Calling Priests "Father"

Matthew 23:1-12
"But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man you father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted."

If you're going to use the above passage to protest the title "Father," you must also protest against the other titles "rabbi," "mater," and "teacher." To be consistent one must stop using the following words and phrases: Mister (means "Master"), Master of Ceremonies, Maitre d', master of the house, master sergeant, magistrate (from the Latin "magistratus" for "master"), Master of Arts (M.A.), founding father, city father, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), medical doctor, witch doctor, teacher, substitute teacher, student teacher, etc.

A plain reading of the Scriptures will reveal that the Bible teaches spiritual fatherhood and that the term "father" is used for those in such a role.

There is "Father Abraham" and "Father David." (Mark 11:9-10)

St Paul writes in I Corinthians 4:14-17 "I became your father through the Gospel." Thus those who convert others are seen as spiritual fathers.

St Paul refers to Timothy and Onesimus as his "sons."

St Paul encourages presbyters or priests to act in this way with the laity: "As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children." (1 Thessalonians 2:11-12)

More "father" verses below:

Matthew 23:29-31
[Jesus speaking in same chapter as the "Don't call men 'fathers' verse] Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.

Luke 6:23
[Christ speaking] Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.

Romans 4:1
What then shall we say about Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh?

Romans 4:11-18
And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also: And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised. For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

Romans 9:3-5
For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

Romans 11:28
As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the father's sakes.

I Corinthians 4:14-17
I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. For though ye have ten thousand instructers in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me. For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church. [NIV: "Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel."] [NASB: "For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel." -- He not only talks about spiritual fatherhood in these verses, he differentiates the spiritual fatherhood of the presbytery from common teachers about Christ.]

1 Corinthians 10:1
Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;

Galatians 1:14
And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.

Galatians 4:19-20
My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you, I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you.

Philippians 2:19-22
But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state. For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's. But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel.

1 Thessalonians 2:11-12
As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.

1 Timothy 1:2
Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Timothy 5:1
Rebuke not a Presbyter, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren;

Philemon 1:10
I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds: [ESV: "I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment."]

Hat tip to FishEasters for the verses and content.

The Assumption of Mary

Continuing the "Big Ten" Doctrines to which non-Catholic object with the Assumption of Mary.

I was recently asked whether Catholics "believe in the rapture." And the answer is yes, except we only believe that Mary has been raptured.

First it must be admitted that at least two other humans have been assumed, body and soul into Heaven:

Elijah
2 Kings 2:1-12
"And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind...And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan....And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven....And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more..."

Enoch
Hebrews 11:5
"By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God."

It seems that Moses' body may been translated to Heaven after his death.

Jude 1:9
"But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, disputed about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a reviling judgment upon him, but said, 'The Lord rebuke you.'"

Thus any biblical Christian must admit that it is a matter of divine revelation that God assumed Enoch and Elijah.

Now Catholics believe that it is a matter of divine revelation that God also assumed Mary's body and soul into Heaven. Obviously, if Mary was without sin (see the Immaculate Conception) then it was fitting that she would not be held by the grave. Also, Christ was bound to "Honor your father and mother," and thus honored her by not allowing her to decay. Christ would not see Enoch and Elijah assumed into Heaven and then allow His very own mother to rot. The woman that bore Him, nursed Him, and stood by Him during His passion and death on the cross.

Catholics find the assumption of Mary prophesied in Psalm 132:7-8:

"We will go into his tabernacles: we will worship at his footstool. Arise, O LORD, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength."

Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant (see Revelation 11:19-12:1). The Lord ascended into Heaven and also brought His ark, just as King David took up residence in Jerusalem and escorted the ark to the same place.

Notice that Catholics don't speak of the "Ascension of Mary." Christ ascended by His own power. But Mary was passively assumed into Heaven by Christ. His power accomplished the honor. And thus in Revelation, Mary as seen as being "in Heaven."

Islam: Our Two Options?

As Christians wee have essentially two options before us with respect to Islam. The first is to say that Islam is essentially a stable religion and that it has been thwarted by Islamic "fascists," "extremists," or "fundamentalists." The second option is to decry Islam as violent by nature and incompatible with peaceful civilization and democracy.

Ever since 9/11, we've been hearing the former - that Islam is a "peaceful religion" that has an angry minority has corrupted for political purposes. But lately, I have been hearing people say that it is Islam itself. Evangelicals tend to the view that Islam is "Satanic" and "antichrist."

I for one believe that Muslims worship the one true God, but worship Him falsely. "Allah" is merely the Arabic word for God and Arab Christians use that word for our Lord in the their prayers. Hillaire Belloc catalogued Islam as a Christian heresy and not as a distinct world religion. After all, Muslims believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, that Mary was immaculate and sinless, that Jesus is the Messiah, that Christ ascended into Heaven and they he shall judge the living and the dead at the end of time. As pointed out recently by Abdallah Schleifer, Muslims have a higher Christology that the majority of clergy in the Church of England!

I'm still undecided. I have certainly met very lovely Muslim people who lived charitably and respected me as a Christian. But I still wonder, are they the norm or the exception? I've also been to Indonesia and seen men raising money for "jihad" against the neighboring Lutheran Christians. And the television has not lately improved my perception of global Islam.

I think the primary problem is that Islam has no magisterium. It is therefore impossible to talk about "what Islam is." And thus I suppose it comes to a case by case situation. It's like Protestantism, such an entity does not really exist except on paper. Their are Lutherans and Presbyterians and Episcopalians and Methodists and Baptists and Congregationalists. And even these have subsets.

I suppose the "two options" don't really exist either, because "Islam" doesn't exist. One cannot make a judgment either way on "Islam" because it does not exist in the way that American or the Catholic Church exists as an entity.
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Horse Drawn Sacrament Carriage

Just when you thought it doesn't get any better than the botafumeiro, Father Stainbrook emails me this picture.

Click here for more photos.

El Botafumeiro

I forgot to blog earlier this week on the feast of St James the Greater. One of the best things about being Catholic is being in communion not only with the Holy Father, but with the Botafumeiro.

The Botafumeiro or "Smoke Boat" is the world's largest thurible (over six feet tall) and it resides in the shrine of St James in Compestella. They literally load it up with shovels of incense. It's simply amazing.

As an Eastern Catholic told me last week, "More incense, less nonsense."

Episcopal Bishop under the Gun

"Three canon lawyers, one a retired bishop, say that the use of Canon IV.9, "Abandonment of Communion" against the sitting bishop of San Joaquin, John-David Schofield has no basis, describing it as "legal balderdash," and a "bullying tactic" by the four ultra-liberal California bishops."

+Schofield is a good man. God bless him.

Full Article from David Virtue.

Daddy a Catholic

Tonight at the dinner table, one of my two year old twins told me, "I'm a girl. Mommy is a princess. Daddy is a Catholic."

Interesting role designation.

Brideshead Quote

"I wish I liked Catholics more."

"They seem just like other people."

"My dear Charles, that's exactly what they're not--particularly in this country, where they're so few. It's not just that they're a clique--as a matter of fact, they're about four cliques all blackguarding each other half the time--but they've got an entirely different outlook on life; everything they think important is different from other people. They try and hide it as much as they can, but it comes out all the time. It's quite natural, really, that they should."

from Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited

St Gregory the Great Factbites

St Gregory the Great's mother is a canonized saint - St Silvia (Nov 3).

St Augustine of Canterbury had been the prior St Gregory who was abbot at the Roman monastery founded by St Gregory in Rome.

Non Angli, sed Angeli. "They are not Angles, but Angels." said by Gregory when he first encountered English prisoners at a slave market.

Liturgical changes made by St Gregory:

• In the Canon of the Mass he inserted the words "diesque nostros in tua pace disponas, atque ab aeterna damnatione nos eripi, et in electorum tuorum jubras grege numerari"; ("grant us peace in our days, save us from final damnation, and count us among the flock of your chosen ones")
  
• he ordered the Pater Noster to be recited in the Canon before the breaking of the Host
• he provided that the Alleluia should be chanted after the Gradual out of paschal time, to which period, apparently, the Roman use had previously confined it;
• he prohibited the use of the chasuble by subdeacons assisting at Mass (I suppose deacons could still wear it at this time)
• he forbade deacons to perform any of the musical portions of the Mass other than singing the Gospel

from the Catholic Encyclopedia

Timeline of St Gregory's Life

AD 540 Gregory born

AD 573 At just over the age of 30 Gregory was raised to the highest civil office in Rome, that of Prefect.

AD 574 Gregory abandons his brilliant political career and and becomes a monk (whether he followed the rule of St Benedict is debated - different Lives contradicting one another).

AD 578 Pope Pelagius II ordained him against his will to the diaconate to serve as one of the esteemed Seven Deacons of Rome.

AD 579 The same pope sent Gregory to Constantinople and made him the permanent papal amabassador to Byzantium.

AD 586 Gregory is recalled to Rome and becomes secratary to Pope Pelagius II and Abbot of St Andrew's.

AD 590 Pope Pelagius II died and Gregory was elected Pope.

AD 597 St Gregory sends St Augustine to England as a missionary.

AD 604 St Gregory died and was immediately canonized a saint by acclamation.

Baptism Photo

Here is an "in action" baptism photo. Father Stetson (coped) of the Prelature of Opus Dei administers the sacrament. My beloved wife holds our son. That's me in the background with one of our daughters. As you can see, Jude is crying as he comes into the Kingdom - regenerate and infused with the Holy Ghost.

Photo from the godfather - Mark Adams.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

Please welcome my son to the Body of Christ. He was christened today as Jude Ambrose Josemaria by Father William Stetson at St John the Beloved Catholic Church in McLean Virginia - in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Anglican Post-Communion Prayer of Thanksgiving

The following prayer is from the tradition Book of Common Prayer and follows the reception of Holy Communion. It is said by the priest and people in unison.

ALMIGHTY and everliving God, we most heartily thank thee, for that thou dost vouchsafe to feed us who have duly received these holy mysteries with the spiritual food of the most precious Body and Blood of thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ; and dost assure us thereby of thy favour and goodness towards us; and that we are very members incorporate in the mystical body of thy Son, which is the blessed company of all faithful people; and are also heirs through hope of thy everlasting kingdom, by the merits of his most precious death and passion. And we most humbly beseech thee, O heavenly Father, so to assist us with thy grace, that we may continue in that holy fellowship, and do all such good works as thou hast prepared for us to walk in; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen.

A blessed prayer with wonderful cadence. I still use it privately after I received the Holy Mysteries at Mass.

Mary as the Mother of God

The doctrine of Mary as the Theotokos (Latin Dei Genetrix, English Mother of God or Godbearer) has come up in the comments.

Can one be an orthodox Christian and deny that Mary is the Mother of God? Ultimately, Mary's title as Mother of God is essential to orthodox Christology. If Christ is God and Mary is His mother, then she indeed the Mother of God. Her child is divine.

Even St Elizabeth understood this reality over 400 years before the Council of Ephesus when she said to her kinswoman Mary:

Luke 1:43 And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

Mary is the mother of the Lord. Failure to affirm this title is a failture to affirm the teaching of Sacred Scripture and thus the teaching of the Holy Spirit.

Does Mary Obscure Christ?

"If we look through Europe, we shall find, on the whole, that just those nations and countries have lost their faith in the divinity of Christ who have given up devotion to His Mother and that those, on the other hand, who had been foremost in her honor have retained their orthodoxy.

Contrast, for instance, the Calvinists with the Greeks, or France with the North of Germany, or the Protestant and Catholic communions in Ireland. . . . In the Catholic Church Mary has shown herself, not the rival, but the minister of her Son; she has protected Him, as in His infancy, so in the whole history of the Religion. There is then a plain historical truth in Dr. Faber’s words [in the preface to his translation of TD], which you quote to condemn, ‘Jesus is obscured, because Mary is kept in the background.’"

John Henry Newman

A Letter Addressed to the Rev. E.B. Pusey, D.D. on the Occasion of His Eirenicon, in Certain Difficulties Felt by Anglicans in Catholic Teaching Considered, new ed., London, New York, and Bombay 1900, 2:24, 92f.

Justification Not by Faith Alone

So far we've knocked out six of the the "Big Ten" objections that non-Catholics have against Catholicism:

1. Papal Universal Jurisdiction & Infallibility
2. Prohibition on Contraception
3. Indulgences and the Treasury of Merit
4. Purgatory and Prayers for the Dead
5. The Immaculate Conception of Mary
6. The Bodily Assumption of Mary
7. Justification not by Faith Alone
8. Prayer to Saints
9. Transubstantiation
10. Veneration of Images and Relics

Are we justified by faith or by works? They say there is no such thing as a bad question. But the "faith or works" question proves that bad questions do exist. This question is fundamentally misleading. It pulls the hearer into a false dichotomy that Scripture never allows. All heresies begin by forcing false dichotomies on Scripture. Is the human person a physical body or a spiritual soul? Is Christ only God or only man? Ultimately, justification by faith alone (here on referred to as solafideism) is an attempt to reduce the complex nuances of Scripture.

St Paul speaks frequently of "justification by faith," but never does he refer to "justification by faith alone." Neither does Christ. In fact, not one book of the Bible speaks of it. If it is so fundamental to orthodox soteriology (the doctrine of salvation), why doesn't anyone in the first century mention it?

But in fact, Scripture does contain the phrase "faith alone," but only in one place:

James 2:24 "You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone."

James explicitly states that man is NOT justified by faith alone. As a Protestant I solved this problem by stating that St James was not referring to the initial justification of an individual but rather as the later public justification of a believer. Abraham was justified in Genesis 15 and then again in Genesis 22. St James, I thought, was referring to the public manifestation of Abraham's justification in Genesis 22. The only problem is that St James quotes Genesis 15 in the context of what happens in Genesis 22. The events reveal a unified reality, and it is the unified reality of faith and works that St James is setting forth. St James is referring not only to Genesis 22, but Genesis 15 and Genesis 22 together. Belief and works are united in his justification before God, so much so that St James says that works "completed" Abraham's faith. "Completed" implies that something was incomplete.

St James is actually indicating that faith and works always go together. It is impossible to speak of "faith alone."

James 2:26 "For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead."

Faith is compared to the body. The spirit is compared to works. Works are therefore the animating force of faith.

But what about St Paul? Does he contradict St James? Of course not. The Holy Spirit cannot contradict Himself in Sacred Scripture. A rule of hermeneutics is that clearer passages should interpret less clear passages. There is only one passage in Scripture that directly examines justification, faith, and works - and that passage is chapter 2 of St James.

St Paul speaks of the power and importance of faith, though he never speaks of "faith alone." Luther added the word "alone" to his German "translation" of Galatians, but it's not there in the Greek. St Paul's railing against "works" is almost always against "works of the Law." If you read Galatians or Romans you will be struck that he is almost always speaking in the context of "works of the Law." This "works of the Law" are not good Christian deeds like loving your wife, helping old ladies cross the street, or attending church. "Works of the Law" are exactly what St Paul refers to: circumcision, new moons, kosher laws, etc. Galatians might as well be titled "A Treatise on Circumcision," because the whole book deals with the subject of circumcision. St Paul's target is the Judaizing party of the first century Church, not folks trying to live virtuous lives for Christ. This is why St Paul speaks of "faith working through love." (Gal 5:6)

Surprisingly, solafideism is perhaps one of the easiest Protestant doctrines to debunk. It has virtually no Scriptural support and it is explicitly denied in Scripture. I think it is held because it is a comfortable doctrine. It is the root of liberalism because it teaches that good intentions are all that really count. To believe that we are justified by faith and works leads us to fear and trembling and that is just the state in which we are called to work out our salvation.

Philippians 2:12 "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."

And yet we have the comfort to know that the origin of our faith is the same as the origin of our works - the grace of God. Neither originates in us. We have faith because the Holy Spirit grants it. We have works because the Holy Spirit grants it.

How Long Can Conservative Anglicans Wait?

Tex Anglican has a very nice post addressing the actual timeline of the great global Anglican divorce. I commend it to you. I could be that nothing is officially resolved until General Convention 2012. This seems completely unfeasible for the conservatives. Something has got to give.

On an unrelated note, I am frequently asked by Catholics for my assessment of the "what's going on in the Episcopal Church." Most Catholics I meet are not happy or triumphalistic over the failures of the Episcopal Church. Most see their Episcopalians as "separated brethren" indeed and believe the scandals hurt all Christians. They know that the general witness of Christians is handicapped by the Episcopal craziness and pray for resolution. I've been impressed by the concern and sadness of Catholics over what is happening.

Uberpapa

This is a great photo from AFP.

"and he shall be a father"

The Prophet Isaiah on the Vicar of the Davidic King:

"And I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your girdle on him, and will commit your authority to his hand; and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open." (Isaiah 22:21-22)

Church of England: "Yes" to Women Bishops

LONDON (Reuters) - The Church of England voted on Saturday to ordain women as bishops, a major liberalising step in a faith that has also faced schism over homosexuality, although it could be years before the first woman bishop is named.

Full text from Reuters.

This serves as a good bye to any sensible claim to Apostolic Succession or Catholicity. This only demonstrates that officially, the contemporary Church of England does NOT embrace the Catholic Sacrament Holy Orders and the Catholic Priesthood. Faithful Anglo-Catholics only have one place where they can continue their unique gifts and traditions.

Tridentine Mass Video

The clip is of the Gloria. Narrated by Abp. Fulton Sheen

Traducianism and the Creation of Souls

There is an ancient debate stemming back to Tertullian over the creation of human souls. There have been traditionally two schools: the creationists and the traducianists.

The creationists hold that every soul is created ex nihilo at the very moment of conception. God creates out of nothing every single human soul directly.

The traducianists (Tertullian, maybe St Augustine, and most Lutherans) teach that the human soul is generated in the same way that the human body is generated. According the soul of a new baby is created from the composite of the two souls of the parents. Just as the body is created from the previously existing genetic material of the mother and father, so also the soul is generated by the "genetic" material of the souls of the mother and father.

The traducianists believe that since we are conceived in Original Sin then God cannot create the stained souls. God cannot create something blemished. Thus, souls are derived from the previously stained souls of the parents. Traducianism thus relates the transmission of Original Sin as a real metaphysical transaction from body to body, soul to soul.

It should be stated that the Catholic Church formally rejects the traducianist doctrine and is officially creationist, holding that God immediately and directly creates a new soul out of nothingness for every conception.

CCC #366 The Church teaches that every spiritual soul is created immediately by God - it is not "produced" by the parents - and also that it is immortal: it does not perish when it separates from the body at death, and it will be reunited with the body at the final Resurrection.

Traducianism from Wikipedia

Belloc on Conversion

Hilaire Belloc, once wrote to a friend that, "the nearer [the Church] is seen, the more it is real, the less imaginary: the more direct and external its voice, the more indisputable its representative character … The metaphor is not that men fall in love with it: the metaphor is that they discover home.  ‘This was what I long sought’, they say.  ‘This was my need’.”

I must confess that I feel the same. I have know Christ for a long time, but know I feel that I am home with him. Entering the Catholic Church is like knowing a friend for a long time and then finally visiting him in his own home.

Immaculate Conception of Mary

Before getting all worked up over the Immaculate Conception of Mary, let's look at what Rome truly teaches on the subject:

491 Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, "full of grace" through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854:

The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.

492 The "splendor of an entirely unique holiness" by which Mary is "enriched from the first instant of her conception" comes wholly from Christ: she is "redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son".136 The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person "in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" and chose her "in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love".

It is important to focus on the fact that Mary was redeemed and that she was "redeemed in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son."

Catholics believed that Mary was redeemed. But rather then being redeemed later in life she was redeemed at the moment in which she was conceived. There is one primary reason for this, Christ in perfect fulfillment of the Law, fulfilled the Commandment "Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother." We know that Christ perfectly honored His Father. He also perfectly honored His Mother. The most honorable thing He could do for His mother was to redeem her "in a more exalted fashion."

Is it Biblical?

Argument #1
Mary is Full of Grace

Luke 1:28 [RSV]: "And he came to her and said, 'Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!'"

The term traditionally translated "full of grace" or "highly favored" is kecharitomene. This past perfect form denotes something that happened in the past and continues into the present. She was perfectly graced in the past and continues in that state. Luke 1:28 has served as the locus classicus for the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady.

Argument #2
Mary as Having Enmity with Satan

Gen 3:15 "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall crush your head, and you shall strike at His heel."

In this verse God addresses Satan. The Seed here is Christ. The Woman is His Mother, that is, Mary. Thus Satan has perfect enmity with Christ and with His Mother. The Catholic Church has interpreted this as indicating the sinlessness of Christ and Mary. If either actually committed sin, then they would not be at enmity with Satan but actually a cooperator with Satan at times.

Argument #3
Mary as Ark of the Covenant

In the Old Covenant the Ark of the Covenant contained the Word of God on stone. In the New Covenant, the Word made Flesh was also contained - and that in the womb of the Blessed Virgin. The Catholic Church has therefore understood Mary as the mystical Ark of the New Covenant. This connection is made in the book of Revelation.

Rev 11:19-12:2 Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, voices, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail. And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; she was with child.

The Ark of the Covenant appears in Heaven and then in the next breath (and next verse) St John describes a pregnant woman appearing in Heaven. This Woman "contains" the Messiah.

The thinking goes that if Mary is the fulfillment of the Ark of the Covenant, then she must be all holy. Remember that in the Old Covenant a man was killed for touching the ark. It was holy. If the box that held stone tablets was so restricted - so also would be the woman who actually carried God Himself. And so she is all pure and all holy, without the stain of sin.

Martin Luther on Schism

"I never approved of a schism, nor will I approve of it for all eternity . . . That the Roman Church is more honored by God than all others is not to be doubted . . . It is not by separating from the Church that we can make her better."

Martin Luther, Letter to Pope Leo X
January 6, 1519

Mind you that Luther posted the 95 Theses on October 31 of 1517. The statement above is therefore about one year and two months after his posting of the famous objections. This showes that even over a year after the Wittenburg incident, Luther still saw himself as a Roman Catholic opposed to schism.

Fourth of July in Christendom

Happy Independence Day!

On a less celebratory note, the fourth of July also marks the Battle of Hattin that took place in 1187, between the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Muslim forces under Saladin. On this day King Guy of Lusignan lost Jerusalem to Muslim control.

Three Reasons for the Eucharistic Fast

Catholics are not allowed to consume food or drink prior to receiving the Eucharist. St Augustine (d. 430) says: "It has pleased the Holy Spirit that, out of honor for this great sacrament, the Lord's Body should enter the mouth of a Christian before other foods." (Resp. ad Januar., Ep. liv)

According to St Thomas Aquinas, there are three reasons for the Eucharistic fast:

1) First, as Augustine says (Resp. ad Januar., Ep. liv), "out of respect for this sacrament," so that it may enter into a mouth not yet contaminated by any food or drink.

2) Secondly, because of its signification. i.e. to give us to understand that Christ, Who is the reality of this sacrament, and His charity, ought to be first of all established in our hearts, according to Mt. 6:33: "Seek first the kingdom of God."

3) Thirdly, on account of the danger of vomiting and intemperance, which sometimes arise from over-indulging in food, as the Apostle says (1 Corinthians 11:21): "One, indeed, is hungry, and another is drunk."

Summa Theologica III.80.8.

Catholic Godfather Proverbs

Great Catholic quotes from The Godfather Trilogy:

"The only wealth in this world is children. More than all the money and power on Earth, [they] are my treasure."

"A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man."

"Fredo, you're my older brother, and I love you. But don't ever take sides with anyone against the family again. Ever."

"Mr. Corleone is Johnny's godfather. To the Italian people, that is a very religious, sacred, close relationship."

"But you can never lose your family. Never."

"Never hate your enemies -- it effects your judgement."

"Neri, take a train to Rome. Light a candle for the archbishop."

"All my life I kept trying to go up in society. Where everything higher up was legal. But the higher I go, the crookeder it becomes. Where the hell does it end?"

"The Pope, the Holy Father himself, has this very day blessed Michael Corleone; an' you think you know better than the Pope?"

"This pope has very different ideas from the last one."

"The richest man is the one with the most powerful friends."

"Don't overestimate the power of forgiveness."

What is your favorite Godfather trilogy quote?