A Deo et Rege

The priest at my "mother" parish (for lack of a better term; I was confirmed here and still consider it home in many ways) now has a blog. He’s a wonderful guy who is also thoughtful, engaging, and orthodox. He performed our wedding and did a wonderful job. His homily there was especially inspiring.

Check out the blog of Fr. William Hahn.

Mark Shea has written an excellent blog entry entitled Cautionary Tales, which summarizes the importance of Protestants becoming Catholic because they believe in the Catholic Truth, not because they simply want to escape the _____ (liberalism, lack of authority, denominationalism, etc) of Protestantism. Those may be good reasons to explore Catholicism, but certainly not convert. This article should be required reading in all RCIA classes. Here are some excerpts from Marks’ piece:

One of the things that often worries me about converts to the Catholic
faith, especially from Protestantism, is that some of them seem to me
to be still basically Protestant. They are sometimes becoming Catholic,
not because they have concluded that the Church is the trustworthy
sacrament of redemption given to the world by Christ and guided by the
Holy Spirit, but because they are fed up with Protestantism and are
leaving it and joining the Catholic–in *protest*.

And:

The main counsel I give anybody coming in to the Church is that "faith"
means "you stay." The Catholic Church is and always has been the vessel
of salvation for the *world*. That means that most of the people you
meet are going to be *ordinary*–like you and me.

Read the entire essay…lots of wisdom here.

Hat tip: Chad

Catholic Converts is a blog devoted to the blogs, stories, and other information associated with the numerous Catholic converts on the net. Check it out!

Crisis Magazine has issued a fascinating study on the vitality of Catholic dioceses in the USA:

The State of the Catholic Church in America Diocese by Diocese (contains a .pdf file)

I have a new entry up at Per Christum called Biblical Criticism and This Catholic.

I’ve added a couple new blogs to the blogroll. Both are former Protestants who are becoming Catholic. Check them out:

Meandering Home (Kacy)

Paleocrat_etc (Jeremiah)

Since Advent and the entire liturgical year in December tends to be overshadowed by Christmas, I wanted to mention a few ways to keep focused on the Church’s time. First, friend David Morrison has come up with some ideas in his article ‘Tis (Not Quite) the Season, but There’s Still Plenty to Celebrate. They are good suggestions to keep us focused on Church time and not secular time. Mind you, I’m not condemning putting up Christmas decorations in Advent or anything, just noting as Catholics and other liturgical Christians, that should be secondary to Advent. Finally, ChurchYear.Net has some good suggestions in the All About Advent Page, which includes a part on the lighting of the Advent wreath.

Although the situation may seem bad sometimes for the Catholic Church, including internal dissent and external attacks, Catholicism is actually thriving and flourishing. You just have to know where to look. Friend and blogger Dave Hartline demonstrates this in his new book The Tide is Turning Towards Catholicism.

Hartline notes many signs of Catholic vitality in the 21st century, including an increase in vocations, non-traditional media to get out the message, and the increased interest in Mary among Christian denominations. The secular media, of course, won’t bring you the positive or spiritual developments, but Hartline delivers them in his book.

In addition, those of us at the Ancient and Future Podcast have interviewed Dave about his upcoming book. Yes, we are still podcasting, although not as much as we should be! The interview with Dave was great; to hear the podcast, go here. Also, to read some reviews and to pre-order Dave’s new book, visit this page.

Today, I had the incredible opportunity for a semi-private audience with Fr. Richard John Neuhaus. He gave a great speech on the sanctity of life and fielded questions. He is incredibly articulate and a fine promoter of Catholic orthodoxy.

This week, once again, I had the pleasure of taking students to Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana. Like I mentioned on my blog post last year (see September 2005 in the archives), I was incredibly struck by how "Catholic" this place truly is. Sure, it may not always live up to the ideal of Catholic identity, but I can’t think of any school, or place really, that tries so hard.

I visited several places that I especially wanted to single out. First, there is the Grotto, which is a replica of the one at Lourdes, France. It also includes a rock from Lourdes. This is especially beautiful at night and I enjoyed going there a lot. Second, I had a chance to visit Moreau seminary (for the Priests of Holy Cross) and talk to some really gifted seminarians. Interestingly, they mentioned they are trying to bring back the habit! Cool. They also brought out a section of Holy Cross founder Ven. Basil Moreau’s finger bone to look at (he will be beatified next summer). Finally, there is the Basilica of the Sacred Heart which is stunningly beautiful and has an incredible relics collection. Also, there are little spots around campus, like statues and monuments, that show great Catholic influence.

Last year, visiting Notre Dame made me want to go back to school for the PhD. This year, the sentiment was entirely different (for one, I’m not so sure I want to get back into an academic religion department for my sanity). I simply felt proud and grateful to be Catholic and to have the opportunity to experience this place, especially the Catholic heritage and identity of which I am now a part.

I found this video to be a great response…and I actually like the song.

Hat tip: Carmel who got it via Antonia.

This is more of a philosophical point than a theological one. However, I think that moral relativism is the overriding philosophy among a large number of Westerners, especially youth…even if they don’t articulate it. I also think it leads to a general breakdown in values and morality. Any thoughts?

Also, I found a quote against moral relativism that I liked. It’s by Bhikku Bhodi, a Buddhist monk. Here goes:

By assigning value and spiritual ideals to private subjectivity, the
materialistic world view, threatens to undermine any secure objective
foundation for morality. The result is the widespread moral
degeneration that we witness today. To counter this tendency, mere
moral exhortation is insufficient…Religion must affirm, in the clearest terms, that morality and ethical
values are not mere decorative frills of personal opinion, not
subjective superstructure, but intrinsic laws of the cosmos built into
the heart of reality.” (source: Wikipedia)

I know this guy is not Catholic or even Christian but I think his statement could be affirmed by Catholics. Once again, any thoughts?

I’ve recently found a couple of great new (at least for me) blogs (via Enbrethiliel and the Curt Jester, respectively):

Chesterteens- a group of teens who love Chesterton and post about him. How cool is that? Ok, my geekiness is showing now.

Standing On My Head- a blog by former Anglican priest, now Catholic pursuing ordination under the pastoral provision (what a long descriptor!), Dwight Longenecker. He’s just started to blog, but his insights should be great.

Check them both out!

This was given to me by my priest yesterday. I find it to be very helpful and wanted to share it:

My God, I believe most firmly that Thou watchest over all who hope in
Thee,
and that we can want for nothing when we rely upon Thee in all
things;
therefore I am resolved for the future to have no anxieties,
and to cast all my cares upon Thee.

Finally, I know that my confidence cannot exceed Thy bounty,
and that I shall never receive less than I have hoped for from Thee.
Therefore I hope that Thou wilt sustain me against my evil
inclinations;
that Thou wilt protect me against the most furious
assults of the evil one,
and that Thou wilt cause my weakness to
triumph over my most powerful enemies.
I hope that Thou wilt never
cease to love me,
and that I shall love Thee unceasingly.
"In Thee, O
Lord, have I hoped; let me never be confounded."

St. Claude de la Columbiere

Photo by Jonthan Bennett
Source

Al Kimel at Pontifications has posted some excellent thoughts on justification entitled The Grand Question. I must confess that I don’t really get into or even always understand (or care to) the justification debates. Perhaps, it’s because my Protestant denominational homes before I was Catholic were Methodist and Anglican, where, at least, practically, there are other more important issues and emphases. It also may be that my largest faith influence was the early Church Fathers, who don’t really touch on the issue in much depth. So, it’s always nice to read thoughtful articles like Al Kimel’s where I learn something. Also, Kendall Harmon has posted this article on his blog, Titusonenine and the responses to it are worth checking out. I think it reveals that Anglicanism (and, I think this can be said of Protestantism as a whole) has more "perspectives" on justification than a single perspective, including everything from Calvinist to Catholic.