Top 10 Facts About Advent

The local radio stations are already playing Christmas music and everyone is already talking about the "Christmas" season--but it's not yet Christmas - this Sunday begins Advent, the season for preparing for Christmas.

So what is Advent and why is it important? Advent is a time to prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ. It has a quasi-penitential theme, and this can be a strong antidote against the consumerism of our nation and time.

I was recently wondering about the origins of Advent and its history. So I did a little research and came up with the Top Ten Things You Need to Know about Advent:

1. The first recorded "preparation for Christmas" is found in the acts of the Synod of Saragossa, Spain in A.D. 380. This synod declared that all baptized Christians should be present in Church from December 17 till December 25. If you do the math, that comes out to the eight days before Christmas--not quite a full Advent season, but it's a start.
2. Saint Caesarius of Arles (502-542) is recorded to have delivered the first recorded homilies on Advent.
3. The Synod of Macon in Gaul (modern day France) in A.D. 581 is our first firm witness of what we might call the season of Advent. It states that the liturgical norms for Lent be kept from November 11 to December 24 (about 40 days). The connection made here between Advent and Lent reflects the reason why the penitential color of purple is common to both Advent and Lent.
4. We also have a copy of a sermon given by Pope Saint Gregory the Great (590-604) for the second Sunday of Advent.
5. In the seventh century, Advent was celebrated in Spain with five Sundays! The Gelasian Sacramentary also gives liturgical propers for the "five Sundays of Advent."
6. The Eastern Churches began celebrating Advent in the eighth century as a time of strict fasting and abstinence--a practice still common Eastern Orthodoxy. This practice also reflects the season's similarity to Lent. Incidentally, red is the most common liturgical color for Advent in the Eastern churches.
7. Pope St. Gregory VII (1073-85) apparently reduced the number of Sundays in Advent from five to four--the current practice.
8. The third Sunday of Advent is technically called Gaudete Sunday and it is marked by rose vestments (don't ask your priest why he's wearing "pink"!) and hangings. Gaudete means rejoice because the third Sunday marks the over-half-way-point of Advent. This usage corresponds to the rose vestments used on Laetare Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Lent (also the over-half-way-point of Lent).
9. The Advent wreath, found in many Catholic homes, is a rather modern invention. It derives to a 19th century German custom, apparently Lutheran in origin. The practice was soon adopted by Bavarian Catholics and spread all over the world.
10. The liturgical season of Advent anticipates Second Advent (Coming) of Christ while also remembering the First Advent (Coming) of Christ at Christmas. Thus, the season generally celebrates the activity of God in history in and through our Lord Jesus Christ. Advent is the parenthesis in which falls all of Christian history.

I hope you found this helpful. Please send it along to friends and family and have Happy Advent.

Have a Happy and Holy Advent,
Taylor Marshall

PS: Tune in again at Christmas for a special piece on the "Top Ten Things to Know about the Twelve Days of Christmas."

The Monks Will Die...A New Film about Cistercian Monks

This sounds like a cool movie:

Nine monks eat supper around a refectory table. Wordlessly, they sip from unaccustomed glasses of red wine as a cassette player fills the room with the soaring strings of Swan Lake. Some of them weep. They all know they will soon be dead.

This piercingly simple, lengthy scene is at the core of director Xavier Beauvois's Of Gods and Men, a powerful yet reflective French film which is now in strong contention for the title of most unexpected box-office hit ever.

Released in Britain this Friday, it tells the fictionalised story of real-life Cistercian monks who in 1996 held out in their hillside abbey in Algeria, enduring near siege conditions as the country descended into factional violence. The film was made for only €4m (£3.4m), then took more than twice that at the box office in France. Audience figures have now swept past the three million mark: an achievement unheard of for a small-budget arthouse production.

Of Gods and Men won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival in the summer and is now the official French candidate for best foreign film at the Oscars.

How Much Wine May a Monk Drink Per Day? (Saint Benedict)

A monk tastes a little something-something from the cask

I recently came across this passage from the Rule of Saint Benedict that regulates the consumption of alcohol for monks. Surprisingly, the monks were allowed about half a litre of wine per day! If you consider that a glass of wine is about 5 ounces, then that's three glasses of wine per day! I'd feel like a lush if I drank that much every day. However, when water was not always the healthiest, one can see the wisdom in this.

What's amazing is that this was the upper limit, which means that monks were regularly going over three glasses per day. Saint Benedict had to lay down the law...literally.

Here's the English translation:

Regula 40. Concerning the Amount of Drink.

Each one has his own gift from God, the one in this way, the other in that. Therefore it is with some hesitation that the amount of daily sustenance for others is fixed by us. Nevertheless, in view of the weakness of the infirm we believe that a hemina {just under half a liter} of wine a day is enough for each one. Those moreover to whom God gives the ability of bearing abstinence shall know that they will have their own reward. But the prior shall judge if either the needs of the place, or labour or the heat of summer, requires more; considering in all things lest satiety or drunkenness creep in. Indeed we read that wine is not suitable for monks at all. But because, in our day, it is not possible to persuade the monks of this, let us agree at least as to the fact that we should not drink till we are sated, but sparingly...

By the way, the header of Canterbury Tales (at the top of this page) is that of Dominicans and Franciscans have a luxurious meal and drinking wine. I acquired it a number of years ago and it used to hang in my office. If you look closely, the Dominicans are out-eating the Franciscans...

The Call to Penance by Pope John XXIII

Here's a neglected piece of history for you regarding the perpetual debate about Vatican II and the so-called "Spirit of Vatican II."

On July 1, 1962, Pope John XXIII issued an encyclical entitled Paenitentiam Agere. It's a beautiful document explaining how the success of the then-upcoming Second Vatican Council would be contingent on the internal and external penances of the clergy and laity.

Thus, John XXIII exhorted all Catholics to redouble their efforts to offer prayerful penances for God's providential guidance at the Council.

I have no idea how well this encyclical was received, but it is interesting that Blessed John XXIII intently sought the prayers and sacrifices of the Church in preparation for this Ecumenical Council. Perhaps our thoughts about what Vatican II should or shouldn't have been should begin with John XXIII's observation that a broken and contrite spirit is essential for determining God's will.

Are we living a penitential life for the sake of the Church, our families, and our final perseverence in grace? It's something to think about as we enter into the Advent season.

Blessed John XXIII, pray for us.

Squanto, the Thanksgiving Hero, was Catholic!

Do you remember Squanto, the Native American who assisted the Puritan Pilgrims at the "first Thanksgiving"?

Well, Squanto, our beloved hero of Thanksgiving, was Catholic!

His true name was Tisquantum, yet he is affectionately known to us as "Squanto."

In 1614, Squanto was captured by a lieutenant of John Smith (remember? from Pocahontas). This shameful lieutenant attempted to sell Squanto and other Native Americans into slavery via Spain. However, some Franciscan friars discovered the plot and acquired the captured Native Americans, Squanto included. During this time, Squanto received instruction in the Catholic Faith and received holy baptism.

As a freeman, Squanto traveled to London where became a laborer in the shipyards. Here he became fluent in English. Eventually, Squanto was able to return to his Native Land, New England, in 1619 - five years after he had been kidnapped. He returned only to discover that his people were being decimated by the recently imported European diseases.

Since he was fluent in English, Squanto became well-known and valuable to the new English Pilgrims settled at Plymouth. As an English speaker, Squanto taught the Pilgrims how to fertilize the ground, grow corn, and the best places to catch fish.

Squanto eventually contracted one of the European diseases. Governor William Bradford described Squanto's death like this:

Squanto fell ill of Indian fever, bleeding much at the nose, which the Indians take as a symptom of death, and within a few days he died. He begged the Governor to pray for him, that he might go to the Englishman's God in heaven, and bequeathed several of his things to his English friends, as remembrances. His death was a great loss.

So remember Squanto today and perhaps share this bit of history during your Thanksgiving feast. Let us pray for Squanto, and may he pray for us.

To learn other tidbits about Catholicism and Thanksgiving, click here.

Pope Approves Padded Pipes for Mugging (Father Fessio)

I got this from Father Z who got it from Father Fessio. It's absolutely brilliant:

Here’s an example of this distinction that parallels what the Pope said.
Muggers are using steel pipes to attack people and the injuries are severe. Some muggers use padded pipes to reduce the injuries, while still disabling the victim enough for the mugging. 

The Pope says that the intention of reducing injury (in the act of mugging) could be a first step toward greater moral responsibility. This would not justify the following headlines: “Pope Approves Padded Pipes for Mugging” “Pope Says Use of Padded Pipes Justified in Some Circumstances”, Pope Permits Use of Padded Pipes in Some Cases”. 

Of course, one may morally use padded pipes in some circumstances, e.g., as insulated pipes so that hot water flowing through them doesn’t cool as fast. And one may use condoms morally in some cases, e.g. as water balloons. But that also would not justify the headline “Pope Approves Condom Use”, though in this case it could be true. But it would be intentionally misleading. 

 Now that's a good analogy! Thank you Father Fessio! Please pass this along to your friends.

Fatima and Saint Maximilian Kolbe

On the evening of October 16, 1917 (First Vespers of the Feast of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, Saint of the Sacred Heart), Saint Maximilian and six Franciscan friars erected the first company of the new army of Mary with the hope in the divine promise Gen 3:15 "ipsa conteret caput tuum."

What is so significant about this date?

Well just three days before, the Blessed Virgin Mary made her first apparition to the three children Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta in Fatima, Portugal.

The great Marian movement founded by Saint Maximilian Kolbe and the message of Fatima are linked in their origins.

Saint Paul and Pope Saint Clement

It is almost universally accepted that the first epistle of Saint Clement was written in the last year of Domitian or in the first year of his successor (i.e. A.D. 95-96).

It's interesting to see which of Paul's epistles Clement cites.

Clement 2:7 cites Titus 3:1 (one of the alleged pseudepigraphical epistles of Paul). This would mean that by the 90s, Christians in Rome were already circulating the Pastoral Epistles, so that they were read and memorized.

Clement 5:2 alludes to Galatians 2:9.

Clement 34:8 alludes to 1 Cor 2:9.

Clement 36 is full of quotes from Hebrews.

Clement 44 seems to be aware of Paul's instructions in 1 Tim and Titus.

Clement 47:1-2 cites Phil 4:15 directly as "the epistle of the blessed Paul the Apostle."

Clement 61:2 alludes to 1 Tim 1:17.

From these citations, we see that Clement has Galatians, 1 Corinthians, Philippians, Hebrews, and he also likely had 2 Timothy and Titus.

This reveals that already by A.D. 96, the epistles of Paul (including Hebrew, 1 Tim, 2 Tim, and Titus) were being circulated. The Paul corpus had been brought together. 2 Peter testifies to the same.

The question remains, who brought together the corpus of Paul's work?

I believe that it was Paul himself. For example, we have the letters of Cicero not because someone knocked on the door of every person to whom Cicero sent a letter. Rather, Cicero had a copy made of every letter that he wrote and collected them. Thus, at his death, Cicero had created the collected works of Cicero simply by virtue of his keeping record of his correspondence.

We know that Paul did something similar: "When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments." (2 Tim 4:13).

Thus, when Paul died, the Pauline corpus was already assembled and ready for copying, if it were not already being copied in his own life time.

Saint Clement: Pope, Theologian, Martyr (Bryan Cross)

My buddy Bryan Cross put up an excellent post today entitled: St. Clement of Rome: Soteriology and Ecclesiology. Please check it out.

Here's an excerpt:

Today, November 23, is the memorial of St. Clement I, pope and martyr. St. Clement was the third bishop of Rome, after St. Peter. He is known to us mostly through his famous letter to the Church at Corinth. Here I present a brief summary of what we know from later Fathers about St. Clement, and then examine what we learn from St. Clement concerning soteriology and ecclesiology.

Outline

I. What we know about St. Clement

II. St. Clement’s Soteriology

III. St. Clement Ecclesiology

Read the whole thing at Called to Communion: St. Clement of Rome: Soteriology and Ecclesiology

Singing to God without Words (from St Augustine)

Today is the feast of Saint Cecilia, patroness of music. Saint Augustine tells us that to sing is to "pray twice." Moreover, he also teaches that there is a form of singing that abandons all words and seeks to glorify God - a "contemplative" form of singing.

I was a little surprised to read this because it sounds rather charismatic and "non-Augustinian." However, it is a great reminder that true doctrine leads to joy and jubilation. I hope you enjoy this excerpt as much as I did:

Praise the Lord with the lyre, make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! Sing to him a new song. Rid yourself of what is old and worn out, for you know a new song. A new man, a new covenant; a new song. This new song does not belong to the old man. Only the new man learns it: the man restored from his fallen condition through the grace of God, and now sharing in the new covenant, that is, the kingdom of heaven. To it all our love now aspires and sings a new song. Let us sing a new song not with our lips but with our lives.

Sing to him a new song, sing to him with joyful melody. Every one of us tries to discover how to sing to God. You must sing to him, but you must sing well. He does not want your voice to come harshly to his ears, so sing well, brothers!

If you were asked, “Sing to please this musician,” you would not like to do so without having taken some instruction in music, because you would not like to offend an expert in the art. An untrained listener does not notice the faults a musician would point out to you. Who, then, will offer to sing well for God, the great artist whose discrimination is faultless, whose attention is on the minutest detail, whose ear nothing escapes? When will you be able to offer him a perfect performance that you will in no way displease such a supremely discerning listener?

See how he himself provides you with a way of singing. Do not search for words, as if you could find a lyric which would give God pleasure. Sing to him “with songs of joy.” This is singing well to God, just singing with songs of joy.

But how is this done? You must first understand that words cannot express the things that are sung by the heart. Take the case of people singing while harvesting in the fields or in the vineyards or when any other strenuous work is in progress. Although they begin by giving expression to their happiness in sung words, yet shortly there is a change. As if so happy that words can no longer express what they feel, they discard the restricting syllables. They burst out into a simple sound of joy, of jubilation. Such a cry of joy is a sound signifying that the heart is bringing to birth what it cannot utter in words.

Now, who is more worthy of such a cry of jubilation than God himself, whom all words fail to describe? If words will not serve, and yet you must not remain silent, what else can you do but cry out for joy? Your heart must rejoice beyond words, soaring into an immensity of gladness, unrestrained by syllabic bonds. Sing to him with jubilation.

- Augustine on Commentary on Psalm 32

Does the Vatican Understand the Internet Age?

Do we Catholics now understand that the media hates the Catholic Church?

Here's a personal example:

A few weeks ago, a journalist for the major St Louis newspaper wanted to interview me about Jews and Catholicism - a very controversial topic. I told him that I would only do it he promised that the article wouldn't be controversial and if I could see it before print.

He refused to make the promise, and so I refused to talk to him. He then turned around and pulled a bunch of quotes from my blog (completely out of context) and published them in the paper that week: "Catholics Actively Proselytizing Jews" or something like that.

The Church knows that she is at "enmity with the world," but it seems that the Holy See has not yet adjsuted to the age of the internet. Moreover, it seems that the curia is still generally naive about the media and honestly believe expect non-Catholic journalists to be "fair and balanced."

What we have is the City of Man against the City of God. We cannot expect a truce from the City of Man. The secular media is the calvary of the devil's army and we need to be prepared for them to spin everything.

I think that the apparatus of the Vatican has not fully appreciated the moral viscousness and speed of the world-wide media.

Regensburg, the sexual scandals in Europe, and now the condom scandal show that the media will never be our friends.

As John Allen and George Weigel have stated, these PR debacles reveal that the Holy See needs a complete makeover. It appears perpetually confused and disordered.

People like to brag, "Well Rome moves slowly for the sake of prudence." However, we live in a cyber-age. Delay tactics don't work when your enemies are churning the media outlets with poison.

This isn't the 16th century. It doesn't take a year for news to get out - it takes 5 seconds. It took decades for Rome to respond to Martin Luther in the 1500s. Today, with the internet, we don't have the luxury of decades to clean up a mess.

Was Saint Paul a Catholic Priest? (A New Book!)

If you're looking for a complete and simple resource to equip you to answer your Protestant friends about salvation, faith and works, baptism, the Eucharist, the sacraments, the priesthood, celibacy, and redemptive suffering, then this new book is for you.

My book The Catholic Perspective on Paul is now published and available at amazon.com. This book intends to show once and for all that Saint Paul was thoroughly Catholic, and that Protestant and liberal prejudices against the Catholic perspective on Paul are unwarranted. If we read Paul in his words, we find none other than the great Catholic Apostle of Rome.

Please watch the book's trailer on YouTube to get a feel for the book:

You can also preview and purchase the book at amazon.com.

Pretty please with sugar on top, help me get the word out by placing the YouTube link on your blogs, Twitter, and Facebook pages. Here's the YouTube link - just copy and paste.

New book St Paul and Catholicism: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cf_5uixC1Ww

Both the new book and The Crucified Rabbi are available at amazon.com in paperback and Kindle formats:

History of Solemnity of Christ the King

Today's feast, that of Christ the King, is one of the most recent solemnities of the Catholic Church.

Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the King in 1925 as the last Sunday in October. In Pope John XXIII's 1960 revision of the liturgical calendar, the date and title remained the same and, in the new simpler ranking of feasts, it was classified as a feast of the first class.

In his 1969 motu proprio Mysterii Paschalis, Pope Paul VI made three changes. First, he moved the feast to its current place - the Sunday before Advent. Second, he expanded the name to "Dominus Noster Jesus Christus Universorum Rex" {Our Lord Jesus Christ King of the Universes}. Third, he raised the feast to that of a Solemnity.

In the celebration of the Extraordinary Form (the traditional Latin Mass), the feast of Christ the King is still celebrated on the last Sunday in October, however the older propers for the Last Sunday after Pentecost posses eschatological themes.

Christ the King and High Priest, have mercy on us.

The Catholic Origins of Thanksgiving!

The history books will tell you that the first Thanksgiving was celebrated by the pilgrims in 1621. Not true.

An interesting bit of trivia is that the first American Thanksgiving was actually celebrated on September 8, 1565 in St. Augustine, Florida. The Native Americans and Spanish settlers held a feast and the Holy Mass was offered.

The Catholic origins of Thanksgiving don't stop there. Squanto, the beloved hero of Thanksgiving, was the Native American man who mediated between the Puritan Pilgrims and the Native Americans. Squanto had been enslaved by the English but he was freed by Spanish Franciscans. Squanto thus received baptism and became a Catholic. So it was a baptized Catholic Native American who orchestrated what became known as Thanksgiving.

All that being said, Thanksgiving is traditionally Protestant and marks the tradition of religious toleration (something in which the Puritan pilgrims did not actually believe - they set up a "theocracy").

My wife once taught at a high-church Episcopalian/Anglican classical school in Philadelphia. The school consciously played down the significance of Thanksgiving. Why? The reason is simple. At root, Thanksgiving commemorates the good fortune of political and ecclesiastical rebels against the Church of England and the Anglican tradition as a whole.

It all started with Richard Clyfton who was a Church of England parson in Nottinghamshire in the early 1600s. Clifton sympathized with the Separatists of that era. Separatists were Calvinistic non-conformists to the doctrine and liturgy of the Church of England. The Hampton Court Conference held by King James I (1604) condemned those who would not conform to the more outwardly Catholic usages in the Church of England (e.g. robes, candles, bowing the head at the name of Christ, processions). The result was that Richard Clyfton was “defrocked” and stripped of his clerical status in the Church of England. Shortly thereafter Richard Clyfton went to Amsterdam and was followed by his disciples: the Pilgrims.

These Pilgrims moved around a bit until finally coming to America in 1620. An interesting bit of trivia is that one child was born on board the Mayflower while at sea. The child was given the rather lame name: “Oceanus”. Poor child.

In 1621, the Pilgrims allegedly celebrated a happy meal with the Native Americans and the rest is history. So why would an Anglican school be against Thanksgiving? It celebrates those who defied the Church of England and the Crown of England.

Now that I’m no longer an Anglican and now a Catholic, things are a bit different. The penal laws of England regarding non-conformists affected not only the rigorous Calvinistic Puritans in England, but also the English Catholic recusants. The Pilgrims shared the same lot as the Catholic faithful of England. Interestingly enough, the Catholics who lived in Nottinghamshire where the Pilgrims originated were persecuted mercilessly.

So while Thanksgiving may celebrate the Calvinist Separatists who fled England, Catholics might remember the same unjust laws that granted the crown of martyrdom to Thomas More, John Fisher, Edmund Campion, et al. are the same injustices that led the Pilgrims to Plymouth.

Another bit of trivia is that the truly “First Thanksgiving” celebration occurred on American soil on April 30, 1598 in Texas when Don Juan de Oñate declared a day of Thanksgiving to be commemorated by the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

And let everyone remember that “Thanksgiving” in Greek is Eucharistia. Thus, the Body and Blood of Christ is the true “Thanksgiving Meal”.

You may also like:

• Which is more gruesome? Halloween or Reformation Day?
• Top 10 Ways to Have a Catholic Halloween!
• Does the word 'Easter' have pagan origins? (from Venerable Bede)
• Seven reasons to go to confession during Lent

Is French Kissing a Mortal Sin? (Pope Alexander VII)

 Does "making out" or "French kissing" constitute grave matter for people who are not married? I was recently asked this question and had to do some digging. I also checked out the Latin sources. Here's what I found. Apparently Pope Alexander VII (r. 1655-1667) was busy condemning not only French Jansensim, but also French kissing.

According to a decree of Pope Alexander VII in 1666, a kiss is not "merely a venial sin when performed for the sake of the carnal and sensible delight which arises from the kiss, even if the danger of further consent and pollution is excluded.”{1}

 - Alexander VII, “Condemned Decrees” proclaimed on the 18th day of March in 1666 (Denzinger 2060, 1140 40).

So even if two people plan on preventing "further consent and pollution," that is, they're not going to engage in fornication, the kissing itself is gravely sinful if it elicits "carnal and sensible delight."

Obviously giving someone a quick kiss or peck is does not cause "carnal and sensible delight." However, prolonged kissing would. So what do we make of this? I suppose that this would be a very controversial topic in our day. Our culture and even our Church is concerned about all things sexual. What do you think? Please leave a comment.

{1} Here’s the Latin of Alexander VII. For the sake of clarity, the following opinion is not endorsed but is judged as false:

2060 1140 40. Est probabilis opinio, quae dicit, esse tantum veniale osculum habitum ob delectationem carnalem et sensibilem, quae ex osculo oritur, secluso periculo consensus ulterioris et pollutionis.

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Photo: the Poor Penmanship of Thomas Aquinas

This is going around the net and on Facebook. I've already had about four people send it to me today. Above is a picture of the writing of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Pretty sloppy. I can't make out any of it.

Thanks be to God for all those pious Dominican understudies who made it legible for us!


In this month of the Holy Souls, let us pray for all the secretaries and assistants of that great Universal Doctor of the Church.

And of course, Saint Thomas Aquinas, pray for us!

Please watch the book trailer for my new book on Saint Paul:

Meaning of the Tabernacle Lamp in Catholic Churches

Two years ago, I had a terrible Friday. Many things went wrong. I drove to the local monastery to pray and spend time with Our Lord. As I entered into the abbey church, I immediately noticed that the familiar red flicker of light was missing. My heart sunk until I remembered that it was Good Friday - the one day of the year when the Eucharist is removed from the tabernacle. My subliminal shock reveals how important that little red tabernacle lamp is for us Catholics.

One of the most comforting symbols in Catholicism is the tabernacle lamp - the small red flicker of the flame burning before tabernacle - a sign that Christ is truly Emmanuel, "God among us." In fact, you cannot even begin to understand the ending of the Evelyn Waugh's novel Brideshead Revisited until you appreciate the profound symbolism of this little flicker before the tabernacle. The entire novel hangs upon its meaning. (By the way the recent film version of Brideshead is anti-Catholic rubbish. Don't watch it. Just read the novel.)

In the Old Testament, God told Moses that a lamp filled with the pure oil should perpetually burn in the Tabernacle (Ex 27:20-21). This is the precedent for the Catholic Church's custom of burning a candle (at all times) before the tabernacle - the gold house where the Eucharistic Body of Christ is reserved under lock and key.

Protestants often note that Catholic churches always seem to be open to the public, whereas Protestant congregations are typically closed throughout the week. The difference is the Holy Eucharist. Praying in a Catholic church before the Eucharist is different than praying at home. Christ is substantially present in the tabernacle. The lamp is always burning in the Catholic Church - it is a sign saying, "Christ is here in the Holy Eucharist within this tabernacle. His heart is burning with love for you." Mystically Christ is the "true light which enlighteneth every man" (Jn 1:9).

There's a revered custom that I hope that we can restore in our churches. Instead of a simple red lamp, there were often several lamps that hung from the ceiling of the sanctuary before the tabernacle. The traditional number for large sanctuaries was seven lamps, since it is the perfect number and represents the sevenfold perfection of the Holy Spirit.

According that zealous Doctor of the Church, Saint Alphonsus Liguori, it would be a grave sin to leave the altar of the Blessed Sacrament without this candle or lamp burning for any prolonged length of time, such as a day or several nights (St. Alph. Lig., VI, 248).

A Saintly Wife and Mother of 8: St Margaret of Scotland

Today's saint was both a wife and mother: Saint Margaret of Scotland (c. A.D.1045 – 1093). She was the wife of King Malcolm III of Scotland

Saint Margaret was ethnically English, the daughter prince Edward the Exiled. Her father was called "Exiled" because he had been exiled from his homeland and resided in Hungary, where Margaret was raised and educated. During this era, the King Andrew of Hungary was a fierce defender of Catholicism and the prerogatives of the Pope. Consequently, Margaret received an excellent Catholic education and learned to reverence the Church.

Margaret's family eventually returned to England, but William the Conqueror stormed the nation. While fleeing England for the continent, a storm rerouted the family's ship to Scotland where they fled to the protection of King Malcolm III of Scotland.

Malcolm III was a widower and interested in marrying into the royal blood of England. He and Margaret were soon united in wedlock and the alliance was forged. This entailed that the Scots were now united with the old royal line of England.

Margaret bore eight children for the king: six sons and two daughters. One of the sons became a monk and later an abbot.

1. Edward
2. Edmund of Scotland
3. Ethelred, Abbot of Dunkeld
4. King Edgar of Scotland
5. King Alexander I of Scotland
6. King David I of Scotland
7. Edith of Scotland, also called Matilda, wife of King Henry I of England
8. Mary of Scotland, married Eustace III of Boulogne

St Margaret gave herself to charitable works, and personally served orphans and the poor every day before she ate her meals. She rose at midnight to pray in the church every night. She also influenced her husband and children to be righteous and holy rulers, submitted to Christ and His Holy Church.

Margaret died in 1093 after learning of the deaths of her husband and eldest son Edward in battle. Her relics are in Dunfermline Abbey.

In the old calendar, her feast day is June 10.

St Margaret, patron of pious mothers, pray for us!

Albert the Great outlived Thomas Aquinas by six years

Although Thomas Aquinas was a student of Albert the Great, Albert outlived Thomas by 6 years. Thomas died in 1274. Albert died in 1280.

Remember that next time you play Medieval Trivial Pursuit.

Attention Kindle Users (Free Samples of Crucified Rabbi)

Amazon.com is now providing free samples of my first book The Crucified Rabbi to Kindle users.

Click here and choose "Send Sample Now" if you have a Kindle and want a free sample of the book: Free Kindle Sample of Marshall's Crucified Rabbi.

The new book, the Catholic Perspective on Paul will be available on Kindle and Paperback shortly.

Scholastic Theologians and Their Doctoral Titles

Today is the feast of St Albert the Great who is known in the scholastic tradition as the "Doctor Magnus" or "Great Doctor." You may know that Thomas Aquinas is the "Angelic Doctor" or that Bonaventure is the "Seraphic Doctor," but there are many, many others. Below you'll find the list of all the Latinate titles for notable Scholastic theologians.

I find Ockham's title a little over-the-top: Doctor Singularis et Invincibilis. The Singular and Invincible Doctor? What! Who gave him that title? His mother?

It's also interesting to see that John Duns Scotus (the Subtle Doctor) was one-upped by Peter of Mantua (the Most Subtle Doctor).

An interesting title is the one belonging to Johannes Wallensis: Doctor Vitae Abor (Tree of Life Doctor). Another equally esoteric title is the one for Anthony of Padua: Doctor Arca Testamenti (Ark of the Covenant Doctor).

My personal favorite title: Doctor Mellifluus for St. Bernard meaning "Doctor Who Flows Like Honey". That title is sweet.

Here's the list:

Doctor Abstractionum: Francis Mayron, O.F.M., 1325 or 1327.
Doctor Acutissimus: Pope Sixtus IV, 1484.
Doctor Acutus: Gabriel Vasquez, S.J., 1604.
Doctor Amoenus: Robert Cowton, O.F.M., 1340.
Doctor Angelicus: Thomas Aquinas, O.P., 1274.
Doctor Arca testamenti: Anthony of Padua, 1231.
Doctor Authenticus: Gregory of Rimini, O.S.A., 1358.
Doctor Averroista et philosophiae parens: Urbanus, O.S.M., 1403.
Doctor Beatus et fundatissimus: Giles of Rome, O.S.A., 1316.
Doctor Bonus: Walter Brinkley, O.F.M., 1310.
Doctor Christianus: Nicholas of Cusa, 1464.
Doctor Clarus: Louis of Montesinos, 1621.
Doctor Clarus ac subtilis: Denis of Cîteaux, 15th cent.
Doctor Collectivus: Landolfo Caracciolo, O.F.M., 1351.
Doctor Columna doctorum: William of Champeaux, O.S.B., 1121.
Doctor Contradictionum : Johann Wessel, 1489.
Doctor Divinus Ecstaticus: John Ruysbroeck, Can. Reg., 1381.
Doctor Doctor doctorum Scholasticus: Anselm of Laon, 1117.
Doctor Dulcifluus: Antonius Andreas, O.F.M., 1320.
Doctor Ecstaticus: Denys the Carthusian, 1471.
Doctor Eminens: John of Matha, O.Trin., 1213.
Doctor Emporium theologiae: Laurent Gervais, O.P., 1483.
Doctor Excellentissimus: Antonio Corsetti, 1503.
Doctor Eximius: Francisco Suarez, S.J., 1617.
Doctor Facundus: Petrus Aureoli, O.F.M., 1322.
Doctor Famosissimus: Petrus Alberti, O.S.B., 1426.
Doctor Famosus: Bertrand de la Tour, O.F.M., 1334.
Doctor Fertilis: Francis of Candia, O.F.M., 15th cent.
Doctor Flos mundi: Maurice O'Fiehely, O.F.M. Abp of Tuam, 1513.
Doctor Fundamentalis: Joannes Faber of Bordeaux, 1350.
Doctor Fundatissimus: Giles of Rome, 1316; Willem Hessels van Est, 1613.
Doctor Fundatus: William of Ware, O.F.M., 1270.
Doctor Illibatus: Alexander Alamannicus, O.F.M., 15th cent.
Doctor Illuminatus: Francis Mayron, O.F.M., 1325-27; Raymond Lully, O.F.M., 1315.
Doctor Illuminatus et sublimis: Joannes Tauler, O.P., 1361.
Doctor Illustratus: Franciscus Picenus, O.F.M., 14th cent.
Doctor Illustris: Adam of Marisco, O.F.M., 1308.
Doctor Inclytus: William Mackelfield, O.P., 1300.
Doctor Ingeniosissimus: Andrew of Newcastle, O.F.M., 1300.
Doctor Inter Aristotelicos Aristotelicissimus: Haymo of Faversham, O.F.M., 1244.
Doctor Invincibilis: Petrus Thomas, O.F.M., 14th cent.
Doctor Irrefragibilis: Alexander of Hales, O.F.M., 1245.
Doctor Magister Sententiarum: Peter Lombard, 1164.
Doctor Magnus: Albertus Magnus, O.P., 1280; Gilbert of Citeaux, O.Cist, 1280.
Doctor Marianus: Anselm of Canterbury, O.S.B., 1109.
Doctor Mellifluus: Bernard of Clairvaux, O.Cist, 1153.
Doctor Mirabilis: Roger Bacon, O.F.M., 1294.
Doctor Moralis: Gerard Eudo, O.F.M., 1349.
Doctor Notabilis: Pierre de l'Ile, O.F.M., 14th cent.
Doctor Ordinatissimus: Johannes de Bassolis, O.F.M., c. 1347.
Doctor Ornatissimus et sufficiens: Petrus de Aquila, O.F.M., 1344.
Doctor Parisiensis: Guy de Perpignan, O.Carm, 1342.
Doctor Planus et utilis: Nicolas de Lyre, O.F.M., 1340.
Doctor Praeclarus: Peter of Kaiserslautern, O.Praem, 1330.
Doctor Praestantissimus: Thomas Netter of Walden, O.Carm, 1431.
Doctor Profundissimus: Paul of Venice, O.S.A., 1428; Gabriel Biel, Can. Reg., 1495; Juan Alfonso Curiel, O.S.B., 1609.
Doctor Profundus: Thomas Bradwardine, 1349.
Doctor Rarus: Hervaeus Natalis.
Doctor Refulgidus: Pope Alexander V, 1410.
Doctor Resolutissimus: Durandus of Saint-Pourcain, O.P., 1334.
Doctor Resolutus: John Bacon, O.Carm., 1346.
Doctor Scholasticus: Peter Abelard, 1142; Gilbert de la Porree, 1154; Peter Lombard, 1164; Peter of Poitiers, 1205; Hugh of Newcastle, O.F.M., 1322.
Doctor Seraphicus: Bonaventure, O.F.M., 1274.
Doctor Singularis et Invincibilis: William of Occam, O.F.M., 1347 or 1359.
Doctor Solemnis: Henry of Ghent, 1293.
Doctor Solidus Copiosus: Richard of Middleton, O.F.M., 1300.
Doctor Speculativus: James of Viterbo, O.S.A., 1307.
Doctor Sublimis: Francis de Bachone, O.Carm., 1372; Jean Courte-Cuisse, 1425.
Doctor Subtilis: Duns Scotus, O.F.M., 1308.
Doctor Subtilissimus: Peter of Mantua, 14th cent.
Doctor Succinctus: Francis of Ascoli, c. 1344.
Doctor Universalis: Alanus of Lille, 1202; Gilbert, Bishop of London, 1134.
Doctor Venerabilis et Christianissimus: Jean Gerson, 1429.
Doctor Venerandus: Geoffroy de Fontibus, O.F.M., 1240.
Doctor Vitae Arbor: Johannes Wallensis, O.F.M., 1300.

Pius XII on the Missing Red Lamp of the Real Presence

I don't know about you, but since I've become Catholic, I have been alarmed by the "dislocation" of the Holy Eucharist within Catholic churches. Sometimes I go into a church and I can't find the tabernacle. It's scandalous and heartbreaking. Why must He be hidden? "Where have they taken Him?"

I recently came across this quote from Eugene Cardinal Pacelli in 1931, the future Pope Pius XII. It's profoundly prophetic and worth quoting and full:

“I am worried by the Blessed Virgin’s messages to Lucy of Fatima. This persistence of Mary about the dangers which menace the Church is a Divine warning against the suicide of altering the Faith, in Her liturgy, Her theology and Her soul...I hear all around me innovators who wish to dismantle the Sacred Chapel, destroy the universal flame of the true Faith of the Church, reject Her ornaments and make Her feel remorse for Her historical past.”

“A day will come when the civilized world will deny its God, when the Church will doubt as Peter doubted. She will be tempted to believe that man has become God. In our churches, Christians will search in vain for the red lamp where God awaits them. Like Mary Magdalene, weeping before the empty tomb, they will ask, ‘Where have they taken Him?’”

Wow. Very powerful words. "A day will come when...Christians will search in vain for the red lamp where God awaits them."

If we claim to have Jesus at the center of hearts, isn't it time we made sure that He is at the center of our churches? Return the tabernacles to the high altars!

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!

Saint Martin and the Origin of Veterans Day (Armistice Day)

As you know, Veterans Day is an annual United States holiday honoring military veterans. In other countries, the day is celebrated as Armistice Day. It recalls the ending of World War I at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.

El Greco's St Martin

However, there is a deeper, Catholic meaning to November 11. This day is the feast of Saint Martin (c. 316 – 397) - that godly hermit and bishop who had once been a soldier. Martin laid down the sword in order to live a life of peace and penance under the gentle yoke of Jesus Christ. St Martin is Europe's chief example of the transition from soldier to saint; from war to peace.

Traditionally, November 11 had previously served as a day of signing peace treaties in honor of Saint Martin. Thus, it was fitting to end Europe's Great War on this same day - the festival of Saint Martin of Tours.

So there's a little Catholic history for you to share at the water-cooler or at your next cocktail party. Saint Martin is the ultimate veteran - a veteran from Christ.

Saint Martin, patron of peace, pray for us.

Visit the Vatican Library (You can book a slot now)

Bibliophiles, this is the event for you. Original texts from Erasmus, Voltaire and Galileo, an exquisite 15th Century edition of Dante's "Divine Comedy," illustrated by none other than famed Florentine Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli, they are just a small portion of the works on display as part of a new exhibition featuring some of the Vatican Library's most precious works.

The exhibition, "Conoscere la Biblioteca Vaticana: una storia aperta al futuro" ("Getting to Know the Vatican Library: an Open Story to the Future"), marks the first time in the library's 550-year history that a portion will be open to the public. Previously, only accredited scholars could see these works up close. Now, thanks to curators at Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana and Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi, some of the world's most important texts will be open to public viewings, but only until January 31, 2011. As Vatican Radio says of this historic event, "It's not open to just anyone, so if you want to have an idea what the Vatican Library looks like and what it contains, you now have until January 31st to see an exhibit that opens the doors - virtually - of the Pope's very own Library to the general public.

The exhibition, which will be translated in five languages, runs through the end of January. Those traveling to Rome over the next three months can book their place online. (More details on how just below).

Vatican Library officials acknowledge this exhibit marks a unique opportunity to open the doors to the public. Cardinal Raffaele Farina, the Librarian for the Vatican Library and Archivist of the Vatican Secret Archives, says they would like to make this a permanent exhibition, but the costs involved and the risk of damage for these priceless books and manuscripts make that a very diffcult proposition. "We have to be very careful about these ancient texts," he says.

If any of readers/followers of Canterbury Tales are headed to Rome between Nov. 11 and Jan. 31, 2011, they can book their place in this wondrous place of higher learning.

Learn more by clicking here: Jospers Vatican Library.

PS: If anyone wants to fly me out to Rome to be your personal tour guide (wink, wink) - just let me know!!!

Saint John Lateran...pray for us???

Ceiling of the Lateran Basilica

I once heard a humorous story about a group of Catholics that would meet in the morning for prayer. Every morning at the end of their prayers, they would invoke the saint commemorated that day, for example: "St Francis, pray for us."

Well on November 9th, the person leading the prayers had checked the calendar and noted "St John Lateran," so at the end of prayer, he said, "Saint John Lateran, pray for us."

The problem is that "Saint John Lateran" is not a person, but a place! Most people don't know this, but St Peter's Basilica of the Vatican is NOT the cathedral church of Rome. Rather, the cathedral of Rome, the chief church of the entire world is (take a deep breath): "The Cathedral Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour and Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist at the Lateran."

That's a mouthful isn't? The cathedral is simply called "St John Lateran" by those who aren't able to rattle off the full title. The term "Lateran" refers to the church's ancient origins as the the Lateran palace, which once belonged the Roman noble family of the Laterni. It was acquired by Constantine the Great and donated to the Pope in order to be the cathedral of the city.

As the cathedral of Rome, it is also referred to as the Sacrosancta Lateranensis Ecclesia Omnium Urbis et Orbis Ecclesiarum Mater et Caput "Most Holy Lateran Church, of all the churches in the city and the world, the mother and head". This day (November 9th) commemorates the consecration of the Church and recalls the universal vocation the Church as the "New Jerusalem."

My favorite thing about the Lateran Basilica is the "Holy Staircase" that's just across the street. The Holy Staircase {scala sancta in Latin} is the staircase that once led to the praetorium of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem. Saint Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine I, moved the staircase from Jerusalem to Rome where it has remained ever since. These are the stairs that Christ ascended before he was judged by Pontius Pilate. Pilgrims ascend the stairs on their knees for an indulgence. If you get to Rome, don't miss the Holy Staircase. Also, the baptistry attached to the Lateran Basilica is simply amazing. Be sure to visit it, as well.

Patron Saint of Computer Crashes (John Duns Scotus)

Today is the memorial of Blessed John Duns Scotus.

This past summer I was hanging out with some Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in Steubenville, Ohio. We were discussing that stalwart defender of the Immaculate Conception of Mary - Blessed John Duns Scotus.

"How can we get poor Scotus canonized?" That was the question. I noted that those saints with useful intercessory skills, are the most popular saints among the laity. For example, Saint Anthony is one of the most popular saints because he is associated with "lost things." Shoot, even Protestants pray to Saint Anthony when they lose their car keys, right? Likewise, Saint Jude (one of the most obscure Apostles) is well-known since he's the patron of desperate cases.

So the key to popularizing Scotus would be to promote him with a popular cause. But what cause fits Scotus?

So I suggested "dry cleaning" since he defended that Mary was "without stain of sin." Patronus Macularum. You get a stain on shirt and you pray to the patron against stains...the Friars of the Renewal shot this down as too lame.

Then Friar Pius says, "No, it has to be something that people really need. Something desperate. How about Patron Saint of Computer Crashes. There's nothing more stressful than computer crashes."

All the friars liked that suggestion. And so we decided to promote it: "John Duns Scotus, Patron of Computer Crashes."

Well, a few weeks after that, my Macbook laptop crashed. I was very stressed because it had the latest version of my new book The Catholic Perspective on Paul and I hadn't had a chance to back up the file. I was sweating bullets. So I began to ask Blessed John Duns Scotus for his prayers concerning my computer crash. My wife also started asking for Scotus' prayers.

The hard drive crashed, but the Mac genius was able to get everything off the computer. They replaced the hard drive and my computer was great. No lost documents. I didn't even have to buy a new computer.

So there it is folks. If your computer crashes, ask Blessed John Duns Scotus for his prayers!

Blessed John Duns Scotus, pray for us (and our computers!)

Have a blessed Blessed John Duns Scotus day.

Five Anglican Bishops to Become Catholic!

Five Anglican bishops have officially resigned this morning with the intention of joining Pope Benedict's English Ordinariate for former Anglicans.

The five Anglican hierarchs are:

1. Rt Rev Andrew Burnham, Bishop of Ebbsfleet
2. Rt Rev Keith Newton, Bishop of Richborough
3. Rt Rev John Broadhurst Bishop of Fulham
4. Rt Rev Edwin Barnes the emeritus Bishop of Richborough
5. Rt Rev David Silk, an emeritus assistant bishop of Exeter

Here is their full statement (which is pretty impressive):

Like many in the catholic tradition of Anglicanism, we have followed the dialogue between Anglicans and Catholics, the ARCIC process, with prayer and longing. We have been dismayed, over the last thirty years, to see Anglicans and Catholics move further apart on some of the issues of the day, and particularly we have been distressed by developments in Faith and Order in Anglicanism which we believe to be incompatible with the historic vocation of Anglicanism and the tradition of the Church for nearly two thousand years.
The Apostolic Constitution, Anglicanorum cœtibus, given in Rome on 4th November 2009, was a response to Anglicans seeking unity with the Holy See. With the Ordinariates, canonical structures are being established through which we will bring our own experience of Christian discipleship into full communion with the Catholic Church throughout the world and throughout the ages. This is both a generous response to various approaches to the Holy See for help and a bold, new ecumenical instrument in the search for the unity of Christians, the unity for which Christ himself prayed before his Passion and Death. It is a unity, we believe, which is possible only in eucharistic communion with the successor of St Peter.
As bishops, we have even-handedly cared for those who have shared our understanding and those who have taken a different view. We have now reached the point, however, where we must formally declare our position and invite others who share it to join us on our journey. We shall be ceasing, therefore, from public episcopal ministry forthwith, resigning from our pastoral responsibilities in the Church of England with effect from 31st December 2010, and seeking to join an Ordinariate once one is created.
We remain very grateful for all that the Church of England has meant for us and given to us all these years and we hope to maintain close and warm relationships, praying and working together for the coming of God’s Kingdom.
We are deeply appreciative of the support we have received at this difficult time from a whole variety of people: archbishops and bishops, clergy and laity, Anglican and Catholics, those who agree with our views and those who passionately disagree, those who have encouraged us in this step and those who have urged us not to take this step.
The Right Revd Andrew Burnham
The Right Revd Keith Newton
The Right Revd John Broadhurst
The Right Revd Edwin Barnes
The Right Revd David Silk

Bishop Alan Hopes’ full statement:

We welcome the decision of Bishops Andrew Burnham, Keith Newton, John Broadhurst, Edwin Barnes and David Silk to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church through the Ordinariate for England and Wales, which will be established under the provisions of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus.
At our plenary meeting next week, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales will be exploring the establishment of the Ordinariate and the warm welcome we will be extending to those who seek to be part of it. Further information will be made known after the meeting.

PS: Word on the street is that Right Revd Keith Newton will be tapped as the English ordinary for the ordinariate.

My New Book Will Be Out Soon!

The new book The Catholic Perspective on Paul will be out pretty soon. We're excited. I really like the cover designed by Steven M. Nelson...simple and clean:

If you're going to purchase the previous book The Crucified Rabbi, please hold off for two weeks. It's being reprinted with a new book cover that matches the style of the The Catholic Perspective on Paul (pictured above). So if you want to get the new cover, wait about two weeks. The new version of The Crucified Rabbi is exactly the same as the original book, just a different cover. So it doesn't matter which cover you have - it's the same text.

The book trailer for The Catholic Perspective on Paul is also up on Youtube. Please take a look at it and tell us what you think:

Please share the video with others via Facebook or email with the buttons below to help get the word out. Thank you!

I'll put up a free chapter download from the new book on Paul for "Canterbury Tales subscribers" in the next week so you can get a preview of the book.

You can subscribe to Canterbury Tales by clicking here: Subscribe to Canterbury Tales by Taylor Marshall.

Photo of My Children Praying at the Cemetery

Here's a photo of four of my children praying at the cemetery after Holy Mass for All Souls (or at least three of them praying...).

How to Spring a Soul from Purgatory

According to the current Enchiridion of Indulgences, one can apply a plenary indulgence to a departed soul by the "visitation of a cemetary" {Coemeterii visitatio} from November 1st till the 8th (i.e. the octave of All Saints).

Here's the text:

13. Visit to a Cemetery (Coemeterii visitatio)

An indulgence, applicable only to the Souls in Purgatory, is granted to the faithful, who devoutly visit a cemetery and pray, even if only mentally, for the departed.

The indulgence is plenary each day from the 1st to the 8th of November; on other days of the year it is partial.

In order for the indulgence to be plenary, the following conditions must also be met alone with the visit and prayers at the cemetery:

1. Sacramental confession within “about twenty days”[1] of the actual day of the Plenary Indulgence.
2. Eucharistic Communion on the day of the Plenary Indulgence.
3. Prayer for the intentions of the Pope on the day of the Plenary Indulgence.
4. It is further required that all attachment to sin, even venial sin, be absent.[2]

Taking young people, particularly teenagers, to cemeteries to pray for the dead is a wholesome thing. Young people are not usually aware of their mortality. It's a good thing to recognize the tombs of the dead...and pray for them.

Perhaps our culture's fascination with death and horror movies is related to the fact that young people are isolated from death and prevented from attending funerals. Do you agree? Please leave a comment.

---

[1] Apostolic Penitentiary, Prot. N. 39/05/I (18 February 2005).

[2] If the latter detachment from sin is in any way less than perfect or if the prescribed three conditions are not fulfilled, the indulgence will be partial only. In accordance with the canonical norms 34 and 35 of the Enchiridion of Indulgences (1968), a confessor or bishop can dispense someone of one or two of the norms above.

The Exact GPS Location of Christ's Last Judgment (Valley of Josaphat)

In the Creed, we confess our faith in the future event that Christ "will come again to judge the living and the dead." When Christ returns at the end of time, where will this judgment occur?

According to Catholic tradition, the Messiah's final judgment of every single human being will occur at the Valley of Josaphat In fact, Saint Thomas Aquinas affirmed in at least three places that the Last Judgment will occur at the Valley of Josaphat, cf. In IV Sententiarum 4.48.1.4; Quodlibet 10.2; Summa theologiae Supp, q.88, a.4. Other Catholic authors that describe the Valley of Josaphat as the location of Christ's judgment are Jerome, Honorius Augustodunensis, Rupert of Deutz, Robert Pullen of Oxford, Peter Lombard, Richard of St. Victor, Magister Bandinus, and Martín of León.

In Joel 4:2 we read the following:

"I will gather together all nations and will bring them down into the valley of Josaphat: and I will plead with them there for my people, and for my inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and have parted my land. Nations, nations in the valley of destruction: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of destruction" (Joel 4:2, 14)

In Hebrew Josaphat mean "Jehovah Judges." Jews reckon this location to be the place of final judgment, as do the Muslims. According to Saint Jerome, the Antichrist will also be slain at the site of the Valley of Josaphat (Commentarii in Danielem, CCSL 75A).

According to some traditions, Saint Joseph was buried in this location.

The Origin of All Souls day...Voices from a Volcano

Dante's Purgatory

What is the origin of All Souls day?

As we all know, the practice pf praying and sacrifice for the dead goes back to the Jewish custom of sacrifice for the dead. This custom of prayers and sacrifices for the dead predate the birth of our Lord Christ in Bethlehem. We find an explicit Old Testament description and exhortation of prayer and sacrifice for the dead in 2 Maccabees 12:42-26. Moreover, all the Church Fathers testify to the practice of praying for the dead in the Eucharistic liturgy. Praying for the dead an example of one of the most ancient Christian customs - older than Christmas, older than church buildings, even older than the New Testament itself.

But what about this special day, All Souls, on which we pray and sacrifice for the dead in a special way? We find an account of its origins in the writings of Saint Peter Damian, who records the following story.

In the 900s, there was a French pilgrim returning from the Holy Land who was shipwrecked on an island with a cave from which belched heat and gas (maybe a volcano of some sort). This pilgrim met a Christian hermit who lived near this cave. The hermit explained that he could sometimes overhear demons in the cave complaining about all the souls that are released from purgatory through the prayers and sacrifices of the monks in Cluny, France.

When the French pilgrim returned to France, he visited the monastery of Cluny and recounted the hermit's story to the abbot of the monastery, then Abbot Odilo. The pilgrim testified to the great number of souls delivered from purgatory through the humble prayers of the Cluniac monks. Odilo (died in 1048) was deeply moved by this and redoubled the monks efforts in assisting the souls in purgatory. Thus, he dedicated the day after All Saints Day (Nov 1) to all the souls still in purgatory (Nov 2). Soon, the practice spread to the rest of France and then to the universal Church so that November 2nd became All Souls Day.

Saint Odilo, pray for us.

May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.

What does the Catholic Church teach about Purgatory?

Today is All Souls and the day raises many questions from Catholics and non-Catholics alike. So what does the Church teach about Purgatory?

The following is from the official Catechism of the Catholic Church. Please read carefully. The paragraphs below dispel many Protestant (and Eastern Orthodox) misconceptions about Purgatory:

1030 All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.

1031 The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent. The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire:

As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come. (St. Gregory the Great, Dial. 4,39:PL 77,396; cf. Mt 12:31.)

This teaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead, already mentioned in Sacred Scripture: "Therefore [Judas Maccabeus] made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin." From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God. The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead:

Let us help and commemorate them. If Job's sons were purified by their father's sacrifice, why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them. (611 St. John Chrysostom, Hom. in 1 Cor. 41,5:PG 61,361; cf. Job 1:5.)

So first of all, Purgatory is not eternal Hell. Secondly, only the elect, that is saved Christians, will go there. Purgatory is a place only for those on their way to Heaven. It is the final purification of those who die in fellowship with Christ.

There are Scripture passages relating to prayer for the dead. If one accepts 2 Maccabees (as quoted above) as canonical, then once must accept prayer for the dead. Many scholars believe that St Paul prays for a dead friend in 2 Timothy chapter 1:

[16] May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me; he was not ashamed of my chains,
[17] but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me eagerly and found me --
[18] may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that Day -- and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus.

Our Savior Christ also mentions that there is opportunity for forgiveness in this life and after death:

Matthew 12:32 And whoever says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

But the most convincing passage for me was 1 Corinthians 3:13-15:

[13] each man's work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.
[14] If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.
[15] If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

First of all, each man will be judged and his work "will be revealed with fire." The good we have done will survive the fire and will be our "reward." The evil we have done will be "burned up" and "he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire."

Here we see that this kind of fire is not Hell, but "he himself will be saved, but only as through fire." The Greek word for fire is "pur" and it is the same Indo-European root from which "PUR-gatory" derives. Purgatory is that state of purification by fire for those who are already saved.

The Protestant might ask at this point, "Well if somebody is already saved, then why do that have to pass through this fire? Didn't Christ die for all their sins?"

Yes, Christ died for their sins and has redeemed them. But He died that we might become actually holy. "Be holy as I am holy." The fire of Purgatory is the fire of God's love causing us to "suffer loss" by a sort of final repentance from our sins. It is therefore painful because we must let go of the desires of the flesh and face our failings. This is what it means to "suffer loss". We can't get around the words of St Paul who says that Christians must pass through fire after death.

If Uzzah was killed by God for merely touching the Ark of the Covenant, then we must be fully sanctified to enter Heaven. The debt has been paid but we have not fully been transformed into the image of Christ. Christ died to make us actually and really holy. Purgatory is this final transformation by which our Christ-centered actions are acknowledged and our sinful affections are burned away.



1 Cor 12:26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

Best of all, we should have the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered for the faithful departed. We are a family and we're all in this together. One thing I'm learning as a Catholic is that we really are one huge family in Christ. When we pray for the departed we are asking God "who is a consuming fire" to assist those who are undergoing their final repentance and purification as they prepare to entere His All-Holy presence.

I commend to you two of my recent blog posts:

Orthodox Judaism and Purgatory

CS Lewis and Purgatory