It's Lincoln's 200th Birthday Today

But Google is celebrating Darwin's 200th instead.

Seriously.

Not that the picture isn't pretty, but I kind of think it's strange that they'd ignore Lincoln.  I'll bet they combine him with Washington, ala "Presidents' Day" next week instead.  I still think that both men deserve their own days.

Ely Place

I was watching EWTN tonight, and there was a show on about Saint Etheldreda's at Ely Place. They talked about the chapel, second oldest Catholic Church in England, and the history of the Church in England. Once again, I was stunned by the brutality of Henry VIII and the extremes he and his heirs (save Queen Mary, of course) went to in order to prevent Catholics from remaining faithful to the Church. The martyrs! God, the things that were done to them! People who resisted or helped the imprisoned (especially the clergy) were killed in brutal fashion. Eventually, Mass itself was illegal and attending Mass was a hanging offense. For three hundred years, you could be put to death for going to Mass. Catholics couldn't vote, couldn't own or inheret land, join the army, and were generally suppressed and treated as second-class. Little by little, most of the anti-Catholic laws were repealed. (Interestingly enough, you still can't be prime minister and Catholic. Illegal, you see.)

Saint Etheldreda's has gone through a lot in the years since it was built. Just to spite the Catholics who attended Mass there, a tavern was built adjoining it. Bar room brawls would often threaten to disrupt Mass.

The Germans bombed the church, and the windows were completely lost. They have been lovingly restored, though. In addition, there are numerous statues of various saints and martyrs throughout the chapel. Check your local listings to see if EWTN will be showing "Silent Witness" again. You can also watch it online, and their online schedule shows that it will repeat on Saturday. (EWTN is actually having a slew of specials, including one on Saint Thomas More. Jay, are you listening?)

Jackie, Catholic Mom of 10, has been highlighting the Walk of Martyrs that she'll be participating in with her family. Remember these martyrs in your prayers, and ask them to intercede for you, as well. And thank God that, for now, you are able to practice your faith without the threat of death hanging over you. It's not that easy for everyone, and there may come a day when we are once again in the catacombs.




England - Ely Cathedral

Converts from Islam

I was wondering about saints to whom I could go for intercessory prayer in relation to Muslims converting to Christianity. So I did a search at the Patron Saint site (very helpful site, you know).

These are the saints I came up with.

*Saint Flora of Cordoba:

Memorial

24 November

Profile

Born to Muslim parents. She and her mother converted to Christianity - Flora was raised Christian, her brother Muslim. She was often abused at home for her faith. She took a private vow of chastity, and ministered to Christian prisoners. When her parents announced an arranged marriage to an Islamic man, Flora and her Christian friend Mary ran away, briefly hiding with the home of Flora's sister. The sister, however, feared being accused of harboring Christians, and threw the two out. Her brother publicly betrayed her to the Islamic authorities. She was imprisoned and scourged for her faith, escaped, was recaptured, and martyred.

Died

tortured and beheaded by Moors in 851 or 856 (sources vary on the year)

Canonized

Pre-Congregation

Patronage

abandoned people, betrayal victims, converts, martyrs, single laywomen

*Saint Gracia:

Also known as

Grace; Zaida

Memorial

1 June

Profile

Daughter of Almanzor, Muslim caliph of Lerida, Catalonia. Sister of Saint Bernard and Saint Mary. Convert, brought to the faith by her brother Bernard. The three tried to convert their brother Almanzor, who turned them over to Moorish authorities. Martyr.

Born

at Lerida, Catalonia as Zaida

Died

martyred c.1180

Canonized

Pre-Congregation

Patronage

Alcira, Valencia Spain

*Saint Mary:

Also known as

Grace; Zaida

Memorial

1 June

Profile

Daughter of Almanzor, Muslim caliph of Lerida, Catalonia. Sister of Saint Bernard and Saint Grace. Convert, brought to the faith by her brother Bernard. The three tried to convert their brother Almanzor, who turned them over to Moorish authorities. Martyr.

Born

at Lerida, Catalonia as Zoraida

Died

martyred c.1180

Patronage

Alcira, Valencia Spain

*Saint Bernard:

Also known as

Achmed

Memorial

1 June

Profile

Son of Almanzor, Muslim caliph of Lerida, Catalonia. Brother of Saint Mary and Saint Grace. Convert. Benedictine Cistercian monk at Poblet, taking the name Bernard. With his sisters, he tried to convert his brother Almanzor, who turned them over to Moorish authorities. Martyr.

Born

at Lerida, Catalonia as Achmed

Died

martyred c.1180

Patronage

Alcira, Valencia Spain

*Saint Abo:

Also known as

Abo of Tblisi; Abo of Tibileli

Memorial

8 January

Profile

Grew up Muslim. Perfumer to Nerses, the prince of Kartli, a region of eastern Georgia. As a young adult he became convinced of the truth of Christianity, but was afraid to convert openly as Georgia was under Muslim rule. For political reasons, his prince had to seek shelter in Khazaria north of the Caspian Sea, an area free of Muslim control; Abo and 300 other members of the court accompanied him, and Abo was baptized there. The prince and his party returned to Tblisi in 782, and for a few years Abo lived quietly as a "closet" Christian. However, in 786 he was exposed as a Christian, and tried for being a renegade from Islam. He confessed his faith at trial, was imprisoned, and martyred.

Born

8th century at Baghdad, Iraq

Died

beheaded 6 January 786 at Tblisi, Georgia; his body was burned on the edge of cliff, and his bones thrown off a bridge into the Kura River; his biographer, a contemporary named John Sabanisidze, swears a pillar of light was seen rising from the water the next day

Canonized

Pre-Congregation

Additional Information

Life of Abo [russian]

For All The Saints

Orthodox Church in America

Russian Orthodox Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist

I think I'll be talking to some new-found family members soon. :)

The Dark Ages

What do you think when you see a professor of philosophy (specifically at Birbeck College, University of London) quoted as saying this?

Seven centuries after the beginnings of classical civilisation in the Greece of Pericles and Socrates, an oriental superstition, consisting of an amalgam of dying and resurrecting god myths and myths about the impregnation of mortal maids by deities, captured the Roman Empire. Such was the beginning of Christianity. By the accident of its being the myth chosen by Constantine for his purposes, it plunged Europe into the dark ages for the next thousand years - scarcely any literature or philosophy, and the forgetting of the arts and crafts of classical civilisation (quite literally a return to daub and wattle because the engineering required for towers and domes was lost), before a struggle to escape the church's narrow ignorance and oppression saw the rebirth of classical learning, and its ethos of inquiry and autonomy, in the Renaissance.

From that point to this day every millimetre of progress in liberty and learning has been bitterly opposed by the organised institutions of Christianity, which at the outset burned to death anyone who disagreed with its antique absurdities - none of its officers ever being arraigned for these vast numbers of murders, or the literally millions of deaths caused by the wars of religion that plagued Europe, especially in the 16th and 17th centuries. But bit by bit religion was forced back into its own shadows by the new learning and the larger freedoms of mind and action that increasing secularisation brought, liberating individuals and societies to the extent enjoyed today.

Well, Carl Olson picked it apart and posted a masterful (and informative!) piece on it. Go here to read it.

Really, the Middle Ages were not so dark, and we are not oh-so-much-smarter than everyone before us.

[picture credit]

Window with Two Roundels and Ornament

English (Christ Church Cathedral, Canterbury)

Upper: before 1207; lower: circa 1180

Stained glass with leading

Roundels: 31 1/2 (diameter) inches

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Purchase, The Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund, 69.10

What is the Immmaculate Conception?

Well, contrary to what you might think, it has nothing to do with Jesus' birth. We celebrate His conception on March 25 when we celebrate the Annuciation. (I think it might have even been called the Feast of the Incarnation at one point. Side note on this date: it is one of the very few actual calendar dates that Tolkien mentions in The Lord of the Rings, and it is the date that the One Ring was destroyed.)

Anyway, back to today.

In nine months, Catholics will celebrate the Nativity (or birthday) of the Blessed Virgin Mary. And so this means that today we celebrate her conception. The Immaculate Conception. This is the name she gave to Saint Bernadette when asked repeatedly what her name was.

What is the Immaculate Conception? What do Catholics believe about the Blessed Virgin?

The Catholic Encyclopedia tells us, in part, this:

In the Constitution Ineffabilis Deus of 8 December, 1854, Pius IX pronounced and defined that the Blessed Virgin Mary "in the first instance of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin."

Well, that's nice. What on God's green earth does that mean?

Thankfully, there is a nice detailed explanation.

"The Blessed Virgin Mary..."

The subject of this immunity from original sin is the person of Mary at the moment of the creation of her soul and its infusion into her body.

"...in the first instance of her conception..."

The term conception does not mean the active or generative conception by her parents. Her body was formed in the womb of the mother, and the father had the usual share in its formation. The question does not concern the immaculateness of the generative activity of her parents. Neither does it concern the passive conception absolutely and simply (conceptio seminis carnis, inchoata), which, according to the order of nature, precedes the infusion of the rational soul. The person is truly conceived when the soul is created and infused into the body. Mary was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin at the first moment of her animation, and sanctifying grace was given to her before sin could have taken effect in her soul.

"...was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin..."

The formal active essence of original sin was not removed from her soul, as it is removed from others by baptism; it was excluded, it never was in her soul. Simultaneously with the exclusion of sin. The state of original sanctity, innocence, and justice, as opposed to original sin, was conferred upon her, by which gift every stain and fault, all depraved emotions, passions, and debilities, essentially pertaining to original sin, were excluded. But she was not made exempt from the temporal penalties of Adam -- from sorrow, bodily infirmities, and death.

"...by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race."

The immunity from original sin was given to Mary by a singular exemption from a universal law through the same merits of Christ, by which other men are cleansed from sin by baptism. Mary needed the redeeming Saviour to obtain this exemption, and to be delivered from the universal necessity and debt (debitum) of being subject to original sin. The person of Mary, in consequence of her origin from Adam, should have been subject to sin, but, being the new Eve who was to be the mother of the new Adam, she was, by the eternal counsel of God and by the merits of Christ, withdrawn from the general law of original sin. Her redemption was
the very masterpiece of Christ's redeeming wisdom. He is a greater redeemer who pays the debt that it may not be incurred than he who pays after it has fallen on the debtor.

Such is the meaning of the term "Immaculate Conception."

Wow. Okay, then. Um...why do Catholics believe this? What in Scripture points to it?

I won't post all of the Catholic Encyclopedia's answer here, but you are welcome to click on over to finish reading it. Seriously. If you think Catholics are crazy to think such things, if you won't believe it unless it's in the Bible, then please click over. Because there you will find a section that discusses the Scriptural support for this dogma.

For a slightly more reader-friendly answer to the Immaculate Conception (with the Assumption thrown in for good measure), we can turn to Catholic Answers. This site has been really important in my own catechesis in recent years. I remember stumbling upon them when I had been visited multiple times by Jehovah's Witnesses, and I wanted to be better able to defend my Faith. What's really good about Catholic Answers' page is that it look specifically at various objections sola Scriptura Christians have and explains the beliefs in a way that helps answer each objection. Many people who work for Catholic Answers used to be Protestants, so they know very well the objections.

Here's a bit of Catholic Answers' discussion on the Immaculate Conception:

Fundamentalists’ chief reason for objecting to the Immaculate Conception
and Mary’s consequent sinlessness is that we are told that "all have sinned"
(Rom. 3:23). Besides, they say, Mary said her "spirit rejoices in God my Savior"
(Luke 1:47), and only a sinner needs a Savior.

Let’s take the second citation first. Mary, too, required a Savior. Like all other descendants of Adam, she was subject to the necessity of contracting original sin. But by a special intervention of God, undertaken at the instant she was conceived, she was preserved from the stain of original sin and its consequences. She was therefore redeemed by the grace of Christ, but in a special way—by anticipation.

Consider an analogy: Suppose a man falls into a deep pit, and someone reaches down to pull him out. The man has been "saved" from the pit. Now imagine
a woman walking along, and she too is about to topple into the pit, but at the
very moment that she is to fall in, someone holds her back and prevents her. She
too has been saved from the pit, but in an even better way: She was not simply
taken out of the pit, she was prevented from getting stained by the mud in the
first place. This is the illustration Christians have used for a thousand years
to explain how Mary was saved by Christ. By receiving Christ’s grace at her
conception, she had his grace applied to her before she was able to become mired
in original sin and its stain.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that she was "redeemed in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son" (CCC 492). She has more reason to call God her Savior than we do, because he saved her in an even more glorious manner!

But what about Romans 3:23, "all have sinned"? Have all people committed
actual sins? Consider a child below the age of reason. By definition he can’t
sin, since sinning requires the ability to reason and the ability to intend to
sin. This is indicated by Paul later in the letter to the Romans when he speaks
of the time when Jacob and Esau were unborn babies as a time when they "had done nothing either good or bad" (Rom. 9:11).

We also know of another very prominent exception to the rule: Jesus (Heb.
4:15). So if Paul’s statement in Romans 3 includes an exception for the New Adam
(Jesus), one may argue that an exception for the New Eve (Mary) can also be
made.

Paul’s comment seems to have one of two meanings. It might be that it refers not to absolutely everyone, but just to the mass of mankind (which means young children and other special cases, like Jesus and Mary, would be excluded without having to be singled out). If not that, then it would mean that everyone, without exception, is subject to original sin, which is true for a young child, for the unborn, even for Mary—but she, though due to be subject to it, was preserved by God from it and its stain.

The objection is also raised that if Mary were without sin, she would be equal
to God. In the beginning, God created Adam, Eve, and the angels without sin,
but none were equal to God. Most of the angels never sinned, and all souls in heaven are without sin. This does not detract from the glory of God, but manifests it by the work he has done in sanctifying his creation. Sinning does not make one human. On the contrary, it is when man is without sin that he is most fully what God intends him to be.

The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception was officially defined by Pope Pius IX in 1854. When Fundamentalists claim that the doctrine was "invented" at this time, they misunderstand both the history of dogmas and what prompts the Church to
issue, from time to time, definitive pronouncements regarding faith or morals. They are under the impression that no doctrine is believed until the pope or an ecumenical council issues a formal statement about it.

Actually, doctrines are defined formally only when there is a
controversy that needs to be cleared up or when the magisterium (the
Church in its office as teacher; cf. Matt. 28:18–20; 1 Tim. 3:15, 4:11)
thinks the faithful can be helped by particular emphasis being drawn to some already-existing belief. The definition of the Immaculate Conception was prompted by the latter motive; it did not come about because there were widespread doubts about the doctrine. In fact, the Vatican was deluged with requests from people desiring the doctrine to be officially proclaimed. Pope Pius IX, who was highly devoted to the Blessed Virgin, hoped the definition would inspire others in their devotion to her. [emphasis mine -ed.]

For today's readings and some ideas on how to celebrate this important day with your family, you can go here. If you go to this site, there are even some recipes to try along with the activities (and more explanation of the Solemnity).

And, don't forget that today is a Holy Day of Obligation. That means you need to get thee to Mass!

[icon source]

In Context

Hat tip to Esther for pointing this out to me.

Beware of violent images - not suitable for young children.




Hopefully, the meeting this past weekend will begin to open up the minds of the most radical Muslims.

Continue to pray for the conversion of their souls!

Mary, Our Lady of Arabia, ora pro nobis!

[picture credit]

Feast of the Triumph of the Cross

September 14, 2005
Triumph of the Cross
Old Calendar: Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross




This feast was observed in Rome before the end of the seventh century. It commemorates the recovery of the Holy Cross, which had been placed on Mt. Calvary by St. Helena and preserved in Jerusalem, but then had fallen into the hands of Chosroas, King of the Persians. The precious relic was recovered and returned to Jersualem by Emperor Heralius in 629.



The Breviary lessons tells us that Emperor Heraclius carried the Cross back to Jerusalem on his shoulders. He was clothed with costly garments and with ornaments of precious stones. But at the entrance to Mt. Calvary a strange incident occurred. Try as hard as he would, he could not go forward. Zacharias, the Bishop of Jerusalem, then said to the astonished monarch: "Consider, O Emperor, that with these triumphal ornaments you are far from resembling Jesus carrying His Cross." The Emperor then put on a penitential garb and continued the journey.



Triumph of the Cross



This day is also called the Exaltation of the Cross, Elevation of the Cross, Holy Cross Day, Holy Rood Day, or Roodmas. The liturgy of the Cross is a triumphant liturgy. When Moses lifted up the bronze serpent over the people, it was a foreshadowing of the salvation through Jesus when he was lifted up on the Cross. Our Mother Church sings of the triumph of the Cross, the instrument of our redemption. To follow Christ we must take up his cross, follow him and become obedient until death, even if it means death on the cross. We identify with Christ on the Cross and become co-redeemers, sharing in His cross.



The Sign of the Cross we make over ourselves before prayer helps to fix our minds and hearts to God. After prayer we make it to keep close to God. During trials and temptations our strength and protection is the Sign of the Cross. At Baptism we are sealed with the Sign of the Cross, signifying the fullness of redemption and that we belong to Christ. Let us look to the cross frequently, and realize that when we make the Sign of the Cross we give our entire self to God — mind, soul, heart, body, will, thoughts.


O cross, you are the glorious sign of victory.
Through your power may we share in the triumph of Christ Jesus.



Symbol: The cross of triumph is usually pictured as a globe with the cross on top, symbolic of the triumph of our Savior over the sin of the world, and world conquest of his Gospel through the means of a grace (cross and orb).


The Wednesday, Friday and Saturday following September 14 marks one of the Ember Days of the Church. See Ember Days for more information.




Things to Do:

• Study different symbols and types of crosses, history and/or significance. Then have an art project — creating own crosses, using different media, including paper. See variations of crosses for some ideas.


• Learn and pray the prayer to Christ Crucified; pray the Stations of the Cross. Point out particularly the phrase repeated at each station: We adore You, O Christ, and praise You,Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
  Study the history of St. Helena and Constantine, especially St. Helena’s quest for finding the relics of Jesus.


• Make sure that crucifixes are displayed prominently throughout your home. Point out the crucifix in every room even to the smallest ones. Your child's first word may be "Jesus"!
  Explain the meaning of the Sign of the Cross to your children and be sure that even the little ones are taught how to make it.


• Encourage your children to make reparation for sin; read about sacramentals.
  Teach your children a short ejaculatory prayer such as "Through the sign of the Cross deliver us from our enemies, O our God!".


• Make a dessert in the form of a cross, or decorated with a cross. Although usually made on Good Friday, Hot Cross Buns would be appropriate for this day. Make a cross cake, either using a cross form cake pan, or bake a sheet cake (recipe of choice). Once cool, cut the cake in half, lengthways. Then cut one of these sections in half width ways. This makes three sections - one long and two short. Lay the long section onto a serving plate. Set the two small sections next to the long section forming a cross. Frost and decorate as desired.
  Tradition holds that sweet basil grew over the hill where St. Helena found the Holy Cross, so in Greece the faithful are given sprigs of basil by the priest. Cook a basil pesto, tomato basil salad (with the last of the summer tomatoes) or some other type of recipe that includes basil, and explain to the family.


• More Ideas: Women for Faith and Family, Hand Cross, and Catholic Encyclopedia.


• Folklore has that the weather on the Ember Days of this month (September 15, 17, and 18) will foretell the weather for three successive months. So Wednesday, September 15, will forecast the weather for October; Friday, September 17, for November; and Saturday, September 18, for December.
  

[information from Catholic Culture]

Saints, Purgatory, the Bosom of Abraham, and Hell

Mark Shea has an interesting post up with a Q&A about all of that stuff.

Here's the question, and you should head over to Mark's blog for the answer:

All of the protestant denominations I have been involved with teach that there are places where both the righteous and damned dead go to await the resurrection, judgment, etc. For the righteous it is called the "bosom of Abraham" or "Paradise", and I'm unsure what the place for the damned is called. The damned are in a state of torment and the the righteous are in a blessed state, but none have received their final reward/punishment. Is this basically the same concept as Purgatory?

Also, how does the Church determine who the patron saints of a profession, etc. are going to be?

Oh yeah, I really appreciate you anwering all of my questions!

Biblical Roots of the Mass

Thomas J. Nash has written a book on the Biblical roots of the Mass, and Ignatius Insight interviewed him about the new publication.


He says:

When I say the biblical roots of the Mass, I refer to the heart of the Mass—the Sacrifice of the Mass-and how that Sacrifice was prefigured in Old Testament offerings and fulfilled in Christ's one Sacrifice in the New Testament. While many apologetics books made worthwhile, New Testament-based arguments for the Eucharist in the midst of covering other doctrinal topics, I didn't see any book that cultivated a biblical overview of the Sacrifice of the Mass. Different authors affirmed my conclusion.

More information on the book, plus the rest of the interview, is found here.

Two Tributes

Tribute at 9-11 Memorials.

Older tribute from years ago.

If you have any feelings, you'll probably need tissues.

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[picture source]