Duc in Altum

New: Kingwood TEA Party Society

2009-04-29T01:54:00.004-05:00

If you're interested in working to keep our constitutional freedoms, join us at

The Kingwood TEA Party Society

Our next general meeting is on Wednesday, June 6 at 7 p.m. If you'd like to join us, send us an email at info@kingwoodteaparty.com and we;ll send you an invitation with the location as soon as it's determined.

In Christ's peace and joy,

Robin

Pray for Life during Notre Dame Speech

2009-04-18T20:00:00.001-05:00

I really like this idea!

In Christ's peace and joy,

Robin

This Baby Will Be Abandoned by His Father

2009-01-29T21:56:00.003-06:00

In Christ's peace and joy,

Robin

Ever wondered what Vatican II REALLY said about the Mass?

2008-01-23T08:01:00.000-06:00

I just found Fr. Joseph Fessio's (Jesuit priest, former student of Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI) article online through the Ignatius Insight blog.

It can be read in its entirety here: http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/features2005/fessio_massv2_1_jan05.asp

In Christ's peace and joy,

Robin

Better Citizens, More Faithful Catholics

2008-01-16T09:08:00.000-06:00

Better Citizens, More Faithful Catholics
By Charles J. Chaput

Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., is archbishop of Denver. This is from a January 11, 2008, presentation in New Orleans, “Catholic Identity in the American Public Arena.” [Thanks to Fr. Newhaus' blog, On the Sqaure, for bringing this speech to our attention. Title above links to the original article.]

When we speak about a nation’s culture, we mean the entire fabric of its common life, from art and music to sports and schools. But since this is an election year, I want to apply the idea of Catholic witness specifically to our public life as citizens. Here are ten simple points to remember as we move toward November, and then we can take questions and talk about anything you like.

1. George Orwell said that one of the biggest dangers for modern democratic life is dishonest political language. Dishonest language leads to dishonest politics—which then leads to bad public policy and bad law. So we need to speak and act in a spirit of truth.

2. Catholic is a word that has real meaning. We don’t control or invent that meaning as individuals. We inherit it from the gospel and the experience of the Church over the centuries. We can choose to be something else, but if we choose to call ourselves Catholic, then that word has consequences for what we believe and how we act. We can’t truthfully claim to be Catholic and then act as though we’re not.

3. Being a Catholic is a bit like being married. We have a relationship with the Church and with Jesus Christ that’s similar to being a spouse. If a man says he loves his wife, his wife will want to see the evidence in his love and fidelity. The same applies to our relationship with God. If we say we’re Catholic, we need to show that by our love for the Church and our fidelity to what she teaches and believes. Otherwise we’re just fooling ourselves, because God certainly won’t be fooled.

4. The Church is not a political organism. She has no interest in partisanship because getting power or running governments is not what she’s about, and the more closely she identifies herself with any single party, the fewer people she can effectively reach.

5. Scripture and Catholic teaching, however, do have public consequences because they guide us in how we should act in relation to one another. Loving God requires that we also love the people He created, which means we need to treat them with justice, charity, and mercy. Being a Catholic involves solidarity with other people. The Catholic faith has implications for social justice—and that means it also has cultural, economic and political implications. The Catholic faith is never primarily about politics; but Catholic social action, including political action, is a natural byproduct of the Church’s moral message. We can’t call ourselves Catholic, and then simply stand by while immigrants get mistreated, or the poor get robbed, or unborn children get killed. The Catholic faith is always personal but never private. If our faith is real, then it will bear fruit in our public decisions and behaviors, including our political choices.

6. Each of us needs to follow our own conscience. But conscience doesn’t emerge from a vacuum. It’s not a matter or personal opinion or preference. If our conscience has the habit of telling us what we want to hear on difficult issues, then it’s probably badly formed. A healthy conscience is the voice of God’s truth in our hearts, and it should usually make us uncomfortable, because none of us is yet a saint. The way we get a healthy conscience is by submitting it and shaping it to God’s will; and the way we find God’s will is by conforming our lives to the counsel and guidance of the Church that Jesus left us. If we find ourselves disagreeing as Catholics with the teaching of the Church on a serious matter, it’s probably not the Church that’s wrong. The problem is much more likely with us.

7. But how do we make good political choices when so many different issues are so important and complex? The first principle of Christian social thought is: Don’t deliberately kill the innocent, and don’t collude in allowing somebody else to do it. The right to life is the foundation of every other human right. The reason the abortion issue is so foundational is not because Catholics love little babies—although we certainly do—but because revoking the personhood of unborn children makes every other definition of personhood and human rights politically contingent.

8. So can a Catholic in good conscience vote for a pro-choice candidate? The answer is: I can’t, and I won’t. But I do know some serious Catholics—people whom I admire—who may. I think their reasoning is mistaken, but at least they sincerely struggle with the abortion issue, and it causes them real pain. And most important: They don’t keep quiet about it; they don’t give up; they keep lobbying their party and their representatives to change their pro-abortion views and protect the unborn. Catholics can vote for pro-choice candidates if they vote for them despite—not because of—their pro-choice views. And they also need a proportionate reason to justify it.

9. What is a proportionate reason when it comes to abortion? It’s the kind of reason we will be able to explain, with a clean heart, to the victims of abortion when we meet them in the next life—which we certainly will. If we’re confident that these victims will accept our motives, then we can proceed.

10. The heart of truly faithful citizenship is this: We’re better citizens when we’re more faithful Catholics. The more authentically Catholic we are in our lives, choices, actions and convictions, the more truly we will contribute to the moral and political life of our nation.

LRSS: Gospel of John Chapter 12, Pts. 1 & 2

2008-01-05T20:28:00.000-06:00

Agape Bible Study--Chapter 12, Part 1:

Agape Bible Study--Chapter 12, Part 2

Happy New Year! I'm having difficulty formatting the handouts--will post them ASAP. I am looking forward to seeing you all again soon!

In Christ's peace and joy,

Robin

Sex in Heaven by Peter Kreeft

2007-12-28T09:41:00.001-06:00

"Human sexuality is that image, and human sexuality is a foretaste of that self-giving, that losing and finding the self, that oneness-in-manyness that is the heart of the life and joy of the Trinity."

Looking over Professor Kreeft's site, I also found his talk, Sex in Heaven, which has been of particular interest to me as I have been reading and meditating upon the meaning and importance of marriage in realtion to the Eucharist and the Mass. An expanded, audio version of this article is also found on Professor Kreeft's site:

In Christ's peace and joy,

Robin

The Meaning of Christmas: Look Deeper by Peter Kreeft

2007-12-28T09:29:00.000-06:00

"...history too symbolizes, or points beyond itself, for God
wrote three books, not just one: nature and history as well
as Scripture. The story of history is composed not only of
“events,” but of words, signs and symbols. This is unfamil-
iar to us only because we have lost a sense of depth and ex-
changed it for a flat, one-dimensional, “bottom-line” mental-
ity in which everything means only one thing."

This is the same Truth found in the Jewish Feasts/Sacrifices fulfilled by Jesus. They, too, have three meanings: Nature, Historical, and Scriptural. Notice also the symbolic meaning which the Gospel of John so amply teached us as well.

Enjoy!

I found this great meditation on Catholic Education Resources:

The Meaning of Christmas: Look Deeper

In Christ's peace and joy,

Robin

Jewish Oral Law: Tradition!

2007-12-22T06:47:00.001-06:00

Although the Written Law was considered complete, traditional Jewish teaching is that Moses also received a second set of laws called Torah She'bi-al peh: the Oral Law. Accompanying the Written Law, the Oral Law gave the finer details on how the Written Law was to be fulfilled.

Cheryl Dickow at Catholic Exchange has written an article, Our Jewish Roots: Oral Law, (linked) on the Jewish Oral Law which explains what mishnah and the Talmud is all about. An excellent and informative article. I remmember that this question came up in my class on the Jewish and Scriuptural Roots of the Mass series.

May all of our preparations for Christmas, both spiritual and physical, leave us longing to welcome God from on high into our hearts and our lives!

A Blessed and Merry Christmas to all!

Robin

Free Online Advent Study

2007-12-04T10:55:00.000-06:00

I have embedded the video here for your convenience--Just click on the Read More link to see it, and the link to the article can be found at Catholic Exchange.

I hope you find it helpful--I know I am! May we all be blessed this Advent with a greater depth of love for our coming Savior!

In Christ's peace and joy,

Robin

Why I See Red When I See Pink Ribbons

2007-12-03T08:36:00.000-06:00

From Lifenews.com by Dr. Joel Brind (Bold emphases added by me--rhl)

October was a little different, as pink ribbons seemed to be more abundant than pumpkins. It was National Breast Cancer Awareness Month again, and for the Breast Cancer establishment -- Komen Race for the Cure, the National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC), et al. -- it's almost like Christmas season is for Macy's and Target.

That's when these organizations make their big pitch for donations, and that pitch is usually some variation of the following: "(1)We don't know what causes breast cancer, (2) most women who get breast cancer have no known risk factors for the disease and (3)there's no cure for breast cancer, so you'd better give us all the money you can so we can find a cure before the disease gets YOU!"

The lies are numbered for the convenience of the reader, who might just be wondering why, with a such an actual, widespread, life-threatening disease, and such a genuine need for research and education about it, those dedicated to fight it need to rely on a pack of lies to raise the funds to do so.

Wonder no further, for the reason is political correctness: Most breast cancer is attributable to "women's liberation" and the changes in childbearing patterns it has wrought.

So the breast cancer advocates-- like NBCC president Fran Visco are out there again in the media, decrying all the "misinformation out there," even as they spread it around it themselves.

Speaking about a new survey conducted by the NBCC, Visco told the Chicago Tribune that "we need to educate, not just raise awareness." Among the bits of "misinformation out there" according to the NBCC survey, is that "(M)ost women believe breast cancer can be prevented." Christopher Wanjek, writing for Live Science's Bad Medicine website, actually calls this his number 3 "myth." He also calls a variation of this widespread belief: "Risk factors are mostly to blame", his number 1 "myth". He elaborates: "More than two-thirds of women with breast cancer have no known risk factors for the disease."
Here are the real facts:
1) We do know what causes most breast cancer. About half the breast cancer in the US is attributable to delaying first childbirth until after age 25 or 30, or forever. The younger a woman is when she has her first child, the lower her lifetime risk. For a pregnant teenager, the proverbial silver lining of her cloud is the fact that, if she continues the pregnancy and gives birth at term, she will reduce her lifetime breast cancer risk by at least two-thirds, compared to having her first child at age 30 or older. Breast feeding her children lowers a woman's risk still further.

But postponing childbearing denies a woman the natural protection her children give her even while still in the womb. Even worse, what she may do to avoid childbearing adds to her risk, i.e., years of taking contraceptive steroids (be they in birth control pill, patch, implantable, injectable or ring form), and abortion.

Actually, abortion is the single most avoidable cause of breast cancer (even though Wanjek calls "Abortions cause breast cancer" his number 5 "myth").

No, that doesn't mean that most women who have an abortion will get breast cancer, or that most women who get breast cancer have had an abortion. It just means that the effect of abortion is so strong that choosing abortion even once causes a measurable increase in breast cancer risk. Contrast this to, say, taking hormone replacement therapy or the pill, where it takes years of daily use—thousands of pills—to make a measurable difference in risk. In a normal pregnancy, a woman is exposed to far more estrogen—which stimulates the multiplication of breast cells—than any pills or normal cycles provide. If the pregnancy is not allowed to go to term (or at least 32 weeks gestation), a woman is left with more places for cancer to start. But a full-term pregnancy matures the breast tissue into cells which can make milk, but can no longer multiply. So a full-term pregnancy leaves a woman's breasts with fewer places for cancer to start, and permanent protection against breast cancer.

2) Most women in the general population do have known risk factors for breast cancer, let alone those who actually get the disease. Just for starters, about 75% of American women have taken birth control pills, a risk factor which even the World Health Organization (finally!) acknowledges. Not to mention that a substantial proportion of American women have had an abortion.

3) Here's some really good news: Most cases of breast cancer—about 80%—are actually cured! In fact, at least half of all newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer are stage 0 or stage 1, which are cured over 95% of the time, and without mastectomy!

Of course, the best news of all is that breast cancer is largely avoidable. Avoiding abortion is the simplest way to reduce the risk. And that's also one reason why there really is "a lot of misinformation out there."

Spe Salvi - Online

2007-12-03T07:42:00.000-06:00

Thanks to the Curt Jester, Jeff Miller, Pope Benedict XVI's new encyclical on hope, Spe Salvi, is now available for free in audio for those of us who have more time to listen than to read.

To download, right click and "Save (Target/Link) As."

Spe Salvi - m4a file

Spe Salvi - mp3

Jeff also graciously permits his readers to use his Advent Wreath and counter.

Thank you, Jeff!

The Papal Triple Crown and the Jewish High Priest's Miter

2007-11-28T09:19:00.000-06:00

Taken from Singing in the Reign, Michael Barber's and Dr. Brant Pitre's blog, above title is link to article.

by Dr. Brant Pitre

In order to celebrate the feast of Christ the King (the final day of the liturgical year, celebrated yesterday), I wanted to post just a brief piece of background on the Papal Triple Crown (frequently referred to as the papal "tiara"). Although it is little known, this crown has its roots (surprise!) in ancient Judaism. In particular, we find a direct parallel in the miter that was worn by the Jewish high priest!

Josephus--himself a first-century Jewish priest--gives us a detailed description of the High Priest's miter:

" The high priest's miter was the same that we described before, and was wrought like that of all the other priests; above which there was another, with swathes of blue embroidered, and round it was a golden crown polished, of three rows, one above another ; out of which arose a cup of gold..." (Josephus, Antiquities, 3.172; trans. Whiston, p. 90)

This liturgical head-gear was based on the description of the high priest's miter found in the book of Exodus:

"And you shall make a plate of pure gold, and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, "Holy to the LORD." And you shall fasten it on the miter (LXX mitras ) by a lace of blue; it shall be on the front of the mitre. It shall be upon Aaron's forehead..." (Exodus 28:36-38)

With such descriptions, we find the Jewish background for description of Christ as high-priestly Son of Man in the Van Eyck triptych I attached above (see picture). We also discover the background for the Catholic tradition that the Pope, as the successor to Peter, is not simply the chief bishop, but the High Priestly Vicar of Christ. I'm only speculating--perhaps someone could confirm this--but could the triple crown signify the threefold office: (1) Priest, (2) Prophet, and (3) King?

Along these lines, one day Michael and I will do a post on how Peter is depicted as the new High Priest in the Gospel of Matthew. For now, I will simply note the contrast between the confession of Peter at Caeasarea Philippi and the (anti-)confession of the Jewish High Priest Caiaphas at Jesus' Trial before the Sanhedrin:

Caiaphas, the old High Priest

"Tell us if you are the Christ,
the Son of God" (Matt 26:63)

Peter, the New High Priest

"You are the Christ,
the Son of the living God" (Matt 16:16)

Long live Christ the King and Priest!!!

EWTN Jewish Roots of the Mass Pt 1 Video

2007-11-14T10:29:00.000-06:00

Click on the "Read More" link for the video.

If you liked this one, Part 3 of the series is also online here, and Part 4 here.

Nicean Blues Video

2007-11-08T13:40:00.000-06:00

Click on the Read More Link for video. (Title above links to the singer's blog)

The Man of the Century Has Died...to Virtual Silence

2007-11-06T11:25:00.000-06:00

by Michael Ledeen
He was a Polish Jew, born Victor Spielman, which he changed to Victor Grayevsky after he found that “Spielman” was just too Jewish for an ambitious young Pole. He went to school in Kazakhstan, then returned to Poland at the end of the war, where he joined the Communist Party and made a bit of a name for himself as a journalist. In the mid-fifties he followed his parents and sister to Israel, where he ran a lot of the broadcasting to the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

And so? And so, he was arguably one of the most important men of the twentieth century, for he was the person who obtained the advance text of Khrushchev’s Secret Speech, the one delivered in February, 1956, the one that laid out the crimes of Stalin for the leaders of the Soviet Communist Party. That text was a turning point in the Cold War. Grayevsky gave it to the Israeli Embassy, where it was copied and sent to Israel. The Shin Bet intelligence service delivered it by courier to James Jesus Angleton, the head of CIA counterintelligence (and the CIA’s liaison with the Israelis), who gave it to CIA chief Allen Dulles, who gave it to President Eisenhower.

Read the rest of the story at Michael Ledeen's blog.

On Right and Wrong

2007-11-03T12:08:00.000-05:00

"You can’t choose right and wrong, you’ve got to choose between right and wrong."

Reading the interview with Justice Clarence in Imprimis , Justice Thomas said,

"You can’t choose right and wrong, you’ve got to choose between right and wrong. There’s a wonderful encyclical by Pope John Paul where he talks about the mistake that Adam and Eve made. They thought they could choose right and wrong as opposed to choosing between the two. Modern nihilists and relativists think that we can decide or make up right and wrong. People like my grandfather understood that there was right and wrong, as certain as that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. And they made their choices between the two."

I think this is where my confusion with the idea of the "gray" area comes from. Maybe "gray area" is used in two different ways. Too often, I know, the term "gray area" is used, but what is meant is that right and wrong has evolved or changed. This is not possible, because God is immutable, unchangeable, and right and wrong is intrinsically rooted in His Deity.

To my way of thinking, the "gray area" is figuring out how new technology and ideas relate to right and wrong as revealed to us in the past. Ideas and technologies may, in and of themselves, be inherently "right" or "wrong," but many times, they may, in fact, be neutral--it is our reasons for developing or using them that make them either right or wrong. The scenario gets really murky when we begin to dissemble as to the real reasons that we are doing or promoting something, sometimes leaving even ourselves in the dark as to our own true motivations. (This is the reason that the Sacrament of Penance is so important on a regular basis, as it promotes an examen of conscience, accountable to one who is in persona Christi.)

The intricacies of the gray area, then, are not that man determines right or wrong, but that his intentions and use of ideas and technologies can render them either right or wrong.

Mother Church, our bishops, and priests often seem to fear telling us right from wrong, but that is wrong. There are always circumstances that must be taken into account but right and wrong never changes, and properly formed consciences seek knowledge of all aspects of situations before choosing action. Holy Mother Church should forthrightly name right right and call wrong wrong, while simultaneously putting forth the reasons and ways in which the intentions behind the ideas and technologies in question may be right or wrong.

Life is sacred, and the willful taking of innocent life is always wrong, and passing laws which make such murder legal is wrong and will jeopardize our salvation, whether we have or perform an abortion, pay for one, draft the law, vote for it, or vote for those who vote for it. Then, there must be discussion as what we should do if faced with a slate of candidates who all support abortion. The same goes for all other moral issues.

There needs to be a return to civility in the Public Square where we can discuss political issues, without name-calling. We need to be able to discuss the rectitude of actions, ideas, and technologies, based upon faith and reason--always with humility and open to the fact that circumstances and motivation may change, even though right and wrong, like God, never do.

Knowing the Good Shepherd

2007-10-25T07:18:00.000-05:00

Pope Benedict's talk on Saint Ambrose says what I was trying to verbalize, but better! Here it is as unofficially translated by zenit.org !

Click on the Read More link (below summary) for the full talk. Emphasis in red added by me. Robin

He (St. Augustine) had learned precisely from Ambrose “to listen inwardly,” this diligence in reading sacred Scripture in a prayerful attitude, in order to truly receive it in one’s heart, and to assimilate the word of God.

Dear brothers and sisters:
The saintly Bishop Ambrose, of whom I will speak to you today, died during the night in Milan between April 3-4, 397. It was the dawn of Holy Saturday. The day before, toward 5 p.m., he began to pray as he was lying in bed with his arms open in the form of the cross. That is how he participated in the solemn Easter triduum, in the death and resurrection of Our Lord. “We saw him moving his lips,” testified Paulinus, the faithful deacon who was invited by Augustine to write Ambrose’s biography entitled “Vita,” “but his voice could not be heard.”
Suddenly, the situation seemed to come to an end. Honoratus, bishop of Vercelli, who helped Ambrose and who slept upstairs from him, was awakened by a voice that repeated: “Get up, quick! Ambrose is approaching death.” Honoratus immediately went downstairs, Paulinus recounted, “and offered the saint the Body of the Lord. After having taken it, Ambrose surrendered his spirit, carrying with him viaticum. Thus, his soul, strengthened by virtue of that food, now enjoys the company of angels” (”Vita,” 47).
On that Good Friday of 397, the open arms of the dying Ambrose expressed his mystical participation in the death and resurrection of Our Lord. This was his last catechesis: Without speaking a word, he spoke with the testimony of life.
Ambrose was not old when he died. He was not even 60, for he was born around 340 in Trier, where his father was prefect of the Gauls. The family was Christian. When his father died, and he was still a boy, his mother brought him to Rome to prepare him for a civil career, giving him a solid rhetorical and juridical education. Around 370, he was sent to govern the provinces of Emilia and Liguria, with headquarters in Milan. It was precisely there where the struggle between orthodox Christians and Arians was seething, especially after the death of Auxentius, the Arian bishop. Ambrose intervened to pacify those of both factions, and his authority was such that, despite the fact that he was nothing more than a simple catechumen, he was acclaimed by the people as bishop of Milan.
Until that moment, Ambrose had been the highest magistrate of the Roman Empire in northern Italy. Highly prepared culturally, but deficient in knowledge of Scriptures, the new bishop began to study them energetically. He learned to study and comment on the Bible from the works of Origen, the undisputed master of the school of Alexandria. In this way, Ambrose brought to the Latin environment the practice of meditating on Scriptures initiated by Origen, beginning the practice of “lectio divina” in the West.
The method of “lectio” soon guided the preaching and writing of Ambrose, which emerged precisely from prayerful listening to the word of God. A famous opening from one Ambrosian catechesis distinctly demonstrates how the holy bishop applied the Old Testament to Christian life: “When we read the histories of the patriarchs and the maxims of Proverbs, we come face to face with morality,” the bishop of Milan told his catechumens and neophytes, “in order that, educated by these, you can then accustom yourselves to enter into the life of the fathers and to follow the path of obedience to the divine precepts” (”I misteri,” 1,1).
In other words, neophytes and catechumens, in the opinion of the bishop, after having learned the art of living morally, could then consider themselves prepared for the great mysteries of Christ. In this way, the preaching of Ambrose, which represents the heart of his prodigious literary work, originates from the reading of sacred books (”The Patriarchs,” the historical books, and “Proverbs,” the sapiential books), to live in conformity with divine revelation.
It is evident that the personal testimony of the preacher, and the exemplarity of the Christian community, conditions the efficacy of any preaching. From this point of view a passage from St. Augustine’s “Confessions” is significant. Augustine had come to Milan as a professor of rhetoric; he was a skeptic, not a Christian. He was looking, but he wasn’t able to truly encounter the Christian truth. For the young African rhetorician, skeptical and desperate, it was not the beautiful homilies of Ambrose that converted him — despite the fact that he appreciated them immensely. Rather, it was the testimony of the bishop and the Church in Milan, which prayed and sang, united as a single body. It was a Church capable of resisting the bullying of the emperor and his mother, who had demanded again the expropriation of a Church building for Arian ceremonies in early 386.
In the building that was to be expropriated, Augustine wrote, “the devout people of Milan stayed put, ready to die with their own bishop.” This testimony in the “Confessions” is invaluable, because it shows that something was moving deep within Augustine. He continued, “Despite the fact that we were still spiritually lukewarm, we participated as well in the fervor of the entire population” (”Confessions” 9, 7).
From the life and example of Bishop Ambrose, Augustine learned to believe and to preach. We can refer to a famous sermon of the African, (St. Augustine) which deserved to be cited many centuries later in No. 25 of the dogmatic constitution “Dei Verbum”:
“All the clergy must hold fast to the sacred Scriptures through diligent sacred reading and careful study, especially the priests of Christ and others, such as deacons and catechists who are legitimately active in the ministry of the word. This is to be done so that none of them will become,”
and here is where Augustine is quoted,
“‘an empty preacher of the word of God outwardly, who is not a listener to it inwardly.’”
He had learned precisely from Ambrose “to listen inwardly,” this diligence in reading sacred Scripture in a prayerful attitude, in order to truly receive it in one’s heart, and to assimilate the word of God.
Dear brothers and sisters: I would like to present to you a type of “patristic icon” that, seen in the light of what we have just said, effectively represents the heart of Ambrosian doctrine. In the same book of “Confessions,” Augustine recounts his meeting with Ambrose, certainly a meeting of great importance for the history of the Church. He writes in the text that when he came to see the bishop of Milan, the latter was always surrounded by hordes of people with problems, whom he tried to help. There was always a long line of people waiting to speak to Ambrose, looking for comfort and hope. When Ambrose was not with these people — and this only happened for short periods of time — he was either filling his body with the food necessary to live, or filling his spirit with reading. In this respect Augustine praises Ambrose, because Ambrose read Scriptures with his mouth closed, and only with his eyes (cf. “Confessions,” 6,3).
In the early centuries of Christianity, reading Scripture was thought of strictly in terms of being proclaimed, and reading aloud facilitated understanding, even for the one who was reading it. The fact that Ambrose could read through the pages only with his eyes was for Augustine a singular capacity for reading and being familiar with Scripture. In this reading — in which the heart seeks to understand the word of God — this is the “icon” we are talking about. Here one can see the method of Ambrosian catechesis: Scripture itself, profoundly assimilated, suggests the content of what one must announce in order to achieve conversion of hearts.
Thus, according to the teachings of Ambrose and Augustine, catechesis is inseparable from the testimony of life. The catechist may also avail himself of what I wrote in “Introduction to Christianity” about theologians. Educators of the faith cannot run the risk of looking like some sort of clown, who is simply playing a role. Rather, using an image from Origen, a writer who was particularly appreciated by Ambrose, he should be like the beloved disciple, who rested his head on the Master’s heart and there learned how to think, speak and act. In the end, the true disciple is he who proclaims the Gospel in the most credible and effective manner.
Like John the Apostle, Bishop Ambrose, who never tired of repeating “Omnia Christus est nobis!” — Christ is everything for us! — remained an authentic witness for the Lord. With these same words, full of love for Jesus, we will conclude our catechesis:
“Omnia Christus est nobis! If you want to heal a wound, he is the physician; if you burn with fever, he is the fountain; if you are oppressed by iniquity, he is justice; if you need help, he is strength; if you fear death, he is life; if you desire heaven, he is the way; if you are in darkness, he is the light. … Taste and see how good the Lord is. Blessed is the man who hopes in him!”
(”De virginitate,” 16,99). We also hope in Christ. In this way we will be blessed and will live in peace.

John Chapter 11: Link & Handout

2007-10-26T14:04:00.000-05:00

Agape Bible Study--Chapter 11, Part 1:

The Raising of Lazarus from the Dead

Agape Bible Study--Chapter 11, Part 2

Click on the Read More Link for the Chapter 11 Handout.

HANDOUT CHAPTER 11

Time-line summary of Jesus’ friendship with Lazarus and his sisters:

Martha invites Jesus to stay at her house. She cooks dinner for Him and His disciples sometime during the first two years of His ministry [Luke 10:38-42]. Notice Lazarus is not mentioned.
Jesus relationship with this family must have continued during each of His visits to Jerusalem during His approximately 3-year ministry because John 11:6 describes Jesus as having a loving relationship with this family: “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.”
Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead sometime between late winter and early spring of 30AD [John 11]
Six days before the Passover [Saturday], probably circa March 30AD [John 12:1], Jesus and the Apostles have a special Sabbath dinner with the family and Mary anoints His body, prefiguring His death and burial [John 12:1-12]
Wednesday of that same week, two days before Passover* [Matthew 26:2; Mark 14:1-3] Jesus the guest of honor at a dinner at the house of Simon the Leper in Bethany. [Matthew 26:6-12; Mark 14:3-8].

*Note: The concept of a mathematical 0 place value did not exist in the first century AD so counting any sequence began with the first item [day, or hour, etc] of any list as #1 and the last item in the list as the last number in the sequence. This is why Scripture says Jesus was in the tomb three days, from Friday to Sunday, instead of two days as we would count the days. When Mark records that it was two days before the Passover that Jesus had dinner in Bethany [Mark 14:1] we know that day is Wednesday because John tells us in John 12:1 that the day before Passion [Palm] Sunday is 6 days before Passover which is Nisan 14 and which would be a Thursday [Saturday = day #1; Sunday = day #2; Monday = day #3; Tuesday = day #4; Wednesday = day #5; Thursday = day #6. Jesus is crucified on the 7th day from entering Bethany on Friday.]

You may remember Thomas as the Apostle who said he could not believe in the resurrection of Jesus unless he touched the wounds in His hands, but in John 11:26, the Apostle Thomas declared that he is ready to die with Christ. There an irony as well as a prophetic aspect to Thomas’ declaration.

St. Paul teaches that all Christians have died with Christ: “But we believe that if we died with Christ, then we shall live with him too.” Romans 6:8 and “for the love of Christ overwhelms us when we consider that if one man died for all, then all have died; his purpose in dying for all humanity was that those who live should live not any more for themselves but for him who died and was raised to life for them.” 2 Corinthians 5:14-15
Thomas like Jesus’ disciple Stephen, the first Christian martyr, and like many other believers will follow Christ in death. Thomas would be martyred for Christ at the altar of his Church in India. Only the Apostle John would not die a violent death.

Thomas’ story is an inspiration for all of us: We may stumble and we may fall, but so long as we repent and acknowledge Christ as Lord and Savior He will forgive us and empower us to be a conduit through the works of God can change the world!

7 Jewish Feasts Handout

2007-10-26T14:56:00.000-05:00

Agape Bible Study Handout: 7 Jewish Feasts

Jewish Festivals Calendar from Fr. Felix Just's Site

Pitre Video, Origins of the Bible, Pt 2

2007-10-27T11:10:00.000-05:00

Dr. Pitre discusses sola scriptura in this one.
Click on the Read More Link for video.

Pitre Video, Origins of the Bible, Pt 1

2007-10-27T11:15:00.000-05:00

Click on the Read More Link for video.

Dr. Brant Pitre Video, End Times, Pt. 2

2007-10-27T11:48:00.000-05:00

Click on the Read More Link for video.

Movie: "The Golden Compass"DON'T SEE!

2007-10-30T08:05:00.001-05:00

Edith mentioned this movie as one NOT to support by seeing, and send to fellow believers with children and grandchildren.
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Watch a video of the Catholic League's Bill Donohue discussing this issue here.

A film called "The Golden Compass" opens December 7. It is based on the first book of a trilogy titled His Dark Materials. The author of this children's fantasy is Philip Pullman, a noted English atheist. It is his objective to bash Christianity and promote atheism. To kids. "The Golden Compass" is a film version of the book by that name, and it is being toned down so that Catholics, as well as Protestants, are not enraged.

The second book of the trilogy, The Subtle Knife, is more overt in its hatred of Christianity than the first book, and the third entry, The Amber Spyglass, is even more blatant. Because "The Golden Compass" is based on the least offensive of the three books, and because it is being further watered down for the big screen, some might wonder why parents should be wary of the film.

The Catholic League wants Christians to stay away from this movie precisely because it knows that the film is bait for the books: unsuspecting parents who take their children to see the movie may be impelled to buy the three books as a Christmas present. And no parent who wants to bring their children up in the faith will want any part of these books.

"The Golden Compass: Agenda Unmasked" is the Catholic League's response. It provides information about the film, "The Golden Compass," and details what book reviewers have said about Pullman's books; a synopsis of his trilogy is also included.

Please get the word out.

Movie Review: "Bella" -- MUST SEE!

2007-10-30T08:22:00.000-05:00

This is an article about the pro-life movie, "Bella," that I mentioned in our last Little Rock meeting. Links to Houston theaters' showing "Bella!"

Justin Cardinal Rigali , Archbishop of Philadelphia, has been urging those in his archdiocese to see the new film “Bella” and has even asked his parishes to host screenings. He says that “Bella” is a small film that needs the church’s help to spread its big message.

Click here to read an article about Cardinal Rigali's support for this movie.