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Saints
Sept 7, 2010 14:31:10 GMT
Post by hibernicus on Sept 7, 2010 14:31:10 GMT
I should add though that the dictum that every defeat suffered through obedience is in fact a victory and every apparent victory won through disobedience is in fact a defeat can be overstated unless we distinguish between true and false obedience.
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Saints
Sept 23, 2010 14:53:44 GMT
Post by hibernicus on Sept 23, 2010 14:53:44 GMT
rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/Fr Gerard Deighan's sermon at the University Church Mass in honour of Bl. John Henry Newman is now up on RORATE CAELI
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Saints
Sept 30, 2010 9:37:10 GMT
Post by Alaisdir Ua Séaghdha on Sept 30, 2010 9:37:10 GMT
Today, at least in the Ordinary Form, is the feast of St Jerome, a contemporary of St Augustine. He is best known for translating the bible into Latin, his ascetic life in Bethlehem and his fiery temper.
I recall he said the heretic Pelagius was bloated with a stomach full of Scottish porridge. This is interesting in that the adjective he used - scottica - did not mean Scottish at the time, but rather Irish. And this was pre-Patrician Ireland, which was not widely known in the world.
In an addition, I have a question. Many portraits of St Jerome deptict him in rags, but leaving aside a cardinal's hat or cardinal's regalia. Does anyone know what this signifies?
With regard to St Jerome on scripture, I have heard another observation, one of course open to criticism but worthy of consideration. St Jerome did most of his work in Palestine in the late fourth and early fifth centuries, in a territory which had not changed a lot since the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Therefore, he may have had access to sources dating from the time of Christ, not to mention local knowledge and insights. The point being that the writings of St Jerome by any estimation ought to be highly valuable to the emerging neo-patristic school of biblical criticism.
Finally, the feast of St John Chrysostom comes midway between the feasts of Ss Augustine and Jerome. This was a great eastern patristic figure who was contemporary of the two. It always struck me that the three feasts came in rapid succession.
By the way, St Augustine disagreed with St Jerome a lot in regard to his work on scripture. St Augustine preferred the older Latin translations already in circulation.
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Saints
Sept 30, 2010 9:43:06 GMT
Post by hibernicus on Sept 30, 2010 9:43:06 GMT
St. Jerome was secretary to Pope Damasus II before settling in Bethlehem; this is why he is often (anachronistically) portrayed as a cardinal.
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Saints
Sept 30, 2010 9:45:04 GMT
Post by hibernicus on Sept 30, 2010 9:45:04 GMT
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Saints
Sept 30, 2010 9:59:46 GMT
Post by Alaisdir Ua Séaghdha on Sept 30, 2010 9:59:46 GMT
St. Jerome was secretary to Pope Damasus II before settling in Bethlehem; this is why he is often (anachronistically) portrayed as a cardinal. Thanks, Hibernicus. I always thought the suggestion he was a cardinal was anachronistic. Also, not many cardinals have been raised to the altars.
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Saints
Oct 5, 2010 16:27:30 GMT
Post by hibernicus on Oct 5, 2010 16:27:30 GMT
I regretted not being able to get to Mass for OCtober 4, the feast of St Francis of Assisi. Any thoughts on why he is such a favourite saint, even with non-Catholics?
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Saints
Oct 7, 2010 11:11:23 GMT
Post by hibernicus on Oct 7, 2010 11:11:23 GMT
Yesterday I was at an evening of meditation organised by Opus Dei, and the priest in charge cited some remarks by St. Josemaria Escriva condemning exaggerations in saints' lives (the example given was a saint who was supposed to have displayed his holiness in infancy by refusing to be suckled by his mother on Fridays or fst days). St Josemaria condemened this very strongly because it makes sanctity appear to be a property of people who are already superhuman, not as something which is open to all of us and which can be attained through everyday life. A nice example of the sort of thing St Josemaria is discussing would be those mediaeval lives of St. Patrick (taken up even by some nineteenth-century writers) which represent him as working miracles in infancy and early childhood (e.g. causing ice to burn), even though this directly contradicts the Saint's own statement in his CONFESSION that before his captivity he was a sinner ignorant of God.
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Saints
Oct 7, 2010 18:05:22 GMT
Post by assisi on Oct 7, 2010 18:05:22 GMT
I regretted not being able to get to Mass for OCtober 4, the feast of St Francis of Assisi. Any thoughts on why he is such a favourite saint, even with non-Catholics? I think the simplicity of his message, his love of nature. Also his famous prayer is often quoted as a guidance for life's trials, for the religious and non-religious alike. It was famously used by Thatcher in 1979: On the steps of Number 10, she quoted from St Francis of Assisi: "Where there is discord, may we bring harmony. Where there is error, may we bring truth. Where there is doubt, may we bring faith. And where there is despair, may we bring hope."
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Saints
Oct 8, 2010 11:02:44 GMT
Post by hibernicus on Oct 8, 2010 11:02:44 GMT
Stephen greydanus reviews an interesting 1995 film about St Edith Stein (Teresa Benedicta of the Cross) which is structured around St Teresa of Avila's schema of the seven chambers of the interior castle. Unfortunately this is an American site, so I'm not sure if the DVD is available in Europe. www.decentfilms.com/articles/seventhchamber
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Saints
Nov 1, 2010 13:18:56 GMT
Post by hibernicus on Nov 1, 2010 13:18:56 GMT
A grim story for the Feast of all Saints - 37 Chaldaean Catholics including 3 priests killed by al-Qaeda in their church in Baghdad in odium fidei. wdtprs.com/blog/2010/11/bagdad-the-noble-army-of-martyrs-praise-thee/I have to confess that I supported the american invasion of Iraq because I believed the removal of Saddam would make things better for the Iraqis. I now state I was mistaken, because I underestimated the ability of the Americans to mess things up.
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Saints
Dec 7, 2010 11:40:51 GMT
Post by hibernicus on Dec 7, 2010 11:40:51 GMT
Yesterday was the feast of St Nicholas - I am sorry to say that at my local church (at least at the Mass I attended) it was treated as just an ordinary weekday in advent. Given how well-known Santa Claus is, we should make more effort to bring forward the original. Here is the [legendary] version of the life of St . Nicholas, on an Eastern Orthodox blog. Please note I do not endorse every story old therein, but they are worth reading as instances of popular piety and the examples we should seek to follw: ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?SID=4&ID=1&FSID=103484
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Saints
Dec 27, 2010 14:34:38 GMT
Post by hibernicus on Dec 27, 2010 14:34:38 GMT
Given that todayis the feast of St John the Evangelist, I offer for your meditation the opening of St. John's Gospel, which is read at the end of the Extraordinary Form Mass.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him: and without him was made nothing that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to give testimony of the light, that all men might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but was to give testimony of the light. 9 That was the true light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, he gave them power to be made the sons of God, to them that believe in his name. 13 Who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
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Saints
Jan 1, 2011 22:41:21 GMT
Post by assisi on Jan 1, 2011 22:41:21 GMT
There is a very good TV Movie dramatisation of the Padre Pio story on You Tube at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cs3JMDf0I8It's broken down into 22 separate clips which are easily accessible at the side of the screen. It's in Italian with subtitles. I would recommend it as it is well acted, beautifully filmed and quite moving.
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Saints
Jun 4, 2011 17:07:05 GMT
Post by hibernicus on Jun 4, 2011 17:07:05 GMT
This week's CATHOLIC HERALD has a very fine piece in its PASTOR IUVENTUS column discussing St Philip Neri as a model for priests and using his life to show how a strong emphasis on priestly identity need not involve "clericalism" in the bad sense (i.e. assuming every priest is an infallible saint and the laity are necessarily lesser ebings). I would encourage everyone to read it.
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