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...]
The Liturgical Calendar?
For some readers the Liturgical Calendar like the prefix "St." is scary and reminscent of the Inquisition, Clerical sex-scandals, and everything they hate about religion in general. However, in years past, more and more people with that initial gut reaction have been rethinking their own positions, and have warmed to words like "Lent" and "Advent". I remember first … [Read more...]
St. Anselm of Canterbury's 'Evangelical' Faith
Wikipedia has been my true alma mater in so many ways, however there are days when something irks me in its endless pages. If we understand Evangelical to mean one who is a Christian and places their faith in the saving life, death, and resurrection of Jesus who meritted their salvation, then Evangelicalism can hardly be said to have emerged in the 17th century. The Middle … [Read more...]
St. Ignatius and Our Lady of Monserrat
There's an interesting moment in the life of St. Ignatius Loyola, where he almost violently kills someone in defense of the perpetual virginity of Mary (St. Jerome would be proud), and then within days hangs up all of his sword and army equipment infront of an image of Our Lady of Monserrat, in what I perceive as a sort of spiritual surrender to God. It reminds me of the … [Read more...]
The Reality of Satan
Today my beloved parish priest who is fairly orthodox excepting occasional slips into Liberalism. As someone who hasn't given anything remotely resembling the dedication and service he has given to our Church, I want to clarify that I'm not attacking him or his ministry, just the idea he deseminated from the pulpit.The reading for today was Matthew 4, the Temptation of Christ … [Read more...]