A Deo et Rege

A happy Easter to all the readers of this blog!

O Death, where is your sting?
O Hell, where is your victory?

Christ is risen, and you are overthrown.
Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen.
Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice.
Christ is risen, and life reigns.
Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in the grave.
For Christ, being risen from the dead,
is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
To him be glory and dominion unto ages of ages. Amen.

From the Paschal Sermon of St. John Chrysostom. It can be found in its entirety at www.ancient-future.net/chrysoseaster.html

Photo at National Shrine and Basilica of Our Lady of Consolation, taken by Jonathan Bennett

Today I finally received my Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and am very excited about it. Although the complete Catechism is the primary source for all things Catholic, the Compendium nicely summarizes and condenses the larger Catechism. I want to highlight some of the important aspects of the Compendium:

1. The "Question and Answer" Format

This marks in some ways a return to the catechisms of old (especially the popular Baltimore Catechism), which were set up in this manner. I think the Q&A setup will make the Compendium great for quick reference and for answering questions about what Catholicism really teaches (whether for inquirers, seekers, converts, or the poorly catechized). This setup makes the Compendium great for teaching, especially for Catholic school courses, parishes studies, and RCIA classes.

Example:
Q: How are sins remitted:
A: The first and chief Sacrament for the forgiveness of sins is Baptism. For those sins committed after Baptism, Christ instituted the Sacrament of Reconciliation or Penance through which a baptized person is reconciled with God and the Church.

2. The Art

Pope Benedict has rightly emphasized the importance of good liturgical art and architecture. And there is no better way to teach about the value of liturgical art than to include it in a catechism!  Each section of the Compendium contains a piece of traditional artwork and an explanation of it. Hopefully, this will help improve the quality of Catholic art and architecture over the long term.

Example: El Greco, Prayer of Jesus in the Garden

3. The Extras

There are many other exciting "extras" in the Compendium as well. First, when referencing traditional documents like the Creed, it includes the Latin text. Second, the final section has many common prayers of the Church, including the Our Father, Hail Mary, Magnificat, Angelus, Te Deum, and more. And, all the prayers are in both English and Latin! Once again, the Compendium should help increase in readers a basic sense of Church Latin which is sadly being lost. Eastern Catholic prayers are also included, which should help remind Roman Catholics that the Catholic Church includes more than just the West. Third, there is a list of formulas of Catholic Doctrine. This is a very handy reference list.

In conclusion, the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is a great resource that should serve the needs of many people. Perhaps the greatest selling point is that the Compendium condenses the Faith into readable and accessible "chunks" in an easy to engage format. Although scholars and more serious students of the Faith will prefer the larger Catechism and even go beyond to the original sources, in an age of the unchurched and the barely churched, the Compendium serves an important role and is an invaluable resource.

To order:

The magic of Holy Saturday.

The chaotic fountain remains directionless. Could this be the residue of the Son’s love which, poured out to the last when every vessel cracked and the old world perished, is now making a path for itself to the Father through the glooms of nought?

Or, in spite of it all, is this love trickling on in impotence, unconsciously, laboriously, towards a new creation that does not yet even exist, a creation which is still to be lifted up and given shape? Is it a protoplasm producing itself in the beginning, the first seed of the New Heaven and the New Earth?

The spring leaps up even more plenteously. To be sure, it flows out of a wound and is like the blossom and fruit of a wound; like a tree it sprouts up from this wound. But the wound no longer causes pain. The suffering has been left far behind as the past origin and previous source of today’s wellspring.

What is poured out here is no longer a present suffering, but a suffering that has been concluded–no longer now a sacrificing love, but a love sacrificed.

Only the wound is there: gaping, the great open gate, the chaos, the nothingness out of which the wellspring leaps forth. Never again will this gate be shut. Just as the first creation arose ever anew out of sheer nothingness, so, too, this second world - still unborn, still caught up in its first rising - will have its sole origin in this wound, which is never to close again…

High-vaulted triumphal Gate of Life! Armored in gold, armies of graces stream out of you with fiery lances. Deep-dug Fountain of Life! Wave upon wave gushes out of you inexhaustible, ever-flowing, billows of water and blood baptizing the heathen hearts, comforting the yearning souls, rushing over the deserts of guilt, enriching over-abundantly, overflowing every heart that receives it, far surpassing every desire.

Hans Urs Von Balthasar

Hat tip/text posted at Titusonenine (Kendall Harmon)

Photo from National Shrine and Basilica of Our Lady of Consolation; photo by Jonathan Bennett (you’ll see it when typepad allows me to upload it without errors!!)