North of the Shire

Anti-Catholic

One particular anti-Catholic of note today was brought to my attention through John Martignoni’s Newsletters(138, 139). His name is Mike Gendron and his mission, at least in a principle part, is to evangelize Catholics. In the world of apologetics that makes him fair game for direct and public response, and once one gets a taste of his imflammatory rhetoric, one ceases to be overly concerned with gentleness of response, or any nuance of the truth.

Seeking the Truth

Here’s a quote from an Apostolic Exhortation called “Reconciliatio et Paenitentia” that Pope John Paul II issued on December 2, 1984. This is an important document here because it is the source of a quotation that Mike Gendron uses to misrepresent Catholic teaching. The following deals with our approach to those, among others, who are outside of communion with the Church, such as Mike Gendron. Continue Reading »

This is not, although it may seem so occasionally, a promotional site for Fr. Barron or his ministry WordOnFire. At the same time, he is doing worthwhile evangelization, albeit in the style of a theology professor, which he is.

Here’s a video blurb of Fr. Barron on EWTN explaining what his ministry is about.

Here’s the full story from Foxnews;

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/04/02/cardinals-defend-pope-church-sex-abuse-scandal/?test=latestnews

This is much like the way that Pope Benedict’s remarks at Regensburg were misconstrued by Muslims, causing a violent backlash. In this case the backlash from Jewish groups is rhetorical. However, in either case the problem is the same. In this case they engaged their reflexes before engaging their minds and actually listening to what the papal preacher was saying in the words of his Jewish friend. Continue Reading »

A long time ago I made the error of judging the truth of a religious belief and system of beliefs, based upon the actions of a few that were leaders of a local congregation of that particular belief system. Hypocrisy can be found almost anywhere and among religious we look more intently for it if we are so inclined.

As it happened, I discovered that there were other reasons, sound legitimate theological reasons for leaving that faith community behind and I entered the Catholic Church. By then I realized that the truth of the faith is not measured by how seriously its adherents take it. Indeed, at the time I entered the Church the clerical abuse scandal in the Boston, Mass area was at its peak. But there had been other scandals and most recently it has been the same thing all over again in Ireland.

I think that in this case, while the details of the problem are terribly sad and a real indictment of the leadership of the Church in Ireland, the report that was commissioned was very instructive, and well worth reviewing for its clear assessment of what went wrong, who was responsible and what it was they were thinking.

Here’s an excellent article by Michael Kelly on that report called, The Wolves Roamed Freely.
Continue Reading »

Well, the dissenters are at it again. There is even a new blog for a petition not to correct the errors in the English translation of the Mass, what is called the Ordinary rite by Benedict XVI.

Here’s the blog and a sampling of some of the links at the blog from the usual suspects.

Here.

Here.

Here.

Here’s a thought. The translation we are discussing, which Benedict XVI and the USCCB is attempting to correct, is an English translation of what is official in Latin. How is it such a terrible thing to want to get the English version to match the Latin standard?

I think that there is a theological basis for this. Without examining it in any detail, isn’t that an interesting commentary that some would want to keep a translation of something so integral to the Church as her liturgy, that is flawed? Why? What is there in the correction that offends them so much? Or is it just the fact that the Pope is exercising his proper authority over the liturgy that offends them?

Here’s a reminder of how seriously we should take the liturgical dissenters. Given a choice between these people and Benedict XVI? Is there any question?

…regardless of how I understand the doctrine Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus, whether in the strict sense of Fr. Feeney or in a more nuanced sense that seems to prevail in the thinking of the Magisterium including Benedict XVI and John Paul II, as evidenced in encyclicals and the CCC.

Let’s say just a word about EENS. Continue Reading »

It would be nice to get the recording. Fascinating that the monastery has been going without interruption since 1133. That’s one that was out of the reach of the kings of England.

Did you know that the Big Bang theory of the beginnings of the universe originated from a Belgian priest?

Here’s Father Barron’s sermon from Sunday Jan. 3/2010 called;
Religion, Science and the Journey of the Magi: Feast of the Epiphany

Some other not well known facts in this sermon;

Pascal, Descartes, Newton, Copernicus all devoutly religious men. Gregor Mendel, father of modern genetics, a priest.
Georges LeMaitre, Belgian Catholic priest, big bang theory.

His list goes on, the point being that science is only possible with a Christian foundation and that the myth that the two are opposed in principle is just that, a myth.

For someone who had never heard of Jesus Christ, if we were to simply give them the Gospels and tell them to come back with any questions they might have, I’m sure there would be a host of questions.

When did this all happen? Continue Reading »

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.
25 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
26 What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life?
27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct.
28 Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

So what does he mean by this? Continue Reading »