The Seven Sons of Sceva the High Priest

Acts 19:14 tell us about the seven sons of a "Jewish High Priest" by the name of "Sceva". If one looks down the list of high priests, there is not a high priest in Jerusalem named "Sceva". Biblical commentators resolve this discrepancy by stating that Sceva must have been a Jewish man who became a pagan "high priest". I'm not ruling that out, but I find it very unlikely.

The reason for this is that the name "Sceva" is a Hellenized version of the Latin word scaeva meaning "left-handed" and by extension, "sinister" and "untrustworthy". Lewis & Short's Latin Dictionary also attests to a classical meaning of "perverse" or "ominous".

If Luke is engaging in priesthood polemics by contrasting the priesthood of Christ with that of the Jewish high priesthood, then we have a clue to what is meant by "Sceva".

[Incidentally, I'm becoming convinced that Luke is the author of Hebrews since: A) Luke is very Pauline; B) Luke-Acts is caught up in priesthood polemics; and C) Hebrews is a priesthood polemic par excellence. If you think all this is strange, Thomas Aquinas backs me up as he thinks Luke had a hand in Hebrews, as well.]

So which high priest is "Sceva"? My suspicion is Caiaphas, but I don't know. I wonder if "seven sons" literally refers to sons. The seven sons "leave the house" wounded and naked. This is a sign of unworthiness. They attempt exorcism without the name of "Jesus" or "Paul" and the demons tear them up for it. The whole point is that although sons of the "chief priest", they have no authority over devils. Their priestly power is nothing compared to that of Jesus Christ.

It would be interesting to discover whether any high priests had connections to Ephesus. That might provide a hint as to the identity of Sceva.

Also, if Luke is writing to the high priest Theophilus, Theophilus surely would know who this "Sceva" is who had "sons" in Ephesus.

Comments?

Museum defies Pope over the "Green Frog"

No photo this time, folks.
This is ridiculous. The Italian museum with the crucified green frog has refused to take down the blasphemy, even after the Holy Father has asked for its removal.

By ARIEL DAVID

ROME (AP) - An art museum in northern Italy said Thursday it will continue displaying a sculpture portraying a green frog nailed to a cross that has angered Pope Benedict XVI and local officials.

The board of the foundation of the Museion in the city of Bolzano voted to keep the work by the late German artist Martin Kippenberger, the museum said in a statement.

Earlier in August the pope had written a letter to Franz Pahl, the president of the Trentino-Alto Adige region that includes Bolzano, denouncing the sculpture.

It "has offended the religious feelings of many people who consider the cross a symbol of God's love and of our redemption," Pahl quoted the pope as writing in the letter.

(AP) In this photo taken June 2nd, 2008 protesters gather outside the "Museion" museum in Bolzano ,...
Full Image
Pahl himself has long opposed the display of "Zuerst die Fuesse" ("First the Feet" in German), even staging a hunger strike this summer and saying he would not seek re-election unless it was removed.

In a telephone interview with The Associated Press on Thursday, Pahl said he was outraged by the museum's decision to keep the work, which he claims "pokes fun at the Catholic population and offends religion and the pope."

Full story here.

Origin of Saint Michael Prayer

Despite being just over one hundred years old, the Prayer to Saint Michael is a prayer almost as familiar as the Our Father, Hail Mary, or Glory Be. It's history is interesting.

It is said that Pope Leo XIII had a vision at Holy Mass that terrified him. The tradition varies at this point. Either he saw devils congregating around the Holy See or he heard that it was granted to Satan to try to undermine the Church for the next one hundred years. Whichever it was (maybe both!), Pope Leo XIII composed this prayer and ordered in 1886 that it be recited after every Low Mass. This custom was suppressed in 1964.

The text of the prayer is as follows:

Sancte Michael Archangele,
defende nos in proelio.
contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium.
Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur:
tuque, Princeps militiae caelestis,
Satanam aliosque spiritus malignos,
qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo,
divina virtute, in infernum detrude. Amen.

And this is the commonly received English translation of the prayer:

Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle;
be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray:
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God,
cast into hell Satan and all evil spirits
who wander through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

What the Church Fathers REALLY say about abortion

So Nancy Pelosi thinks that the Church Fathers stand in line with her lax position that abortion is not only permissible, but even worthy of tax dollar support. Here is what the Church Fathers say in their own words.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Church Fathers on abortion:

The Didache

"The second commandment of the teaching: You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not seduce boys. You shall not commit fornication. You shall not steal. You shall not practice magic. You shall not use potions. You shall not procure [an] abortion, nor destroy a newborn child" (Didache 2:1–2 [A.D. 70]).

The Letter of Barnabas

"The way of light, then, is as follows. If anyone desires to travel to the appointed place, he must be zealous in his works. The knowledge, therefore, which is given to us for the purpose of walking in this way, is the following. . . . Thou shalt not slay the child by procuring abortion; nor, again, shalt thou destroy it after it is born" (Letter of Barnabas 19 [A.D. 74]).

The Apocalypse of Peter

"And near that place I saw another strait place . . . and there sat women. . . . And over against them many children who were born to them out of due time sat crying. And there came forth from them rays of fire and smote the women in the eyes. And these were the accursed who conceived and caused abortion" (The Apocalypse of Peter 25 [A.D. 137]).

Athenagoras

"What man of sound mind, therefore, will affirm, while such is our character, that we are murderers?
. . . [W]hen we say that those women who use drugs to bring on abortion commit murder, and will have to give an account to God for the abortion, on what principle should we commit murder? For it does not belong to the same person to regard the very fetus in the womb as a created being, and therefore an object of God’s care, and when it has passed into life, to kill it; and not to expose an infant, because those who expose them are chargeable with child-murder, and on the other hand, when it has been reared to destroy it" (A Plea for the Christians 35 [A.D. 177]).

Tertullian

"In our case, a murder being once for all forbidden, we may not destroy even the fetus in the womb, while as yet the human being derives blood from the other parts of the body for its sustenance. To hinder a birth is merely a speedier man-killing; nor does it matter whether you take away a life that is born, or destroy one that is coming to birth. That is a man which is going to be one; you have the fruit already in its seed" (Apology 9:8 [A.D. 197]).

"Among surgeons’ tools there is a certain instrument, which is formed with a nicely-adjusted flexible frame for opening the uterus first of all and keeping it open; it is further furnished with an annular blade, by means of which the limbs [of the child] within the womb are dissected with anxious but unfaltering care; its last appendage being a blunted or covered hook, wherewith the entire fetus is extracted by a violent delivery.

"There is also [another instrument in the shape of] a copper needle or spike, by which the actual death is managed in this furtive robbery of life: They give it, from its infanticide function, the name of embruosphaktes, [meaning] "the slayer of the infant," which of course was alive. . . .

"[The doctors who performed abortions] all knew well enough that a living being had been conceived, and [they] pitied this most luckless infant state, which had first to be put to death, to escape being tortured alive" (The Soul 25 [A.D. 210]).

"Now we allow that life begins with conception because we contend that the soul also begins from conception; life taking its commencement at the same moment and place that the soul does" (ibid., 27).

"The law of Moses, indeed, punishes with due penalties the man who shall cause abortion [Ex. 21:22–24]" (ibid., 37).

Minucius Felix

"There are some [pagan] women who, by drinking medical preparations, extinguish the source of the future man in their very bowels and thus commit a parricide before they bring forth. And these things assuredly come down from the teaching of your [false] gods. . . . To us [Christians] it is not lawful either to see or hear of homicide" (Octavius 30 [A.D. 226]).

Hippolytus

"Women who were reputed to be believers began to take drugs to render themselves sterile, and to bind themselves tightly so as to expel what was being conceived, since they would not, on account of relatives and excess wealth, want to have a child by a slave or by any insignificant person. See, then, into what great impiety that lawless one has proceeded, by teaching adultery and murder at the same time!" (Refutation of All Heresies [A.D. 228]).

Council of Ancyra in AD 341

"Concerning women who commit fornication, and destroy that which they have conceived, or who are employed in making drugs for abortion, a former decree excluded them until the hour of death, and to this some have assented. Nevertheless, being desirous to use somewhat greater lenity, we have ordained that they fulfill ten years [of penance], according to the prescribed degrees" (canon 21 [A.D. 314]).

Basil the Great

"Let her that procures abortion undergo ten years’ penance, whether the embryo were perfectly formed, or not" (First Canonical Letter, canon 2 [A.D. 374]).

"He that kills another with a sword, or hurls an axe at his own wife and kills her, is guilty of willful murder; not he who throws a stone at a dog, and unintentionally kills a man, or who corrects one with a rod, or scourge, in order to reform him, or who kills a man in his own defense, when he only designed to hurt him. But the man, or woman, is a murderer that gives a philtrum, if the man that takes it dies upon it; so are they who take medicines to procure abortion; and so are they who kill on the highway, and rapparees" (ibid., canon 8).

John Chrysostom

"Wherefore I beseech you, flee fornication. . . . Why sow where the ground makes it its care to destroy the fruit?—where there are many efforts at abortion?—where there is murder before the birth? For even the harlot you do not let continue a mere harlot, but make her a murderess also. You see how drunkenness leads to prostitution, prostitution to adultery, adultery to murder; or rather to a something even worse than murder. For I have no name to give it, since it does not take off the thing born, but prevents its being born. Why then do thou abuse the gift of God, and fight with his laws, and follow after what is a curse as if a blessing, and make the chamber of procreation a chamber for murder, and arm the woman that was given for childbearing unto slaughter? For with a view to drawing more money by being agreeable and an object of longing to her lovers, even this she is not backward to do, so heaping upon thy head a great pile of fire. For even if the daring deed be hers, yet the causing of it is thine" (Homilies on Romans 24 [A.D. 391]).

Jerome

"I cannot bring myself to speak of the many virgins who daily fall and are lost to the bosom of the Church, their mother. . . . Some go so far as to take potions, that they may insure barrenness, and thus murder human beings almost before their conception. Some, when they find themselves with child through their sin, use drugs to procure abortion, and when, as often happens, they die with their offspring, they enter the lower world laden with the guilt not only of adultery against Christ but also of suicide and child murder" (Letters 22:13 [A.D. 396]).

The Apostolic Constitutions

"Thou shalt not use magic. Thou shalt not use witchcraft; for he says, ‘You shall not suffer a witch to live’ [Ex. 22:18]. Thou shall not slay thy child by causing abortion, nor kill that which is begotten. . . . [I]f it be slain, [it] shall be avenged, as being unjustly destroyed" (Apostolic Constitutions 7:3 [A.D. 400]).

Hat tip to Catholic Answers for providing all these quotes.

Eusebius on the Flight from Jerusalem in AD 64

Hegesippus records that Saint James of Jerusalem had been cast down from the pinnacle of the Temple because he had claimed (in about AD 63) that the "Son of Man was coming on the clouds". Apparently, the authorities dramatically pushed Saint James off the top of the Temple in mockery of the descent of the "Son of Man".

However, James was not wrong. Things were about to get bad in Jerusalem. Really bad.

The Church historian Eusebius recounts that the Jerusalem Christians were warned in a vision to depart Jerusalem because its destruction was near. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, writing in about AD 75, "many of the most eminent of the Jews swam away from the city" in AD 64 (Jewish War 2, 20, 1). In other words, this "exodus" from Jerusalem occurred three and a half years before the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.

Eusebius describes it like this:

"The whole body, however, of the Church at Jerusalem, having been commanded by a divine revelation, given to men of approved piety there before the war, removed from the city, and dwelt at a certain town beyond the Jordan, called Pella. Here those that believed in Christ, having removed from Jerusalem, as if holy men had entirely abandoned the royal city itself, and the whole land of Judea; the divine justice, for their crimes against Christ and his Apostles finally overtook them, totally destroying the whole generation of these evildoers form the earth.

- Eusebius, History of the Church 3, 5

And thus was fulfilled the words of Christ: "Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all these things take place" (Mt 24:34).

Seven Year Tribulation, AD 63 - AD 70

Saint James of Jerusalem received martyrdom in AD 63 and Jerusalem subsequently spun into the First Jewish-Roman War. The Jewish Christians under the leadership of James' successor, Saint Simeon fled Jerusalem in obedience to Christ's warning. Meanwhile Nero (the man of "666) is madly killing Christians in Rome, including Saints Peter and Paul.

In AD 70, the Romans sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple and brought about the "end of the [Mosaic] age".

Might we say that the murder of James of Jerusalem in AD 63 kicks of the microcosmic "seven year tribulation"?

This by now means denies a future tribulation. The close of the Jewish age is typological of the close of the temporal age.

For other related topics listen to The Mark of the Beast and Caesar Podcast by Taylor Marshall.

The Rich Man and Lazarus - The Rich Man is Caiaphas the High Priest

Who is the rich man in Luke chapter 16?

According to chapter 16, the rich man wears purple, he keeps Lazarus "outside the gate", he's rich, he denied the resurrection, and he had five brothers (Lk 16:27-28).

High priests wear purple. High priests opened and closed the gates to the Temple compoles. High priests are rich. Sadducean high priests denied the resurrection.

Caiaphas was a high priest, he wore purple, he was very wealthy, he was a Saducee and he had five brother-in-laws who reigned as high priests in Jerusalem:

1. Eleazar ben Ananus (16–17)
2. Jonathan ben Ananus (36–37 and 44)
3. Theophilus ben Ananus (37–41)
4. Matthias ben Ananus (43)
5. Ananus ben Ananus (63)

This could also be confirmed by the fact that the "raising of Lazarus" in John 11 provokes Caiaphas to declare that Christ must die. Thus Caiaphas and Lazarus are also conjoined in John's Gospel.

Another possibility that I'm entertaining at the moment is that the Rich Man is "Apostate Judah". Scripture tells us that Judah had five blood brothers: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, and Zebulun (Gen. 35:23). However, I think that the "Caiaphas solution" is the best one.

Any comments or suggestions?

Pelosi’s abortion lies attacked by Catholic House Republicans

Archbishop Wuerl isn't the only one speaking out against Pelosi's statement that the Catholic doctrine against abortion is only "about 50 years old". Ten House Republicans have responded respectfully but forcefully to refute Pelosi’s deliberate deceptions:

Dear Speaker Pelosi,

On the Sunday, August 24th, broadcast of NBC’s Meet the Press, you stated “as an ardent, practicing Catholic, [abortion] is an issue that I have studied for a long time.” As fellow Catholics and legislators, we wish you would have made a more honest effort to lay out the authentic position of the Church on this core moral issue before attempting to address it with authority.

Your subsequent remarks mangle Catholic Church doctrine regarding the inherent sanctity and dignity of human life; therefore, we are compelled to refute your error.

In the interview, Tom Brokaw reminded you that the Church professes the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death. As stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “Since it must be treated from conception as a person, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed, as far as possible, like any other human being” (2274).

To this, you responded, “I understand. And this is like maybe 50 years or something like that. So again, over the history of the Church, this is an issue of controversy.” Unfortunately, your statement demonstrates a lack of understanding of Catholic teaching and belief regarding abortion.

From the Apostles of the first century to Pope John Paul the Great “the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law” (Catechism 2271).

Thus, your erroneous claim about the history of the Church’s opposition to abortion is false and denigrates our common Faith. For example, during the reign of Pope Innocent XI in 1679, the Church unequivocally stated it is an error for Catholics to believe fetuses do not have a soul; and confirmed the teaching that abortion constitutes homicide.

To reduce the scandal and consternation caused amongst the faithful by your remarks, we necessarily write you to correct the public record and affirm the Church’s actual and historical teaching that defends the sanctity of human life. We hope that you will rectify your errant claims and apologize for misrepresenting the Church’s doctrine and misleading fellow Catholics.

Respectfully,

Hon. Thaddeus G. McCotter (MI)
Hon. Steve Chabot (OH)
Hon. Virginia Foxx (NC)
Hon. Phil Gingrey (GA)
Hon. Peter King (NY)
Hon. Steve King (IA)
Hon. Daniel Lungren (CA)
Hon. Devin Nunes (CA)
Hon. John Sullivan (OK)
Hon. Patrick Tiberi (OH)

This list may grow; one source says that John Boehner, the House Minority Leader, has already added his signature. As more join this list, I’ll update this post with the additions.

Abp. Wuerl of Wash D.C. criticizes Nancy Pelosi

Archbishop of DC calls out Nancy Pelosi for presuming to be magisterial!

From The Hill:

In a rare public rebuke of a top politician, the archbishop of Washington said Monday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was incorrect when she recently said the moment of conception has long been a matter of controversy within the Catholic Church.

In a release issued Monday night, Washington Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl said Pelosi's comments on "Meet the Press" on Sunday "were incorrect."

Wuerl noted that Pelosi responded to a question on when life begins by mentioning she was Catholic.

The release quoted Pelosi as saying the church has not been able to come with a definition of when life begins.

“After Mr. Tom Brokaw, the interviewer, pointed out that the Catholic Church feels strongly that life begins at conception, she replied, 'I understand. And this is, like, maybe 50 years or something like that. So again, over the history of the church, this is an issue of controversy,' " the release said.

Wuerl strongly disagrees.

He said, "We respect the right of elected officials such as Speaker Pelosi to address matters of public policy that are before them, but the interpretation of Catholic faith has rightfully been entrusted to the Catholic bishops. Given this responsibility to teach, it is important to make this correction for the record."

Wuerl pointed out that the Catechism of the Catholic Church is clear, and has been clear for 2,000 years. He cited Catechism language that reads, "Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception … Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law.”

A Pelosi spokesman did not immediately comment for this article.

Read full text from The Hill.

Saint James of Jerusalem as a Priest of Christ

I had an excellent time last night with Dr. Scott Hahn, Dr. Brant Pitre, Michael Barber, and Robert Corziono of the Saint Paul Center for Biblical Studies.

One of the things that we discussed was the "priestly polemic" in Saint Luke's Gospel-Acts as it relates to the rivalry between the Apostles (namely Peter, John, James the Greater, and James of Jerusalem) and the High Priests in Jerusalem. James of Jerusalem is of particular importance because he has been described as a "high priest".

Saint Jerome (quoting Hegesippus who died in AD 180) recorded:

"After the apostles, James the brother of the Lord surnamed the Just was made head of the Church at Jerusalem. Many indeed are called James.

This one was holy from his mother's womb. He drank neither wine nor strong drink, ate no flesh, never shaved or anointed himself with ointment or bathed [Taylor: In other words he was a consecrated Nazarite].

He alone had the privilege of entering the Holy of Holies, since indeed he did not use woolen vestments but linen [Taylor: priests wore linen, not wool] and went alone into the temple and prayed in behalf of the people [Taylor: this is so obviously priestly], insomuch that his knees were reputed to have acquired the hardness of camels' knees.

- Saint Jerome, De Viris Illustribus, "James"

We learn that James was a leader in Jerusalem, not only among Christians but also among the Jews. He was revered as a holy man - a holy man who was a Nazarite, wore linen robes, and prayed inside the Temple! Notably, Josephus mentions only three significant Christian leaders of the first century - John the Baptist, Jesus of Nazareth, and James of Jerusalem - the latter was murdered in AD 62 or 63.

James was killed in this way. Ananus ben Ananus (briefly high priest in only the year AD 63) assembled the Sanhedrin and condemned James as transgressor of the Law with the penalty of death by stoning (just like Saint Stephen). Some accounts say that he was first thrown down from the pinnacle of the Temple.

[As an aside, can anyone help me see how this relates to Christ in the wilderness with Satan's temptation of Christ standing on the pinacle?!]

Josephus reports that the Jews of Jerusalem viewed the murder of James as unjust and appealed to the magistrate. In response, King Agrippa replaced the high priest Ananus with Joshua ben Damneus (briefly high priest in AD 63). Shortly thereafter, Jerusalem fell into the war which led to the apocalyptic destruction of the Temple in AD 70.

The murder of James dug out a canyon of distance between the Jerusalem Christians and the Temple hierarchy.

Brant Pitre noted last night that the Gospel of Saint Luke concludes with the episode of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. I believe the unnamed disciple is Luke himself. The other disciple is identified as "Cleopas". Pitre pointed out that tradition identifies Cleopas as the father of both James and Simeon, the successor of James in Jerusalem. Both men were revered by both Jews and Jewish Christians as "priestly leaders".

Cleopas would be particularly interesting to Jewish priests perplexed by the priestly role and leadership of Saint James of Jerusalem. This is why Luke highlights Cleopas as a witness to the risen Christ.

On top of this, Luke addressed his Gospel-Acts to "the most excellent Theophilus". If Theophilus is the former high priest of Jerusalem (AD 37-41), then it would explain why Luke concludes with the "credentials" of Cleopas who was the father of the Christian "high priest" of Jerusalem.

This is all very fascinating because it accomplishes three things:

A) It establishes an early dating of Luke-Acts (i.e. before AD 63).

B) It changes the way we read Luke-Acts. It's not the alleged "Gospel for Gentiles and Women". I don't mean to undermine those themes, but there may be more going on here than just that. Instead, Luke-Acts is an apologetical document written for the leadership of Jerusalem just prior to the First Jewish-Roman. As Brante Pitre said, "That's one heck of a subtle Jew who can pick up on all the sophisticated temple/priestly imagery of Luke, chapters one and two!" I agree.

C) It focuses our attention onto the priestly debates of the first century. Luke is fundamentally concerned with priestly polemics. His emphasis on Temple imagery in the opening chapters, his attention to the debates between Sadducees and Pharisees, and importance of the Ascension of Christ as Priest and Son of Man each confirm this hypothesis.

I'd be very grateful for any comments as I'm still working through all of this.

While you're at it, take a look at Brant Pitre and Michael Barber's blog: Singing in the Reign.

Thomas Aquinas and Evelyn Waugh on Faith and Science

The truth of our faith becomes a matter of ridicule among the infidels if any Catholic, not gifted with the necessary scientific learning, presents as dogma what scientific scrutiny shows to be false.

- Saint Thomas Aquinas

This reminds me of that hilarious account in Evelyn Waugh's novel Brideshead Revisited about Rex Mottram who wishes to receive instructions from a Catholic priest for the sole purpose of marrying a Catholic.

When the priest tries to trick him and asks what would happen if the Pope predicted that it would rain and then subsequently it never did actually rain, Rex eagerly responded: "I suppose it would be sort of raining spiritually, only we were too sinful to see it."

High Priests of Jerusalem from 37 BC till AD 70

The following the list of the high priests in Jerusalem from before the birth of Christ till the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70:

Ananelus 37-36 BC
Aristobulus III 36 BC
Ananelus (restored) 36-30 BC
Joshua ben Fabus 30-23 BC
Simon ben Boethus 23-4 BC
Joazar ben Boethus 4 BC
Eleazar ben Boethus 4-3 BC
Joshua ben Sie 3 BC-AD 6

The Dominiation of the House of Ananus (6-43)
Ananus ben Seth 6-15
Ishmael ben Fabus 15-16
Eleazar ben Ananus 16-17
Simon ben Camithus 17-18
Joseph Caiaphas 18-36
Jonathan ben Ananus 36-37
Theophilus ben Ananus 37-41 [Taylor: I think that this "Most Excellent Theophilus" is the addressee of Luke-Acts, although Luke-Acts was not written till about 60-63.]
Simon Cantatheras ben Boethus 41-43
Matthias ben Ananus 43

Aljoneus 43-44
Jonathan ben Ananus 44 (restored)
Josephus ben Camydus 44-46
Ananias ben Nebedeus 46-52
Jonathan 52-56
Ishmael ben Fabus 56-62 (restored?)
Joseph Cabi ben Simon 62-63
Ananus ben Ananus 63
Joshua ben Damneus 63
Joshua ben Gamaliel 63-64
Mattathias ben Theophilus 65-66
Phannias ben Samuel 67-70

There were four families that dominated the high priesthood at this time: Annas, Boethus, Fabus, and Camithus. None of them were Zadokite (i.e. they were all illegitimate).

Listen to mp3 podcast: Jewish Levites, Catholic Clergy by Taylor Marshall.

Have three or more kids and you'll live longer, says study

A study last November reveals that being thin, farming, and having several children are the keys for a male to live past the age of 100:

The research, based largely on data from World War I draft cards, suggests that keeping off excess weight in youth, farming and fathering a large number of offspring all help men live past a century.

"We were surprised that having more than three children is beneficial to longevity -- based on previous studies by other authors, and common sense, quite the opposite could be expected," said study co-author Leonid Gavrilov, who conducted the study with his wife, Natalia Gavrilova, both of the University of Chicago's Center on Aging.

[A] man's chances for extreme longevity almost tripled if he had fathered four or more children by age 30, the study found.

And if your mom birth you before she was 25, then you're also set for longevity:

Just last year, they reported one new finding: Babies born to women under 25 years of age were twice as likely to live to 100 years of age compared to infants born to moms aged 25 or older.

Read the whole article (four pages) from Bio-Medicine.

Faustina Academy: Endorsed Prep-School in Dallas

If you live in the Dallas area and are looking for a great school, please check out Faustina Academy.

Faustina Academy is a private, independent, college preparatory school (pre K-12th grade) that offers a challenging curriculum emphasizing the principles of the Church's magisterium. The Academy's foremost goal is the development of the student in faith, love, and service to God. The difference at Faustina? The quest for excellence of the mind, heart, and soul.

We also attend to Eucharistic adoration, have priests available for confessions, and do monthly work projects with Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity in Dallas. Last year we also had a ski trip to Colorado and flew our juniors and seniors out to Washington DC for the March for Life.

Faustina is not a parochial school or diocesan school and is not officially a Catholic school. Nevertheless, all teachers sign a contract to be 100% faithful to the magisterial teaching of the Catholic Church. The high school theology courses use the Didache series and rely heavily on the Sacred Scriptures and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. I happen to believe that the high school theology courses are the best in Dallas (because I teach them...).

Check out our website: www.faustinaacademy.com

Peter Leithart on Typology

I love reading Peter Leithart's blog. He had a brief but brilliant summation of typology recently:

Typology is a philosophy of history.

It is also a theory of meaning.

Typology is a historical theory of meaning, a theory of historical meaning.

That Matthew can say “Out of Egypt I called My Son” is fulfilled in Jesus isn’t evidence that Matthew was a midrashist. It’s not merely a hint about how to read the Old Testament. It’s a pointer to the character of history and the nature of meaning. Texts mean the way Matthew says Hosea’s text means; history’s contours are the contours that Matthew discerns in Hosea’s reference to the exodus.

Typology is the beginning of wisdom.

Read the full post over at Leithart's blog.

The Sarum Use Rosary (I'm not making this up)

A lot of bogus traditions and practices are circulated (particuarly in Anglican circles) about the "Sarum Use" of the Roman Rite. (I've written about an example of "Sarum abuse" in the liturgy over here) and also about confusion of "Sarum blue" in Advent over here.) "Sarum" refers to Salisbury, the esteemed place of English liturgical preservation prior to the Reformation.

Here is a Sarum usage that is legit. It's the Sarum Rosary, which is remarkably similar to the contemporary "Scriptural Rosary".

There are five decades and each Ave Mary begins with an event from the life of Christ. The fifth decade climaxes in the Second Coming of Christ. Quite beautiful. The Thesaurus Precum Latinarum has made the entire Sarum Rosary available in both Latin and English. Check it out.

Pope Benedict to visit China?

This is huge. The Holy Father has been invited by the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Church to visit China. The "patriotic" Church is technically in schism with the Holy See and controlled by the Chinese government - in other words it doesn't officially recognize the Pope.

The fact that they are inviting the Holy Father for a visit, may be a sign that a reconciliation is imminent. I once heard Cardinal McCarrick say that almost all of the "patriotic" Catholic bishops have secretly sent messages to either John Paul II or Benedict XVI confessing their submission to the Holy See. This will be interesting to watch.

ROME - The Beijing bishop appointed by China's state-controlled Catholic Church said in an interview Wednesday that he hopes Pope Benedict XVI will visit his country and that relations with the Vatican are improving.

"We strongly hope that Benedict XVI will make a trip to China," Joseph Li Shan told Italy's RAI state TV. "Relations with the Vatican are constantly improving. We can say that there are big developments."

Full story from Yahoo.

Saint Irenaeus on the Need for Tradition

Saint Irenaeus stands out as a Church Father who stresses the need for Apostolic Tradition. In his historical context, he engaged in polemical debates with heretics of every stripe. These heretics would, of course, appeal to Scriptural texts to justify their heretical doctrines. Again and again, Irenaeus stressed that the Catholic Church maintained a true "apostolic succession" and thus the true "apostolic tradition". In other words, Irenaeus appealed to a dogmatic lineage. The Scriptural texts don't float out there for just anyone to interpret. Rather, they belong to the Church and remain in that context.

"In this order, and by this succession, the ecclesiastical tradition from the apostles, and the preaching of the truth, have come down to us. And this is most abundant proof that there is one and the same vivifying faith, which has been preserved in the Church from the Apostles until now, and handed in truth."

- Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3, 3, 3 (ca. A.D. 185)

One might observe that "succession" and "ecclesiastical tradition from the apostles" safeguards the "one and the same vivifying faith".

So that there is no confusion, Irenaeus believes that a true historical succession is necessary and essential to right doctrine:

"Wherefore it is incumbent to obey the presbyters who are in the Church, those who as I have shown, possess succession from the apostles; those who, together with the succession of bishops, have received the certain gift of truth, according to the good pleasure of the Father. But [it is also incumbent] to hold in suspicion others who depart from the primitive succession of the succession, and assemble themselves...But those who cleave asunder, and separate the unity of the Church, shall recieve from God the same punishments as Jeroboam did."

- Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 4, 26, 2

In other words, if a teacher is not union with the successors of the Apostles, he is to be held "in suspicion". The Apostle John has not yet been dead 100 years and yet the Church has already insulated itself from heresy by recognizing only the successors of the Apostles.

Luther and Calvin's denial of a real historical "apostolic succession" places them alongside the Gnostics who also denied the historical lineage of the Church's bishops. They find themselves fundamentally opposed to Irenaeus - an orthodox Christian writing in the late second century!

Didache on Confession and Eucharistic Sacrifice

The Didache is a magnificent little document that is likely the oldest non-biblical Christian text, dating to about A.D. 70-90. I came across one line that is a pure gold nugget of Catholic practice and doctrine:

On the Lord's own day, assemble in common to break bread and offer thanks (Greek: "to Eucharist"), but first confess your sins so that your sacrifice may be pure." Didache, 14.

Here we have an imperative for the Sunday obligation - to come together for the Eucharist. Next, there is an imperative that Christians "confess your sins". Thirdly, the act of "breaking the bread" is referred to as a "sacrifice". In all three regards, typical Protestant practice and theology diverges from this very early witness to Christian piety. We find that the early Apostolic Church already practiced an obligatory Sunday Eucharist, confession of sins, and belief in the sacrificial aspect of the Eucharist.

Can there be lay cardinals?

Dear Taylor, a miscellaneous question that popped into my head:

Is it possible for the Pope to select a lay person to be a cardinal? Could a deacon be a cardinal?

- abu daoud

The term "lay cardinal" is not accurate, because prior to Vatican II, many men were in tonsured and minor orders but were not deacons, priests, or bishops. These men were canonically "clerics" and not layman. So there is some confusion on this matter since today we are not familiar with "clerics" that are not deacons, priests, or bishops.

In years past there were both lay cardinals and true cardinal deacons (men who were deacons and not priests or bishops). Giacomo Antonelli, Pope Pius IX's Secretary of State, was not truly a "lay cardinal" because he was a deacon at the time of his elevation. The last true lay cardinal that I know of was Teodolfo Cardinal Mertel. He was appointed and elevated as a cardinal on March 15, 1858. He was ordained deacon the very next day on March 16, 1858. So he was only a "lay cardinal" for less than one day. Yet, he was likely a cleric (tonsured) even before this. And so we bump into the problem of defining "lay" in this context.

The current Code of Canon Law stipulates that all cardinals also be bishops (canon 351§1).

Pope John Paul II of blessed memory dispensed Cardinal Dulles from being elevated to the episcopate. He is still a priest and not a bishop, i.e a Cardinal priest. Nevertheless, I believe he is allowed to pontificate like a bishop even though he is not a bishop. Moreover, I believe he is a member of the magisterium, even though he is not a bishop.

Can any canon lawyers answer these questions more precisely?

Barack Obama misrepresenting his abortion record

Obama on how abortion and human rights
question is "above his pay grade".
Obama's campaign has been taking in water ever since his now infamous "above my pay grade" remark at the Saddleback forum. When I took a hunting class as a young man, we were told that if you see a deer in the woods and you're not 100% positive that it is a deer and not a person, it is morally wrong to pull the trigger. If Barack Obama is not sure that the unborn have "human rights," then Obama should err on the side of caution and protect them. If his answer is: "The unborn might have rights - I don't know for sure," then he should NOT promote and vote for funding to kill more of them.

Recently Obama accused pro-lifers of "lying about his record".

Confronted about this on CBN, [Obama] said the pro-life group was lying. But his campaign has now admitted that he had the legislative history wrong. Obama either didn't know his own record, or was so accustomed to shrouding it in dishonesty that it had become second nature.

Obama has consistently voted in favor of abortion from conception to partial birth abortion. He also supported measures that unsuccessfully aborted babies (babies who "accidentally survived" abortions should also be "terminated"). It gets worse:

In 2007, Obama told the Planned Parenthood Action Fund that the Freedom of Choice Act would be the first piece of legislation that he would sign as president. The act would not only codify Roe v. Wade, but wipe out all current federal, state and local restrictions on abortion that pass muster under Roe, including the Hyde Amendment prohibiting federal funding of abortion. This is not the legislative priority of a man keenly attuned to the moral implications of abortion.

At Saddleback, Obama said determining when a baby gets rights is "above his pay grade." Leave aside that presidents usually have an opinion about who deserves legal rights. If Obama is willing to permit any abortions in any circumstances, he'd better possess an absolute certainty about the absolute moral nullity of the fetus.

Barack Obama is a great enemy to human rights because he opposes the fundamental bedrock of human rights - the right to life.

Read full story over at the Washington Post: Rich Lowry's "Obama Lying over his Abortion Record".

Decree of Council of Rome (AD 382) on the Biblical Canon

Below is the first ecclesiastical decree on the Church's canonical books of the Sacred Scriptures. It is exactly the same canon used today by the Catholic Church Martin Luther removed seven of those books, plus portions to Daniel and Esther.

"Likewise it has been said: Now indeed we must treat of the divine Scriptures, what the universal Catholic Church accepts and what she ought to shun. The order of the Old Testament begins here: Genesis one book, Exodus one book, Leviticus one book, Numbers one book, Deuteronomy one book, Josue Nave one book, Judges one book, Ruth one book, Kings four books, Paralipomenon [i.e. Chronicles] two books, Psalms one book, Solomon three books, Proverbs one book, Ecclesiastes one book, Canticle of Canticles one book, likewise Wisdom one book, Ecclesiasticus [i.e. Sirach] one book.

Likewise the order of the Prophets. Isaias one book, Jeremias one book, with Ginoth, that is, with his Lamentations, Ezechiel one book, Daniel one book, Osee one book, Micheas one book, Joel one book, Abdias one book, Jonas one book, Nahum one book, Habacuc one book, Sophonias one book, Aggeus one book, Zacharias one book, Malachias one book. Likewise the order of the histories. Job one book, Tobias one book, Esdras two books [i.e. Ezra & Nehemiah], Esther one book, Judith one book, Machabees two books.

Likewise the order of the writings of the New and Eternal Testament, which only the holy and Catholic Church supports. Of the Gospels, according to Matthew one book, according to Mark one book, according to Luke one book, according to John one book.

The Epistles of Paul the Apostle in number fourteen. To the Romans one, to the Corinthians two, to the Ephesians one, to the Thessalonians two, to the Galatians one, to the Philippians one, to the Colossians one, to Timothy two, to Titus one, to Philemon one, to the Hebrews one.

Likewise the Apocalypse of John, one book. And the Acts of the Apostles one book. Likewise the canonical epistles in number seven. Of Peter the Apostle two epistles, of James the Apostle one epistle, of John the Apostle one epistle, of another John, the presbyter, two epistles, of Jude the Zealut, the Apostle one epistle."

- Decree of the Council of Rome (AD 382) on the Canon of Scripture during the reign of Pope Damasus I (AD 366-384).

New Baby Marshall born!!!

Dear friends and family,

Last night (Aug 16), Joy began heavy labor around 10:30pm, and gave birth in our home to a beautiful, healthy 9lbs, 5oz boy at 11:10pm. We named him "Becket John Marshall" after Saint Thomas Becket and Saint John the Beloved Apostle.

Although Becket is our fifth, he was our first natural birth. He was born at home (in my office!). The midwives said that it was their best birth of the month. Joy gave birth in a warm inflatable "birth pool" so the baby was born under water. Once his head was born, I did the rest and pulled him out. My first time to catch the baby.

Please join us in grateful prayer for the healthy birth of Becket John. Baptism plans are in the works.

Love in Christ,
Taylor

Canterbury Tales moving to "taylormarshall.com"

I'm not a big fan of how blogger can shut my blog down at will (as it did a couple weeks ago). Therefore, Canterbury Tales blog will be moving away from "www.cantuar.blogspot.com" to "www.taylormarshall.com" in a couple weeks. The name and content won't change. Just the url or location on the web. If read via a feed or reader, then you'll have to change the address. I apologize ahead of time for the inconvenience.

I'll make a few more announcements leading up to the switch.

Godspeed,
Taylor Marshall

Reformed converts to Catholicism - Updated!

[I've updated the list. If you've contacted me and your not on the list, I'll get you on there soon. Thanks for all the information. -TRJM]

Okay, this is just an initial list of people I know. I know that there are many more Reformed converts to Catholicism. I've missed a lot of them. I just ran down the ones I knew off the top of my head, either from the blogosphere or from personal contact.

By "Reformed" I don't mean "Reformational" but those Christians deriving from the Calvinistic magisterial tradition: Continental Reformed, Presbyterian, etc.

If you know of any more, please leave the info in the comment's box. They don't need to be famous apologetics masters. I'm looking for everyone. If you don't want to be included, let me know. If I have made an error, please tell me and I'll correct this. (Reverts don't count - just converts.)

I'd also like the dates of when you were received into the Church and if you went to a Reformed seminary.

I predict that this shall be a very interesting exercise.

• Avery Cardinal Dulles (PCUSA > Catholic Cardinal!)
• James Akin (PCA > Catholic;
  Blog: www.jimmyakin.org)
• John Henry Cardinal Newman (Calvinistic Anglican clergyman > Catholic Cardinal)
• Joy Marshall (PCA > Anglican > Catholic)
• Bryan Cross (Covenant Seminary grad; PCA > Anglican > Catholic in 2006;
  Blog: http://principiumunitatis.blogspot.com)
• Kenneth Howell (Westminster Seminary grad; PCA minister; Professor at Reformed Theological Seminary)
• Mary Moorman (PCA > Anglican > Catholic)
• Philip Bocock (PCA > Anglican > Catholic)
• Scott W. Hahn (Gordon Conwell grad; Professor at Chesapeake Theological Seminary; PCA minister > Catholic in 1986;
  Web Site: http://www.salvationhistory.com)
• Taylor R. Marshall (Westminster Seminary grad; PCA > Anglican priest > Catholic in 2006;
  Blog: cantuar.blogspot.com)
• Sean Dollahon (PCA > Catholic;
  Blog: youarecephas.blogspot.com)
• Tim A. Troutman (PCA > Catholic;
  Blog: http://godfearin.blogspot.com)
• Traci Bocock (PCA > Anglican > Catholic)
• Father James Hart (Westminster Seminary grad; Anglican priest > Catholic priest)
• Peter Kreeft (Dutch Reformed > Catholic;
  Web Site: www.peterkreeft.com)
• Tom Riello (PCA pastor > Catholic; Reformed Theological Seminary graduate)
• Andrew Preslar (OPC > Anglican seminarian > Byzantine Catholic)
• Neil Babcox (Presbyterian pastor > Catholic;
  Web Site: www.cst-phl.com/061221/third.html)
• Hamish Fraser (prominent writer; Scottish Presbyterian > Catholic, 1947)
• Marcus Grodi (Congregationalist pastor > PCUSA pastor > Catholic; apologist, president of The Coming Home Network, and host of EWTN's "Journey Home" program)
• Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne (1611-1675; French Reformed Huguenot > Catholic in 1668; marshal of France, noted military leader in campaigns in France and Italy during the Thirty Years' War and for his victory in Battle of Dunes)
• Saint John Ogilvie, S.J. (1579-1615; Scottish Presbyterian > Jesuit Catholic priest and martyr; canonized as a Saint by Pope Paul VI on October 17, 1976)
• Muriel Spark (Scottish Presbyterian > Catholic in 1954; made a Dame of the British Empire in 1993)
• Dale Vree (Dutch Reformed > Catholic; Editor of The New Oxford Review)
• Mike Terrell (PCUSA > PCA > CREC > Catholic in 2006;
  Blog: http://miketerrell.blogspot.com)
• Max Thurian (Swiss Reformed > Catholic in 1988; prominent continental Reformed theologian; Catholic priest)
• Brother Roger of Taize (Swiss Reformed > apparently considered to be in full communion with the Church by the early 1970s;
  More info on Brother Roger: http://www.taize.fr/en_article6740.html)
• John Bergsma (Christian Reformed pastor > Catholic; Calvin Seminary grad; theology prof at Franciscan U of Steubenville)
• Matt Yonke (CREC > OPC > Byzantine Catholic;
  Blog: http://mattyonke.wordpress.com)
• Father Frederick William Faber (The great hymn-writer converted in November 1845 from Calvinism by way of the Anglican Oxford movement)
• Tom Key (PCA > Catholic in 1988; Atlanta-based actor)
• Zach Brissett (PCA > Catholic in 2003)
• Walker Percy (PCUS > Catholic; novelist)

Notation Key to various Presbyterian schisms (or the "Split P's"):

ARPC - Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (origin 1782)
PCUSA - Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (origin 1789)
PCUS - Presbyterian Church in the United States (Southern Civil War schism from PCUSA in 1861. It reunited with the PCUSA in 1983.)
OPC - Orthodox Presbyterian Church (schism from PCUSA in 1936)
BPC - Bible Presbyterian Church (schism from OPC in 1938)
PCA - Presbyterian Church in America (schism from PCUSA in 1973)
EPC - Evangelical Presbyterian Church (schism from PCUSA in 1981)
CREC - Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches (origin 1998)

If this is too confusing, try this:

Saint Teresa of Avila on "going astray"

Today's quote of the day:

"To reach something good it is very useful to have gone astray, and thus acquire experience."

- Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)

And here's a Saint Teresa of Avila 'bonus quote' of day:

"I am more afraid of those who are terrified of the devil than I am of the devil himself."

Is the Assumption of Mary in the Bible?

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."

You might also be interested in these Canterbury Tales posts:

What was the historical date of the Assumption of Mary?

The details on Holy Days of Obligations

Psalm 132 and the Assumption of Mary

Edith Stein on being a Jewish Catholic

"I had given up practising my Jewish religion when I was a 14-year-old girl and did not begin to feel Jewish again until I had returned to God."

- Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)

If you interested in the connection between Judaism and Catholicism, check out these podcasts:

• Jewish Messiah, Catholic Christ
• Jewish Tevilah, Catholic Baptism
• Jewish Passover, Catholic Mass
• Jewish Manna, Catholic Eucharist
• Jewish Levites, Catholic Clergy
• Jewish Vestments, Catholic Vestments
• Jewish Temple, Catholic Cathedral
• Jewish Synagogue, Catholic Parish
• Jewish Nazirites, Catholic Monastics
• Jewish Marriage, Catholic Marriage

Demons unable to curse Blessed Virgin Mary

The chief exorcist of Rome, Father Gabriel Amorth, has written excellent book An Exorcist Tells His Story. It's creepy, but it reminds you of the overarching reality that Christ has already and continues to crush the head of Satan.

Interesting fact: According Fr. Amorth and other exorcists, demons are not allowed to blaspheme the Blessed Virgin Mary. They curse the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and also the saints. But they never curse Mary and shrink back from doing so. The hypothesis is that Christ prevents the demons from doing this or that it has something to do with the prophecy in Gen 3:15 about enmity between Satan and "the Woman" who bore the Christ Child.

Interesting to consider, if you ask this Papist.

Buy Father Amorth's book here:

The Pill may actually be bad for your relationship

Pope Paul VI of blessed memory is smiling from his grave.

Not only can the birth control pill be an abortificient, the birth control pill may put you off the "smell of your man" and ruin your relationship! This just in from the Times.

According to The Times Science Editor Mark Henderson, the Pill might be a bad idea since it alters a woman's hormones and could potentially destroy healthy relationships.

To millions of women it has been the great liberator over the past four decades, allowing them the freedom to control their fertility and their relationships. But the contraceptive Pill could also be responsible for skewing their hormones and attracting them to the “wrong” partner.

A study by British scientists suggests that taking the Pill can change a woman’s taste in men — to those who are genetically less compatible.

The research found that the Pill can alter the type of male scent that women find most attractive, which may in turn affect the kind of men they choose as partners. It suggests that the popular form of contraception — used by a quarter of British women aged between 16 and 50 — could have implications for fertility and relationship breakdowns.

Read Mark Henderson's full report over at the Times, and be sure to spread this one around.

Marked with a Tau on the forehead as a type of the Cross

In today's first reading of the Holy Mass, Ezekiel (9:4) describes how the faithful are marked with a "tau" on the forehead to preserve them from destruction. The "tau" is the letter "t" and according to the Fathers it corresponds to the sign of the cross received on the forehead at baptism.

In his commentary on Ezekiel, Origen interprets the meaning of the mark:

“The shape of the letter ‘Tau’ presented a resemblance to the figure of the Cross and that therein was contained a prophesy of the sign which is made by Christians upon their foreheads, for all the faithful make this sign in commencing any undertaking and especially at the beginning of prayer or of reading Holy Scripture. (Origen, In Ezekiel, 3)

This marking on the forehead is mocked by Satan with the Apocalyptic "mark of the Beast". Click here to listen to the podcast on "Mark of the Beast and Caesar" by Taylor Marshall.

Saint Jerome Quote on Fat Guts

Since we've been discussing Saint Jerome. Here's a great quote:

"A fat stomach never breeds fine thoughts." - Saint Jerome

The Catholic Case against Barack Obama

Barack Obama has not only voted in favor of abortion, he has voted in favor of partial-birth abortion.* Not only has he voted in favor of partial-birth abortion, he has voted in favor of post-partum infanticide.

Pat Buchanan has just written a pithy little piece entitled "A Catholic Case against Barack". It's very informative from a Catholic point of view. Take this for example:

Thrice in the Illinois legislature, Obama helped block a bill that was designed solely to protect the life of infants already born, and outside the womb, who had miraculously survived the attempt to kill them during an abortion. Thrice, Obama voted to let doctors and nurses allow these tiny human beings die of neglect and be tossed out with the medical waste.

I'll probably catch flack for this, but how is a man who resolutely supports infanticide any better than a man who wanted to slay the Jewish population of Germany?

America is currently a major provider for the world's abortion. President Obama would only increase the slaughter.

Read Buchanan's article: "A Catholic Case against Barack"

Hat tip to Matthew Hatcher.

* Partial-Birth Abortion: The late-term procedure known as partial-birth abortion, where the baby’s skull is stabbed with scissors in the birth canal and the brains are sucked out to end its life swiftly and ease passage of the corpse.

Rome prohibits pronouncing Tetragrammaton

I just read about this over at the Shrine of the Holy Whapping. Cardinal Arinze, Prefect for the Congregation for Divine Worship, has released a statement that Catholics ought not to pronounce the divine tetragrammaton [YHWH] in biblical texts and within divine worship itself. This is because the sacred tetragrammaton was never pronounced in Christian contexts nor was it ever left untranslated in any of the languages into which the Bible was translated.

The Septuagint and the authors of the New Testament simply substituted Kyrios ("Lord").

Saint Jerome substituted Dominus and the English translators have denoted the sacred tetragrammaton by all caps: LORD. This tradition should be maintained.

View the official documents by clicking here.

Hat tip to the Shrine of the Holy Whapping.

Saint Jerome on Deuterocanonical Books

Saint Jerome pulling a thorn from a lion's paw
A reader in the comment's box has stated that Jerome rejected the Deuterocanonical books of Sacred Scripture: Judith, Tobit, Wisdom, Sirach, 1 & 2 Maccabees.

While Saint Jerome may have had early reservations about those books, he obeyed Pope Damasus and the Council of Rome in 382 and changed his mind on the matter. One can observe this in Jerome's own writings. I'll give one solid example and leave the matter alone. The following quote is taken from a letter written by Saint Jerome in A.D. 404.

Does not the Scripture say: 'Burden not thyself above thy power'?
- Jerome, To Eustochium, Epistle 108 (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers 2, VI:207)

Here Saint Jerome quotes Sirach 13:2 ('Burden not thyself above thy power') as "Scripture".

In Saint Jerome's prologue on the book of Judith, he recongizes that the First Council of Nicea (AD 325 - the council defended the Trinity and deity of Christ against Arians) recognized the book of Judith as "canonical".

Furthermore, Jerome in the year A.D. 402 defended the deuteroncanoical additions to the book of Daniel:

What sin have I committed if I followed the judgment of the churches? But he who brings charges against me for relating the objections that the Hebrews are wont to raise against the Story of Susanna, the Song of the Three Children, and the story of Bel and the Dragon, which are not found in the Hebrew volume, proves that he is just a foolish sycophant. For I was not relating my own personal views, but rather the remarks that they [the Jews] are wont to make against us. (Against Rufinus, 11:33 [AD 402]).

I rest may case. It seems clear that Saint Jerome did at one time reject the deuterocanonicals, but by A.D. 402-404 he had become a defender of them. Saint Jerome was not a dissenter.

A moving painting: "Virgin of Consolation" by Bouguereau

This is Adolphe-William Bouguereau's painting "Virgin of Consolation".

I wept the first time that my eyes fell upon it.

As you can see, the red-eyed mother has lost her son and she has collapsed onto the Blessed Virgin Mary's lap in exhaustion. The weeping mother's hands are hardly held together in prayer. The poor mother has nothing left within her.

The Blessed Mother knows the pain of seeing her own Son die before her eyes, so she raises her hands and eyes in prayer to her Son, the Lord of Life. Stunning. It resonates with everything Catholic within me.

It is like a Pieta within a Pieta.

Dei Genetrix, ora pro nobis.

Are there two mediators: Christ and Mary?

Someone in the comments box recently asked whether the Catholic Church teaches that there are "two mediators" - Christ and Mary His Mother.

In a relative sense, anyone who prays for another is mediating petitions on behalf of the other party. However, in an absolute sense, "there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Tim 2:5).

Christ is fully God and fully man and thus He is the only absolute mediator between God and humanity. The Blessed Virgin Mary is human and not divine. Since Christ is the only mediator between God and humans, He is therefore the mediator between God and Mary.

Mary's mediation, like that of all Christians, participates in the priesthood of Christ or the general priesthood of the believing faithful. Mary's human prayers are the most efficacious because 1) she is the Mother of God; 2) Christ honors His mother in accordance with the Ten Commandments; and 3) since she provided the flesh and blood to the Logos, her contribution in the economy of salvation is unique.

If Christ is the Head of the Body of Christ, Mary is the neck.

I hope that helps.

- Taylor Marshall

Protestant Infallibility vs. Catholic Infallibility

A reader recently emailed with this question:

I have been dialogging with some reformed brothers regarding the authority of the church. If you have time and the desire to do so, you can check out the discussion on their blog: (http://bywhoseauthority.blogspot.com). They seem to keep trying to make the point that any argument that can be made against sola scriptura can also be made against the infallible authority of the church...I am having a hard time understanding how some very intelligent people can tackle some pretty deep theological issues yet accept sola scriptura a priori. One of the authors admitted that the church is necessary to interpret scripture but then said,"The fallible Church is subject to the infallible authority given through Scripture."

Thank you for the email.

The Reformed doctrine of infalliblity goes like this:

God (infallible) > Sacred Scripture (infallible) > Church (fallible) > Individual Believer (fallible)

Reformed people wrongly assume that Catholics just want to add another level of infallibility - sort of like adding another ten inches of insulation in your attic for good measure. Reformed folks believe that infallibility for the Catholic looks like this:

God (infallible) > Sacred Scripture (infallible) > Church (infallible) > Individual Believer (fallible)

However, Catholics have a completely different understanding of infallible authority. It does like this:

The Father (infallible) sent His only Son (infallible) to earth. Christ instituted prophets and Apostles (fallible) to proclaim the Gospel (infallible). A special charism of the Holy Spirit was given to these fallible men for composing the Sacred Scriptures (infallible) and teaching the Sacred Traditions (infallible).

Through the Sacrament of Holy Orders, the episcopate in union with the successor of Peter, infallibly interprets the infallible Scriptures and Tradition enjoys the charism of infallible interpretation. It's a spiritual gift that Christ gave to the Church.

This is different from the Reformed order because the "state of infallibility" does not have a historical terminus. Through the Holy Spirit infallible authority endures until the end of the time - so that the gates of Hell should not prevail against the Church. As a result, "the Church is the pillar and bulwark of truth" (1 Tim 3:15).

This view is consonant with Scripture. Scripture never presents "Scripture alone". However, it does demonstrate that there is authoritative oral tradition (2 Thess 2:15, etc.) and that there are men with infallible interpretation and authority (Matt 16:18; 18:18-18). Hence, we find a three-legged stool of Scripture/Tradition/Magisterium.

Infallible authority isn't static or resting under layers of history. It is present today and therefore accessible.

Hat tip to David.

Is Christ the Savior of His Mother Mary?

Is Christ the Savior of His Mother Mary? The Catholic Church answers, "Yes, Christ is the Savior of His Mother Mary."

Here is the exact quote from Pope Pius IX's Apostolic Constitution Ineffabilis Deus from December 8, 1854 in which the Pope infallibly declared the immaculate conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary:

Wherefore, in humility and fasting, we unceasingly offered our private prayers as well as the public prayers of the Church to God the Father through his Son, that he would deign to direct and strengthen our mind by the power of the Holy Spirit. In like manner did we implore the help of the entire heavenly host as we ardently invoked the Paraclete. Accordingly, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, for the honor of the Holy and undivided Trinity, for the glory and adornment of the Virgin Mother of God, for the exaltation of the Catholic Faith, and for the furtherance of the Catholic religion, by the authority of Jesus Christ our Lord, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own:

"We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful."

Mary was regenerated, justified, and sanctified at the very moment of her conception. Pope Pius IX, in conformity with Catholic tradition, taught that this unique act of salvation occurred "in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race." This is why Mary can still refer to God as "God my Savior" (Lk 1:47).

In sum, the Blessed Virgin Mary's immaculate conception is due to the merits of Jesus Christ as "Savior".

Saint Augustine stands in this tradition, writing in the early 400s:

"Now with the exception of the holy Virgin Mary in regard to whom, out of respect for the Lord, I do not propose to have a single question raised on the subject of sin - after all, how do we know what greater degree of grace for a complete victory over sin was conferred on her who merited to conceive and bring forth Him who all admit was without sin -- to repeat then: with the exception of this Virgin, if we could bring together into one place all those holy men and women, while they lived here, and ask them whether they were without sin, what are we to suppose that they would have replied?" (St. Augustine, De natura et gratia, Patrologia Latina 44:267)

Lastly, it should be noted that for Pope Pius IX the locus classicus in Sacred Scripture for the doctrine of the Mary's immaculate conception is not Luke 1:28 ("Hail full of grace"), but Gen 3:15 ("I will place enmity between you [Satan] and the woman").

The woman who shall bear the Savior shall have perfect enmity with Satan and thus it is necessary that Satan have no dominion over her. In other words, she must be without sin. Hence, the immaculate conception of the Blessed Virgin.

Mother Church or Mega Church?

Often I receive private questions from friendly folks who regularly read this blog. Occasionally, there are some good questions and I post them. Here is a recent one from a Reformed Christian:

Let me ask you a simple question: Why is it that the majority "Catholic Christians" hate church, have no idea what the bible teaches, and believe being a good person gets you into heaven?

I'm a bit confused by this. I know literally hundreds of Catholics. They love the Church. Many go to Holy Mass every day. They read the Bible every day. They go to Bible studies or other regular small group meetings. They go on mission trips. I graduated from a Reformed seminary (Westminster Theological Seminary, Philly) and let me say that the best Bible scholars that I've known were Catholics. Reformed guys study, but your top-notch Catholics study more.

Also, every Catholic I know would tell you that they trust in Christ for salvation and believe that it is only by the grace and divine mercy of God that they will enter into Heaven. It's true that we reject "justification by faith alone" and believe that works are the fruit of grace in our hearts, but that doesn't mean that we think "being good alone" gets you to Heaven.

We don't worship Mary. We don't think the Pope is sinless or infallible about history, weather, or sports.

We love Jesus, and teach our children to love Jesus Christ as their Savior. We drive them to Church every week for CCD. They sit and kneel next to us in the pews every week. We go to confession - some weekly, most monthly, some less than that.

This is the Catholicism that I know. If you think that Catholics "hate church" and don't read the Bible, then you've either met a few disgruntled ex-Catholics or have been taught by Protestant bigots who want to defame the Catholic Church. I would encourage you to visit your local Catholic Church for a week day Mass and meet some real Catholics.

Are there Catholics who don't take it seriously and just go to Holy Mass on Christmas and Easter? Of course! Same goes for Protestants of every stripe. Last time I checked it was the Protestants who had become liberal and started promoting things like abortion and contraception and "Jesus was just a good man". Bill Clinton is a Southern Baptist in good standing, but I don't judge all Southern Baptists through the lens of Bill Clinton. Accordingly, I hope that you wouldn't judge all of us through the lens of the disgruntled Catholics.

It is the Catholic Church that has made a perennial stand against abortion, contraception, pornography, sexual immorality, divorce, communism, and any effort to demote the Lord Jesus Christ to the status of "just a teacher". The Catholic Church may not look as pretty and crisp as some the new mega-churches (or even some PCA churches), but she is the true mega-church - the Mother Mega Church. The active, busy mother who loves and serves her family may not look like Paris Hilton - but she's the mother nonetheless. I'll take the Catholic Church, warts and all. She is the Bride of Christ and the Mother of us all (Gal 4:26).

As the Mother Mega Church she can't even be called "international" because as G.K. Chesterton once pointed out, "she is older than all the nations". There is only one word for her: Catholic.

God bless you in your journey. I hope one day, when you become Catholic, you'll email me and let me know. I'll be praying for you and with you.

your brother in Christ,
Taylor Marshall

G.K. Chesterton on apologizing

"A stiff apology is a second insult... The injured party does not want to be compensated because he has been wronged; he wants to be healed because he has been hurt."

- Gilbert K Chesterton

This is something that I'm trying to teach my children - and myself.

Babies are supposedy "bad for the economy"

This just in folks: "Babies are bad for the economy." Australia's Productivity Commission is alarmed that the fertility rate in Australia is increasing to a 25 year high. The problem is that this shifts "women out of the workplace while they care for babies, depressing labour supply and reducing the taxation base as our population ages," the Daily Telegraph reported.

According to the Productivity Commission, the small number of extra babies born would do little to help the aging population.

If I might read between the lines: the Commission is suggesting an increase in contraception and abortion.

If Australians would just follow the Productivity Commission they would see that what they need are more people and less babies.

Read story from news.com.au.

Old Bible Manuscript now online

Portions of the Codex Sinaiticus (found in Sinai), which contains the oldest complete New Testament, will be available on the web by the University of Leipzig at www.codex-sinaiticus.net. The high resolution photos will include portions of the Gospel according to Saint Mark.

This manuscript is absolutely beautiful, as you can see in the photo above. The Greek handwriting is so tight that it almost looks like something printed from a computer. Yet it was all hand done.

Hat tip to Bobbie Marshall.

Proper Attire for Holy Mass

My local parish (Saint Luke's Irving) recently posted guidelines for proper attire at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass:

The faithful are advised not to wear caps, tank tops, Jersey shorts during Mass. Women are also asked not to wear spaghetti-strap tops, short, skimpy shors or sleeveless shirts with plunging necklines. Simply put - beach wear, lounge wear etc. are not appropriate attire.

What we wear says a great deal about what we value. If you are a public minister in the liturgy, a lector, Eucharistic minister, or a canotr, for example you should dress with extra care, so that your appearance does not pose a distraction to th worshippers. We usually dress well when we go to things that are important to us, and as Catholics, this is the most important thing that we will do each week. The manner in which the minister dresses is part of the reverence that is shown to the Lord present in the Eucharist as well as respect shown for God's holy people.

Cure d'Ars Quote on the Holy Mass

Today is the memorial of Saint John Vianney, patron of Catholic priests.

"All the good works in the world are not equal to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass because they are the works of men; but the Mass is the work of God. Martyrdom is nothing in comparison for it is but the sacrifice of man to God; but the Mass is the sacrifice of God for man."

- St. John Vianney, Cure d'Ars

Can Popes Resign? (Canon 332)

According to the Code of Canon Law 332 §2, "If it happens that the Roman Pontiff resigns his office, it is required for validity that the resignation is made freely and properly manifested but not that it is accepted by anyone."

There are three things worth noting.

1) First, the Pope may resign from his office as Pope.
2) Second, this resignation cannot be coerced by external agents.
3) Third, the Pope does not tenure his resignation to anyone one or to any corporate body.

Pope Celestine V resigned from the papacy in 1294. Pope Gregory XII resigned from the papacy in 1409.

Jeffrey Steenson's address from the Anglican Use Conference

The Anglican Use Society has made available the impressive address "The Causes for Becoming Catholic" by Jeffrey Steenson (former Episcopalian bishop-now Catholic awaiting Holy Orders).

I strongly recommend that you read it. It is well written and was well presented.

You can download the presentation by clicking here.