Tag Archives: ecclesiology

A Very Fair Trade

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"While Anglicans — especially Anglican bishops or priests — becoming Roman Catholic after disagreeing with their community’s stands on ordaining women or openly gay men has made news, the movement of Catholic priests and laity to Anglicanism seldom makes headlines."

….

"Anglicans who become Roman Catholic generally become very conservative [orthodox] Roman Catholics, while Roman Catholics who become Anglican tend to become very liberal [cacodox] Anglicans…"

(Fedora Tip: Curt Jester)

Sounds good to me. Both sides get what we want. Better yet, with a constant influx of heretics, the Anglican Communion will continue to destroy itself from within, leading to more their orthodox folks coming to Rome. 🙂

Denomination-hopping As State Transitions

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A strange thought just occurred to me. There are always people leaving one denomination (or even religion) and entering another. I wonder if the conversion and apostacy rates could be modelled as molecules evaporating from one liquid and condensing in another. Members since birth and converts that either never leave or leave only after a long time could be modelled as members of solids. In these models, temperatures would be indicative of scandal, heresy, revival, reform, and other major causes of movement between denominations. Also, different groups would have different state transition temperatures, reflecting relative cohesiveness.

Thoughts?

Reformation Sunday

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In the old Roman Rite calendar, today would have been the Feast of Christ the King. This solemnity was deliberately placed on the last Sunday of October to coincide with Reformation Sunday. For reasons lost on me, the liturgical calendar was changed in 1970, and Christ the King was moved to the Sunday before Advent. I fail to see why changing the calendar was required to implement the liturgical recommendations (mandates?) of Vatican II. Anyhow, being an ex-Protestant and an increasingly traditional Catholic, I wanted to say something on the Sunday that celebrates heresy and the painful division in the Church. Thus I offer you the lyrics to "The Church’s One Foundation". The highlighted verse is not printed in the hymnals my parish uses. I really wish it was.

The Church’s one foundation
is Jesus Christ her Lord;
she is his new creation,
by water and the word:
from heaven he came and sought her
to be his holy bride;
with his own blood he bought her,
and for her life he died.

Elect from every nation,
yet one o’er all the earth,
her charter of salvation,
one Lord, one faith, one birth;
one holy Name she blesses,
partakes one holy food,
and to one hope she presses,
with every grace endued.

Though with a scornful wonder
men see her sore oppressed,
by schisms rent asunder,
by heresies distressed;
yet saints their watch are keeping,
their cry goes up, ‘How long?’
and soon the night of weeping
shall be the morn of song.

Mid toil and tribulation,
and tumult of her war
she waits the consummation
of peace for evermore;
till with the vision glorious
her longing eyes are blessed,
and the great Church victorious
shall be the Church at rest.

Yet she on earth hath union
with God, the Three in one,
and mystic sweet communion
with those whose rest is won.
O happy ones and holy!
Lord, give us grace that we
like them, the meek and lowly,
on high may dwell with thee.

Words: Samuel John Stone, 1868

Strife in St. Blog’s

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I've a lot of abusive posts and comments in St. Blog's Parish of late and it really bothers me. Normally when Christians are at each other's throats I point out Galatians 5:13-15. However, a reading from a recent daily mass caught my eye.

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." – Ephesians 4:29-32

I don't want point out splinters in my brothers eyes when I carry a log in my own, so I'll not mention by name or link who the offenders are. I can only hope they read this post and get the message.

BTW, Richard Hall seems to be thinking similar things about Christian bloggers in general.

"[F]or every person that shouts 'Amen!' there's another shouting 'No way!' The Body of Christ is divided and weakened. ('Can the eye say to the hand, I don't need you?') If we fall out of fellowship with one another, we all lose."

Consummatum Est: Eucharist As Marital Act

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When a man and woman marry each other in the Church, they are not joined sacramentally until the marriage is consummated, that is, until they partake of sexual intercourse. Most people think of the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony as only being administered once. I believe they are mistaken. The sacrament is enacted every time a married couple makes love. A husband’s seed is given to his wife, in whom it might "take root" and grow into another human being, another member of the domestic church.

Christ is the bridegroom of the Church. The marriage was not consummated until Christ died on the cross for our sins. Some people think that this sacrifice was manifested only once. I believe they are mistaken. The sacrifice is enacted every time a member of the Church receives the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. God’s seed, grace, is given to members of the Church, in whom it might take root and grow into faith, a faith that enables us to go and make new disciples, new members of the Universal Church.