Avery, Cardinal Dulles, Rest in Peace

It is with great sadness that I announce the death this morning of Avery, Cardinal Dulles, SJ. He was 90 years old.

Cardinal Dulles was arguably the most significant American theologian of the century, and possibly the foremost ecclesiologist in the world. Indeed, we even used his "Models of the Church" at Oral Roberts University! (Not always known as a Jesuit-friendly institution!)

I had the great privilege of meeting Cardinal (then Father) Dulles back in the late '90's while I was a student at Nashotah House. We had a academic convocation each November, and one year, Fr. Dulles was one of the featured speakers. We had just suffered through an interminable (and awful) address by some retired Episcopal bishop who essentially proclaimed that he no longer liked the word "Catholic" -- and wasn't too sure any more about "Christian"! Fr. Dulles was next. Very diplomatically, very kindly -- and VERY thoroughly, Fr. Dulles absolutely demolished the previous speaker. So thoroughly, in fact, that our Systematic Theology/Liturgy professor at the seminary (who was more sympathetic, I'm afraid, to the heretical bishop than to Fr. Dulles) visibly extremely uncomfortable! It was a joy to behold.

Following the convocation, I had the honor to ride back to the airport with Fr. Dulles. I am most privileged to have in my personal collection several of his books, which he graciously signed for me.

Cardinal Dulles's death will leave an incredible void in theological circles -- and, no doubt, among his Jesuit brothers. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Why Purgatory makes sense

"And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, 'Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.' And Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house...'" St. Luke 19: 8-9

"Bear fruit that befits repentance..." St. Matthew 3: 8

I was thinking this morning about people in my past, friends and family, many of whom are dead. It was a jumble of thoughts, of the good times we had, as well as the little (and not so little) dramas and problems. I also thought, with stabs of pain, of the many times I'd hurt some of those people. Now, I've confessed those things to God and to the Church and I know that God has forgiven me and that none of them will send me screaming into Hellfire. I also did what I could to remedy any hurt I'd caused...you know, apologize for the hasty word, be extra helpful with tasks they needed done, be more charitable in thought. And that's fine for those who are still living. But what about those who are dead, the ones I can NOT apologize to, help with tasks, ask forgiveness from? I still owe them something, but obviously can't repay it in this life. And it hit me: God can and does forgive us when we ask but He also asks that we, like Zacchaeus, bear fruit that befits repentance and make amends. If I can't do that here, then it must be required of me hereafter. A very sobering thought. That is why we must all, believers and non, appear "before the dread judgement seat of Christ" (as the Eastern Liturgy puts it). We may well be saved, not in mortal sin, but we still may well have to "make amends" and be cleaned up a bit (or a lot).
Like so many others I'd just sort of assumed that, well, I've been to Confession, done my penance, all is well. Making amends, well, that was for the really big sinners...you know, the bankrobbers, the swindlers, people who had destroyed others' property etc. But making amends also means...apologize for the unkind word, pray for those about whom you've had unkind thoughts, toss out literature you oughtn't to have, stop going to places that might encourage you to sin, drop unsavory acquaintances and friends, start giving to those beggars on the street at whom you turn up your nose in judgement. There is an old Evangelical hymn that says, "Jesus paid it all" and we Catholics believe that...Jesus DID pay it all to God and coming to Him in Baptism and subsequently in Confession, we are saved. But Jesus did NOT pay it all to those we hurt, THAT is left to us under His guidance. Better to take care of all that here than in the Life to Come in Purgatory.
So, I have two feelings about this all. Thank You, Lord, that we will have a chance to make amends in Purgatory and finish the cleaning up process (and given what I've said, Purgatory only makes sense), but I also must remember the Lord's words with some trepidation..."you will never get out until you have paid the last penny."

Our New Wordpress Blog

If for some reason you have arrived here, you are not reading our new posts. We have transferred to the Wordpress format and are still blogging at blog.ancient-future.net, so if you have gotten here by accident, come on over!

Yes, Virginia, There Really Are Still Antipopes

Lest anyone think that antipopes are a thing of the past*, I give you Pius XIII. He is pictured here standing in front of his version of the Vatican...

Here's hoping he goes the way of Saint Hippolytus... that is to say he becomes reconciled to the Church, not that he dies a horrible martyr's death!

For more great photos, check out 3d Blog From the Right.

*Well, actually they kind of are... An antipope by definition, makes effort to suppress the legitimate Pope and is a cause of confusion... At this time, I don't think many are all that confused, or that P13 is managing to much suppress B16...

Azerbaijan Inaugurates First NEW Catholic Church in 70+ Years

From the article: ZENIT - Azerbaijan Inaugurates 1st Catholic Church

BAKU, Azerbaijan, MARCH 9, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The peaceful coexistence of various religions is the rock upon which civilization depends, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said when inaugurating the first Catholic Church in Azerbaijan.

The Pope's secretary of state said this Friday in Baku at the dedication ceremony of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, an event he said is "rich in meaning," and "will leave its mark in the annals of history."

"Almighty God, after a period of atheistic persecution and violence, allows us to realize a concrete sign of spiritual and moral rebirth," the Vatican representative said.

"A church is a place where the community that God brings together for the praise and celebration of his love comes," said the cardinal, but it is also "the image of that living edifice that is the Church herself, [...] community and family made up of individual believers, who celebrate the true rite that is pleasing to God, living consistently with their own faith."

Cardinal Bertone thanked Azerbaijan's president, IIham Aliyev, who attended the ceremony, for the country's commitment to promote "an authentic religious tolerance in a land […] marked by the vocation of an ancient and consolidated cosmopolitanism, which has enriched it with various contributions." (READ ALL)

The article title is slightly inaccurate... This is not the first Church in Azjerbajan... According to our pal Wikipedia:

Christians have been present in Azerbaijan since the 1st century A.D.[2] Starting from 1320, Catholic missionaries such as Jordanus and Odoric of Pordenone have visited what is now Azerbaijan and have established missions mostly in large cities. In the 14th century in Nakhichevan alone, there were 12 missions led by Dominicans, Jesuits, Capuchins, Augustinians, etc. In 1660 Superior of the Capuchin Mission at Isfahan, friar Raphaël du Mans reported Catholic parishes functioning in Baku and Shamakhi.[3] Polish Jesuits arrived and set a mission in Ganja in the 1680s.[4]

With the establishement of the Russian rule, these lands became a popular destination for members of various Christian denominations. Catholics were represented by ethnic Poles who started immigrating to Baku and Shemakhi in the mid-1800s, Ukrainians, Georgian Catholics, Armenian Catholics, as well as Western Europeans (mostly French) who stayed in Baku on a temporary or permanent basis.

The Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary built by Polish architect Józef Płoszko was destroyed by Stalinists in 1931
In the early 20th century there was a community in Baku made up of Polish, German, and Russian immigrants who built the Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1915.[5] In 1917, the community numbered 2,500 people. In the early 1930s, Joseph Stalin had the small community's only priest killed.[6] In 1931, the communist authorities demolished the church.[7]

In 1997, a Slovak priest came to Baku to restart the community.[6]

If anyone has knowledge about the priest who was killed in the 1930s, please send me some info.

Its great to be back in Azerbaijan!

BYOB

The venerable Father Z reports on one of the dopiest things I have heard of since the 80s - that some parishes in the US are removing Holy Water from the fonts and replacing them with sand during Lent.

If you attend a parish where you are forced to suffer this indignity, do consider BYOB until saner minds prevail.

The Transalpine Redemptorists

I need to be clear about two things right off: (1) At this time this venerable order is in a state of canonical irregularity with the Holy See, in part due to their working relationship with the Society of Saint Pius X and (2)I have always respected and admired them - who can't? - for the tenacity that they have show in re-establishing (after centuries!) a monastic community on an island off the coast of Scotland. In watching that, it becomes pretty clear, that is not an easy life.

In my admiration of them, I had long hoped that their situation of canonical irregularity would be regularized and their relationship to the Holy See would become unimpeded... But figured it was a long shot.

When the SSPX made it abundantly clear they would NOT be obedient to the Holy See (so what else is new?) and use the revised Good Friday Prayers for the 1962 Missal, The TAR very cooly and humbly asserted:

Notice
In what concerns the Solemn Prayers of the Good Friday Liturgy, the Transalpine Redemptorists will obey with submission the newly promulgated Prayer for the Jews as ordered by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI on February 4th 2008.

Fr. Michael Mary, C.SS.R.
Vicar General
8 February, 2007

Kudos and props to them.

Still more heartening words from the most recent blog entry:

+ William: Well, is there anything going on between the Redemptorists and Rome?

+ Our little monastery is separate from the SSPX. As one SSPX priest told us when we were having a penniless moment: “We are united in Faith and separated in finances.”
I liked the quip! It shows that the two organisations are separate. And it follows that if the SSPX is able to speak with Rome there should be no reason why we would not be able to do so either.

+ William: What is the basis of having relations with Rome?

+ It is because we believe that Benedict XVI is the Pope, of course. He is the head of the Church. We are set upon working towards reunion. If we remain in an 'imperfect communion' we will eventually become a separate organisation altogether.

+ When I recall the day of the Consecrations in 1988 there were numbers of young children playing on the grass around the canvas cathedral. Do you know, now 20 years later, most of those girls and boys will be married. The 3rd generation of 1988 Tradis is on its way: that is, a generation that does not know normal Catholic life, that has no real contact with their juridical bishops, parishes and clergy. Already there are possibly 2 generations of people who are isolated from the Catholic ‘wheat and chaff’ that makes up a diocese. This is a serious situation unless we want to become a separate Church fitted out with our own bishops, parishes and clergy. We need a reconciliation asap.

Please keep them in your prayers.

Benedict the Re-Gatherer indeed!

Please Excuse the Mess

God willing, Per Christum is changing over to a Wordpress format over the next few days. The address (blog.ancient-future.net) will not change. However, there may be a few technical issues as we complete this process, as contributors get registered for the new blog, and old posts/comments are imported.

In order to import our old posts to Wordpress, we may have to change over this blog to a blogspot address for a brief period. After that, it is just a matter of changing some DNS settings and paying Wordpress.com If blog.ancient-future.net does not return a blog, try perchristumblog.blogspot.com.

Thanks for your patience as we complete the move. And be aware that I will retain all the links we currently have, so if you're not on our blogroll for a few days or weeks, know that I will be rebuilding that too!

NOT HAPPY

If I see this one more time....


Google

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March 10: Blessed Elias del Socorro Nieves Martyr of Mexico

Blessed Elias del Socorro Nieves

Com Box Hero: Cel On Catholicizing Tendancies In Evangelicalism

Lifted out of the combox from a post over at The Cafeteria is Closed on the movement in Evangelical circles to have more focus on Lent. A trend that has been touched on here at PC.

Cel writes:

...It is frightening to finally realize that what you want is in the Catholic Church but that you will probably loose all your friends, your family, just about everything, to get it. So please, please be kind to those who are just on the outside and looking in the windows but are still unsure of what they see. It is also very hard to admit that you have been wrong for so long.

I came from a Church of Christ turned mega-church. We celebrated communion every week but then the CoC has been doing that for a long time. In the last few years they started doing a 40 day prayer vigil coming up to Easter. Kinda like lent but with prayer only rather than fasting. There is a prayer room up at the church building that gets manned 24/7 for this time period. When I started going to the Catholic Church this last year, I was struck by the similarity it had to perpetual adoration. Imagine my surprise when I found out that we had only reinvented a very ancient wheel, and not very well at that.

It will take them a lot of time because these people have a lot of distance to cover intellectually but many of them will see same things that I did. That the Catholic Church is home and just what we have been trying to reinvent. We slowly give ourselves less and less reasons to not be Catholic. But the process of softening up preconceived notions takes time. Most people have to let it simmer for a while before realize it. True, the time is short but being to confrontational too soon will only drive them away. I think it would be best to simple encourage them to keep on doing it and share with them how we do it. Trust me, they will be intrigued and when they are ready they will come around to asking themselves the question: "Why not Catholic?"

In terms of the big picture, I believe that the rise in interest towards Catholic devotions and the increase in Tiber swimmers like myself is a result of American style evangelicalism's fundamental dependence on existing in a nation that is essentially Christian. Because our nation is fast becoming a post-Christian nation it is causing a shift in the churches based on it and this is causing many believers to question where they are at. The Catholic faith however, is bigger than any one nation and has an almost unique ability to exists in both friendly nations and hostile nations. It has the ability to stay rooted to the truth by being able to depend on the Holy See as its anchor. This will prove to be significant as the industrialized west becomes more secular and more hostile toward religion.

The Catholic Church also has a history of surviving the collapse of nations and empires and in a lot of cases provides an interim structure for people to depend on during crisis. American evangelicalism will not survive without America in any significantly recognizable form. And America will not survive if it continues to support an abortive, contraceptive and unchaste culture.

NOTE: If Blogger does not get it together with the photo-uploading situation SOON, Wordpress here I come! My patience is wearing thin on this, and it is making me honkin' mad!

Annotated Bibliography Of Historical Apologetics Online

From Whats wrong with the world?

Annotated bibliography of historical apologetics online is a fun page to look at. Largely Protestant, but very much worth the time and effort of a Catholic to look at some of these historic arguments that were generally geared towards post-Christian diests. Mrs. McGrew writes:

I'm pleased to announce that an annotated bibliography of apologetics works from the late 17th through the 19th centuries is now available here. It contains links to the works in question, available in the public domain.

It is entirely the work of my husband, Tim McGrew, in one of his areas of specialization. He has been working on it for some time before being satisfied that it's ready to be made public. But he is very interested in making these works more widely available. The men who answered the Deists in their own time get far too little credit nowadays and deserve to be more widely known and read than they are.

Pastors, youth leaders, and professors who work with Christian young people could do far worse than to familiarize themselves with some of the apologetic work that was done in the past. Those who have an interest in apologetics should acquaint themselves with the pre-20th-century material so as not to reinvent the wheel.

Feel free to pass this link on to others who might find it useful.

Well OK, I will. There ya go.

March 9: Saint Frances of Rome, Patroness Of Oblates

Saint Frances of Rome, 1384-1440

Patroness Of Oblates

Image from: http://www.tucsonmonastery.com/icons.asp
Check that site out - there are many wonderful icons for sale.

Moses, Very High On Mount Sinai

It has been in the news lately that Benny Shanon, a professor at Hebrew University, has suggested that the experiences Moses had on Mount Sinai were likely the result of being high on local botanicals. This seems to be yet another, "we can't believe in the supernatural, but we really don't want to call the ancients liars, so let's come up with some unbelievable theory to explain away the stories" sort of thing. Shanon admits as such:

"As far as Moses on Mount Sinai is concerned, it was either a supernatural cosmic event, which I don't believe, or a legend, which I don't believe either, or finally, and this is very probable, an event that joined Moses and the people of Israel under the effects of narcotics," he told Israel Radio in an interview Tuesday.

Those familiar with Christianity during the modern period know that many scholars have tried to explain away the miraculous stories of the Bible. e.g. suggesting Jesus simply fainted after the crucifixion, only to wake up on Sunday morning. I have always been suspicious of these explanations designed to explain away the stories, because they not only make the ancients out to be idiots, but the theories are often complicated and lack consistency (how could Jesus go through a bloody crucifixion and merely pass out? how many people high on drugs use that experience to develop laws?). Suggesting that the ancient writers lied, or were deluded seems far more credible to me, rather than coming up with these odd hypotheses. Then again, another option is to believe that supernatural events do happen, and that God causes them to happen. Of course, seeing Moses as a kind of ancient Timothy Leary has its appeal to a certain group perhaps. While we're at it, maybe Jefferson Airplane wrote some of the psalms!

Little Beauties or Little Skanks?

Hello my brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ!

I would like to share this youtube video with you.

Imagine if all that time and effort that is being put into creating these "little beauties" (read little skanks) was put into turning these girls into models of virtue. Imagine if these mothers, instead of instilling the love of worldy things into these children would instill in them the love of God and neighbor. Imagine the "caliber" of sanctity that these little girls would achieve!

So, what do you guys think?

St. Ann instructing Mother Mary in the ways of the LORD.

March 8: Blessed Faustino Miguez

Blessed Faustino Miguez, 1837-1925

Kaye O'Bara, Requiescat In Pace

In such stark contrast to some of the anti-life stories we hear all the time - some of which I have touched on here at PC... I wanted to share this after running across this story over at Creative Minority Report.

Edwarda O'Bara was a vivacious sixteen-year-old and a mild diabetic. During the early morning hours of January 3rd, 1970, Edwarda woke up shaking and in great pain because the oral form of insulin she had been taking wasn't reaching her blood stream. Edwarda was rushed to the hospital emergency room and as she lay in her hospital bed sliding in and out of consciousness she turned to her mother Kaye and said, "Promise you won't leave me, will you, Mommy?" Kaye looked at her frightened daughter and said, "Of course not, I would never leave you, darling, I promise. And a promise is a promise!" Those were the last words that were exchanged before Edwarda quietly slipped into a diabetic coma.

For the past 36 years, Edwarda has lived her life in a coma, and Kaye has lived her promise of never leaving her daughter's side. Kaye who is now over 78 years old has kept a vigil at Edwarda's bedside, caring for her every two hours, twenty-four hours a day, for the past 36 years! She has maintained this grueling pace and during these 36 years has not slept for more than 90 minutes at a time. As a devoted mother, Kaye chose not to institutionalize Edwarda, but rather to care for her at home and assume the tremendous financial burden that accompanies personally caring for a comatose child.

Kaye O'Bara passed away March 7th.
Please pray for the repose of her soul.

For more information, Kaye's website: http://www.edwardaobara.com/

March 7: Blessed Leonid Federov - Russian Orthodox Martyr In Union With Rome

Blessed Leonid Federov, 1879-1935
Russian Orthodox Martyr In Union With Rome

The Russian Orthodox Church in Communion with Rome was a rather small body that existed openly for only a few decades just before and after the Bloshevik Revolution. Totally drive underground, there are today just a handful of Russian Orthodox parishes that have made their desire for communion with Rome known, and gone under the omophor of the Latin ordinaries in Russia.

I for one would very much like to see the restoration of an exarch (bishop) for them, but at this time the Vaticak Ostpolitik is such that appeasing the Patriarch of Moscow is the order of the day. The Patriarch who rails against the presence of Latin bishops who serve diocese that serve the 600,000 Latin Catholics who are descendents of the 3 million Catholics found in the Russian empire before the Revolution.

(My thoughts on +++ALEKSY II another day - for now it will suffice to say he would do well to remember who built St. Catherines RC Church in Moscow...)

Blessed Leonid, pray for us.

The Sikh's Kirpans

Once, when riding a MUNI bus in San Francisco, I noticed a group of blue-turbaned fellows getting on with their kirpaans. I immediately thought, "Ah, Sikh transit! Gloria MUNI."

- Tim Ferguson in the combox over at The Cafeteria is Closed.

A great deal of misinformation has been circulating about the web as to the nature of the kirpan that Sikhs wear about their person... Lest people think of modern Sikhs as some wild armed faction, it might be good to talk about the kirpan...

The ceremonial dagger is, as often as not, small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and is worn underneath clothing on the thigh. I knew a gent when I was in college who gave a lecture in a sociology class about his Sikh faith... It was revealed he wore his underneath his clothing and it was rather small. When asked if we could see it, he smiled and declined... he was not interested in undoing his pants, and showing us his drawers to access it...

In all actuality, if someone had started some trouble, for him to reach for this would have entailed dropping his trousers to access it before taking on some miscreant with a small knife and his pants around his ankles.

Not very threatening is it?

In all reality most are about as dangerous as the pocket knives every red-blooded American school boy would have ALWAYS had on them in the 50s & 60s (before they would have been arrested for possession of a weapon!)... A practice my father - who never leaves the house without his altar boy rosary, wallet, and pocket knife - carries on today.

(I used to keep a small Swiss Army knife in my wallet... I lost the wallet. Now I am mostly known to travel with a wine-key/bottle opener for party emergencies...)

It is worth noting that well before 9/11 it was the practice of any Sikh who was flying to simply pack the ceremonial dagger in his checked luggage, and confirm that he had done so with security who were trained to know about this custom and were respectful of it.

So as a radical moderate on this one, let me point out that NO, they are not sword wielding extremists with daggers stained in blood like wild-eyed soldiers of fortune... and NO it isn't that unreasonable for the Secret Service (the party responsible for US security) to ask that they check them at the door before a 45 minute meeting with the Pope in the same fashion they get check them at the airport for 10+ hour flights overseas.

Y'all Have Church At Lunch?

Most Evangelicals and other Protestants I know of are a bit mystified that Catholics can "have church every day" - if they are even aware that we do...

When I worked downtown sometimes I attended the "lunchtime low" at the Cathedral during the weekdays - well attended by business folk on their lunch hour.

A somewhat curious co-worker of Southern extraction was surprised:

"Y'all have church at lunch?"

"Yup. We have church at lunch."

"Every day?"

"Yup. Every day."

In turn most Catholics in America are likely largely unaware of the daily prayers of the Roman Church in praying the Divine Office... We will save that for another post.

More mystifying still to some who think about it, is that when I speak of "my Church" I mean the Catholic Church - throughout the world, in all parishes (though I admit, some I would be more hesitant to claim!) - not just my particular parish. For many non-Catholics this sense of "availability" of multiple locations seems odd on the face of it. "Their church" is often meant to mean "my congregation" - levels of comfort in finding another congregation they could worship with when traveling (for example) seems to vary widely.

But I am curious to ask our readership who are converts: How have opportunities to participate in the liturgical and sacramental life of the Church outside of Sunday (& maybe Wednesday night) services affected your prayer life?

Non-Catholics, have you been involved with congregations that had daily opportunities to gather for prayer? If you don't belong to a mainline denomination, how do you assess places of worship when away from your congregation?