Vivat Agnus Dei

The Seven Virtues, Piero and Antonio Pollaiuolo and Botticelli Depicted from left-to-right: Fortitude ~ Temperance ~ Faith ~ Charity ~ Hope ~ Justice ~ Prudence If you have ever observed a significant amount of rhetoric on any contentious issue, then you would have observed an attempt to frame an objective reality subjectively, some ad hominem attacks, and even some conclusions/premises posed without evidence. This comes largely from the cultural inability to either form arguments or a disbelief in objective reality. However, more fundamentally, there is hardly ever a common definition of freedom. What is freedom, and do we have it? True freedom is the aspect of rational man to choose the good (according to the nature of a thing, in that it is some way desirable and that it has its essence in completeness or in that an action contributes or derives from the completeness of an act, thus an act not completely good is evil and it correspond to an imperfection in the actor and lacks being ...

Otto Friedrich Theodor von Möller, John's Sermon on Patmos A general response to: How did the Jewish laws affect Paul's ministry? How did the early Christian's allegiance to Jewish law (ie. dietary law, circumcision) make ministry difficult when addressing both Jews and Gentiles? The Christian call to conversion requires a profound transformation of heart, rooted in faith and love, yet it must also respect the cultural identities of those being evangelized. Jesus Himself proclaimed, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” and “the time is fulfilled… repent and believe in the gospel”  (Matt 4:17, Mark 1:15).  Scripture and Church teaching warn against both extremes: imposing unnecessary cultural practices can suffocate the Gospel—“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery”—and unbounded relativism can dilute it—“So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us” ...

Every person is a galaxy of parts and mystery : traumas and joys, virtues and vices, all bound together in the same struggle toward Heaven. We are shaped by our upbringing and by critical moments of development, yet often burdened by despair when the path seems too difficult. In every circumstance, we carry our cross and confront our finitude, recognizing our need for God’s love, grace, and providence—His forgiveness, guidance for the future, and knowledge of His past mercies. Our specialized education may make us superior in one area but inferior in many others; we are at once beautiful and broken. We perceive reality sometimes as it is, sometimes as we wish it to be, shaped by both opinion and orthodox belief. We strive to love, yet fail frequently, perpetuating wounds in ourselves and others, for we are social creatures. Ultimately, Christ will separate the wheat from the chaff and the sheep from the goats  (Matthew 25:31–46) , dealing with each according to our deeds—leading ei...

Pictured (color-edited with some error in the shadow): Josemaria Escrivá The atheist, materialist, and even some scientific interpretations of the "soul" differ sharply from that which the Catholic Church teaches. In the popular or materialist view, the soul is often portrayed as a "ghost in a machine," a Gnostic concept that posits the body as merely a vessel or the soul as merely a part of either the brain or mind. This misunderstanding becomes a strawman for atheists and materialists to refute, for it seems to conflict with empirical science. However, the Catholic understanding, rooted in Aristotle and perfected by St. Thomas Aquinas, presents no true quarrel with science. The Church teaches that the soul is the form of the body, constituting with it a single human nature (cf. CCC 365 , 382 ). As Aquinas beautifully articulates, "the soul is not in the body as contained by it, but rather contains the body" ( Summa Theologiae I, q. 76, a. 8 ). The soul,...

  My Dearest Maximus, Your letter reached me as the spring rains fell upon Rome, and as I read your words, I felt as though I could hear your voice whispering across the seas. Frugi, our messenger, was greatly delayed. I am sure he will tell you about his travels when you read this. Nevertheless, I wish to share the parts which amazed me most in light of what you said in your letter. Frugi, who carries letters to and from Rome, for us and for our friends, he bears many parchments amid his travels and endeavors to do so by land lest he lose some of the parchments. As he began his journey the temple guards stopped him, fearful he was carrying communication between the Christians, whose leader they had just crucified. Not long after they had stopped him, they got word that the men who were supposed to watch the tomb of Jesus, in the night, while asleep missed the theft of his body. This delayed him longer because they thought to scrutinize our letters again lest they fail to see code ...

Entry of Christ into Jerusalem ,  Pietro Lorenzetti ,  Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi Introduction Today, I thought we could consider the early church practice of Lectio Divina, or "divine reading," which allows one to receive God's communication through scripture. One may say that if God does not seem to speak (typically considered in audible fashion), it is because He has already spoken or speaks in a way that one is not listening. Lectio Divina tunes one to both possibilities, by obtaining direct information concerning a Person who should be Our Everything straight from the subject Himself rather than taking someone else's interpretation and formulation of facts about Him, which often leads to inconsistencies if someone is not educated in saying things about Him and even then, we have to understand what they mean and they have to do it pretty well to compensate for all the potential problems. This is what makes going to the source itself in the Sacraments a...