A Treasure To Be Shared

The New Israel In Catholic theology, “the New Israel” primarily means the Church—the people of the new covenant established by Jesus Christ—understood in continuity with God’s covenant with Israel. The New Covenant The Church is “New Israel” because the new covenant promised by God is fulfilled in Christ: Israel’s election is not erased, but the covenant reaches its definitive form in Jesus. The Pontifical Biblical Commission explains that: “(t)he New Testament takes for granted that the election of Israel… is irrevocable… [and] God has also offered to Israel a ‘new covenant’… established through the blood of Jesus.” It then states that the Church is composed of those who accept this new covenant and of others who “have joined them,” while insisting “(f)ar from being a substitution for Israel, [the Church] is in solidarity with it.” So, “New Israel” does not mean Israel is replaced; it means the covenant people reach their fulfillment in Christ, and the Church participates in that stor...

Excerpt from Architects of Communion  Guide for Parish Development The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter files.ecatholic.com/3059/documents/2016/6/160531_Guide_to_Parish_Development.pdf?t=1465586849000 Introduction "The clergy and faithful of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter are called to be architects of communion, simultaneously preserving the distinctiveness and integrity of their communities while demonstrating commitment to act in communion with the broader Church. One of the means to demonstrate a commitment to communion is through the careful development of Ordinariate parishes and parochial communities. "The parish has at its basis and center the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, from which all education in the Spirit originates and from which flows various works of charity, mutual help, missionary activity, and different forms of Christian witness. The organization of the Catholic Church known as its hierarchical constitution is understood as f...

Truth, beauty and goodness calling. Is anyone listening? To some, the title of this meditation might come across as a bit pretentious or condescending, but even yours truly, a simple Catholic layman, am not exempt from considering the preceding question. The situation seems somewhat obvious given growing evidence of God's movement drawing people into communion, and yet some (many?) seem deaf to what's happening. If repetition is any indication, then the amount of information - not heterodox thinking, mind you - presented in and through diverse forums heralding truth, goodness and beauty, might be worth taking seriously. There are internet forums wherein self-proclaimed progressive prophets cuddle or where hyper-ultra-trads huddle, but schism-adjacent and alter-magisterium forums aren’t the focus here. Griping and scheming and doing little or nothing but complain that the Church or the Liturgy is not fashioned in our own traddy or faddy image is a waste of time and effort. Rathe...

Loose Canon Our Protestant brothers and sisters—Evangelical, Pentecostal, Baptist, Methodist, etc.—follow the shorter Old Testament, so they have a 66-book Bible. Because Martin Luther disagreed with certain accepted apostolic teachings found in specific writings, he placed four New Testament books in an appendix, denying that they were divinely inspired: the E pistle to the Hebrews, the Epistle of James  (which Luther referred to as "an epistle of straw", the Epistle of Jude, and the Revelation of John.  Even though Luther tried to remove said books from the canon, both Catholics and modern Protestants share the same collection of New Testament books. There are Protestant writers who insist the early Church relied solely on Saint Jerome's list of canonical books and attributed to him the principle that only books written in Hebrew were to be admitted into the official Canon of Holy Scripture. That is a half-truth. Saint Jerome initially had doubts about the deuterocanoni...

Cain Slays Abel Is your workplace beset with individuals who take offence at matters that trigger them and them alone and who then proceed to torture others? Do you view the world through the lens of your wounds and feel justified in cursing others with false accusations simply because you need to feel powerful and in total control? Do you inflict as much or even more harm on others than you yourself have endured? Do you attempt to control circumstances—work, play, church—because you lack the ability to interact in mutually affirming ways? Do you lack a sense of humour, and so playful banter becomes a threat? Do you feel inadequate and looked down upon, though there is no condescension on the part of others? Do you use religion or politics as a means to insulate yourself from confronting your own foibles? Do you persist in projecting your anger onto others and attempt to blame others for making your life miserable? An exasperated acquaintance recently shared workplace tensions. He ...

During the process of following up on an article at CNA concerning the petition calling for the removal of Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, this blogger happened to land at a parish attended by one of the signers. The homepage of the Parish of St. Lambertus in Mettmann has the following text header: In unserer Gemeinde ist jede und jeder herzlich willkommen, egal woher er/sie kommt, was er/sie fühlt und wie und wen er/sie liebt. Jede/r wird in dieser Haltung wertgeschätzt und angenommen. Gottes Liebe macht vor Niemandem Halt. Everyone is warmly welcome in our congregation, regardless of where he/she comes from, what he/she feels, or how and whom he/she loves. Everyone is valued and accepted in this spirit. God's Love Stops for No One. It would seem the designer of the introduction felt the need to shout the last phrase. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/264571/petition-to-pope-leo-xiv-to-remove-german-cardinal-gains-over-60k-signatures So, curious to determine the exact ideologi...

[ 7 minute read ] We are faced with a profound decision, one that could make for ultimate joy or everlasting sorrow. Jesus through His Church provides us with the power to hope as we confront the truth of existence and eternity. Many, of course, do not believe in an afterlife, or they wax poetic in ignorance or hold to some kind of universalist fantasy that all people, regardless of religion or creed or lack thereof, will be welcomed into a blissful post-death experience. Others are resigned to the possibility of oblivion. Others simply do not care about the subject and carry on with their material pursuits that afford them fleeting confidence in this life. In the last category, there are those who consider themselves atheists. We can choose life, or we can choose death. Some say that life is a mix of things and protest in defence of (their) greyness. Only a simpleton would deny that life has its ups and downs, but those ups and downs should not prevent us from choosing the good and av...

1. Natasha Carter [X/Twitter]: Can anyone pinpoint the exact moment when the world started to go to s**t? Dr. Edward Feser [X/Twitter]: Not one moment but a progressive slide down deeper into the sewer that has accelerated at key moments and is still going on: Ockham → Luther → Descartes and Co. → “Enlightenment” → French Revolution → Communism and Fascism → Sexual Revolution → YOU ARE HERE 2. Elise Ann Allen, Crux As his Asian trip – the longest of his pontificate – comes to a close, Pope Francis asked young people a series of questions about what youth do, eliciting answers such as “proclaim Christ,” “proclaim the Word of God” and “love.”  Then, in an entirely off-the-cuff speech, Francis told them to also never forget to “wreak havoc, make a mess.”  He applauded the high number of youths in the country and said, “I will never forget your smile.  Don’t stop smiling.” Comment . One could be forgiven for sighing heavily at the words "wreak havoc, make a mess."  Bad a...

Desolation | Gilbert ATTBS No, not a Marxist revolution. Pope Saint John Paul II, in the words of George Weigel, "ignite(d) a revolution of conscience, which preceded and made possible (a) nonviolent political revolution." [1] If we, Catholics and people of goodwill, are to alter the present course of society and culture in the West away from desolation, and bring about a restoration of common sense, decency and respect for life in all its stages, we must forge a social movement that sabotages the status quo propped up by neo-Marxists who care only about power and its use to coerce people into conformity with a many-headed Hydra of diabolical programs that feed on chaos. Having seen what was coming. Where are we now? Archbishop Emeritus Charles Chaput, OFM Cap., speaking to his own country in a way that also diagnoses the general malice spread throughout the world, states that (o)ur current political reality boils down to “narcolepsy for the masses”: narcolepsy as policy and ...

  The Church established by Jesus Christ is a church with synods, but not a synodal church as some might imagine or attempt to impose. The Church is not nor has she ever been a democracy nor a mere social club. Can. 342 The synod of bishops is a group of bishops who have been chosen from different regions of the world and meet together at fixed times to foster closer unity between the Roman Pontiff and bishops, to assist the Roman Pontiff with their counsel in the preservation and growth of faith and morals and in the observance and strengthening of ecclesiastical discipline, and to consider questions pertaining to the activity of the Church in the world. A synod is subject to the supreme authority of the Roman Pontiff (Can. 344).  To confine the Church to man's socio-political constructs is to attempt to undermine the authority of Jesus Christ, an authority which He, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, extends to the bishops of His Church. We hope that the bishops are u...

G'AIP24MARCH2024 Purification of the Church Basilica tacet; fremuerunt gentes; gladius caeli findit caelum et descendit ignis sanctus. Angelorum multitudo; templum repetiit. The basilica is silent; the nations rage; a sword of heaven cleaves the sky and a holy fire descends. A multitude of angels: the temple reclaimed.

20 phrases a faithful Catholic would never say - except perhaps in jest (or to expose a glaring contradiction or evil). Mother Teresa has nothing on me. I'm so proud of my humility. I don't understand why others are so reluctant to recognize me as a prophetic voice in the Church. Chastity is so passé. I'm all for the prosperity gospel. It doesn't matter how many sexual partners you have just as long as you love yourself. Marriage is a prison invented by the patriarchy. Jesus was just a nice guy. (A common diminishment of the Lord's identity.) I don't get why the bread and wine at Mass is so important. After all, it's just bread and wine. (contra the Real Presence ) Love is love. (A popular meaningless trope used by those attempting to justify sinful behaviour.) Our Father/Mother in heaven, holy is your Name. We baptize you in the Name of the Creator, the Redeemer and the Sanctifier. "(T)he Virgin Mary and St. Joseph had the relationship of a normal coup...