Popemobile Meets the Cardinalmobile

As a consolation for not receiving the ancient scarlet galero, the newly tapped cardinals will be receiving a different kind of red adornment.

"Just don't try to hang them from your cathedral ceilings," said the Holy Father.

Biretta tip to American Papist.

[For those wondering - the Cardinals don't really get sweet rides. I don't know the origin of this picture.]

Should We Boycott The Da Vinci Code?

Should We Boycott The Da Vinci Code?

I plan to boycott the film. The simple reason is that it blasphemes the King who saved me. If someone made a movie that portrayed my sister was a dirty rotten prostitute, I would be greatly offended and never pay a dime to see it.

If one does have a "personal relationship with Christ," then our friendship with Christ and our love for His holy Name and reputation will lead us to not give money to a cause that denies His divinity and renders Him an adulterer.

"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." The Da Vinci Code is the ultimate example of using Christ's name to fulfill the vanities of our age.

Harvard's Reputation & the Secular Agenda

Does the world’s most prestigious university deserve its stellar reputation? A recent graduate has his doubts.

Article via mercatornet.

Orthodox Judaism and Purgatory

It seems that Orthodox Judaism does have a doctrine analogous to Purgatory.

Mainstream Jews have been praying for dead for at least one hundred years before Christ. The Maccabean chronicles explicitly describes that prayer was offered for the dead and that one could arrange sacrifice at the Temple on behalf of the dead (2 Mac 12:42-45). Anyone today can go to a Jewish synagogue and learn that all Jews pray to God for the benefit of the departed.

The Jewish Talmud may be thought to indicate the state of "Purgatory" in Sabbath 33b and Rosh HaShanah 16b-17a; a similar belief in the efficacy of prayers for the dead is manifest in the Mourner's Kaddish which is prayed for 11 months after a loved one dies.

All this shows that prayer for the faithful departed is not a pagan compromise or a late medieval invention. Rather it is the Jewish custom that long predates the advent of Christ.

Death "Roe"

This looks like an interesting site and their are Roe v. Wade survivor stories, e.g.:

My Mom found out she was pregnant with twins.(Me and my brother Nick).She had a one year old (my sis Lauren)When she told my Dad she was having twins on Valentines Day.He said you have to have an abortion. She said No, and thank God she did. My mom gave us life, not a death sentence!!!!!

See deathroe.com.

Milton's Paradise Lost Coming to a Theatre Near You

Sure, John Milton was an Arian. But Paradise Lost is pretty cool. Looking forward to seeing the flick on the big screen, as directed from the fellow who did Exorcism of Emily Rose.

This just proves the newfound Hollywood formula:

Religious Themes
+
Dramatic Cinematography
+
Sweet Special Effects

= Lots of $$$
See The Passion, Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Da Vinci Code, etc. for details.

On This Day: Shakespeare Was Baptized

William Shakespeare was baptized on this day, April 26th, in 1564.

Now the question is this: Was the man Anglican, Catholic, or just a skeptical playboy? Probably all three. There is some interesting evidence suggesting that he was a recusant Catholic. Has anyone read up on this?

Is Baylor the Notre Dame of the South?

Since my wife went to Baylor and I've spent some time there. (Our first date was a campus sponsered sacred choral Christmas concert.) I think that she appreciated her time at Baylor and the influence was more positive than negative on her faith. I'm impressed with Baylor's desire to create a prestigious academic institution without sacrificing the school's Christian commitments. I have my doubts on the long term success. Catholic institutions have hardly been able to maintain their "catholicness" in the face of secularism (e.g. Georgetown, Loyola), and Protestant institutions have historically always bowed to secularist principles within a couple of generations (e.g. Harvard, Princeton).

Notre Dame generally has accomplished what Baylor wants to achieve -- recognized status as a top-tier university without surrendering to secularism. But Notre Dame is not without its problems - google "Notre Dame and Vagina Monologues" for details.

Read Should Baylor University aspire to become the "Protestant Notre Dame"? from ABP News.

Will There Be Future English Coronations?

There is a new article in The Guardian over whether secular Britain would allow/understand the Christian coronation of a monarch and whether the rite is suitible for the nation.

The nub of the ceremony is the anointing by the Archbishop of Canterbury of the monarch on the palms, chest and head. This is a sacrament; not just symbolic, it actually transforms the recipient. As the Bishop of Salisbury, David Stancliffe, puts it: "It marks an outpouring of the Holy Spirit with gifts of grace to sanctify the person, it marks the choice of God of this person to be king or queen and starts a process which will be fulfilled in the course of their reign."

After the anointing, the monarch dons robe royal, orb, sceptre, rod and crown - all symbols of the divine grace being poured on to the new sovereign - while the archbishop incants prayers such as "may you continue steadfastly as the defender of Christ's religion". He concludes in a benediction: "The Lord who hath made you [king or queen] over these peoples give you increase of grace, honour and happiness in this world and make you partake of his eternal felicity in the world to come."

We could start a whole thread on the liturgical significance and character of the chrism anointings in the royal coronation rite. But do you think the next King of England will be duly crowned as "the defender of Christ's religion"? Would it be a mockery of the Christian Faith?

Biretta tip to Fair Amy.

This Is So Wrong...

"Yesterday, walking around Rome, I came across the Church of St.Pantaleone, which is between Piazza Navona and Campo de’ Fiori on one of the busiest streets in town, the Corso Vittorio Emmanuele. Work is being done on the facade, and the scaffolding is covered with a scrim which reproduces the look of the church’s facade and includes paid advertising. You’ll never guess what was being advertised."

From Fr. Wauck's blog.

Baptist Church Thanks God for Dead Servicemen

This is just crazy. This lady's church goes to funerals of dead servicemen with signs to thank God for His righteous judgments against America. Finally Hannity and Colmes agree on something: This lady is nuts! Say a pray for her.

The New Yorker on the Anglican Communion

This article from The New Yorker is very interesting. I find it not surprising that Bp. Gene Robinson openly complained at Sewanee about his having to recite the Nicene Creed, which contained beliefs that troubled his conscience. The school chaplain's solution: just don't recite the parts you don't like. I was not a aware that one could customize a Creed.

One of the highlights of the article was the quote from megachurch celebrity, Rick Warren:

The evangelical megachurch pastor Rick Warren also addressed the gathering in Pittsburgh, and put the property question to them bluntly. “What’s more important is your faith, not your facilities,” he said. “The church is people, not the steeple. They might get the building, but you get the blessing.” Bob Duncan says that the future looks like a series of unpleasant legal battles—“And the question that the state courts are going to have to figure out is, Who are the Episcopalians?”

And lastly, while I don't typically like the outlook of Paul Zahl, I found it interesting that he was saying this sort of thing:

“I would say there is a constitutional weakness [in Anglicanism], which this crisis has revealed, which may in fact prove to be the death of the Anglican project—the death, at least in formal terms, of Anglican Christianity. We’ve always said that we’ve had this great insight, and I used to think that we did. But I’m not quite sure whether we’re not on very sandy ground. . . . It’s at the edge of the abyss. It’s about to be extinguished, and that’s not histrionic.”

The New Yorker is admitedly of a leftest bend, but I think the article is pretty responsible. I recommend it.

The Two Resurrections in the Apocalypse

I'm reading the Navarre Bible Commentary on St John's Revelation. It is a very good little volume and I highly recommend the Navarre Commentaries.

One point of clarification that the Revelation Commentary makes is the concept of the "first resurrection" and the "second resurrection" in Revelation. There is a right way and a wrong way to understand this.

The erroneous interpretation follows the premillenial school (e.g. that which is presented in the Left Behind series). Those of this school actually posit two different literal physical resurrections. The first is for the righteous and occurs at the Second Coming of Christ. The second physical resurrection is of the unrighteous at the end of a literal 1,000 year reign of Christ on earth with the saints.

The correct approach follows the amillenial school of thought, which understands the millenium of Revelation chapter 20 as a symbolic length of time spanning from the death of Christ to His Second Coming. Accordingly, the "second resurrection" refers to the true physical resurrection at the end of time at His Second Coming.

The first resurrection is understood sacramentally. The Revelation read this way:

This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they shall reign with him a thousand years. (Rev 20:6)

This should be read in the context of St Paul's words:

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. (Rom 6:4-6)

The first resurrection refers to that reality of the regenerate soul. That which has died with Christ and risen with Him. Baptism confers the grace of the Christ's resurrection.

I bring this up because you can see how the dispensationalism of Left Behind spins out of control with its spurious interprations. By not discerning the cosmos sacramentally, the dispensationalist/fundamentalist is forced to hold teachings that end up confusing the Scriptures. There can not two resurrections at the end of time. The only sound interpretation is to understand the first resurrection as the sacramental reality of the resurrection applied to the soul of the believer and the second resurrection as the eschatological reality of the resurrection accomplished in the body of the believer.

Christ the Lord is Risen Today

Today is the best day of the year. Wishing all a happy and holy Paschal Feast!

Holy Saturday: God Rests From His Labors

And on the seventh day God rested from His labors and hallowed the Sabbath Day.

Christ the Son of God lays in the tomb keeping the perfect Sabbath rest with His body. And with His soul He robs Sheol of the righteous souls of elder times. All of Heaven keeps still on this Sabbath, waiting in expectation for the New Creation - the Eighth Day.

Saint Veronica's Name

All Too Common has a nice little article on St Veronica over at his blog.

The St Veronica story is beautiful. In times past I found it troubling that this episode is featured in the Stations of the Cross. But it is certainly an old tradition and it piously depicts those women who so mourned Our Lord's passionate journey to Calvary.

I though Mel Gibson's depiction of the Veronica episode in The Passion of the Christ was perfect. Whatever her name was, we should honor her memory. It's worth noting that her name was not likely "Veronica." The name Veronica is likely a slurred version of vera icona, Latin for the "true image or icon" of Christ our Lord.

The Gospel of Judas and Timing

Everyone's buzzing about the "new" Gospel of Judas. I did a little reading and learned that it was actually discovered in the 1970s! My suspicion is that its recent publication is deliberately timed with the new release of the film version of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, starring Tom Hanks.

It is certainly convenient that the Gospel of Judas is being publicized in conjunction with the best-selling, soon to be blockbuster, the Da Vinci Code.

The World's Largest Churches

1. St Peter's in the Vatican: 186.30 m
2. St Paul's, London, UK: 158.10 m
3. The Duomo, Florence, Italy: 149.28 m
4. Sacred Heart of Jesus, Brussels, Belgium: 140.94 m
5. Immaculate Conception, Washington DC, USA: 139.14 m
6. Rheims Cathedral, Rheims, France: 138.69 m
7. The Duomo, Milan, Italy: 134.94 m
8. Cologne Cathedral, Cologne, Germany: 134.94 m
9. Speyer Cathedral, Speyer, Germany: 134 m
10. San Petronio, Bologna, Italy: 132.54 m
11. Seville Cathedral, Sevilla, Spain: 132 m
12. St Paul's Outside the Walls, Rome, Italy: 131.66 m
13. Notre Dame, Paris, France: 130 m
14. St Vitus, Prague, Czech Republic: 124 m
15. Toledo Cathedral, Toledo, Spain: 122 m
16. St John Lateran, Rome, Italy: 121.84 m
17. La Plata Caethedral, La Plata, Argentina: 120 m
18. Mexico City Cathedral, Mexico City, Mexico: 119.55 m
19. Antwerp Cathedral, Antwerp, Belgium: 118.60 m
20. Santa Giustina, Padua, Italy: 118.50 m
21. Esztergom Cathedral, Esztergom, Hungary: 118 m
22. Ferrara Cathedral, Ferrara, Italy: 118 m
23. Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, Assisi, Italy: 114.76 m
24. St Paul's, Brasilia, Brazil: 111.45 m
25. Westminster Cathedral, London: 110 m
26. Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey: 109.57 m
27. Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston, USA: 103.50 m
28. Basilica of the Virgin Mary, Gdansk, Poland: 103.50 m
29. St Patrick's, New York, USA: 101.19 m

Women's Ordination in the Anglican Communion

This will give you a clear idea to what extent the Anglican Communion accepts the ordination of women. The stats are only as of February 2004.

There are only eight Anglican provinces that outrightly refuse to ordain women to all three Holy Orders (deacon, priest, bishop):

Central Africa
Jerusalem and the Middle East
Korea
Melanesia
Nigeria
Papua New Guinea
Southeast Asia
Tanzania

There are four provinces that ordain women only to the diaconate:

Indian Ocean
Southern Cone (in South America)
Congo
Pakistan

All the other Anglican provinces ordain women to the priesthood.

Biretta tip to Wikipedia: Women's Ordination.