Daily Roundup – December 5, 2011

I may be quite silent this week due to the last push of papers and seminary commitments.  I only have a couple articles to share today and  I doubt I will be posting much at all this week, just so you know :).

Over at the Catholic Thing there is an article on Belief, Knowledge, and Certainty.  The article compares the problem of atheists to conflate knowledge and faith.  It is a good article and, I hope, makes you want to read Ratzinger’s “Introduction to Christianity“.  The section he is referring to is the first 50 or so pages of the book and offer a great reflection on the meaning of belief and how one must take a fundamental stand in the world: the God question is unavoidable.

For those interested on the issue of divorced and remarried Catholics and the problem of reception of communion, Sandro Magister has an overview of the Pope’s opinion on the matter here.

Sandro Magister also has a post about the first year of Cardinal Ouellet and what is expected of Bishops.  It is excellent and I think we are seeing a trend to ensure that Bishops can be public witnesses to the faith as it is increasingly in the need, especially in the West.

Here is an interesting development in the Archdiocese of Boston and parish mergers.  I think, in fact, that it’s a great solution because it seems like it will create places for priests to live together in community again, something that is sorely lost, as well as pool resources of parishes and cut costs substantially.

A friend of mine has a new blog that is full of great little quotes.  Short, pithy, and wonderful quotes for reflection.

And that is all for today.

in Christ

-Harrison

Daily Roundup – November 29, 2011

Here’s your daily round-up.

The picture to the left is of Taya Kennedy, a Down Syndrome baby who is taking the child modeling world by storm.  There is a great bit on her over at The Anchoress and there you will find a link to the full story along with more beautiful and radiant photos of this beautiful child of God.

I have long argued, since the release of Summorum Pontificum, that the purpose is to create a sort of liturgical dialogue between the two forms of the Roman Rite.  It seems that this is the view of Cardinal Burke as well.  Please give it a read here.

Over at the ever-interesting First Things, there is an article which briefly discusses two atheist philosophers of science and their defense of the possibility of Intelligent Design and their offering of a critique of neo-Darwinism.  What I found interesting is that in regards to a law case cited in the article, the judge ruled against presenting ID as an option because “any notion of the supernatural is a religious opinion.”  This is interesting because Blondel, in his book L’Action, argues that science is limited by the very fact of reality, that what is positive knowledge is limited and, in the end, does not give an answer to life, but that it encounters the supernatural and cannot account for it because it is not quantifiable.  In short, science necessarily must point to the religious question if it is going to be science at all.  I am discovering, more and more, how brilliant Blondel is and how neglected he is in the English speaking world (mostly because, I believe, most of his works are still in French).

There is an intriguing post at Shirt of Flame about Catholics in the literary world and the connection to the Mass.  While I agree that there is a certain formulation from the Mass for Catholics, I don’t know if I agree that the extraordinary form is the only means of creating enrichment for Catholics and forming their literary worldview.  I think the advent of the new translation will begin to re-form that imagination of the Catholics again.  What is intriguing about the article is the absence in our world of Catholic artists and the attraction of artists and intellectuals to the Catholic Church: when they think about Christianity, it is Catholicism and not any other form of Christianity that is considered.

George Weigel has an interesting article over at the National Review about America and Catholicism, about the contributions of the Church to American civil society and the impeding conflict between the Church and the government over conscience.

The always engaging Fr. James Schall, SJ, has an excellent article over at The Catholic Thing.  He speaks about how people are only attempting to bring unity by destroying distinction.  The beautiful thing about the Catholic perspective is that unity and diversity co-exist: they are not antagonistic towards each other.  Only a Catholic ethos and worldview can allow for these two realities to co-exist equally, and our human nature seems to demand it.  Yet without the synthesis of Jesus Christ, we see them as competitive.  In Jesus Christ, they exist in perfect harmony.

Finally, if you have never encountered it, I highly recommend the following: C.S. Lewis’ Introduction to Athanasius’ ‘On the Incarnation’.  In it, he recommends the old books as a means for constantly correcting our perspective in the here and now.  It is a defense of a classical education.  I must say that I can’t help but agree with Lewis.  One can get tired of reading academics who talk about so and so in conversation with some obscure academic who no one has ever heard of, but is apparently useful (though if he is useful, why have we not heard of him?).  What makes Lewis a great academic is that he is, in the end, an academic against the academy.  One only needs to read The Abolition of Man and That Hideous Strength to encounter his contempt for the modern university!  Please give it a read, you will not be disappointed.

in Christ

-Harrison

Daily Roundup – November 28, 2011

Hi everyone.  I’m sorry for the delay in posting…it has been hectic with seminary activities.  I am going to do my best, but things are busy.  However, I have some goodies to share with you.

The first one I wish to point you to is a priest’s presentation at a Non-Denominational Church.  It is really excellent.  My only disappointment is that he talks about the need to know Jesus, but doesn’t talk much about how to actually come to know Jesus more intimately.  However, I think the inspiration is to bring you to pray more intimately about coming to know Jesus more intimately.  Please check it out, it is much worth it.  This priest also has a blog where his homilies are posted.  They are wonderful.  The link is here.

Here is a neat article on Advent and its practicalness  for us Christians.

Speaking of Advent, if time allows, I will post a little reflection on my experience of the new translation later today.  In the meantime, here is a thoughtful post on the new translation, what Vatican II intended, and the great beauty of the new wording.

Here is an absolutely excellent article by Rex Murphy on the inconsistency of the world who demands Christians tolerate everything, including blasphemous actions which make fun of Christians.  The time, it seems, is for us to get spines and speak up :).

Here is a fun picture for all you philosophy lovers:

‘

Here is a neat post on the important of the classics, despite the need for modern academia to slowly de-fund the humanities in universities.  The less of the humanities we have, the less human our world will be.

Nancy Pelosi’s Catholicism doesn’t seem to appreciate the value of conscience.

Here is a neat post on a relic of the Virgin Mary I never knew of.

Want to see bad reporting on Church affairs?  Go here.

Here is a funny post over at Creative Minority Report.

There is a new website called Complete Catholicism by the Faith and Reason Institute.  Help them out by checking it out!

In October, I read part of a book on the Christ-centered theology of Pope Benedict XVI.  In this book, the author mentions Fr. Alfred Delp, SJ, who was influential on Ratzinger in his young life.  As I read along, I was impressed by this figure, and felt a need to look up more on him.  I am reading his reflections on Advent currently as a book of spiritual reading during Advent.  I highly recommend looking him up.  Heather King over at Shirt of Flame has a post on him, and a link to another Jesuit on him.  You can check it out here.  In fact, the link she links to is here, where it speaks profoundly of a Jesuit’s encounter with Fr. Alfred Delp.  He also cites an interesting quote by Ruth Burrows, OCD: “Faith in Jesus is very, very rare.”  Important words for us to meditate on.

Speaking of Shirt of Flame, here is an interesting post on a saint who was addicted to opium in the last 30 years of his life.

Deacon Greg over at the Deacon’s Bench has post about a friar with a movable soup kitchen and a deacon who does ministry with prostitutes and drug addicts in Toronto.  Please check them out.  They are always challenges to us: “Am I following Jesus as He asks of me?”

And with that, we have our posts for the day.

in Christ

-Harrison

 

Daily Round Up – November 22, 2011

I want to begin today with a link to a blog.  I mentioned it through my twitter account, but that is just getting started and so don’t expect people to know what I post there (you can, though, subscribe to my twitter feed on the sidebar).  Anyways, I found this blog by accident.  I was looking for something on Blondel and came across an article by Gregory Sadler.  The name rang a bell with me immediately because I stumbled upon his book “Reason Fulfilled by Revelation” when at the Strand Bookstore in New York last May.  I opened the book while there and could not put it down.  It is about the debate over Christian Philosophy in France in the 1930s.  It is thoroughly fascinating and I encourage all to give it a read.  With that LONG pre-amble, I point you to Orexis Dianoetike, where philosophy in its many forms are put forward.  He also has many videos of lectures.  I look forward to delving into it more over the holidays as there is a lot of good stuff there, I hope you will give it a look at as well, if philosophy interests you.

I could not get to the original link, but another blog has the story pasted in it.  The story is about how the Congregation of Divine Worship is establishing a new commission on Church architecture and liturgical music.  It is very interesting, it sounds like the CDW and the Pope are working to collaborate with dioceses to ensure the Mass is being celebrated in beautiful places and according to the norms of the reforms.  It will be interesting to see how this will play out.

Here is an article on a priest who has died known as “Father Dollar Bill”.  I link this because I think it ought to have us “check our consciences”.  I know a priest in Toronto who was known as the “Five Dollar Priest” (now he is the Ten Dollar Priest – that is a story for a longer post on the topic).  Also, Fr. Guissani, the founder of Communion and Liberation – a movement I am a member of – would also give money when asked.  What is beautiful behind all these priests is this: they never judged the person they were giving money to.  They were more than their weaknesses and it is the person they were giving their money to, not the addict, the murderer, the thief.  Furthermore, aspects of these people may very well use the money for bad purposes: but the one giving can NEVER know what will happen.  The gift is an opportunity for grace and the more I hear about priests like this, the more I realize they are right and we are wrong for judging those asking of us.  This, if I recall, will be a topic for a post one day.  This is related to a post I did last night, and you can read it here.

My friend Stephen White has an article at Catholicvote.org about how holiness is the most pressing issue for the Church.  Here is the link.

Finally (there isn’t much today), here is an article on the concept of “fear of the Lord” and what it means.

in Christ

-Harrison

Daily Round Up – November 21st, 2011

I am, first and foremost, proud to say that a close friend of mine has been elected Mayor of Courtenay, BC!  Larry Jangula is one of the most helpful, active, selfless, and cheerful men I know, and am thankful that the people of Courtenay came out to vote for him.  Please say a prayer for him as he prepares for his new role in life.  Here is an article on him.

The Telegraph in the UK is surprised by L’Osservatore Romano’s claim that Shakespeare was Catholic.  It’s nothing new and is contested to be both true and false by many scholars.  We will probably never know, but there are inclinations in his writing of it as a possibility.

I have many articles, again, from the always insightful National Post:

• I must admit that the happenings in Egypt are disturbing, and I find it increasingly odd how it doesn’t seem to be as covered as it was initially.  I wonder if because a face can’t be given to an enemy, it doesn’t have as much mass appeal.  I don’t know, but anyways, it is important for us to stay informed.  Here is the article on what’s going on in Egypt.  I think one of the issues is that there is a desire for democracy, but I wonder how much a culture influenced by Islam can sustain these democratic desires.  The tensions between western ideals and Islam play themselves out in Islamic cultures as well.
• The ever-entertaining Rex Murphy writes on the OWS movement and its dependency on capitalism.  Please give it a read, you won’t regret it.
• There is an article on death and dying in our culture.  Please read it because it gives great insight into how we avoid death and grief in our societies.  It also mentions how funerals are becoming less common.  I think that is a sign that we have lost respect for the body, a further sign of the de-Christianization of our society.  It is sad.  What is even more sad, though, is that people want to be sad, but aren’t because society says “being sad is not ok”.  Anyways, here is the article.  It also reminds me of the recent passing of my grandpa.  In my reflection at his vigil, I mentioned this, and I encouraged the many family and friends present that “it’s ok to be sad”.  If you wish, you can give it a read here.
• Finally, there is a public policy group out there attempting to end the mandatory entry into student unions.  This makes me happy.  When I was at UVic, we HAD to pay dues into the student union.  We were forced to by the University – even though they were two separate entities.  My student union did not address my concerns and thus had no desire to join them.  Voluntary association – which is the whole point behind unions – allows for checks and balances against those in power in the union.  When one is forced into the union, those in power and positions of responsibility have no one to be accountable to.  Sounds like a certain form of politics that used to be prominent in Russia and Eastern Europe…Anyways, here is the article.

Here is neat article on the issue of modesty in relation to young girls.  This is a continuing issue I wonder about, not just in relation to young women, but to people in general in Church.  We forget that Church is the place where we encounter the Lord of the Universe!  If we were to go to meet the Queen, we would dress our best.  We are meeting God, why not put a little extra effort?

Today is the Feast of the Presentation.  This is an important feast at our Seminary for it is the patronal feast of the Sulpicians, who run our seminary.  Here is an article at The Catholic Thing on the roots of this tradition.  What I find interesting is Mary’s initial consecration to virginity and her betrothal to marriage.  In the Church Fathers, Mary represents Eve and lives the original unity between marriage and virginity.  That is another topic for another day, but the way this feast is presented adds to the understanding of Mary as living the unity between marriage and unity.

There is a beautiful reflection here by the Pope on what prayer is.

There is also a post at First Things about contemporary music in worship.  It is by a Protestant, and he argues that sacred music ought to be “different” from contemporary pop music.  Give it a read.

Did you know there is a wine out there called Aquinas?

For those with a more philosophical bent, there is an interview from a few years ago which I found online with Peter Henrici.  Henrici is a now retired bishop of the Church and is a cousin of the famous theologian Hans Urs Von Balthasar.  He speaks in this article about the importance of Blondel for theology and the Second Vatican Council.  The article is here.  I am currently reading Blondel’s “L’Action” for my Vatican II class.  It is really good, though is quite the slog, and am starting to see why he is so important.

The Pope has released a new Apostolic Exhortation!  It is about the Church in Africa, and thus is directed towards them.  But I think it can give us insights into the Church in Africa as well as insights into how the Church is to be lived for us in the West.  The link is here.

Further signs that the return of the Lord is near.

An interesting comparison of two approaches to abstinence education.  What I find neat is that the theological explanation works in Africa.  I think this is because they still have a supernatural outlook on the world.  We in the West have lost that.  Thus the religious argument doesn’t hold weight.

Here is the most beautiful thing I have seen in a while.  Here and here are links about religious communities in France for men and women with Downs syndrome.  I have nothing to say: the communities speak for themselves.

And that is probably more than enough for today.

in Christ

-Harrison

Daily Round-Up, November 14th, 2011

I have, again, after the weekend, a whole whack of great links, so here we go:

At First Things, there is an interesting article arguing how the new translation of English in the liturgy is a means to emphasizing the unity between the two forms of the Latin Rite.  He argues that the new translation is move closer to the extraordinary form.  I have a tendency to agree.  However, the only issue I have with it is that it doesn’t take into account the other translations.  Just because English is being changed, the Italian, for example, stays the same.  So how does the Italian, which has always remained the same, or the Spanish, emphasize a move?  It is a tendency of us in the English speaking world to think that we are all that matters in the life of the Church.  Still, I think there is some legitimacy to his argument and it is worth reading.  Check it out here.

Here is a tear-jerker I got from Creative Minority Report:

The following is intriguing to me only because I know people who are affected by it.  The three seminaries in the New York area are making some changes, with the theologians all going to Dunwoodie (St Joseph’s Seminary in Dunwoodie, New York.)  I think this is a good move as Dunwoodie is a very large seminary.  I talked to one of my friends affected, who is in the same year as I am, and he said this is due to a request of the apostolic visitation that happened years ago to the American seminaries.  It will make St Joseph’s a much livelier and larger place, thus much better community.  Here is the news article.

Here is a neat way one Catholic businessman is using the new media as a way to encourage people to pray.  I think this is really neat because it really emphasizes the concept of the communion of saints.  By praying with and for others, and by commenting on prayer requests and needing the candle to be lit by others, it is really a representation in the media of the concept of the communion of saints.  Hopefully others will follow his path, for there are many religious apps, but, to be frank, most of them are not that great.

Here is an article I just happened across as I was looking for another article for my paper on the 19th century French Philosopher, Maurice Blondel.  The article has nothing to do with Blondel, but rather Balthasar and gives a very good overview about the importance of Balthasar in the realm of modernity and metaphysics.  The article is here.

Here is an interesting article on the over-sexualization of girls and its impact on them.  What is interesting in it is that the psychological finding adheres to the theological and philosophical conclusions John Paul II came to in his Theology of the Body.  John Paul argues that when a man objectifies a woman, she starts to see herself as valuable only as an object.  In short, one defines their self according to the mode they are treated.  It is a complex topic that I hope to treat one day in a blog post once my papers are done.

The debate over the paper delivered by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace continues to go on.  In one of my past round ups, I linked to an article by Sandro Magister about how Cardinal Bertone was enraged by the document and made some swift changes.  Others are now responding, stating that that is not the case.  I have two links in this regards.  The first is from Catholic New Services.  The second is from What Does That Prayer Really Say?.  I am sure Sandro Magister will have a response because if it is getting this sort of attention in the English speaking world, the reaction will be much stronger in the Italian speaking world.  More to come in the future, I am sure.

Over at Whispers in the Loggia is the text of Archbishop Dolan’s speech to the plenary gathering of the USCCB.  It’s hot off the press and can be found here.

Here is a neat photo to end off our daily round-up:

In Christ

-Harrison

Daily Round-Up, November 10th, 2011

Here are your links.

Sandro Magister of Chiesa.org, an Italian news outlet, has an excellent article on the Vatican and Economics.  As I have mentioned in previous posts (here, here, and here), the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace released the “White Document.  It turns out Cardinal Bertone was not happy with the document because it not only was not put through the Secretariat of State, but that it goes contrary to Pope Benedict’s Caritas in Veritate.  I was happy to see this myself, as, though I couldn’t finish my commentary on the document, I felt it was not quite in the tradition of Catholic Social Teaching.  This is a demonstration of how, when a document comes out of the Vatican, it does not necessarily equate with the mind of the Pope or the Magisterium.  I think, though, this brings up a bigger issue: the impact of bishops from over the world and what John Allen Jr. causes the global-ecclesial shift to the global south.  I wonder how much impact it will have.  While I do believe in an increasingly globalized curia, I do think there is something of the traditionally-Christian cultures – for now – having prominence in the Curia because they grow up in cultures that have been thoroughly impregnated with the Gospel.  Thus they have deeper roots than countries where the Gospel is newer.  Perhaps one day they will have a greater prominence in the global Church, but I think we will still see largely Western men in the high ranks of the Roman Curia and the papacy.

Apparently this is worth over Four Million dollars…I should get into selling my photos!

Sandro Magister also has another article in regards to Catholic dialogue with Russian Orthodoxy.  If you find that topic of interest, do check out the article.

George Weigel over at First Things has an excellent article on the Roman Curia.  There is an argument that the curia should be Roman, but Weigel thinks it should be more worldwide, and I tend to agree.  Check it out here.

A great photo:

The Deacon’s Bench has an article on the death of Bil Keane, creator of the Family Circus, who was also an avidly practicing Catholic.  Here is the link.

That’s all I have for today. I have some other ones, but need some time to read them first before I forward them on.  I may even get an article in today!

in Christ

-Harrison

Daily Roundup – November 9th, 2011

Hi everyone.  A first technical note: if something is underlined it means, 9 times out of 10, that it is a link.  I know there may have been some confusion there and will be changing my linking format when there is time to make that more obvious :).

Here is your daily roundup.  I have a lot of half-posts done, but my homework has been overwhelming as of late and so I am a little behind.  The daily roundup is all I have time for at the moment.  if I can get what I want to get done by the weekend, I can at least finish those articles and then slowly post them one at a time.  My major project is the liturgical translation since it’s coming up here soon, obviously.  I think I will also do a post on the nature, scope, and idea of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church as well, as it is a concept that we do not understand quite well in terms of the scope of its authority and, more importantly, our levels of assent required.  Despite the busyness, I need something to do whenever I get angry reading the “critiques” in a book I am reading for one of my classes.  So I stop for five minutes, put a link in my update, calm down, and get back to work :).

In the meantime, your links!

As you all know, we recently hit seven billion people in the world.  Over at the Washington Post there is an excellent article on the five myths of overpopulation.  It seems to me that the media, as usual, tend to blow things out of proportion while serious demographers, economists, etc, do not even give credence to the concept. Please check it out.

A friend of mine is releasing her second book.  You can find out more at her blog here.  We have had many interesting theological discussions and look forward to reading her new book upon its release.

A blog post with referring to Fr. Lang about the relationship between beauty and the sacred.  The images are worth checking out themselves, though I haven’t checked out his talk yet.

A talk I have not had a chance to read yet, but am referring you to anyways, is from a trustworthy source: Archbishop Chaput.  It has been popping up all over the web and so it must be saying something salient and look forward to reading it when the opportunity arises.  I very much appreciated his talks he gave in Victoria in October when I had the privilege to not only meet the holy Archbishop, but to introduce him at the conference.  Please give him a thoughtful read.

A parish hymnal the Second Vatican Council intended!  I hope to get a copy one day, though it is American and thus there is the issue of Biblical translations for liturgical use and a slightly different calendar, though I am sure it will still be plenty helpful.  One priest I know recently ordered 500 for his parish!

There is an interesting article over at Patheos about seminarians, formation, and the new media. I must be honest, I am not sure how much faith we ought to be putting in the new media.  We are so over-saturated with media, information, and images, that all things lose meaning in our lives, especially symbols.  Yet, at the same time, I think we ought to be learning to give a “soul” to the internet, much as, to an extent, Fulton Sheen gave a “soul” to television.  There is an obvious need for that, which is part of the reasons I am working at getting my blog up and running again.  But I also think there are limits: we must embrace en-force the new media.  In fact, I have a feeling the Pope’s text n the new-media was written by someone else.  The fact that the Pope does not really use any of these tools (and I don’t even know if we can call him analog!) he probably does not know the total dangers of being overwhelmed by constant communication.  Obviously, though, at the same time, we are in a world where there is constant communication and so need to reach out.  I just don’t know if it should be an embrace en-masse of all forms of communication because not all forms of communication inherently build us up as human beings.

The Mississippi amendment on personhood failed.  I am not surprised.  As I mentioned the other day, I think it is probably because they used personhood instead of life.  I think it is a case that demonstrates how we must use language carefully and not to put ammendments together in a quick manner.

In your “Weird News of the Day”, Obama has instituted a fifteen cent tax on Christmas Trees so as to set up a board and committee to promote the importance of the Christmas tree.  I know it’s small, but seriously?  Setting up a board and panel to promote the Christmas tree in society?  Is it really necessary?  This, to me, is an element of government doing more than what is required of it.  And we wonder why governments fall into financial crises?!

That’s enough for today.  I have been writing this throughout the day and am happy to say that the painful process of reading bad academic works is over for a particular paper.  If you ever have a desire to punish yourself, just pick up an academic work.  8 times out of 10 it is just, well, crap.  I have nothing good to say about pseudo-academics and how it is the prominent way of doing academics.  It is just crap.  We wonder why our kids and college students aren’t turning out the way they should?  Teachers do not actually teach.  That is for another post.  End rant.

in Christ

-Harrison

 

Daily Round-Up – November 8th, 2011

Here is your daily round-up.  Lots of links, still have some from the weekend!  So I may be holding some over until tomorrow.

First, in the realm of sci-fi there is the news of a new Battlestar Galactica series and movie!  I am a HUGE fan of the original show…have watched the entire series three or four times now.  Caprica was, well, horrible, but I think the new series, which discusses the first cylon war, will be more faithful to the direction and method of the original series (the original, contemporary, series that is).  Sci-fi is great for engaging the human person in a mythical way, and, because of its distance from reality, is able to take on issues with an objective eye that we, at times, miss.  If you haven’t seen the original contemporary series, I highly encourage you.  Though, I must warn, though there is no nudity, there is a lot of sexual scenes in the first season that will probably require having your finger on the fast-forward button.

Here is a sweet article about how a parish found letters to God from children over a hundred years old and how they are building on it with children in the parish now writing letters to God.

Forbes says the Pope Benedict is the 7th most powerful person in the world.  Despite the Church’s attempts to relinquish titles and power, the world still loves to look at her through a political lens.

The always insightful curmudgeon Rex Murphy has a great article at the National Post about Occupy Wall Street.  It is always a great delight to read his articles.  The article is a sly way that saying what is wrong in our world today i not big  business per se, but our culture and where it places its value instead.

A friend of mine has a blog post about his recent venture to a Pulp and Paperback booksale in London.  I link it here for the sheer entertainment of reading it.  It is WELL worth the read for his ability to tell a story about buying stories.  Furthermore, I think he gives great insights into the value of reading.  He, more than anyone else I know, knows the value of reading.  Please do give it a read, you will not be sorry.

Here is an article that really gets to the heart of what a parish need and how three simple things can change a parish: vibrant faith-life in the parish community, good preaching, and good music.  This priest seems to be doing the basics and the basics are really helping lift up the life of the parish.  Furthermore, he gets involved in the community: he is public, which is important for a pastor.  Pastors have care over the entire flock, including those who are lost or missing within their parish boundaries.  He also encourages priestly fraternity, something that is missing a lot in the contemporary presbyterate in which priests become mavericks instead of brothers cooperating with their bishop.  The article is inspiring as to what the priesthood and parish life is meant to be.

This article at First Things speaks about the growing Protestant discomfort with celebrating Reformation Sunday.  It is interesting only because this is becoming a growing notion in many Protestant Churches: the Church is to be unified and what was once united is now split, but we should be brought back together.  True ecumenism is growing daily by leaps and bounds, and the Church is constantly growing in the bond of faith to where, God-willing, we will once again be unified under one banner.

That’s enough for today.  I have homework to do.

in Christ

-Harrison

Daily Roundup – November 7, 2011

Here is the daily roundup of links.  I have a WHOLE lot of links.  It seems, generally, that people put their best stuff out on Mondays…But I have too many for one post, so will keep some for tomorrow as well.  Still, there is more than usual.  I also have some articles that are almost done and am pressing myself to continue on the new translation.  If I get the projects necessary that I need done today, I will continue that.  But in the meantime here are the articles.

This is the beautiful reminder that martyrdom is still a reality in the world.  It is well worth the read.

There is an article at “The Catholic Thing” which talks about Karol Wojtyla as an example bishop.  He also talks about George Weigel’s “Witness to Hope”.  If you haven’t read it, you should.  It is a moving read in which the author is really in the background, allowing Wojtyla to shine forth.  Anyways, the article is here to read.

Over at one of my favourite blogs, Whispers in the Loggia, is a note that it is the anniversary of Benedict’s consecration of the still-to-be-completed Sagrada Famiglia.  I saw this magnificent piece of architecture and art when I was in Barcelona at the end of my trip to Europe this summer.  It is the most beautiful Church I have ever seen, even more beautiful than St Peter’s in my opinion.  Please read the text of Benedict’s as well, it is well worth the read.  There is much to say in this regard, and I may need to say more in a post one day.  The article is here.  Also, I have photos online from my trip, of which about half are from the Sagrada Famiglia, which you are welcome to check out.

The Public Discourse, as always, has an intriguing review of a book that speaks about the impact of capitalism on society in general.  I think it provokes a necessary discussion about the interplay between economics and morality and how both are based on a concept of the human person.  I hope to find the book at the library and to read it for myself, if only to see in a more detailed manner their argument.  From the article, I get the sense that they overplay the impact of capitalism and do not factor other cultural impacts on the development of society.  My big beef, something a South Park episode critiqued with great accuracy, is the idea of “The Market” as if it is some benevolent force which fairly guides the course in so far as we obey its commands of economic principles.  That is not taking the human condition into account, unfortunately.  I do, though, appreciate their idea that the market requires virtue in order to function properly, and it is an element that is largely lacking in economic debates.  Too often we blame systems and policies, and too little do we blame the people using the system.  I think Mr. Anderson does a great job of critiquing at the end of the article.  If you are intrigued about the Church’s stance on capitalism, I highly recommend Bl. John Paul II’s Centessimus Annus.  It is a long document, but well worth the read.

Archbishop Smith had an audience with the Pope in which he spoke about the new translated Missal and the new seminary!  So here is an image:

 

And another cool photo for you:

Elizabeth Scalia over at The Anchoress has an interesting juxtaposition between the sex-discrimination that is being placed in the OWS movement and the sex-discrimination (I use discrimination in the positive sense of the word as “to separate, to distinguish”) over at the Catholic University of America.  It is a very fair comparison about the biases of the media.  Check it out.

Mark Shae has a post on Fr. Amorth, an exorcist for the Diocese of Rome (he is not, despite the media’s portrayal, “The Pope’s Exorcist”), and how he really is a loose canon.

The National Post mentions Initiative no. 26 in the state of Mississippi about the Personhood debate.  Read it, and perhaps give your response here.  I am actually not sure what to think about the initiative.  Don’t get me wrong, I am as pro-life as the next pro-lifer.  However, there is a distinction between when life begins and personhood.  Though I don’t see a separation between the two, there is an important distinction.  Furthermore, the pro-life movement would have a far easier time promoting its positions if it stayed on the idea of “when life begins” which, as science tends to say, is at the moment of conception.  Personhood carries too much weight, too much philosophical baggage, and too many different views of what that means in our culture.  Life, on the other hand, is rather universal in its meaning.  I think pro-lifers would be able to further their position more with the term “life” instead of “person”.  That way it does not compromise their position, while at the same time using a language that is much easier to swallow by the general culture.  The article is here.

An interesting blip over at The Guardian.  They mention how Cardinal Ravasi is challenging priests to get homilies spiced up!  I agree.  Too many priests offer boring moralistic interpretations of Scripture and lose the total uniqueness of the Person of Jesus and fail to convey His uniqueness, which oozes out of every word of Scripture, especially the Gospels.  Jesus is relevant, but many priests fail to make Him relevant.  Part of the crisis of faith in the West has to do with a crisis of preaching – at least I am convinced of that.  Jesus challenges us constantly if we only have the eyes to see and the ears to hear.  To be challenged is not a scary thing, but rather an exciting adventure.  I have another post on this in the works, but really, when it comes down to it, we know, deep in our hearts, the call to excellence and greatness.  Jesus gives form and meaning to that call in a way we never would have known!  But too often Jesus is watered down and painted over by the personalities of priests.  Priests need to learn to preach.  Kudos to Cardinal Ravasi.  I have heard much of him lately, and wish more of his stuff was published in English.  Perhaps I just need to learn Italian.  The link, by the way, is here.

Finally, this article from First Things on the new translation.  It is long, but well worth the read.  Check it out.

That’s all for today. More to come tomorrow.

in Christ

-Harrison