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Defending Devotion to the Sacred Heart

 

Defending Devotion to the Sacred Heart | Timothy T. O'Donnell, S.T.D. | Introduction to Heart of the Redeemer

I have attempted not so much to speak with authority of things that I know, as to seek to know them by speaking about them with reverence. -- St. Augustine, De Trinitate, I v. 8

In our inquiry into the devotion to the Sacred Heart and its perennial value, it is best to begin with a proper understanding of what is meant by devotion. St. Thomas Aquinas defines devotion as a willingness "to give oneself readily to what concerns the service of God" (Summa, II-II, q. 82 a. 1). Accordingly, the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus appears essentially as a worship of and a response to the Person of Christ as viewed from the perspective of His divine and human love which is manifested through His sacred humanity and is symbolized by His wounded physical Heart. In his masterful encyclical, Haurietis Aquas [1], Pope Pius XII gives the following definition of this devotion:

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, by its very nature is a worship of the love with which God, through Jesus, loved us, and at the same time, an exercise of our love by which we are related to God and to other men.

From this definition it can be seen that authentic devotion to the Sacred Heart is not merely an optional set of pious practices (which may be very helpful) but an essential element of the Christian way of life. All Christians are called to the comprehension of certain truths concerning God and to a response in love to them. In living a life in imitation of Christ, as found in the Gospels and taught by the Church, the Christian should use all the spiritual aids offered to him by God. He should fill his life with an ever growing and deepening love for God and his fellow man. Every Christian will build his own unique spirituality upon this common foundation, which should include a response to the Heart of Christ that gives honor to the divine love and is offered for the sake of that love.

It would be accurate to say that by the middle of the twentieth century the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus had universally triumphed throughout the Church. Everywhere in the world, churches, monasteries and congregations were to be found dedicated to the Sacred Heart. In virtually every Catholic church one would find a statue of our Lord revealing his Heart. Large numbers of the faithful gathered on every continent for First Friday devotions, the Holy Hour and other pious practices associated with the devotion. This triumphal procession, however, was not welcomed in all quarters and the devotion began to draw criticism from some Catholic theologians who began to question certain aspects of these devotional exercises. Some outside, and even within, the Church questioned the theological foundation of the devotion.

Pope Pius XII was well aware of the objections which some were making to the devotion. It is because of these objections that the Holy Father wrote his encyclical on devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and in it he exhorted the faithful to "a more earnest consideration of those principles which take their origin from Scripture and the teaching of the Fathers and theologians," which form the solid foundation for the worship of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Pope went on to call for and stress the importance of "a profound study of the primary and loftier nature of the devotion with the aid of the light of the divinely revealed truth" so that we may "rightly and fully appreciate its incomparable excellence and the inexhaustible abundance of its heavenly favors." The Holy Father ended his appeal by requesting a "devout medita- tion and contemplation" upon the benefits of the devotion.

After the publication of Haurietis Aquas, many books were written on the devotion. These works varied tremendously in size and quality. They included pious or devotional works, popular pamphlets, and mystical writings which described extraordinary supernatural experiences.

There is still a need for a systematic theological exposition and defense of the devotion which will lead to a deeper penetration and understanding of it, as was requested by Pius XII and subsequent pontiffs. It is my most earnest hope and prayer that this book will help in some way to answer the call of the Holy Father and will contribute to a greater understanding of our Lord's Heart, which is "so full of infinite majesty and compassion."

The encyclical and devotion both, unfortunately, seem to have been down-played or overshadowed, if you will, in the wake of the Second Vatican Council. Many today object to the devotion for a variety of reasons, some manifestly superficial and others quite serious. Despite the objections, there are presently strong signs of a widespread reawakening of interest in the devotion and the contributions which it can make toward the renewal of the Church.

Some have criticized the devotion for the language used in many of the prayers addressed to the Sacred Heart. Phrases such as "prostrate before thy altar" seem to many a bit archaic and not in keeping with our modern idiom. Often times prayers and the lyrics of hymns to the Sacred Heart are considered excessively sweet and sentimental. Artistic representations of the devotion are criticized for being too saccharine and effeminate.

None of these criticisms touch what is essential to the devotion as it has been taught by the Church. They deal with external aspects; and yet we must remember that man derives his knowledge through the senses, and therefore poor art and unsuitable language may form obstacles to a deeper understanding and love of the devotion. We shall discuss some of these problems in the final section of this study, where we deal with questions of renewal and adaptation.

The more serious objections which have been raised against the devotion cannot be brushed aside but must be dealt with clearly and honestly. Critical questioning is a good thing, since it may open both the mind and heart to a deeper reflection and understanding of this "priceless gift which our Savior has given to his Church." I have formulated here what I believe to be the four major objections which have been raised to the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

1) The devotion to the Sacred Heart rests upon a weak doctrinal base and threatens to overemphasize the humanity of Christ. This position is espoused by theologians such as Karl Barth, who places the devotion on the same level as modern Protestant biographies of the historical Jesus that have abandoned belief in the reality of the Incarnation of the Word. In his book, Church Dogmatics, he characterizes both forms as attempts to "find an approach to Jesus Christ which circumvents his divinity," offering an "approach to a revelation which is generally understandable and possible in the form of human judgments and human experiences. In the Heart of Jesus cult... it is blatantly a matter of finding a generally illuminating access to Jesus Christ which evades the divinity of the Word. Therefore both Neo-Protestant faith in the religious hero Jesus and the Catholic devotion to the Heart of Jesus, are to be rejected as the deification of a creature." [1]

2) There is no scriptural reference to the devotion. This criticism is frequently heard from our separated brethren and even some Catholics, who demand proof of scriptural authenticity. This is especially important since the Second Vatican Council emphasized Sacred Scripture as the foundation of theology and spirituality.

3) The devotion sprang from a mere private revelation given to a cloistered nun in 17th century France. It is therefore a new devotion and is not sanctioned by Christian tradition.

4) The devotion may have been beneficial for a particular age and cultural outlook but it is no longer suited to modern times and has become obsolete.

Although some objections are of greater importance than others, all must be answered. If any of these objections should prove true, the validity and perennial value of the devotion would be seriously shaken, if not shattered. This work shall be divided into four sections in which we hope to achieve four goals.

First, we shall examine the dogmatic foundations for the devotion as found in Sacred Scripture and the Church's teachings concerning Christ as it took shape in the great Christological controversies in the 4th and 5th centuries. This is absolutely essential to demonstrating the perennial validity and value of the devotion.

Second, we shall then proceed to trace the historical development of the devotion which culminated in the great revelation given to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. Here we shall glimpse the Holy Spirit at work in the dynamic living tradition of the Church. It will be a thought-provoking study which will reveal the theological richness of the devotion, its evolution and the multiple forms which it has taken throughout two Christian millennia. This investigation will probe into the patristic roots of the devotion, its flowering in the era of medieval mysticism, and developments up to the present day. 

Third, we shall then examine the contemporary importance of the devotion in the life of the Church in the light of magisterial teaching. In the 19th and 20th century there is a large amount of papal teaching on the devotion. The See of Peter has given the devotion a unique position in the Church. This wealth of papal magisterial teaching will have much to say regarding the timeliness and timeless value of the devotion.

Last, we shall discuss questions of renewal and adaptation of the devotion according to the guidelines of Vatican II.

It was only after a great deal of serious reflection that I decided to write this book which is an outgrowth of studies begun at the Angelicum in Rome in 1978.1 chose to write on the loving Heart of our Lord because I believe the devotion to be of vital importance today. I offer here to the reader, for his prayerful reflection, three quotations from three popes of the 20th century concerning the importance of devotion to the Sacred Heart in our age:

[Devotion to the Heart of Jesus] is the extraordinary remedy for the extraordinary needs of our times. (Pius XI, Caritate Christi Compulsi, May 3, 1932)

Devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is so important that it may be considered, so far as practice is concerned, the perfect profession of the Christian religion .... It is no ordinary form of piety which anyone at his own whim may treat as of little consequence or set aside as inferior to others. (Pius XII, Haurietis Aquas, May 15, 1956)

The cult rendered to the Sacred Heart is the most efficacious means to contribute to that spiritual and moral renewal of the world called for by the Second Vatican Council. (Paul VI, Address to the Thirty-First General Congregation of the Society of Jesus, Nov. 17, 1966)

These three statements are well worth pondering for all those who would sentire cum Ecclesia.

The veneration of our Lord's Heart, insofar as it honors Christ as the source and substance of our redemption, is no ordinary devotion. It is truly latreutical--a devotion which is rendered to God alone. For the Heart of Christ occupies a central position, as the focal point through which everything passes to the ultimate center in the Father--per Christum ad Patrem. It is a devotion of tremendous theological richness, containing a complete synthesis of faith, or, as Pius XI put it "summa totius religionis." The devotion is at once theocentric and anthropocentric, Trinitarian and Christocentric; it emphasizes love of God and calls eloquently to the fraternal apostolate. It may also lead to that sound eucharistic piety so greatly desired by the Second Vatican Council. This is especially true since the Eucharist, as Pope Paul VI observed, is the "outstanding gift" of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

I firmly believe that the spirituality fostered by this devotion can best meet the spiritual needs of our age. It is a practical form of spirituality which emphasizesfamlliaritas cum Christo and therefore is marvelously suited to aid priest, religious and laity alike in their journey of growth in holiness. If practiced in the family, devotion to the Heart of Jesus may greatly help to counter those pagan elements of culture which all too often work their way into the sanctuary of the home.

The devotion should be made available to all. Unfortunately, the widespread ignorance throughout the Church of the devotion's rich theological foundations has greatly hindered its full appreciation and practice. It is only by returning to these sources as found in Sacred Scripture, tradition and the teaching of the Church's magisterium that we can hope to renew the devotion and thereby allow it to play a central role in the larger effort to renew the Church.

Our Lord, in his apparition to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, communicated to her that the revelation of his Heart was "a final effort" to enkindle the fire of love in a world in which "charity had grown cold." Such is the age in which we live. William Butler Yeats foresaw the crisis of our era in a prophetic poem written at the turn of the century:

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity. [3]

Coldness and hatred can be melted and overcome only by the fire of love. Certainly, in an age which is characterized by an increasingly hostile secularization, a spirituality which centers on love and aims at setting the world on fire is precisely what is needed to instaurare omnia in Christo.

I have come to cast fire upon the earth,
and what will I but that it be kindled? (Lk 12:49)

Timothy T O'Donnell, S.T.D.
October 16, 1989
Feast of St. Margaret Mary 

ENDNOTES:

[1] Pius XII, Encyclical Letter on Devotion to the Sacred Heart, Haurietis Aquas, May 15, 1956 (hereafter cited as HA).

[2] Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics, vol I, pt. 2 (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1970) pp. 137-38. 

[3] From William Butler Yeats, "The Second Coming", in Collected Poems, new ed., Macmillan Collector's Library (London: Pan Macmillan, 2016), p. 260.

New: "The Case for Catholicism: Answers to Classic and Contemporary Protestant Objections"

Now available from Ignatius Press:

The Case for Catholicism: Answers to Classic and Contemporary Protestant Objections

by Trent Horn

This is the most up-to-date, comprehensive, and thorough defense of the Catholic Church against Protestant objections in print. This book is especially relevant as the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation draws near and discussion of the arguments made against the Church during that time in history receive renewed interest.  

The Case for Catholicism answers arguments put forward by early Reformers like Luther and Calvin as well as contemporary defenders of Protestantism like Norm Geisler and R.C. Sproul. It provides a meticulous defense of the biblical and historical nature of Catholic doctrines from Scripture and church history. Finally, in both answering Protestant objections to Catholicism and in providing evidence for the Faith, The Case for Catholicism cites modern Protestant scholars who question Reformation assumptions and show how evidence from Scripture and church history support aspects of Catholic theology.

This book is divided into four sections, with each answering a key question Christians have asked about the nature of their faith. Those key questions are:

• What is my authority?
• What is the Church?
• How am I saved?
• Who belongs to the body of Christ?

The Case for Catholicism will become a reliable, resource for any Catholic who desires a well-researched, readable, and persuasive answer to Protestant arguments made against the Catholic faith.

Trent Horn, a convert to Catholicism, has a BA in history from Arizona State University, and an MA in theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville. He is a regular guest on the radio program Catholic Answers Live, and a lecturer nationwide on the Catholic faith. He is the author and the author of Answering Atheism, Persuasive Pro-life, and Hard Sayings.

New: "Conversion: Spiritual Insights Into an Essential Encounter with God" by Fr Donald Haggerty

Now available from Ignatius Press:

Conversion: Spiritual Insights Into an Essential Encounter with God

by Fr Donald Haggerty

Contemporary spiritual writer Fr. Donald Haggerty offers penetrating observations of the phenomenon of Christian conversion. Arranged as a collection of concise, meditative reflections, this book discusses the essential elements of a soul's return to God, including the repercussions of sin, the proper understanding of mercy, and the importance of a more radical response to God's will.

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Fr. Donald Haggerty a priest of the Archdiocese of New York, has been a Professor of Moral Theology at St. Joseph's Seminary in New York and Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Maryland. He has a long association as a spiritual director for Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity. He is the author of the books Contemplative Hunger and Contemplative Provocations.

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—Sr. Sara Butler, M.S.B.T., Blessed Trinity Missionary Cenacle

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—Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P., Editor, Magnificat

New: "1 & 2 Kings: Ignatius Catholic Study Bible"

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1 & 2 Kings: Ignatius Catholic Study Bible

by Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch

This volume in the popular Ignatius Catholic Study Bible series leads readers through a penetrating study of the First and Second Books of Kings using the biblical text itself and the Church's own guidelines for understanding the Bible.

Ample notes accompany each page, providing fresh insights by renowned Bible teachers Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch as well as time-tested interpretations from the Fathers of the Church. These helpful study notes provide rich historical, cultural, geographical, and theological information pertinent to the Old Testament book—information that bridges the distance between the biblical world and our own.

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New: "Galileo Revisited: The Galileo Affair in Context" by Dom Paschal Scotti

Now available from Ignatius Press:

Galileo Revisited: The Galileo Affair in Context

by Dom Paschal Scotti

No other work on Galileo Galilei has brought together such a complete description of the historical context in its political, cultural, philosophical, religious, scientific, and personal aspects as this volume has done. In addition to covering the whole of Galileo's life, it focuses on those things that are most pertinent to the Galileo Affair, which culminated in his condemnation by the Inquisition in 1633.

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This work shows the significance of astrology in the history of society and the Church (Galileo was a master astrologer), and the importance of the internal tensions and factions within the Roman Curia in the seventeenth century. It also tells of the profound battles among Church leadership over the direction of the Church in a time of uncertainty and intellectual and cultural ferment. The Galileo Affair is not just of its time and place, and it is not just about Galileo, but it touches upon that perennial issue of how the Church deals with issues of adaptation and change.

Fr. Paschal Scotti, a monk at Portsmouth Abbey in Rhode Island, was ordained a priest in 1989 and teaches at his monastery's prep school, Portsmouth Abbey School, in the History and Humanities departments. He has a Licentiate in Canon Law (J.C.L) from Catholic University of America. Besides various journal and encyclopedia articles, he has a written a study of the Edwardian English Catholic editor, Wilfrid Ward.

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— Stacy Trasancos, Author, Particles of Faith: A Catholic Guide to Navigating Science

The Gospel of St. Matthew: The Unity of the Life of Jesus

The Gospel of St. Matthew: The Unity of the Life of Jesus | Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis | From the Introduction to Fire of Mercy, Heart of the Word (Vol. II): Meditations on the Gospel According to St. Matthew

The Gospel according to St. Matthew is not a text simply stringing together haphazard events and occasions that present Jesus teaching valuable and true things. Beyond this, the Gospel text portrays the unity of Jesus' whole life. Very likely the earliest nucleus of the Gospel text is what is now its conclusion, that is, the narrative of Jesus' Passion, death, and Resurrection, which narrative no doubt constituted the heart and substance of the primitive oral kerygma, or "proclamation" of the faith by the apostles and their successors. Everything else in the Gospel text came later, composed to show how everything in Jesus' life and teaching eventually had to lead to his atoning death out of love.

In Matthew's Gospel we see how, against all obstacles and opposition, Jesus moves with a sovereign sweep from the promises of God in the Old Testament, fulfilling them in his Incarnation as Messiah, to his identity as a man who does divine things and speaks divine words (parables, miracles, encounters, discourses), to the culmination of the story in his Passion, death, and Resurrection, and, finally, to the conclusion of the story in Jesus commissioning the apostles to do what they have seen him do and teach what they have seen him teach. In the end, they are to become what they have seen him be.

Thus, the main message of Matthew's Gospel is that we are not saved by detached "doctrines" or "truths", but by the whole life of this man, Jesus of Nazareth, in all its fullness and unity. All Christian theology is but a systematic reflection on this life, on everything it reveals about God and us and on everything this revelation implies for our own future life and behavior.

In the Gospel, Jesus Christ the person and his action in our lives have absolute primacy over anyone's teaching about Jesus Christ.

A comparison of the very beginning of the text with its very end may serve to detail the overarching unity of Matthew's Gospel and its fundamental message. At 1:23 Matthew inserts a quotation from the prophecy of Isaiah (7:14): "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel (a name which means 'God with us')." If we then turn to the last sentence in Matthew, we read: "Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age" (28:20). Now, these are words that only an incarnate God can speak with truth, and we suddenly realize that everything between these two quotations-the promise and its everlasting fulfillment--is meant by Matthew to represent an unfolding of what it means for "God to be with us" in the person of Jesus. Between these two passages there are five major sections of the Gospel, perhaps symbolic of the five books of the Pentateuch that constitute the Torah. Matthew's Gospel, thus, through its symbolic structure, is apparently claiming to contain God's definitive words and deeds, which fulfill and surpass the Torah but only through the presence and action of Jesus, the living Word made flesh: "It was said to you .... But I say to you" (cf. Mt 5:21-22, 27-28, 31-34, 38-39, 43-44).

Many other such layers of deliberate structuring may be discovered in Matthew's Gospel. It is possible to describe its total design as follows: The text consists of a body in five major segments, preceded by an introduction (Jesus' genealogy and infancy, 1:1-2:23) and culminating in the heart of the Gospel-the Passion, death, and Resurrection narrative (26:1-28:20). Each of the five central sections (3:1-7:29; 8:1-10:42; 11:1-13:52 13:53-18:35; and 19:1-25:46) may in turn be subdivided into a "narrative" and a "discourse" component (see tabulation on page 329), and it is possible to detect a correspondence between the events of the narrative and the theme of the discourse that follows it. And each of these five sections concludes with a formula such as "And when Jesus finished these sayings" (7:28).

There may well be an important theological point being made here through this structural arrangement, namely, that the Gospel is first and foremost about the interactive encounter between Jesus and humanity, portrayed in a narrative. All subsequent words of teaching and instruction, even those coming from Jesus himself, are but a persuasive reflection that seeks to delve more deeply into that primordial encounter in order to help the reader make it his own.

For instance, in the fourth central section (13:53-17:27) we read in the narrative portion about the feeding of the five thousand, then of the four thousand, about Peter's confession and his commission, and about the Transfiguration. Clearly, these are all events that portray different aspects of "church"--how Jesus fashions a community of believers out of the random scattering of humanity. What then follows in the discourse portion of section four is a formal exhortation sometimes called the "Sermon on the Church" (18:1-35), which deals with the qualifications for membership in the Kingdom, fraternal relations of either scandal or edification, and above all forgiveness.

Such a structural feature as we here describe--this thematic correspondence between "narrative" and "discourse" in each section--reminds us from a fresh angle that the Gospel is never mere philosophizing but always a portrayal of the Word incarnate, the eternal Son and Wisdom of the Father in whom event and word, prayer and deed, are one. Christ Jesus is no mere brilliant teacher and itinerant prophet; he is the divine Son made flesh, the person who, all at once, is cosmic Event, Word of truth, and Deed of salvation, and this dynamic richness of identity in Jesus is what the Gospel manifests at each step, both in its individual parts and in its total structure.

If, in our imagination, we put the Gospel text back into its original context of oral transmission, before it evolved into the form of a written text, we will begin to see its character as the record of an encounter between persons. The Gospel is not primarily words written in a book: this is only the final stage of a process that began with Jesus' real historical presence and interaction with people in the world. When the Gospel is proclaimed in the praying assembly of believers, we participate in the living memory of the Church from the beginning, the Church that was so careful to communicate in a living way and hand down to each generation of Christians the treasure of her experience of the Lord's presence in her midst.

The Gospel is a living tradition, something alive in our hearts and memory insofar as we are Christians, something continually shaping and nourishing our faith, thoughts, and deeds. This is why the Gospel is never more itself than when it is publicly proclaimed, heard, and commented upon during the Liturgy of the Word.

For instance, when we hear the Gospel of the Beatitudes (Mt 5:1-12) proclaimed on a given Sunday, we sense that that is the original setting in which the Gospel was meant to be read. Such a text communicates to us, not a historical sketch of someone who lived in the past and is interesting for a number of good reasons. Rather, such a text evokes a presence, not only by stimulating the power of imagination and memory, but by the power of the sacramental action of the Church in the Eucharist. The words of Matthew's Gospel are inseparable from the Eucharistic Sacrifice, because in his Gospel Matthew is proclaiming an event and a person that want to become a saving reality here and now in my life and in the life of all mankind. [3]

We must conclude, then, that the genre of the Gospel is not that of pure "history"; but neither is it that of myth, fairy tale, or legend. In fact, evangelion constitutes a genre all its own, a surprising novelty in the literature of the ancient world. Matthew does not seek to be "objective" in a scientific or legal sense. He is writing as one whose life has been drastically changed by the encounter with Jesus of Nazareth. Hence, he is proposing to his listeners an objective reality of history, but offered as kerygma, that is, as a proclamation that bears personal witness to the radical difference that reality has already made in his life. Whether this encounter with Jesus of Nazareth occurs literally in the flesh or spiritually through the faith of the Church is not as important as the fact that it does take place.

We, living twenty-one centuries later, are at no disadvantage! We should not want to answer questions that the evangelists themselves did not raise: the color of Jesus' eyes and hair, his height, and so on. Nor is it essential to ask: Did this or that occur precisely in the way described in the text? The historical nucleus obviously at the very center of the Gospel narrative is inseparable, in keeping with the genre of the evangelion or "good news", from the response of faith with which Matthew presents it so as to persuade his listeners to enter into the same experience of encounter with Jesus. This encounter will hopefully result in the transformation of their lives. When we approach the text of Matthew we must come to share in his own faith if we are fully to understand what he has written.

ENDNOTES:

[3] The unity of word, sacrament, and Christian life as constituting the total Mystery of Christ has seldom been explored so profoundly as in Jean Corbon, The Wellspring of Worship (Mahwah, NJ.: Paulist Press, 1988; new edition by Ignatius Press, 2005).

New: "The Christian Meaning of Human Sexuality (Expanded Edition)" by Fr. Paul Quay S.J.

Now available from Ignatius Press:

The Christian Meaning of Human Sexuality (Expanded Edition)

by Fr. Paul Quay S.J.

Edited and with an Introduction by Joseph Koterski, S.J.

An updated and expanded edition of a classic work on the Christian meaning of human sexuality by an acclaimed teacher and priest. The unique gift of human sexuality allows us to choose, or not to choose, to participate in one form of God's creation. This book presents the understanding of human sexuality that divine revelation offers us. It is intended primarily for Christian adults who wish to know what kinds of sexual behavior are right or wrong, and to gain true insight into why such behavior is right or wrong for those who seek to love and live in Christ. For sexual morality is part of the mystery of our life in Christ and makes full sense only when seen as such.

Understanding of this Christian mystery, as far as we are given access to it, is offered us through the Scriptures and the living Tradition of the Church. This book uses Scripture and the teaching of the early Church Fathers to show what sexuality means in Christian terms, and is an indispensable guide to learning not just what the Church teaches, but why. Quay's insightful descriptions of the complementarity of male and female, a complementarity that is psychological, spiritual and bodily are exceptionally illuminating.

It also explains the Bible's frequent use of the symbolism of marriage and sexuality in its accounts of the Covenant to understand better the relationship between God and his people, and the relationship of spouses to one another. It reflects on the natural symbolism of the human body and of spousal communion as a way to understand what is right and proper in sexual activity, and what is not. The new material in this expanded edition considers the theology of natural family planning (NFP). It explains the moral principles that govern the use of NFP and also provides a theological reflection on the meaning of this practice.

Paul Quay, S.J ., Ph.D., was a longtime Professor of Philosophy at Loyola University of Chicago and the author of numerous articles for Catholic periodicals.

"A superb book that is intelligent, realistic and grounded in a profound faith in the truths about human persons and human sexuality set forth in divine revelation."
— William E. May, Ph.D., Professor of Moral Theology, Catholic University of America

New: "Five Proofs of the Existence of God" by Dr. Edward Feser

Now available from Ignatius Press:

Five Proofs of the Existence of God

by Dr. Edward Feser

This book provides a detailed, updated exposition and defense of five of the historically most important (but in recent years largely neglected) philosophical proofs of God’s existence: the Aristotelian, the Neo-Platonic, the Augustinian, the Thomistic, and the Rationalist.

It also offers a thorough treatment of each of the key divine attributes—unity, simplicity, eternity, omnipotence, omniscience, perfect goodness, and so forth—showing that they must be possessed by the God whose existence is demonstrated by the proofs. Finally, it answers at length all of the objections that have been leveled against these proofs.

This work provides as ambitious and complete a defense of traditional natural theology as is currently in print. Its aim is to vindicate the view of the greatest philosophers of the past— thinkers like Aristotle, Plotinus, Augustine, Aquinas, Leibniz, and many others— that the existence of God can be established with certainty by way of purely rational arguments. It thereby serves as a refutation both of atheism and of the fideism that gives aid and comfort to atheism.

Edward Feser, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Pasadena City College in Pasadena, California. Called  by  National Review "one of the best contemporary writers  on philosophy", he is the author of  The Last Superstition:  A Refutation of the New Atheism, Aquinas, Scholastic Meta- physics, By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed, and many other  books and articles.

"A watershed book. Feser has completely severed the intellectual legs upon which modern atheism had hoped to stand."
— Matthew Levering, James N. and Mary D. Perry Jr. Chair of Theology, Mundelein Seminary

"A powerful and important book. The concluding chapter, where Feser replies to possible objections to his arguments, is a gem; it alone is worth the price of this excellent work."
— Stephen T. Davis, Russell K. Pitzer Professor of Philosophy, Claremont McKenna College

"Edward Feser is widely recognized as a top scholar in the history of philosophy in general, and in Thomistic and Aristotelian philosophy in particular. This book is a must-read for  anyone interested in natural theology. I happily and highly recommend it."
— J. P. Moreland, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Biola University

"Refutes with devastating effect the standard objections to theistic proofs, from David Hume to the New Atheists."
— Robert C. Koons, Professor of Philosophy, University of Texas at Austin

"Yet another fine book by Edward Feser. He replies to (literally) all of the objections and shows convincingly how the most popular objections (the kind one hears in Introduction to Philosophy courses) are very often completely beside the point and, even when they're not, are 'staggeringly feeble and overrated'."
— Alfred J. Freddoso, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame

New: "The Great Heresies" by Hilaire Belloc, with Foreword by Karl Keating

Now available from Ignatius Press:

The Great Heresies

by Hilaire Belloc

Foreword by Karl Keating

In this new edition of a classic work, the great Catholic apologist and historian Hilaire Belloc examines the five most destructive heretical movements in Christianity: Arianism, Mohammedanism (Islam), Albigensianism, Protestantism, and Modernism. Belloc describes how these movements began, how they spread, and how they have continued to influence the world. He accurately predicts the re-emergence of militant Islam and its violent aggression against Western civilization.

When we hear the word "heresies", we tend to think of distant centuries filled with religious quarrels that seemed important at the time but are no longer relevant. Belloc shows that the heresies of olden times are still with us, sometimes under different names and guises, and that they still shape our world.

Hilaire Belloc was one of the most important and versatile authors of the 20th century. A social commentator and a master of finely crafted prose, he wrote numerous books on social, historical and theological topics. His books include The Path to Rome; The Battleground: Syria and Palestine, the Seed Plot of Religion; and many more.

"We live with the aftereffects of twenty centuries of heresies. If this book speaks to us as though it were written yesterday, it is because heresy is a perennial problem. 'All men by nature desire to know', said Aristotle, but many men are incapable of knowing well or of thinking clearly. The result is religious error. To deal with it, we must learn its origin and history. There seldom has been a better teacher than Hilaire Belloc."
— Karl Keating, from the Foreword; Author, Catholicism and Fundamentalism

"The Great Heresies is a masterpiece of intellectual history which takes us on a journey across the landscape of the centuries. With the inimitable Belloc as our guide we follow the path of the Church Militant as she passes, sure-footed with the grace of orthodoxy, through the quagmire of errors which characterize the prideful wanderings of the human mind and heart."
— Joseph Pearce, Author, Catholic Literary Giants

New: "By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed: A Catholic Defense of Capital Punishment" by Edward Feser and Joseph Bessette

Now available from Ignatius Press:

By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed: A Catholic Defense of Capital Punishment

by Edward Feser and Joseph Bessette

The Catholic Church has in recent decades been associated with political efforts to eliminate the death penalty. It was not always so. This timely work reviews and explains the Catholic Tradition regarding the death penalty, demonstrating that it is not inherently evil and that it can be reserved as a just form of punishment in certain cases. 

Drawing upon a wealth of philosophical, scriptural, theological, and social scientific arguments, the authors explain the perennial  teaching of the Church that capital punishment can in principle be legitimate—not only to protect society from immediate physical danger, but also to administer retributive justice and to deter capital crimes. The authors also show how some recent statements of Church leaders in opposition to the death penalty are prudential judgments rather than dogma. They reaffirm that Catholics may, in good conscience, disagree about the application of the death penalty.

Some arguments against the death penalty falsely suggest that there has been a rupture in the Church's traditional teaching and thereby inadvertently cast doubt on the reliability of the Magisterium.  Yet, as the authors demonstrate, the Church's traditional teaching is a safeguard to society, because the just use of the death penalty can be used to protect the lives of the innocent, inculcate a horror of murder, and affirm the dignity of human beings as free and rational creatures who must be held responsible for their actions.

By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed challenges contemporary Catholics to engage with Scripture, Tradition, natural law, and the actual social scientific evidence in order to undertake a thoughtful analysis of the current debate about the death penalty.

Edward Feser is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Pasadena City College in Pasadena, California. Called by National Review "one of the best contemporary writers on philosophy," he is the author of The Last Superstition: A Refutation of the New Atheism, Aquinas, Scholastic Metaphysics, and many other books and articles.

Joseph Bessette is a Professor of Government and Ethics at Claremont McKenna College (CMC) in Southern California, and also teaches in the Dept. of Politics and Policy at the Claremont Graduate University. He has a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Chicago. Prior to arriving at CMC, Bessette worked nine years in criminal justice.

 

"Based primarily on the natural law, this excellent and much-needed book will be valuable to Catholics and readers of any faith who ask why capital punishment is justified."
— J. Budziszewski, Ph.D., University of Texas

"At long last, we have a serious and intelligent look at all aspects of the death penalty —its causes, its justification, its consequences for the victim, the criminal himself, and for civil society."
— James V. Schall, S. J., Professor Emeritus, Georgetown University

"An illuminating study of a subject often clouded by emotions.  An essential read for anyone who wants to understand this thorny subject."
— Robert Royal, President, Faith and Reason Institute

"The arguments in this book have clarified many of the contentions of this critical issue in my mind." 
— Fr. Robert A. Sirico, President, The Acton Institute

New: "Catholics and Protestants: What Can We Learn from Each Other?" by Peter Kreeft

Now available from Ignatius Press:

Catholics and Protestants: What Can We Learn from Each Other?

by Peter Kreeft

The widely read author and philosopher Peter Kreeft presents a unique book that focuses on the important beliefs that Catholics and Protestants share in common. He says this book is inspired by Christ's high priestly prayer in the Gospel of John "that they may be one," and by St. John Paul II's ecumenical encyclical, Ut Unum Sint, which is also based on Christ's prayer for unity. While there are still significant differences, Kreeft says that there has been a radical step of agreement on the single most important issue, justification.

Kreeft says the style of the book is that of Pascal, Nietzsche, Solomon, and Jesus: short answers, single points to ponder rather than long strings of argument. It is direct, simple, and confrontational, but vertically rather than horizontally, "directing arrows not against each other (Protestant or Catholic) but against our own hearts and minds and wills."

It is timely because, as Pope St. John Paul II said, this next millennium is destined to be the millennium of Christian reunification as the first millennium was that of Christian unity, and the second one of Christian disunity.

Above all, Kreeft says that this work is simple, not easy, or obvious, but condensed. It – like all of reality – is Christocentric. Its purpose is to be "like an Australian sheep dog, herding and hectoring Christ's separated sheep back to His face. For that is the only way they can ever return back to each other."

Peter Kreeft, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy at Boston College, is one of the most widely read Christian authors of our time. His many bestselling books cover a vast array of topics in spirituality, theology, and philosophy. They include How to Be Holy, Practical Theology, Back to Virtue, Because God Is Real, You Can Understand the Bible, Angels and Demons, Heaven: The Heart's Deepest Longing, and A Summa of the Summa.

"Peter Kreeft has a remarkable gift for expressing complex issues in lucid, accurate, and pithy ways. He also has the fairness and insight needed to undertake a tractate to bring Catholics and Protestants into closer union. This book will no doubt help understanding and dialog between both."
— Robert J. Spitzer, S.J., Author, The Soul's Upward Yearning

"No one has taught me more about what healthy ecumenism looks like than the brilliant and eloquent Peter Kreeft. He is a peerless apologist for truth and has been an inspiration to me for over two decades on the happy and vital connections between serious Catholic and evangelical faith."
— Eric Metaxas, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author, Bonhoeffer; Host of the Eric Metaxas Show

"Readers will expect-- and be gratified to find -- what we always find in any work by Kreeft: thorough, solid, intelligent work, and agile prose style, brought to the service of dependable content. This book should help us to find a real step forward in the mutual understanding of these two sectors of the Ancient Faith."
— Thomas Howard, Author, On Being Catholic

"Peter Kreeft, one of our finest Christian writers today, has given us a passionate plea for Christian unity, one that builds upon the great common core of Christian belief confessed by faithful Protestants and Catholics alike. A volume full of faith-and hope."
— Timothy George, Dean of Beeson Divinity School of Samford University

"In his unique style, Kreeft avoids academic verbosity and cuts right to the chase. His uncanny ability to reduce the complex into readable text is like poetry in motion. Christians from various traditions will find this book a pleasure to read."
— Stephen Ray, Author, Crossing the Tiber

"If only this book had been written five hundred years ago! Peter Kreeft is a reliable sherpa, guiding us safely through the theological and historical impasses into which countless unwary Christians have stumbled."
— Patrick Madrid, Author, Life Lessons; Host of the Patrick Madrid Show

"This is a book that lives up to its title, and will be a useful resource for any Catholic with Protestant friends or colleagues - and vice versa. It invites the reader to explore these often contentious issues with respect for both perspectives, and with genuine hope for resolution and reunion."
— Holly Ordway, Author, Not God's Type

New: "That Nothing May Be Lost" by Rev. Paul D. Scalia

Now available from Ignatius Press:

That Nothing May Be Lost: Reflections on Catholic Doctrine and Devotion

by Rev. Paul D. Scalia

Fr. Paul Scalia reveals a scholar's mind and a pastor's heart in these inspiring reflections on a wide range of Catholic teachings and practices. Rooted in Scripture, these insights place the reader on a path to a deeper, more meaningful relationship with God.

Among the topics explored are deepening one's knowledge of Jesus, partaking of the life of grace through the sacraments, and cultivating the art of prayer as a continuous conversation with God.

Each section is introduced by a moving essay by a highly regarded Catholic. Fr. Paul Check, Jim Towey, Scott Hahn, Mary Ellen Bork, Gloria Purvis, Raymond Arroyo, Lizz Lovett, Helen Alvaré, and Dan Mattson offer their personal accounts of being Catholic, which are followed by Fr. Scalia's illuminations. Archbishop Charles Chaput contributes a thought- provoking foreword, which begins the reader's exploration of the many important aspects of the Catholic faith presented in this book.

Fr. Paul Scalia, a native of Virginia, studied theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University and the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome. Ordained in 1996, Fr. Scalia was appointed the Bishop's Delegate for Clergy in 2012. He has written for various publications and has served as a frequent contributor to the Arlington Catholic Herald and Encourage and Teach, the diocesan blog.

"Fr. Scalia has written a book that deepens our faith and leads us closer to God in a hundred different ways."
— Most Reverend Charles Chaput, Archbishop of Philadelphia, from the Foreword

"Fr. Scalia has a unique gift of taking stories from Scripture that we've heard many times and casting them into a whole new light. In this book he opens up Catholic teaching in fresh and sometimes surprising directions that will change the way you think about your faith."
— Carrie Gress, Author, Nudging Conversations

"It is the great joy of a priest to see the two people he loves most, the Lord Jesus and whichever person he is caring for at that moment, in each other's arms. It is my hope that the many reflections Fr. Scalia offers us in these pages will bring us all into the arms of the only One who can ultimately satisfy."
— Fr. John Riccardo, Author, Heaven Starts Now

"Sacraments are symbols that convey the reality they signify. All other signs remain distinct from the things they signify. Only sacraments bring about what they signify. Sacramental signs convey the sacred reality itself. There can be no more perfect communication than this. Only God could express Himself in this way."
— Scott Hahn, from the Introduction to Chapter IV, The Sacraments

"One of the blessings of being a Catholic is discovering we are part of a large extended family of holy people. Their stories cover many centuries and diverse cultures, and knowing them, we come to a better understanding of Christ, the One they loved and followed."
— Mary Ellen Bork, from the Introduction to Chapter VI, The Saints

"As I read my friend Fr. Paul's moving and rich reflections on various feast days, an image from my childhood returned. It is of a Corpus Christi procession through the French Quarter around St. Louis Cathedral. Once again that eternal clash of the sacred and the profane that the rest of the world tries to ignore or deny is made manifest. This is what feast days are all about: dedicated times for us to stop and experience the deeper spiritual reality beyond the blur of our chaotic lives."
— Raymond Arroyo, from the Introduction to Chapter IX, Feasts: The Pattern and Rhythm of the Christian Life

Did Jesus rise from the dead and go directly to heaven?

The Spiritual Resurrection Theory appears to be alive (ahem) and well at the Associated Press | Carl E. Olson | The Dispatch at CWR

The always excellent Terry Mattingly of Get Religion points out that the Associated Press reveals a bit of biblical and theological illiteracy in a March 20th piece about the renovations done to the shrine in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. The report begins in this way:

The tomb of Jesus has been resurrected to its former glory. Just in time for Easter, a Greek restoration team has completed a historic renovation of the Edicule, the shrine that tradition says houses the cave where Jesus was buried and rose to heaven.

The problematic phrase—"the shrine that tradition says houses the cave where Jesus was buried and rose to heaven"—is repeated in the photo caption. Mattingly writes:

OK, I know that this is complicated. Maybe there needs to be an expanded entry in the Associated Press Stylebook covering the events of Holy Week, Easter and the Ascension?

Attention AP corrections desk: Christians around the world do not believe that Jesus was "buried and rose to heaven" from the tomb cut into the stone of Gethsemane. They believe that he was buried there, was resurrected, then ascended to heaven 40 days later. Church tradition points to Mount Olivet as the site of the Ascension.

This very issue is addressed in one of the 75 or so questions found in my book Did Jesus Really Rise From the Dead? (Ignatius Press/Augustine Institute, 2016):

Q. Was the Resurrection also when Jesus ascended into Heaven and was exalted there by the Father?

This is a common misunderstanding, even among some Christians. It is even, as Brant Pitre points out [in The Case for Christ] remarkably popular “especially among scholars who do not believe in Jesus’ bodily resurrection. Nevertheless, this idea is (literally) dead wrong.”  That is because the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven, as the creedal statements above indicate and Scripture clearly attest, took place forty days after the Resurrection; the two are entirely distinct events, even though the Ascension is made possible because of the Resurrection.  The risen Jesus, in fact, told Mary Magdalene that he had not yet gone to the Father:

Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” (Jn 20:16–17)

In addition, Luke begins Acts of the Apostles by stating, “To them he presented himself alive after his passion by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days, and speaking of the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3).

The key point here is that the Resurrection was not a spiritual event only, during which Jesus was exalted, in some form, into Heaven; rather, it was a miraculous event in which Jesus was raised from the dead with real and glorified body, becoming “the first‐born from the dead” (Col 1:18; cf. Rev 1:5). And forty days separated that event from the Ascension, during which time Jesus, according to Paul, “appeared to Ce’phas, then to the Twelve.  Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles” (1 Cor 15:5–7).

Mattingly reminds readers of a similar error made by The New York Times in a May 2013 piece about Pope Francis' first Urbi et Orbi message: "Easter is the celebration of the resurrection into heaven of Jesus, three days after he was crucified, the premise for the Christian belief in an everlasting life."

These sort of mistakes certainly betray sloppiness and a lack of basic knowledge, which is frustrating enough. But a deeper issue, I suspect, is the implicit assumption that the Resurrection is an entirely spiritual event, having little or nothing to do with the material realm. This general approach to the Resurrection can be described as the Spiritual Resurrection Theory; here is an excerpt from Chapter 9 ("Physical and Spiritual") of my book:

Q. What is the Spiritual Resurrection Theory?

This is the idea that the Resurrection of Jesus was purely spiritual and not at all corporeal or bodily.  The risen Jesus was a spirit.  Those who encountered him encountered the spirit of Jesus. His corpse is irrelevant, in this view. Whether dogs ate it or it remains buried in a tomb makes no difference. Jesus’s body wasn’t transformed; he was raised a spirit.

Q. Who advocates the idea of the Spiritual Resurrection Theory?

Some theologically liberal Christians espouse the Spiritual Resurrection Theory, or a form of it. It is held by John Shelby Spong, John Dominic Crossan, and Marcus Borg, among others. Jehovah’s Witnesses, oddly enough, also advocate a form of it. They think the various Resurrection appearances recounted in the New Testament do not reflect Jesus’s actual resurrected state, but involve various bodies he assumed or materialized in order to indicate to his disciples his continued existence as a spirit. Unlike most people who reject the traditional understanding of Jesus’s Resurrection, advocates of the Spiritual Resurrection Theory generally appeal to the New Testament to support their views. As a result, the case against the theory involves a careful review of certain New Testament passages.

There is much, much more, as you can see from the table of contents and the Introduction.

New: The Cardinal Müller Report: An Exclusive Interview on the State of the Church"

Now available from Ignatius Press:

The Cardinal Müller Report: An Exclusive Interview on the State of the Church

by Gerhard Cardinal Müller and Carlos Granados

Cardinal Gerhard Müller, the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is one of the most prominent Catholic figures today. As a leading cardinal inside the Vatican, he has a privileged perspective on the worldwide state of the Church and on the most pressing theological, doctrinal, and moral questions of our times, which he strives to answer in this interview in clear and inspiring terms, as did his predecessor Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in The Ratzinger Report. 

What are these questions? What do their answers call forth from the believer? Many people today do not see the lack of faith as a major problem in their lives; rather, what worries them profoundly is the lack of hope. The key questions therefore involve hope and whether the Christian faith as articulated by the Catholic Church can offer it. 

This interview with Cardinal Müller therefore takes hope as its basic subject. It is a "report on hope", that is, an in-depth discussion of hope in relation to faith and love, truth and mercy; in relation to Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church; and in relation to the family and the demands of contemporary society.

Gerhard Cardinal Müller is the Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith. Formerly the Bishop of Regensburg, Germany, and a professor of theology, he is President of both the Pontifical Biblical Commission and the International Theological Commission. He is also the author of many books, including The Hope of the Family and Priesthood and Diaconate.

Fr. Carlos Granados is the General Director of the Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos (Library of Christian Authors). He holds a Ph.D in Sacred Scripture.

"Cardinal Müller, a strong Church leader in a time of confusion, offers thoughtful insights on the challenging issues of the day—from the culture to the family. Throughout he points us to a future filled with hope, rooted in truth." 
— Raymond Arroyo, New York Times Best-Selling Author, EWTN News Anchor, The World Over

"This bookoffers a credible, thoughtful, and compelling call to hope in the family, in society, in the Church, and—ultimately—in Jesus Christ.  Christian hope, as Cardinal Müller explains, helps every Catholic to live the universal call to holiness, and to become faithful missionary disciples of the Lord."
— Most Revered James Conley, Bishop of Lincoln, Nebraska

"In this wide- ranging interview, Cardinal Müller, in clear and inspiring language, offers thoughtful insights into the possibility and reality of an authentic, faith-based hope that comes from Christ and permeates the Church, the family, and even society."
— Most Reverend Robert Vasa, Bishop of Santa Rosa, California

"Trust in God is the vital substance of things hoped for.  Cardinal Müller explains why faith is not credulity and hope is more than optimism."
— Fr. George Rutler, Author, He Spoke to Us

"It's a bold move to give a book a title that invites comparison with the great Ratzinger Report. But Cardinal Müller holds his own in these very rich reflections on the dimensions of hope in our time."
— Robert Royal, President, Faith & Reason Institute, Washington, D.C.

"Cardinal Müller reminds us that hope in God's providence is our strength and shield in the struggle to live out our Catholic faith in a troubled world. Problems find solutions when we turn to God and seek to conform our lives to the loving demands of the gospel."
— Fr. Gerald Murray, Pastor, Holy Family Church, New York, and a member of EWTN's "Papal Posse"

New: "Marian Veneration: Firm Foundations" by Francis Cardinal Arinze

Now available from Ignatius Press:

Marian Veneration: Firm Foundations

by Francis Cardinal Arinze

The Blessed Virgin Mary is venerated by many followers of Jesus Christ as an important part of their practice of the faith. Believing that she is the Mother of God because her Son is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, who for our salvation took on human nature, Christians of both East and West honor Mary in various ways. They strive to imitate her as a great model of Christian discipleship.

Cardinal Arinze wrote this book for both those devoted to the Blessed Mother and those who do not yet know or understand her. Based on the Scriptures, the teachings of the Church, and the sacred liturgy, the cardinal provides a solid foundation for Marian veneration—one that can benefit all Christians, regardless of their church affiliation.

Cardinal Francis Arinze, the former Prefect for the Congregation for Divine Worship, is a highly regarded prelate, teacher and churchman. He has written numerous books on theology, spirituality and prayer, including Meeting Jesus and Following Him, Radical Discipleship, The Layperson's Distinctive Role, and his biography, God's Invisible Hand, all published by Ignatius Press.

"An extraordinary blend of rigorous scholarship and filial devotion, Marian Veneration gives all the reasons for why the Virgin Mary is – and will always be – at the heart of Christianity.  This book will serve as a reference work for generations to come!"
— Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, Author, Champions of the Rosary: The History and Heroes of a Spiritual Weapon

"To praise the art is to praise the artist. Mary is the greatest work of art ever created by God. Cardinal Arinze helps us to see the pierced Hand of the Master holding the brush that created Mary, his greatest Icon of the Church."
— Mark P. Shea, Author, Mary, Mother of the Son

"The Second Vatican Council urged theologians and preachers to present the authentic image of the Virgin as it is given us in the Scriptures, the sacred liturgy, and the holy Fathers and Doctors of the Church. That is precisely what he does in this excellent work."
— Fr. Michael Gaitley, M.I.C., Author, 33 Days to Morning Glory

"Simply the best book of its kind in print today. Cardinal Arinze not only masterfully provides the essential foundation for the veneration of Mary but also dispenses with manifold errors concerning Marian theology and devotion both inside and outside the Church."
— Tim Staples, Director of Apologetics and Evangelization, Catholic Answers

Peter, Trump, and Francis

Peter, Trump, and Francis | Carl E. Olson | CWR

No pope and no body of bishops—or laity, for that matter—have the authority to change, revise, reverse, alter, or fundamentally rework what has been gifted to the Mystical Body of Christ in Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture.

Last summer, while visiting family in Montana, I had a conversation with my brother-in-law—an Evangelical Protestant—about the papacy in general and the pontificate of Francis specifically. Chris's questions were very thoughtful and not contentious in any way; he was genuinely interested in what Catholics believe about the pope. So, for instance, he asked a common and understandable question: "Is the pope able to change doctrine or belief?" The question, he added, was inspired in part because he had read Francis was trying to change Church teaching in some ways; it was both confusing and fascinating to someone who had a master's degree from an Evangelical seminary and also had a certain level of interest in things Catholic.

My response was threefold. First, I said, it's essential to understand the Church teaches that Jesus Christ gave the apostles what is called "the deposit of faith"—consisting of Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture—and that the apostles, in turn, entrusted this depositum fidei "to the whole of the Church" (CCC 84ff; cf Dei Verbum 10). This body of belief and doctrinal truth cannot be changed or altered, but can be—must be!—defended, defined, explained, explicated, and otherwise conveyed. However, the "task of authentically interpreting the word of God, whether written or handed on, has been entrusted exclusively to the living teaching office of the Church..." (DV 10)

Secondly, I told Chris, the pope holds a unique place in the Magisterium, or teaching office, of the Church. So, for instance, the "task of interpretation [of the deposit of faith] has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome"; the Petrine office, in other words, always has a central and essential role in "unpacking" this deposit of faith.

Third, it's vital to understand that no pope and no body of bishops—or laity, for that matter—have the authority to change, revise, reverse, alter, or fundamentally rework what has been gifted to the Mystical Body of Christ in Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture. This is why the Second Vatican Council stated, "This teaching office is not above the word of God, but serves it, teaching only what has been handed on, listening to it devoutly, guarding it scrupulously and explaining it faithfully in accord with a divine commission and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it draws from this one deposit of faith everything which it presents for belief as divinely revealed" (DV 10; cf CCC 86)

I then said (perhaps not as well or as clearly as I hoped) that the authority of the pope is both tremendous and remarkably limited. It's not just that the pope cannot change anything in divine revelation, but that his office is one largely defined by negative powers. That is, the pope rarely puts forth "new" ideas or interpretations, but far more often exercises his authority by saying, "No, that is false" or "No, that is heretical" or "No, that is unbalanced". And when he does define some particular point, it is almost always in order to save it from a false, mishapen, or lacking interpretation. Thus:

But when either the Roman Pontiff or the Body of Bishops together with him defines a judgment, they pronounce it in accordance with Revelation itself, which all are obliged to abide by and be in conformity with, that is, the Revelation which as written or orally handed down is transmitted in its entirety through the legitimate succession of bishops and especially in care of the Roman Pontiff himself, and which under the guiding light of the Spirit of truth is religiously preserved and faithfully expounded in the Church. The Roman Pontiff and the bishops, in view of their office and the importance of the matter, by fitting means diligently strive to inquire properly into that revelation and to give apt expression to its contents; but a new public revelation they do not accept as pertaining to the divine deposit of faith. (Lumen Gentium, 25; emphasis added)

All of that is an introduction of sorts to some excerpts from a few recent articles about Pope Francis and what he is doing—or seems to be doing.

Continue reading on the CWR site.

"The New Pagans and the Church" by Joseph Ratzinger (1958)

"The New Pagans and the Church" | A 1958 Lecture by Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI). Translated by Fr. Kenneth Baker, S.J.

According to religious statistics, old Europe is still a part of the earth that is almost completely Christian. But there is hardly another case in which everyone knows as well as they do here that the statistic is false: This so-called Christian Europe for almost four hundred years has become the birthplace of a new paganism, which is growing steadily in the heart of the Church, and threatens to undermine her from within. The outward shape of the modern Church is determined essentially by the fact that, in a totally new way, she has become the Church of pagans, and is constantly becoming even more so. She is no longer, as she once was, a Church composed of pagans who have become Christians, but a Church of pagans, who still call themselves Christians, but actually have become pagans. Paganism resides today in the Church herself, and precisely that is the characteristic of the Church of our day, and that of the new paganism, so that it is a matter of a paganism in the Church, and of a Church in whose heart paganism is living.

Therefore, in this connection, one should not speak about the paganism, which in eastern atheism has already become a strong enemy against the Church, and as a new anti-christian power opposes the community of believers. Yet, when concerning this movement, one should not forget that it has its peculiarity in the fact that it is a new paganism, and therefore, a paganism that was born in the Church, and has borrowed from her the essential elements that definitely determine its outward form and its power. One should speak rather about the much more characteristic phenomenon of our time, which determines the real attack against the Christian, from the paganism within the Church herself, from the “desolating sacrilege set up where it ought not to be” (Mk 13:14).

The fact that today, even given an optimistic evaluation, certainly more than half of the Catholics (here we are considering only our Church) no longer “practice” their faith, should not be explained clearly in the sense that this large number of non-practicing Catholics should simply be called pagans. It is still evident that they no longer simply embrace the faith of the Church, but that they make a very subjective choice from the creed of the Church in order to shape their own world view. And there can be no doubt that most of them, from the Christian point of view, should really no longer be called believers, but that they follow, more or less, a secular philosophy. They do indeed affirm the moral responsibility of man, but it is based on, and limited by, purely rational considerations. The ethics of N. Hartmanns, K. Jaspers, and M. Heidegger, for example, defend the more or less known convictions of many morally upright men, but they are in no sense Christians. The well-known little book published by the List-Verlag (a German publishing house—Editor’s note) entitled, What Do You Think About Christianity? can open the eyes of anyone, who has allowed himself to be deceived by the Christian façade of our contemporary public image, to the realization of how far and wide such purely rational and irreligious morality has spread. Therefore, the modern man today, when he meets someone else anywhere, can assume with some certainty that he has a baptismal certificate, but not that he has a Christian frame of mind. Therefore, he must presume as the normal state of affairs the lack of faith of his neighbor. This fact has two important consequences: On the one hand, it includes a fundamental change in the structure of the Church; and, on the other hand, it has produced an essential change of consciousness on the side of the still-believing Christians. These two phenomena will be clarified in greater detail in this lecture.

When the Church had her beginning, it rested on the spiritual decision of the individual person to believe, on the act of conversion.

Continue reading at HPRweb.com.

Coming soon! "The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise" by Robert Cardinal Sarah

Coming this spring from Ignatius Press:

The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise

By Robert Cardinal Sarah, with Nicolas Diat

In a time when there is more and more noise, and technology and materialism continue to exert their hold on us, Cardinal Robert Sarah presents a bold book about the strength of silence.

The world generates so much noise that seeking moments of silence only becomes more necessary. For Cardinal Sarah, modern man, in repressing the divine, finds himself in a deep dilemma, an oppressive and anguishing trial. The Cardinal recalls that life is a silent relationship between what is most intimate in man and God. Silence is indispensable for hearing the music of God: prayer arises from silence and returns to silence with ever greater depth.

In this long and profound conversation with Nicolas Diat, done within the hallowed walls of silence in the famous Carthusian monastery of La Grande Chartreux in France, the Cardinal proposes the question: can those who do not know silence ever attain truth, beauty, love? The response is undeniable: all that is great and creative is formed by silence. God is silence.

After the great international success of God or Nothing, translated into fourteen languages, Cardinal Sarah seeks to restore to silence its place of honor and importance. "Although speech characterizes man, silence is what defines him, because speech acquires sense only in terms of this silence." This is the beautiful and significant message of The Power of Silence.

In this book, Cardinal Sarah has only one aim, which is summed up in this thought from his book: "Silence is difficult but it makes a human being able to allow himself to be led by God. Silence is born of silence. Through God the silent one we can gain access to silence. And a human being is unceasingly surprised by the light that bursts forth then. Silence is more important than any other human work. For it expresses God. The true revolution comes from silence; it leads us toward God and others so as to place ourselves humbly and generously at their service."

Robert Cardinal Sarah was born in Guinea, West Africa. Made an Archbishop by Pope John Paul II and a Cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI, he was named the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments by Pope Francis in 2014. Nicolas Diat is a French journalist and author.

The Epiphany and Evangelization

Men in traditional attire guide camels during a parade marking the feast of the Epiphany in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Jan. 6, 2016 (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

The Epiphany and Evangelization | Rev. Peter M.J. Stravinskas | Catholic World Report

Evangelization is not a work of the past; nor is it the responsibility of a chosen few; it is the obligation and privilege of every baptized Christian at all times and in all places.

“Nations shall walk by your light.” (Isa 60:3)

“Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.” (Responsorial Psalm, The Epiphany of the Lord) 

“The Gentiles are now co-heirs with the Jews, members of the same body and sharers of the promise through the preaching of the Gospel.” (Eph 3:6)

“. . . Magi from the east arrived one day. . . to pay him homage.” (Matt 2:1, 2)

As should be obvious by now, the Solemnity of the Epiphany (celebrated in the Extraordinary Form and in all the Eastern Churches on January 6 and on January 8 in the United States this year in the Ordinary Form) is the day for the Gentiles at the Crib. In some sense, one can say that the Solemnity's Gospel reading presents the entire Gospel in miniature, in terms of the reception of the message by different audiences. Mary and Joseph represent believing Jews; Herod, stiff-necked or faithless Jews; the wise men, Gentiles with open minds and open hearts. A charming, ancient legend says that these wise men actually became the first Christian missionaries, with their efforts meeting both success and failure as they encountered both belief and unbelief among the Gentiles to whom they preached.

Surely, the point of this celebration is that “the Gentiles are now co-heirs with the Jews,” but how does this happen? St. Paul gives the answer: “Through the preaching of the Gospel.” If the barrier between Jew and Gentile is to be broken down, it will happen as both are brought into contact with the saving truth of Jesus Christ. That occurs through the process of evangelization, the sharing of the Good News, the Gospel. Today’s solemnity, then, would have us reflect on the awesome task of evangelizing the world. Pope John Paul symbolized that endeavor in a beautiful and powerful manner by consecrating on this day new bishops from around the world, for through their work of teaching, governing and sanctifying, the Gospel takes hold in new places among new peoples, who are made “members of the same body and sharers of the promise.”

Therefore, a fundamental concern of the Church in every age must be the spread of the Gospel. For that very reason, the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council in their document on missionary activity, Ad Gentes (appropriately enough), taught: “The Church on earth is by its very nature missionary” [n. 2]. This truth was highlighted some years later in Pope Paul VI’s landmark exhortation, Evangelii Nuntiandi. It is important to keep that fact in sharp focus because it is one of the distinguishing characteristics of Catholicism. Judaism, for instance, has no interest as such in making converts; they will not be turned away, to be sure, but it is not a major thrust of that religious tradition. Nor is it so for the various Eastern religions, like Buddhism or Shintoism or Taoism. What makes us different? Nothing less than taking Christ at His word in His great commission: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19f).

And from Epiphany’s Magi to the modern missionaries, the Gospel has been shared and taken root on every continent.

Continue reading on the CWR site.

The Pastoral and Moral Crises That Lie Ahead

(Image: us.fotolia.com/eugenesergeev)

The Pastoral and Moral Crises That Lie Ahead | Fr. Mark Pilon | CWR

What we are witnessing today, following the publication of "Amoris Laetitia", is a radical adoption of the absolutizing principle of subjective judgments of conscience and private interpretation of all moral norms.

There has been a moral and pastoral crisis for the last half century in the Church, but I honestly think we haven’t yet seen anything like what might lie ahead. The 4 Cardinals—I like to call them "The Four Just Men" (coined by the prolfiic Edgar Wallace a century ago)—have nailed the roots of this threat in their five questions related to the apparent undermining of Church doctrine on intrinsically evil acts and the objective formation of conscience in Chapter 8 of Amoris Laetitia (AL). In fact, we are already seeing the very divisive effects of this document’s confusion.

For instance, we are witnessing the very different implementations of AL in different local Churches. Some continue to follow the traditional pastoral practice of the Church which denies Holy Communion to couples living as husband and wife in invalid second unions following divorce. Others call for a case by case resolution where the Catholics involved are encouraged to decide whether this second [adulterous] union is God’s will for them and whether they are allowed to receive Communion.  Thus one American bishop has now encouraged divorced and remarried Catholics to “utilize the internal forum of conscience” in making their decision as to whether they should receive Communion or refrain. In other words, private conscience now trumps the canon law of the Church and the moral law of God.

Another division arises when an American bishop, now a Cardinal, openly criticizes an American Archbishop’s directives regarding Communion for the divorced and remarried as being out of step with the Church. Then there was the unseemly attack of the Dean of the Roman Rota, bitterly criticizing the 4 Cardinals for their supposed betrayal of their office, which evidently requires that they never asks clarification from a pope, never mind question the actions of a pope. 

Following that divisive incident, an Australian Archbishop demeaned the 4 Cardinals by asserting thatthey are seeking a “false clarity that comes because you don’t address reality.” He went on to say that during the Synod he himself “heard voices that sounded very clear and certain but only because they never grappled with the real question or never dealt with the real facts.”

So much for the intelligence, integrity and pastoral experience of 4 distinguished Cardinals and their supporters! 

In another part of the world, an Archbishop in Ireland joined the chorus of criticism with this bit of ecclesial wisdom:

Continue reading at www.CatholicWorldReport.com.