Jan

29

A Great Catholic Historian: Godfrey Kurth C. S. G.

January 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment

I have finished reading the wonderful volume of Godfrey Kurth, The Church at the Turning Points of History, now happily brought back into print by my friends at IHS Press. This accomplished author is not so well known as he should be. For that reason, I’m posting the biographical information on him furnished in the [...]

Jan

28

The Heresy of Dual-Covenant Theology

January 28, 2008 | 2 Comments

I have just finished reading “The Old Covenant: Revoked or Not Revoked?” by Dr. Robert Sungenis. It is a study debunking the notion, now regnant in liberal theological circles, that the Old Covenant still stands side-by-side with the New Covenant. According to this novelty, in essence, God’s “A Plan” and God’s “B Plan” are both [...]

Jan

28

‘The Faithful Departed’ by Philip F. Lawler

January 28, 2008 | 5 Comments

Philip F. Lawler , Editor of Catholic World News, has authored a new a book called The Faithful Departed, The Collapse of Boston’s Catholic Culture. Not yet released, the book can be ordered from Amazon.com at a pre-publication special price. Mr. Lawler has posted a sneak preview online, from which we excerpt the paragraphs below. [...]

Jan

25

The “Relations” in the Blessed Trinity

January 25, 2008 | 5 Comments

There are four internal divine relations in the Holy Trinity, of which only three are really distinct relations. To grasp this very important concept in the theology of the Triune God, we begin by considering again what we have said of the Trinitarian processions, namely, that there are two processions, generation and spiration. We may [...]

Jan

16

Trinitarian Processions

January 16, 2008 | 1 Comment

This paper summarizes Catholic teaching on the procession of the Son from the Father, and of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son.
Given that the Son and the Holy Ghost are consubstantial with the Father, that is, of the same substance and numerical nature as the First Person, the question arises: “If [...]

Jan

14

Why is the Holy Ghost called “Holy”?

January 14, 2008 | 1 Comment

The following is from Blessed Columba Marmion’s masterful Christ, the Life of the Soul. In the larger context, Abbot Marmion is considering the mystery of holiness, first in God, then in men. After speaking of holiness considered as an attribute of God (i.e., in the Divine Nature), he goes on to consider holiness in the [...]

Jan

10

Saint Ann’s House Has a Web Site

January 10, 2008 | 2 Comments

In the post, “The Status of Father Feeney’s Doctrinal Position,” I stated that the Sisters of Saint Ann’s House do not have a website. That has changed. The good Sisters now have a site here: Sisters of Saint Benedict Center, Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Jan

3

Catholics, Protestants, Grace, and the Spiritual Life

January 3, 2008 | 5 Comments

This paper answers the following question: Given what Catholics believe about grace, merit and justification, why is it much more logical for Catholics to have treatises on progress in the practice of the presence of God and growth in mystical prayer than Protestants?
To answer this question, we must first contrast the two positions on grace, [...]

Jan

3

The Four Kinds of Magisterial Statement and the Various Responses Catholics Owe to Each

January 3, 2008 | 4 Comments

A much more in depth treatment of this subject is found in our “The Three Levels of Magisterial Teaching.” The discrepancy in numbering the levels (three vs. four) is explained by the fact that some theologians, apparently following Cardinal Avery Dulles (The Craft of Theology: from Symbol to System), have created a fourth category that [...]