Pontifex Maximus: The Face of Jesus Christ

Monday, January 6, 2020

Summa Sermon Notes 4

Here are the Summa references for the EF 2nd - 6th Sundays after Epiphany.

2nd Sunday after Epiphany

EPISTLE (Romans 12:6-16)

"Having different gifts according to the grace that is given us"

How fullness of grace in Christ as head, is differently given to the members II-II Q.183, a.2.

Grace freely given I-II Q.111, a.1; a.4; a.5.

"Either prophecy"

Prophecy II-II Q.171; Q.172; Q.173; Q.174.

Can a prophecy be natural? II-II Q.172, a.1

"In honor preventing one another"

Is honor not properly due superiors? II-II Q.103, a.2

"Rejoicing in hope"

Is joy a result of hope and not of charity II-II Q.28, a.1

"Bless them that persecute you"

Must one out of charity show his enemy signs of affection? II-II Q.25, a.9

Must we pray for our enemies? II-II Q.83, a.8

"And curse not"

Is it ever permissible to curse? II-II Q.76, a.1

GOSPEL (John 2:1-11)

"There was a marriage in Cana"

The sacrament of Matrimony Suppl. Q.41

Does Matrimony confer grace? Suppl. Q.41, a.3

Is matrimonial act licit? Suppl. Q.41, a.3

Is matrimonial act meritorious? Q.41, a.4

Is virginity nobler than Matrimony? II-II Q.152, a.4

The goods of Matrimony Suppl. Q.49

"The Mother of Jesus said to Him"

Can a virgin be called the Mother of Christ? III Q.35, a.3; a.4.

"My hour is not yet come"

When did Christ begin His miracles? III Q.43, a.3

"Jesus saith to them, 'Fill the water pots with water'"

The miracles of Christ III Q.43

"Every man at first setteth forth good wine"

Why did the chief steward call the water made wine, good wine? III Q.44, a.3, ad.2

"This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee"

Was this the first of His miracles? III Q.43, a.3; Q.36, a.4, ad.3.

The Mafia, the Vatican, and Australia

Cardinal Pell & The Mafia

The American Conservative

Rob Dreher

JUNE 6, 2019

I hear great news out of Australia, where Cardinal George Pell’s appeal on his child abuse conviction was heard by a court tribunal today. Daily Telegraph journalist Miranda Devine writes that the government’s cast collapsed. Her column is behind a paywall, but here is an excerpt:

"Cardinal George Pell and his supporters were relieved that his appeal of his child sexual assault conviction was live-streamed on Wednesday.

"The intense seven-hour courtroom argument was the first time the public has heard first-hand the flimsiness of the evidence against him.

"Three judges of the Victorian Appeals Court are reviewing the jury’s verdict in which Cardinal Pell was convicted of sexually assaulting two choir boys after Sunday Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne in December 1996. One of the boys has since died and told his mother he never was molested.

"So that leaves the conviction to be based on the word of one man against Cardinal Pell’s, with no corroborating evidence, no forensic evidence, no witnesses, and against a mountain of contrary evidence which showed that the allegations were highly improbable, if not impossible.

"The jury verdict has troubled legal experts and lay people around the world ever since. The evidence seen so far leads to the conclusion that an innocent man was jailed to atone for the sins of others in a church plagued by sexual abuse scandals."

From what I’m told, the state’s case was routed, though we won’t know the verdict for months. Meanwhile, Cardinal Pell remains jailed in Melbourne.

In 2014, Pell was given by Pope Francis responsibility for cleaning up the infamously corrupt Vatican Bank. When that news broke, I thought, “They’ll find some way to take him out. They won’t let him do it.” When the child abuse charges were brought against Pell in 2017, I thought, “So that’s how they did it.” But I didn’t go further, because how would I prove that Pell was set up? It was just a hunch.

When I was in Australia last month, I found myself in a conversation one evening with someone about all this. (I had a lot of Pell conversations, as you might imagine.) I shared with my interlocutor my suspicion that Pell was set up to take him off the Vatican Bank case. The man across the table said, “That’s interesting. You may not know it, but the ‘Ndrangheta is quite well established in Australia, especially in Victoria. That’s where the cardinal was charged.”

The ‘Ndrangheta is the Calabrian mafia, and yes, they are well established in Australia. They control organized crime on Australia’s East Coast, and are said to have infiltrated every part of the Australian establishment. With that in mind, here’s an interesting bit of news, from the Irish Times, Nov. 16, 2013:

Senior Calabrian Mafia investigator Nicola Gratteri, whose investigative zeal has forced him to live with police protection since 1989, has said the pope’s plans to reform Vatican structures, including the Vatican bank, the IOR, could prove a problem for the ’Ndrangheta, Italy’s most powerful Mafia.

He said that while Pope John Paul II called on the “military” mafiosi to “repent” in 1993, Pope Francis has gone further, perhaps hitting the ’Ndrangheta where it hurts.

“He has named his G8 [council of cardinals] to overhaul the entire structure of the Vatican, including a review of the Vatican’s economic affairs and in particular, the IOR,” Gratteri says.

“For those with real economic power it is obvious this could be a huge disadvantage . . . Given that in the past we’ve had collusion at the highest level between church and Mafia, this exposes the pope.”

Months after this report, Cardinal George Pell was named by Francis to reform the IOR. In 2014, Pell said his team found nearly two billion euros hidden away in various Vatican accounts, off the balance sheets. In November 2015, with the Pope’s approval, Pell issued new guidelines for running all Vatican offices, to bring them up to international standards for financial transparency.

In April 2016, without consulting Pell, the Vatican Secretary of State suspends an external audit of Vatican finances. The National Catholic Register quotes an unnamed source as saying that officials are afraid of what the audit will find, and want to get rid of Pell. A year later, Pell was charged in Melbourne with sexual abuse. And that was the end of the Pell threat to the Vatican Bank insiders.

This mafia thing, it could all be a coincidence, and in any case, there are other factors in play in the persecution of George Pell, who was widely hated by Australian anti-clericalists. But it’s curious all the same. George Pell was the No. 1 enemy of the ‘Ndrangheta in the Vatican, and he showed early on in his tenure, when he uncovered all the hidden euros, that he meant business. Now George Pell sits in solitary confinement in a prison cell in Melbourne, convicted on pathetically shabby charges. The old guard in the Vatican won. The world is as it always was.

UPDATE: I have been told by someone very much in a position to know that the current head of the Vatican Bank is from Calabria. For what it’s worth…

Cardinal Pell’s Christmas in Prison
National Catholic Register
Edward Pentin
December 19, 2019

Sources tell the Register that the cardinal, whose appeal of his conviction for sexual abuse is now being considered by Australia’s High Court, is enduring difficult conditions in solitary confinement.

VATICAN CITY — Cardinal George Pell may be allowed to receive Holy Communion in his prison cell on Christmas Day but he will still not be permitted to celebrate Mass, sources close to the cardinal have told the Register this week.

Since the cardinal was jailed and placed in solitary confinement in February, the Melbourne Assessment Prison where he is imprisoned has forbidden the former prefect for the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy from celebrating Mass.

It remains unclear if he has been able to regularly receive Holy Communion, although one source said he has been able to do so, “but not necessarily on Sundays.” The cardinal remains “a very much hated figure here which is why it’s out of the question for him to celebrate Mass,” the source said.

The cardinal is reportedly allowed one official visitor per week and a source close to the cardinal who prefers not to be named told the Register he is receiving “great support” from a religious sister, while another source, a friend of the cardinal, said “his cell is tiny and he is only allowed five books.”

The friend, who said the cardinal has been receiving thousands of letters and Christmas cards of support which he tries to reply to, told the Register that some supporters hope to go caroling outside his cell on Christmas Eve.

Cardinal Pell is serving a six-year jail sentence after being convicted last December on five charges of sexually abusing two choir boys as archbishop of Melbourne after Sunday Mass in the city’s St. Patrick’s cathedral in 1996 and 1997.

The second alleged victim died of a heroin overdose in 2014, and had denied on several occasions that Cardinal Pell had abused him. The surviving complainant, whose uncorroborated testimony was solely relied on by the jury that convicted the cardinal, has yet to be publicly identified but, according to a number of sources who have followed the case closely, is believed to have also suffered from drug addiction.

The Australian court forbade Cardinal Pell’s defense team from being able to question the credibility of the complainant who, according to appeal judge Mark Weinberg, changed his story “multiple times.”

The cardinal has always vigorously protested his innocence and last month two High Court judges referred the cardinal’s application for special leave to appeal to a full bench of the High Court’s justices.

The cardinal’s lawyers had successfully argued that a lower appellate court had made mistakes in its decision in August to uphold his conviction — a decision not supported by dissenting judge Weinberg. The High Court hearing is expected to take place in March or April next year.

Growing Doubts
Meanwhile, a chorus of public opinion that seriously doubts Cardinal Pell’s conviction appears to be growing. Journalist Keith Windschuttle has carried out research showing it was impossible given the complainant’s timeline, while further evidence has emerged in support of the cardinal, including two women who worked at the cathedral and told CNA last month that they believed the allegations were “impossible.” Neither was invited to give evidence at the trials.

Others, too, have been coming to the cardinal’s defense.

“I’m not a Catholic. I abhor paedophilia. I’m not particularly enamoured of George Pell,” wrote a pseudonymous commentator Lushington Brady in The BFD, a leading New Zealand newspaper, on Dec. 13. “Yet, I can’t escape the uneasy feeling that the most egregious miscarriage of justice in Australia since the Chamberlains has been perpetrated in Pell’s case.”

Brady, who was referring to the case of Lindy Chamberlain, a New Zealand-born mother wrongfully jailed in Australia in 1980 for the murder of her baby, added that “legal experts on all sides are openly aghast at what they see as a blatant travesty of justice.”

Retired non-Catholic barrister Anthony Charles Smith wrote Nov. 16 that he was “very troubled” by the case whose lack of evidence “curdles my stomach.” He added that the allegations against the cardinal would have been given “short shrift by competent, experienced crown prosecutors” in the 1980s and 1990s.

And like former Labor minister Peter Baldwin, Smith compared the case with Carl Beech who was recently jailed for eight years for making uncorroborated accusations against prominent British figures, but not before reputations had been ruined.

Smith said that given the circumstances, Cardinal Pell “had little prospect of getting a fair trial before a jury,” and he added he had “never seen a clearer illustration of pre-judgment than was there demonstrated.”

Mob Mentality?
These critical voices follow Greg Barns, a left-wing activist-lawyer, who wrote back in March that the Cardinal Pell case was characterized by “frightening ignorance” of Australia’s legal system, “triumphalism” on the part of some media who have pursued Cardinal Pell for years, and a “lynch mob” clamoring for the “cardinal’s blood,” which Barns called “truly frightening.”

Such a mob mentality was visible again earlier this month when former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott was vilified by the premier of Victoria state, Daniel Andrew, for visiting the cardinal in jail. “Shameful, absolutely shameful,” said Andrews, a Catholic, adding that Abbott should apologize. News of the visit was leaked to the press by one of the prison guards.

The growing perception of injustice led one of the cardinal’s friends to comment: “Is it possible to now start crying out from the housetops, ‘Free Cardinal Pell!’?”

Questions about a prejudicial justice system in Victoria connected to internal corruption are now emerging that may help to answer a few imponderables about how the cardinal could have been jailed on a paucity of evidence.

An email exchange published last week shows that in 2014 members of the Victoria’s police department sought to use accusations against Cardinal Pell to distract from a scandal affecting the department.

The scandal involved criminal defense lawyer Nicola Gobbo who was recruited by Victoria police to be an informant against members of the Ndrangheta Calabrian crime syndicate whom she was representing.

Connections between the mafia in Italy and Australia have a relatively long history dating back to the 1950s and continue today.

Free Cardinal Pell!

Make Mr. McCarrick talk!

Friday, January 3, 2020

Jesus Christ versus Karl Marx versus Mohammad

Bishop Gavin Ashenden, previous chaplain to the Queen,

resigns and converts to Catholicism.

I stand for the love of Jesus and freedom of speech.

"Don't delay. Come now. We need you."

"The Church of Rome will Survive."

We are in a culture war. The enemy is cultural Marxism which is commonly understood as political correctness which is actively dismantling the Judeo-Christian culture.

It's wrong to identify people by their sexual preferences.

The tyranny of relativism ideology forbids dissent.

Jules Gomes

Defense of Nationalism over Globalism

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Pope Francis Chides Cardinal for Biretta

(Originally published by Plinthos on December 31, 2019, 2:40 PM)

As he walked among the crowd around the Nativity Scene in Saint Peter's Square after Vespers today, Roman time, two hours ago, the Holy Father stopped before a couple of Church prelates who came alongside His Holiness within the crowd barricades as the Pontiff turned the bend to the front of the creche. One was a cardinal, red biretta in hand, and corresponding zucchetto on his head. The Holy Father turned to the other prelate, apparently a bishop, who had the scarlet zucchetto on his head, and the conversation turned to the episcopal use of the biretta. The Holy Father sarcastically remarked to the bishop without the birretta, as an aside within the hearing of the attending cardinal, that perhaps his should be scarlet, to which the prelate replied that he has never used a birretta. Then the Pope turned disdainfully to the cardinal with the birretta and had a few short words with him about the use of it. The Pontiff, making some remarks, gestured to his own head and then to the cardinal, abruptly turned around, and walked away, frowning, in obvious disgust over the clerical hat. These are a couple of screen shots from the event. In the picture below notice the inverted masonic star over the presepio.

Pope Francis exit.

Pope Francis says that "rigidity" means a man is crazy. In this context it would mean that a priest who is obedient to the Church's canonical discipline of clerical attire is crazy. It is perplexing for a Pope to demonize fidelity! He himself always wears the cassock of his clerical state and the corresponding zucchetto and blindly follows a thousand other traditions and clerical disciplines, "rigidly." But his rhetoric and some of his actions give the impression that the customs, traditions and canonical disciplines of the Church are not important. How is one to follow that? To follow that is to follow the wind wherever it might blow, or to follow whatever is politically convenient. Shall we call it, in Viganò fashion, "The McCarrick Policy." What is more, the "anti-rigid" stance is itself, ironically, rigid. It is a great source of tyrannical control in the world. In the name of tolerance they force you into tolerance, even of what is intolerable! The "tolerance" police are the most intolerant of all.

Yes, one might agree that the proper outdoor Roman hat for a Catholic prelate, especially in winter, is not the biretta but rather the clerical saturno, with cords according to the clerical rank. God grant that all of the faithful Catholic clergy wear their proper cassock and saturno for the reform of the Catholic clergy and hierarchy! for the sake of tolerance and flexibility!

Go to 1:30:20 - 1:31:36

At 1:30:20 you can see the cardinal wearing the biretta at the bottom right corner of the screen. He takes it off at the approach of His Holiness, who then chides him for having worn it.

The Cassock Fine: Clergy Reform 101

Pope Francis' Call for Absolute Change: "Processes!"

Inverted Pentagram Nativity Star at Vatican

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

16 Ways to Become a Better Man in the New Year

1. Get a Real Alarm Clock
The first thing you do in the morning and the last thing you do at night serve as the bookends of your day, setting a limit on what they’ll be able to “hold,” and sending a potent signal to yourself as to what you think is most important. If the first and final thing you do every day is look at your phone, you’re creating a shallow, distracted foundation for what lies in between. So keep your phone out of your room at night, use a regular “old school” alarm clock to wake up in the morning, and don’t touch your phone when you rise until after you’ve done something (prayer, meditation, push-ups) that represents the man you’re going to be that day.

2. Read One Book Every Week
The average book takes about five to seven hours to read. That means if you read just one hour a day or less, you can read one book every single week of the year. Everyone’s got an hour a day to re-purpose for reading: cut out one hour of Netflix at night; read a half hour at lunch and a half hour in the evening; read during your subway commute; read in the small snatches of spare moments that arise throughout your day. Can you imagine how much better of a man you’ll be at the end of the year when you’ve read 52 books?

3. Drink Nothing But Water
What a colossal waste of calories caloric beverages are. They simply don’t taste that great (especially if we’re talking about soda), and have little to no nutritional value. If you want a treat, at least consume something you can chew! Drinking nothing but water is the very easiest way to lose weight; people can often drop significant poundage and improve their all-around health profile just by making this move. You could do this while allowing for a drink (e.g. a glass of wine) with dinner.

4. Start a Strength Training Program
No matter if you’re currently sedentary, or do cardio, and nothing but cardio, you could benefit from adding resistance training to your life. Strength training improves your overall health, helps you lose weight, boosts your testosterone, and makes you feel more virile in general. Not sure where to start? Begin with a simple novice linear progression program or sign up for online coaching with a program like Barbell Logic (which is what I personally use and have had major success with).

5. Call Your Mom/Dad Once a Week

6. Give At Least One Compliment Every Day
People want to be noticed and needed; they crave affirmation and recognition almost as keenly as food and water. And you can fill this human need in less time than it takes to make Cup O’ Noodles. Train yourself to be more observant of how others excel in ways big and small, and call out these accomplishments in behavior, performance, talent, style, and character. Don’t forget to regularly compliment your own family too — who we ironically are the most likely to take for granted!

7. Host a Dinner Party Once a Quarter
According to the authors of Brunch Is Hell, dinner parties can serve as the very cornerstone of a healthy modern society. Why? Because they promote life-giving relationships and civil conversation. Throwing a dinner party offers numerous benefits to the individual host as well, including offering the chance to practice your cooking and social skills, adding the tang of anticipation to your life, and simply motivating you to finally clean up your house! So aim to throw one dinner party ever quarter this year; it’s both easier and more edifying than you think.

8. Take a Short Walk Every Day
There’s a reason philosophers from Aristotle to Nietzsche were committed walkers: taking a stroll clears the mind, helps you solve problems, and generates insights. According to explorer Erling Kagge, walking also slows down time and makes your life feel more memorable. And of course moving your body is good for your health. So take a short saunter every day, in every kind of weather.

9. Journal
Journaling is a way to cognitively and emotionally process all the stuff you’re going through. Writing requires you to think logically and linearly, which makes it particularly helpful for putting things like depression and anger into perspective. There’s no right way to journal though: Write about what happened that day; write about what you’re grateful for. Write spontaneously; write based off predetermined prompts (we’ve got two sets of these available here and here). Write a paragraph; write a single sentence.

10. Plan Your Weekends
We often think of planning only in terms of one’s workaday life (the scheduling of which can indeed be beneficial), whereas we feel that leisure time should be wholly spontaneous. But everyone’s life experience shows that good times typically don’t just happen; when left to chance, we end up surrendering our free time to inertia and don’t end up doing much at all. So take a page from Ernest Hemingway and intentionally plan out your weekends, always having an idea of a few fun things you’d like to do as you head into them. (If you’re married, we highly recommend doing this planning during your weekly marriage meeting.) You’ll have an easier time facing Monday, when you truly made the most of your Saturday/Sunday.

11. Turn Off Notifications on Your Phone
If you’re sick of being distracted by your phone, but haven’t yet turned off its notifications, then you haven’t begun to fight. As Indistractable author Nir Eyal told me in our podcast interview: “Two-thirds of people with a smartphone never change their notification settings. That’s ridiculous. Can we really complain about technology addicting us if we haven’t taken 10 minutes to change the notifications settings?”

12. Fast for 24 Hours Once a Month
Fasting does great things for one’s health, including normalizing insulin levels, promoting the secretion of human growth hormone, and spurring cell regeneration. It’s also a powerful way to train the soul, so that the spirit becomes stronger than the flesh. Research shows that fasting even once a month produces the aforementioned physical benefits, and anecdotal evidence suggests that a monthly fast is sufficient to incur robust spiritual benefits as well. Fridays are optimal for fasting, the day Christ died.

13. Exercise and/or Commute One Day a Week Without Music/Podcasts
It’s only in silence and solitude that we hear life’s most important “sounds” — our internal voice, creative inspiration, promptings towards a calling, solutions to dilemmas, things we need to do for or say to others. Yet we are usually so surrounded by noise that these critical messages never get through. To home in on these signals, carve out some weekly quiet time by exercising or commuting without music, podcasts, or any other human-created static. Say the Rosary.

14. Floss. For Real This Time.
Stave off gum disease. Make your dentist proud.

15. Start a New Hobby
In seeking to get control of our lives, we often try to cut out device-born distractions. This is good, but as digital minimalist Cal Newport points out, if you want to avoid being pulled back by their siren song, you can’t just empty your life of time-wasters — you have to fill it with worthy pursuits. That’s where hobbies come in; find an activity that’s just as compelling, and way more satisfying, than twiddling on your phone. Not sure which hobby to try your hand at? We have a list of 75 of them here.

16. Attend Church Each Week
Even if your beliefs are uncertain and your faith isn’t firm, attending a religious service each week can greatly improve your life and relationships in numerous ways; even if you’re not sure you believe in an immortal soul, church attendance can be good for it. It offers one of the easiest ways to make friends, an opportunity for reflection, and a discipline-building ritual. It improves mental and physical health and furnishes opportunities to do service. At the very least, it provides an all-too-rare chance to engage in some group singing.

Taken, with some light editing, from https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/16-ways-to-become-a-better-man-in-the-new-year/.

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Death is a Bastard!

Thus my reaction to the news of the death of a brother priest of my presbyterate, of whom I was very fond, but did not even know was ill. Our relationship, though fond, was not particularly close. We were one in the faith and in the love of Christ and of His Church, and we both knew it and enjoyed sharing that strongest of unifying bonds.

He was 73 years old, older than I would have suspected. I have known him for thirty years and hold him in the greatest esteem, a model priest in every way, a confessor of the faith and of the ministerial priesthood of Jesus Christ.

The purpose of the Incarnation of Our Blessed Lord, the Babe of Bethlehem, which we celebrate at this time, was, by His glorious redeeming Pasch, to destroy bastard death.

May The Reverend Father Stanley Kostrzomb, through the mercy of God, the Passion of Christ, and the Maternity of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, rest in peace, enjoying therein the glory of God in Christ with the same Virgin Mary and all the angels and saints. Requiescat in pace!

Monday, December 30, 2019

The Famous Conversion of Paul Claudel, Eighteen Years Old

"I had completely forgotten religion and had the ignorance of a savage regarding it. The first glimmer of truth was given me when I encountered the books of a great poet to whom I owe eternal gratitude, one who has had a major influence on my thought, Arthur Rimbaud. The reading of his Illuminations and, a few months later, A Season in Hell, was a major event for me. These books opened, for the first time, a crack in my materialist prison giving me a vivid impression, almost physical, of the supernatural. But my habitual state of suffocation and despair remained the same.

“Such was the unhappy adolescent who the twenty-fifth of December, 1886, took himself to Notre Dame there to follow the offices of Christmas. I was beginning then to write, and it seemed to me that in the Catholic ceremonies, considered as a higher form of dilettantism, I was finding of means of excitation which happened to be possessed by some decadent services and rites. It was in such a mood that, elbowed and pushed about by the crowd, I attended with only a moderate amount of pleasure the High Mass. Then, not having anything better to do I returned to Vespers. The choir boys in white robes, and the young men of the junior seminary of St Nicholas du Chardonnet, who accompanied them, were just about to sing that which I learned later to be the Magnificat. I was myself not sitting, but erect, standing by the second pillar at the entrance to the choir, at the right, on the sacristy side.—And it is then that was produced the event which dominates all my life. In an instant my heart was touched and I believed. I believed with such a clinging force, such a lifting up of my being, with so powerful a conviction, with such a certitude void of any kind of doubt, that since that time, not all the books, nor all the reasonings, nor all the vicissitudes of an agitated life, have been able to shake my faith, nor indeed to touch it. I had had all of a sudden a heart-rending sense of Innocence, of the eternal infancy of God, an unspeakable revelation.”

Saturday, December 28, 2019

The Singing Wise Men, "Sternsiger," Tradition

Every year, during the latter days of Christmas culminating on January 6, half a million young carol singers go door-to-door dressed as the Three Wise Men to bless the Catholic Christian households.
The "Star Singer" refers to three kings from the Orient - Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar - who saw a star announcing the birth of Jesus. According to the Scriptures, the Wise Men followed a star to bring gifts to the Baby Jesus in the manger at Bethlehem, gold, frankincense and myrrh.
In Catholic communities throughout the German speaking lands, the whole family works between Christmas and New Year preparing for the "Sternsinger" events. There's a lot to be done: cutting out wooden stars, making crowns and sewing robes for the kings. The singing groups have to rehearse a broad repertoire of carols.

After the carol singing, the carolers bless the house by writing the abbreviation "C+M+B," bracketed by the numbers of the year, in white chalk on the door, the Latin blessing "Christus mansionem benedicat." In English: "Christ bless this house."

These Three Wise Men, or Magi, are also a popular motif for the decoration of Christmas sweets and cakes.
At the end of each visit the "Sternsinger" collect a donation. In Germany alone, they take up around $50 million each year. The money is given to aid projects for children around the world.

Friday, December 27, 2019

The True Jew Circumcises His Heart

Thomas à Kempis

After, with chapter 1, condemning the pagan rejection of God and its attendant homosexuality--the distortion of nature derived from the betrayal of the Lord of nature--Saint Paul in his Letter to the Romans chapter 2 turns his attention to "the faithful."

Saint Paul there contrasts the infidelity and judgment of the non-believer with that of the believer and concludes that the believing "Jew" and the non-believer will both be judged, each according to his conduct before God, whether good or evil. The purpose of religion and ritual is holiness, to make men really like God, and not just externally but also internally, really: loving God with one's whole mind, heart, soul and strength.

Christ says it this way: "Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 7:21-23

This is Pope Francis' favorite preaching point, the purification, the "circumcision of heart" necessary for believers, and especially for those in sacris.

I would say that one of the first consequences of this is the need for mortification. Believers need to do penance, corporal penance, in order to purify their hearts, beginning with popes, bishops and priests. Fasting and alms-giving are essential to the Christian life. A Catholic who does not deny himself in many things for love of God is no disciple of Jesus Christ! He would be a hypocrite and a liar.

Self-denial for the sake of Christ is the theme of The Imitation of Christ, which should be, along with the New Testament, the constant meditation and daily exercise of all Catholic clergymen. The Roman Catholic clergyman should take delight in that in Latin, the official language of the Church, which, according to the present and long-standing discipline of the Church, he should know very well. Canon. 249

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Inverted Pentagram Nativity Star at Vatican

Screenshot from today's Urbi et Orbi
The Vatican videographer focused and stayed on
the inverted star,
but never showed the child Jesus, Mary or Joseph.

Merry Christmas! The masonic cursed star crowns the Vatican creche again, sixth year in a row, as far as I can tell.

Five years ago I noticed the ubiquitous Christmas star in Rome, a five pointed star, pentagram, with a tail. The five pointed star caught my attention because I know that Freemasonry uses that image in its rituals and on its propaganda. Pointing upright it is a Gnostic/Satanic image for "good-luck." Inverted, pointing downward, it is a Gnostic/Satanic curse, a wish for evil, "bad-luck." Noticing it again over the Saint Peter's Square presepio at the Vatican I ask whether it is deliberate. Perhaps someone has designed that inverted pentagram as a curse on the Christian Christmas in Rome, where Freemasonry is undoubtedly very strong these days, even in the Vatican. Note that a much more common traditional Christian star in Catholic iconography has eight points, not five, symbolizing the eighth day, Sunday, the Day of the Resurrection, the Lord's Day.

Question. Why use the redundant and iconographically ambiguous star when every other aspect of the presepe is constructed anew every year? I sense foul play! Please, for Pete's sake, get rid of the inverted pentagram. Surely talented artists can devise countless renditions of a star which do not correspond exactly to a Satanic curse.

The full-screen inverted pentagram is 7:10-7:33 minute.

Notice that the obelisk of Saint Peter's Square is also crowned by a star (actually two eliding stars), eight pointed each, with the top point being the Holy Cross.

https://onepeterfive.com/freemasons-love-pope-francis/

https://onepeterfive.com/freemasons-love-pope-francis-part-ii/

https://onepeterfive.com/freemasons-love-pope-francis-part-iii/

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Traditional Announcement of Christmas, Roman Martyrology

The Twenty-Fifth Day of December, in the 5199th year of the creation of the world, from the time when God in the beginning made out of nothing the heavens and the earth; the 2957th year after the flood; the 2015th year from the birth of Abraham; the 1510th year from Moses, and the going forth of the people of Israel from Egypt; the 1032nd year from the anointing of David King; in the 65th week according to the prophecy of Daniel; in the 194th Olympiad; the 752nd year from the foundation of the city of Rome; the 42nd year of the rule of Octavian Augustus, all the earth being at peace, in the sixth age of the world: Jesus Christ, the Eternal God, and the Son of the Eternal Father, willing to consecrate the world by His most merciful coming, being conceived by the Holy Spirit, nine months after His conception (here the voice is raised and all kneel) was born in Bethlehem of Judah of the Virgin Mary, being made man.

What follows is said in the ordinary voice, but in the tone of a Passion:

The Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the Flesh.

Ordinary Form

Monday, December 23, 2019

A Prayer of Forgiveness and Reparation

O Lord Jesus Christ,

Who revealed the infinite mercy of Your Sacred Heart in saying: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Mt 5:44) and again, “Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you” (Lk 6:28), I beseech you to give me the grace to obey these commandments of yours, and to persevere in praying daily for those who, in any way, have abused, cursed, hurt, or rejected me.

I pray for those who hate me, for those who resent me and for those who have spoken ill of me. I beg you to bless them abundantly and to pour into their hearts such a profusion of healing mercies that in them and around them love will triumph over hatred, friendship over resentment, sweetness over bitterness, meekness over anger, and peace over enmity. I further ask you to extend these graces to their families and to all whom they hold dear.

Today I pray in particular for N. I present him to Your Eucharistic Face, asking You to envelop him in Its healing radiance, dispelling whatever shadows of sin may have darkened his mind or hardened his heart in anger, hatred, or the refusal to forgive.

For my part, with deep sorrow I confess that I have sinned grievously against others, causing them pain and even endangering their souls. I pray you, O Merciful Jesus, to repair the evil I have done to others and to heal the hurt I have caused them.

In particular, I acknowledge my sins against N. imploring You to heal and repair the harm I have done him.

I ask you so to penetrate my heart with the charity of Your Pierced Heart that I will be able to forgive those who have offended me, to love them sincerely, and to desire for them all that will contribute to their true happiness in this life and in the next.

By means of a permanent intention, I desire to renew this prayer in every offering of Your Holy Sacrifice.

Let the light of Your Eucharistic Face shine in the hearts of all who harbor hatred or resentment toward me, to bring them healing and peace.

Let Your Precious Blood triumph over evil in those against whom I have sinned and in those who have sinned against me, so that, delivered from the shadows of this valley of tears, we may one day praise Your Mercy together in the sweetness of a boundless charity. Amen.

Silverstream

Summa Sermon Notes 3

Here are the Summa references for the EF Sunday Within Octave of Christmas, Circumcision, Epiphany, and Sunday within Octave of Epiphany.

Sunday Within Octave of Christmas
EPISTLE (Gal. 4:1-7)
"Serving under the elements of the world"
Was the Old Law a law of fear? I-II Q.107, a.1, ad.2; Q.91, a.5
"When the fullness of time was come"
Was Christ born at a suitable time? III Q.35, a.8
"God sent His Son"
The mission of the divine Person I Q.43
"Made of a woman"
Did Christ take His flesh from Mary? III Q.31, a.2; a.4
"From (of) a woman"
Was Mary a virgin in conceiving Christ? III Q. 28, a.1
The term "woman" explained III Q. 28, a.1, ad.3
"Made under the law"
Why Christ wished to assume the burden of the law III Q.37
Christ and the law III Q.40, a.4
"That we might receive the adoption of sons"
The adoption of the sons of God III Q.23
How God, out of His goodness, admits man to happiness III Q.13, a.1
Difference between:--
Adopted Son of God
Natural Son of God III Q.23, a.2
How one becomes through grace an adopted son of God III Q.23, a.3
On adoption--See Epistle, 8th Sunday after Pentecost
GOSPEL (Luke 2:33-40)
"This Child is set for the fall and for the resurrection of many"
Scandal II-II Q.43
Passive and active II-II Q.43, a.1, ad.4
"And thy own soul a sword shall pierce"
What is this sword which pierces Mary's soul? III Q.27, a.4, ad.2
"And there was one Anna a prophetess"
How the birth of Christ was revealed to Simeon and Anna III Q.36, a.3
The meaning of Simeon, who expected the redemption of Israel, finally knowing Christ, and the Magi who had not expected it so anxiously, knowing it before III Q.36, a.6, ad.1
"Departed from the temple"
Does prayer require a given place? II-II Q.84, a.3
Why we worship towards the east rather than the west II-II Q. 84, a.3, ad.3
"By Fasting"
Fasting II-II Q. 147
"And prayers"
Prayer II-II Q. 83
"Returned to their city Nazareth"
Why Nazareth is called the City of Christ; why He was born in Bethlehem and not Nazareth III, Q.35, a.7, ad.2
"Full of wisdom"
Was there ignorance in Christ? III Q.15, a.3

Circumcision
EPISTLE (Titus 2:11-15)
"The grace of God our Savior hat appeared to all men"
The manifestation of the born Christ III Q.36
How the grace of our Savior reached those to whom His birth was not made known III Q.36, a.1, ad.2
"Denying ungodliness"
Infidelity II-II Q.10
"We should live soberly"
Temperance II-II Q.141
"And justly"
Justice II-II Q.58
"And godly in this world
Religion II-II Q.81
"Who gave Himself for us"
How Christ was the cause of His own passion and death III Q.47, a.1
"That He might redeem us from all iniquity"
Were we freed from sin by Christ's passion? III Q.49, a.1
Were we freed from punishment of sin by Christ's passion III Q.49, a.3
"And might cleanse to Himself a people acceptable"
Whether by Christ's passion we were reconciled to God III Q.40, a.4
GOSPEL (Luke 2:21)
"After eight days were accomplished"
Why the circumcision was delayed to the eighth day III Q.70, a.3, ad.3.
"That the Child should be circumcised"
Whether circumcision was conveniently instituted III Q.70, a.3
Did it confer sanctifying grace? III Q.70, a.3
The efficacy of the sacraments III Q.62
"The child"
Why should Christ wish to be circumcised, when He had not contracted original sin? III Q.37, a.1
Since Christ by His circumcision merited eternal salvation for us, why should He wish to die on the cross III Q.48, a.1, ad.2; Q.47, a.1; Q.37, a.1, ad.3
Is circumcision now permissible? I-II Q.103, a.4
"His name was called Jesus"
Was that name conveniently given to Christ? III Q.37, a.2
The names of God I Q.13
Whether salvation other than by Christ is possible II-II Q.2, a.7; III, Q.68, a.1; III Q.46, a.1; a.2; a.3.

Epiphany
EPISTLE (Isaiah 60:1-6)
"Arise, be enlightened"
Whether, without grace, man can know truth I-II Q.109, a.1
Did man, in state of innocence, have all knowledge? I Q.94, a.3
Did children born in state of innocence have perfect knowledge and use of reason? I Q.101, a.1; a.2
Did ignorance stem from sin? I-II Q.85, a.3
"For Thy light is come"
How Christ is Head of the Church III Q.8, a.6
How Christ's grace is in members of the Church III Q.8, a.6
How is Christ the light and salvation of people to whom He never preached? III Q.42, a.1, ad.1
"The strength of the Gentiles will come to thee"
Whether Christ's mission was to save the Gentiles III Q.36, a.3, ad.3; Q.42, a.1; Q.46, a.4
The conversion of the Gentiles III Q.55, a.6, ad.3; II-II Q.176, a.1, ad.3
GOSPEL (Matthew 2:1-12)
"When Jesus was born in Bethlehem"
Why Christ wished Bethlehem as His birthplace III Q.7; Q.46, a.10
"Behold there came wise men"
What kind of people were the wise men? III Q.36, a.3, ad.2
"From the east"
Where did they come from? III Q.36, a.3, ad.3; ad.4; ad.6
"To Jerusalem"
Why the star did not lead the wise men to Bethlehem, Christ's birthplace III Q.36, a.8, ad.3
"Saying where is He that is born"
Why the wise men did not fear announcing the birth of Christ, with other rulers of the Jews alive III Q.36, a.8, ad.2
Why a new star appeared at Christ's birth III Q.44, a.2, ad.3
"We have seen His star"
Which star appeared to the Magi? III Q.36, a.7
Was it created at the beginning as one of the stars? III Q.36, a.7
Was this star a comet? III Q.36, a.7, ad.3
When did the star appear to the Magi? III Q.36, a.6, ad.3
"His" (Star)
Was this star a sure sign of the nativity of Christ? III Q.36, a.5, ad.3
"In the east"
Did the star appear more to those in the east than in Judea? III Q.36, a.7
Since not only in the east but also in the west people are saved through Christ, why did this star appear in the east only? III Q.36, a.3, ad.3
"And are come to adore Him"
Whether it was proper for the wise men to come and adore Christ III Q.36, a.8
When after Christ's birth did they come? III Q.36, a.6, ad.3
Why Herod and Jerusalem were disturbed III Q.36, a.2, ad.3
"And the star went before them until it came," etc.
Why did the star manifest a residence different from that where Christ was born: III Q.36, a.1
"They adored Him"
The adoration of Christ III Q.25
"They offered Him gifts, gold," etc.
Did they confess by these gift any royal dignity or rather that Christ was truly God? III Q.36, a.8, ad.3

Sunday within Octave of Epiphany
EPISTLE (Romans 12:1-5)
"That you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy"
Whether corporeal works, continence, martyrdom are a sacrifice II-II Q.85, a.3, ad.2
On parts of temperance II-II Q.143
"That you may prove what is the good will of God"
Is it lawful to doubt if God's will is good II-II Q.127, a.2, ad.2
"Not to be more wise than it behooveth"
Sobriety and contemplation of wisdom II-II Q.148, a.1, c.
On humility and bride II-II Q.161; Q.162
"And according as God hath divided to every one the measure of faith"
Is faith infused in man by God? II-II Q.6, a.1
Is faith found more in one than another? II-II Q.5, a.4
"For as in one body we have many members"
Since the intellectual soul is one form, why is it composed of different parts? I Q.76, a.5, ad.3
"So we, being many, are one body in Christ"
Should there be different offices and states in the church? II-II Q.183, a.2
GOSPEL (Luke 2:42-52)
"according to the custom of the feast"
Various solemnities of the Old Law, their institution, significance I-II Q.102, a.4, ad.10
Which feasts of the New Testament followed those of the Old Testament? I-II Q.103, a.4, ad.4
The observance of the Sabbath and Sunday II-II Q.122, a.4
"And His parents knew it not"
How is Joseph called the father of Christ? III Q.28, a.1, ad.1
"And asking them questions"
Why did Jesus ask the doctors questions, since he could learn nothing from them III Q. 12, a.3, ad.1
"Astonished at His wisdom and His answers"
On the science (knowledge) of Christ III Q.11, Q.12
"And was subject to them"
Respect to parents II-II Q.101
Obedience II-II Q.104
"And His mother kept all these words in her heart"
How Mary had use of wisdom in contemplation III Q.27, a.5, ad.3
"Advanced in wisdom"
How could Christ advance in wisdom or learn anything? III Q.12
"And grace"
How could He advance in grace and have fullness of it? III Q.7, a.12

Cf. The Summa of St. Thomas Aquinas, Vol III, New York: Benziger, 1947, 3726-3728.

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Pope Francis' Call for Absolute Change: "Processes!"

At his yearly Christmas Greeting to the Roman Curia yesterday, Pope Francis went full force in support of "processes," "change" as the paradigm of his papacy. At the end of the half-hour presentation, which sounded like the 1960's songs of the Free-Sex-Flower-Children he warned, as usual, against "rigidity" saying that rigidity is an indication of an underlying "imbalance." In other words, to be "rigid" is to be crazy.

It is not clear how to reconcile this model of change with the constancy in moral life and in sound doctrine required by the living God Jesus Christ, and by Canon Law, mandated for the ministers of the Gospel.

Canon 521.2 of the Code of Canon Law says of the man fit for pastor...

He is...to be outstanding in sound doctrine and uprightness of character, endowed with zeal for souls and other virtues, and possessed of those qualities which by universal law are required for the care of the parish in question.

The Appointment and Tolerance of Bad Pastors is Contrary to the Law of the Church

In typical Argentine fashion the Holy Father is a half-century behind the times. The Argentinians today embrace Freudianism and Marxism as if they were new, apparently unaware that those ideologies have been tried and rejected as false by the rest of the world and that one of the bitter legacies of that era has been the widespread perversion of the world with all of its attendant scandals, especially homosexualism, reminiscent of the Church scandals of the 10th and 11th centuries.

Friday, December 20, 2019

Law and Right Against Will-to-Power Relativism

This is an historic speech which very well clarifies the respective roles of each of the three branches of government, the executive (represented by the President), the legislative (represented by the Congress) and the judicial (represented by the Senate).

Above all, it emphasizes the importance of truth as the guiding principle of good government, truth over emotion and arbitrary rule, which is what the rule of law and right is supposed to achieve.

The New York State Supreme Court Building reads

THE TRUE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE

IS THE

FIRMEST PILLAR OF GOOD GOVERNMENT

Chronological List of Important Philosophers of the Middle Ages

Blackwell Companions to Philosophy, A Companion to Philosophy in the Middle Ages, ed. Jorge J. E. Garcia and Timothy B. Noone, 2002.

Chronological List
Augustine (b. 354; d. 430) Pseudo-Dionysius (ﬂ. ca. 500) John Philoponus (b. ca. 490; d. ca. 570) Boethius (b. ca. 480; d. 524/5) Isidore of Seville (b. ca. 560; d. 636) Maximus Confessor (b. 580; d. 662) Albumasar (b. 787; d. 886) Alkindi (d. ca. 870) John Scotus Eriugena (b. ca. 800; d. ca. 877) Isaac Israeli (b. ca. 855; d. ca. 955) Alrazi (b. ca. 865; d. ca. 925) Alfarabi (b. ca. 870; d. ca. 950) Saadiah (b. 882; d. 942) Alhacen (b. 965; d. ca. 1040) Avicenna (b. 980; d. 1037) Peter Damian (b. 1007; d. 1072) Avencebrol (b. 1021/2; d. 1057/8) William of Champeaux (ﬂ. ca. 1100) Anselm of Canterbury (b. 1033; d. 1109) Algazali (b. 1058; d. 1111) Avempace (d. 1139) Peter Abelard (b. 1079; d. 1142) Adelard of Bath (b. ca. 1080; d. ca. 1152) Gilbert of Poitiers (b. 1085/90; d. 1154) Bernard of Clairvaux (b. 1090; d. 1153) Peter the Venerable (b. ca. 1092; d. 1156) Peter Lombard (b. 1095/1100; d. 1160) Hugh of St. Victor (b. 1097/1101; d. 1141) Hildegard of Bingen (b. 1098; d. 1179) Peter Helias (b. ca. 1100; d. after 1166) Richard of St. Victor (d. 1173) John of Salisbury (b. 1115/20; d. 1180) Dominicus Gundissalinus (ﬂ. 1150–90) Averroes (b. ca. 1126; d. 1198) Alan of Lille (d. 1203) Moses Maimonides (b. 1138; d. 1204) William of Auxerre (b. ca. 1140; d. 1231) Philip the Chancellor (b. 1165/85; d. 1236) Robert Grosseteste (b. ca. 1168; d. 1253) Alexander of Hales (b. ca. 1185; d. 1245) William of Auvergne (b. 1180/90; d. 1249) Jean de la Rochelle (b. 1190/1200; d. 1245) Albertus Magnus (b. ca. 1200; d. 1280) William of Sherwood (b. 1200/5; d. 1266/71) Richard Fishacre (b. ca. 1205; d. 1248) Richard Rufus of Cornwall (ﬂ. 1231–56) William Arnaud (ﬂ. ca. 1250) Pierre de Maricourt (ﬂ. ca. 1267) Peter of Spain (ﬂ. ca. 1267) Roger Bacon (b. 1214/20; d. ca. 1292) Robert Kilwardby (b. ca. 1215; d. 1279) Bonaventure (b. 1217; d. 1274) Henry of Ghent (d. 1293) Ulrich of Strassburg (b. ca. 1220; d. 1277) Thomas Aquinas (b. 1224/6; d. 1274) John Pecham (b. ca. 1230; d. 1292) Boethius of Dacia (ﬂ. 1270–80) William of Ware (ﬂ. 1290s) James of Metz (ﬂ. ca. 1300) Thomas of Erfurt (ﬂ. ca. 1300) Martin of Dacia (d. 1304) Peter of Auvergne (d. 1304) John of Paris (d. 1306) Ramon Lull (b. 1232/3; d. 1316) Roger Marston (b. ca. 1235; d. ca. 1303) Arnaldus of Villanova (b. 1238/40; d. 1311) Siger of Brabant (b. ca. 1240; d. after 1282) Matthew of Aquasparta (b. ca. 1240; d. 1302) Giles of Rome (b. 1243/7; d. 1316) Peter Olivi (b. ca. 1248; d. 1298) Richard of Middleton (b. ca. 1249; d. 1302) Godfrey of Fontaines (b. before 1250; d. 1306/9) Dietrich of Freiburg (b. ca. 1250; d. ca. 1310) Thomas of Sutton (b. ca. 1250; d. ca. 1315) Hervaeus Natalis (b. 1250/60; d. 1323) James of Viterbo (b. ca. 1255; d. 1307/8) Simon of Faversham (b. ca. 1260; d. 1306) Vital du Four (b. ca. 1260; d. 1327) Meister Eckhart (b. ca. 1260; d. 1328) Dante Alighieri (b. 1265; d. 1321) John Duns Scotus (b. ca. 1266; d. 1308) Thomas Wilton (ﬂ. ca. 1312) Gonsalvo of Spain (d. ca. 1313) Henry of Harclay (b. ca. 1270; d. 1317) Radulphus Brito (b. ca. 1270; d. 1320) Durand of St. Pourçain (b. 1270/5; d. 1334) Walter Burley (b. 1274/5; d. in or after 1344) William of Alnwick (b. ca. 1275; d. 1333) Peter Auriol (b. ca. 1280; d. 1322) William Crathorn (ﬂ. 1330s) Michael of Massa (d. 1337) Guido Terrena (d. 1342) Marsilius of Padua (b. 1280; d. 1343) Richard of Campsall (b. ca. 1280; d. ca. 1350) Walter Chatton (b. ca. 1285; d. 1343) John of Reading (b. ca. 1285; d. 1346) William of Ockham (b. ca. 1285; d. 1347) John of Jandun (b. 1285/9; d. 1328) Francis of Meyronnes (b. 1288; d. 1328) Gersonides (b. 1288; d. 1344) Richard Swineshead (ﬂ. 1340–55) Francis of Marchia (b. ca. 1290; d. after 1344) John Baconthorpe (b. ca. 1290; d. 1345/8) John of Mirecourt (ﬂ. ca. 1345) Robert Holcot (b. ca. 1290; d. 1349) Thomas Bradwardine (b. ca. 1290; d. 1349) John Buridan (b. ca. 1295; d. 1361) Peter Ceffons (ﬂ. 1348–9) Richard Brinkley (ﬂ. 1350–73) Nicholas of Autrecourt (b. ca. 1300; d. after 1350) Robert of Halifax (b. ca. 1300; d. after 1350) Landulph Caracciolo (d. 1351) Gregory of Rimini (b. ca. 1300; d. 1358) Richard Fitzralph (b. ca. 1300; d. 1360) Berthold of Moosburg (b. ca. 1300; d. after 1361) Adam of Wodeham (d. 1358) Richard Kilvington (b. 1302/5; d. 1361) John Dumbleton (b. ca. 1310; d. ca. 1349) Ralph Strode (ﬂ. 1360–87) William Heytesbury (b. before 1313; d. 1372/3) Albert of Saxony (b. ca. 1316; d. 1390) Nicole Oresme (b. ca. 1320; d. 1382) John Wyclif (b. ca. 1320; d. 1384) Marsilius of Inghen (b. ca. 1340; d. 1396) Peter of Candia (b. ca. 1340; d. 1410) Hasdai Crescas (b. ca. 1340; d. 1410/11) Pierre d’Ailly (b. ca. 1350; d. 1420) John Gerson (b. 1363; d. 1429) Paul of Venice (b. 1369; d. 1429) Jerome of Prague (b. 1370/1; d. 1416) John Capreolus (b. ca. 1380; d. 1444) Paul of Pergula (d. 1455) Gaetano of Thiene (b. 1387; d. 1465) Heymeric of Camp (b. 1395; d. 1460) Nicholas of Cusa (b. 1401; d. 1464) Denys the Carthusian (b. 1402; d. 1472) Peter de Rivo (b. ca. 1420; d. 1500) Gabriel Biel (b. before 1425; d. 1495)
(Bold blue: 10,000 words, bold black: 8,000 words; the other authors receiving 5,000, 3,000 or 500 word biographies in the Companion.)

Preface
The Middle Ages is not only the longest period of philosophical development in the West,but also one of the richest and more complex. Its roots go back to ancient philosophy and we are still living with some of its consequences today. Indeed, a very large part of our philosophical vocabulary, whether in English, Spanish, or any other western European language,was developed in the Middle Ages, and most of the philosophical problems about which we still worry were ﬁrst formulated in the version in which we know them in this period. The historical importance of the Middle Ages and its inﬂuence in the subsequent history of western thought is difﬁcult to overestimate.

In spite of this, however, the study of the philosophy of the Middle Ages was, until relatively recently, rare outside Roman Catholic contexts. Secular universities, and even Christian colleges from denominations other than Roman Catholicism, rarely offered courses in medieval philosophy, and their faculty seldom did research in the ﬁeld. The medieval period was mentioned in two kinds of courses: in history of philosophy sequences,the Middle Ages was usually appended to the ancient period, as an afterthought, and was generally given little emphasis; in courses in the philosophy of religion, where arguments for the existence of God were examined, mention was usually made of Anselm’s so-called ontological argument and Aquinas’s “ﬁve ways.”

This dismal situation has been changing gradually, although it is still true that most of the leading philosophy departments in the English-speaking world do not yet have specialists in the Middle Ages. Some do, however, and this has not gone unnoticed in other, less prestigious, places. Medieval philosophy is gradually becoming respectable. First-rank presses are publishing books on medieval philosophy, and even bringing out anthologies of texts to be used in the classroom. Unfortunately, there is still much that needs to be done. For one thing, we do not yet have a book that contains the main facts about, and presents the main views on, the key ﬁgures of the period. And, indeed, this is the gap we aim to ﬁll in part with this Companion. The idea behind it is to have, in one volume, most of the back-ground information one needs to approach medieval texts...

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Saints Making Money for God's Work

That is the genius of Opus Dei: lay men and lay women in every walk of life spending themselves for the service of God and neighbor in and through their professional work; and, yes, making money! putting money at the service of God.

Saint Josemaría's charism was to read the signs of the times. He saw that secular humanism had sacked, raided, plundered and shut down the monasteries. So he took the monastery to the street, to the university, to the bar, to the theater, to Wall Street, to the internet, to any profitable venture: forming contemplatives in the world in selfless service, in holiness, like Christ Himself, and under the protection of the Mother of God, faithful sons of the Church.

Saints are to be men and women like all other men and women, indistinguishable from them, and totally dedicated to God in Jesus Christ, in the Catholic faith, in every activity and using all the means which men and women use today for themselves, putting all of them at the service of God.

"The love of Our Mother will be the breath that kindles into a living flame the embers of virtue that are hidden under the ashes of your indifference."
Josemaría Escrivá, The Way, 492.

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