Tag Archives: Catholic

Carnivals 01/25/05

Vox Apologia 2
is up at Razorskiss
. The theme is “Digital Salt”. The
14th Catholic Carnival is up at Deo Omnis Gloria
. The submission are labeled
with categories: unity, division, contraception, life, faith, prayer, home, family,
spirituality, euthanasia, love, time, and obedience. The 54th Chrisitan Carnival is at Digitus, Finger, and Co. Neil’s a very busy man and put a lot of work into this, so please check it out. In fact, check them all out. 🙂

Saved/Judged as the Body?

Michael Gallaugher, of Christian Conservative, asks the following question.

Nearly all people of faith believe their fate before God will depend largely upon our individual lives. However, some people believe the judgement awaiting us in the next life will not only be weighed against our lives as individuals, but the fruit of the broader culture we take part in shaping as well. I’m curious to get your reaction to the latter belief.

To which I responded:

The Catholic Church teaches that there will be both a particular
judgement
and a last judgement.
We also believe that the faithful are not only saved as individual souls, but also
as the Mystical Body of
Christ
.

This was not well-received by the Protestant commenters. I’m not sure if they really oppose the Church’s views or oppose them because they are “Romish” views. Could any of Protestant readers clarify this for me? Would any of my Catholic readers be able/willing to help me defend the Church?

The Myth of Catholic and Orthodox Tradition?

Cameron Porter, of Earnestly Contending, posts the following quote (apparently a favorite of his).

"Furthermore, that the body of tradition is not of divine origin nor apostolic is proven by the fact that some traditions contradict others. The church fathers repeatedly contradict one another. When a Roman Catholic priest is ordained he solemnly vows to interpret the Scriptures only according to 'the unanimous consent' of the fathers. But such 'unanimous consent' is purely a myth. The fact is they scarcely agree on any doctrine. They contradict each other, and even contradict themselves as they change their minds and affirm what they previously had denied. Augustine, the greatest of the fathers, in his later life wrote a special book in which he set forth his Retractions. Some of the fathers of the second century held that Christ would return shortly and that he would personally reign in Jerusalem for a thousand years. But two of the best known scholars of the early church, Origen (185-254) and Augustine (354-430) wrote against that view. The early fathers condemned the use of images in worship, while later ones approve such use. The early church almost unanimously advocated the reading and free use of the Scriptures, while later ones restricted such reading and use. Gregory the Great, bishop of Rome and the greatest of the early bishops, denounced the assumption of the title of Universal Bishop as anti-Christian. But later Popes even to the present have been very insistent of using that and similar titles which assert universal authority. Where, then, is the universal tradition and unanimous consent of the fathers to papal doctrine?"

– Loraine Boettner, Roman Catholicism (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1962), pp. 78-79

Thoughts?

Slacker Mass?

"Almost three-tenths (29%) of male Mass attenders [in Australia] aged between 15 and 29 go to Mass only on Sunday evenings, and a further 13% attend Mass on Sunday evening or at another time. For females of the same age, the corresponding figures are 25% and 16%."

….

"the [total] Mass attendance rate among young [Australian] adult Catholics was less than 10%"

I suspect that if this study was repeated in America, the results would be similar. This immediately brings a few questions to my mind.

If people, young or old, wouldn’t attend mass if evening masses were eliminated, should these "last chance" masses be kept or even made available in parishes that lack them? What are people doing during the day on Sunday? What is so important that it can’t be missed? What about the myriad of other masses offered, including vigil masses on Saturdays? Should the Church really be catering to the people this much? Is the Church just doing what she can to draw more people in or coddling people and caving in to misplaced priorities?

What are your thoughts? I’d like to hear from all of my Christian readers on this one, not just Catholics. I know most Protestant churches don’t offer as many Sunday services as Catholic parishes do, but I suspect there are similar problems with attendance, particularly among the young adults. Ditto for the Orthodox.

An Evangelical Catholic?

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

Participation in Christ’s prophetic office

904 “Christ . . . fulfills this prophetic office, not only by the hierarchy . . . but also by the laity. He accordingly both establishes them as witnesses and provides them with the sense of the faith [sensus fidei] and the grace of the word”438

To teach in order to lead others to faith is the task of every preacher and of each believer.439

905 Lay people also fulfill their prophetic mission by evangelization, “that is, the proclamation of Christ by word and the testimony of life.” For lay people, “this evangelization . . . acquires a specific property and peculiar efficacy because it is accomplished in the ordinary circumstances of the world.”440

This witness of life, however, is not the sole element in the apostolate; the true apostle is on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers . . . or to the faithful.441

906 Lay people who are capable and trained may also collaborate in catechetical formation, in teaching the sacred sciences, and in use of the communications media.442

907 “In accord with the knowledge, competence, and preeminence which they possess, [lay people] have the right and even at times a duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church, and they have a right to make their opinion known to the other Christian faithful, with due regard to the integrity of faith and morals and reverence toward their pastors, and with consideration for the common good and the dignity of persons.”443


438 LG 35.
439 St. Thomas Aquinas, STh. III,71,4 ad 3.
440 LG 35 � 1, � 2.
441 AA 6 � 3; cf. AG 15.
442 Cf. CIC, cann. 229; 774; 776; 780; 823 � 1.
443 CIC, can. 212 � 3.

I suppose, as a faithful Catholic Christian who blogs, the above could serve as my misson statement.

It is my intention to “teach in order to lead others to faith” by being always “on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers . . . or to the faithful” through the “use of the communications media”. I also act knowing that I “have the right and even at times a duty to manifest to the sacred pastors [my] opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church, and [I] have a right to make [my] opinion known to the other Christian faithful, with due regard to the integrity of faith and morals and reverence toward [my and their] pastors, and with consideration for the common good and the dignity of persons.”

In some sense, then, my mission makes me an evangelical. That’s the only way I can justify my presence in the Church Directory, an Evangelical blogroll.

“As the blogosphere matures it�s influence will continue to expand. It will continue to shape ideas, set political agendas, and shape culture. Christians who believe that a Biblical worldview has something important to add to the conversation cannot afford to ignore this medium. But that is what much of the church will likely do � at least until the blogosphere begins to have the same impact on society as the universities or the film industry. Then we will be rolling out the trebuchets for another cultural war siege.”

“But evangelicals are already within the walls. By simply coordinating our efforts we can soon become a force that won�t be easily ignored. To do so, however, we must set aside both envy and false piety. We must set aside petty jealousy when someone else�s blog has more links or gets more traffic. And we must also reject the simplistic notion that we should not strive to gain recognition for our blogging efforts. Our work should be pursued with godly ambition, helping others as we form a genuine community.”

“To be successful in this effort will require that we band together and help others whether their blogs are more popular or completely unknown. We need to link to and visit each other�s blogs, provide encouragement, and praise excellence and quality wherever it is found. Evangelicals can have a profound impact on society and culture. But first we must ‘buy a ticket [out of the Evangelical ghetto].'”

I am honored to have made the list and I hope that through it I can be help to spread the good news of Jesus Christ to the blogosphere.