Wednesday, February 14, 2007
The Council of Trent: Part 1

I have recently purchased a copy of the Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent on CD-ROM. In addition, I have obtained a copy of "The Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent" translated and introduced by Reverend H.J. Schroeder, O.P. Since no decrees of a Council may ever be contradicted, and since the Council of Trent has profoundly impacted the Church, I feel it is proper to study the anathemas issued by the Council.

First and foremost, "anathema" is defined thusly
"After the time of the apostolic church, the term anathema has come to mean a form of extreme religious sanction beyond excommunication, known as major excommunication. The earliest recorded instance of the form is in the Council of Elvira (c. 306), and thereafter it became the common method of cutting off heretics. Cyril of Alexandria issued twelve anathemas against Nestorius in 431. In the fifth century, a formal distinction between anathema and excommunication evolved, where excommunication entailed cutting off a person or group from the rite of Eucharist and attendance at worship, while anathema meant a complete separation of the subject from the Church."

Background:

The Council of Trent convened three times between December 13, 1545 and December 4, 1563 in the city of Trent, Italy. It opened primarily as a response to the theological errors by the Protestant Reformation and to clearly specify Catholic doctrines on such subjects as salvation, the Seven Sacraments, the Biblical canon, and the standardizing of the Mass.

The following is the first set of anathemas to come out of the Council. These come from the Fifth Session celebrated on June 17, 1546, which dealt with the topic of original sin. Additional posts will follow as this will be a regular series on my blog. It is important that we believe exactly what the Catholic Church teaches, so it is important to study the anathemas issued by the Council.

Fifth Session:

1. If any one does not confess that the first man, Adam, when he had transgressed the commandment of God in Paradise, immediately lost the holiness and justice wherein he had been constituted; and that he incurred, through the offence of that prevarication, the wrath and indignation of God, and consequently death, with which God had previously threatened him, and, together with death, captivity under his power who thenceforth had the empire of death, that is to say, the devil, and that the entire Adam, through that offence of prevarication, was changed, in body and soul, for the worse; let him be anathema.

2. If any one asserts, that the prevarication of Adam injured himself alone, and not his posterity; and that the holiness and justice, received of God, which he lost, he lost for himself alone, and not for us also; or that he, being defiled by the sin of disobedience, has only transfused death, and pains of the body, into the whole human race, but not sin also, which is the death of the soul; let him be anathema:--whereas he contradicts the apostle who says; By one man sin entered into the world, and by sin death, and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned.

3. If any one asserts, that this sin of Adam,--which in its origin is one, and being transfused into all by propogation, not by imitation, is in each one as his own, --is taken away either by the powers of human nature, or by any other remedy than the merit of the one mediator, our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath reconciled us to God in his own blood, made unto us justice, santification, and redemption; or if he denies that the said merit of Jesus Christ is applied, both to adults and to infants, by the sacrament of baptism rightly administered in the form of the church; let him be anathema: For there is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved. Whence that voice; Behold the lamb of God behold him who taketh away the sins of the world; and that other; As many as have been baptized, have put on Christ.

4. If any one denies, that infants, newly born from their mothers' wombs, even though they be sprung from baptized parents, are to be baptized; or says that they are baptized indeed for the remission of sins, but that they derive nothing of original sin from Adam, which has need of being expiated by the laver of regeneration for the obtaining life everlasting,--whence it follows as a consequence, that in them the form of baptism, for the remission of sins, is understood to be not true, but false, --let him be anathema. For that which the apostle has said, By one man sin entered into the world, and by sin death, and so death passed upon all men in whom all have sinned, is not to be understood otherwise than as the Catholic Church spread everywhere hath always understood it. For, by reason of this rule of faith, from a tradition of the apostles, even infants, who could not as yet commit any sin of themselves, are for this cause truly baptized for the remission of sins, that in them that may be cleansed away by regeneration, which they have contracted by generation. For, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

5. If any one denies, that, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is conferred in baptism, the guilt of original sin is remitted; or even asserts that the whole of that which has the true and proper nature of sin is not taken away; but says that it is only rased, or not imputed; let him be anathema. For, in those who are born again, there is nothing that God hates; because, There is no condemnation to those who are truly buried together with Christ by baptism into death; who walk not according to the flesh, but, putting off the old man, and putting on the new who is created according to God, are made innocent, immaculate, pure, harmless, and beloved of God, heirs indeed of God, but joint heirs with Christ; so that there is nothing whatever to retard their entrance into heaven. But this holy synod confesses and is sensible, that in the baptized there remains concupiscence, or an incentive (to sin); which, whereas it is left for our exercise, cannot injure those who consent not, but resist manfully by the grace of Jesus Christ; yea, he who shall have striven lawfully shall be crowned. This concupiscence, which the apostle sometimes calls sin, the holy Synod declares that the Catholic Church has never understood it to be called sin, as being truly and properly sin in those born again, but because it is of sin, and inclines to sin.
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Pope Benedict XVI's 2007 Lenten Message

From the Vatican:

It is in the mystery of the Cross that the overwhelming power of the heavenly Father’s mercy is revealed in all of its fullness. In order to win back the love of His creature, He accepted to pay a very high price: the blood of His only begotten Son. Death, which for the first Adam was an extreme sign of loneliness and powerlessness, was thus transformed in the supreme act of love and freedom of the new Adam. One could very well assert, therefore, together with Saint Maximus the Confessor, that Christ “died, if one could say so, divinely, because He died freely” (Ambigua, 91, 1956). On the Cross, God’s eros for us is made manifest. Eros is indeed – as Pseudo-Dionysius expresses it – that force “that does not allow the lover to remain in himself but moves him to become one with the beloved” (De divinis nominibus, IV, 13: PG 3, 712). Is there more “mad eros” (N. Cabasilas, Vita in Cristo, 648) than that which led the Son of God to make Himself one with us even to the point of suffering as His own the consequences of our offences?

“Him whom they have pierced”

Dear brothers and sisters, let us look at Christ pierced in the Cross! He is the unsurpassing revelation of God’s love, a love in which eros and agape, far from being opposed, enlighten each other. On the Cross, it is God Himself who begs the love of His creature: He is thirsty for the love of every one of us. The Apostle Thomas recognized Jesus as “Lord and God” when he put his hand into the wound of His side. Not surprisingly, many of the saints found in the Heart of Jesus the deepest expression of this mystery of love. One could rightly say that the revelation of God’s eros toward man is, in reality, the supreme expression of His agape. In all truth, only the love that unites the free gift of oneself with the impassioned desire for reciprocity instills a joy, which eases the heaviest of burdens. Jesus said: “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself” (Jn 12:32). The response the Lord ardently desires of us is above all that we welcome His love and allow ourselves to be drawn to Him. Accepting His love, however, is not enough. We need to respond to such love and devote ourselves to communicating it to others. Christ “draws me to Himself” in order to unite Himself to me, so that I learn to love the brothers with His own love.
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St. Valentine's Day

Today is St. Valentine's Day. Do read about the history of St. Valentine's Day from my post that I wrote last year.

Prayer:

O glorious advocate and protector, St Valentine, look with pity upon our wants, hear our requests, attend to our prayers, relieve by your intercession the miseries under which we labour, and obtain for us the divine blessing, that we may be found worthy to join you in praising the Almighty for all eternity: through the merits of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
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Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Why the Church must keep Priestly Celebacy

I am suggesting the following article: "Why the Church must continue to uphold priestly celibacy" by Fr. Pat Stratford.

As someone that is planning on embarking on that journey leading me to ordination, I can not publicly support mandatory priestly celebacy enough. Priestly celebacy is a necessary component of serving God completely. If a priest were allowed to marry, he would have a family and a parish - two vocations. The result would be that one would be primarily focused on, thereby neglecting the other. Celebacy is not meant to be easy, but it is meant to be a sacrifice endured for the greater glory of the Kingdom of Christ.
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Pope Benedict XVI on World Day of the Sick

This past Sunday, February 11, was the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes as well as World Day of the Sick. Here are some photos from the Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI for the World Day of the Sick:



Photo Sources: AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca
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Monday, February 12, 2007
The Beautiful Hands of a Priest


The Beautiful Hands of a Priest

We need them in life's early morning,
We need them again at its close;
We feel their warm clasp of true friendship,
We seek them when tasting life's woes.
At the altar each day we behold them,
And the hands of a king on his throne
Are not equal to them in their greatness;
Their dignity stands all alone;
And when we are tempted and wander,
To pathways of shame and of sin,
It's the hand of a priest that will absolve us--
Not once, but again and again.
And when we are taking life's partner,
Other hands may prepare us a feast,
But the hand that will bless and unite us--
Is the beautiful hand of a priest.
God bless them and keep them all holy,
For the Host which their fingers caress;
When can a poor sinner do better,
Than to ask Him to guide thee and bless?
When the hour of death comes upon us,
May our courage and strength be increased,
By seeing raised over us in blessing--
The beautiful hands of a priest.

Author Unknown
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Sunday, February 11, 2007
French Tridentine Mass Video



I had to share this French video of a priest presiding at the Consecration in a Tridentine Mass. I found it rather beautiful. While watching, note the great care and honor given to the Lord. After the priest touches the Consecrated Host (which truly is Jesus Christ), the fingers that touched it are to be kept together. The priest shall touch nothing except Our Lord in the Eucharist until they have had water and wine poured over them. The priest will then consume the water and wine to insure that no particle of Our Lord's true presence would be neglected and fall to the ground. Each particle of the Eucharist is truly Jesus! I love the reverence found in the Tridentine Liturgy.
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Indulgence: World Day for the Sick

Today is the World Day for the Sick.

Pope Benedict XVI has decreed a plenary indulgence to the faithful who, under the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharist, prayer for the Holy Father's intentions and detachment from sin) on February 11th in Seoul, Korea and to those who participate in a similar ceremony that day at any other place decided by the ecclesiastical authorities.

Via Argent by the Tiber
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Nuns Should Wear the Habit


All religious sisters and nuns should wear the habit of their respective orders. No longer should these women, who have given their lives to the service of God and the Church, be dressing like laypeople. It is time to return to the ancient practice of wearing a distinct habit - this is not fulfilled by wearing laypeople's clothing!

The habit inspires women to leave their lives and gives themselves to God. The same is true for men who are inspired by the garments worn by priests and monks. To enter a religious order, one does not just experience a change of heart and soul, rather, there is also a change in the physical realm. For example, many religious orders require the women to adopt a new name when they become a nun in addition to wearing the habit.

Over the past 30 years, the number of women in Catholic religious orders has decreased by around 50 percent. There remains 85,412 religious sisters in the United States, and the average age is 68. The religious orders actually seeing growth are the ones that wear a traditional habit including The Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia and Mother Teresa's religious order.

The fact is that the habit is truly a spiritual treasure. The key to increasing the number of religious sisters and nuns in the world is to again bring back the mandatory habit. No longer should nuns be allowed to live in apartments and wear laypeoples' clothing; rather, they should be living in a monastery to praise and serve God.

Code of Canon Law: "Religious are to wear the habit of the institute determined according to the norm of proper law as a sign of their consecration and as a testimony of poverty" (Canon 669, 1).

Wearing laypeople's clothing does not serve as a "sign of their consecration". I hope and pray that more orders will again adopt the traditional habit. As for me, it is always inspiring to see a nun out in public because she is out there living her life for Jesus. Having nuns wear habits brings God to others. And those that live today in doubt or fear can be comforted by the sight of a nun, who is prayerfully serving the Lord.

Examples of the beauty, simplicity, and witness to the Faith when a habit is worn:













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Friday, February 9, 2007
Pray for my success tomorrow

Update: I did very well today. Honestly, it was not as good as I had hoped, but I am very proud of my achievements. I know that God stood by my side through it all. Thank you for your prayers. Your prayers meant a lot to me.

Original: Tomorrow I will be attending a large competition. To be honest, it may be the most important academic competition of my life. I am hoping and praying that I might succeed after years of preparation. Even if I don't win, though, I will have won a lot over the years. But, I would still really like to win. So, I would so greatly appreciate any prayers offered up for me. I am so amazed by the generous of my readers. You truly are an inspiration for me. I would appreciate any prayers.

Thank you.
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