Category: +Religion

The Church Year: Jan. 20, 2012

Today is Friday of the 2nd week in Ordinary Time. The liturgical color is green.

In the Extraordinary Form, this is the season after Epiphany, and the liturgical color for today is red.

 

Saints & Celebrations:

Today, January 20, in both the Ordinary and the Extraordinary Form, we celebrate St. Fabian, pope and martyr who died in A.D. 250. It is an optional memorial.

In both the Ordinary and the Extraordinary Form, we also celebrate St. Sebastian, martyr, who died in A.D. 284. It is a Class III day.

If you’d like to learn more about St. Fabian, you can click here.

If you’d like to learn more about St. Sebastian, you can click here.

For information about other saints, blesseds, and feasts celebrated today, you can click here.

 

Readings:

To see today’s readings in the Ordinary Form, you can click here.

Or you can click play to listen to them:

 

Devotional Information:

According to the Holy See’s Directory on Popular Piety:

29. In the West, the high middle ages saw the formation of new cultures, and political and civil institution deriving from the encounter of Christianity, already by the fifth century, with peoples such as the Celts, the Visigoths, the Anglosaxons, and the Francogermans.

Between the seventh and the fifteenth century, a decisive differentiation between Liturgy and popular piety began to emerge which gradually became more pronounced, ending eventually in a dualism of celebration. Parallel with the Liturgy, celebrated in Latin, a communitarian popular piety celebrated in the vernacular emerged.

30. The following may be counted among the reasons for the development of this dualism:

  • the idea that the Liturgy was the competence of clerics since the laity were no more than spectators at the Liturgy;
  • the marked distinction of roles in Christian society – clerics, monks, and laity – gave rise to different styles and forms of prayer;
  • in Liturgy and iconography, the distinct and particular consideration given to the various aspects of the one mystery of Christ, while expressing a devotion for the life and work of our Lord, failed to facilitate an explicit realization of the centrality of the Paschal mystery and encouraged a multiplicity of particular times and forms of celebration of a distinctively popular tenor;
  • lack of a sufficient knowledge of the Scriptures on the part, not only of the laity, but of many clerics and religious, made access to an understanding of the structure and symbolic language of the Liturgy difficult;
  • the diffusion of apocryphical literature containing many stories of miracles and episodic anecdotes, on the other hand, had a significant influence on iconography which, touching the immagination of the faithful, naturally attracted their attention;
  • the parctical absence of any form of homeletic preaching, the disappearance of mystagogical preaching, and poor catechetical formation, rendered the celebration of the Liturgy closed to the understanding and active participation of the faithful who turned to alternative [ritual] times and forms;
  • a tendencey to allegory, excessively incroaching on the meaning of the liturgical texts and rites, often deviated the faithful from an understanding of the true nature of the Liturgy;
  • the discovery of expressive, popular forms and structures unconsciously redrafted the Liturgy which, from many perspectives, had become increasingly incomprehensible and distant from the people.

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Revealed! The Church’s Official Prayer for Sports Events!

He’s not Catholic, but Tim Tebow has generated a lot of controversy by publicly praying at sporting events. Even I know that, and I know nothing about sports.

Praying at sporting events has been around for a long time. I remember being incredulous when I first heard about it, years and years ago (possibly even before I was Christian). I was assuming, as do many people, that the athletes were praying for victory, asking God to take the side of their sports team, which is preposterous.

But a new light was cast on it when I learned that many of those praying were not asking for victory but that all would play well and safely, that nobody would get hurt.

As Emily Litella would say, “Well! That’s different!”

I don’t know whether Tim Tebow has shared what he prays for at sporting events. Sorry; it’s that whole “I don’t know about sports” thing. But I do happen to know a good bit about the Church, and I happen to know something that sheds a good bit of light on what a Catholic might want to think regarding praying at sporting events.

It is this: The Church has an official blessing for athletic events.

Really!

It’s found in the Roman Ritual (an official book of Church rituals, as the name suggests), and it is published in English in the Book of Blessings (you can find it on pages 437-438 of the current edition).

The introduction to it explains:

1024 This blessing is intended for those who participate in an athletic event. The blessing asks that God may protect the athletes from injury and that throughout the event they may show respect for one another.

1025 The blessing may be given by a priest, deacon, or lay minister.

The blessing includes an athletically-themed Scripture reading (2 Timothy 4:6-8) and a prayer over the athletes.

According to the text:

1029 A minister who is a priest or deacon says the prayer of blessing with hands outstretched over the athletes; a lay minister says the prayer with hands joined.

Here is the actual text of the prayer:

Strong and faithful God,
as we come together for this contest,
we ask you to bless these athletes.

Keep them safe from injury and harm,
instill in them respect for each other,
and reward them for their perseverance.

Lead us all to the rewards of your kingdom
where you live and reign for ever and ever.

Response: Amen.

Non-sports fan though I am, I could imagine the prayer going even further, by asking God to help the athletes glorify him by doing their best in the contest, but this still sheds light on what a Catholic might think about praying at sporting events. It acknowledges that prayer at such events is legitimate, and it gives an example of the kind of prayer that is appropriate.

As always, official prayers of blessing do not preclude individual, private prayers like those Tim Tebow is conducting. They are fine, too, provided their content is worthy.

Regardless of whether you personally are a sports fan or not . . .

What do you think?

The Church Year: Jan. 19, 2012

Today is Thursday of the 2nd week in Ordinary Time. The liturgical color is green.

In the Extraordinary Form, this is the season after Epiphany.

 

Saints & Celebrations:

Today, January 19, there is no special fixed liturgical day in the Ordinary Form.

In the Extraordinary Form, we celebrate St.s Marius and Companions, martyrs, who died in A.D. 270. It is a commemoration.

In the Extraordinary Form, we also celebrate St. Canute, King of Denmark, martyr, who died in A.D. 1086. This celebration is also a commemoration.

If you’d like to learn more about St.s Marius and Companions, you can click here.

If you’d like to learn more about St. Canute, you can click here.

For information about other saints, blesseds, and feasts celebrated today, you can click here.

 

Readings:

To see today’s readings in the Ordinary Form, you can click here.

Or you can click play to listen to them:

 

Devotional Information:

According to the Holy See’s Directory on Popular Piety:

The Middle Ages

28. Among the main concerns of the Oriental Christian Churches, especially the Byzantine Church, of the middle ages, mention can be made of both phases of the struggles against the iconaclast heresy (725-787 and 815-843) which was a watershed for the Liturgy. It was also a period of classical commentaries on the Eucharistic Liturgy and on the iconography for buildings set aside for worship.

In the liturgical field, there was a noticeable increase in the Church’s iconographical patrimony and in her sacred rites which assumed a definitive form. The Liturgy reflected the symbolic vision of the universe and a sacral hierarchical vision of the world. In this vision, we have the coalescence of all orders of Christian society, the ideals and structures of monasticism, popular aspirations, the intuitions of the mystics and the precepts of the ascetics.

With the decree De sacris imaginibus of the Second Council of Niceaand the resolution of the iconaclastic controversy in the “Triumph of Orthodoxy” , icognagraphy, having been given doctrinal legitimacy, developed and organized its definitive form. The icon, hieratic and pregnant with symbolic power, itself became part of the celebration of the Liturgy, reflecting, as it did, the mystery celebrated and retaining something of its permanent presence which was exposed for the veneration of the faithful.

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What Does the Church Teach About the Brown Scapular?

A member of the Secret Information Club who I will codename Agent Mount Carmel writes:

Can you sometime share more on scapulars–the little brown ones for regular people to use?

I am an RCIA Candidate.

Happy to oblige!

I like to start by covering what the Church’s official teaching is regarding things, and despite the rich devotional tradition connected with scapulars, there isn’t as much official teaching as you might think, at least not in recent documents. One of the fullest recent statements came from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments a few years ago in their Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, which states:

The Brown Scapular and other Scapulars

205. The history of Marian piety also includes “devotion” to various scapulars, the most common of which is devotion to the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Its use is truly universal and, undoubtedly, its is one of those pious practices which the Council described as “recommended by the Magisterium throughout the centuries”.

The Scapular of Mount Carmel is a reduced form of the religious habit of the Order of the Friars of the Blessed Virgin of Mount Carmel. Its use is very diffuse and often independent of the life and spirituality of the Carmelite family.

The Scapular is an external sign of the filial relationship established between the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother and Queen of Mount Carmel, and the faithful who entrust themselves totally to her protection, who have recourse to her maternal intercession, who are mindful of the primacy of the spiritual life and the need for prayer.

The Scapular is imposed by a special rite of the Church which describes it as ” a reminder that in Baptism we have been clothed in Christ, with the assistance of the Blessed Virgin Mary, solicitous for our conformation to the Word Incarnate, to the praise of the Trinity, we may come to our heavenly home wearing our nuptial garb”.

The imposition of the Scapular should be celebrated with “the seriousness of its origins. It should not be improvised. The Scapular should be imposed following a period of preparation during which the faithful are made aware of the nature and ends of the association they are about to join and of the obligations they assume”.

Also on the Vatican level is this note from Pope Paul VI’s apostolic constitution on indulgences, Indulgentiarum Doctrina:

n.17—The faithful who use with devotion an object of piety (crucifix, cross, rosary, scapular or medal) properly blessed by any priest, can acquire a partial indulgence.

But if this object of piety is blessed by the Supreme Pontiff or any bishop, the faithful who use it devoutly can also acquire a plenary indulgence on the feast of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, provided they also make a profession of faith using any legitimate formula.

The plenary indulgence is, of course, on the usual conditions that apply to plenary indulgences in general (see n. 6-11 in Indulgentiarum Doctrina).

Concerning the brown scapular more particularly, I would recommend this message by Bl. John Paul II to the Carmelite community back in 2001, in which he deals with the subject in a profound but simple way. Among other things, he said:

Over time this rich Marian heritage of Carmel has become, through the spread of the Holy Scapular devotion, a treasure for the whole Church. By its simplicity, its anthropological value and its relationship to Mary’s role in regard to the Church and humanity, this devotion was so deeply and widely accepted by the People of God that it came to be expressed in the memorial of 16 July on the liturgical calendar of the universal Church.

5. The sign of the Scapular points to an effective synthesis of Marian spirituality, which nourishes the devotion of believers and makes them sensitive to the Virgin Mother’s loving presence in their lives. The Scapular is essentially a “habit”. Those who receive it are associated more or less closely with the Order of Carmel and dedicate themselves to the service of Our Lady for the good of the whole Church (cf. “Formula of Enrolment in the Scapular”, in the Rite of Blessing of and Enrolment in the Scapular, approved by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 5 January 1996). Those who wear the Scapular are thus brought into the land of Carmel, so that they may “eat its fruits and its good things” (cf. Jer 2: 7), and experience the loving and motherly presence of Mary in their daily commitment to be clothed in Jesus Christ and to manifest him in their life for the good of the Church and the whole of humanity (cf. “Formula of Enrolment in the Scapular”, cit.).

Therefore two truths are evoked by the sign of the Scapular: on the one hand, the constant protection of the Blessed Virgin, not only on life’s journey, but also at the moment of passing into the fullness of eternal glory; on the other, the awareness that devotion to her cannot be limited to prayers and tributes in her honour on certain occasions, but must become a “habit”, that is, a permanent orientation of one’s own Christian conduct, woven of prayer and interior life, through frequent reception of the sacraments and the concrete practice of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. In this way the Scapular becomes a sign of the “covenant” and reciprocal communion between Mary and the faithful: indeed, it concretely translates the gift of his Mother, which Jesus gave on the Cross to John and, through him, to all of us, and the entrustment of the beloved Apostle and of us to her, who became our spiritual Mother.

I should point out that there are several points connected with the brown scapular that are sources of some controversy, including:

  • Whether the scapular was proposed in a private revelation to St. Simon Stock.
  • What is meant by the claim (allegedly made by the Blessed Virgin to St. Simon Stock) that anyone who dies wearing the brown scapular will be saved.
  • Whether, later on, Pope John XXII received a revelation from Mary that those who wore the scapular during life will be delivered from purgatory on the Saturday after their deaths, should certain conditions be fulfilled (this is called the “Sabbatine privilege”).
For further reading on these points, you might try the following resources:
I hope these help, and good luck, Agent Mount Carmel!
(Not a member of Jimmy’s Secret Information Club? You should sign up now at www.SecretInfoClub.org or use the form in the right hand margin.)

The Church Year: Jan. 18, 2012

Today is Wednesday of the 2nd week in Ordinary Time. The liturgical color is green.

In the Extraordinary Form, this is the season after Epiphany.

 

Saints & Celebrations:

Today, January 18, there is no special fixed liturgical day in the Ordinary Form.

In the Extraordinary Form, we celebrate St. Prisca, virgin and martyr, who died in the 1st century. It is a commemoration.

If you’d like to learn more about St. Prisca, you can click here.

For information about other saints, blesseds, and feasts celebrated today, you can click here.

 

Readings:

To see today’s readings in the Ordinary Form, you can click here.

Or you can click play to listen to them:

 

Devotional Information:

In many places, today begins a Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. According to the Holy See’s Directory on Popular Piety:

182. At every celebration of the Holy Eucharist, the Church prays for unity and peace, mindful of the Jesus’ prayer. “May they all be one. Father, may they be one in us, as you are in me and I am in you, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me” (John 17, 21). The Missale Romanum contains three Masses -among those for various needs- “for Christian unity.” The same intention is remembered in the intercessions of the Liturgy of the Hours.”

In deference to the sensibilities of the “separated brethren”, expressions of popular piety should take into account the principle of ecumenism. Effectively, “change of heart and holiness of life, along with public and private prayer for the unity of Christians, should be regarded as the soul of the whole ecumenical movement, and merits the name ‘spiritual ecumenism’.” The encounter of Catholics with Christians from other Churches or ecclesial communities affords a special occasion for common prayer for the grace of Christian unity, to offer to God their common anxieties, to give thanks to God and to implore his assistance. “Common prayer is particularly recommended during the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” or during the period between Ascension and Pentecost.” Prayer for Christian unity also carries several indulgences.

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The Church Year: Jan. 17, 2012

Today is Tuesday of the 2nd week in Ordinary Time. The liturgical color is white.

In the Extraordinary Form, this is the season after Epiphany, and the liturgical color for today is white.

 

Saints & Celebrations:

Today, January 17, in both the Ordinary and the Extraordinary Form, we celebrate St. Anthony, abbot in Egypt who died in A.D. 356. In the Ordinary Form, it is a memorial, and in the Extraordinary Form, it is a Class III day.

If you’d like to learn more about St. Anthony, you can click here.

 

Readings:

To see today’s readings in the Ordinary Form, you can click here.

Or you can click play to listen to them:

 

Devotional Information:

According to the Holy See’s Directory on Popular Piety:

27. Mention must be made of the pontificate of the great pastor and liturgist Pope St. Gregory VII (590-604), since it is regarded as an exemplary reference point for any fruitful relationship between the Liturgy and popular piety. Through the organization of processions, stations and rogations, Gregory the Great undertook a major liturgical reform which sought to offer the Roman people structures which resonated with popular sensibilities while, at the same time, remaining securely based on the celebration of the divine mysteries. He gave wise directives to ensure that the conversion of new nations did not happen without regard for their own cultural traditions. Indeed, the Liturgy itself could be enriched by new legitimate [ritual] expressions and the noble expressions of artistic genius harmonized with more humble popular sensibilities. He established a sense of unity in Christian worship by anchoring it firmly in the celebration of Easter, even if other elements of the one mystery of Salvation (Christmas, Epiphany, and Ascension) were also celebrated and the memorials of the Saints expanded.

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ADL: Jews Should Not Spit at Christians

I don’t always see eye-to-eye with Abe Foxman of the Jewish Antidefamation League (ADL), but I want to give him his props on a recent statement issued by the ADL.

According to a press release, issued December 7th,

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has called on the Chief Rabbinate of Israel to publicly denounce the repulsive decades-old practice by ultra-Orthodox Jews of spitting at Christian clergymen they encounter in the street.

“This repulsive practice is a hateful act of persecution against another faith group and a desecration of God’s name according to Jewish law,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. “This display of hate and bigotry has no place in Israel and is inimical to Jewish values of treating all people with respect and kindness.”

In a letter to Chief Rabbis Shlomo Amar and Yona Metzger, ADL urged the rabbinical leaders to meet with Haredi leaders in an effort to end the practice and to join together to educate their community about having respect for coexistence with other faiths.

“The issue makes headlines every few years, and promises are made to combat it, but it continues every day,” said Rabbi Eric J. Greenberg, ADL Director of Interfaith Affairs.  “We believe it is time for Israel’s religious leaders to stand up for the Jewish values of treating others with respect and kindness, and to put an end to this ugly phenomenon.”

Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court Judge Dov Pollock recently dismissed the indictment of a Greek Orthodox priest who punched a Haredi yeshiva student in the face after the student spat at him in Jerusalem’s Old City.  Judge Pollock noted that this practice has been recurring for years, and that authorities have not been able to identify the perpetrators or to stop these acts.

What makes the ADL statement even more noteworthy is that there has been pushback (of a sort) and the ADL has remained firm. According to an article in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz (Hebrew, “The Land”),

The Anti-Defamation League has refused to accept the explanation by the Israeli Chief Rabbinate about its efforts to combat the phenomenon of Ultra-Orthodox Jews spitting at Christian clergymen in Jerusalem’s Old City. While the Rabbinate asserts the ADL is “misguided’ in publicly lashing out at the government institution for not doing enough to fight the phenomenon, the ADL is sticking to its assertions.

“We do not believe our statement was ‘misguided’ in the least. On the contrary, we believe the Rabbinate needed a wake-up call on this issue. We believe they have not done enough,” ADL chairman Abraham Foxman told Anglo File this week. “They’ve condemned it before, they’ve issued all of these statements, but nothing has changed.”

On the other hand,

Wiener called the ADL’s demands “misguided” and “particularly ironic” since “no Jewish institution has done more to fight the totally unacceptable phenomenon referred to than the Chief Rabbinate.” He asserted, “What the ADL calls on the Chief Rabbinate to denounce has been condemned by the Chief Rabbis publicly on more than one occasion.”

Chief Rabbis Yona Metzger and Shlomo Amar also invited the Christian leadership to meet with them to express their “abhorrence” at the spitting and issued “a forceful call to all yeshivot and congregations in the Old City to make sure that no errant members of their institutions misguidedly engage in such practices,” he wrote.

Metzger paid “a solidarity visit” to the Christian patriarchs and met with the police and municipal authorities to encourage greater law enforcement, he added. Wiener also wrote that the situation has improved “dramatically” over the last few months.

Indeed, several Armenian and Orthodox clergymen told Haaretz that while still prevalent, spitting incidents have decreased recently.

I don’t know who is right in this dispute. It’s always easy to say that not enough has been done, and it’s always easy to deny this.

I can say that I’ve been in the Old City when affronts like this were committed—not spitting, but undue jostling of Christians (though I don’t know the religion of the jostlers).

I also can firmly get behind a “Can’t we all just not spit on each other?” campaign.

That’s not only offensive. It’s gross and unsanitary.

What do you think?

Quick Answers on Soul Sleep

A Secret Information Club member who I will codename Agent Great White North writes and says:

Do you have any info on soul sleep?  One of my friends believes the body and soul sleep in the grave until Christ comes back.  Some Scripture “appears” to support this.  How do I refute this claim?

The idea of soul sleep has appeared in a number of different forms in Church history. For a pretty good discussion of some of the terms and variants, see this Wikipedia entry.

It is also true that there are a number of passages in Scripture that can appear to support this view, which is one reason it periodically crops up.

Many of these passages depict death as sleep, and there are two reasons for this:

1) Death is an unpleasant topic, and people naturally look for euphemisms to soften discussions of the subject. Thus in contemporary English, for example, we may talk about someone “passing” or “passing away” or “passing on” or having “departed” or similar things. In the biblical world they often used the euphemism “sleep” to refer to death, and the reason is pretty obvious . . .

2) Dead people often look like they are sleeping. They are often encountered lying down and not moving, just like a sleeping person. In fact, as part of softening the blow of death, they are often deliberately made to look like they are asleep, and so it is customary to close their eyes if they have died with their eyes open. This happened in the biblical world also, and so the biblical patriarch Jacob is told:

And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here am I.” 3 Then he said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt; for I will there make of you a great nation. 4 I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again; and Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes” [Genesis 46:2-4].

Given the human desire to euphemize about death and the way death often looks like sleep, it is natural for sleep to be used as a euphemism for death. Thus even today some parents may tell their very young children that “Granma has gone to sleep” or similar things.

To refer to something according to its appearances is known as “phenomenological language,” and both in the Bible and elsewhere death is often depicted as sleep as a form of phenomenological euphemism.

These facts are undeniable, and so when we read St. Paul talking about those who sleep in Christ or Daniel talking about those who sleep in the dust, we must be prepared to acknowledge that these passages may be just contain phenomenological euphemisms and are not making a fundamental statement about the condition of human consciousness between death and resurrection.

We must thus press on to ask the question: Do we have any evidence of human consciousness after death and before resurrection?

Indeed, we do.

There are a variety of passages in both the Old and New Testaments that suggest continued consciousness after death.

First, there is the story of the witch of Endor (which gave the Bewitched character Endora her name), in which the medium or “witch” summons the spirit of the dead prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 28; see also Sirach 46:20).

Next, there is the passage in 2 Maccabees where it is revealed that the prophet Jeremiah is dead but nevertheless “loves the brethren and prays much for the people and the holy city” (2 Macc. 15:14).

Then there is Jesus’ parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man (Luke 16:19-31), in which Jesus depicts Lazarus, the rich man, and Abraham as conscious in the afterlife. One could object that this is a parable, but this does not affect the depiction of consciousness in the afterlife. Jesus’ parables are filled with commonplace, real things, like kings, sons, kingdom, talents, winepresses, mustard seeds, pearls, and all manner of things that actually exist. He doesn’t tell parables about wholly unreal or unfamiliar things. Thus the depiction of departed souls that are still conscious (and experiencing either torment or comfort) must be something we take seriously.

Finally, the book of Revelation depicts the souls of the departed as experiencing consciousness prior to resurrection. One of the most notable passages in which it does so is found in Revelation 6:

9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

Moving past the biblical age, the Church continued to recognize the consciousness of souls after death, which is why the Church has always recognized the practice of asking departed Christians for their prayers. You can read about that in my book The Fathers Know Best or online here.

If Agent Great White North’s friend is Catholic, the matter has been infallibly settled. This was defined by Pope Benedict XII:

[From the edict “Benedictus Deus,” Jan. 29, 1336]

530 By this edict which will prevail forever, with apostolic authority we declare: that according to the common arrangement of God, souls of all the saints who departed from this world before the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ; also of the holy apostles, the martyrs, the confessors, virgins, and the other faithful who died after the holy baptism of Christ had been received by them, in whom nothing was to be purged, when they departed, nor will there be when they shall depart also in the future; or if then there was or there will be anything to be purged in these when after their death they have been purged; and the souls of children departing before the use of free will, reborn and baptized in that same baptism of Christ, when all have been baptized, immediately after their death and that aforesaid purgation in those who were in need of a purgation of this kind, even before the resumption of their bodies and the general judgment after the ascension of our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, into heaven, have been, are, and will be in heaven, in the kingdom of heaven and in celestial paradise with Christ, united in the company of the holy angels, and after the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ have seen and see the divine essence by intuitive vision, and even face to face, with no mediating creature, serving in the capacity of an object seen, but divine essence immediately revealing itself plainly, clearly, and openly, to them, and seeing thus they enjoy the same divine essence, and also that from such vision and enjoyment their souls, which now have departed, are truly blessed and they have eternal life and rest; and also [the souls] of those who afterwards will depart, will see that same divine essence, and will enjoy it before the general judgment; and that such vision of the divine essence and its enjoyment makes void the acts of faith and hope in them, inasmuch as faith and hope are proper theological virtues; and that after there has begun or will be such intuitive and face-to-face vision and enjoyment in these, the same vision and enjoyment without any interruption [intermission] or departure of the aforesaid vision and enjoyment exist continuously and will continue even up to the last judgment and from then even unto eternity.

531 Moreover, we declare that according to the common arrangement of God, the souls of those who depart in actual mortal sin immediately after their death descend to hell where they are tortured by infernal punishments, and that nevertheless on the day of judgment all men with their bodies will make themselves ready to render an account of their own deeds before the tribunal of Christ, “so that everyone may receive the proper things of the body according as he has done whether it be good or evil” [2 Cor. 5:10]. [Taken from The Sources of Catholic Dogma in my edition of Logos Bible Software.]

If Great White North’s friend is not Catholic then some of these sources will not be considered authoritative, but hopefully this will provide a basic response.

Good luck, Agent Great White North!

(Not a member of Jimmy’s Secret Information Club? You should sign up now at www.SecretInfoClub.org or use the form in the right hand margin.)

Mass Appeal: The ABC’s of Worship – NEW – Revised For The New Mass Translation

At last! A concise, informative explanation of the Mass in just 32 pages. Revised For The New Mass Translation

In the new booklet from Catholic Answers, Mass Appeal: the ABC’s of Worship, Jimmy masterfully walks you through the Mass from beginning to end, explaining precisely what is happening and — more importantly — why. In the end you’ll see — perhaps for the first time — precisely how all the pieces of the Mass fit together to create a single, coherent whole.

“Jimmy Akin’s Mass Appeal demonstrates a two-fold love — a love of the Mass and a love of the newcomer to it. This booklet explains the liturgy in a clear, step-by-step manner. The author explores the Mass through the eyes of one drawn to help others participate more fully in the worship of God.” –Fr. Mitchell Pacwa, S.J., Eternal World Television Network

Perfect for RCIA and CCD classes and parish pamphlet racks. Call for volume discounts.

ORDER HERE!

The Church Year: Jan. 16, 2012

Today is Monday of the 2nd week in Ordinary Time. The liturgical color is green.

In the Extraordinary Form, this is the season after Epiphany, and the liturgical color for today is red.

 

Saints & Celebrations:

Today, January 16, there is no special fixed liturgical day in the Ordinary Form.

In the Extraordinary Form, we celebrate St. Marcellus I, pope and martyr, who died in A.D. 310. It is a Class III day.

If you’d like to learn more about St. Marcellus I, you can click here.

For information about other saints, blesseds, and feasts celebrated today, you can click here.

 

Readings:

To see today’s readings in the Ordinary Form, you can click here.

Or you can click play to listen to them:

 

Devotional Information:

According to the Holy See’s Directory on Popular Piety:

26. During this period [the fourth and fifth centuries], the formation of various liturgical families with their consequent differences, matured. The more important metropolitan Churches now celebrate the one worship of the Lord with their own cultural and popular forms which developed from differences of language, theological traditions, spiritual sensibilities, and social contexts. This process gave rise to the progressive development of liturgical systems with their own proper styles of celebration and agglomeration of texts and rites. It is not insignificant to note that even during this golden age for the formation of the liturgical rites, popular elements are also to be found in those rites.

On the other hand, bishops and regional synods began to establish norms for the organization of worship. They became vigilant with regard to the doctrinal correctness of the liturgical texts and to their formal beauty, as well as with regard to the ritual sequences. Such interventions established a liturgical order with fixed forms which inevitably extinguished the original liturgical creativity, which had not been completely arbitrary. Some scholars regard these developments as one of the source of the future proliferation of texts destined for private and popular piety.

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