New Fr. Hardon videos: Equal devotion to the Bible and Eucharist, Martin Luther's accusations against Christ, Odor of Sanctity, and The Calvinism of John D. Rockefeller

It's been a while since I uploaded new Fr. Hardon videos on specific topics, so I give you some new ones:

Fr. John Hardon S.J. on whether equal devotion should be given to the Bible and the Eucharist




Fr. John Hardon S.J. on the evil accusations made by Luther about Jesus Christ



Fr. John Hardon S.J. on what is an Odor of Sanctity?




Fr. John Hardon S.J. on John Rockefeller and how Calvinism influenced his predestination ideas

Breaking Luther: Reason is opposed to faith

When Pope Benedict gave his Regensburg address and Muslims went mad killing a nun and threatening Christians about the world, many people blamed the Pope for being intolerant.  Yet few, until now with the ISIS threats, recognized that his address was not a bashing of Islam per se, but rather it was calling on Muslims of good will to recognize that they need not submit their reason to the faith as if the two were opposed to one another. So too, few people recognize that this idea of reason being opposed at times to one's faith is not present alone in non-Chrisitan faiths, but it can be found among heretical sects and schismatic groups.

Enter Martin Luther.  In his sermon's on Matthew's Gospel(which can be found HERE), Dr. Luther tries to nuance the relationship between faith and reason.  It is important to not take him out of context because it doesn't serve anyone in doing so, so for the sake of not slinging unnecessary mud I have copied and pasted the full text below with my emphisis:

“Again, they argue: How can children believe, seeing that as yet they have no reasoning power? Thus they add reason to faith. To this Christ answers: This is exactly why children can believe better. They cannot reason. For reason is directly opposed to faith. This is why you must let reason go. It must be killed and buried in believers. But the Anabaptists turn reason into a light of faith so that reason may serve faith as a guiding light. I hold that it does shine forth as smudge in a lantern. Christ wants us to turn into veritable children if we desire to come into the kingdom of heaven. He means that, as all reasoning is, so to speak, still buried in children, so reason is also to be killed in all Christian believers. Otherwise faith has no place in them. For reason opposes faith.

For instance, Scripture says that there is only one God, but that in this one, divine Essence there are three distinct Persons: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost. However, these are one Essence and Substance. Now the Turk presently comes with his reason and asks how it is possible for one to be three and three one. Moreover, say they, in a house there must be no more than one lord and host; just so there must be only one God in heaven. — All this is the language of reason. But in this matter you Christian must become a child and say: Indeed, I cannot comprehend this doctrine; but I must become a child, must let myself be carried, touched, and blessed by Christ, and I must believe it. I must close the eyes of reason and not determine how this is possible or impossible; but I must believe and accept the pure, simple Word. The same thing is true of all other articles of faith. When heathen hear that God's natural Son became man, they say: That is impossible. — No doubt it is if reason is asked for advice. But you must let go of reason in this matter, must pay no attention to it, must entirely kill it; otherwise you will not come into the kingdom of heaven. One cannot grasp or comprehend this matter by reason. You must believe the article that Christ was born man in the fullness of time. You must permit yourself to be carried and led to Christ by the divine Word. Then you will partake of the kingdom of heaven. You must become children. This is the place for little children. Little children Christ carries, fondles, embraces, blesses, and says: Of such is the kingdom of heaven. If, then, I permit myself to be carried, Christ gives me His works and His merit and the kingdom of heaven.

The Turk says the same thing about the Lord's Supper: that mere bread and wine are present in it; and, again, that in Baptism there is simple water, such as is poured over the hand. Really now, says he, should this be called a "washing of regeneration, "as is written in the third chapter of the Letter to Titus? —The matter is ridiculous to them; for one can hardly wash a spoon clean with this water. How, then, is one to bathe body and soul with it? Reason cannot comprehend the articles of faith, including the doctrine of the Sacrament of Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Therefore the order is: You must become a child and say: I do not understand this. I do indeed see nothing but water and how it is being poured over a little child. But I will gladly be a fool and a child, and I will believe Him when He says that, through the Word, Baptism has the power and might of regeneration and forgiveness of sins [Translation from What Luther Says, 1:485-486 (entry 1440)].”

Now Lutheran apologists will say that we are splitting hairs, but I dont think this so at all.  Luther claim's that reason cannot comprehend the articles of the faith. It's one thing to say that it's not necessary to understand everything about the faith in order to submit to it and be Catholic, for such is the nature of a child or likely the majority of Catholics. It is another thing to say that we must kill the reason in order to enter the kingdom.  There is nothing in the faith that is in and of itself unreasonable, their are aspects of the faith that are hard to understand but if they are examined there is nothing illogical in the nature of their teachings. It's not illogical to believe in the trinity because having three person's in one nature (or substance) is not illogical.  It is difficult for us to comprehend indeed but not irrational.  And once you dig deep into what the trinity is in and of itself it is the only logical answer to who and what God is which is a communion of persons, a family of self donation as Dietrich von Hildebrand would say. Now if such difficulties bring about doubt in the mind of the believer it is not reasonable to then tell them that they need to kill their reason.  A difficulty does not presuppose a doubt or a falsehood.

A mystery of the faith does not mean we know nothing of it, it means that we cannot at this time comprehend all that the mystery truly is, and nothing of such a mystery is irrational.

Breaking Luther: New Series

 

The knowledge of Martin Luther in the modern world is... well ridiculously pathetic.

Luther, who was an Augustinian monk, cut himself off of Christ's life giving vine in the 16th century establishing his own religion.  During and after his departure from the true fold, Dr. Luther (as he wished to be called) proposed a number of novelties that are not well know today, or outright ignored. 

The goal of this series is to provide specific examples of the various Lutheran heresies (most of which are not well known) and bring people to a point where they must ask the question "Why am I following a monk that supposes himself an unquestionable authority when he again and again supports heretical positions condemned since the beginning of the Church?"

+JMJ+

A note on +Marcel Lefebvre and sedes

There are a lot of opinions out there on the SSPX and I am by no means an expert on the subject.  I do believe that the competency for the issue rests with the Ecclesia Dei Commision.

Now having said that...

There are some who will appeal to +Lefebvre and say that he thought the sedevantist proposition was a real possibility to hold to. There is one specific quote used by Sede's to lure trads into their disorder:

"I do not say that the Pope is not the Pope, but I do not say that you cannot say the Pope is not the Pope."

Now this sounds rather damning.  However, the former SSPX seminarian (expelled by Lefebvre before his ordination gives context to the quote:

"(Said at table to fellow clergy, to laughter, for the phrase in French sounds like a tongue twister.)"

In other words this is an informal, off the cuff discussion and seemingly not very serious.  Furthermore it should become obvious that when Fr. Cekeda was expelled as a seminarian (along with others) he was expelled for holding to the sedevacantist position.

+Lefebvre is a very complicated character in Church history.  Some people like to compare him with St. Athanasius, but I think this is more piety than reality.  It is, however, more interesting to look at him along the lines of Friar Savonarola during the Renaissance.

Cardinal Bertone in the Spotlight: On his scandals, Benedict, Francis and terrorism

Cardinal Bertone in the Spotlight

+Bertone and +Francis P.P.

The following excerpts are taken from an article published yesterday on the Huffington Post.  I think it gives a little insight into the Cardinal, his “scandals” and the Pope.  Read the whole of it HERE

Your Eminence, why is everybody out to get you?

Well... they say there are two motives. The first is because I was nominated as secretary of state without going through the Vatican’s channels of diplomacy.

Ratzinger’s papacy was extremely different from that of his predecessor.

Of course. But it developed in relation to that of his predecessor. Pope John Paul II thought very highly of Cardinal Ratzinger and led the church with his permanent and continual support, not just on a doctrinal and intellectual level but also, regarding certain aspects, in accordance with his vision of administration. There was, therefore, continuity between the two popes.

In other words, Pope Benedict’s was a sort of unfinished papacy.

On the contrary. It was a courageous papacy. Before every trip journalists would write that he wouldn’t be able do it. They would predict insufficient, substandard results and flops. But I think about the trips to Turkey and England that I made with him, to World Youth Day in his native Cologne when he led more than a million youths in silent prayer before the Body of Christ.

How is your relationship with Pope Francis?

Extremely positive, very wonderful. He kept me on as secretary of state for seven months filled with audiences and tickets, notes, telephone calls... By now everybody knows he has a habit of picking up the phone and calling: I need this, look for this, see if this candidate is qualified. It was a constant and warm consultation.

So it’s not a 25,000-foot penthouse.

Not at all, you’ve seen so yourself. I guarantee that the rooms are much smaller than those in some of the Vatican’s other buildings. The pope was informed about everything, even the small secretary’s office. He said to me, “It’s perfectly fine and you are entitled to it, seeing as you need to write your memoirs, given you have been witness to three papacies...”

Are you worried about the threats coming in from the Middle East?

Listen, this is not the first time the church has been threatened. Or even the pope. Just recall the attacks on Paolo VI in Manila and on John Paul II here in St. Peter’s Square. Of course, now these threats are more imminent, as well as more unpredictable in terms of whether they will be carried out.

Pope Francis’s position on the excesses of satire against religion after the attacks in Paris was surprising.

Pope Francis rightly reaffirmed the necessity of a limit which will not offend religious sentiments, which are the most deeply felt sentiments in every individual.

Even at the cost of sacrificing freedom of expression?

This is a fundamental right, unquestionable in free and democratic societies. I am talking about a code of conduct. But also of strongly condemning violence, above all violence ascribed to religion.

Do you fear for the pope’s safety?

I am afraid, but also confident in the precautions we have taken. Besides, the pope has said that the Vatican is watched over by the Archangel Michael, and since angels and archangels are recognized by many religions, including Islam, there cannot be greater protection than that….

+JMJ+

h/t Matthew Olson /

Pray for the Clergy

PRAY FOR PETER!

PRAY FOR YOUR BISHOP!

PRAY FOR YOUR PRIEST!

Since we are in the season of Lent we should remember that the devil and his minons are always seeking to destroy the souls of priests and religous because they can affect more damage by compromising them.  PRAY UNCEASINGLY!

So that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

h/t Fidelitas Christo et Ecclesia (like them on Facebook!)

Post by Fidelitas Christo et Ecclesia.

The dragon Joan of Arc was too late to know

The following account of Joan of Arc’s upbringing can be found in Mark Twain’s work “ Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc”.  Apparently the village that Joan grew up in had a Dragon which roamed about, but was exorcised from the village prior to her own story being put to pen.

 

Dragon for good measure

“The situation was beautiful. From one edge of the village a flowery plain extended in a wide sweep to the river—the Meuse; from the rear edge of the village a grassy slope rose gradually, and at the top was the great oak forest—a forest that was deep and gloomy and dense, and full of interest for us children, for many murders had been done in it by outlaws in old times, and in still earlier times prodigious dragons that spouted fire and poisonous vapors from their nostrils had their homes in there. In fact, one was still living in there in our own time. It was as long as a tree, and had a body as big around as a tierce, and scales like overlapping great tiles, and deep ruby eyes as large as a cavalier's hat, and an anchor-fluke on its tail as big as I don't know what, but very big, even unusually so for a dragon, as everybody said who knew about dragons. It was thought that this dragon was of a brilliant blue color, with gold mottlings, but no one had ever seen it, therefore this was not known to be so, it was only an opinion. It was not my opinion; I think there is no sense in forming an opinion when there is no evidence to form it on. If you build a person without any bones in him he may look fair enough to the eye, but he will be limber and cannot stand up; and I consider that evidence is the bones of an opinion. But I will take up this matter more at large at another time, and try to make the justness of my position appear. As to that dragon, I always held the belief that its color was gold and without blue, for that has always been the color of dragons. That this dragon lay but a little way within the wood at one time is shown by the fact that Pierre Morel was in there one day and smelt it, and recognized it by the smell. It gives one a horrid idea of how near to us the deadliest danger can be and we not suspect it.

In the earliest times a hundred knights from many remote places in the earth would have gone in there one after another, to kill the dragon and get the reward, but in our time that method had gone out, and the priest had become the one that abolished dragons. Père Guillaume Fronte did it in this case. He had a procession, with candles and incense and banners, and marched around the edge of the wood and exorcised the dragon, and it was never heard of again, although it was the opinion of many that the smell never wholly passed away. Not that any had ever smelt the smell again, for none had; it was only an opinion, like that other—and lacked bones, you see. I know that the creature was there before the exorcism, but whether it was there afterward or not is a thing which I cannot be so positive about.”

+ Saint Joan of Arc, Pray for us +

Later reflections on the March for Life this Year

It was my first experience of participating in the march, and to be frank I was somewhat disappointed.  Don’t get me wrong, we have to make a statement to the secularists, thus marching is a must.  But the grave evil of abortion is a demonic sacrament unlikely to be ended without a much greater power behind it. 

As part of Sursum Corda Milwaukee, we marched as a group with other traditionally minded Catholics under the banner of Regnum.  So it was the Milwaukee Institutes apostolate marking with Juventutem (generally associated with the FSSP) and Regnum (which is a young adult group for Pittsburg’s SSPX chapel).  We all got along, and even got to meet the Benedictine Monks from New Mexico who were very honest with their thoughts and I wanted to relate one.

They agreed that the march was a good thing, however they believed offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass or just general prayer would have a greater effect then stopping DC traffic.  I was a little taken aback by their observation but the more I thought about it I did agree.  People like the picture of the Basilica filled with pilgrims and the saying that young people do care about the Church. It makes us feel good for a while but so little is had from it.  Just think if all those priests that find themselves “concelebrating” mass with each other actually said Mass themselves at that time.  The graces afforded by God could be boosted tremendously.  Instead , like the march, the Mass has become a mere spectacle (similar to the mega mass events seen at Papal gatherings) where people go to be part of a human effort, forgetting the point of the Mass in and of itself. 

My group ended up assisting at a High Mass said in theBasilica the day of the March.  It was quite beautiful and I will leave at the fact that there were probably 50 people smooshed into the Chapel of Our Lady of Lourdes and the Gals that were chanting the proper's were…. well, WOW! But most important since we only had one priest each priest said mass.

Another thing that was lacking was any talk of contraception's role in this all which I will just let Michael Voris' take here:

The final thing I wanted to touch on was and continues to be the aweful condition of the poor in DC.  Now there are two different groups of the poor in DC, those that you are not sure about, and then there are those that are living in squalor under the expressway bridges in tents surrounded by garbage and filth.  Someone made a comment to the effect that such people are drains on their paycheck.  I was horrified by the comment.  At a pro life march a fellow Catholic is attacking people living in squalor and calls them a drain?  The poor are people too!  Many of those that are so poor have mental conditions that bring about their situations.  These people need our help!  Not our pitty or shaming. 

We will see about next year.

HELP!!! Does anyone speak German? Need to translate a recent Cardinal Kasper speech!

Thanks!

Something you didn't know about Canon Jayr of St. Stan's

Now of course this is old news but I came across this awhile ago:



Institute of Christ the King pulls out of Agen
Today, Sunday, August 22,[2010] Canon Jayr, provincial of the ICRSP in France, visited the faithful of the extraordinary form in Agen to announce the Institute’s withdrawal from the diocese following the deplorable welcome and climate of suspicion which followed the implementation of the Motu Proprio.

Indeed the Bishop of Agen, Msgr. Herbreteau, has strictly forbidden Canon Téqui, who serves the parish of Agen to celebrate the extraordinary form of the one Roman Rite, from continuing to teach catechism classes which he had been doing successfully with some thirty children. He also places an outrageous restriction on the ministry of the sacraments. On the website of the diocese the ICRSP doesn’t even exist.

The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest has therefore made the decision to withdraw in order to do some good where it is more welcome. This news will sully the report that the bishops are required to make for the 3rd anniversary of the implementation (or non-implementation) of the motu proprio. It shows that France needs bishops prepared to apply Summorum Pontificum without restrictive measures (such as one monthly Sunday Mass in Le Brionnais – Diocese of Autun!)
H/T Rorate