles, Gospels and all epistles known and all before 100 A. D., the ending of revelation.
Mohammed born 570 A. D., died 632 A. D.
The only leader of any "religion" who has claimed to be God is Christ.
As C. S. Lewis states, Christ, therefore was either a liar, mad, or indeed, the Son of God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.
All humans are born in Adam's Sin, and we all need baptism to become free of Original Sin, to become heirs of heaven, and chilren of God. From the CCC:
THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY
SECTION TWO
THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH
THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH
CHAPTER ONE
THE SACRAMENTS OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION
THE SACRAMENTS OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION
ARTICLE 1
THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM
THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM
1213 Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit (vitae spiritualis ianua),4 and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission: "Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word."5
1214 This sacrament is called Baptism, after the central rite by which it is carried out: to baptize (Greek baptizein) means to "plunge" or "immerse"; the "plunge" into the water symbolizes the catechumen's burial into Christ's death, from which he rises up by resurrection with him, as "a new creature."6
1215 This sacrament is also called "the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit," for it signifies and actually brings about the birth of water and the Spirit without which no one "can enter the kingdom of God."7
1216 "This bath is called enlightenment, because those who receive this [catechetical] instruction are enlightened in their understanding . . . ."8 Having received in Baptism the Word, "the true light that enlightens every man," the person baptized has been "enlightened," he becomes a "son of light," indeed, he becomes "light" himself:9
- Baptism is God's most beautiful and magnificent gift. . . .We call it gift, grace, anointing, enlightenment, garment of immortality, bath of rebirth, seal, and most precious gift. It is called gift because it is conferred on those who bring nothing of their own; grace since it is given even to the guilty; Baptism because sin is buried in the water; anointing for it is priestly and royal as are those who are anointed; enlightenment because it radiates light; clothing since it veils our shame; bath because it washes; and seal as it is our guard and the sign of God's Lordship.10
1217 In the liturgy of the Easter Vigil, during the blessing of the baptismal water, the Church solemnly commemorates the great events in salvation history that already prefigured the mystery of Baptism:
- Father, you give us grace through sacramental signs,
which tell us of the wonders of your unseen power.In Baptism we use your gift of water,
which you have made a rich symbol
of the grace you give us in this sacrament.11
1218 Since the beginning of the world, water, so humble and wonderful a creature, has been the source of life and fruitfulness. Sacred Scripture sees it as "overshadowed" by the Spirit of God:12
- At the very dawn of creation
your Spirit breathed on the waters,
making them the wellspring of all holiness.13
1219 The Church has seen in Noah's ark a prefiguring of salvation by Baptism, for by it "a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water":14
- The waters of the great flood
you made a sign of the waters of Baptism,
that make an end of sin and a new beginning of goodness.15
1220 If water springing up from the earth symbolizes life, the water of the sea is a symbol of death and so can represent the mystery of the cross. By this symbolism Baptism signifies communion with Christ's death.
1221 But above all, the crossing of the Red Sea, literally the liberation of Israel from the slavery of Egypt, announces the liberation wrought by Baptism:
- You freed the children of Abraham from the slavery of Pharaoh,
bringing them dry-shod through the waters of the Red Sea,
to be an image of the people set free in Baptism.16
1222 Finally, Baptism is prefigured in the crossing of the Jordan River by which the People of God received the gift of the land promised to Abraham's descendants, an image of eternal life. The promise of this blessed inheritance is fulfilled in the New Covenant.
Christ's Baptism
1223 All the Old Covenant prefigurations find their fulfillment in Christ Jesus. He begins his public life after having himself baptized by St. John the Baptist in the Jordan.17 After his resurrection Christ gives this mission to his apostles: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."18
1224 Our Lord voluntarily submitted himself to the baptism of St. John, intended for sinners, in order to "fulfill all righteousness."19 Jesus' gesture is a manifestation of his self-emptying.20 The Spirit who had hovered over the waters of the first creation descended then on the Christ as a prelude of the new creation, and the Father revealed Jesus as his "beloved Son."21
1225 In his Passover Christ opened to all men the fountain of Baptism. He had already spoken of his Passion, which he was about to suffer in Jerusalem, as a "Baptism" with which he had to be baptized.22 The blood and water that flowed from the pierced side of the crucified Jesus are types of Baptism and the Eucharist, the sacraments of new life.23 From then on, it is possible "to be born of water and the Spirit"24 in order to enter the Kingdom of God.
- See where you are baptized, see where Baptism comes from, if not from the cross of Christ, from his death. There is the whole mystery: he died for you. In him you are redeemed, in him you are saved.25
1226 From the very day of Pentecost the Church has celebrated and administered holy Baptism. Indeed St. Peter declares to the crowd astounded by his preaching: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."26 The apostles and their collaborators offer Baptism to anyone who believed in Jesus: Jews, the God-fearing, pagans.27 Always, Baptism is seen as connected with faith: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household," St. Paul declared to his jailer in Philippi. And the narrative continues, the jailer "was baptized at once, with all his family."28
1227 According to the Apostle Paul, the believer enters through Baptism into communion with Christ's death, is buried with him, and rises with him:
- Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.29
The baptized have "put on Christ."30 Through the Holy Spirit, Baptism is a bath that purifies, justifies, and sanctifies.31
Remember when I had these in the flat earlier?
UPDATE AT TEN P.M. Well, just disposed of one which came in through the open window. No screen on that window. Eeiiuu....I still cannot believe how these live in such cold weather. I shall have to be very careful when I get up in the morning to make sure none are on the floor.....
Well, I had to go the other night in the courtyard and I stepped on one in the dark. Eeiiiuuu! Even though I was wearing clogs, the experience was not nice.
At least the creature was not in the apartment. But, how can they live in such cold weather? It has been about 34 at night. Amazing!
The cold has killed off the mosquitoes, which is great, as Maltese ones like me, but North American ones do not.
I admit I smashed one of these Lehmannia melitensis which was trying to slide in under the crack in the door the other day. My son would not approve. He likes mollusks.
The Cats of Malta do not eat these, I guess, as two cats live in the courtyard and they ignore these creatures. I suppose the fact that I give the Cats of Malta tuna has something to do with it.
I do not mind the snails, as they just climb on the walls and do not try to get inside. Here is a photo of Theba pisana. Thanks to wiki for the links and photos.
Spiritual Pacifists
Someone recently made a comment that they did not like the phrase "Church Militant". This person thought it was too militaristic.
What about the old teaching that at Confirmation we become "soldiers of Christ"?
Three battles wage daily and we are part of these battles.
First, the battle in our own soul, mind, heart, imagination and will.
Second, the battle against the world and all the pressures and distraction it brings into our lives.
Third, the battle against Satan and his legions of demons.
I think the Church Militant is a most appropriate name, as opposed to those who want to be in the Church Mushy.
How is it that so many Catholics have become spiritual pacifists?
Christ Himself waged spiritual war not only in His forty days in the desert, but on the Cross.
The Cross is a sign of victory.
Sigh, Third Change in My Four Visits Here
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150104/local/new-bus-operator-to-use-leased-uk-buses-instead-of-ubs-coaches.550527
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Addiction
I have decided I am addicted to ġbejniet, which is from Gozo. I must say that some of the best cheeses I have ever had are Gozitan cheeses.
There are three kinds of the same cheese, which is made from goats' milk.
The first is fresh, the white ones in the photo.
The second is sundried, the creamy colored ones in the photo.
The third is peppered, which is obvious, and that type is a bit harder.
The little cheeselets are found in ravioli here, a Gozo speciality.
I am addicted, totally....
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The Epiphany And The Dark Night of The Soul
My own experience of the Dark Night, which I am still "in" resembles that of the Three Magi on their way to finding Christ. They had corrupted information from when the Jews had been in Exile in Babylon and some of the prophecies of the Messiah crept into the Zoroatrian religion. Through their own false religion, and through the study of both astrology and astronomy, the Magi figured out that a savior king would be born in the House of the Hebrews, the sign of Pisces, the Fish.
Most likely a combination of planets, such as Jupiter, the god planet, Saturn the savior planet and Venus or Mars, either love or war, moving into Pisces, brought the Magi to Christ.
So ended paganism at the feet of the God-Man Christ.
But, until they met Christ, the Magi travelled in darkness. They only had hints from natural, man-made sources and a few Jewish Scriptures. They were not part of the Chosen People of God. They did not have Revelation.
That God allowed them to take a long and arduous journey must have been part of the Three Kings purgation. They had to leave a comfortable, high status in their own culture, where they would have been counselors to kings and go into desert and mountainous areas to find a Person they believed was divine.
They only had enlightenment, or illumination at the moment when they found the Child.
The Epiphany is not only Christ revealing Himself to the Gentiles, but the inner, spiritual illumination which comes after purgation. The Kings would never be the same after their experience of God Made Man.
The Magi must have moved to Bethlehem totally on faith, without any consolation except the mysterious star. That one, small light was like the faith one has in the Dark Night.
One cannot see God, one cannot perceive any consolations, but one continues moving forward towards God in faith.
One waits for the moment of epiphany, of illumination.
What the Magi tell us is that we must persevere in faith even if the journey takes a long time.
They may have travelled months.
Faith kept them moving towards the goal of seeing, being in union with the Promised One.
Such is the journey of the Dark Night of the Soul.
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