A Deo et Rege

David went to a final job interview today and I decided to go with him, mainly because the National Shrine and Basilica of Our Lady of Consolation was close by. He got the job too! He’ll be teaching religion at a Catholic high school starting in the fall. Thanks be to God.

While he was receiving the news, I was sitting in the local Tim Horton’s enjoying my coffee and practically freezing to death. Although it was 90 degrees F outside it was cold inside. Fortunately, I had my coffee to keep me warm and my Chesterton and Newman to keep me busy. Both men are amazing writers and simply put, geniuses. I am especially enamored of Chesterton. His arguments and style are incredibly compelling and resonate with me in incredible ways. I am going to comment on Chesterton and Newman in the near future on this blog, but until then Enbrethiliel has a good deal of Chesterton (appearing every Thursday) and the Pontificator is always posting something by or addressing a topic related to Newman.

We didn’t stay terribly long at the shrine, but I did go to the gift shop, pray, and take a few photos. The primary reason we went to the shrine was to buy some Catholic presents for our friend Chad. Yesterday, Chad received the rite of reception and confirmation and entered into full communion with the Catholic Church. He comes from a non-denominational/Plymouth Brethren background. You can find out more about him and his blog by clicking on the hyperlink with his name above. Or you can meet him (and me, David, and others) on Paltalk in the Catholic Truth: Ancient Light for Modern Times room. We’re usually open daily starting about 9:00pm EST.

Be sure to check out Nicene Hobbit’s Hole, a great new blog by a great friend. Friend, chatter, and Per Christum contributor Charlie has a new blog called the Wingnut Conspiracy. (you can meet them both on paltalk too).

Finally, my brother and I have added photos to a good number of our articles at Ancient and Future Catholics. It’s a part of our broader vision to engage the visual and the creative along with the intellectual and apologetic.

Photo from the shrine by Jonathan Bennett

Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton

Conscience, Consensus, and the Development of Doctrine and Apologia Pro Vita Sua by Ven. John Henry Cardinal Newman

Handbook of Christian Apologetics: Hundreds of Answers to Crucial Questions by Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli.

Two points: It’s going to be a busy reading summer and it’s about time I read some Newman and Chesterton.

The Episcopal General Convention of 2006 is over. I didn’t follow the resolutions closely enough to make any definitive conclusions about most of them. I’m not even sure if most Episcopalians and worldwide Anglicans can make many definitive conclusions right now. Finding clarity, I think, will be the primary issue in the next few months for Anglicans. The main question will be: did the Episcopal Church go far enough in its apology or will some sort of "Anglican re-alignment" be necessary? I guess the Anglican primates, including the Archbishop the Canterbury, will have to sort a lot of this out.

On the other hand, a few clear things happened that are worth noting. First, the convention declared the Christian Scriptures to be anti-Semitic. Given that the New Testament was largely written by Jews, I find this somewhat odd, to say nothing of a denomination slamming its own holy book. Second, the convention elected a liberal, pro full homosexual inclusion, woman as Episcopal Presiding bishop. This move will surely inflame the divisions among Episcopalians and heighten the tension with Anglicans around the communion. It will also seriously hamper ecumenical efforts with the Orthodox and Catholics. At least they can’t say Cardinal Kasper didn’t give a fair warning. Third, the convention refused to affirm Jesus Christ as the only name by which a person may be saved. That this could not even make it to the floor for a vote should be perhaps the biggest scandal of General Convention 2006. Whatever nuances the Church may add to our theology of salvation (like invincible ignorance), the affirmation of Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life and the sole way to the Father, is a statement of "mere Christianity" not uniquely Catholic or Protestant. The Presbyterians also couldn’t muster the will to affirm Jesus as the only savior awhile ago. The biggest danger in mainline Protestantism may not be homosexual activism, but the more foundational issue of the person and work of Jesus Christ, issues which for Catholics, the Orthodox, and classical Protestants were settled ages ago and are not up for debate.

Here are some links related to the Episcopal General Convention 2006:

Episcopal Split All But Certain
General Convention Adopts Vague Resolution
African Primates Statement on ECUSA General Convention

To give an idea of classical Anglicanism, Derek has a good post on Christian identity.

Also, I’ve included a Catholic perspective by friend and blogger Dave Hartline. It also has many good interviews:

Final Report at the Episcopal Church

Dave also makes some great points about how some leaders in the Catholic Church, especially in America, wanted to take us down this path (and many still do, but they’re in a dying minority). We should be grateful for the work of John Paul II and Benedict XVI in keeping the Catholic Church Catholic. So, rather than react with schadenfreude towards the Episcopalians, we should rather pray for them and remember how close to the brink we came in the 1970s and that we still have our own who want to take us down the failed path of liberal Protestantism.

"We are deputized to follow the Holy Spirit, not the wishes of the folks back home."

Rev. Canon Elizabeth Keaton- ECUSA minister from the Diocese of Newark (source)

After commenting on how local parishes may not favor abortion, this lady made the above quote. I must say that associating the Holy Spirit with abortion rights is a new low and also quite blasphemous. I believe the spirit she’s referring to is the spirit of the age (or far worse).

Sadly, it appears that the Episcopal Church is going to keep its affiliation with the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, a "religious" abortion advocacy group, as well. If the convention refuses to repeal the executive decision to affiliate with the RCRC, it would make the Episcopal Church de facto pro abortion.

I know, I said I wasn’t going to comment on the decisions of the Episcopalians until after their General Convention, but I think this one is worth mentioning. The Episcopal General Convention has elected elected Katherine Jefforts-Schori as the first female primate of an Anglican Communion province. I did predict this to friends earlier in spite of her lack of experience (e.g. she was never a rector). I didn’t think the current Episcopal Church would ever turn down an opportunity to be the liberal "first" at anything, even if it meant causing chaos in the wider communion, hurting ecumenical efforts, and driving more traditionalists out.

Other sources/reactions:

Anglicans are close to "anarchy" in dispute over female bishop (timesonline)
Diocese of Fort Worth wants "primatial" oversight (titusonenine)- ok, this is a new one, "primatial" oversight.
Forward in Faith Weighs In (titusonine)- for the record, Forward in Faith is the Anglican group that opposes the new Episcopal innovations along Catholic lines. This includes being against the ordination of women.

Thanks be to God! The US Catholic bishops have approved a new English translation of the mass. I’ve been saying for a long time that the US Catholic Church is getting more  liturgically traditional and this confirms it. In the Church, we tend to move slowly, but putting an end to 70s nonsense in 2006 isn’t too shabby. Make sure to check out this link:

Some of the Approved Changes (from newsnet5, Cleveland-Akron)

I am not going to wade into the Episcopal General Convention news this week until after they make (or not) their decisions regarding their place in the Anglican Communion. However, I am following the whole thing with interest and pray for the triumph of basic Christian orthodoxy and morality at the very least among our American Anglican brothers and sisters. Here are a few resources for those interested:

Resources Page 1
Resources Page 2

Generally speaking the following places have good commentary:

Titus One Nine (thoughtful, orthodox, and genial commentary by Episcopal priest Kendall Harmon)
Virtue Online (hard hitting, much maligned, occasionally wrong, but still worthwhile)

Finally, blogger (and friend) Dave Hartline at the Catholic Report gives his perspective on a day at General Convention.

A great piece by the pro-life Nat Hentoff (incidentally also atheist, liberal, and Jewish, demonstrating that respect for life can be diverse)

A friend of mine told me of a recent conversation at his family’s dinner
table that keeps reverberating in my mind. His wife, a physician, also
performs abortions. And their 9-year-old son — hearing the words and
curious about its meaning — looked up from his plate and asked, "What
is an abortion?" His mother tried carefully to describe it in simple
terms.

    "But," said her son, "that means killing the baby." The mother
then explained that there are certain months during which an abortion
cannot be performed, with very few exceptions. The 9-year-old shook his
head. "But," he said, "it doesn’t matter what month. It still means
killing the babies." Hearing the story, I wished it could be repeated
to the justices of the Supreme Court, in the hope that at least five of
them might act on this 9-year-old’s clarity of thought and vision.

Read it all (Washington Times)

What Happened at Pentecost?

Fifty days after the Resurrection at Pentecost the glorified Jesus Christ poured out the Spirit in abundance and revealed him as a divine Person so that the Holy Trinity was fully manifest. The mission of Christ and of the Spirit became the mission of the Church which is sent to proclaim and spread the mystery of the communion of the Holy Trinity.

We have seen the true Light, we have received the heavenly Spirit, we have found the true faith: we adore the indivisible Trinity, who has saved us. (Byzantine Liturgy, Troparion of Vespers of Pentecost)

What does the Spirit do in the Church?

The Spirit builds, animates and sanctifies the Church. As the Spirit of Love, he restores to the baptized the divine likeness that was lost through sin and causes them to live in Christ the very life of the Holy Trinity. He sends them forth to bear witness to the Truth of Christ and he organizes them in their respective functions so that all might bear the "fruit of the Spirit." (Galatians 5:22)

From the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church

Blessed Pentecost to all readers!

Image from St. Charles Borromeo Church