"Therefore, appoint for yourselves bishops and deacons worthy of the Lord" - The Didache (ca. A.D. 100) "But, if it happen that any of the clergy who are now in the Church should die, then those who have been lately received are to succeed to the office of the deceased; always provided that they shall appear to be worthy, and that the people elect them..." - Canons of the … [Read more...]
What do Joel Osteen, Latin Christendom, and Sausages Have in Common? (This Post)
In keeping with the series on the Liturgical Calendar, I thought it best to give a brief exposition on Lent. If Advent is the beginning of the Calendar and one of the two 'big' celebrations, Lent is the second. Lent traditionally was the 40 days leading up to Easter. The significance of 40 in the Bible seems constant. The flood of Noah was 40 days and nights, the … [Read more...]
From the World Tree to the Cross of Christ
For more thoughts on Advent, I decided to write some background for the Christmas tree. Trees played an important role in ancient Germanic Paganism. The World Tree -as any World of Warcraft player knows- was the centre of their life and narrative. Its roots reached under the earth and up into the Heavens, with gods like Ravens perched on its branches. They worshipped around … [Read more...]
Dominion Day / Canada Day
For those of you in Canada reading this, a happy Dominion day! (or Canada Day as they call it now) For those interested in the history of the Roman Catholic Church in Canada, they should read some of the Canadian Church History that I found quite interesting. It is from a book called "The sword of Saint Paul : a history of the Diocese of Saskatoon, 1933-1983" by Duncan F. … [Read more...]
What's the Point of Advent?
The purpose of Advent is to set aside some time to prepare ourselves for a celebration of the birth of Christ. In the West, we decadent Latins, marked the season by celebrating a feast at the end, and the more disciplined Eastern Greek Christians underwent a great fast in preparation for the coming of Christ. In a sense this dichotomy of feasting and fasting well marks what … [Read more...]